Cans, Colours and a Burning Passion
Sunset Shimmer has only been in the human world for a few months, and already she's left quite an impact. Currently, she's the most well known girl at her school. That and also the most feared girl in Canterlot High. If anyone had dared to step in her way or defy her, she was more than likely going to create hell for them later. She was unstoppable. She was powerful.
But even the likes of Sunset Shimmer had something that showed an entirely different side of her. It's just nobody has ever known about it, as Sunset always hides it.
Whenever Sunset's alone or she is at home, she always liked to sit down, grab a pen and paper, and just draw. Sunset's dirty little secret that she kept hidden from absolutely everybody was that she had quite a deep passion for art. And it wasn't just the art of drawing, she also loved music.
But with drawing, she felt a deeper connection, as she was able to keep it hidden and was able to do more of it whenever she could. Whenever Sunset is able to express through music, it's only through the lessons she gets given from her boyfriend, Flash Sentry, which doesn't happen as often as she'd like nor does it last long.
Sunset didn't own her own instrument at the time, so she could never find her true potential. Not yet, anyway. But with the art of drawing, it was easily affordable, and it is something Sunset had taught herself even as a filly back in Equestria.
Ever since her jump from one world to another, that burning passion she felt remained strong, and she adjusted quickly to drawing with her new hands and fingers.
She was always able to pick up a pencil, find what emotions were circling deep within her heart and put that onto a piece of paper. Whether that was the emotion of power, might, anger... or, going even deeper: guilt, dread, and most importantly, loneliness.
Even with everything Sunset had gained during her rise to power at Canterlot High, there was still something deep within her that asked her, "Why did you ever leave?"
Equestria was Sunset's home. She had family, she had a powerful, magical horn, she had Princess Celestia.
Sunset constantly tried to forget the name, or even just the title of 'Princess'. Celestia was who drove her to run off. It's because of her why Sunset's now here! Right?
These were the kind of things that Sunset would draw about. The anger she felt when she ran away. The fear and confusion she felt when she first arrived in the human world. The guilt and dread she felt when she realised it was too late to go back. Sunset would put that onto paper.
Sometimes, she just wished she could show this to people without letting anybody know it was her that did it.
One day, after finally being let out of school, Sunset decided that she wanted to take a detour through the main part of town. She always heard about the many great stores that could be found there that weren't around her area.
She travelled down the packed streets. Everyone was either getting out of school or work, so she could understand why there would be so many people. What she couldn't understand was why so many of them kept barging into her. It wasn't that crowded! They could easily just walk around her! She kept the rage building up within her. There was no need to cause a scene here, in front of so many people.
Sunset looked through the windows of many different shops. None of which seemed to really interest her. Some of them were just any generic convenience store, which there was plenty of where she lived. There were many clothing stores, but fashion wasn't really Sunset's thing. There were games stores, Sunset did like video games, but was currently very restricted on what she could get, judging by she only owned a used, discontinued handheld from the late 90s.
But then, one store finally caught the eye of the artist. A store that really stood out from the rest going only by its colours. The store was coloured a bright lime-green with a comic style speech bubble showcasing the store's name in a bold, red font. Something else about the name was that it looked to be spray-painted on. "Rainbow Factory," it read.
Sunset stepped towards the red door that stood in her way and walked through it. The door hit a bell when opening, signalling the shopkeeper that someone had entered the building.
Sunset was amazed at the sight she was seeing. Top to bottom, shelves were covered with spray cans of all colours and sizes. This was a different kind of rainbow factory, that was for definite sure, but Sunset definitely loved this one a lot more.
She explored the separate isles. Each colour was grouped together to make their very own palette, such as a autumn palette, or a winter palette. Every kind of colour Sunset could comprehend, all of them in the form of thousands and thousands of cans.
She then came across a rainbow colour palette. It was full of many bright, vibrant colours that would definitely make any art stand out. This was the one for her. Along with the different rainbow colours, she also picked up a black can, a white can and a backpack to hold them all.
