Welcome To My Worldby IamIChaptersPart 1Part 2Part 3Part 1It was getting late. The sun had set about a hour ago and night was in full effect. His parents would start to be getting worried; but Flash just couldn't leave. Not yet at least. It was Friday night, so he had more time than usual. Time. Every day since Twilight had left for the second time; he had come here, sat, and waited. Time. Time passing in long seconds but short days. Time. Time he sacrificed, hoping she would return. He was stupid, he was crazy, but it was his time to waste. He wondered why she had had such an effect on him. He barely knew her really. But since that very first time he bumped into her; he was taken. There was a sweetness and innocence to her. She had looked so lost and vulnerable. But then he had seen her great strength and will. She was attractive, but no overly so; a perfect 7 (and only a fool could ask for more). She was what any man would and could want. She was perfect. And she was gone. Was she gone for good? Maybe. Possibly. Probably. And he was a fool for coming here and waiting to see if she would come back. He felt all this but still he stayed on the off chance, the 1 in 1,000,000 chance she would be back. So he sat in front of the statue, every night, and waited. What made it worse was the fact that he knew, just on the other side of that stone. she was there. But it wasn't just on the other side of the stone. It was another dimension which could only be accessed through a portal that was contained within the stone, but was now closed. She was so tantalizing close, yet so impossibly far away. "Oh, Flash! I'm sorry." Flash turned around and saw Sunset Shimmer standing behind him; a look of embarrassed shock on her face. "Oh, hey Sunset," he said a little embarrassed himself. "So what brings you here?" Sunset turned a little red. "I'm guessing the same thing that brought you here." Sunset was embarrassed. She too had been coming here every night since Twilight left. Until now she had gotten here after Flash had left. Flash turned and looked back at the statue. "Probably," he said in a self scolding voice. It was also the voice of a person on the verge of giving up all hope. "I can leave if . . ." "No," Flash cut Sunset off. "Please stay, if you want. I could use the company. It'll give me someone to talk to besides myself." Sunset walked over and sat beside him on the ground. "Well, this is weird," she said just looking all around except in Flash's direction. Flash gave a little chuckle. "Yeah. Never thought I'd be sitting with you again. No offense." "None taken," Sunset responded with her own laugh. She really meant it as well. She learned over the past seven months not to take anything too personally. It was all part of her growth. Sunset then grew really quiet and somber. "You miss her, don't you?" "I wouldn't be here if I didn't." The irritation was clear in his voice. He knew she was only trying to start a conversation with him; to give him the opportunity to talk about his feelings, but it was still a dumb way to start the ball rolling in his mind. "Me too," Sunset said sadly and dropped her head. Flash could hear the same hurt and loneliness in her voice as he had in him. He scolded himself for not being nicer and getting mad so quickly. He should say something. She was obviously hurting. And if nothing else, they used to date. And that's when it caught him. The hidden question he always wanted to ask but never knew was inside of him. "Sunset, why me?" "Huh?" she asked back; not knowing what he was talking about. "Why me? Why did you decide to ask me out? What was it about me that you liked? Or did like anything?" He turned and looked directly at her. Sunset turned and looked him straight in the eyes. "Honestly, you were popular and I used you to become more so myself. You are a nice guy. And you have the personality type that can mesh with just about anyone. Rockers, jocks, outcasts, rich kids, you easily fit in with all of them and by dating you, I got access to all those groups as well to manipulate and bend to my will. You were a pawn and nothing more." Sunset didn't sugar coat anything. She told him straight forward why she did what she did. It wasn't to hurt him (although she supposed it did), but so he could truly know who she had been. "Oh." Flash just sort of nodded his head and looked down at the ground. "Now let me ask you something," she said. "Why did you resist so long? I poured everything into getting you and you never bit. Most guys would have jumped at the chance to be with me. Not to sound like Rainbow Dash or anything, but I am pretty darn attractive by human standards. So why?" "Same reason I broke up with you; I knew you were fake. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy; you are hot; but I could tell your heart wasn't in it. I knew I was being played. But you just wore me down. And, like I said, you're hot. So I wanted to believe that you really did want me. But after we started dating, it was all too clear you didn't." Sunset nodded her head. "Flash, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I can't even say I didn't mean for it to happen because I did. All of it. I just hope you forgive me eventually." Flash continued to look down. "I already have. Mostly. I mean, dang, what you said just now; brutal. But you were honest and risked me flipping out on you. I respect that. You're owning your past. And you helped defeat the Dazzelings. That's no minor feet." Sunset started to reach out to touch his shoulder but pulled back. "Thanks. That means a lot." They sat there in awkward silence for awhile. Each lost in their own heads, trying to make sense of the situation and their own feelings. Finally Flash spoke. "So why did you stay? You could have gone back. So why did you stay behind?" "Technically, I'm in exile. The first time, Twilight said I was to stay and make amends and learn the true meaning of friendship. The second time, I felt I still had more to learn. I'm still just coming into my own. When the time is right, I'll return. Maybe. I want to return, but I'm beginning to like it here. I'm starting to feel like I belong somewhere. I don't know. It's all up in the air now. I get so confused at times." "Yeah." It was all Flash could think to say. He saw a stone laying on the ground, picked it up, and threw it at the statue and both he and Sunset watched as it went straight into the portal. Both stood up and gasped. The portal was still open. How could this be? Twilight should have closed it once she went back. "That's not right! It shouldn't have done that! It should be closed!" Sunset said. She was terrified. With the portal opened anyone or thing could cross over. What if the Sirens came back and found it? What is someone accidently fell into it? It seemed greatly irresponsible for Twilight to leave it open. "What do we do? We can't let that open. Someone could get hurt. Couldn't they?" Flash said confused and a bit scared. Sunset decided she would have to write Twilight and tell her to close the portal. But then another idea came to her. Slowly she smiled and looked at Flash. "We can cross over." "What?!" Flash said in shock. "We can go over. We simply walk through the portal, come out in Equestria, and tell Twilight she needs to close the portal. It'll be a short little excursion. We both get to see Twilight again. I get to see home again, for a little while at least. What do you say?" Sunset was getting really excited now. "I don't know. What if something happens?" "I can't say it won't, but risk it. For Twilight? For the safety of both our worlds?" Sunset was almost to the point of begging. She really didn't want to cross over alone. So she hopped and prayed to whatever higher forces that may be listening that Flash would say yes. Flash looked down