The love story of Compass Rose and Boysenberry. Maybe things'll turn out alright. Maybe. A love story in the World of Seven Days in Sunny June.
Based on the World of Seven Days in Sunny June by Shinzakura, BlueBastard and Flynt Coal.
Compass Rose, sixteen years old, sophomore at Canterlot High School. She loves writing and poetry, 19th century stories and nothing messy. Has a crush on Sunset Shimmer. Boysenberry, fourteen years old, incoming freshman at CHS. She's tough as nails, loves videogames and soccer, and in a impulsive moment, asked Rose out, surprisingly getting a "yes".
The former's nerdy and a dreamer. The latter's brash and reckless. But even though there's two years' difference, several people, including Sunset Shimmer and her friends, hope that Rose and Berry will be happy together.
But in the mid-size California city of Canterlot, "happy" doesn't mean "normal".
“Beware the silvery moon, And the stars that flicker in June, And what they portent.
“Four stars will aid her escape, Four burning points for jailbreak, To loose a monster.”
Nestled under the boughs of a sturdy acorn tree, Compass Rose composed a song; a request by a friend of her brother’s. Moonshine had asked for something that sounded reminiscent of The Doors and yet was something his band could call their own. So armed with her books and knowledge of poets, authors, artists, and other Romantics and Bohemians long gone, she set out in her task.
For now, she was contented by something she’d found in both the Matters of Britain and France: a tale of a long-forgotten civilization inhabited by creatures most fascinating and ruled by a veritable Queen of Magic. The amount of truth behind it was of course up for debate, but it was images like that, dreams of distant lands and scarcely-recollected tales that formed the crux of her li—
“Compass Rose, do you have a moment?” Adjusting her eyeglasses, Rose found herself face to face with one of the school's hunks, a boy named Forward Pass. He was a junior and a member of the Varsity football team; he was being scouted by several colleges for their football programs. On top of that, he was both smart and good looking, which made her wonder why he came looking for her. Not only was she plain-jane in her looks but more than a few people knew she was a lesbian.
“What can I do for you, Forward?” Rose asked, hoping this wasn’t about to be an embarrassing moment.
Sure enough, it was: looking at her, the football player asked, “What are you doing with my little sister?” Rose looked at him with surprise; she hadn't known he had a sister. It was only until he added, “Are you aware of how much of a problem you’ve caused for Berry?”
Recognition sank in. “You mean Boysenberry?”
“Yes. Boysenberry’s my kid sister. And now you’ve caused a huge mess for my family, you know that?”
“How?” The look in Rose’s face was one of complete confusion. “I don’t understand: How am I causing problems for your family?”
“Look, you don’t need to understand” the burly football player curtly stated. “Just leave Berry alone before yo—”
“WARD! GET AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND!” Rose suddenly felt the abrupt, but not entirely unpleasant, sensation of lips on hers. Her mind briefly swam with delight before her “assailant” moved on.
Rose looked up to see Berry, as brazen as a lioness on the hunt, admonish her brother. Taller than others her age, from this angle she appeared as mighty as an Amazon fighting for her heart’s desire. The younger girl was more focused on her world than Rose was and it shamed the elder to know that.
“Berry, what are you doing here?” Forward asked.
“Saving my girlfriend from you,” Berry retorted. “Besides, it’s lunch, so I can go where I please.”
“But you’re not allowed to cross the field!” Forward told her, pointing at the grassy field that separated her part of the school complex from his.
“I am when you're picking on my girl!”
“She’s not your girl, Berry!”
“She is too! We’re even going on a date the first day of summer vacation and everything!”
The words were out of Rose’s mouth before she could stop: “We’re not going out then.”
“We’re not?” The look of sudden disappointment on the face of Berry practically drove a dagger through Rose as she stood up.
Forward sighed in relief. “So you finally came to your sens—”
“No, we’re going out tonight,” Rose interjected, a firm look on her face. “What time would you like me to pick you up?”
Forward dropped his jaw. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m asking a girl out,” Rose stammered, hoping her courage wouldn't give out now. “I’m allowed to do that.”
“Not with her!” Forward seethed, getting right into Rose's face. “Now you’re going to forget about all this, leave my sister alone, or else—”
“Or else what?” a new voice asked. All turned in the direction of the speaker to see her framed by the light of the early afternoon sun, adding a blazing sheen to her already fiery features.
Sunset Shimmer.
Forward stood there words failing him at the moment.
