> Love in a Flash
>  by SolaceStone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canterlot Hill. A famous hilltop decorated with only a few trees on the side, giving a large space for multiple vehicles and picnic blankets to rest for plenty of friend-groups and couples to enjoy the view it could offer, which is, to its, the whole city. A single, lone blue car rests on that very hilltop, parked close to the edge, its nose just inches away from the wooden railing, its driver and passenger looking over the city below. The sun dips slowly to the end of the horizon, its rays basking everything—the city, the hill, the car, the couple—with a warm cozy sunset. The couple sat comfortably on the hood of the car; a girl with long, scarlet hair, etched with lines of gold, watches the sun paint the city a warm orange like the color of her skin, her head resting comfortably on the shoulder of her boyfriend, whose head faced not to the city below but to the open sky, its colors painted more beautifully, a moving painting of sunset-shaded clouds on a purple dusk, the boy’s spiked, blue hair swaying gently like field grass to the soft wind.

Head still resting on her boyfriend’s shoulder, Sunset Shimmer looks up to Flash. “So, what do you think, Flash?”

Without looking away from the painted sky, Flash responds, “Yeah, this is pretty cool. Thanks for having me drive us here. The sky’s amazing.”

“Glad you like it, Flash.” Sunset moved away from his shoulder, her face now looking at Flash.

The boy notices and faces her as well, and gives her a sweet, loving smile.

“Happy birthday, Flash.” Sunset said, her lips curved to match the boy’s tender smile.

She leans closer, and Flash does the same, every centimeter they move closer Flash could feel his heart beating faster and faster, and by 15th centimeter of movement, his lips met hers, and his heart exploded into fireworks. He closes his eyes to relish the sweet flavor of her lips; its softness, its warmth.

But Sunset’s eyes are still open, devoid of any happiness that Flash is clearly feeling. While her lips stay in contact to his, she looks around, beyond the boy, searching for something—a signal. And she does; a few meters away from her and Flash, hidden behind tree was another boy in a black t-shirt, younger, shorter, light-stone in skin texture and a fiery orange hair to match it. He smiles a grin, showing his buckteeth, as he lifts up a camera on one hand and a thumbs-up on the other.

Satisfied to what she sees, she pulls away from Flash abruptly, snapping the boy out of the trance.

“Wow, Sunset. Just…wow.” Flash said looking to his girlfriend, his cheeks and ears in a darker shade of red.

Sunset’s skin however seemed to have never been dipped to a shade of red at all, and turning away to get off the car, she tells her boyfriend.

“Let’s go.”

Flash blinked. Confused. “Huh? Already? But we just got here.”

Already getting in the car, Sunset replies, “I said let’s go.”

“B-but…” He faltered, and as turned to get off the car, something caught the far corner of his eye. He turns the direction of it and squinted in focus, and sees that just behind the tree was a small boy with orange hair and black t-shirt, already jogging downhill. He recognized that figure anywhere. The thought finally came to him.

Oh.

In a matter of seconds the shade of red on his face faded to match his girlfriend, and his heart that was bursting like fireworks lost its entire spark, leaving nothing but a fading ember. He entered his car and saw his girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer, her eyes glued to her phone. A long, tiring sigh escaped from his throat. He buckled up and started the engine.

“Seatbelt,” he said.

“Whatever,” was her response. And that was the last word that was spoken between them as he drove away, dropped Sunset off to her apartment, and returned home, immediately to his bed, to which he collapsed face-first. His body did not turn the entire night.

The next day at school, everyone was at their phones, viewing a new post of Sunset Shimmer; a picture of her and Flash kissing on Canterlot Hill. The photo has already gotten more than a few hundred views, which to a small public high school, already says a lot. There was a mix of loathing and adoring from the students commenting on the photo, but Sunset only cared for the latter kind of comments. This is giving me more popularity than I expected, she thought. As Sunset walks through the hall, she could hear a lot of aaaaaawwwws from the girls and even from some of the guys. More than that however, are some students looking away from her, some even deciding to hide in their own locker. As she passes by a lean, purple boy with glasses, she slightly raised her hand to his direction. Not even a moment has passed before a few bills and coins magically appeared on her palm, to which she obliged. 

A smirk rising on her face, she continued to walk in stride to her locker. At her destination, not to her surprise, was Flash. She expected him to warmly smile at her and wave, like a good boyfriend should, but instead she sees him leaned one arm to her locker, hands in pockets, eyes down, and a face showing no clear emotion whatsoever. She silently clicked her tongue. This is not what they ‘rehearsed’. I’m going to have to talk to him again about our ‘public display of affection’.

As she stops in front of him, right before she could mouth off a greeting to her boyfriend, like any girlfriend should, Flash straightens his posture, pulls his hands out of his pockets, relaxed, defeated, and looked right at Sunset. What he said next was not the greeting a boyfriend is expected to say to his girlfriend, nor was it anything sweet and sappy either. In a clear, solid voice, without any sign of hesitation, without faltering, what he said made everyone around them stopped whatever they were doing—some even dropping their phones—as they could only stare at Flash in surprise. Including Sunset.

“Sunset Shimmer. Let’s break up.”
> 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.
> Chapter Two: Closure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset let the phone ring, feeling her heart beat louder by the second.

By the eighth second, the ringing was barely audible, her heartbeat replacing the acoustics of the room, until finally a gentle, smoky voice answered the call.

Hey Sunset, what’s up?

A second of silence. The sound of his voice almost made the redhead hang up. She immediately regretted this decision. Why did she call him again? 

This is the first time she’s actually called him by the phone. Back then, she would just send texts that are just two sentences by the maximum, and all of them were either a demand or fake flirts to pull his heartstrings. In terms of calls, it’s always been him. A call to ask if she wants a ride home. A call to ask her out. A call to check if she’s okay when she’s absent or late for class. A call just to tell her that he wanted to hear her voice. Sunset would roll her eyes almost every time he called her. It annoyed her. But with her phone currently by her ear and knowing full well who’s on the other side, she remembered all those times that he did. He was just caring for her—and she missed it. And now she’s calling him.

Uhhh, hello?

Another second of silence. Her hands were trembling. She could feel herself sweating buckets. What time is it? Is this a bad time? It’s never like this when I call the girls. Heck, it wasn’t even a problem when I called Timber Spruce for Twilight. Why is this so hard? Oh my gosh is this how she felt? I’m sorry Twilight!  

The voice on the other line changed to a softer, concerning tone. Hello? Sunset? You OK?

This finally snapped her back into attention. “H-hey, Flash! Y-yeah, I’m OK. Sorry about that.” She managed, her voice sounding ridiculous and wobbly. Congratulations, Sunset. You managed to say three sentences. Oh gosh why am I so nervous? Just get on with it, Sunset! 

She sat back down on her couch. She took a deep breath, trying to relax her nerves. It didn’t work. She continued anyway. “I uhh, I want to talk to you. You, you free tomorrow?”

The reply was instant, as though there was no hesitation from the other side of the line at all.

