An Unforgiving Assignment
Twilight knew the Fall Formal was a bad plan that had gone well. Yes, she'd hopefully get her crown back in a matter of minutes. But she just knew that once she had some time to think over this whole interdimensional misadventure, she'd come up with four different ways she could have retrieved the Element of Magic more efficiently. Under another hoof (or, as was currently the case, on the other hand,) those more efficient solutions might not have reunited the local counterparts of her best friends.
Also, she wouldn't be slow dancing with Flash Sentry.
Intellectually, she knew that a good portion of her infatuation with the boy came down to pubescent ape hormones flooding her brain. Emotionally, she didn't give a flying feather right now. If anything, she could empathize with Sunset Shimmer a little. Bad enough to be trapped in a world without magic for so long. Having to go through puberty again was a fate Twilight wouldn't wish on her worst enemy.
As wonderful a time as she was having, Twilight could feel a bit of guilt twist in her gut. Especially when she thought of what her sister-in-law would think when she got home. Twilight looked into those innocent, unknowing eyes and took a step back from Flash.
"Twilight?"
"I'm..." The hurt in those eyes made her hesitate for a moment, but Twilight pressed on. "I'm sorry, Flash. I can't keep leading you on like this."
He frowned, confusion clear even with those tiny, paralyzed ears. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not who you think I am. I..." Twilight shook her head. Telling her friends was one thing. Magic ponies from another world weren't too great a leap for people who'd known Pinkie Pie for years. But Flash? "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Twilight..." Flash leaned in close. Twilight's breath caught as he almost brushed her ear. Then he whispered, "Is this about you being from Equestria?"
Twilight's breath stopped for a very different reason. "What."
Flash pulled back, letting Twilight see the lopsided grin on his face. "Because I suspected that when you first stumbled into me."
"You... How..." She struggled for words as she tried to pick the first question to ask. "What?" she blurted out in a strangled scream.
"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash barged onto the dance floor and grabbed Twilight by the wrist before Flash could answer. "Come on! They're gonna announce the princess of the Formal any second now!"
"But..." Twilight looked to Flash, pulling against Rainbow as best she could.
"I can give you all the details once you have the crown," said Flash. He shrugged. "Not like anything major will happen aside from that."
Twilight bit her lip, but eventually nodded. "Right. Of course."
Once the dust settled, the dance resumed with an almost Ponyvillian resilience in the face of magical havoc. And the first words out of Flash's mouth when Twilight saw him again were, "Okay, so I may have underestimated how badly Sunset wanted the crown."
Part of Twilight wanted to punch him in the shoulder, but it was thoroughly outvoted. "Are you feeling alright? Being used as the focus for that domination spell couldn't have been pleasant."
"Just a headache. And a little heartache." Flash looked in the direction of the front of the school before turning back to Twilight with an almost painfully fake smile. "But hey, the wings are new! Or is it old?"
Twilight felt the things flutter with the attention and managed to get them to fold on the second try. "No, I'm still getting used to them back home. But how did you know about any of that?"
Flash sighed and led them to one of the little tables scattered around the gym. "I've known Sunset for a while. Pretty much the whole time she's been here." He presented a fonder, more genuine grin. "You're not the first girl who's crashed into me while working out how to walk on two legs."
"Ah." Twilight cleared her throat. "I see. I did hear that the two of you were an item until a few weeks ago."
"More like a few months ago. She just never updated her MyStable status until September." Flash leaned back in his chair and let out a breath. "But we were close for a while. She trusted me, as much as she trusted anyone. And... well, she told me some things about her home."
"I see." Twilight didn't, not nearly enough anyway, but her curiosity wasn't the most important concern right now. "Was she any nicer when she let you get close? That rainbow works wonders, but there needs to be something for it to work with." She bit her lip. "I want to believe she was sincere when I helped her out of the crater, but..."
"She's..." Flash trailed off, his face screwed up in thought for several seconds. "There's definitely something there. I stuck with her for longer than I should have 'cause I thought I could bring it out. But last spring... I think that was the truest she's ever been around me."
Twilight put her hand over his. Part of her worried she was violating some local taboo. Most was focused on helping however she could. "Could you tell me about it? I want to understand Sunset if I can, the better to help all of you, her included."
Flash snorted in a way that needed no cultural translation. "Good luck. But sure. Don't think I'll ever forget the day I broke up with her."
Flash Sentry all but stomped through the halls of Canterlot High, an atypical scowl on his face. It matched the expressions around him, something he hadn't noticed for so long. Too long. But now he understood what was going on, better than anyone else at CHS save for one.