at the ground and Sunset was sure he'd say no. He then snapped his head and said with a smile, "Let's go. For my world and yours." Author's Note Show timeline is around "Amending Fences". So when they cross over, Twilight won't be there. Part 2Motion sickness affects thousands of people. Some get nauseous in cars, others blow chunks on planes, and still others lose it on boats. But all those pale in comparison to having your atoms torn apart and reassembled during interdimensional travel. As soon as Flash walked through the portal he saw his arms elongate before him; he could feel himself being pulled apart, and then a bright flash of white light followed by darkness. When he came to; his head was pounding and he felt like he was going to vomit. He couldn't open his eyes or even hear. For awhile he was trapped inside the feelings of his own body. Slowly he began to feel the floor he was laying on, the temperature of the environment he was in, and sounds began to filter back into his ears. "Flash, flash, are you ok?" It was Sunset's voice. He could hear she was worried. Apparently she had faired much better than he had. He moaned with nausea and his muscles ached all over. He slowly opened his eyes but all that did was trade blackness for darkness and a bunch of blurry, misshapen objects. Apparently it was night time here in Twilight's world as well (although there was some sort of light coming from somewhere). "FLASH! ARE YOU OK?" Sunset's voice was louder and more frantic. He knew he had to say something. I got to stand, he thought to himself. He moaned more as he tried to get to his feet. Everything felt wrong. His body didn't respond as it should; his muscles felt out of place. He couldn't feel his fingers or toes. No, wait, he couldn't feel his hands or feet period. He was now scared. What had happened to him? Did going through the portal paralyze him? Oh God, if so, what was he going to do? "Sunset!" he quietly said. It was the best he could do. Sunset felt stupid. She was a magical being; protected from the worst effects of the portal. Flash was merely a human. What if she had misjudged the effects traveling would have on him. This was bad, really bad. Then she heard him softly croak out her name. It wasn't much, but it was something. "Flash; stay calm. Take it nice and slow. Your body, . . . has been through a lot." "No crap," he gently chided. His voice was becoming stronger. He had the sensation of being up, yet also being on all fours. His eyesight was also returning. He slowly began to see the light was coming from a cone shaped object. Eventually he saw it was coming from a "UNICORN!" Flash shouted. The unicorn turned it's head and seemed to grin. Then it spoke, "Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that didn't I?" It was Sunset Shimmer's voice. Flash couldn't believe what he was seeing. Before him stood a tan unicorn with Sunset's voice. How could this be? Then his eyes caught something. In front of him, where his nose should have been was a muzzle, a horses muzzle. He turned his head all around to see as much of himself as possible. He had a horse's legs, a horse's body, and wings? What was going on here? He turned back to the unicorn. "Sunset, is that you?" he asked with both fear and hope. "Ta-da," she said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I should have told you that in my universe, we're all ponies. Well, not all ponies. We have yaks, donkey's, cows, zebras, horses, oh, dragons . . ." "You're a unicorn!" Flash said in disbelief. Unicorns were myths, legends. How could they be real? How could any of this be real? "Yes. And you're a Pegasus. I think you already saw your wings." Sunset was being as gentle as she could. She remembered what it was like when she first discovered her alternate body. It was a horrifying experience. She was going to try her best to ease Flash into his. It was the least she could do. Flash look back and stretched out his wings. Surprisingly it took very little effort to do so. It appeared that his mind and body were beginning to adjust to each other. "Um, uh, ok, sure, wow. I have to admit; this is a surprise." He finished with a slight laugh. After the initial shock; he was actually starting to enjoy his new form. He was a Pegasus. How many people could claim that? And he realized that once he stepped back through, he'd change back. So it was really no big . . . "I'm naked!" he yelled as that fact finally dawned on him. Sunset laughed. Humans and their strange morality. "So are most of us here. It's not a big thing. It's not like on your world where people, ponies, whatever, are sex crazed maniacs." "But what if I see your, you know. Your kitty?" Flash was more embarrassed than he had ever been. He was alone, with a female, and they were both naked. Sunset laughed again, laid down, and rolled over onto her back and exposed all her kibbles and bits to him. "See anything you like big boy?" she asked in her best fake seductive voice. "ACK!" Flash shouted and looked away in disgust. "No! Ugh; that was horrible. Horse poon really isn't my thing. Yuck!" Sunset laughed as hard as she ever did; nearly peeing herself. When she was able to stop, she rolled over and stood up. "Ok, so I think we're good then." "Yeah; more than," Flash said, still trying to get what he had just seen out of his head. Then another thought occurred to him. "Uh, is this what Twilight is?" Sunset suddenly got very quiet. What was she supposed to say? If she told him the truth, he might run off and never want to see Twilight again. But then maybe that is exactly why she should tell him the truth. "No, not quite. As a princess, she would be an alicorn. Which means she would have a unicorn's horn, but a Pegasus's wings. But, yes Flash, she would have a body like this." Flash got very quiet and turned around and looked down. What was he going to do? He knew Twilight as a cute, Japanese girl. But if this was who, what, she truly was, how would he be able to deal with that? He suddenly had a mental image of him cruising horse barns back home and shuddered. "Are you ok?" Sunset asked softly; her heart breaking for him. "Yeah. Let's find Twilight." ********************************************************************************************************************* "Ok, I have a question for you," Flash said as they walked through the castle in search of Twilight. "Alright," Sunset answered back. She wanted to do anything she could to make Flash feel better. "How? How do you do anything over here? Without hands I mean. I've helped my dad out on the job during the summers and, well, how can you build anything without hands? Or cook? Or, well, anything?" "Oh. Well, good question. Um, unicorns, like me, have magic. We can move things with our minds and such. The others, they use their mouths for some things. But, and I can't believe I never thought of this before, but things just stick to our hooves." Sunset suddenly realized how absurd that sounded. "But your legs, they don't move like our arms do. The bone and muscle structure is different." "Look." Sunset turned around to show Flash how she could move her fore leg. She moved up, down, and all around. Which also struck her as weird for the first time. How was she able to do that? "What? You just raised your leg up and down." Flash was confused. What was she trying to do? "Hold on," Sunset said, confused herself now. "You didn't see me raise it above my head and wave around?" "No!" Flash felt even more confused and was beginning to think she was trying to fool him. Sunset was becoming concerned. "Flash, describe to me what I look like." "Uh, your tan with a brown mane and tail. Brown eyes. I don't know; you're a unicorn." "Flash, I'm dandelion colored with a red and yellow mane and tail, teal eyes, and a picture of a sun