Sure, I got no rehearsals tomorrow, so I’m free.

“O-oh, great! So uhh, meet up at the Sweet Shoppe? 3 o’clock?”

 3 o’clock? In the morning? I don’t remember Sweet Shoppe being open 24/7. The redhead heard the boy chuckle, his tone sounding lighter, way more relaxed that Sunset could ever be at the moment. Sounds pretty shady if you ask me.

A feeling of worry shot through her, memories of her past self flooding out of her head. “W-what? No, no! In the afternoon! I just want to talk!”

Immediately noticing the panic in her voice, Flash toned down his playful banter, now sounding completely serious, and just as worried as Sunset. Hey relax, I was only joking. I know I asked this a while ago, but are you OK, Sunset?

A second of silence passed, but not from Sunset’s nervousness. He still cares. The thought brought a small smile on her face. With a shaky, but determined breath, she admitted to the blue-haired boy.

“Actually Flash? I’m not OK. I had a terrible dream last night. About the past me. About you. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.” 

Unlike before, there was a moment of pause coming from the other side, worrying her; half-expecting for him to hang up, just like that. But she heard his voice speak up once again, his tone soft and gentle with worry yet firm and resolute.

OK, Sunset. I understand. I’ll be there. I promise. See you tomorrow.

A breath of relief could be heard from Sunset’s side, her whole body loosening up from tension. A tired smile touched her rosy cheeks.

Thanks, Flash. I’ll see you tomorrow.

She hanged up the phone, collapsing to her side on the couch, exhausted. The call only took about a couple of minutes, but to her it felt like hours. She looked back at the window, noticing that the night is indeed still very young. And just about time for dinner. She dragged herself to the kitchen, scavenging for any leftovers. She can’t have Flash worry about her any more than he already is. 

_____________________________________

Today was a quiet day for Sweet Shoppe, despite being a Sunday. Usually it’d be packed with customers, both young and old. But today only a total of 9 customers paid the café a visit. Perhaps it’s because of the cold, cloudy weather outside. Unlike the darkened sky however, the Cakes were still as bright as ever; the kitchen was abundant with activity, Mr. Cake taking out fresh confectioneries out of the oven to fill up the display shelf at the counter, where Mrs. Cake was preparing the beverages. She brought the prepared mugs to the café’s remaining two customers, two young teenagers; a boy with spiky blue hair, sitting uncomfortably with his hands tucked in his jacket, and a beautiful girl with red and golden hair, her arms hugging herself as if she were in the cold, despite having a warm-looking leather jacket draped over teal blouse. Only one of them was looking at the other, the atmosphere around them seeming to match with the weather outside.

“Here are your drinks, dearies,” she called to their attention.

The boy was the first to look up at her, receiving his drink with a wry smile. “Thanks, Mrs. Cake.” Flash Sentry briefly looked at his mug, a brewed macchiato with a dash of cinnamon. He then looked at the redhead across him staring outside the window, who still hasn’t noticed the kind shop-owner’s approach. Mrs. Cake gave the boy an understanding nod, and gently placed the mug of chamomile tea on the girl’s side of the table, leaving then the two alone to embrace the mixed therapeutic scent of coffee and tea wafting in the air around them.

Sunset Shimmer was silent the entire time she was in the café. When she entered the café a few minutes ago, she simply waved to Mrs. Cake with a tiny wave and with an even tinier smile before she made her way to a booth by the window. She did the same to Flash Sentry when he arrived two minutes later. Immediately after, she shifted to her current pose, unmoving like a model, as though an artist was painting her in a beautiful, sad piece of art. Noticing Sunset facing the window and nothing on the table, Flash walked up to the counter, ordering his drink and Sunset’s. As Mrs. Cake diligently took his order, she couldn’t help but look at the unmoving girl with a worried look. Sunset Shimmer is a regular customer here in Sweet Shoppe, usually if not always with her best friends. And every time she was here, she was with a smile. Seeing the poor girl like this was becoming unsettling to the shop-owner.

With a lowered voice, she asked the boy, “Why, what’s happened to your friend, dear? Is she alright?” Flash looked uneasy, tensing up as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s uhh. It’s complicated,” he replied. The shop-owner could only nod, “Well I hope it goes well, dearie. She’s much prettier with a smile on her face.” She then noticed the boy relax his tensed shoulders as he turned to look the girl as well. He muttered under his breath, “Yeah, she sure is.”

________________________________________

Back to the present time, Flash took a sip from his coffee, taking in the bitter-sweetness of the macchiato, his hands firmly holding on to the mug. He looked at the downcast girl in front of him again. The silence between them is different than the silence they shared yesterday at the mall. This one was making him more uncomfortable by the minute. Sunset is clearly not being herself at the moment, and Flash is clearly concerned about it, and he wants to help, but he still waited patiently for the redhead to speak. She said she wanted to talk, so she will, the boy reminded himself.

Just as he told himself so, Sunset breathed out a sigh, taking her mug of tea, embracing its warmth in her hands, and finally looked at him, her eyes moist with emotion.

“Thanks, Flash. For coming, for waiting, I, I think I’m ready to talk now.”

The boy gulped silently and nodded firmly to the girl. She continued,

“I had a dream the other night. It was a memory; one that the old me would call ‘the most humiliating day’ of my life.” The boy then thought of a certain lavender girl, facing off against Sunset Shimmer in front of the school, at the night of Fall Formal. But then he heard the redhead’s next words,

“It was the day you broke up with me.”

“…Oh.”

He looked down to his coffee, his hands tightening its grasp over it. The scene from that hallway immediately resurfaced on his mind, flooding over the scene from Fall Formal like a tidal wave. Images of the memory reflected off fresh and vivid, as if it just happened yesterday. He remembered gravity being ten times stronger as he stood waiting by his girlfriend’s locker. By each mini-second the memory became even clearer; every object, every person, every speck of tiny dust floating about, made visible by the morning light, every detail was now in high-definition. Sunset’s frustrated face when he said those three words. Him walking away. Her angered voice growing in volume until it filled the entire hallway, drowning out all sound. His legs weighing heavier and heavier with every step and—

“Stop.”

Flash snapped back to the present, his eyes now locked unto Sunset, shocked to see her eyes—for a brief moment—glowing a bright light. He was more shocked however to see tears on her now cyan eyes. He felt her hands over his; shaking, trembling.

“…Sunset?”

“Don’t remember it,” she pleaded, “Please.”

He looked back down to see her trembling hands on his. How long have her hands been there? And they felt so soft, and so, so warm. He looked back to the redhead with golden streaks, tears flowing down reddened cheeks like a broken stream. He then noticed a small, bright light glowing from her chest, and he finally understood—her geode; the one she and her friends found in Camp Everfree. The boy doesn’t fully know the details, but the seven girls all gained some sort of magical ability because of those magical stones. Everyone rather calls those abilities “super powers” though. From what he could remember, Sunset’s power is reading minds and looking through the memories of others from a touch. Did she see the memory too? 