He turned into a barely lit dead-end corridor and, spotting his quarry, said the words that he knew would mark the end of an era.
"Sunset. We need to talk."
"Sure. What's up?" She looked up and gave him a smile that almost, almost made him second guess his decision. Sunset's smiles were precious things, ones only he ever seemed to get, and they spoke of a buried sweetness that surely just a little more work could bring to the surface.
But then Flash thought of the Spring Fling, and any urge to return the smile fell silent.
Sunset shifted to a worried frown as she shut her locker. It had taken Flash far too long to understand why she'd wanted one in a hallway with infamously bad lighting. "Is... everything all right?" she said. "Didn't step on your toes too many times last night, did I?"
"It's over, Sunset."
Her eyes widened. Nerveless fingers dropped her backpack. "What?"
"I'm sorry, but—"
The next thing Flash knew, she had grabbed his jacket by the lapels, dragging him down so she could stare right into his eyes. "How?"
"How?" Flash had imagined a lot of responses, but not that. "What do you mean, 'how?'"
"I mean how could something be coming for us in this magical waste—" Sunset scowled as she released Flash. She began to pace, muttering half to herself. "I knew it. It's not that this world doesn't have magic, you apes are just blind to it. The monsters were always there, they just hid until they got an opportunity." She cracked her knuckles, one of the many things Flash had taught her. "Fine, what's going to flatten the school? I may be able to stop it."
Flash sighed as he straightened out his jacket. "Sunset, for the last time, there are no monsters. Squidicane was just a movie."
"Uh huh. Sure." Sunset glared at him, daring him to reveal the sordid truth, though she frequently broke the stare to give nervous glances at the walls and any tentacled death that might crash through them. After a few moments without verbal or cephalopodic response, she said, "You're sure there aren't any monsters?"
Flash caught himself smirking and forced the serious expression back on his face. Even if Sunset was adorable when she was worried about fictional horrors. "As sure as I am that the seasons change by themselves."
She flinched at that. "So weird. Okay, so if it isn't a monster, then—" She gasped and threw her back against the row of lockers, eyes darting about the hallway. "Assassins."
Flash groaned. "Sunset—"
"I knew it. I knew the Royal Assassinorum would find a way to bypass the lunar alignment. It was only a matter of time; there was no way the old nag would let a loose thread like me dangle forever."
"Sunset," Flash said in the serious, facts-about-Earth voice she had made him develop. "There are no magic horse assassins."
"How do you know?" She jabbed a finger at him. "You could be one of them!"
Flash rubbed his temples. "If they're anything like you, they'd spend a good ten minutes flailing in front of the Wondercolt statue. That's not exactly stealthy."
Sunset's pointing arm went limp as she considered that. "True. They would turn human in this world." She flashed a grin that always meant trouble for someone else. "We have a chance... if you really are Flash."
"That's what I wanted to talk about."
"I knew it!" Confusion played across Sunset's face. "Wait, no, you knew about the self-changing seasons..." She took a few more steps back into the shadows. "How long have you been tailing me, assass—"
"Sunset!" Flash shouted. Sunset fell silent, her jaw hanging open. It took Flash a moment to recover from his own shock. "There are no assassins, there are no monsters, and there's no 'us!' I am breaking up with you!"
Sunset blinked. Once, twice, thrice. She tilted her head to the side. "What?"
Flash took a deep breath. "Okay. What do you mean, 'what?'"
"I admit, I'm still working on some local idioms, but I thought that you had to be in a relationship with someone before you could break up with them."
"We..." Flash's mouth worked silently as he tried to process that. "We are in a relationship. Or were."
Sunset shook her head, looking even more confused than Flash felt. "What gave you that idea?"
"We've gone on dates. We've kissed."
"No, you paid for my food while I secured a source of local income, and I used you as a form of biological stress relief." Sunset's head fell back as she groaned. "Seriously, you have no idea how exhausting it is to drown in human hormones all day. You apes are constantly in heat."
Flash cast an arm in the direction of the gym. "We danced at the Spring Fling last night."
"Well, yeah. We've been helping each other boost our social status ever since we met." Sunset shrugged. "That was just the next step in the plan."
"I... thought you loved me." Even as he said the words, Flash couldn't help but feel ridiculous.
Sunset's pitying look didn't help. "I mean, you're a good friend, a very helpful tutor, and reasonably attractive based on my body's reactions. But stallions were never my first choice, and I'm still not completely used to flat faces, dead ears, and spiders on the ends of my hooves." She waved her hands for emphasis.
"But..." Flash trailed off, not sure what he was even going to say.