She took them all to the checkout, the shopkeeper scanned the items and she paid for it all.
Before she could leave the store, the shopkeeper gave her a suggestion. He told her if she was planning on painting the streets, she should keep herself disguised to stay hidden. She didn't need any cops keeping a record of what she looked like.
Sunset thanked the shopkeeper and left the store with the thought in mind. She knew that spray painting the streets was illegal, so she'd definitely need a way to stay hidden. Maybe one of those clothing stores she passed could supply her with what she needed.
When she came home later that night, she had quite a few bags with her. There was, of course, her spray paint bag, and then there was the bags with her clothing supplies. She bought a new deep black jacket, a black t-shirt, black trainers, black joggers, a black mouth mask and a large black hat. This way, she would definitely be hidden among the shadows.
But there was the thought. Should she strike tonight? If she did, where would she do it? What should she paint? Was this even right? What if she gets caught?
But that would be the thrill of it, she realised. This life, she was free to do whatever she wanted. That's how she has been living the whole time, and she's sure not going to stop now because of some dumb law. She was Sunset Shimmer. The only rules she followed were her own, and her main rule was to not let anyone get in the way of what she wanted.
She waited until the moon was the only thing that could be seen in the sky before she changed into her black outfit, threw her bag over her shoulder and went back outside. This was it. She was really doing this.
Sunset walked through the town once more, keeping her head low. There wasn't nearly as many people as there were earlier today. This was good.
She passed through many potential spots for her to paint. But she needed one where she was entirely alone when she painted. No risk at all of anyone finding her, but an easy place for people to notice her art.
She found her place. An alleyway between two closed shops. She listened out for any cars or footsteps approaching. There were none. This was perfect.
She dropped her bag onto the ground and revealed all of the cans inside. She took out a dark blue and a white and began her art. She designed a starry night sky shining over water. Instead of the moon being up, Sunset grabbed a yellow can and painted the sun instead. The sun took up most of the sky, and it brightly shined against the ocean. She then grabbed a black can and, standing on top of the water, she painted a silhouette that closely resembled Sunset walking away from the sun.
While painting, she kept the mindset of what she left behind when she escaped from Equestria. Especially the very reason why, which was why she painted the sun instead of the moon.
She stepped back to admire her work. She was very proud of how it turned out. It looked just like how she imagined it. Her walking on the ocean, going away from the life she left behind to have a new one. She smiled brightly at the sight of it, not something she was known for doing.
Sunset reckoned she should sign it, but she obviously couldn't use her real name. What was she to do? What should Canterlot know this artist as? Sunset held the can of orange paint a few centimetres away from the wall, still trying to figure out what name she should go as.
But then, a a bright light shined in her direction.
"Hey! You!" she heard a man call out.
Sunset looked in the direction of this man, all while covering the rest of her face. She couldn't see the man's face, but she could see behind him a flashing red and blue light. It was the police. She had been caught.
"Stay where you are! You are coming with me!" the police man shouted. He slowly began approaching Sunset, still shining his flashlight at her.
In a panic, Sunset threw her cans back into the bag, hung it from her shoulders and made a break for it deeper into the alley.
She heard the police man shouting after her as he also began running.
Sunset could not believe what was happening right now. She did think this would eventually happen, but why did it have to happen on her first night of doing it? Did this world really not want to give her a true chance of showing who she was through only art? Was this some sort of punishment?
If it was, then why did she love this feeling? The thought of running for safety excited her immensely. She could never feel something like this back at school. This was the first time she ever felt truly at risk and in danger, and she loved every second of it.
Sunset ran the entire length of the alley until she was finally met with something that doomed her: a fence. She turned to see that the police man was still onto her. So, with all of her leg strength, she jumped up, grabbed the top of the fence and pulled herself over.
