Chapter One: Good Vibes
It started with a dream. A memory. It was a day after Flash’s 16th birthday, and he just broke up with Sunset Shimmer. Sunset remembered it clearly. Gossips erupted from everyone who heard Flash’s words.
Did Flash Sentry just break up with Sunset Shimmer? THE Sunset Shimmer?!
No way, this can’t be happening!
Didn’t he just celebrate his birthday with her yesterday?
What do you think she did to him?
Heh! About time! She clearly doesn’t deserve him.
Gasp! You know what this means?! Flash Sentry is back on the market!
Girl, haven’t you heard of the three-month-rule?
Ooh, this will definitely damage Sunset’s chances of winning Fall Formal.
Yes! Down with the queen!
Down with the queen!
Despite some of these gossips being as silent as whispers, Sunset Shimmer heard them clearly. And she was infuriated. Humiliated. She, despite her clever tactics in gaining control of the school—everyone’s kept secrets, the friendships she monitored and manipulated, the carefully planned out schemes to gain advantage over both students and teachers—she did not see this one coming. She could only stare at Flash with an open mouth for a few seconds before she snapped back to the humiliating reality.
She tried to brush it off with a laugh, attempting poorly to keep the corners of her mouth raised. “Uh, Flash? What are you talking about?”
But there was no reply. Flash simply turned around and walked away.
This earned an eye twitch from Sunset. “Flash! Flash Sentry! I’m talking to you!”
Still no reply. Flash kept walking. The corners of her mouth now lowered to a scowl, Sunset Shimmer shouted at her now-ex-boyfriend.
“FINE! BE THAT WAY! I DON’T CARE! I DON’T NEED YOU! YOU’RE OF NO USE TO ME ANYMORE! YOU HEAR ME?! USELESS!!!” Sunset was practically wheezing out steam from her breath, her hair somehow frazzled, her eyes glowered in rage, and her cheeks, for the first time everyone’s seen her, tinged to a shade of red. But her rage didn’t seem to stop there. With another hot breath, she shouted once more,
“YOU’RE GOING TO REGRET THIS, FLASH SENTRY!! I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY!!!”
To her last words, Flash stopped, and turned slightly to Sunset, his eyes straight to hers. To Sunset’s surprise, this very action made her flinch. And that confused her. With a quiet breath, but still audible to Sunset and to everyone else, he told her, “I’m not, Sunset. But I hope…I hope I will be. I hope you will too.”
He kept walking, leaving Sunset Shimmer alone by the hallway, motionless. The student body was silent now, all gossiping paused for the students to watch Flash Sentry walk away, and back to Sunset Shimmer, who was biting down her lower lip, her fists clenched so hard they seem to pale into a light yellow. Her face still flustered, she suddenly felt something burning in her chest, as though she swallowed the sun and couldn’t spit it out. She is currently humiliated right in front of the school body, yet she finds herself confused. She knows she’s angry, she knows she’s infuriated, she knows she’s humiliated, she knows she’s utterly peeved, yet she also she also knows there was something else there, and it’s burning her up. She looks around to see everyone still looking at her, sharing whispers with one another. She can’t stay here. Forgetting her locker, forgetting class, forgetting Flash Sentry, she ran. As she ran, she heard the school bell, ringing louder than usual. It took her the third ring to realize that the hallway seemed endless, and the bell isn’t making the same sound it usually rings. It was a loud buzzing sound, and it got louder with every ring.
And then she woke up.
_________________________________________________
Rising up from her covers, Sunset shuts off her alarm. From the looks of the sun on her window, she seems to have missed most of the morning already. It’s usually by this time she would either collapse once more to the loving embrace of her bed, or go down from her loft and get some late-breakfast, but right now Sunset just sat on her bed, her arms hugging her legs and her head resting on her knees.
That memory came out of nowhere.