on my flank. You don't see any of that?" "Uh, no. In fact I'm still trying to figure out how you're forming words. I see your mouth moving, but your lips aren't actually forming anything. I don't even know how I'm forming words." Another question suddenly came to Sunset. "How do I look back in your world?" "White, emerald green eyes, red hair. Typical celtic woman. I guess I shouldn't say typical. But, Irish." Sunset finally figured out what was going on. "Flash, you are not seeing me as I am. What you are seeing is a reflection of me that your mind can comprehend; both in this world and yours. Mine is too. I see you as yellow with blue hair back in your world and yellow furred with a blue mane and tail and a shield with a lightening bolt on it on your flank. Amazing." Susnet's mind started to real with all the new implications of what she just found out. "I don't get it." Flash stopped and thought for a second. "And I don't want to. I just want to see Twilight." If, for whatever reason, he wasn't seeing Sunset as she was, then maybe he could force himself not to think of Twilight as a pony. The two searched and searched but found no trace of anyone. "Sunset, it's getting late. My parents are probably worried sick right now. I'm already expecting to be grounded." Flash started but was cut off. "So then staying a little longer won't hurt anything." "How much longer are we going to search? She's not here. Probably doing princessy stuff somewhere else. Let's just go home." Now Flash was to the point of begging. "I am home Flash. And we will. There's just one place I want to visit while I'm here." "WHAT! Un-uh! No. We came here to find Twilight and to get her to close the portal. I'm not going sight seeing. No!" "Flash," Sunset said softly with an undercurrent of sadness. "I want to go to my parent's grave." Author's Note Part 3: Luna and a special surprise guest. Part 3"No!" said Flash with no small dose of indignation. "This is wrong. You manipulated me into coming here . . ." "Flash, no, I didn't." Sunset was trying her best to calm Flash down. She also felt miserable that he would assume that everything she had said to him was just a ruse to get him to come to her parents grave. "I really did want to come here to see Twilight. That's it. I wanted to see her because she was my friend and I was legitimately concerned with the portal being opened. It's just that in being here, being back home, I realize all that I've lost and all that I've missed. It's been three years since I last visited their grave. I just want to go while I'm here; to feel that connection again. I don't want to go alone; but if you want to go back to your world, then fine. I'll walk you back to the portal and then I'll go. Ok?" Sunset walked up to Flash and touched his left front leg with her hoof. Flash turned away, fuming with anger. He learned Twilight was a horse/pony/alicorn/ whatever, she wasn't even here, and now Sunset wanted to visit her parents grave while she knew his parents would be up, waiting for him and half worried sick. Only slightly looking back, he said, "How far away is it?" "Flash, you don't . . ." "How far!" Flash yelled. He didn't mean to; but the frustration had built to a boiling point. He also wanted to do the right thing and didn't want to run the risk of being talked out of it. "It's a small cemetery, right outside Cantorlot. About a couple hours away. Once we get close enough, I can teleport us there. I don't want to risk teleporting both of us that far of a distance. All total, we should be here another three hours. As I said, you don't . . ." "We better get going then. Let's go," Flash said in a short, irritated voice. ***************************************************************************************************************** The night was cool but not cold. The stars twinkled nicely in the night sky which was free from clouds. As Flash walked along with Sunset, he marveled at what he saw. Where they were was like a village from twelfth century England. Waddle and daub houses, wooden carts, yet he also saw a pony walking by with sunglasses and headphones on. Which, one, who wears sunglasses at night; and two, what was the exact level of technology here? It was like pieces of every time period from middle ages to the 1980's fell into some vortex and landed here. There was no rhyme or reason to anything. The one good thing about all this confusion was it gave Flash a chance to calm down. His mind became so occupied with trying to make sense of this bizarro world, he didn't have time to think about all of his problems and feelings. It was a form of meditation, almost. As they walked, every once in a while, a pony that was out for a late night trot would say hello and they would say hi back which made Flash wonder if they were actually speaking English or just perceived it that way. Once they made it out of town, though, Flashes mind slowly returned to the matter at hand. And most surprisingly; how bad he felt for yelling at Sunset. "Sunset, hey, I just want to apologize . . . " "No, don't," Sunset cut him off. She spoke in a low, soft, sad voice. "After everything I've put you through; you don't need to apologize for anything." "Yes, I do. No matter what happened between us in the past, or even the present, that's no excuse for losing it back there. I mean three years without seeing any of your friends, without visiting your parents grave; I should have understood." "Thank you. And to be honest, Twilight is my only friend here. I didn't make any friends here. So it made crossing over to your world a lot easier." "Really? Why not?" Flash realized he had never asked why Sunset had crossed over. Never actually even thought of it. But now he was curious and they did have some time to kill. "I had a chip on my shoulder. My father was a delivery pony . He was always away, so I never got to see him much. Then on one run when I was about six, he was going up this really narrow road mountain road when a rock slide hit him and knocked him off the mountain. Mother and I struggled. I mean, being a single parent here isn't the same as in your world. No offense, but even at my worse, when I was actually a demon, I was only slightly worse than what most of you lot are on a daily basis." "Ouch!" said Flash thinking Sunset's assessment of the human race was a little harsh. "If I'm going to be brutally honest about myself; I'm going to be brutally honest about everything." Sunset said in a matter-of-fact manner. "No, being poor and struggling here is not the same here as it is on Earth, but the bottom is never fun no matter where you're from. There are two types of people that crave power; those born into it who see it was their birthright, and those born without it, who have suffered at the hands of chance and vowed to never be at the whims of another again and control their own destiny. I was the latter." "So what happened? To your mom that is?" "Suicide," Sunset responded flatly. "After I moved away, to become Princess Celestia's student. I guess she couldn't stand being alone." "I'm so sorry." Flash didn't know what to say. His heart ached for Sunset. Everything she had been now made sense. Some monsters are born, Sunset was made. "It's alright. It is what it is." "No, it's not. 