"Rarity, this doesn't require the fanciest dress in your stash," Sunset commented, trying not to roll her eyes.
"Of course it does!" Rarity argued. "It's not every day one goes out on their first date, after all!"
Sunset stopped resisting and rolled her eyes; however, the motion was accompanied by a friendly smile.
"Rarity, I think you're forgetting about Flash," she pointed out.
"...your first date after being reformed!" Rarity corrected herself. "Now, do you think this hat is too much?" She held up a light orange hat with a wide, floppy brim. Sunset looked down at the elegant ensemble she was already wearing. With lace, ribbon, and multiple layers, the dress was at least twenty times more complicated than the Fall Formal gowns Rarity had designed last fall.
"I really think you're overdoing this already, Rarity," Sunset told her fashionista pal. She looked to the rest of her friends for help.
"Yeah, Rares, don't worry about Sunset," Rainbow Dash piped up. "I mean, she looks cool in her regular outfit!"
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie added, her blue eyes round in speculation. "What if Sunset slipped and got chocolate donut glaze all over her dress? It would be so sad for the you and Sunset and the donut!" Pinkie began to sniffle. "The DONUT!"
"Here." Applejack passed Pinkie a tissue.
"That poor donut!" Pinkie wailed, blowing her nose loudly.
"Pinkie has a point," Rarity admitted. She tugged at one of her elegant curls thoughtfully. "It's been really breezy out, lately. At least let me give you a sundress for this!"
"Of course, Rarity!" Sunset answered. "I'd never deny a generous gift!" Pinkie Pie giggled at Sunset's last sentence.
"That's much more appropriate for a donut shop," Rarity decided. "Here, let me get it for you!" She rushed off into the next room to find a suitable outfit.
A few minutes later, Sunset returned from the dressing room wearing a pale orange dress with a yellow fringe.
"Perfect!" Rarity exclaimed, nodding her head approvingly.
"I agree," Fluttershy added, smiling in approval.
"You rock that dress!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Why guy wouldn't fall for you in that getup?" Applejack winked.
"Ooh ooh ooh! That reminds me!" Pinkie waved a flimsy pamphlet in the air. "I just got this book from a pen pal! Cheese Sandwich's Top 30 Cheesy Pickup Lines!" She dove into the book, flipping through several pages.
"Here it is!" Pinkie's blue eyes twinkled with laughter as she read out loud, "'Can I tie your shoes? 'Cause I can't have you falling for anybody else!'" The whole group chuckled at the line.
"You should go for some cheesy donuts, Sunset," Applejack suggested. Sunset beamed.
"Maybe I will, Applejack! Oh, and that reminds me." Sunset paused as she tucked a lock of red hair behind her ear. "I don't want you following me around like overprotective friends." Pinkie hastily stuck a mustache behind her back and began to whistle. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Applejack joined in the whistling.
"Wherever did you get that notion, darling?" Rarity asked. Sunset shrugged.
"It just happens all the time in fiction," she pointed out.
"Well, it's only so the friend doesn't dreadfully mess up," Fluttershy commented softly.
"So you don't puke all over his jacket!" Rainbow's comment earned her an nudge in the stomach from Applejack.
"Do you guys agree to that?" Sunset asked. "I can handle myself just fine, promise."
The rest of the group all exchanged glances.
"I won't follow ya, Sunset," Applejack promised.
"I won't stalk you!" Pinkie added, tossing the mustache away. "Pinkie Promise!" She quickly performed the usual movements. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash nodded and followed Pinkie's lead.
"I have to run, now!" Sunset commented. "Thanks for understanding, guys!"
"Tell us all about it when you get back!" Rarity called as Sunset left Carousel Boutique. Sunset smiled.
My friends are so endearing! she thought amiably.
Carousel Boutique was a very short distance from Donut Joe's Donut Shop. Sunset was traveling inwards, nearing the city. Blocks passed in silence, as Sunset's mind drifted from thought to thought. That was a common occurrence.
She was only a block away, the shop was in sight, when Sunset's phone pinged. She smiled as she took it out.
I feel guilty I didn't drive you here, said the text from Thunderbass.
