Can Sunrise Come After Sunset?

by Autum Breeze

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

___________________________________________________________

Flash glanced down at his phone, his expression worried frustration as he saw he had no new messages.

He selected a number and brought it up to his ear, waiting, hoping for an answer this time.

“Yeah, this is Sunset,” Sunset’s voice message replied from the other end after several rings. “If this isn’t important, piss off. It is matters, leave a message and, if I care, I’ll get back to you.”

“Sunset, please, just answer!” Flash almost screamed into the phone. “It’s been three months, now! Where are you? Why did you stop coming to school? I’ve been to your loft countless times and you’ve clearly not been there. What’s going on? If something wrong, I want to help. Please, just… just call back as soon as you can, alright?”

He hung up, before throwing his phone, it unceremoniously and completely ruining the mood by lightly landing on his bed instead of hitting the wall.

Flash slumped in his chair by his desk, his head in his hands as he rang through his hair.

It had been three months since Sunset had randomly vanished.

One day, she’d just not come to school.

At first, this wasn’t a big deal. High as Sunset’s grades were, she’d normally play hooky, so her being absent wasn’t too odd.

In fact, much as he hated to admit it, CHS had basically breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew Sunset had a really bad habit of being mean to others students. There was a reason she’d been voted Biggest Meanie in their freshmen year’s Year Book despite it not being a superlative.

Many had questioned Flash why he’d started dating Sunset given that, but, Flash was sure there was more to Sunset than the cruel exterior she gave off.

Maybe he was being naïve, like many had suggested to him when asking about their relationship, more annoyingly often than not followed up by suggesting he break up with her, but he was sure she needed him.

Sure, he didn’t think he was much. He had a car, sure and was a member of the soccer team and played guitar… but he wasn’t an idiot jock.

He was able to see, even recently, something had been eating Sunset from the moment that met.

She’d been hurt in her past and he was sure that was the reason she lashed out at everyone, why he was the first person she’d seemed to open herself up even a small amount to.

What could’ve hurt her so much in the past, he didn’t know. He hadn’t asked her because he felt he should let Sunset feel comfortable enough to bring it up herself.

He wanted to help her heal, knowing the pain was clearly tearing her up inside… but, until she confided in him, there wasn’t really much he could do.

And, frankly, it was not knowing what had hurt her in her past that made him worry so much that she’d been gone all this time.

What if she’d come from an abusive family?

It would certainly explain why she was so abusive to everyone else.

If that was how she was raised, she’d think it was how she should treat others.

If she had come from an abusive family, did she escape from them and they’d found and taken her back?

Not knowing was the worst part, because he wanted to help… but you can’t really help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.

It actually disgusted him how, as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, no one at the school had been worried for Sunset aside from himself.

The opposite, in fact. The school had become a somewhat happier place, with people moving out of their clicks and mingling more, not afraid of needing others solely like them to shield them should Sunset go on the warpath.

He’d even heard people saying they hoped Sunset never returned.

He was glad everyone felt at ease enough not to feel pressured to stay in their clicks… but their happiness of Sunset being gone… he’d found himself lashing out a few times himself.

The fact the police were involved in the search should’ve been enough to quiet those talking so harshly about Sunset, but, if anything it made it worse.

Rumours had started spreading that she was actually part of a criminal gang and she’d left town to avoid the heat.

A sudden single knock from the window made Flash jerk, the sudden motion causing his chair to go off balance and he toppled over, sprawling out on the floor.

He was suddenly glad he was home alone tonight. Explaining that would’ve been really embarrassing.

Another knock at his window made him scramble to his feet as it dawned on him; he was on the second floor.

For someone to be knocking on his window, they’d have needed to climb up to the small ledge outside his window to knock.

Then again, it was a single knock. For all he knew, someone could’ve thrown something at his window.

Cautiously, he approached it and looked outside.

There was nothing but darkness, the light from his room not revealing anyone waiting outside his window.

He opened the window, only to leap back as a rock came into his felt of vision.