'It is what it is' is what we say to ourselves to justify the unjustifiable. We stuff our emotions down with that linguistic ram rod. And we shouldn't; you shouldn't. It's the pain in life, the hurt, that let's us know we're human." "I'm not human Flash." "But you are. You might not be a homo-sapien-sapien, but you are human. You have thoughts and feelings and wants and needs and desires and hopes. And you shouldn't just gloss over your pain but use it as a way of connecting to others. My father is Chinese-American. My mother is white. My dad's side of the family has almost disowned him. It hurts a little, but I also know I'm not the only one. That's how I'm able to fit in with all those groups you mentioned earlier. I don't see them as groups, but as people. some very badly damaged, but still people." Sunset shook her head. "If only I knew who you really were, I wouldn't have played you but actually cherished you." "Sunset, we can't be what we were, or you pretended we were, but we can be friends. Please?" "I'd like that, friend." Sunset smiled "Buddy." "Pal." "Amiga." "Comrade." "What, are we communist now?" Flash laughed. Sunset laughed as well. "No, but I think we are close enough to teleport. You ready?' "Let's do this." *************************************************************************************************** It was a simple head stone in a simple cemetery. A plain, rough cut, slab that had "SHIMMER" carved in it. Both Sunset and Flash stood in silence before it, heads bowed in reverence. Three years had passed, three! When she had left, she was 26, now she was almost 30. So much had changed, she had changed. First for the worse, then for the better. But this was her corner stone. The place that always beckoned her to some degree or another. She barely remembered her father who seemed more like an idea than a real person. All she remembered of her mother was that she was a sad women who would break into tears out of nowhere. "You ok?" Flash whispered. "No. But that in of itself is ok. Thank you Flash, for everything." Flash nodded and then suddenly looked up as something caught his eye. "What's that?" A winged black mass descended from the sky and both Flash and Sunset were frightened. "Be at ease my children. For I am Princess Luna," it said. Sunset immediately bowed and Flash followed suit. "Arise Sunset and . . . Flash. No need for formalities." Sunset spoke as soon as she stood back up. "Princess Luna, I heard you were back." "Yes my child. Seems as if home beckons us all." Luna smiled. "It is good to see you. I've been wanting to talk to you for awhile now. Come walk with me; we have much to discuss." "Yes my lady. But what of Flash he . . . " Sunset stopped as she saw Flash fast asleep on the ground. "A gift. There is one who has been calling for him. I thought since he was here now and under my domain, I should allow them to have a meeting as it were while we talked." ****************************************************************************************************** Flash was surrounded by blackness. He could feel nothing, see nothing except his own body, which was human again. Where am I, he thought to himself. Was he sent here by the one who called herself Princess Luna? Was this a punishment? Was he doomed to be here forever? In terror he called out, "HELLO! ANYBODY?" "Flash!" A voice called out from behind him. He turned and look and there was Twilight. But she wasn't what he expected. She was a pony like creature, but she was a pastel purple with freakishly large eyes and almost nonexistent muzzle. She had a dark purple main with magenta highlights and on her flank was one large diamond looking star thing surrounded by smaller whit stars. "Twilight? Is that, you look different." He tried to laugh as he said it. He wanted to sound like he was joking. "So do you. Your all peach with black hair and almond shaped eyes." Twilight was equally perplexed but kept walking toward him. Flash started walking toward her as well. "This is how I actually look. And I take it that's your true form." Twilight stopped, looked down, and blushed. "I guess so. Are you disappointed?" Flash walked over to Twilight, knelt down and kissed her full on the lips. Twilight's eyes bulged out of head in shock but then she closed them and returned his kiss, lost in love. Flash pulled away and smiled. "If it's you in there, the body doesn't matter." "Awww, that's so sweet!" Twilight said on the verge of tears. " But now I know what it must be like to kiss a dude with a beard," he said with a laugh and Twilight laughed to. "So where are we? How'd we get here?" "This is the Nexus." It was Princess Luna. But it was a version of her neither of them had seen before. She was mostly human with flowing hair that looked like it was the night sky with streaks of white in it. She had dark blue wings and a horn coming out of her forehead. She wore a dark blue, Renaissance style dress. "Luna?" Twilight asked. "Yes my child. A version of her at least." Luna smiled. "As I was saying; this is the Nexus. The center of the Multiverse. Here you can travel to any realm you wish. Infinite universes with infinite dimensions contained within. And it is here, that all obtain their true shape and all can see the other's true form." "So why are we here?" Twilight asked again. "For that reason my child. Love can not blossom when both partners are in costumes. I can not give you eternity, but I can give each other." With that, she vanished. "What did she mean by that?" Twilight wondered out loud. "I don't know, but can we go back to kissing?" Flash asked. The two began to kiss again. A small light began to form around them and grew until they were engulfed by it. Their bodies morphed and changed through all the various incarnations of themselves. Then they began to merge with each other, body, mind, and spirit. First each others thoughts were made bare to one and other. Then there was no separation of mind, they were of the same mind; one entity, without body, without barriers, one perfect whole; their bodies now completely dissolved away. The were one with each other, one with the light. In the ball of light, a dark spec formed. The speck grew larger and separated into two dark shapes. Then those shapes formed Flash and Twilight as the light receded. Soon it was just them, standing and holding each other. They slowly pulled away and saw that they were in a hybrid state; not human, not pony, but both. "That . . . was . . . intense," Flash slowly sputtered out. "Yeah." It was all Twilight could say. "Kind of makes sex seem pointless and empty now. I, saw you. I saw your life. Everything." "Same. Wow!" Twilight started to giggle and Flash joined her. "So now what? Forget sex, how do you even have a conversation after that?" "You don't." It was Luna again. "I wish you two could go on. I wish you could marry, have a family, and just be; but for reasons I can not explain now, you can't. But at least I could give you this. Think of it as my present to you both." "WHAT! That's not fair!" Flash said. "My child, life is not fair," Luna responded with compassion in her voice. "But how can I, we go on after experiencing that?" Twilight asked, shaking and in tears. "Because you must. The fate of the multiverse depends on it. Now it is time to go; but you will always have this in you, in your hearts, in your dreams." ************************************************************************************************************* "Flash, Flash, wake up." Flash slowly opened his eyes and saw Sunset Shimmer shaking him. He looked around. He was back on campus, in front of the portal. "Oh, I must have dozed off. I had the strangest, but most beautiful dream," he said. "I think it's time for you to go home. Your parents must be worried." Sunset's tone was concerned but strict. "Huh? Oh yeah, you're right." He got up and started to walk off when he suddenly stopped and turned around. "Hey, what are you doing here?" "Home Flash. I'll see you Monday." Flash shook his and walked off. As soon as he was out of ear shot, Sunset turned toward the portal and said, "Thank you Luna." Then she turned and looked in the direction Flash went. "And thank you comrade." Author's Note Since all these stories are setting up the long fiction, I'm leaving them all opened ended somewhat so I can tie all the lose threads up later. Sorry.