Sunset realized what she was doing and pulled away, her face burning in a sudden panic. “S-sorry! I-I didn’t mean to read to your mind,” she began rambling, “I just saw you looking sad and I didn’t know what came over me and I just sort of wanted to hold your hands and my powers activated and I just,” she paused to look at blue-haired boy. He was just staring at her blankly, unsure with what to do or say. She took a shaky breath and continued; her hands grasping her mug once again, still warm yet still filled to the brim. “That memory just now—that was the dream I had the other night. I, I remembered that I was so humiliated and I was just, so angry! But, that was from the old me. I looked at the memory again from my current point of view and this time, I remembered you. I remembered you so clearly, and I saw your eyes, oh gosh your eyes…” She faltered, looking up at Flash, a blush slowly becoming visible on his cheeks.  

“And then I saw how you felt in that memory and I just—”she tried to blink away the tears, but they’ve now increased in intensity and volume, and with no sign of them stopping. “—I don’t ever want to see you like that again. I’m, I’m so sorry, Flash.” 

She could no longer hold it in. Right in front of her ex-boyfriend, she wept. From the counter, Mrs. Cake saw the weeping redhead, and felt somewhat grateful that those two were the only two customers in the café, giving them the needed privacy and peace for the sorrowful girl to cry out her feelings. She also felt prompted to change the sign on the front door from “Open” to “Closed,” and walked over to the door to do so. Flash Sentry on the other hand just watched her cry, still processing the information that was just said and currently happening in front of him. He’s the one who break up with her, and yet here she was, crying in front of him, apologizing. Even as she cried behind her soft fingers the boy could hear her mutter in whispers, “I’m sorry…I’m sorry...” He then felt a familiar, tiny desire building up inside him. It was a feeling that he couldn’t quite put his finger on it; something he felt a long time ago, but he pushed it to back of his mind, wanting to focus on the now. It didn’t matter that the girl crying in front of was his ex-girlfriend. It didn’t matter that she hurt him deeply. This time, she’s the one in pain, and as much as Sunset didn’t want to see him hurt, he too didn’t want to see her like this either.

He wanted to reach out for her hand but both of them were covering her face, droplets dripping in between her fingers. Instead he called out to her, his voice gentle and firm. 

“Sunset. Sunset, it’s okay. I’ve already forgiven you.”

“No it isn’t!” 

She practically yelled, which caused the boy to retract a little. She immediately realized her actions and regretted it, turning away in shame. She finally took a sip from her tea with shaky hands in attempt to ease her nerves, but to no avail. She sighed and gazed back at Flash, “I-I’m sorry about that. But how? How is it okay? How was any of it okay? I was a terrible a person and an even worse person to you! I played you like a pawn. I trampled on your feelings like dirt!  How could you just forgive me like that and be okay with all of the stuff I’ve done to everyone? To the girls? To you?”

Flash was slightly taken aback by her question, but with a sigh of his own, he lowered his eyes to his coffee. Unexpectedly, a tiny smile crested on his lips, “it’s, because of Twilight, I guess.” Now it was Sunset’s turn to be taken aback, a mix of shock and confusion could be seen on her face. She out of everyone in the entire school would understand which Twilight he was referring to.

“Back in Fall Formal,” he continued, “Twilight gave you a second chance. Then she left you in the care of Applejack and the others, giving you a second chance too, despite all of those things you’ve done to them. They accepted you as their friend and helped you change for the better. And then during the Battle of the Bands, when everyone was still doubting you—when I was still doubting you—she came back, and showed the Sirens and everyone how much you did change for the better.” He smiled at her; a genuine, wide smile, void of any doubt and hatred. His smile then changed to an excited, cheeky grin, his hands gestured wildly like a child playing with robot toys. “And you girls were just so cool when you shot that huge rainbow lazer from the sky!”

Sunset couldn’t help but snort out a laugh from the boy’s sudden burst of excitement and silly hand gestures. “What, our song wasn’t what appealed to you guys?” She asked with a playful smirk.

Secretly relieved to see her finally smiling again, he replied playfully in kind, “Yeah well, hate to break it to you, but the giant rainbow-blasting unicorn with wings stole most of the attention. The Dazzlings got their light show too, but sea horses aren’t that popular nowadays.” The two youths stared each other down with competing smirks, and with a snicker from both of them they broke into heartfelt laughter. Mrs. Cake silently breathed out a sigh of relief as she watched the couple laugh out of the depressing atmosphere.

When their laughter died down, Flash smiled warmly at Sunset, resting his chin on his palm as he continued where he left off, “And if a pony princess from another world was able to see the good in you and give you a second chance, why can’t I, right?” 

Sunset felt her face flush from the boy’s statement, but nevertheless she reached for his other hand that was resting on the table, held it firmly, and returned his smile with a sincere smile of her own. A single tear flowed down her cheek, but that one teardrop was neither out of sadness nor regret, but out of relief and gratitude.

“Thank you.”

He only smiled warmly in response. He didn’t have to say anything else. Sunset rested her eyes to the hands on the table, hers embracing his, feeling the slight roughness of his knuckles from her fingertips. It felt strangely calming, as though it was the most natural thing to do; her hand holding his hand. His hand. That she is currently holding. For a while now.  

“Oh my gosh! I-I’m sorry!” Sunset immediately pulled her hand away from his, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu, and hid both hands under the table. Her blush was in a furious shade now, as though her very skin has changed its hue to the mystic glow of her magic when she was a unicorn.

Flash, having pieced together to what just occurred, pulled away his hand as quickly as she did and, as cool as he attempted to be, choked out a chuckle, his eyes darting to every direction except to the astonishingly cute girl in front of him. “I-t’s cool! Really!” he stammered. After a moment of mutual awkwardness, which was awkwardly followed by a moment of mutual warmth, eyes fixated on the table, the blue-haired boy finally spoke up.

“So, uhh, I guess we’re good?”

“Y-yeah, I guess we are.”

Once more silence filled the café, but the awkwardness was slowly losing its tension. The redhead took this opportunity to take a sip of her tea, now lukewarm as its refreshing flavor reached her lips. As she does so, she heard the boy speak up again,

“Hey, remember that time in Camp Everfree? I called out to you wanting to talk about starting over, but then you ran off to the forest.”

The girl almost spewed out her drink and choked a little, and she palmed her forehead with a grunt.

“Oh right! I completely forgot! Argh! I'm sorry, I should’ve gone back to you afterwards.”

“Hey, it’s cool, no problem,” he quickly replied, not wanting to make her feel more apologetic than she already is. “I kinda understood back then anyway; you and the girls did gain super powers and defeat a crazy plant lady, after all. But that’s not why I brought it up.”

He looked at her this time, his shady blue eyes now focused on her. Sunset gazed back to the shady blue. She has a feeling she knows what he’s going to ask next, waiting in anticipation. He held out his hand to her,

“I’ll ask again properly this time: do you want to start over, as friends? I mean we already are, but I wanted it so that there won’t be any more heavy baggage between us.”

