Though the town of Canterlot had, in recent years, come to know its fair share of exciting moments, it was still good to know that, every once in a while, the place could still know what it was like to have calm and peaceful days. Today was just such a time, as a cool breeze blew through the air, and the sun shone brightly between the occasional clouds that dotted the skies. Being a weekend day, most people were, naturally, out and about, enjoying this fine weather and hoping to spend some time with their friends. Nowhere was this more evident than in the town's central park, where dozens, if not hundreds, of the town's residents had come for the day. One looked around here, and there was scarcely a face around that didn't have a smile or look of contentment upon it.
Into this environment, came Sunset Shimmer. This former unicorn, like everybody else here, had clearly taken to coming to this park with the intention of enjoying herself. And judging from the smile she wore, that was something she had obviously been succeeding in. Though alone, she strolled at a fair pace down the main path running through the middle of the park, and would, on occasion, come across some of her classmates from Canterlot High. Waves and greetings were abound in such instances, but, as always, both parties moved their separate ways. That is, until Sunset caught sight of one person in particular. A boy her age, with distinct blue hair, sitting on a nearby park bench. Smiling to herself, Sunset called out when she was finally close enough.
"Flash!"
Immediately, the boy turned, seeing his ex-girlfriend approaching him. Though things had, at one point, been difficult between the two youths, those days had long since passed, and now, the air between them was one of friendship. As such, Flash couldn't help but crack a smile of his own, getting up from his bench before placing his hands in the pockets of his jacket, after which, he replied to her.
"Afternoon, Sunset. Wasn't expecting to see you out here today."
Sunset nodded before answering.
"Figured I'd get a nice long walk in the park today. You?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Flash kept his smile.
"Same. Been here an hour so far. Thought I'd just rest for a bit."
Looking to the bench, and then back to him, Sunset took on a brief look of thoughtfulness, before speaking up again.
"You know...I was planning on getting some ice cream at the end of this. Care to join me?"
Flash thought on that himself, before, eventually, giving a brief nod.
"Sure. Sounds good."
And with that, the two were off, walking together down that same path, heading for the exit gate of the park. Though silence persisted between them, it was by no means uncomfortable. But, then again, an environment such as this one would make it very difficult to feel uncomfortable at all. However, after several minutes of this, the boy broke the silence.
"So, how've you been? We haven't spoken much recently."
Shrugging her own shoulders, Sunset turned to him before replying.
"I've been pretty good, thanks for asking. Not much to speak of, really. Helping the girls with some of their assignments. Keeping in touch with our friends over at Crystal Prep. That sort of thing."
A chuckle escaped her before she continued.
"I even went to see Sonata try her hand at that swimming contest."
A smile formed on Flash's own face before answering to that.
"Oh, yeah. I think I saw that myself. Man, she was fast!"
Nodding in agreement, Sunset chimed in again.
"Well, she was a sea creature, so, go figure."
A laugh was shared by the two youths at that remark, which, as one would expect, did much to help elevate the mood even further. But, the moment was, sadly, short-lived, as Sunset's smile faded not long afterwards. Flash noted this, looking to her with curiosity, and, after a while of looking rather hesitant about something, Sunset let out a deep sigh, before, at last, speaking up to her ex again.
"And I've...well...I've been keeping in touch with...her."
At first, Flash didn't understand who she was talking about. But, after looking at her, and the somewhat saddened face she wore, understanding dawned on him. He looked away, his own expression one of discomfort. But, to Sunset's surprise, that face faded almost as soon as it had come, and he looked to her with another smile, albeit a smaller one than before.
"It's okay, Sunset. Thank you for being worried, but...it's been a while now. I like to think I've moved on from that."
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"Has...has it really been that long?"
Nodding, Flash answered her.
"It's been over two months now, Sunset."
A look of surprise crossed the face of the former unicorn, showing that, just maybe, she hadn't realised that fact until now. But, she hadn't the chance to speak up again, as Flash beat her to it.
"I've made my peace with it. Besides, we're all friends now. If you two want to correspond, that's okay by me. Not that you ever really needed my permission."
Sunset tilted her head slightly.
"You're...you're sure about that?"
Again, Flash nodded.
"I am. After all, I like to think I'm not the kind of guy who'd really be upset just because I'm reminded of her."
As before, a chuckle escaped Sunset at that.