Part 1It was getting late. The sun had set about a hour ago and night was in full effect. His parents would start to be getting worried; but Flash just couldn't leave. Not yet at least. It was Friday night, so he had more time than usual. Time. Every day since Twilight had left for the second time; he had come here, sat, and waited. Time. Time passing in long seconds but short days. Time. Time he sacrificed, hoping she would return. He was stupid, he was crazy, but it was his time to waste. He wondered why she had had such an effect on him. He barely knew her really. But since that very first time he bumped into her; he was taken. There was a sweetness and innocence to her. She had looked so lost and vulnerable. But then he had seen her great strength and will. She was attractive, but no overly so; a perfect 7 (and only a fool could ask for more). She was what any man would and could want. She was perfect. And she was gone. Was she gone for good? Maybe. Possibly. Probably. And he was a fool for coming here and waiting to see if she would come back. He felt all this but still he stayed on the off chance, the 1 in 1,000,000 chance she would be back. So he sat in front of the statue, every night, and waited. What made it worse was the fact that he knew, just on the other side of that stone. she was there. But it wasn't just on the other side of the stone. It was another dimension which could only be accessed through a portal that was contained within the stone, but was now closed. She was so tantalizing close, yet so impossibly far away. "Oh, Flash! I'm sorry." Flash turned around and saw Sunset Shimmer standing behind him; a look of embarrassed shock on her face. "Oh, hey Sunset," he said a little embarrassed himself. "So what brings you here?" Sunset turned a little red. "I'm guessing the same thing that brought you here." Sunset was embarrassed. She too had been coming here every night since Twilight left. Until now she had gotten here after Flash had left. Flash turned and looked back at the statue. "Probably," he said in a self scolding voice. It was also the voice of a person on the verge of giving up all hope. "I can leave if . . ." "No," Flash cut Sunset off. "Please stay, if you want. I could use the company. It'll give me someone to talk to besides myself." Sunset walked over and sat beside him on the ground. "Well, this is weird," she said just looking all around except in Flash's direction. Flash gave a little chuckle. "Yeah. Never thought I'd be sitting with you again. No offense." "None taken," Sunset responded with her own laugh. She really meant it as well. She learned over the past seven months not to take anything too personally. It was all part of her growth. Sunset then grew really quiet and somber. "You miss her, don't you?" "I wouldn't be here if I didn't." The irritation was clear in his voice. He knew she was only trying to start a conversation with him; to give him the opportunity to talk about his feelings, but it was still a dumb way to start the ball rolling in his mind. "Me too," Sunset said sadly and dropped her head. Flash could hear the same hurt and loneliness in her voice as he had in him. He scolded himself for not being nicer and getting mad so quickly. He should say something. She was obviously hurting. And if nothing else, they used to date. And that's when it caught him. The hidden question he always wanted to ask but never knew was inside of him. "Sunset, why me?" "Huh?" she asked back; not knowing what he was talking about. "Why me? Why did you decide to ask me out? What was it about me that you liked? Or did like anything?" He turned and looked directly at her. Sunset turned and looked him straight in the eyes. "Honestly, you were popular and I used you to become more so myself. You are a nice guy. And you have the personality type that can mesh with just about anyone. Rockers, jocks, outcasts, rich kids, you easily fit in with all of them and by dating you, I got access to all those groups as well to manipulate and bend to my will. You were a pawn and nothing more." Sunset didn't sugar coat anything. She told him straight forward why she did what she did. It wasn't to hurt him (although she supposed it did), but so he could truly know who she had been. "Oh." Flash just sort of nodded his head and looked down at the ground. "Now let me ask you something," she said. "Why did you resist so long? I poured everything into getting you and you never bit. Most guys would have jumped at the chance to be with me. Not to sound like Rainbow Dash or anything, but I am pretty darn attractive by human standards. So why?" "Same reason I broke up with you; I knew you were fake. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy; you are hot; but I could tell your heart wasn't in it. I knew I was being played. But you just wore me down. And, like I said, you're hot. So I wanted to believe that you really did want me. But after we started dating, it was all too clear you didn't." Sunset nodded her head. "Flash, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I can't even say I didn't mean for it to happen because I did. All of it. I just hope you forgive me eventually." Flash continued to look down. "I already have. Mostly. I mean, dang, what you said just now; brutal. But you were honest and risked me flipping out on you. I respect that. You're owning your past. And you helped defeat the Dazzelings. That's no minor feet." Sunset started to reach out to touch his shoulder but pulled back. "Thanks. That means a lot." They sat there in awkward silence for awhile. Each lost in their own heads, trying to make sense of the situation and their own feelings. Finally Flash spoke. "So why did you stay? You could have gone back. So why did you stay behind?" "Technically, I'm in exile. The first time, Twilight said I was to stay and make amends and learn the true meaning of friendship. The second time, I felt I still had more to learn. I'm still just coming into my own. When the time is right, I'll return. Maybe. I want to return, but I'm beginning to like it here. I'm starting to feel like I belong somewhere. I don't know. It's all up in the air now. I get so confused at times." "Yeah." It was all Flash could think to say. He saw a stone laying on the ground, picked it up, and threw it at the statue and both he and Sunset watched as it went straight into the portal. Both stood up and gasped. The portal was still open. How could this be? Twilight should have closed it once she went back. "That's not right! It shouldn't have done that! It should be closed!" Sunset said. She was terrified. With the portal opened anyone or thing could cross over. What if the Sirens came back and found it? What is someone accidently fell into it? It seemed greatly irresponsible for Twilight to leave it open. "What do we do? We can't let that open. Someone could get hurt. Couldn't they?" Flash said confused and a bit scared. Sunset decided she would have to write Twilight and tell her to close the portal. But then another idea came to her. Slowly she smiled and looked at Flash. "We can cross over." "What?!" Flash said in shock. "We can go over. We simply walk through the portal, come out in Equestria, and tell Twilight she needs to close the portal. It'll be a short little excursion. We both get to see Twilight again. I get to see home again, for a little while at least. What do you say?" Sunset was getting really excited now. "I don't know. What if something happens?" "I can't say it won't, but risk it. For Twilight? For the safety of both our worlds?" Sunset was almost to the point of begging. She really didn't want to cross over alone. So she hopped and prayed to whatever higher forces that may be listening that Flash would say yes. Flash looked down at the ground and Sunset was sure he'd say no. He then snapped his head and said with a smile, "Let's go. For my world and yours." Author's Note Show timeline is around "Amending Fences". So when they cross over, Twilight won't be there.