It flew passed where he’d been standing and smashed into his light, breaking it, plunging his room into darkness.

“Hey!” he yelled, now annoyed as he returned to the window and look out into the dark night. “You could’ve hit me!”

“Apologies,” a girl’s voice he did not recognise called from down below.

Flash looked in the direction of the voice.

Due to the now much darker surroundings, he couldn’t really see the person. Yes, there were streetlamps nearby, but he could only just make out the figure of someone standing by the trees close to his house.

The light from the streetlamps was enough to reveal the person’s presence, but he couldn’t make out any features.

“What do you want?” Flash asked, before his eyes narrowed. “If you’re another kid from school here to tell me how happy you’ve been since Sunset stopped coming to school and think I should just break up with her, I swear—”

“No. nothing like that, I assure you, Flash Sentry,” the girl replied, quickly, but firmly… and somehow gently too.

This confusing combination was enough to give Flash pause.

“Alright, fine. If that’s not why you’re here, why are you and why did you throw rocks at my window?”

“It’s about Sunset Shimmer’s whereabouts,” she said cooly.

At once, Flash’s eyes widened as his heart leapt into his chest.

“Sunset? You know where she is, where she’s been? Where? Why has she been gone for so long? Is she in danger? Did someone hurt her?!” that last part came out in a growl.

The girl in the dark sighed, catching Flash off guard.

It was a heavy sigh, one that he could just tell had a massive amount of weight behind it… that he’d heard before.

Back when his great uncle had died, his dad had heaved similar sighs for many years… which only made Flash more worried.

“Sunset was indeed hurt… but… not by anyone here,” the girl said after several minutes. “Her pain… it’s not one most would be able to comprehend. She’s safe now, I assure you, but… life has not been easy on her these last few months and will not be much kinder in the months to come.”

Flash’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not at liberty to say,” the girl replied, sounding crestfallen. “Not now, at any rate. All I can do, I try to help Sunset, to make up for my mistakes.”

“Mistakes?” Flash felt conflicting emotions of curiosity, confusion, concern and scepticism. “What mistakes?”

The girl just shook her head. “I can’t say now. However, if you want to find Sunset, listen carefully when you next go to school.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Hey!” he called out as she turned and disappeared into the night.

Flash remained at his window for a long time, not sure how he felt.

Sunset was safe, he’d been suggested that much, which put one part of his mind at ease… but so many new questions were whirling around in his mind as he went and had a shower, the water pouring onto his head the same as the questions were pouring through it.

Who was that strange girl? How did she know Sunset? Why did she keep hidden in the shadows? What mistakes had she made that effected Sunset? Why would simply going to school like normal and listening let him know what had happened to her?

If anything, he’d hear the opposite.

The Principal and Vice Principal had done their best to quiet everything down, especially over the last week, but… it didn’t stop the whispers.

He didn’t want to actually listen to those harsh whispers. It was bad enough having to hear them, but actually listen?

After a few moments, he sighed.

He’d have to take the girl’s advice and listen.

He didn’t like it, knew he’d hear a lot of things he didn’t want to… but, if listening did help him learn something, it was worth a shot, right? Better than not knowing at all.

___________________________________________________________

Flash scowled as he walked through the halls of Canterlot High towards his next class.

As expected, listening had done him no favours so far.

All anyone talked about whenever Sunset’s name came up with the rumours or how glad they were she wasn’t around anymore.

He should’ve guessed. That girl last night was just another Sunset Hater and she’d decided, with Sunset not around to take the brunt of the hate, he should get some, since he was still holding out on her instead of joining in with everyone else.

He was about to slam the door to his locket closed in frustration, when his ears perked up.

“Sunset’s alright?” a very soft voice said.

It was so soft he could easily have missed it, but, whirling around, he saw two girls passing close by.

One was one of the fashionistas of the school, Rarity. Walking alongside her was a yellow girl were pink hair.

Something Shy, wasn’t it?

