Glowing Embers

by Sun Aura

Dates and Dreams

As Sunset Shimmer sat in the cafeteria, coming down from the high of winning the Fall Formal Crown, she pondered the event. She liked having people like her. So what should she do to keep them liking her?

Obviously keep socializing. True, sports events and pep rallies and even the dance weren’t really her ‘thing’. But the more she showed up, the more they’d like her. Clubs wouldn’t hurt either, as long as they’re ‘good’ clubs.

She debated joining a sports team, as they seemed to get plenty of attention, but that definitely wasn’t her thing. Even though she was much better in Gym than when she’d started, she didn’t think she could handle long-term organized sports.

Oddly enough, the idea she came up with was ‘a Boyfriend’. Mostly because the unobtainable was what people chased after. She knew that one from experience. But it also made her look a bit more likable, as if to say ‘well, someone definitely likes you’. And while she hated it, this world didn’t like gay people as much as Equestria. A Boyfriend would deter any chance of someone thinking she was gay. Not that they’d be wrong, but it would lose some of those who liked her.

The question was who? She wanted to find a guy who was nice enough to be around, but respectful of being a fake boyfriend. She didn’t want to string anyone along, and she definitely didn’t want to actually be romantic with a guy. But where would she find a guy like that?

Sighing into her sandwich, she decided to put that aside for now. Instead, she listened in on the table behind her. Teenagers had some of the most fascinating, if not hilarious, conversations.

“I had the weirdest dream last night,” the one said.

“Was it the Pegasus dream again?” a second asked.

“Of course it was the Pegasus dream!” a third said.

“Shut it Thunder!” the second said.

“Okay, but this one was very new?” the first one said. “So, not only was I a Pegasus, but I was some sort of Pegasus Knight?”

“Pegasus Knight? Really?” Thunder laughed.

“Come on, I’m being serious!” he insisted. “That wasn’t the weird part though. The weird part was Principal Celestia was in it.”

“So, was it one of ‘those’ dreams?” the second asked. “Please, enlighten me about your feelings for our Principal!”

“Don’t be gross, Brawly!” Thunder said.

“Hey, he’s the one dreaming about the Principal!” Brawly defended.

“It wasn’t that kind of dream,” the first groaned, clearly used to these antics. “I mean, she was a horse too!”

“See!” Thunder said.

“But it was kind of a person,” Brawly said. “Maybe your subconscious is telling you you’re a furry.”

“I’m not a fucking furry!” the first guy insisted. “Listen, I’m trying to tell you the weird part! She wasn’t just a Pegasus like I am in the dreams. She was a Pegasus with a Unicorn horn, and considering the crown she looked like Queen of all horses!”

Sunset choked on her sandwich. Despite coughing up cheese and bread, she tried to fathom what she’d heard. She subtly turned to look at the group, wondering what kind of person could manage to dream something like that.

The person in question was a Freshman, like her. He was close to her height, orange with blue hair that he hadn’t quite gotten the hang of styling yet, as it kind of stuck up in every direction in an almost comical fashion. It kind of reminded her of Silver Lining, after she had finished up with her storms.

Then again, perhaps the other him was a Pegasus. It seemed impossible, that someone could dream about their Other Self. But just those details seemed too much of a coincidence.

But the more she thought , the more she wanted to know. Sunset had no real contact with Equestria. She wasn’t sure if her journal could reach across Dimensions, and even if it did, the only Pony she could reach was the Princess. And the portal…

She’d tested out the portal. It took three years to open up, around the time of the Fall Formal. Of course, she had wondered why the Formal hadn’t happened the day she came through. Doing the math, she realized it had been open Tuesday to Thursday the year she came through. This past year, it was the Saturday to Monday before the Formal. She guessed that the next time it opened would be a Wednesday to Friday, probably during the Fall Formal itself.

So it would be three more years until she could use it again. But, if this kid could give her even the barest of connections…. Just… He said the Pegasus was some kind of Knight, so probably a Guard. At the very least, he might see some of the bigger news. But there was a chance, if Lance was still a Guard, maybe he’d dream of him.

---

Flash Sentry was sweet, almost too kind but not a pushover. He was also a lot like Sunset, in a way. Charming, easy to like. And while he wasn’t anywhere near Sunset’s type, she would admit that he was fairly cute. Though, unlike Sunset, he did have a few friends he was with a lot. Which made it very hard to get him alone.

They had a few classes together, but she rarely got a chance to talk to him. Eventually, after classes had let out, she decided to just go for it. Sunset ran after him.

“Hey!” Sunset called.

Thankfully, he stopped and waved. His two friends, whose names she’d learned to be ‘Brawly Beats’ and ‘Thunderbass’ stopped with him.

“Hi, uh, Sunset, right?” Flash said.

“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. “Can I- can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure?” he tilted his head a bit.

“I mean, alone,” she glanced over his shoulder, looking at his friends watching.

“Someone’s lucky,” Brawly grinned. “More like getting-“

He was cut off by a swift kick to the shin from Thunder. Flash glared at the both of them, but turned back when Sunset grabbed his hand.

“Please,” Sunset pleaded.

“Yeah,” Flash nodded. “You have a spot in mind?”

Brawly opened his mouth to make another comment, only to swear at another kick to the shin.

“I didn’t even say anything that time!” Brawly complained.

“You were about to,” Thunder shrugged.

As the two boys devolved into bickering, Sunset took the chance and dragged Flash off. They ran through the remaining students, ducking under the arms of Seniors. It took a minute before she found a spot behind the school, away from the buses and cars. Away from the portal, because though it was closed, she felt like it was judging her.

Sunset let go of his hand, and hesitated. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she couldn’t exactly tell him ‘I need you to date me so people will like me and also so I can have some contact with my home dimension’. But she had to make sure he knew exactly what to expect, so she created a story that would do just that.

“I-I’m sorry to drag you into this,” Sunset began. “But I just… My parents found out I’m gay and are threatening to kick me out, so can you pretend to be my boyfriend so they don’t?”

“I….” Flash trailed off a bit. “I’m sorry that’s happening. I’d like to help, but what am I supposed to do exactly?”

“Just- I don’t know,” she shook her head, everything screaming at her to back out. “Stars, this was dumb. I should just-“

“Hey, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help,” he said, smiling softly. “I just wanted to know what the plan actually was.”

“To pretend,” she said. “Just do what couples are supposed to do, I guess? Be seen together, call each other pet names and do cheesy flirting, go on ‘dates’. You don’t have to do much, you don’t even have to fake kiss me, but just let people think we’re together. And if you find someone you want to date for real, you can as long as it’s you doing the breaking up!”

“That’s not a bad plan,” he nodded. “But I have to ask, why me? There’s a lot of guys in the school, and we haven’t really talked that much.”

“Well, yeah, I could’ve tried anyone,” she said. “But how many would agree to be a fake boyfriend? Some might’ve outed me to everyone else, some might’ve tried to turn the fake relationship into something real. I don’t know you well, but you seem really nice and I trust you more than I trust some others.”

“Fair enough, I guess,” he said. “So, want to hang out at the park and learn enough about each other to fake a relationship?”

“I like the way you think,” she laughed.

Author's Note:

Finally got Flash in here, along with why Sunset chose him over anyone else. I've mentioned the dream-connection thing in a few other fics, and Flash is one of two characters who can do it. The other one has an upgraded version, but that's mostly because she's a Lucid Dreamer.