Part 2Motion sickness affects thousands of people. Some get nauseous in cars, others blow chunks on planes, and still others lose it on boats. But all those pale in comparison to having your atoms torn apart and reassembled during interdimensional travel. As soon as Flash walked through the portal he saw his arms elongate before him; he could feel himself being pulled apart, and then a bright flash of white light followed by darkness. When he came to; his head was pounding and he felt like he was going to vomit. He couldn't open his eyes or even hear. For awhile he was trapped inside the feelings of his own body. Slowly he began to feel the floor he was laying on, the temperature of the environment he was in, and sounds began to filter back into his ears. "Flash, flash, are you ok?" It was Sunset's voice. He could hear she was worried. Apparently she had faired much better than he had. He moaned with nausea and his muscles ached all over. He slowly opened his eyes but all that did was trade blackness for darkness and a bunch of blurry, misshapen objects. Apparently it was night time here in Twilight's world as well (although there was some sort of light coming from somewhere). "FLASH! ARE YOU OK?" Sunset's voice was louder and more frantic. He knew he had to say something. I got to stand, he thought to himself. He moaned more as he tried to get to his feet. Everything felt wrong. His body didn't respond as it should; his muscles felt out of place. He couldn't feel his fingers or toes. No, wait, he couldn't feel his hands or feet period. He was now scared. What had happened to him? Did going through the portal paralyze him? Oh God, if so, what was he going to do? "Sunset!" he quietly said. It was the best he could do. Sunset felt stupid. She was a magical being; protected from the worst effects of the portal. Flash was merely a human. What if she had misjudged the effects traveling would have on him. This was bad, really bad. Then she heard him softly croak out her name. It wasn't much, but it was something. "Flash; stay calm. Take it nice and slow. Your body, . . . has been through a lot." "No crap," he gently chided. His voice was becoming stronger. He had the sensation of being up, yet also being on all fours. His eyesight was also returning. He slowly began to see the light was coming from a cone shaped object. Eventually he saw it was coming from a "UNICORN!" Flash shouted. The unicorn turned it's head and seemed to grin. Then it spoke, "Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that didn't I?" It was Sunset Shimmer's voice. Flash couldn't believe what he was seeing. Before him stood a tan unicorn with Sunset's voice. How could this be? Then his eyes caught something. In front of him, where his nose should have been was a muzzle, a horses muzzle. He turned his head all around to see as much of himself as possible. He had a horse's legs, a horse's body, and wings? What was going on here? He turned back to the unicorn. "Sunset, is that you?" he asked with both fear and hope. "Ta-da," she said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I should have told you that in my universe, we're all ponies. Well, not all ponies. We have yaks, donkey's, cows, zebras, horses, oh, dragons . . ." "You're a unicorn!" Flash said in disbelief. Unicorns were myths, legends. How could they be real? How could any of this be real? "Yes. And you're a Pegasus. I think you already saw your wings." Sunset was being as gentle as she could. She remembered what it was like when she first discovered her alternate body. It was a horrifying experience. She was going to try her best to ease Flash into his. It was the least she could do. Flash look back and stretched out his wings. Surprisingly it took very little effort to do so. It appeared that his mind and body were beginning to adjust to each other. "Um, uh, ok, sure, wow. I have to admit; this is a surprise." He finished with a slight laugh. After the initial shock; he was actually starting to enjoy his new form. He was a Pegasus. How many people could claim that? And he realized that once he stepped back through, he'd change back. So it was really no big . . . "I'm naked!" he yelled as that fact finally dawned on him. Sunset laughed. Humans and their strange morality. "So are most of us here. It's not a big thing. It's not like on your world where people, ponies, whatever, are sex crazed maniacs." "But what if I see your, you know. Your kitty?" Flash was more embarrassed than he had ever been. He was alone, with a female, and they were both naked. Sunset laughed again, laid down, and rolled over onto her back and exposed all her kibbles and bits to him. "See anything you like big boy?" she asked in her best fake seductive voice. "ACK!" Flash shouted and looked away in disgust. "No! Ugh; that was horrible. Horse poon really isn't my thing. Yuck!" Sunset laughed as hard as she ever did; nearly peeing herself. When she was able to stop, she rolled over and stood up. "Ok, so I think we're good then." "Yeah; more than," Flash said, still trying to get what he had just seen out of his head. Then another thought occurred to him. "Uh, is this what Twilight is?" Sunset suddenly got very quiet. What was she supposed to say? If she told him the truth, he might run off and never want to see Twilight again. But then maybe that is exactly why she should tell him the truth. "No, not quite. As a princess, she would be an alicorn. Which means she would have a unicorn's horn, but a Pegasus's wings. But, yes Flash, she would have a body like this." Flash got very quiet and turned around and looked down. What was he going to do? He knew Twilight as a cute, Japanese girl. But if this was who, what, she truly was, how would he be able to deal with that? He suddenly had a mental image of him cruising horse barns back home and shuddered. "Are you ok?" Sunset asked softly; her heart breaking for him. "Yeah. Let's find Twilight." ********************************************************************************************************************* "Ok, I have a question for you," Flash said as they walked through the castle in search of Twilight. "Alright," Sunset answered back. She wanted to do anything she could to make Flash feel better. "How? How do you do anything over here? Without hands I mean. I've helped my dad out on the job during the summers and, well, how can you build anything without hands? Or cook? Or, well, anything?" "Oh. Well, good question. Um, unicorns, like me, have magic. We can move things with our minds and such. The others, they use their mouths for some things. But, and I can't believe I never thought of this before, but things just stick to our hooves." Sunset suddenly realized how absurd that sounded. "But your legs, they don't move like our arms do. The bone and muscle structure is different." "Look." Sunset turned around to show Flash how she could move her fore leg. She moved up, down, and all around. Which also struck her as weird for the first time. How was she able to do that? "What? You just raised your leg up and down." Flash was confused. What was she trying to do? "Hold on," Sunset said, confused herself now. "You didn't see me raise it above my head and wave around?" "No!" Flash felt even more confused and was beginning to think she was trying to fool him. Sunset was becoming concerned. "Flash, describe to me what I look like." "Uh, your tan with a brown mane and tail. Brown eyes. I don't know; you're a unicorn." "Flash, I'm dandelion colored with a red and yellow mane and tail, teal eyes, and a picture of a sun on my flank. You don't see