However, while she climbed, the police man caught up to her and grabbed her by the ankle. She tried all she could to kick him off with her other foot. She stomped on his hand and kicked him in the face until he was shaken off.
Once finally done, Sunset threw herself over the fence and continued her run. But the police man quickly recovered himself and also climbed the fence. This chase was yet to be finished.
She turned a corner into another long path through another alley. She then realised that if she kept running, the police was bound to catch her eventually, so what she had to do was hide, and luckily for her, there were a good few places for her to.
The police still hadn't caught up to her yet, so she opened up the nearest dumpster, climbed inside and gently let the lid down so he wouldn't hear.
Sunset heard footsteps come into the alley, no doubt it was the cop, but instead of running through, he slowly walked. He must be suspicious. Sunset thinks that the police knew she couldn't have gotten away so quickly.
He was walking past her dumpster. Sunset stayed as silent as possible, but she could barely control her breathing. The rush she felt throughout this entire chase had failed to die down even the slightest.
She tried to cover her mouth to suppress the noise of her breathing, but that only caused a trash bag to rustle. As soon as she heard it, she stopped dead in her tracks and listened out again, holding her breath.
It was completely silent. Was she alone? Had the police man gone away? She didn't want to risk checking. She sat there, waiting in silence for a few more minutes to make sure she was alone. She then peaked out of the dumpster and looked all around. The police man was gone.
Sunset slowly climbed out of the dumpster, still trying to stay as silent as possible even if she really was all by herself. Then, while making sure she still had all of her cans, she ran back the way she came and went back home.
She returned home as a shaky, smelly mess. But she had so much fun. The sense of danger and almost getting caught. It's the most excitement she's ever felt. Even when she climbed into bed, Sunset still had the biggest smile on her face.
It was a long night, but it was probably the best night of Sunset's whole life.
The next day at school, Sunset roamed the halls, watching with a confident glare while people made sure they weren't standing in her way.
Never before had she felt so good. She still felt that excitement and adrenaline that raced through her the previous night. But that adrenaline is what caused her to forget something from last night. She forgot to sign her piece. What was she to do if people saw her art and didn't know what to call her?
She continued to walk down the halls, and while doing so, she could hear into some students' conversations.
"Did you hear about what happened last night?"
"No. What?"
"The police had reported about a street artist that managed to escape from them. Apparently the artist was chased down an alleyway near East Canterlot Boulevard. Have a look at what they painted."
"Woah! That's amazing!"
"Yeah, but the police might catch them one day if they continue."
"I hope not. I'd like to see what else they make. Does the artist have a name?"
"Nobody signed the painting. Although, the news had dubbed them 'Flanksy'."
"Flanksy? What the heck does that mean?"
"I have no idea, but it isn't a bad name, I'm not gonna lie."
As soon as Sunset heard that, she escaped to the bathroom and locked herself in one of the stalls. She looked online and checked the news. There was an article labeled, "New Canterlot Vandalist." She opened it and read it. It talked about how there's a new criminal in town and how they are ruining people's properties and yadda-yadda-yadda, but then she saw the name. Flanksy.
She then checked on MyStable. Almost everyone was posting about the street artist. Everyone was complimenting about how they loved her work and hope that the police never catch her. And they were all referring to her with that name again. Flanksy.
She smiled when she thought of the name. What did it even mean? Flanksy. Sunset liked that name.
So, this was who she was choosing to be. While she wasn't reigning terror at Canterlot High, she was sketching for her next art piece. Sunset continued spray painting and her new audience adored every piece she painted. She always made sure to sign every picture with that name.
And did she have more chases with the police. Each one only got more and more exciting. It was one of her most favourite things about spray painting.
Even after Sunset was brought down and she changed her ways, she never lost her true passion for art. Even with her friends who promised to always be by her side, Sunset still lived as a criminal when it came to be nighttime.
This was who she was now, and will always be. She was the Canterlot street artist. Sunset Shimmer was Flanksy.