He remembered Sunset mentioning a name that sounded like that once, though he couldn’t remember the context of the conversation they’d been having at the time.

The two were walking off down the hall in the oppsite direction he was going to be heading.

Frowning, Flash decided he’d look for them at lunch and find out more.

___________________________________________________________

Flash sat at the table with his bandmates.

It wasn’t their usual table, but, over the last couple months, everyone had been switching tables every now and then, so they hadn’t questioned why had wanted to sit here.

Flash had chosen this table in particular today because, after watching Rarity and, thanks, to a name drop, Fluttershy, he’d seen what table they went to at lunch… which had honestly surprised him.

Everyone knew that, since shortly before the last year ended, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been at odds after Applejack, a normally honest to a fault person, had lied to Rainbow Dash about when a bake sale would happen.

The group also included Pinkie Pie, the school’s known party planner, who’d been at odds with both Rarity and Fluttershy for quite some time, but, the five were almost acting like all the problems they’d had with each other since last year had never happened.

This oddness of it aside, he knew his best chance of getting information from them about Sunset was to listen in, like the girl in the night had suggested.

Granted, logically, he thought it would be smarter to just outright ask, but… he had this gut feeling that wouldn’t have gone well.

For all he knew, these girls might actually be just as uncaring about Sunset’s absence as everyone else seemed.

He was honestly just going off a hunch from the small snippet of conversation he’d gotten from Rarity and Fluttershy as they’d passed him in the hall.

The conversation could easily have been negative about Sunset for all he knew… but it was the closest bit of good news he’d heard all yesterday, so he was trusting his gut on this.

While his mates were chatting about music, Flash half joined in, keeping his ears trained on the conversations from the table next to them.

“… stay on the farm,” Applejack was saying. “Ya know, in case her parents don’t get the message any time soon.”

“It is rather worrying,” Rarity said, sounding concerned. “Couldn’t the police do anything about it?”

The police?

“Doubt it,” Rainbow Dash replied dismissively. “The cops can’t just go searching for her parents and demand they come back, Rares. It wouldn’t exactly go over well, would it?”

“More likely they’d think they were in trouble for something,” Fluttershy said, the barest hint of a stutter being avoided clear in her voice.

“I really hope we can cheer her up,” Pinkie Pie said, sounding oddly dejected. “I mean, what kind of party do you throw to cheer someone up after something that horrible.”

“Losin’ her family would’ve been hard enough… but her whole world?” Applejack interjected in agreement.

Were they talking about Applejack’s family or that kid Scootaloo’s parents?

It was common knowledge at the school that both sets of parents had gone missing for quite a while… but they’d come back last year, hadn’t they?

It had been all over the news. Applejack, her brother and grandmother and Scootaloo had all been absent from the school for a few weeks to get reacquainted with their long lost relatives.

So… who were they talking about?

Sunset’s parents, maybe?

Flash had assumed they’d been abusive to Sunset and that was why she was the way she was, but… if the police knew that, they wouldn’t have contacted her parents for any reason, right?

“Have the doctors seen any improvements?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone.

Flash’s eyes widened. Doctors?

Applejack sighed. “Kinda? Ah asked about it and they said she’s been in an’ out o’ consciousness, but, not for long. A minute or two, tops. Ah… ah don’t think she wants to wake up right now, ya know?”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Can you blame her? If not for that Screwball kid helping her, she’d have been trapped forever in that place and died. Knowing that… I don’t think I’d want to wake up for a long time either.”

“Think we should go see her again after school lets out?” Fluttershy asked tentatively.

“She’s not likely to be awake, darling,” Rarity sighed, before making a firm grunting sound. “Still, you’re right. For now, until her parents get in contact, we’re the only ones she really has in this world. On the offhand chance she is awake, I’m sure Sunset would appreciate some familiar faces.”

Flash’s mind was ablaze as his eyes widened.

There it was! They knew! Those five girls knew where Sunset was and what had happened to her and… and…

Suddenly, everything else they’d been saying caught up with him with the new context that they had indeed been talking about Sunset the whole time.