It's alright, I like walking, she responded quickly. Besides, I''m almost there. When the text was sent, Sunset continued walking.
The bell above the door jingled as Sunset entered the shop. Immediately, she spotted Thunderbass's messy cerulean hair.
"Sunset!" He waved her over.
"Hi!" she answered, walking over to his table. She sat down across from Thunderbass.
"Nice dress, Sunset!" he complimented her. Sunset's cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
"Thanks, Rarity picked it out," she explained. "So, have you been here before?"
"Mostly when I was younger," Thunderbass replied, leaning back in his chair. "This place has been around since I was a kid. I used to go every week!"
"There's a similar joint back home," Sunset told him, recalling Donut Joe's shop in Canterlot. Princess Celestia had taken her there once.
Thunderbass asked something, but Sunset was too busy remembering the sweet smell of donuts as she read books in the royal library.
"Sunset." Thunderbass tugged gently at her jacket.
"Huh?" Sunset blinked. "Sorry, I was remembering some stuff. What'd you ask?"
"S'alright, Sunset. Ready to order?" Thunderbass repeated. Sunset nodded. Wishing she had brought her jacket to hold her seat, she and Thunderbass got up and joined the waiting queue. Fortunately, the only customer in front of them was a girl in a pink top, purple jacket, and a plaid skirt.
Wait, isn't that- Sunset began thinking. The girl turned around, revealing familiar pink eyes and a bright smile.
"Oh, hey, Thunderbass, Sunset!" she exclaimed.
"Sunny Flare?" Thunderbass and Sunset said in unison. Sunny winked.
"Yeah! Good to see two competitors here. Oh, thanks!" She accepted her order from Donut Joe. "Are you two on a date? Yes!" She pumped her fist in the air. "Sunny Flare, Master Shipper!"
"What?" Sunset was confused. Judging by the look on Thunderbass's face, he was apparently baffled as well.
"I knew that once Sunset stopped being a jerk she'd ditch Flash and go out with you! I could feel it in my rollerblades! Gotta skate, see ya!"
She waved as she happy-danced out of the shop. Thunderbass and Sunset exchanged a look.
"That was weird," Sunset remarked.
"You're telling me." Thunderbass grinned.
"And what would you two like?" Donut Joe asked.
"Extra large chocolate donut with extra chocolate sprinkles and an extra coat of glaze, please!" Thunderbass ordered. "What do you want, Sunset?"
"Uh, let me see," Sunset began, looking over the menu. "How 'bout a glazed donut with strawberry- no, cheese- filling?"
"Coming right up!" Donut Joe winked at them and ducked down to get their orders.
"That was a simple request," Thunderbass whispered to Sunset.
"Only by your standards," Sunset responded, smiling. Donut Joe placed their orders on the counter.
"Wanna take these back to the table?" Thunderbass asked her.
"Okay," Sunset agreed. She gently picked up the paper bag and headed back to their table. After a couple moments, Thunderbass joined her.
"Time to eat the donuts!" Thunderbass pulled his donut out of the bag and took a large bite out of it.
"How do you fit all of that into your mouth?" Sunset queried, taking a noticeably smaller bite out of her donut. "Mmm, just as delicious as I remember it! Applejack was right about the cheese!"
"It's one of the perks to being a guy," Thunderbass responded to her earlier question. Sunset giggled.
"You guys have big mouths?"
"I feel like I should be insulted," Thunderbass retorted, shoving the rest of the donut into his mouth. "Buf ahm nok." Sunset took that to mean But I'm not.
"If I have to do the Heimlich Maneuver on you after you cram that all down your throat, I swear!" Sunset didn't finish her threat; instead, she took another bite of the scrumptious donut.
"So, how've ya been, Sunset?" Thunderbass asked. "Aside from saving the school and getting to go out with the most awesome guitarist in the world, I mean."
Sunset giggled, grabbed a napkin, and wiped the crumbs off her face.
"I dunno, Flash might've been better than you!" she teased. Thunderbass chuckled.
"But I'm doing fine," Sunset chuckled. "I'm corresponding with Twilight. She knows a lot about friendship, she might be able to teach me some stuff." A hopeful expression appeared in Sunset's cyan eyes.