A lot has happened to Sunset Shimmer. She was a snide pupil to Princess Celestia, and escaped to the world beyond the mirror to prove her wrong. There, she hungered for power, taking advantage over everyone and not giving anything in return. She was snide, manipulative, and just plain mean to everyone. She was abusive, especially to a certain someone she manipulated simply for the sake of popularity. She became the queen of her school. But then Twilight Sparkle came, and then she was hit, literally, by a friendship rainbow lazer. Twilight Sparkle lend her her hand, and just like that, she gained her very first friend, and seconds later, she gained five more, all of whom giving her a second chance, despite all of the cruel things she did to them.
Now, she’s changed, and she’s done plenty to redeem herself. And to everyone’s eyes, she has. It took her a while for everyone to trust her, but after a musical magic battle with hypnotic Sirens, a somewhat magical competition against another school, a definitely magical battle with the other Twilight Sparkle (which in turn gained her a new friend plus a talking dog friend), a battle with a nature elemental in Camp Everfree, and a few more magical encounters—giant movie lady, whacky memory stone, and others—she became a friend everyone could count on, especially on magic. But aside from magic, she became a friend people would come to talk to about video games, guitar tips, fire-punk fashion, study sessions, and—dramatically ironic to Sunset—friendship advice. She’s happy where she is now. She’s found a place to call home.
But going to that point wasn’t easy. She knows that her past doesn’t define her anymore, but there was still one, personal past she can’t seem to fully move on from. She hugged herself tighter as she remembers the memory she dreamt last night.
That day was the most humiliating day of her life. But that was for the old Sunset Shimmer. For the Sunset Shimmer of today, it was another memory stored in her regret folder, deep within her subconscious. But she wanted to give it another look this time, because there was that burning sensation on her chest that still remembers that day. She remembers Flash’s words, him breaking up with her with just three words.
Let’s break up.
She remembers shouting at him, angry and humiliated.
I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY!!!
Sunset could feel herself trembling. She dug her head deeper in her knees in shame, which doesn’t say much as there wasn’t much to dig through. She then remembers Flash’s response, his final words before walking away from her.
I’m not, Sunset. But I hope... I hope I will be. I hope you will too.
Sunset feels the tears flowing down her cheeks, flowing further down to her still trembling knees, and finally staining the bed with guilt and shame. She remembers his blue eyes boring into hers. The loving, caring eyes when they dated; those goofy, lovestruck eyes that she took advantage of, and played with his sincere feelings for. Sunset is skilled at reading people, especially through their eyes. This was how she took the lead to every conversation; by striking people down to where there are most vulnerable. That was how she played Flash so well. But those eyes weren’t in that memory. For the first time, she saw into his blue eyes and realized that she couldn’t recognize them. They weren’t the warm, blue eyes she was so familiar with. They were unreadable, but they weren’t empty either, and that just confused Sunset back then. Now though, she clearly understands. Those eyes were darkened with sadness. He was hurt. Excruciatingly hurt. And despite that pain, instead of purposely making her feel dispirited, he told her that he hopes for Sunset’s happiness as well. As she remembers him walking away, without a sense of hesitation from his steps, Sunset finally understood the burning sensation on her chest. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t humiliation. It was hurt. A burning hurt of regret that she had yet to realize. The old Sunset would never admit it, but the Sunset of the present accepted it; the fact that Flash Sentry, that Flash Sentry, hurt that Sunset Shimmer by breaking up with her.
It took what seemed hours for Sunset to weep off her pained memory on her bed, drowning it with guilt, shame, and regret. She deserved the hurt, though, Sunset thought. After all, she was just poison to Flash, stopping him from being truly happy and—
*SHAKE YOUR TAIL, ‘CAUSE WE’RE HERE TO HAVE A PARTY TONIGHT!*
*SHAKE YOUR TAIL, SHAKE YOUR TAIL!*
The ringtone of her phone snapped her back to the lofty part of her room. She reached for the phone, still in an uproar of five teenage girls singing of shaking tails. Wiping the tears with her already drenched pajamas, she answered the call without looking at the receiver.
“*sniff* H-hello?”
A strange accent answered in an aggressive tone.