any of that?" "Uh, no. In fact I'm still trying to figure out how you're forming words. I see your mouth moving, but your lips aren't actually forming anything. I don't even know how I'm forming words." Another question suddenly came to Sunset. "How do I look back in your world?" "White, emerald green eyes, red hair. Typical celtic woman. I guess I shouldn't say typical. But, Irish." Sunset finally figured out what was going on. "Flash, you are not seeing me as I am. What you are seeing is a reflection of me that your mind can comprehend; both in this world and yours. Mine is too. I see you as yellow with blue hair back in your world and yellow furred with a blue mane and tail and a shield with a lightening bolt on it on your flank. Amazing." Susnet's mind started to real with all the new implications of what she just found out. "I don't get it." Flash stopped and thought for a second. "And I don't want to. I just want to see Twilight." If, for whatever reason, he wasn't seeing Sunset as she was, then maybe he could force himself not to think of Twilight as a pony. The two searched and searched but found no trace of anyone. "Sunset, it's getting late. My parents are probably worried sick right now. I'm already expecting to be grounded." Flash started but was cut off. "So then staying a little longer won't hurt anything." "How much longer are we going to search? She's not here. Probably doing princessy stuff somewhere else. Let's just go home." Now Flash was to the point of begging. "I am home Flash. And we will. There's just one place I want to visit while I'm here." "WHAT! Un-uh! No. We came here to find Twilight and to get her to close the portal. I'm not going sight seeing. No!" "Flash," Sunset said softly with an undercurrent of sadness. "I want to go to my parent's grave." Author's Note Part 3: Luna and a special surprise guest.
Part 3"No!" said Flash with no small dose of indignation. "This is wrong. You manipulated me into coming here . . ." "Flash, no, I didn't." Sunset was trying her best to calm Flash down. She also felt miserable that he would assume that everything she had said to him was just a ruse to get him to come to her parents grave. "I really did want to come here to see Twilight. That's it. I wanted to see her because she was my friend and I was legitimately concerned with the portal being opened. It's just that in being here, being back home, I realize all that I've lost and all that I've missed. It's been three years since I last visited their grave. I just want to go while I'm here; to feel that connection again. I don't want to go alone; but if you want to go back to your world, then fine. I'll walk you back to the portal and then I'll go. Ok?" Sunset walked up to Flash and touched his left front leg with her hoof. Flash turned away, fuming with anger. He learned Twilight was a horse/pony/alicorn/ whatever, she wasn't even here, and now Sunset wanted to visit her parents grave while she knew his parents would be up, waiting for him and half worried sick. Only slightly looking back, he said, "How far away is it?" "Flash, you don't . . ." "How far!" Flash yelled. He didn't mean to; but the frustration had built to a boiling point. He also wanted to do the right thing and didn't want to run the risk of being talked out of it. "It's a small cemetery, right outside Cantorlot. About a couple hours away. Once we get close enough, I can teleport us there. I don't want to risk teleporting both of us that far of a distance. All total, we should be here another three hours. As I said, you don't . . ." "We better get going then. Let's go," Flash said in a short, irritated voice. ***************************************************************************************************************** The night was cool but not cold. The stars twinkled nicely in the night sky which was free from clouds. As Flash walked along with Sunset, he marveled at what he saw. Where they were was like a village from twelfth century England. Waddle and daub houses, wooden carts, yet he also saw a pony walking by with sunglasses and headphones on. Which, one, who wears sunglasses at night; and two, what was the exact level of technology here? It was like pieces of every time period from middle ages to the 1980's fell into some vortex and landed here. There was no rhyme or reason to anything. The one good thing about all this confusion was it gave Flash a chance to calm down. His mind became so occupied with trying to make sense of this bizarro world, he didn't have time to think about all of his problems and feelings. It was a form of meditation, almost. As they walked, every once in a while, a pony that was out for a late night trot would say hello and they would say hi back which made Flash wonder if they were actually speaking English or just perceived it that way. Once they made it out of town, though, Flashes mind slowly returned to the matter at hand. And most surprisingly; how bad he felt for yelling at Sunset. "Sunset, hey, I just want to apologize . . . " "No, don't," Sunset cut him off. She spoke in a low, soft, sad voice. "After everything I've put you through; you don't need to apologize for anything." "Yes, I do. No matter what happened between us in the past, or even the present, that's no excuse for losing it back there. I mean three years without seeing any of your friends, without visiting your parents grave; I should have understood." "Thank you. And to be honest, Twilight is my only friend here. I didn't make any friends here. So it made crossing over to your world a lot easier." "Really? Why not?" Flash realized he had never asked why Sunset had crossed over. Never actually even thought of it. But now he was curious and they did have some time to kill. "I had a chip on my shoulder. My father was a delivery pony . He was always away, so I never got to see him much. Then on one run when I was about six, he was going up this really narrow road mountain road when a rock slide hit him and knocked him off the mountain. Mother and I struggled. I mean, being a single parent here isn't the same as in your world. No offense, but even at my worse, when I was actually a demon, I was only slightly worse than what most of you lot are on a daily basis." "Ouch!" said Flash thinking Sunset's assessment of the human race was a little harsh. "If I'm going to be brutally honest about myself; I'm going to be brutally honest about everything." Sunset said in a matter-of-fact manner. "No, being poor and struggling here is not the same here as it is on Earth, but the bottom is never fun no matter where you're from. There are two types of people that crave power; those born into it who see it was their birthright, and those born without it, who have suffered at the hands of chance and vowed to never be at the whims of another again and control their own destiny. I was the latter." "So what happened? To your mom that is?" "Suicide," Sunset responded flatly. "After I moved away, to become Princess Celestia's student. I guess she couldn't stand being alone." "I'm so sorry." Flash didn't know what to say. His heart ached for Sunset. Everything she had been now made sense. Some monsters are born, Sunset was made. "It's alright. It is what it is." "No, it's not. 