Warhorse

by Hypnotwist

Sunset really needs a power nap

Class was boring boring boring, I'm pretty sure I fell asleep during Mr. Doodle's lecture about.. Something. I wasn't paying attention or I was asleep, to be honest his pretty much emotionless voice bores me to no end and the second the excuse bell rang I snapped out of whatever half asleep state I was previously in and bolt out of the room. I wanted to go home and read, nothing was going to stop me from getting a good novel in my hands. Nothing.
I'm powerwalking through the halls to get out of the building so I'd be free to do whatever I felt like, which definitely meant to sit on the steps of the school and wait for Rarity's parents to come pick us up. I'm so close to the door when I feel a hand press gently on my shoulder.

"Sunset?"

I jump, the hand on my shoulder caught me off guard and causes me to tense, causing my sore muscles to somehow get worse. The hand removes itself from my shoulder and I'm able to turn around to be face to face with Rarity. "Hey Rares."

"Are you ready to go darling?"

"Mhm, I was waiting for you so we could go sit outside and wait for your parents, you know- fun stuff!"

Rarity chuckles and shakes her head as if I've told her the worst joke in human history. "Incredibly thrilling."

"I know!" I can't help myself, I crack a grin and walk over to the door so I could use my good arm to hold the door open. "After you."

She smiles and thanks me as she exits the school, I follow her to a nearby bench and sit down to wait for the vehicle her parents usually drive. I glance over at her from time to time, she was the first one to approach and apologize to me after everything that occurred. The realization that I've caught feelings for Rarity hits me like a truck and I feel my cheeks heating up, I look off at the statue and stare at the base of it as I try to process my feelings.

"Sunset? Are you alright?"

I'm not sure how long I've been spacing out for but I'm snapped out of whatever gay panic I was having to find Rarity is waving her hand about an inch or two in front of my face. "Huh?"

"You were staring out into space and were not responding to me, are you feeling alright?"

"Oh! Heh.. I'm okay Rarity thanks for asking. I was just thinking about the princess visiting and I zoned out."

"She was marvelous, regal, the pinnacle of beauty! You said you were her student?"

"I was." I sigh as the memories of the less than stellar things I've done in my past come rushing back, I feel incredibly remorseful for everyone and everypony I've been cruel to throughout the years and I pray that one day I'll be able to apologize properly to them. "The night I left I screamed at her, calling her all sorts of horrible names and I even said I hoped that her sister never comes back from the moon."

A gasp. An appropriate reaction I suppose. "I-"

"I know." I smile ruefully and she shuts her open mouth, I assume my likely pathetically sad smile helped her understand I didn't necessarily want to speak about my past behavior. "I think back on what I said a lot and I always feel awful."

Rarity very slowly scoots closer and puts her head on my shoulder, it felt strangely intimate. I chalk it up to my bisexual disaster brain overthinking and overcomplicating things. "You're not a horrible person darling, you needed to see the metaphorical light."

I snort despite my efforts not to and take a breath, it still hurts to breathe but I'm one stubborn bitch and I'm going to take deep breaths whenever I want to as long as it doesn't make things worse. "No, I needed to see the literal light. I needed to taste the rainbow."

She isn't able to reply to my comment due to a car horn blaring, we both look over and I see her father honking the horn to capture our attention. We both get up in perfect sync and silently make our way over and get in, I buckle myself in and look up to see he'd turned his head to look at us. "How'd your school day go girls?"

"It was alright sir."

"A bird flew into the classroom in the middle of the lesson and scared the shiiiiii-" Her sentence ends with a high pitched squeak as she caught herself at the last second, for a second she had her hand cupped over her mouth as she processed the fact she nearly swore. "Ahem, scared the daylights out of everyone."

I stare at her in disbelief, I just know my mouth is hanging open because I didn't just hear her almost swear did I?

Mr. Flanks laughs boisterously and I turn to Rarity with a look that's begging her to tell me more about what happened. She smirks and mouths the word 'later', I really want to hear the whole story because it sounds amusing as hell.

He starts the car's engine and checks to make sure we're buckled in before putting his foot on the gas and getting us in motion, the ride was peaceful and it gave me time to think about life in general. My quality of life has simultaneously improved and deteriorated, I get worse physically but I improve mentally. Huh, was it a trade off?

"Sunset I have a question, could I ask you what's on my mind?"

"You just did, but shoot."

"Ugh. Nevermind."

"Aww, now I'm curious~" I crane my neck to look at her, she's pouting and her cheeks are ever so slightly puffed out, to be honest it was utterly adorable and I doubt I'll ever see anything as cute ever again.

She waves her hand flippantly, trying her best to dismiss it. With a chuckle and a breath that sounded more like a wheeze than anything she opens her mouth to talk. "It's nothing darling, you needn't worry."

"Fine, but I wanna hear all about that bird story later, it sounds hilarious and I will not let you keep that from me!"

"Of course, I'll tell you what happened when we get home. I've got a feeling you'll enjoy what I have to say about the whole incident."

I'm about to reply when the car brakes suddenly and Hondo hits the horn multiple times and starts swearing so much that even a veteran sailor would blush in shame. Hell, it even makes me blush at the profanity I hear coming from such a usually jovial man's mouth.

"Daddy?! What happened?"

"Bastard ran the red light! Nearly hit us, that son of a whore."

I lean back in my seat and sigh, I didn't have to go through the hellish experience of nearly dying again and I was thankful that Rarity's father's reaction time was quick enough to prevent an accident. The car slows down and I notice he'd pulled over to the side of the road, he turns himself in his seat to look at us in the back. "Are you girls alright? Did either of you get hurt when I had to brake suddenly?"

"No, I'm fine and I think Sunset is as well."