Sunset Shimmer! You late for work! Sushi cannot serve customers itself!
The depressed redhead immediately perked up with a straightened spine. This was her boss calling. Today is a Saturday. And she was late for work.
“O-ohmygosh! I’m so sorry! *sniff* I was caught with uhh—a cold! Yeah, a cold. *sniff*”
Fortunately, her nose is still stuffed from the sobbing, so her excuse sounds more believable to a phone call. As she answers to her sushi-boss, Sunset was stumbling down the stairs, stripping off her pajamas in one go and changing to her usual outdoor attire, all while miraculously pinching her phone in between her ear and shoulder.
Hm-hm. I understand. But you better go here now, if you want half-pay!
Better half the pay than no pay at all, the redhead thought. “Y-yes sir! I’ll be there right away!”
And with a rush out of the building door, Sunset made a beeline straight to the mall as fast as she could; so much so that even Rainbow would be a little bit impressed.
_________________________________________
In every weekend, it’s natural for the mall to be flooding with high school. Some go out shopping with friends, whether it is clothing, accessories, video games or figurines. Some enjoy a walk around, usually with their significant other, deciding on a good café or restaurant to start their date. Some simply hang out with their friends, chilling at the food court or by the indoor fountain. For Sunset and her friends, this is another weekend for them to go on with their part-time jobs. Some of them, such as Sunset’s and Applejack’s, provided free meals during breaks. Although these kinds of part-time jobs aren’t stressful to an average teenager, Sunset’s shift turned out as stressful as an adult office worker. Not only did she clock in late to her usual shift, but she messed up plenty of orders as well, earning a scowl from the head chef, who is coincidentally her boss. When the full-time coworker clocked in, the sushi chef gave Sunset a reluctant nod.
“We see you Monday, Shimmer.”
Sunset gave her a boss an exhausted, yet respectful bow in return. “Thanks, sir.”
As she made her way to the entrance of the restaurant, the chef called out to her once more. “Wait, Shimmer. I still give you pay.” The redhead turned to the chef, completely forgetting that she actually hasn’t received her salary. The chef stepped out of his sushi bar and handed Sunset a tiny envelope, as well as a triangular, decorative bento box. Sunset looked up to him in confusion.
“Umm, thank you sir, but what’s this for? Did a customer forget their take-away?”
“No. That bento yours. Shimmer sick, yet you still come here. I thank you for hard work.” The chef then gave the redhead a 45 degree bow, to which caught Sunset in surprise and she clumsily bowed in gratitude.
She left the restaurant with a thankful heart and a smile on her face, but the smile was short-lived as her exhausted expression resurfaced, though such an expression wasn’t from work. During her entire shift Sunset couldn’t shake her thoughts of her and Flash off her mind. Inside the mall, youthful chatter and banter from other students could be seen. But Sunset walked without noticing any of them, instead feeling that the mall seemed duller than usual, and she felt that she herself has blended in to the atmosphere. Her mind was only on two things: going to the workers’ locker to change out of her uniform and a blue haired boy growing more distant in a school hallway. A misstep from her working slippers caused her to slip and fall, making the atmosphere even duller. It dulled even further when she realized that the strap of one of her slippers was torn. She sighed as lifted the slipper on her hands.
Today just couldn’t get any better, huh?
But from her sarcastic thought, there was sudden blur of rainbow colors, and Rainbow Dash was suddenly standing right beside her, still in her uniform from the sports store. She was smiling confidently and radiating in color, and not just from her prismatic hair. It was as though she was unaffected by the melancholic atmosphere that was lingering in the mall. With shoe box tucked under one arm, she reached out her other to the fallen girl. Sunset looked back to her torn slipper, and with a mental shrug, she tossed it behind and reached for the extended hand with a relieved smile.
Chef wouldn’t mind a torn slipper or two.
She could feel a comforting light warming through; her usual, bright colors of a setting sun, burning out all the melancholy from her body, all the way to the surface of her skin. A few minutes later, she was sitting on a bench, adjusting to the new pair of sneakers that she received from her rainbow-haired friend. They were a perfect fit.