“Or else what?” she asked in a sweet voice tuned with acid. “I mean, I’m sure there’s a valid reason why you’re threatening a girl a fraction of your size, right?” Forward, finally having found his voice once more but shut it as Sunset glared at him, her fiery countenance containing multitudes.
“Look, I got no sleep last night, I’m having a bad morning, and I forgot my purse, so I have to skip lunch. If I were my old self, I’d be looking for a fight right now.” She punctuated her words with a punch into her palm. “But I'm not that person anymore, so all I’m going to do is to tell you to go pack sand, leave them alone, and bail before you give me a reason to go back to my old ways!”
“Fine, you win.” He then angrily glared at Rose and finished with, “But this isn’t over yet.”
“YES IT IS!” Berry shouted at her brother’s retreating figure. “I love him, but he can be such a buttmunch!”
“Well, lunch time’s almost over, Rose, so say your goodbyes and we’ve got to get to class. I’ll let you take care of that.” With that said and a friendly wave, Sunset left the two in peace.
Rose gathered her things before setting her eyes on Berry. “So, should I call you after school lets out?”
“You can call me anything you want!” Berry answered coyly. Rose giggled and hugged the younger girl before walking back to the CHS campus building.
++++++
“Rose, how much deeper can you keep digging yourself?” an exasperated Scorch Bonnet asked her later. They were in English II and were currently discussing some recent novels they’d been assigned and were doing it in groups of four.
“Scotch, can we please pay attention to class?” Rose pled.
“Not until you tell me what's so special about this kid. You’re sixteen – you're supposed to jailbait, not cradlerob!”
“But I—”
“Then to make matters worse, you go from the flame-haired bitch to a place where the grass hasn’t even grown yet!”
“But she—”
However Scotch was just getting started. “And to top it all off, you piss off the most violent of the football thugs at school. Good job, brillia—”
“HEY! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE HER BEST FRIEND SO WHY DON’T YOU STOP RAGGING ON HER AND BE SUPPORTIVE, YOU DUMB CUNT?” Scotch turned in the direction of the aural assault and found herself face to face with the unrestrained utter terror unleashed via eyes of cyan.
Fluttershy Stared at Scotch, the former’s gaze burning with a martial fury that must have only been known to her Japanese ancestors. To say the latter found it terrifying was likely the understatement of the year.
“Fluttershy, dear, relax; I’m sure Scotch was joking with her friend as old friends are wont to do,” Rarity assured the sakura-tressed maiden. “You’ll have to forgive her; she gets like this sometimes when it’s the monthly inconvenience.”
“That bad?” Rose asked, sympathizing. She never had an easy time of it either and envied those that suffered no issues during their periods.
As she broke off her Stare, Fluttershy blushed in embarrassment as she admitted, “Rainbow calls it my ‘pre-menstrual samurai’ phase.” Scotch, still recovering from the baleful glare, gave no argument.
“Well, seeing as how we still need to do the class assignment, darlings,” Rarity said, trying to change the subject, “would anyone like to go first regarding the book they read?” Rose raised her hand and Rarity smiled. “Please, Rose, do tell us about your book.”
“Well,” she started as she held up the book, “Mine is Fractured Sunlight, by Oroborous.”
“Oh my, I’ve heard of him,” Rarity replied with a knowing smile. When Fluttershy looked at her friend quizzically, Rarity said, “He’s a writer of some of my favorite romances. Please, Rose, continue.”
Rose smiled and continued. “It's about a girl named Twilight who lost her childhood friend Sunset when they were ten. Years later, she comes across another girl by the same name who turns out to be a refugee from another dimension. The two meet and they fall in love....”
Rarity paused. “Do you, um, have the book on you, perchance, darling?” she asked. Rose nodded and handed it over; both Rarity and Fluttershy looked at the cover to see a girl with red and orange hair passionately looking into the eyes of a shorter girl with long indigo hair.
Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other and groaned silently: the two girls even looked like Sunset and her adopted sister.
“I don't think we should tell Sunny or Twily about this,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Believe me, I'm quite in agreement, Fluttershy, dear,” Rarity agreed.
++++++
“You’re a freak!” a girl snarled at Boysenberry. “Girls should only date boys. My Mommy and Daddy say it’s in the Bible.”
“Is not!” Berry snarled back.
“Berry, don’t worry about it. Diamond Tiara’s a bitch,” Berry’s best friend, Giftwrap, told her. “Besides who you like is who you like. Don’t let her tell you who you can and who you can’t like.” Giftwrap then asked, “So you’re really going out with her? Your family won’t like that.”
“I know,” Berry admitted. “But I am a girl in love, Gifty, and a girl in love can’t be stopped from getting what she wants, right?”