Sunset looked at the held out hand, and then back to Flash. Her expression lighting up with a sincere smile, she grasped his hand, and they shook on it.

“Yeah, definitely. And by the way, it was an alicorn.”

The boy looked back at her in confusion. “A what?”

"The unicorn with wings. It’s called an alicorn. That’s basically what the rulers of Equestria are.”

“Equestria? You mean the world where you’re from? At the other side of the statue?”

“Yep. Princess Twilight is an alicorn too.”

“Woah.”

Sunset giggled at the blue-haired boy’s childish reaction.

“So what about you?” He inquired curiously, “What kind of horse—“

“Pony.”

“Sorry. What kind of pony were you?”

“I was a unicorn. See, in Equestria there are three main species of ponies…”

And so, gone were the depressing atmosphere and the awkward silence in the café, replaced instead with a lively conversation between two friends. They chatted about Sunset’s home world; what’s it like, what sort of magical creatures there are. They debated over whether an alicorn is ‘a unicorn with wings’ or ‘a pegasus with a horn,’ becoming even more even more heated when a new argument, ‘an earth pony with both wings and a horn,’ was added to the mix. They laughed and giggled over the fact that a talking dog was a dragon on the other side.

The shop-owner watched the two teenagers’ converse in full swing, reminding her of a time when she met her husband, and how they talked hours and hours on confectioneries and baking techniques. Happy from her nostalgic memory and eager for the two friends to make newer, better memories in the future, Mrs. Cake walked to the café’s door, and flipped its sign.

The Sweet Shoppe, though temporarily closed for just a little bit, is once again open, awaiting now for new customers to fill up the café with even more happiness.
> Chapter Three: At the Craziest of Gatherings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

People say that the craziest of gatherings of adolescent teenagers is at house parties. Some say that it’s at rock concerts, and some say that it’s at political rallies, but all of these aren’t actually close to it. These sorts of events only happen occasionally and, if you look at it from another perspective, can become pretty predictable. What makes the craziest of gatherings so crazy is the fact that it is a sanctuary shared by all varieties of teens; nerds, jocks, rockers, peacekeepers, you name it—they are all gathered here and mixed together like ingredients to a hotpot of adolescent soup. The craziness happens every day here (except on weekends), and it’s utterly unpredictable to the working adults. Anything can happen here: from a public declaration to the student body, or to everyone dancing and singing along to a musical. This sanctuary, the craziest of gatherings of adolescent teenagers of every kind, is called the cafeteria.

At the center of this sanctuary, seven colorful, lively girls sat together a table, enjoying their lunch meals and most importantly, each other’s company. 

“And then, Big Mac got so embarrassed that he turned redder and brighter than an apple on harvest day!” 

The girls shared their laughter and giggles over the cowgirl’s story, one laughing louder than the others while another giving a curious, weird look.

“Pfft, Big Mac snuggling with a doll in his sleep?! Haha! That’s so uncool!” Rainbow Dash cried, almost falling off her seat.

“Wait, so Big Mac was the one who bought my doll from our garage sale a few months ago?” Twilight Sparkle asked, readjusting the frames of her glasses. “I figured it’d be a little girl or a mother buying for said little girl. Why’d he get it though?”

“Maybe because it looked silly! Or maybe he’s been charmed by a magical love spell that’s casted on the doll!” The sole pink girl on the table pondered out loud while balancing a spoon on her nose.

Twilight eyed her with a deadpanned expression, “For one, Pinkie, Smarty Pants is not silly. She is an amazing, brilliant individual who makes a wonderful study partner. And two, I’m pretty sure I would know if my childhood doll was enchanted with some kind of magic. If it was, I’d still be keeping it with me for further research and study.” She brightened up at the end of her sentence, now imagining the possibilities of her doll possessing magical abilities. Perhaps she should investigate by survey with the farm boy later.

“Um, I think it’s cute for someone like Big Mac to like something unexpected like a doll,” the yellow, soft-spoken girl suddenly said to the table without thinking. She immediately regretted it when she noticed the other girls staring at her with surprised looks, especially the white girl with glistening, violet hair, who’s been grinning at her with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. 

“Why, Fluttershy darling! Never has a thought passed through my mind that you would voice out your opinion on boys!” Rarity squealed, grasping the shy girl’s hand. Fluttershy squeaked in embarrassment, and attempted to hide behind her long, pink bangs, revealing only half of her frail face to the others. Rainbow Dash, who was sitting beside her, poked her with a mischievous grin.

“Yeah, Shy! And I never thought you’d have your eyes set on Big Mac!”

Fluttershy waved her hands wildly in response. “Oh no no no no! I don’t like Big Mac! I-I mean, I like him as a friend, but I never see him that way! I just thought the image of a big person like Big Mac hugging a little doll would look cute!” She defended.

The girls then pondered on what Fluttershy said, imagining Big Mac on his bed, snuggling the little doll like a five-year old, and nodded in agreement. “OK, you got me there, it does sound pretty cute. Uncool, but still cute.” Rainbow conceded. Rarity, however, showed no signs of losing hope.

“But can you see something happening between you two? Does his strong, yet gentle build not attract you in any way? Do you blush when he looks your way? Gasp! Does he blush when you look his way?!”

Applejack, seeing how excited her fashionista friend is becoming, stopped her before she starts asking even more fantastical questions. “Hang on, now. She’s just sayin’ her honest opinion. Right sucarcube?” Fluttershy nodded, thankful for the rescue.

“I'm sorry Applejack, but your brother isn’t really my type.” She told her cowgirl friend. This made the fashionista sit back down in defeat, but still hopeful and curious over what kind of boy is her type. She’s definitely going to inquire her later.

“No harm done, sugarcube. Plus, I reckon he’s already got someone on his mind lately,” she continued.

Pinkie suddenly squealed in delight, the spoon still balancing on her nose, “Ooooh! A love triangle!” This caused the cowgirl to roll her eyes and the fashionista to light up once more, fueled with more possible romantic drama.

Twilight, who still seemed to be unable to erase the silly imagery of Big Mac, snuggling with her doll while in his pajamas, from her head, turned to Applejack curiously, “What do you mean, Applejack?”

“Well, it ain’t my place to pry, even though he’s my brother and all, but lately he’s been makin’ deliveries of our apples to a bakery shop that’s sittin’ on the next town over, and every time he does, me and Apple Bloom catch a blush and a funny smile on his face like a dog with two tails.  And tomorrow will be his eighth visit!” 

“Yep, definitely for a girl.” Rainbow said firmly. “I mean, c’mon! Who would want that many apples?” 

In the midst of the girls’ chat about the farm boy and his mysterious apple deliveries, Sunset Shimmer was half listening to the whole conversation; the other half was in deep thought over a certain blue-haired boy as she played with her food. It’s only been a few days since the closure she had with Flash Sentry, but the closure itself wasn’t what she was remembering, although that’s not to say that it isn’t something to cherish—rather, it was the friendly chat that came after. 