“Thanks for the rescue, Rainbow.”
Rainbow Dash was on a knee in front her thankful that they were both the same shoe size. “Hey, no problem Sunset! I was on my back to the locker room when I saw you trip. It’s a good thing I got these sweet kicks as a bonus for stacking up that awesome shoe box pyramid! I have Rarity to thank for that, though.”
“Really? What happened?” the redhead asked curiously. Her question was left unanswered however as her rainbow-haired friend stood up.
“I’ll tell you all about it later. I gotta to Scoots and her friends and warn them about handling a kayak.”
Slightly confused, Sunset still gave her friend a friendly chuckle.
“Sure thing Rainbow. I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, see yeah!” And with another blurry rainbow, she was out of sight. Although her energetic friend left, Sunset was still filled in warm colors, walking down the mall with a light energy in every step. She looked around, seeing other teenagers, talking with each other, window-shopping, enjoying a frosted muffin disguised as a cupcake; all of whom in warm, joyful colors just as she is. She was feeling good now. Great even. And it was all thanks to a small deed from a friend.
As she walked close to the center fountain, however, the redhead almost drained herself in color as she was surprised to see a lone blue-haired boy sitting idly on the edge of the fountain. Flash Sentry had one arm resting across his legs while the other supported his sulking head, his downcast eyes in a shade gray, gazing off into empty space. Memories of last night’s dream came flooding back to Sunset, especially the boy’s discolored, pained eyes. She was scared to look at the eyes of the boy in front of her, but she took courage. To her momentary relief, they weren’t the same eyes as the ones from before, recognizing them as the look of someone who is in deep thought. But she also recognizes that the boy isn’t in a very good mood either, as she somehow sees him blending perfectly to the dull background.
Gentle warmth was building up in the young girl’s chest, a feeling completely different to the burning sensation from before. It was a feeling of desire; a desire to color the melancholy away; a desire to help someone not just for the sake of helping but for the sake of not wanting to see them in pain anymore.
Flash Sentry sat there unmoving, eyes still downcast, when he suddenly felt a slender hand ruffling his hair softly and playfully. He looked up surprised to see his ex-girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer, still in her working uniform, offering an open bento box of fresh sushi. He took it without thinking, taking a roll while the redhead sat beside him.
This entire exchange was done in silence; but it was a comforting silence, to both youthful teens. Sunset watched him enjoy his first roll, seeing his expression lighten up and his eyes shading back to its original, azure blue color. This brought her to extraordinary relief, the corners of her mouth lifting up unconsciously to an open smile. Flash turned his azure eyes to the girl beside him, a big smile extinguishing all negative thoughts, and he grinned widely in reply, a few rice grains stuck in his teeth, forgetting why he was in such deep thought in the first place. He knew it would come back to him eventually, but for some mysterious reason, he thought better to not think about it at the moment.
Flash suddenly felt a warm light surging out of him, somehow feeling himself re-colored to his usual self. It was strange feeling. He could argue it was a magical feeling. But it was a good feeling, and that’s what matters. And somehow, Sunset felt it too.
Sunset wasn’t sure if it was the work her geode dangling underneath her uniform, but she didn’t care. She only cared that Flash was smiling, enjoying a box of rolled sushi. More importantly, he was smiling beside her, and she felt the warmth in her tingle up all the way to her cheeks as she came to a realization that he hasn’t smiled this close her since, well, when they dated.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen him smile this close. And he still hasn’t noticed he’s got some rice stuck in his teeth. She mentally laughed at the thought.
She also came to a realization that she’s been staring at the Flash for about a minute, which made her blush even further, almost matching the redness of her hair. She quickly turned away, lifting her hand that’s in between her and Flash and twirled a loose strand of her work-styled hair. She gave a peek to Flash, hoping he wouldn’t notice the sudden flush in her cheeks. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—for her, the boy noticed none of that, still enjoying his fourth roll of sushi.