"That's cool." Thunderbass nodded. "Why do you need help, though? You've got friends."
"Yeah, but I don't know everything about friendship," Sunset answered, brushing back a lock of hair. "I'm sure I can learn, with Twilight's help."
"I bet you can!" Thunderbass agreed. Sunset smiled.
"Mmm," she replied, though her response sounded more like a mumble. Thunderbass nodded. Sunset tapped on the table.
Dang it, the conversation's stopped, she thought. Think of something!
"So, do you think Sunny's friends with Mystery and Cherry Crush?" Sunset blurted. "Them two being shippers and all."
"Cherry Crash," Thunderbass corrected. "Yeah, maybe. Those girls are friends with everybody!" He leaned back in his chair. Sunset nodded.
"Have you been friends with them a while?" she asked hurriedly. Thunderbass nodded.
"Totally. Flash has been my best friend since kindergarten! I met Mystery in middle school, and it was the three of us. Then came high school, and Cherry joined our group of Rockers. Well, Mystery had already known her, but Cherry had gone to a different school."
"Lucky, you guys have been friends your entire lives!" Sunset replied with a smile. "That's really nice! Either Flash neglected to mention that or I wasn't listening."
"Probably the former," Thunderbass told her. "Flash, if you hadn't noticed, is a socially awkward dunce who makes it through by being a pretty face."
Sunset shifted in her seat. Flash is a nice guy. Does he really deserve this?
"Is this how best friends talk about each other here?" she asked. "I'm no Twilight Sparkle, but that seemed pretty mean." Thunderbass looked surprised.
"You're reading way too into things, Sunset," he explained. "Relax, Flash and I are friends. Friends tease each other sometimes, you know. I don't really mean he's a socially awkward dunce. He can push the line sometimes, though." Thunderbass chuckled, and Sunset hesitantly joined in.
"I will admit our first few dates were pretty weird, mainly because he had no idea what to say and I was planning out how that would boost my popularity," Sunset recalled. "So, yeah. That was my life."
"Flash never really talked about you to us," Thunderbass answered. "He just said you were cool, and that it was so awesome you guys were dating. Then he disappeared to spend more time with you."
"Did I damage your friendship more than I did by separating the groups?" Sunset asked, arching an eyebrow in concern.
"Not really," Thunderbass responded immediately. "But does that really matter? All in the past and such." Sunset nodded.
"You don't want me to feel bad, do you?" she asked suddenly.
"What? Alright, yeah," Thunderbass admitted. "We haven't hung out before this, I'm not sure if you're still feeling guilty or anything."
"I'm alright, Thunderbass. Thanks for your concern," Sunset responded. "I don't think I'll ever stop wishing I hadn't been such a jerk, but it gets easier. I've accepted it and I'm trying to look to the future." Thunderbass clapped.
"Way to go, Sunset!" he cheered. Sunset grinned.
"Thanks."
After that, the conversation turned to more trivial matters, like sports and music. Customers flowed in and out of the store, but Sunset and Thunderbass paid little attention to anything other than the conversation. Eventually Sunset leaned back in her chair to stretch.
"This was really fun!" she exclaimed lightly.
"Leaving so soon?" Thunderbass teased her. Sunset shook her head.
"I've got so homework I have to catch up on. And besides, my friends are dying to know how it went!" Sunset smiled as she and Thunderbass stood up.
"Thanks for asking me here, Thunderbass," Sunset added.
"No problemo!" Thunderbass winked. "Next time we can go to Starbucks or something."
"I'd like that." Sunset waved as she walked out of the donut shop. "See you at school, Thunderbass!"
"See ya, Sunny!" Thunderbass replied with a wave.
Sunset smiled to herself as she turned the corner- and ran straight into a familiar girl.
"They were having such a fun time, Pinkie," Sunny Flare said into her phone. "I wish you could've been there!"
Sunset coughed. Sunny turned around, and the Shadowbolt's expression went slack.
"Hey, Sunset," she commented weakly. Sunset arched an eyebrow.
"Master Shipper's Club!" Sunny yelled, taking off down the road. Sunset chuckled.
"I wonder how much the girls already know..."