Who knew Flash could be so much fun to talk to? How silly his questions could be, or how contagious his laugh is (not as contagious as Pinkie’s, however). She realized that that was the first time she ever had such a lengthy conversation with Flash, even when they dated. After that day, she’s wanted to talk to him again. She attempted to do so for the past few days, but she stopped herself every time. All she had successfully done was smile-and-wave as they pass by each other in the hallway. Should I try texting him, or maybe it’s too soon? Calling him is way out of the picture. Oh, maybe I can text him ‘by accident’ saying that it was meant for someone else, and then we can start from there! But what if it ends up too awkward for him? URGH, WHY IS THIS SO HARD?! She pondered to herself repeatedly.

Indeed, she had been asking herself constantly why it seemed so difficult to just walk up and talk to him. From her past short-comings, Sunset Shimmer considers herself to be an expressive, bold and straight-forward gal; she doesn’t hesitate to help others, especially her friends, and doesn’t beat around the bush to say what she needs to say to the person who needs to hear it. She’s quite proud that she's been through a lot of magical things and has equally learned a lot from them, but right now she feels that any magical encounter will be easier than to talk to Flash Sentry.

And like a play with fate, the boy in question walked up their table, the redhead not noticing his presence until she heard Pinkie Pie, with the spoon still on her nose (at 12 minutes and counting, timed by Twilight, for science), calling out to him.

“Oooh! Hiya Flashie! What’s uppity-up?”

“Hey Pinkie. Hey girls, sorry if I'm bothering you,” greeted the boy, his guitar slung to his back.

Sunset was so surprised to Flash’s sudden appearance—when she was just thinking about him—she accidentally tossed over the food that was on her spoon, sending it flying to an unfortunate soul’s hair. Why is he here, why is he here, why is here?! She was panicking frantically in her head, but luckily she didn’t show her nervousness, only fumbling her fingers under the table.

“H-hey, Flash! What’s up?” She asked with a crooked, awkward smile. Rarity, who sat across her, looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, that was my question!" Pinkie pouted, "And you didn’t answer, Flashie!”

“Oh, my bad Pinkie. It’s uhhh, the ceiling?” Knowing the pink party girl, whenever she asks what’s up, she sometimes means that literally. 

“Yep! But it’s also stuck bubblegum!”

The boy looked up and squinted at the ceiling, finding a tiny splotch of pink directly above him. “Woah. That’s gross. How’d that even get there?” He understood when Rainbow Dash silently pointed her thumb at Pinkie Pie, deciding then to not question it further.

“Well howdy, sugarcube. What seems to be the matter?” Applejack asked.

“It’s nothing serious, really,” the boy replied, “See, I wrote up a new song for my band, and we wanted to try it out, but we couldn’t use Brawly’s garage today, so is it cool if we use the music room?”

The girls looked at each other, as though to check if anyone has any rejections. Everyone nodded in mutual agreement, though Sunset Shimmer was taking a sudden interest to her food, showing a tiny blush. Rarity was the only to have noticed her strange behavior, but she kept it to herself for now.

Rainbow Dash smiled to Flash, “Everyone seems cool with it, so it’s no prob Flash! So what’s the song called? I’m pretty sure it has “flash” in it,” she smirked at the boy. 

“Wow, do all our songs have “flash” in them?” He looked genuinely surprised at the prismatic-haired girl's question.

This caused a laugh to all of the girls, including Sunset, who giggled just a little.

“And to answer your question, that’s a secret. We’re not even sure if it’ll be official or anything, so I don’t wanna get your hopes up,” he continued with a grin, “Welp, thanks for the lending us the room! Later!”

Sunset looked back up to watch him leave, but was caught off guard to see him looking at her. He gave her a cute smile and a small wave with his hand. “Later,” he repeated in a much gentler tone, and Sunset waved back. “Later,” she replied with a cute smile of her own. This time everyone noticed the strange occurrence between the redhead and the blue-haired boy, and once he turned and left, they all stared at her.

“Uhhh, what was that?” started Twilight. It was rare for her to notice these kinds of things, despite being the only one at the table to have a boyfriend. The fact that she did notice shows just how obvious the redhead was being.

“Umm, what was what?” Sunset asked, dodging the question—or at least tried to. 

“C’mon, Sunset. You’re foolin’ nobody.” Said the cowgirl.

“Yeah, you even looked like Fluttershy just now!” Said Rainbow Dash, which earned her quite a menacing, yet adorable glare from the girl mentioned.

Sunset looked to her friends, especially to Rarity, who was looking even more ecstatic than before and trying to keep herself together. She gave out a loud, defeated grunt. 

“Argh, I don’t actually know!” The redhead shared to her friends, “It’s just, last weekend I had a dream about my break up with Flash Sentry, and I felt absolutely terrible for treating him so badly.” Her friends saw her downcast on her seat and were showing worried and concerned faces, but Sunset continued, “And after seeing him again at the mall, I decided to call him up when I went home so that we could talk.” 

The fashionista suddenly placed her hands on the redhead’s shoulders, the dangerous gleam returning in her eyes, “So? SO?! What happened next, darling?!” Rarity demanded. She seemed to be just as excited as Pinkie Pie is on a daily basis—which says a lot, if one thinks about it.  

Sunset briefly felt her cheeks flush a little once remembering once more of their talk in the Sweet Shoppe.

“So we met up the next day. And we talked. And now we’re starting things over.” She answered. Remembering the lively, immersive chat she had with Flash made her smile warmly, her blush growing a stronger shade. 

Gasps were shared all around the table, and an overly dramatic gasp came out of the pink party girl.

“Oh. My. Gosh. SO YOU TWO ARE BACK TOGETHER?!” She squealed, accompanied by a mysterious sound of confetti bursting out of nowhere.

The redhead immediately regretted her wording of 'starting over'. She shook her head violently and waved her hands as though she was on fire, which was quite close considering the heat she’s feeling from her flushed face. She could practically feel the steam rising from her body.

“No no no no no! We started over as friends! We’re just friends!” Miraculous to her, Pinkie’s squeal didn’t spread far over the cafeteria, especially towards the table where Flash and his band sat. They did hear the tiny fanfare of bursting confetti, but that was just Pinkie being Pinkie, so they let it be. 

Rainbow wanted to comment on how she similar to Fluttershy she’s been acting, but thought better of it after seeing the yellow girl glare at her again, seeming to have noticed and aware of how right the prismatic-haired girl actually is.

“Looks like my brother ain’t the only bright apple for harvest,” Applejack turned to Twilight, who nodded in agreement.

Fluttershy, secretly happy that she’s no longer the center of attention, comforted Sunset with a smile, “Well it’s great to hear that you and Flash are officially friends again, Sunset. I'm sure he's just as happy as you are.”

Her soothing words worked, and Sunset finally cooled down and gave Fluttershy a relaxed smile, “Thanks, Fluttershy.”