"No, you're really not."
Though the mood was, sadly, not as overly jolly as it had been moment prior, things were, for the most part, still good between the two as they journeyed onwards. And before long, their faces lit up somewhat again, as they saw that there, just a few more metres ahead of them, was their destination; an ice cream truck near the gate of the park. Seeing this, they upped their pace, hoping to get there before any major crowds barred their way. However, just a few moments before they reached the thing, they stopped when, all of a sudden, Sunset felt a large drop of water fall upon her face.
"What the...?"
The moment she looked up, whatever semblance of a smile there had been upon her face was now gone. For she and Flash now gazed up together to see, to their shock, that a massive gathering of dark clouds had now covered the once-blue skies above them.
"How did we miss that?!" Flash asked.
Shaking her head again, Sunset looked as if she was about to answer, only to find herself halted yet again, as more and more drops of water were now falling from those clouds above. Looking around them, they saw that many others in the park already had the right idea, and were beginning to flee, lest the downpour become even heavier. As for the two youths, they looked to each other, seeming a little disappointed, before, inevitably, experiencing the worst of the weather. What had begun as just a few scattered drops had now descended into a full-on rainstorm, with water coming down thick and fast. Both teens used their distinct jackets as make-shift umbrellas, lifting them high above their heads to keep dry. But, it had little effect.
"Well...that's one way to end the day!" Flash called out.
Letting out a dry chuckle in response, Sunset began to scour the area around them, before gaining a look that made it clear that she had just had an idea.
"This way!"
Before he had a chance to say anything else, Flash watched as the girl charged forward, making her way past the now-unused ice cream truck, and instead went straight for the park exit. Not wanting to be left behind, the boy ran after her, making sure to keep his jacket up as much as possible. He followed, not really being able to make heads nor tails of the street, given how intense the rain was coming down at this point. But, eventually, he caught sight of her, upping his pace so as to catch her. With the two now together, Sunset led the way, with Flash not far behind. All around, on every part of the street, there could be seen people ducking indoors to keep dry, with slammed doors aplenty. In the end, Sunset finally halted, turning to the boy behind her.
"In here!"
Dutifully, Flash followed, entering into a pair of wide doors after Sunset had already entered them. Here, at last, they were in the dry, and both lowered their jackets. Flash let out a sigh from all of this, looking over his shoulder to see the rain continuing to come down hard out there.
"Of all the things that could have happened today..."
He didn't finish, but then, he didn't need to, given how obvious the disappointment in his voice was. Sunset looked to him with an understanding look, but perked up moments later, placing her hand upon his shoulder.
"Well...we'd better get ourselves upstairs."
Naturally, Flash looked to her with a confused expression, but, soon afterwards, started to take note of his surroundings. It was the entrance lobby of an apartment block, and, after looking around the room for a bit, from the nearby potted plants to the rather-oblivious woman at the front desk, recognition now crossed his face, and he looked to Sunset once more.
"Oh...your home?"
Sunset nodded, shrugging her shoulders as she did so.
"It was the closest place I could think of to take shelter. And, if I'm being honest, that rain doesn't look like it'll go away anytime soon."
Looking behind him, Flash saw that this was indeed the case, as the rain was now so thick that he could not even see the other side of the street. However, despite this, his being here, in this building, seemed to cause him some uncertainty, which, after a brief silence, he elected to voice to his companion.
"And...you're okay with me being here?"
Briefly, Sunset looked to him with confusion.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Raising one hand, Flash scratched the back of his head in a display of nervousness, before, at last, answering that.
"Well...it's just...you and I..."
Finally getting his message, Sunset, to Flash's surprise, let out a brief laugh, before shaking her head slightly.
"Flash...it's fine. Like you said, we're all friends now, right?"
Though still a little uncertain, the boy nevertheless tried putting up a smile.
"Right...friends. Sure, okay."
Rolling her eyes at this rather hapless display, Sunset turned, making her way over to the nearby elevator. Flash followed, looking around while doing so, and before long, the two were in the thing, with Sunset pushing a nearby button on the wall."
"Going up," she remarked.