Flash was still enjoying the silence he’s sharing with Sunset, but the redhead was barraged with random thoughts in her own voice firing off one after the other in all directions.
Wow, he’s on his fourth sushi already. He’s on a roll.
Did I just make a pun? Oh my gosh, I just made a sushi pun.
It’s okay, Sunset, he hasn’t noticed you blushing over the stupid pun and his cute smile.
His smile is cute. Wait, that’s not the point here!
Yeah, he hasn’t noticed you blushing.
That’s even farther from the point!
What was the point again?
You’re staring at him. Again.
Oh my gosh Sunset STOP STARING!
Luckily, to her second rescue of the day, she sees Twilight Sparkle and her friends, still in their working uniforms, walking up to the two of them. She greeted Twilight with a nervous, yet thankful smile while Rarity and Fluttershy greeted Flash, to which he simply nodded since his mouth was full.
There was a sudden burst of colorful chatter as Sunset’s friends talked to each other—with Flash listening in—about how silly their day went; Trixie finding (or perhaps returning) Angel Bunny to Fluttershy, Bulk Biceps helping out Twilight’s cargo of gadgets with a stylish squirrel toupee, Rarity almost losing her customers until Vinyl arrived with catchy new tune, and Rainbow Dash almost being buried by her shoe box pyramid. Applejack shared her day about beat dancing to juice blenders, much to Raindbow’s disbelief. Sunset and Flash simply listened, sometimes lending a voiced opinion on Bulk’s choice of hairstyle or Pinkie’s preference of wasabi on cupcakes, which honestly gave Flash a slight choke on his fifth roll.
With all the energetic and fun chit-chat from everyone, and Sunset being the center of it all, she could just feel the colorful glow of good vibes from her friends, including Flash, as they paint the entire mall in a renewed, colorful shine. And she was happy again. She happier when Flash thanked her for the sushi, how it lifted his spirits, and waved her and the rest of the girls goodbye as he went home. She became even happier when she went to the locker room with her friends, all the while sharing jokes and stories as they changed to their usual get-ups, Rarity being the obvious exemption.
As they all retired to their homes, Sunset Shimmer collapsed on her couch with a breath of satisfaction. With her body lying on the couch, she turns her head to the large window across her, feeling her namesake soak up her face and body in a slow, cozy light, taking in the sun’s final rays before it retires to the horizon. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched the glowing ball of light disappear behind the city rooftops. Today turned out a good day. And she was happy.
Wait. That came out weird. She’s happy? Something felt strangely off, the redhead sitting up from her couch in a sudden concerned thought. Lines of a memory she thought was no longer an issue suddenly replayed in her head like lines to a play rehearsal.
I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY!
I hope I will be.
Sunset suddenly felt cold sweat running down the side of her face, and once again she returned to the position that she took on her bed. The image of Flash Sentry facing her at the hallway merging with the image of Flash Sentry sitting by the fountain formed in her mind. Her head once again resting on her knees, she turned her moist cyan eyes to the large, glass window, gazing off to the now-darkened sky.
Flash, I’m happy now. Because of my new friends. Because I was given a second chance. I’m happy. But…but are you?
She stood up, roughly wiping away the tears. Her eyes no longer in darkened in regret but brightened in determination.
No. This isn’t the time to be sulking. I’m not letting the day end like this.
She placed her hand on her chest, just inches below her geode, feeling its beating warmth; the same, gentle warmth she felt when she saw Flash today. Her past is not today. She's made sure of that, and she'll make sure of it again, as many times as she has to.
She took out her phone, the tender warmth rushing up to her cheeks and ears as she scrolled through her contacts, and dialed a number.
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
835 users online
531,702 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Humm, good use of the music video to make a frame of reference for the reader.
Great work with the integration of the music video.
Ah! I got butterflies when I read this chapter! Your story is so cute, I can't wait for more.
You did a really good job tying the music video in with the story.
Really great I love sunny so much
I love sunset and flash being together