"So, what made you decide to cut ties with me anyway?" The worst part was how casually Sunset said that. Flash had managed to break his own heart and she hadn't even noticed. "Jokes aside, I thought we had a good time last night."
Flash stiffened and glared at that. "Rarity didn't."
"Rarity? What does she have to do with any of this?"
Flash shook his head. "Don't play dumb, Sunset. You don't think it's just a little suspicious that the straps on her dress came undone just before they announced the Queen of the Fling?"
Sunset just shrugged. "Hey, there's only one crown."
"I can't be with someone who's so willing to make others suffer. And that's what you do, Sunset. I don't know how I've missed it for so long, but this whole school is miserable because of you."
Sunset raised a single eyebrow. "Big claim. Let's see you back it up."
Flash just glared at her. He couldn't prove it. She knew he couldn't prove it. And the worst part was that both knew she was responsible anyway.
And then, of all things, Sunset walked up and patted Flash on the shoulder. "If it's any consolation, none of it is personal."
"Rarity hasn't even shown up for class today. I think she took it personally."
That just got Sunset to roll her eyes. "Flash, none of this is going to matter in five years, not to Rarity or anyone else. But for me? It's practice."
"Practice?"
"When I take my rightful place in Equestria, I won't be dividing and conquering teenagers. I'll have to pit entire countries against each other. There's a reason I keep expecting a cyclone full of tentacles to slam into the school. I come from a much more dangerous world than this one, and a ruler has to be willing to get her hooves dirty to keep her ponies safe." Sunset smacked a fist into her open palm for emphasis.
Flash shook his head. "That doesn't mean it should be your first choice."
"But it's still an option. You have to understand, I'm not even going to be here after next year's Fall Formal. I'm not exactly concerned about leaving a good impression on a world I never want to see again." Sunset flashed what part of Flash wanted to call an apologetic smile. "No offense; you've been the one not-terrible thing about this entire universe. But when all's said and done, I'll be in my rightful place and you can all say 'Good riddance' to the Queen Bitch of the school. Everyone wins."
Flash could almost feel the shift as his heart accepted what his mind had already known. It felt like a pit in his stomach swallowing the last bit of hope for Sunset he hadn't even known he still had. "You're heartless."
She just shrugged. "I'm pragmatic. Thirty moons of suffering for all of us—and I cannot emphasize enough how much that includes me—leads to uncounted centuries of prosperity for my world. Sure, some people here may need a few years of therapy, but that's a price I'm willing to pay."
"I should tell everyone about what you've done."
"But you won't, because you have no proof and no one would believe you." Sunset's smirk shifted to a sad smile. "And furthermore, in spite of all of that, you still love me."
"I did." Flash wasn't sure if he actually saw shock flash across Sunset's face, or if he just imagined it. "You know, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if you'd brought everyone together instead of tearing them apart."
She didn't say anything for a few moments. "I thought about it," she said quietly. "I really did. But I had no idea where to even begin." Sunset hefted her backpack onto her shoulders and walked past Flash, waving as she went. "See you around. It was fun while it lasted."
He turned, blinking in the brighter light. "Wait, where are you going?"
Sunset shrugged. "You said it yourself. There's no us. And it's not like I need to hold onto you. You've taught me everything I need to know, and next year I'll be able to get a few freshman to do what I want with these ridiculous, engorged chest-teats." Her smile came back as she spoke. She even nodded at a few of her own points. She shook his hand, grip firm like he'd taught her. "Thanks for everything. I wouldn't be where I am today without you." And with a wink, she added, "And if any monsters or assassins or trained assassin monsters do show up? Let me know."
And Flash watched her walk away, too stunned to speak.
"And... Yeah. That was it." Flash lay splayed across his chair, frowning in a way eerily similar to when Twilight saw Princess Celestia lost in old regrets. "Though her general bitchiness started skyrocketing after that. Not sure if it's because she was actually upset I left her or just because she didn't feel like she had to tone it down for me anymore."
Twilight tightened her grip on Flash's hand, which she hadn't released over the whole story. She smiled as he dragged his head back up to look at her. "Well, it's in the past now. We'll see how she can grow now that she sees how much better it is to build up those around her and not just tear them down."
Flash didn't say anything for a few moments. Finally, he shrugged, offered a half-smile, and said, "Yeah, we'll see." He got out of his chair and nodded towards the dance floor "So, one more dance before you go, or are we trying to keep the magic pony thing quiet?"
"Woooo!"
Both looked up to see Rainbow Dash giving a cheering Scootaloo a fly around the gym.
Twilight smiled and made for the dance floor. "I think that ship has sailed."