"Alright you sewer rats, line up for your pay checks and beat it." The owner of Prelli's landscaping and home improvement said as his workers finally signed off for the day. Prelli wasn't a mean or cruel boss, he said what he meant mostly as a jest, and in truth, had it not been working hours, he'd have been offering most of these fellas out for subs and cold drinks. No when it was time to work Prelli pulled rank like a commander of a platoon, because the importance and priories of business, always came before making friends. No one ever got anyplace in life by being soft when it was time to work, his philosophy. Near a hole they had been digging to set some roots for a few new trees, a pair of a young man's hands emerged from the sides, followed by a crop of blue hair mated down with sweat, hallmarks of a long hard day on the job. One of the landscapers looked into the hole then held an arm out. He wanted to help him up out, he looked almost too scrawny and soft to be out here with the blue collars.
"Hey kid? You need a hand getting out of there?" He asked as Flash Sentry's face, dripping with sweat from working all afternoon, emerged just over the edge of the hole, he looked like a mess. He had on just a plain white tee shirt and an older rattier pair of jeans, the old work gloves on his hands were starting to tear in a few places and he smelled like a paper mill. Flash looked up at the older co worker and smiled before answering.
"Nah Lube, I got it, just gimme a second here and, here we go." He paused to place his work glove covered hands on the sides of the ground again and pulled his whole body out of the hole, he took a drink of water from a bottle he'd placed near it and then went to join the others to receive their restitution. Though his body was sore, and he was so tired he could just want to collapse and sleep for the next six hours, there was something keeping him from doing so. 'Today's the day, with this last payment I'll have enough to finally get what I want...no need.' Hi mind went to Sunset Shimmer, the girl he'd loved since...they met. Sure before she didn't really love him, and was more or less using him to get popular, but so much time had passed. She'd changed so much, he'd gotten to know the real her, and she the real him.
Flash had been spending the last few weeks with her and had gotten to know the girl she really was. A caring and compassionate girl, who wanted to do so much with that she'd been given. Both in her new form as a human and as the pony she had once been. He still couldn't believe it sometimes, just on the other side of the school statue, he had another version of himself that was a captain of a royal guard.
Here he was in real life collecting a check from a part time job. Not exactly on the same wavelength as his other self, but hey it was a life worth living. Prelli was a nice guy even he pulled rank, and out of all the jobs he pulled, this one paid the best. He stepped in front of the window built into the trailer Prelli handled the administrative business from. Flash held a hand out and the five o clock shadowed face with the sun tanned complexion from working outside smiled and signed the paycheck. "Here ya go sonny, two hundred and fifty big ones, don't blow it all at once." Prelli said as the young man's slender but firm and strong hand took the check from his. Flash smiled and took off running, he hadn't bothered with his car today.
He dumped the sweaty, smelly work clothes in his clothes hamper and got showered, didn't want to show up at the mall (or at Sunset's) all dirty and sweaty. His skin was soon free from the grime and dirt, and he smelled a whole let better as he got into his familiar jeans and jacket, and took the keys to his car from the pocket, ready.
The pulse rushed in his ears as he tried to stay within the speed limit as he drove, buildings and people flashing by him with as much care as he could garner, save that which kept him from crashing into things. His first destination was the check cashing store, he went in, waited in line with the others, and left with his money in his wallet. A month's worth of savings from Perlli, for a purpose that would cement how he felt for the sunlight haired girl he loved. His next stop was the Kay Jewelers at the mall, he stood in front of it looking in through the display window, purple pillows and spinning silver racks held baubles and trinkets: necklaces, earrings, neck rings looser and more removable than their "exotic inspiration." A cornucopia of gold, diamonds, and precious stones, but he needed only one. Flash entered the store and walked up the counter, the jeweler with that green golf cap and pressed white shirt, he wore on of those lenses in his right eye as he inspected a sapphire for flaws.
"Uh excuse me...sir?" He asked reaching for his wallet. The jeweler looked from the gem not bothering to remove the lenses, almost as if they could see flaws in humans too. "I have this girl that I really like, and I've saving my wages for a month to buy her a ring. Not an engagement ring, I'm only...well let's just there's till a couple years before I should concern myself with something like that, but I want to buy her a ring that symbolizes how much she means to me. Not that that's ALL that show's what she means to me, but still, the sentiment is there." He said as the jeweler smiled and placed a selection of rings on the counter.
"Do any of these seem good sir? You got the coin for them, and they'll take her breath away when she seems them." Flash dug through the rings to see if any of them had something that would appeal to Sunset. He rejected a silver and sapphire, had to tell the jeweler that he wasn't buying any "cubic zirconium." Finally he settled on a fine golden ring with a single pure diamond in the center. The gem made a sliver of light glint across the lad's eye and he knew.
"This one...It's perfect." He says as he imagines slipping it onto her delicate orange finger, a part deep in his mind imaging someday that a a gold band while she wore white, but the idea was shuffled away. Flash didn't have anything against it, just that it seemed...archaic to him to consider. "How much?" He asks fishing for his fat wallet, its bill fold thick from the fruits of his labors, the golden band with the flawless but small stone seemed to call out to him, it was made for her.