“I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
“So do I, girl, so do I.”
++++++
“Do I look okay, Line?” Rose asked her brother. For her date, she wore a simple dress, sandals and a shawl. Her hair was in its usual twin pigtails and she wore her best glasses for the date. She also selected the purse that Matchie helped her pick out for the outfit and the perfume that Scotch got her for her birthday back in January.
“Yes, you look like a knockout,” Line told her.
“So, you’re okay with me borrowing your car?”
“Yes but I want my car back in one piece,” Line replied. “Also, remember that our older sister’s coming for a visit tomorrow, so be sure to clean your room. Otherwise she’ll give us both grief and tell Mum and Dad.”
“Understood. Anything else I should know?”
“Just be careful, little sister, and remember that I’m here for you.”
Rose grinned. “Thanks, Line.” She picked up the keys off the small table in the foyer then looked back at her brother. “Wish me luck!”
“You’re my kid sis; you don’t need luck!” he said with a laugh. She winked at him and left the house then got into Line’s car, a 2012 Toyota Prius.
Here’s hoping that I remember how to get to her place, Rose thought. This is going to be a night to remember!
“Octavia, dear, I hardly think this is funny,“ Rarity told her friend. The two, along with Fluttershy, were spending a pleasant evening at the mall shopping and enjoying each other's company.
“No you're right,“ the charcoal-maned beauty giggled while unsuccessfully trying to cover the manic grin on her face. “It's hilarious.“ The trio walked past a bookstore and the look on Octavia's face was that of a girl who very much desired to buy a book.
“But Tavi,“ Fluttershy asked, “don't you think it's mean to tease your cousins like that?“
“Not really,“ Octavia said with a shrug. “Twily's finally going through a much-needed rebellious phase and Sunny's a little too worried about it, if you ask me. Trust me, after Twily gets back from Italy she'll be back to normal and Sunny will be slightly embarrassed that she freaked out over nothing.“
“I do hope you're right about that,“ Rarity replied. “I'd hate to worry abou—” The fashionista did a double-take. “Wait – is that Compass Rose I see, ladies?“
“You’re right: it is,” Fluttershy pointed out. “I wonder what she’s doing here?”
++++++
“I think I’m doomed!” Compass Rose mourned as she arrived at Dates ‘R’ Us: The Number One Store in Town for Those Looking for Something for That First Date.
I cannot believe there’s a store like this! she fretted, completely amazed at the items within. There was a section for Guys for Girls, a section for Girls for Guys, a section for Guys for Guys, and a section for Girls for Girls. There was even a section for Gaggles for Gaggles.
“Gaggles for gaggles?” Rose asked aloud.
“Yeah - that’s the section for when everyone wants to date everyone,” a new girl said. “Ever heard of poly- or pansexuality?”
“Not really,” Rose admitted, suddenly having a very bad feeling about this.
The newcomer approached. She had short black and pink hair done up in a bob. She wore a lacy leotard for a top that just covered certain areas and strategically torn black jeans. She also gave Rose an appreciative look. “You look like a girl who’s ‘interested’,” the stranger said. “I’m always looking for someone.”
“Um … I think you might have me mistaken, Miss….”
“Black Licorice,” the girl sighed in a husky voice. “And you know what goes good with black licorice?”
“No?”
“You,” she sighed, putting her arm around Rose’s waist. She brought her lips close to Rose’s, cooing, “You don’t come in here unless you know what you wa—”
That was enough for Rose. She raced out of the store as fast as she could, ignoring Octavia, Rarity, and Fluttershy as the trio walked past the store.
Black Licorice popped out of the store. “Oh, hi Tavi!” she said with a wide smile.
“Heya Smile,” the black-tressed teen said. “Girls, this is Uncertain Smile. She goes to school with me and Twily at Zacherle’s.”
Rarity noticed Rose running away in the distance. “Er, Ms. Smile, Rose is a friend of mine. What did you do to her?”
Fluttershy looked up. “And isn’t this the sex store in the mall?” she asked, blushing.
Smile laughed. “Hey, my sister owns the place; I only work here because I need the cash. And it’s not a sex store; you want that kind of thing you go to Sunnytown - you won’t find it here. As to what your friend was doing? Well… part of my job is to filter out teenagers who come in with the wrong idea of the place.”
“You didn’t pull the ‘horny lesbian’ act again did you?” Octavia scolded. “You’re probably going to get in trouble for that someday.”
Smile held up a hand. “Tavi, I promised my boyfriend I wouldn’t do that again, so I promise I’m not.”