"Mhm, I'm good." I give him a thumbs up, I really just want to get to Rarity's home at this point and take a forty-five minute power nap to process what we'd just gone through, or read a long novel, either works.

Mr. Flanks nods and his attention turns back to the road, he flicks the lever for the turn signal and waits for a second before he merges back into traffic.
I'm pretty shaken up due to the incident, this was like the second or third time I nearly died in a month, it wouldn't take a genius to come to the conclusion that I've had some horrible luck recently and I can only hope it gets better from here.

Author's Note:

Guess who's back~

Life's been kicking my flank recently and I've been feeling extra crappy in general, on top of that I've got a lack of motivation and a game I'm really excited for comes out in under a week so this is likely going to be the last chapter for a while.

I also feel like I'm rusty and my writing skills aren't as sharp as they should be. Whoops, I guess this is what happens when I get really unmotivated. I'm going to try to write a little bit each day so there isn't a several month gap between chapters, and I apologize for the wait!
I didn't know what to name this chapter so pardon the odd name for it.

Comments

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

11676010
Haha, no problem! I love helping people. Reading people say they love my work, with the cherished few comments I have gotten, is one of the best feelings ever I can get. That they liked something of mine and that they feel inspired by it to write more. As long as, of course, you don’t rush yourself to do more. 😉

Also, 👏YES👏x1000 for the venting through your comfort characters. I’m always afraid ppl will judge me cuz I put them through such a wringer so I can feel better. Repeatedly. I used to be in a bad place, but after writing for a year, I feel a lot better. I just hope it stays that way.

Lolz, I can’t ever confirm I will write sunshine so you will also get rainbows when I write~ 🌈

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

I just saw there’s a new chapter. I like the name for it, lol. I want a nap rn. I have to study for my SAT tomorrow. And I rlly just don’t want to. I’ve done what I can and all I can do is hope for the best 🤞. I liked the chap! The irony, poor Sunny having to deal with another car related thing. I totally relate about the writing block. I’ve taken a break from writing fics cuz IRL is super busy, but yeah, it sucks when you don’t know how to continue your work/don’t have the time/energy/motivation. I feel like my writing has changed, maybe/maybe not for the better, and I hope it doesn’t get rusty. I have so many WIPS that are just abandoned in my drive cuz idk how to continue 🥲. Welp, my own ranting aside (seriously why do I write such long comments, does anyone even read them), I liked the new chapter! Take care of yourself, prioritize your health before writing, and hopefully, you will soon get out of this writers block!

[Talipedsnake780]

All good man.

I actually enjoy shorter chapters. They're easier to read and process.

Honestly some stories loose my interest because reading a single chapter can feel like you reading an entire light novel.

[Hypnotwist]

11676403
I read long comments because yes. Good luck with your schooling cause tests suck, study for 20 minutes and take a 5 minute break to get water or something but no tech.

I love to make the characters suffer and I had the thought to have another car related incident because hehhe.

11676433
Most of my chapters are usually 1-2k because I like writing a little at a time and so people don't have to read walls of text and get bored halfway through lmao

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

11676506
The no tech rule has been thrown out the window despite me saying I would’ve adhered to that. My eyes hurt (again my own fault, looking at screens all day, some of it for studying). Yeah I should probably just look anywhere else to give my eyes a rest. Thanks for the advice, it actually will help. I just have a lot of expectations on my shoulders, and if anything, I’m beating myself up more for it than anyone ever will, even when it’s not necessary. That’s just what I do. The one silver lining I have is at least this isn’t my final take. Im just starting earlier than my peers and cuz I have more time to study in the summer. The downside of that is, cuz I know my score is not gonna be what I want, I will take 1/2 more and I’m gonna have less time to study with school and all. So maybe I screwed up my only rlly good chance, although I’ve been juggling summer work too, but hey, SAT is optional now so idk. That felt good to get off my chest
Edit: it’s actually a miracle! After wallowing and stressing and being uncharacteristically unwilling to want to do this, math is starting to make sense to my brain. Just a tiny bit. It’s a wonder what not engaging with tech, mustering as much optimism as you can muster, and giving ure pulsing brain a break does for your mental well-being and happiness. (Sarcasm, but well-intentioned). If I just do some basic review, not stress on the test, try my best to apply everything I’ve learned, I’ll be fine. Easier said than done.

I prefer writing shorter chapters because I’m not one of those ppl who write big chapters and can do that again and again till you get like 20+ for a basic story. All my writing is what I wrote in my first draft, check for grammar mistakes, publish. It also makes it a lot easier for me to read stories with more chapters if the word count per chapter is lower.

[Hypnotwist]

11676513
Same, I'm like "I'll stay away from tech and do something productive." 5 hours later and I'm sitting at my computer doing NOTHING productive.

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

11676519
*me*
More so, I actually get work done, but not as much as I could do if I was able to manage time better and didn’t feel mind-numbingly bored all the time while doing work.
Have to get used to boredom and not having a phone at my fingertips all the time.

[Hypnotwist]

11676531
Lucky, I barely get work done without having my phone next to me but then I get distracted.

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

11676543
That is it. Sometimes, I can’t get through work without my phone because it makes it bearable, but the downside is I get distracted. Welp, force of habit.

[Hypnotwist]

11676546
Damned if we do, damned if we don't I suppose.

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

11676547
Couldn’t have said it better myself.

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

11676547
If you are wondering how the SAT went, I explained it in my blog post. It was hard. I don’t think any amount of studying would’ve prepared me for it. But I’m just glad I’m done with it! More time to read fics! Huzzah! The fun has been doubled! (WHY IS THERE NO LUNA EMOTE. I NEED TO CHANNEL LUNA.)

Edit: I got a 1210, I actually did better somehow?!!

[PonyofEntropy]

11822837
Very much so.
I do hope the author is doing okay.