'It is what it is' is what we say to ourselves to justify the unjustifiable. We stuff our emotions down with that linguistic ram rod. And we shouldn't; you shouldn't. It's the pain in life, the hurt, that let's us know we're human." "I'm not human Flash." "But you are. You might not be a homo-sapien-sapien, but you are human. You have thoughts and feelings and wants and needs and desires and hopes. And you shouldn't just gloss over your pain but use it as a way of connecting to others. My father is Chinese-American. My mother is white. My dad's side of the family has almost disowned him. It hurts a little, but I also know I'm not the only one. That's how I'm able to fit in with all those groups you mentioned earlier. I don't see them as groups, but as people. some very badly damaged, but still people." Sunset shook her head. "If only I knew who you really were, I wouldn't have played you but actually cherished you." "Sunset, we can't be what we were, or you pretended we were, but we can be friends. Please?" "I'd like that, friend." Sunset smiled "Buddy." "Pal." "Amiga." "Comrade." "What, are we communist now?" Flash laughed. Sunset laughed as well. "No, but I think we are close enough to teleport. You ready?' "Let's do this." *************************************************************************************************** It was a simple head stone in a simple cemetery. A plain, rough cut, slab that had "SHIMMER" carved in it. Both Sunset and Flash stood in silence before it, heads bowed in reverence. Three years had passed, three! When she had left, she was 26, now she was almost 30. So much had changed, she had changed. First for the worse, then for the better. But this was her corner stone. The place that always beckoned her to some degree or another. She barely remembered her father who seemed more like an idea than a real person. All she remembered of her mother was that she was a sad women who would break into tears out of nowhere. "You ok?" Flash whispered. "No. But that in of itself is ok. Thank you Flash, for everything." Flash nodded and then suddenly looked up as something caught his eye. "What's that?" A winged black mass descended from the sky and both Flash and Sunset were frightened. "Be at ease my children. For I am Princess Luna," it said. Sunset immediately bowed and Flash followed suit. "Arise Sunset and . . . Flash. No need for formalities." Sunset spoke as soon as she stood back up. "Princess Luna, I heard you were back." "Yes my child. Seems as if home beckons us all." Luna smiled. "It is good to see you. I've been wanting to talk to you for awhile now. Come walk with me; we have much to discuss." "Yes my lady. But what of Flash he . . . " Sunset stopped as she saw Flash fast asleep on the ground. "A gift. There is one who has been calling for him. I thought since he was here now and under my domain, I should allow them to have a meeting as it were while we talked." ****************************************************************************************************** Flash was surrounded by blackness. He could feel nothing, see nothing except his own body, which was human again. Where am I, he thought to himself. Was he sent here by the one who called herself Princess Luna? Was this a punishment? Was he doomed to be here forever? In terror he called out, "HELLO! ANYBODY?" "Flash!" A voice called out from behind him. He turned and look and there was Twilight. But she wasn't what he expected. She was a pony like creature, but she was a pastel purple with freakishly large eyes and almost nonexistent muzzle. She had a dark purple main with magenta highlights and on her flank was one large diamond looking star thing surrounded by smaller whit stars. "Twilight? Is that, you look different." He tried to laugh as he said it. He wanted to sound like he was joking. "So do you. Your all peach with black hair and almond shaped eyes." Twilight was equally perplexed but kept walking toward him. Flash started walking toward her as well. "This is how I actually look. And I take it that's your true form." Twilight stopped, looked down, and blushed. "I guess so. Are you disappointed?" Flash walked over to Twilight, knelt down and kissed her full on the lips. Twilight's eyes bulged out of head in shock but then she closed them and returned his kiss, lost in love. Flash pulled away and smiled. "If it's you in there, the body doesn't matter." "Awww, that's so sweet!" Twilight said on the verge of tears. " But now I know what it must be like to kiss a dude with a beard," he said with a laugh and Twilight laughed to. "So where are we? How'd we get here?" "This is the Nexus." It was Princess Luna. But it was a version of her neither of them had seen before. She was mostly human with flowing hair that looked like it was the night sky with streaks of white in it. She had dark blue wings and a horn coming out of her forehead. She wore a dark blue, Renaissance style dress. "Luna?" Twilight asked. "Yes my child. A version of her at least." Luna smiled. "As I was saying; this is the Nexus. The center of the Multiverse. Here you can travel to any realm you wish. Infinite universes with infinite dimensions contained within. And it is here, that all obtain their true shape and all can see the other's true form." "So why are we here?" Twilight asked again. "For that reason my child. Love can not blossom when both partners are in costumes. I can not give you eternity, but I can give each other." With that, she vanished. "What did she mean by that?" Twilight wondered out loud. "I don't know, but can we go back to kissing?" Flash asked. The two began to kiss again. A small light began to form around them and grew until they were engulfed by it. Their bodies morphed and changed through all the various incarnations of themselves. Then they began to merge with each other, body, mind, and spirit. First each others thoughts were made bare to one and other. Then there was no separation of mind, they were of the same mind; one entity, without body, without barriers, one perfect whole; their bodies now completely dissolved away. The were one with each other, one with the light. In the ball of light, a dark spec formed. The speck grew larger and separated into two dark shapes. Then those shapes formed Flash and Twilight as the light receded. Soon it was just them, standing and holding each other. They slowly pulled away and saw that they were in a hybrid state; not human, not pony, but both. "That . . . was . . . intense," Flash slowly sputtered out. "Yeah." It was all Twilight could say. "Kind of makes sex seem pointless and empty now. I, saw you. I saw your life. Everything." "Same. Wow!" Twilight started to giggle and Flash joined her. "So now what? Forget sex, how do you even have a conversation after that?" "You don't." It was Luna again. "I wish you two could go on. I wish you could marry, have a family, and just be; but for reasons I can not explain now, you can't. But at least I could give you this. Think of it as my present to you both." "WHAT! That's not fair!" Flash said. "My child, life is not fair," Luna responded with compassion in her voice. "But how can I, we go on after experiencing that?" Twilight asked, shaking and in tears. "Because you must. The fate of the multiverse depends on it. Now it is time to go; but you will always have this in you, in your hearts, in your dreams." ************************************************************************************************************* "Flash, Flash, wake up." Flash slowly opened his eyes and saw Sunset Shimmer shaking him. He looked around. He was back on campus, in front of the portal. "Oh, I must have dozed off. I had the strangest, but most beautiful dream," he said. "I think it's time for you to go home. Your parents must be worried." Sunset's tone was concerned but strict. "Huh? Oh yeah, you're right." He got up and started to walk off when he suddenly stopped and turned around. "Hey, what are you doing here?" "Home Flash. I'll see you Monday." Flash shook his and walked off. As soon as he was out of ear shot, Sunset turned toward the portal and said, "Thank you Luna." Then she turned and looked in the direction Flash went. "And thank you comrade." Author's Note Since all these stories are setting up the long fiction, I'm leaving them all opened ended somewhat so I can tie all the lose threads up later. Sorry.