Rarity, on the hand, having completely forgotten about Fluttershy’s earlier comment on Big Mac and her preference on boys, wanted more out of the redhead, but just as she was about to inquire further, the bell rang across the mess hall.

“Welp, time to head class girls!” Sunset said, suddenly grabbing her bag and rising from the table. Saved by the bell, she thought. She’s had enough craziness from the craziest place in school, and was utterly relieved that the craziness doesn’t follow to the classrooms.

“Aaaaw, and it was just getting good!” Cried the party girl.

“Wait, what’s the next class again?” Rainbow asked, as she slowly feels her energy draining, knowing whichever class is next would just turn out boring.

“It’s physics,” replied Twilight, “And we have a quiz today. I even helped you study for it. How could you forget?”

“Uuurgh” was the only reply she received from her prismatic-haired friend, to which Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed in compliance.

As the girls enter hallway and into the classroom, Sunset felt her phone vibrate. She gave it a look and sees that the message is from Rarity, who was walking right beside her, her eyes glued to the phone as they walked.

We MUST talk after class, and I won’t take no for an answer. I’m not letting you go that easily, darling. It said. Sunset could only sigh. Today’s going to be another long day.
> Chapter Four: Asking The Weirdest Questions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most students were waiting impatiently for their class to end, eyeing their gaze towards the counting hand of the clock to reach the 12 on top. Rainbow Dash in particular was thumping her feet in excitement, ready to dash out to play in the field. The only known exception would be Twilight Sparkle, who didn’t want the class to end for at least another hour or two. Or three. Now, however, unbeknownst to all, Sunset Shimmer was with Twilight Sparkle in not wanting the class to end as well. It wasn’t that she was just as eager as Twilight in learning more things; on the contrary, she was confident that she’d pass every class with flying colors, being only second to the lavender girl in terms of overall scores. Compared to the application of magical enchantment and Starswirl’s theory on spell construction, something like physics or chemistry was a walk in the park. 

No, what she dreaded was sitting right beside her; a white girl with the most luscious violet hair. Knowing her best friend, once Rarity craves for something, there is no stopping her, and what Rarity craved for at this moment was a sweet, one-on-one chat with Sunset Shimmer about a certain blue-haired guitarist. She turned to peek at her, who was looking back at her with her smooth chin resting on her palm. Her eyes were like that of a hunter waiting for its prey to make a move. The redhead wanted to desperately run away, but there was nowhere to hide. Rarity knows every corner of this school. Plus, she knows where she lives, and that alone was a very scary thought. 

Maybe she could run towards the portal? No, that wouldn’t work. Even if she were to escape to her home dimension, Rarity would simply chase after her, and that would cause a whole new problem. Thus, once the counting hand reached its mark, a prismatic blur dashed out of the classroom even before the bell rang, followed by a flood of excited students. Sunset began to walk out of the classroom, trying to think of something, anything, to get her out of this predicament. Wait, that’s it! She thought. If we’re together with the other girls, there won’t be enough privacy for me and Rarity to chat! Just when she thought of a possible means of escape, a marble white arm suddenly wrapped around hers, sealing her fate.

“Gasp! Is there something troubling you, darling? Why, yes, Sunset! I’d absolutely love to have a heartwarming chat with you and hear your troubles!” Rarity declared aloud, making sure the rest of their friends could hear her. Sunset looked at her fashionista friend in despair. 

The other girls looked at her with raised eyebrows but nodded in understanding. After an exchange of goodbyes and see-you-laters, before she knew it Sunset was alone with Rarity at the gym bleachers, which was shared by other groups of students, chatting away to their own gossips. The two were seated at a good distance from everyone else, so there was no problem of them being overheard. 

“Now then, darling. Tell me your troubles.” The fashionista smiled tenderly to Sunset, though her eyes didn’t show the same tenderness.

“Gee, Rarity. What’s there to talk about? No troubles here.” Sunset laughed dryly. 

“It’s no use hiding from me, darling. What happened back in the cafeteria was clearly not normal. And for heaven’s sake, darling, you were even acting like Fluttershy! Our Fluttershy! Clearly something definitely happened with Flash aside from a leisurely talk.”

“But I already told you what happened!” The redhead exclaimed. “Me and Flash just talked over a cup of coffee and tea and— “

“Ah-ah-ah! Details, darling. I want the details!” Rarity interrupted with a wagging finger. 

Sunset grunted and lifted her head to the ceiling. It’s not that Sunset doesn’t want to share with her friend, explaining it is the hard part. The fashionista then looked at her anxious friend with a serious face. 

“I know this might be a tad of invading privacy darling, but keeping this ‘feeling’ to yourself with having no clue to what to do with it isn’t helping anyone, especially to you. I don’t just want gossip, Sunset. I want to help you.” She smiled at her tenderly once more, her eyes matching the smile this time. “We’re best friends, darling.” 

Sunset turned to her friend, a little surprised. With a long, relaxed breath of air, she smiled. 

“Thanks, Rarity.”

“Now, exactly what kind of talk did you have that made you so… fidgety when you see him?”

“We… I…” Sunset mumbled a bit at first. After a while, she succumbed with a heavy sigh.

“Remember how I said that I dreamt of my break up with Flash?” She began, her friend listening intently in silence. 

“That dream was a memory of the day Flash broke up with me. I was so angry at that time but Flash… Flash was…” She bit her lower lip and gripped her knees tight. 

“You’d expect he would be angry with me after how much of a terrible girlfriend I was.” She chuckled dryly, as though she was pitying her past self. “He was the one who broke up with me, yet he wasn’t angry at all. He was hurt.”

Sunset then felt the hand of her best friend on her shoulder. She saw her smile that seemed to tell her, “you don’t have to say anymore, darling.” But she urged herself to continue.

“So I called him to meet up at the Sweet Shoppe, and then we… talked. We talked about our break up. I told him that I realized how much I’ve hurt him, how terrible he looked, and I just didn’t want to see him like that again. But then he said he forgave me. After all I did to him, he forgave me.” She smiled, teardrops leaking out of her eyes.

“He told me that I really did change for the better, and that he's glad that I have real close friends by my side. He's happy for me, and wants to start over with me as friends." She smiled to herself warmly, remembering the kind words from the blue-haired boy, and finally the firm handshake, signalling them not as exes, but as friends.

This earned a heartfelt smile from her fashionista friend. "That's lovely to hear, darling, and I'm proud of you."

Sunset smiled to her friend in return, but before she could say her thanks, Rarity spoke up again. "And as much as I love a beautiful redemption story, I have a feeling that's not the only thing that's happened." She cornered her friend with dazzling eyes. "So? What did you talk about afterwards?"

Rarity expected Sunset to hide her flushed face like Fluttershy, but to her surprise, and perhaps to the redhead's as well, she continued to talk about her time with Flash, the memory still fresh and vibrant in her mind.