“Good, because you really freaked out Twily the time she thought you were coming on to her.”
++++++
In her room Boysenberry prepared for her date of dates. After tonight, she’d have herself a girlfriend and could finally relax. No more teasing about her being gay or things like that. She’d earned this moment and nothing could ruin it …
“You’re grounded.”
… except that. She looked at her father with a shocked look on her face.
“Berry, mija, you are too young to date - boys or girls, understand?” Her father, Cactus Agave, gave his daughter a gentle look. “I have known you were una lesbiana for a long time now, and I’m not like other fathers who look at that stuff like it’s wrong.” He laughed “You should’ve seen your Tio Viejos Valores when your cousin told him he was gay. Even though Bridgecross wasn’t, your Tio Valores grounded him for a week.”
“Then why can’t I?”
“Because you are too young, mijita. Because your brother—as old as he is—still doesn’t know how the world works. There are people that will hurt you; hurt all of us, because we are inmigrante,” Cactus said in hushed tones.
“Dad nobody cares that we’re quote, ‘illegals’, unquote,” Berry told him. “Trust me—you’re a single father with two kids. What is La Migra gonna do? Take you away and make me and Ward live with the Uncle Valores?”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. At least he’s here legally.”
“Dad….”
“Sis, don’t be stupid.” Forward Pass walked into the room. “For one, how do you think Compass Rose will react once she finds out you lied to her about your name?”
“I didn’t lie! My name is Boysenberry!”
“No, your name is Mora de Boisen,” Forward pointed out, “which translates as ‘boysenberry’. I’m lucky; our parents gave me an English name because Dad loves the San Diego Chargers.”
“Not now,” Cactus told them. “Now I’m a Stallions fan all the way.” He then turned to Berry. “Mija, there will be other girls. But you only have one life and I don’t want to see you jeopardize it. You are not going out, and that’s final.”
“FINE!” Berry yelled. “YOU TWO DON’T CARE ABOUT MY HEART!” She then ran into her room, slamming the door.
Ward shook his head. “Kids” he grunted.
Cactus laughed. “You were once one too son. Let me make dinner before I go to work okay? I promise she’ll be over it by then.”
++++++
In her room, Berry quickly packed a bag with clothes. “Sorry, but my love life is at stake,” she said quietly. “They’ll understand.” Opening her window, she slipped the bag around her shoulders and jumped, catching the branch of the tree just outside the window. She let go and quietly snuck away from the house and headed to her friend’s place around the block.
Knocking on the door, she was happy to see Giftwrap open it. “Hi Berry! Thought you were going on your date tonight?”
“I am,” the girl in love insisted. Doing the finger quotes gesture, she asked, “Can I ‘stay over’ tonight?”
“You’re not going to get in trouble for this are you, Berry?” Giftwrap asked her friend.
Berry’s answer was to give her friend a simple look that spoke volumes.
Giftwrap sighed. “So I’m going to take that as an answer I don’t want to know ” the other girl said, letting Berry come in. “Someday you’re going to get both of us in real hot water, you know that?”
Berry grinned. “I promise today won’t be that day!”
Giftwrap narrowed her eyes. “I have my doubts,” she drolled.
Berry put her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “Trust me, when have I ever steered you wrong, Gifty?”
Giftwrap took the diplomatic approach and decided to not say anything. Instead, she smiled and said, “Okay, just because you’re my best friend. But if you get in trouble I’m going to tell my parents you forced me.”
“They’re not going to believe that.”
Giftwrap sighed. “Probably not. So what do you need?”
“I need you to call this number.” She handed over her cellphone.
Giftwrap looked at the number. “Who’s this Sunset Shimmer girl? Doesn’t seem like anyone we know.”
“You don’t; she’s a friend of my babygirl.”
Giftwrap giggled. “Your babygirl?” When Berry mock-glared at her Giftwrap’s giggles turned into outright laughter which Berry soon joined in on. “Okay I’ll call her. What should I ask?”
“Have her come over and help me with my makeup. No offense, but we really don’t know much about dating, so we need a mature woman to help us with that.”
++++++
An hour later, Sunset Shimmer was at the house. “I’m not even going to ask how you have my phone number,” she stated to Berry.
“Actually, I got it from my older brother,” Berry admitted. “He got it from some guy named Flash Sentry. Do you know him?”
“All too well,” Sunset said in a tone that indicated she didn’t want to be bothered further about it. “So why did you ask me here?”
“Because I need a woman to help me with my makeup!” Berry told her. “Look, I want to make my first date special, and I don’t want to be just some little girl that Rose likes – I want to be the woman that she dreams of!”