Applejack had said Sunset losing her family would’ve been hard enough, but then asked about her whole world?

What did that even mean?

They’d said the police had been trying to contact Sunset’s family and were waiting on a reply, implying they were still around… so, did that mean the rest of Sunset’s family were gone?

Were she and her parents the only members of their family left?

That would explain the mentioning of losing her whole world, too.

If you and your parents became your only living relatives, that would be like losing your whole world as your immediate family would be all that’s left and you’d have no one else in this world to connect to.

And what was this about doctors?

Was Sunset in the hospital? Was that why she’d been absent from school all these months?

Applejack mentioned she’d been in and out of consciousness. Had she been in a coma?

And what Rainbow Dash had said. If not for some kid named Screwball helping her, Sunset would’ve been trapped forever in some place and died?

Sunset had been trapped somewhere and could’ve died there?!

Had she been involved in an accident? Had someone kidnapped her?

Wait. Was the girl he’d spoken to that night at his house been this Screwball and she’d been the only one to care to let Sunset’s boyfriend know she’d been found?

So many questions whirling around in his mind and he wasn’t sure where to begin.

However, one thing Rarity had sent did strike a cord with him, an angry cord.

They were the only ones Sunset really had? What was he, chopped liver?

He was her boyfriend, damint and, last he checked, he’d been the one worried about Sunset all these months, not those girls.

Heck, if he recalled right, last he’d bothered to pay it mind, they’d been among the students glad for Sunset’s absence from school and now they had the nerve to think they were the only people Sunset had in her life?

If he didn’t know it would cause a scene that could unintentionally land him in detention, he’d have gotten up and that moment, stomped over to their table and laid into them.

However, getting and being stuck in detention afterschool was not going to help him find Sunset.

From what that girl in the night had suggested, his best bet of finding out what was going on with Sunset would be to follow those girls after school.

They’d lead him right to her and then he’d give them a piece of his mind and get them to tell him everything.

Author's Note:

I'm sure THIS is not what you were expecting to get another update so soon, huh?

Well, I've been trying to get back into the swing of my other fics, particularly some of the ones with Twily in them, if you know what i meant, but, the mood just hadn't gotten set yet.

IRL had a few bumps it wanted to throw my way that put me off writing.

However, yesterday morning, while skimming through my fics to figure out which ones i'd best be able to update right now, i decided to randomly let the auto read function read the entire page of my stories i was on at the time and, when it got to this story, i read a part that I myself, despite being the other, had totally forgotten about, as this chapter has made obvious: Flash.

While i had already planned on him and Sunset staying together since it is BEFORE their breakup... i'd totally forgotten about him last chapter, it completely slipping my mind that, yeah, since he IS still Sunset' boyfriend, he'd have been really worried when she not only stopped showing up at school, but also didn't answer any calls or texts.

So, i decided to do Flash justice and so he got sole focus in this chapter.

Of course, he has NO idea the real trauma Sunset's been through and, it will only be by accidental misunderstanding that the girls will be able to come up with a believable cover story as to what happened to Sunset without blurting out the whole magical unicorn from a dead world thing and not sound like absolute loons or like they're playing a cruel joke.

And when he brings up his theory about Sunset coming from an abusive family, but how he guesses that isn't the case if the cops called them to inform them where their daughter is?

Hoo boy.

The girls are gonna have their work cut out for them with this.

How to bring Flash in enough without telling him everything without making him feel like they're leaving him out or hiding something?

And, with the events of the Formal now definitely going to be different from the movie and Screwball already having dealt with the Sirens and Memory Stone, might a certain lavender girl enter the scene sooner, now the energy readings she'd been monitoring are mostly gone?

Wait and see.

You will NEVER guess my endgame here.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and, til next time, stay safe, stay clean and see you later everybody

Comments

[Asolem2]

That would explain the mentioning of losing her whole world, too.

Oh no buddy, that part was a lot more literal