"We pretty much talked like any two friends after that. We talked about my world; the kinds of ponies, and how Twilight and the Princesses are special kinds of pony. And he was really intrigued by it. Heck, we even had a debate about it." She giggled from the memory, which, unbeknownst to her, Rarity was silently squealing in place. This is getting good. "And gosh was he witty. He made a joke about what he would do if he learned that his pet dog might actually be a giant dragon on the other side and I thought that was adorable. Is it weird that I think his idea on dragons is cute? And then he, he... I'm saying this out loud, aren't I?"

The fashionista nodded with enthusiastic glee. Sunset gave out a small groan as she buried her flushed face in her hands. Unable to hold it in, Rarity let out a squeal so loud it disrupted everyone in the gym, to which a basketball player tripped as a result, the ball flung surprisingly to the hoop, earning that player's team a score. Sunset wanted to apologize to the teens around her, but she couldn't as her friend took a tight hold on her shoulders.

"That. Is. The--"

""MOST ADORABLE THING I'VE EVER!!!""

For a moment, it sounded as though Rarity's comment made an echo. But to the realization to both Sunset and Rarity, a bright girl in pink popped out of what seemed to be under the bleachers right in between the two.

"AHH! PINKIE!!" Sunset felt like her heart leaped right out of her chest in shock, and Rarity felt the same. "Goodness, darling! How long have you been here?!"

Pinkie Pie, taking no form of apology whatsoever, nonchalantly replied to her friends. "I heard a squeal of delight, so I have arrived in response."

"But, where did you come from?"

"The home economics room."

"But that's on the other side of the school--"

"So, what's the squeal emergency? Is it a cute baby photo of Bulk Biceps? Is Mr. Doodle getting married? Has Sunset finally realized that she likes Flash? Ooh, ooh! Is Principal Celestia finally implementing my proposed National Cupcake Holiday?!"

Sunset retracted with an immediate rise of body temperature. "Wait, what?! I-I don't like Flash! I mean, I like him as a friend, but I don't like-like him!" Feeling a sense of déjà vu from the cafeteria, Pinkie replied with a bubbly laugh.

"Of course you do, silly!" she exclaimed with a grin, "You've been acting fidgety towards him since Monday! You've avoided eye contact with him, sneak a peek at him when he looks away, and you even sketched his signature mark during history class!"

The redhead retracted even further, with an even hotter temperature. "W-what?! No I didn't! I-I don't know what you're talking about," she said so as she shrank to her seat, clutching on to her bag, which inside contained a history notebook that has a peculiar mark, a wide lightning bolt over a shield, with no connection to their class whatsoever.

Rarity, who was just as surprised as Sunset, felt a sudden sense of defeat as Pinkie apparently noticed a whole lot more about Sunset's romantic feelings than she ever could. Nevertheless, she agreed with her pink party friend.

"But she's right, darling. You've clearly started developing a...*ahem*, an attraction, towards Flash." She said, minding not to say the c-word, else she'd set her poor friend to spontaneous combustion.

She looked to her friend in reassurance. "You can't just keep those feelings inside you forever. That's not like you, darling. You'd always express what's in your heart, be it in the form of art or otherwise. So why not take the leap?" 

"Besides," Rarity continued, "if you ask the other girls, they'll tell you the same thing: go for it. Why, I'm positive that even the Twilight over there will most certainly agree."

Sunset looked down to her bag, reminded to her history notebook  that was tucked inside. But not only that, but also a certain journal with a mark of a warm sun. She let out a long sigh. 

"Say that you girls are right," Sunset began, "And that I may start feeling something for... *ahem*, him."

Which you do, thought both of her friends.

"But, I'm his ex. Isn't there, I don't know, some kind rule against that sort of thing?"

"Actually," Rarity stood up and smiled to Sunset, and then to Pinkie, to which the bubbly girl immediately responded by taking out a tiny book from her hair. She lent the book to the fashionista, to which she began flipping through its tiny pages. "It says here on article 14 that a break-up from a couple grants them courtship-immunity for three whole months to either ex-partner. The partner who is, on most witnessed accounts, the one at fault--*ahem*, pardon me, darling--is however granted a courtship-immunity to four times the amount, equaling to a whole year."

The redhead could only stare at her two friends slack-jawed. Her friends returned the look with a smirk and a sassy high-five to each other.

"And since it's been two years since you guys broke up," Pinkie continued, "that means you two are back in the market, and that you should TOTALLY ASK HIM OUT!!"

Her excitement almost brought the attention to everyone at the gym. Sunset panicked a little and worried that rumors would spread, but fortunately for her the teens who did hear misunderstood the party girl's excitement.

Pinkie Pie has eyes on someone?! I never knew she had a thing for romance.
Really? I feel sorry for the guy she's interested in though. No one could ever keep up with someone like Pinkie.
Who could it be then? *Gasp!* Do you think it's that boy who was here a few months ago?
Who? The one with the accordion? He was pretty cute, I guess.

Coincidentally, the basketball player that tripped before wouldn't have it their way however, and continued dribbling the ball and took the shot while the others were distracted. He missed.

Once it was clear that the teens in the gym returned to their own chatter and play, with a relieving sigh from Sunset, she turned back to her two friends.

"Ooh! Speaking of Flashie, his birthday is coming up soon! *Gasp!* That means, if you two get back together, I get to make not only a Happy-Birthday-Flashie cake about also a Congrats-on-getting-back-together cake!!"

"I-I'm not gonna ask him out!" Sunset declared. Her face had blushed for so long now that she couldn't care less of it anymore. It was still embarrassing, however. "A-anyway, you said his birthday's coming up?" Sunset felt bad about not remembering Flash's birthday, but in her defense there weren't that close as friends up until a few days ago. "How'd you know?"

"I know everyone's birthday, silly!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Plus I just saw a thread about it on the Flash-forum!"

"Wait, forum?" She looked to her pink friend inquisitively.

"Um, Pinkie dear, I don't think Sunset needs to know this right now," Rarity laughed nervously.

"Know what, exactly?" Sunset turned to her fashionista friend suspiciously, to which she suddenly found an interest on the gym's window, clamping her lips shut. Pinkie, however, remained undeterred and answered her friend without pause.

"The Flash-forum, silly! That one forum where fans and admirers of Flash talk about him." She blurted out, her eyes still on her phone. This left Rarity smacking her forehead and Sunset in a very confused look.

"Flash has a fan-forum? Let me see." Suddenly curious, she looked over the part girl's phone. On top of the screen was a title in blue and yellow: The Flash Sentry Fan Club, together with his signature mark on each end. She scrolled down on the screen and noticed how active the forum is. Posts and comments were flooding out quickly from anonymous users (though some not so anonymous from looking at the usernames, such as HiMyNameIsPinkiePie), talking about Flash's activities, songs from his band, as well as picture thumbnails of him. 
Some of the pictures looked like they've been taken stealthily (to which the redhead felt a little bit creeped out), but others showed him in a good shot, such as Flash rehearsing with his band, Flash messing up a science experiment and Flash sharing his half-burnt cookies to his classmates during home economics class. 

Oh no. Sunset thought. He looks cute in this one.