Sunset smirked. “Don’t be in such a rush to grow up, kid,” she replied. “You’ll find that being a so-called adult has its ups and downs. Trust me, I know that from experience.”
“But even still I want to be Rose’s woman! I want to be sexy!”
“I know, but trust me, you’ll want to be pretty for her, not sexy. She likes pretty girls.”
“Really?”
Sunset smiled. “Trust me,” the teen advised. “I can tell.”
“Okay ” Berry replied, deferring to Sunset’s wisdom.
Sunset went over and grabbed the makeup that Giftwrap had with her: a mixture of lipstick for young girls and some stuff that were clearly hand-me-downs from either an older sister or her mother.
The flame-haired girl sighed; this was going to be a long night.
++++++
“You know I need your love You’ve got that hold over me Long as I’ve got your love You’ll know that I’ll never leave When I wanted you to share my life I had no doubt in my mind And it’s been you woman Right down the line”
If there was one thing that Rose didn’t get about her brother, it was his fascination with 70s music. For some reason, her brother was an aficionado of the 1970s in general, but it mostly came to both music and clothing. Still, she loved her brother regardless, especially since it also meant that she got to borrow his car whenever she needed to. At least the car was modern, she had to admit.
Besides, Rose had to confess, albeit privately, the music occasionally had some charm to it.
As she pulled up to the address Berry had texted her, she was surprised to see Sunset Shimmer come out of the house. “I didn’t know you lived here,” she told Sunset.
“I don’t. I was asked to come in and make your date, quote, ‘look like a woman’ unquote.” The fire-haired girl smiled. “She’s got it bad for you, Rose. You’d better take care of her.”
“Believe me, I intend to,” Rose admitted with a blush.
“Well, I need to get going. I have a bad feeling I’m going to be needed at home, which seems to be the case a lot of the time lately. Have fun on your date!” With nothing more to say, Sunset walked off towards the subway station.
Rose walked towards the door and knocked. And as the door opened her jaw dropped. Sunset had clearly worked well - magic, for lack of a better term. Standing there was Berry, but not as Rose had ever seen her before.
Somehow, with just the makeup that Sunset had on hand, she’d managed to make Berry look just a bit older – closer to Rose’s age. The young girl looked flirty and playful, but not so much that she was trying to appear like a girl attempting to be a woman. If anything, Sunset’s artistry had made her present herself like a young woman trying to impress someone she cared about.
The simple beauty presented before her made Rose blush and with that flush, the emotions set a fire within her. Suddenly, her mind wasn’t so much preoccupied on the beauty that had just departed but instead on the one before her. Was this part of what Sunset had done? If so, Rose could hardly protest.
“Um … hi,” Berry said, shyly turning her head away and blushing.
“Hi yourself ” Rose parroted. “Are you ready to go?” she asked, and Berry nodded. With that, both girls walked towards the car ready for some fun.
“So what’s the plan?” Berry asked her.
“Dinner and a movie? I’m really … not that experienced with dates,” Rose admitted.
Berry gave her a smile. “Sounds fun!” In turn, Rose smiled back and as they buckled their seatbelts the younger girl couldn’t help but lean over and give the older one a kiss on the cheek. “Treat me right and you might just get another,” she teased.
“Did Sunset tell you to say that?” Rose asked.
“Kinda.”
Rose blushed even more; Sunset knew exactly what she was doing when she put things in motion, it seemed.
++++++
In theory, Forward Pass had invited his girlfriend Team Spirit over so they could both study for a test. In theory, the two of them had to keep their grades up so they could continue their sports programs, with him in football and her as a cheerleader. In theory, they had to do this at his place because his father worked evenings and so Ward had to stay home at night to watch over his kid sister.
In theory.
In reality, Ward and Spirit were in his room making out and things were getting intense. Finally he stopped in mid-kiss just as he had her shirt off. “Wait - something’s wrong.”
“You’re right something’s wrong,” she sighed. “You stopped.”
“No I mean--”
“Ward, your dad’s not here, your sister is being quiet, I’m horny and I have my shirt off - and you stopped. You better believe something’s wrong.” A thought crossed her mind. “Did you pick up the…?”
“Yes I did.”
“Then what are you waiting for? I’m one of the girls who got lucky enough to avoid getting caught by the Club and I need my boyfriend to devirginize me now!” She leaned forward to kiss him again and it got him to start again.
Yet as he removed his top he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong; something he overlooked.
Something that was going to bite him hard when he least expected it.
