> Aftermath > by James Pwyll > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Aftermath > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You know...that was pretty risky for you to do," Sunset remarked. Flash, letting out a sigh, slowly nodded his head. "Yeah...I know." Sunset smiled to him, looking to the side and seeing all of their others friends talking with one another in various ways. Applejack and Rainbow were arguing over who was the more awesome during the fight, Fluttershy and Rarity were discussing what kind of meal to make out of all the toast that remained from it, and Twilight was naturally trying to give Micro Chips some advice about not having his machines go off on a rampage in future. Pinkie, for her part, was just sitting on the remains of the fallen behemoth itself, giggling continuously over how much fun she'd apparently had over the experience. Sunset, meanwhile, was sitting beside her ex, and soon looked right back to him, still smiling. "Don't think me ungrateful though. I was in some pretty deep water back there." Flash grinned nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Well...guess I just got caught up in the heat of the moment, ya know?" Sunset chuckled. "I know all about that, trust me." The two shared a laugh, ending when Flash looked to her with some concern. "Has that ever happened before? You losing your pendant?" Sunset placed her hand upon the magical jewellery in question, pondering the question. "Sometimes, I'll wake up one morning and wonder where I put it." Her expression became a more concerned one shortly afterwards. "Never lost it during a fight though. That was pretty scary." Flash too looked to the pendant with worry. "I'm glad I was able to get to it in time. Who knows what might have happened if the robot had smashed it." Sunset grimaced. "Nothing good, I can guarantee. Equestrian magic is pretty dangerous as it is. We don't want to run the risk of just breaking this stuff apart." Then, after a while, she cast a glance back his way. "You doing alright, Flash? You got a few bruises back there." Flash shrugged, trying to clearly sound like he was totally fine with it. "Oh, it was no biggie." Arching an eyebrow, Sunset slowly poked him in the side of the arm, causing the expected wince on his part. "No biggie, eh?" she remarked. After a quick blush, Flash cleared his throat. "Well...maybe a bit of a biggie." After eyeing him for a moment, Sunset developed a slight smirk. "Flash Sentry...the knight in shining armor." Flash shrugged. "Well, you girls kinda have that effect on people. All these big heroics you do, you can't really blame people for wanting to chip in now and again." Sunset gave him a quick nudge with her elbow. "There's chipping in, and then there's throwing yourself in front of a bus for us." Flash paused, then smiled to her. "Okay, maybe what I did was a little more dangerous than I should've been involved with." Sunset nodded. "It was...but it all turned out well. With luck we might not have to put up with toast robots again." Flash looked back to the fallen machine itself. "Yeah, I don't think that particular scenario will be bothering you again, Sunshine." Sunset looked to him with surprise, then softened in her expression. "Haven't heard that nickname in a while. I...thanks for calling me it again." After seeing him smile and nod to her, she allowed herself a moment to just relax. Then, after a while, during which the two contented themselves in just looking to all their friends and what they were upto, Sunset slyly glanced to her ex again. "You know, before this whole mess started, you'd been doing pretty good in that song of yours." Flash blushed a little to that remark. "You think so?" Sunset nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty great. And hey, at least we can call your group dedicated to their music. Not many would keep singing while there's a disastrous robot attack." Flash chortled. "Yeah, but hey, when you love music, you really love music." Then, after a pause, Flash looked back in the direction of where they'd been singing originally. "Although...I think I'll go without that unbuttoned shirt bit next time we do it." Sunset cocked an eyebrow to him. "Oh?" Flash nodded. "Yeah, one of my friends suggested I add that bit to the number. You know, spice things up a bit? But..." He glanced to the left and right, making sure nobody but Sunset was around to hear him. "Don't now if you noticed, but that auditorium gets pretty cold." A smirk on the part of the Equestrian. "You're not wrong." Then her slyness returned when she again regarded him. "But...don't let that make you too eager to keep your shirt buttoned." Flash's blush returned. "Um...pardon?" Another shrug from Sunset. "Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but you keep yourself pretty good. You should own that more." Flash blinked to her, then his eyes drifted down to his chest, currently still covered in his red shirt, before again looking to her. "I...I...I...I...I...I..." Then, Sunset snorted, nudging him in the side. "I'm kidding! Honestly, that moment was pretty silly, even by this school's standards!" Flash, relieved that this was the direction things were going now, sighed a bit. "Oh, yeah. But...um...I'll admit, I kinda thought you were flirting with me there." Sunset, counter to Flash, didn't look at all embarrassed about that notion. "Well, it's not the first time you and I have flirted post-breakup." Flash looked away, thinking back on their recent history together, then started to smile a little. "Huh...guess not." After a moment of silence, he started to look back to her, albeit nervously. "Have you...you know...ever thought about...?" "Getting back together?" Sunset finished for him. When she saw him give a silent nod, she paused, thinking on the matter. "I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought about it. Things aren't like what they used to be. These days, you're not just someone I want to manipulate to make myself more popular. You're...you're someone I actually care about. Someone I consider a friend." Then, her mischievousness asserted itself in her expression. "And let's face it, you're a cute one besides." Here, Flash's blush returned, as it had taken to doing frequently in this conversation. "Well...I'll be honest, when there were moments like that yacht song you and your friends did, and you winked at me...I felt...I felt kinda..." He didn't get the chance to finish, as Sunset placed her hand upon his shoulder, smiling warmly to him. "I know, Flash...I know." Now, whether the feelings they had for one another in this one moment were ones of genuine romance or that of close friendship were up for interpretation. But the point still stood that they were very comfortable with one another right now. They smiled, and softly too, before looking out together at the school. It was a calm, quiet and peaceful moment between the teens, and when it was over, it was Flash's turn to nudge Sunset in the side, getting her attention immediately. "You know, when you think about it, it's kinda funny. You dating me back then just to be more popular...and now, by your own hand, you've ended up more popular than I ever was." Sunset too considered that for a moment, then smiled again, chuckling briefly. "Yeah...I guess that is pretty weird. Not that I'm complaining." They shared another laugh, and had actually lost track of how many times they'd done so at this point. Then, after another moment of quiet thinking, Flash looked to Sunset with curiosity. "Hey...do you think anyone else ever thinks about the two of us getting back together as a couple?" Before Sunset could even open her mouth, another voice called to the two of them from behind. "What, you think the rest of us wouldn't have been thinking about that?" The two turned around in unison, just in time to see not only the one who had spoken, Rainbow, but also all of their other friends, who were currently looking to them with knowing smirks. After a while, both Sunset and Flash blushed together, with Flash leaning in closer to whisper to her. "Um...Sunset? Exactly how much is our relationship something the rest of the school likes to talk about?" After giving the matter some thought herself, Sunset sighed. "You know...probably best not to think about it."