"I'm afriad the ring is five hundred for pure gold sonny, you sure you got that kinda money?" The jeweler asks though he did have the box ready if by some chance he did.
"Cold, hard, cash." He said placing fifties and two hundreds onto the glass counter top, the lights used to reflect off the gems of the jewelry inside, now casting a halogen glow onto the faces of the bills. "Can I get that in red box with white silk lining? Even if it's extra?"
"No extra charge sir, you can't put a price on love."
"That's right you can't, I'm not trying to put a price on my love, but I wanted to show her that I'd rather she come before myself, that money could go to the dodge I drive, new clothes when my old ones are fine, or even to something I don't need. I sacrifce my own frivolus wants to show her how much she means to me."
"Oh Jeez! Your sappy mellow drama makes me wanna gag." A bitter sounding girl passing out of the Spencer's next door said. Flash saw Aria, Sonata, and Adagio walking past. Aria was looking unusually angst today, she added spiked bracelets to her wrists and black eyeliner and a darker shade of her usal lipstik along with a studded choker. "Like the new look Romeo? I'm more punk like Sid vicious!" She said giving her singature toothy grin as she flashed "her rings." on her left hand they spelled out hate, on her right was love.
"I think it's sweet! Like an old Disney fairy tale...before they were written by tumblr the way Frozen clearly was." Sonata said, at first her eyes wide and shining brightly before going flat and dismal she said the latter half of her comment.
"Why would you say that knowing you could anger someone with no real lives?" Adagio said folding her arms over her chest and groaning in displeasure.
"And like you're a mouth piece trying to straw man modern culture?" Aria added lightly landing a few blows on Sonata's shoulder. The Dazzlings past the hapless romantic, Sonata winking and giving a 'ta ta love', gesture as they rounded the corner. Leaving him with the ring box in his hand, and his heat singing like they did. The mall crowds walked by on their merry way, the world moved on while he took it all in, what a great life he lived.
Sunset Shimmer stood outside her house and watched life in this world as it unfolded, children played while parents watched from the porches, other young people like her tuned up cars, cuddled on porches, and the scene was serene and picturesque. What a great world she found, she loved it, even if wasn't the magical and intricate land of Equestria, she almost missed the car driving up to her house and the crop of blue hair the emerged from the driver seat. Flash emerged from his car in his jacket and crisp jeans, the sun setting like her namesake on the warm late spring, early summer evening.
"Hey Sunset." Flash Sentry said as she looked up with a soft.
"Hmm? Oh hey Flash, where have you been handsome?" She said smiling as he ran his soft and gentle hands through her orange and yellow hair. He stroked her hair like she was a pony again, she kinda wished she was.
"Out, shopping for a few things." He said in her ear, again her pony self seemed to show because her ear twitched softly feeling his breath softly on it. She wanted him to scratch behind it, to her surprise he did. "You like that?" He asked her. As he placed his hands on her shoulders and and made her gasp softly as he began to rub them softly. She melted under his touch as he rubbed and kissed her ear gently.
"Why do you even ask when you know I do?" She replied letting out a little whimper of pleasure as he scratched behind her ears. If she had her orange and red tail back, (though what kept it from growing by ponying up?) So she would swish it and wrap it around him, maybe lock it with his electric blue one. She didn't see his hand reach into his pocket, she didn't see him pull the box from it, and it was he placed in her hand that she did notice it. "Flash? Is this what I think it is?" She asked almost in shock.
"No, not exactly...I mean it's not a ring asking the big one? But I hope you like it anyway." He said smiling as he guided her hand to the lid and opened the lid slowly. The golden ring caught one of the setting beams of the sun, casting a golden glint into Sunset's eye, her breath was taken away upon seeing it. The golden band and the diamond gemstone so flawless, so perfect. She almost wished the next words out of his mouths would be the big question, she'd give him the big answer.
"Oh Flash it's beautiful!" She said as his arms embraced around her waist and the warmth of her body melded with his as he softly inhaled the scent of that lovely Lorelei kids shampoo, he wondered why she still used a kids shampoo, but at that moment he couldn't care.
"Not as beautiful as who I bought it for though." He said his mannerisms hearkening back to chivalrous valiant stallion his Equestrian self was. As he guided the golden band onto her finger, He could almost feel the pulse in the finger quicken as he placed it on her, and he began to kiss the back of her neck softly. "You like it?"
"I love it." She said with a gasping breath as his hands ran along her body, until he embraced her tight, her breath stiffened and caught in her throat before she released it in a pleasured gasp.
"I love you." He said as he held her close as the last rays of the sunshine bathed them both in a nearly ethereal glow. The warmth was so comforting, like a blanket enveloping the young lovers in a warm, tender caress. The Caresses he gave her, and she submitted herself to.
"I love you too." She said as he sucked and kissed her neck softly. "Flash." She said with soft moans and gentle "mmmmhhhs," of pleasure.
"Sunset." He added as she rose from her seat on the porch and locked eyes with him, they gazed into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity, and she could have stood their all night just gazing into his eyes. As could he, but Sunset had..."other plans" in mind. Plans that could take all night, thank go...Celestia it was Friday.
Author's Note
So should this story be continued in a clopfic, let me know if it's good enough for one and I'll see what I can do from there.