"Wow, I know Rainbow Dash has a fan club of her own, but I've never actually thought he'd get one too."

"But, pardon my assumption darling, isn't that why you dated him?" asked her fashionista friend.

"Well, I did date him for the popularity, but when we met I could tell that he was already popular. Plus, I was still getting a hang of the whole smartphones and computers thing," she reasoned. In fact, it was upon learning the brilliance of the social media did Sunset realize the possibilities of controlling the school faster, though of course that was a long time ago. This forum, however, seemed fairly recent, at least after her encounter with Twilight Sparkle. If not, then she would've used the forum to her own advantage. 

At the top of the forum was a thread called "FS Bday in a couple of weeks!" On the thread were various comments on what one would give to Flash on his birthday to prevent anyone from giving him the same gift. One commented to give him a guitar pick. Another commented to give a greeting card, to which others agreed to contribute their messages for him. Pinkie's gift was going to be, as anyone would have guessed, a party. With lots of cake. 

"What this essentially means, darling," Rarity explained, "Is that although Flash may be single now, with his large popularity, a chance of him going out with another girl isn't low in any means. This could be a big opportunity for you, darling!"

Sunset put what the fashionista said into thought. This was a big opportunity, true. But it's also an opportunity for the other girls of the school as well. It has been, in fact, for a long while now. But more importantly, Sunset wants Flash to be happy; if someone else could do that for him better than she could, she would immediately let that person take it. This then reminded her of something else: so far, only one person was able to make Flash happy after their break-up, and she achieved it all in a week; and that person is a magical pony princess from another dimension. 

So what if, then, she would come back? Would there be an opportunity for her, perhaps much, much bigger than anyone else? Sunset's imagination grew wild as she imagined Flash and her dating; them watching a movie together; them talking over a cup of coffee at the Sweet Shoppe; them walking around a school fair, enjoying the sights, hand in hand. She imagined their smiles, especially Flash's, and although it made Sunset feel warm inside, it also felt strange to her that the heat inside slowly grew uncomfortably hotter, becoming an all too familiar feeling she felt in her dream a few nights before. And stranger still, it didn't feel wrong.

"Sunshim, are you okay?" Pinkie Pie called Sunset back to the surface from her imagination, the tone of the party girl's voice sounding worried, and that was a tone of voice rarely anyone hears.

"H-huh? Oh, sorry." Sunset apologized. With her thoughts now clear from wild imaginations, she looked at her friends, who looked back at her with worry. With a sigh, (gosh has she been sighing a lot today), she spoke up to her friends.

"I don't know, girls. I mean, I was the one who hurt Flash, so us going back together would most likely be the last thing on his mind right now."

The two looked at each other. She's got a point.

"Also," she continued, "I'm finally friends again with Flash--like, honest-to-good, official friends. I just... I don't want to ruin our friendship like I did before."

Rarity and Pinkie looked at their redhead friend with sympathy. Out of everyone in their group--or in the whole school for that matter--no one cherishes friendship more than Sunset Shimmer.

"We understand, Sunset darling. We're sorry for pushing this silly thing on you."

"Yeah, we're sorry, Sunset."

"Thanks, girls." Sunset smiled. She was of course grateful for her understanding friends, but she also felt quite relieved. Glad that's over.

"Alright then," Rarity began, "since I've had you share your troubles with me, darling, it is only fair that I share you mine as well. You would not believe the day I've had yesterday at the mall!"

And so the three continued their friendly chat in the gym. Soon the other groups of teens picked up their bags and ready for home, while the basketball players on the court are finishing up the day's practice. The team with the player who tripped won by a miraculous shot on the last few seconds, astonishingly enough. After a couple more shared laughs, the girls readied their belongings and made their way to the hallways. 

_________________________________________________

As the sun lowered deeper into the horizon,  more and more students flowed out of the school, with fewer groups each time, until finally the trio stepped out as well. Sunset told her friends to go on ahead, as she wanted to chill by the school statue for a bit longer. As they said their goodbyes, Sunset watched her friends go, and sat at a comfortable position on the cool, stone floor by the statue. She thought about maybe writing to her when she noticed another group stepping out of the school. She recognized that messy blue hair, slung guitar and hooded jacket anywhere; Flash Sentry, walking out together with his band, Flash Drive. 

She watched them say their own goodbyes to each other, the other members heading home while Flash turned to the other direction to the parking lot. But in the midst of that turn, he caught the attention of Sunset, and Sunset caught his. They stared at each other for what Sunset felt like hours, with the time reverting back to normal speed when she noticed Flash giving her a small smile and wave. Upon realizing that she had been in fact staring at him for what she felt like hours did she made an awkward attempt to smile and wave back.

Oh gosh that was so awkward. Now I feel obligated to say hi.
No you don't, Sunset. That was just a normal, friendly greeting. We smile and wave at each other and go our separate ways. Just look away and you'll be fine.
Why is it so hard to look away? And oh my gosh why are you walking towards him?!
OK, fine. Nothing I can do about that now. Just gonna say hi, no big deal.
But we just did! Silently! Through nonverbal gesture! This is a big deal, Sun--

"Hey, Sunset."

AAAAAAAAHHHHHH

"H-hi Flash, just finished practice?"

"Yeah, it took a little longer than we expected. I kept feeling the lyrics to the song is missing something, but I'm not sure what."

"Oh? What's it about?"

Flash then shifted his eyes away from Sunset. "It's uhhh... I can't actually tell you since it's not finished yet."

Sunset raised her eyebrow. This got her curious, and Flash knows that look she's giving him, so he gave out a nervous chuckle.

"I'll tell you about it once it's done. Wait no, even better--I'll let you be the first to hear it once it's done."

This earned a Sunset a smile. "I'm looking forward to it." She then saw Flash blush a little, "Y-yeah, thanks."

Flash blushed just now, didn't he. He totally did.
He blushed. To me.
I'm really curious to the song he wrote now.
Oh great, now I'm blushing too.
SUNSET COULD YOU JUST STOP

"Anyways, enough about me. What are you still doing here? Waiting for someone?"

"Oh, no. Sometimes I just like to chill by the statue before I head home. It's actually quite soothing, if you try it."

"Really?" Sunset watched him look over to the statue. "Huh. Guess I'll give it a shot next time."

They stood there quietly. Flash looking to the statue and Sunset looking to him. She saw the expression on his eyes looking somewhat reminiscent as he continued to look at the statue; more specifically, at the base of the statue. 

Sunset suddenly felt heat welling up in her chest once more. At that moment, she couldn't tell exactly what kind of heat she was feeling, but she does know what he's thinking, or rather, who he's thinking of. And she doesn't want him to think of that. Of her. She knows it's wrong to think that--she feels ashamed for even thinking of that. But the thought was still there, and she needed to get it out of her head.

She called to him.

"Hey, Flash?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you drive me home?"

What.

"Oh, uhh, sure thing."

WHAT.

"Thanks."

FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA AND ALL OF EQUESTRIA SUNSET WHAT ARE YOU--