With that, both of them could now feel as the elevator began to move upwards. Things were silent between the two as they travelled higher and higher, with the only sounds being those of the machinery around them. But, eventually, there came the distinct bell sound of them arriving at their destination, and moments afterwards, the door slid open. With Sunset once more leading the way, they headed down the hallways they'd arrived at, with the girl noting the numbers of each and every door they passed. In the end, she cracked a smile, stopping in front of one door in particular.
"Here we are."
Flash watched as she rummaged around in her jacket, before pulling out a small key. Unlocking the door, Sunset opened it up, heading inside before turning to Flash.
"Coming in?"
There was a brief flash of hesitancy in his eyes, but, it was short-lived, as he gave a nod in response, moving inside, with Sunset closing the door behind him. Once inside, Flash looked around, familiarity crossing his face.
"Been a while since I was last here."
Having closed the door, Sunset nodded as she walked past him.
"Yeah. Not since we were still dating."
Looking to her, Flash bore a small smile.
"Seems like ages ago."
To this, Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"It was ages ago, Flash."
A nervous chuckle escaped the boy, and he instead turned his attention to the rest of the apartment. It was a fairly modest place, nothing flashy or extravagant, with several bookshelves on the far wall. The furniture was clean and comfortable-looking, and to the side, Flash noted the open kitchen. On one wall in particular, there was a fairly large window, looking out a the street below. Needless to say, the only sights to be seen right now was more of that accursed rain.
"Hopefully, it won't last too long," Sunset commented.
Flash nodded in agreement, taking a step forward to bring himself further into the apartment. But, at this point, both he and Sunset finally realised something very important about themselves; they were both dripping wet. Their relief at finding someplace dry had apparently blinded them to the fact that they had still been in the rain for a fair amount of time, and so, looking down at themselves, saw many droplets of water falling to the carpet below.
"Ah...we may need to do something about this."
Sunset's words were met with yet another nod from Flash, who, as he looked up to her, saw her moving over to a nearby chair. Sitting upon it, the girl yanked off her boots, placing them one side, near a radiator upon the wall. No doubt, she had the intention of drying her shoes, giving Flash the same idea. So, while she now stood, he sat upon a similar chair and performed the same action. And when he rose, he saw his ex make her way over to a door further along the wall.
"I'm gonna change into something drier. Do you need anything?"
Taken aback by that remark, Flash looked down at himself for the moment, thinking on it before giving his response.
"Well...I think my jacket took the worst of it. Everything else is fine."
Sunset nodded, gesturing to the radiator their shoes were drying by.
"Feel free to just set it over there for now. I'll be right back."
Flash nodded to her, just in time to see her close the door behind her. Now alone in this place, the boy did as suggested, and took off his jacket, gently placing it upon the radiator. For a moment, he even took this opportunity to hold his bare hands against the thing, relieved to feel some decent heat after having been through that rain. When he at last felt warm enough, he turned, looking upon the apartment once more. Walking around, he looked over to some of the nearby books upon the shelves. A lot of them were academic, textbooks for schools and the like. But one, at the far end, caught his interest. A book marked with the symbol of the sun. Flash had seen that book enough times to know what it was, and for a moment, he looked saddened. But, he shook himself out of it, for he could hear his host's voice yet again.
"Make yourself at home."
The boy turned, seeing Sunset emerge from the other room. Sure enough, hew new attire was indeed dry and, in all honesty, rather basic. A simple, white t-shirt, coupled with grey sweat-pants, and a pair of white socks. Pretty standard relax-around-your-own-home kind of clothes. But, when Flash observed them, he couldn't help but focus his attention on the shirt in particular. A look of familiarity grew upon his face, one that Sunset noted immediately. She looked from him, down to her shirt, and then back up to him, before finally speaking up.
"Um...is something wrong, Flash?"
Slowly, he looked up at her, his expression now one of clear surprise.
"You...you kept the shirt I gave you?"
At first, Sunset seemed confused, but then, after a few moments of taking in his words, her eyes widened with realisation. She looked down at her shirt again, tugging the hem, and all of a sudden, understanding dawned upon her, and she looked back up to the boy, seeming rather embarrassed.
"Oh! Yeah, um...I guess I did. I mean...I was looking for some new clothes, and I was thinking about how you were here and...well...I guess I just chose it without realising it."
Flash scratched the back of his head again, and between them, they both realised that the mood had become rather awkward. Neither of them looked to each other for the time being, but Sunset, in a clearly desperate move to try and alleviate this difficult atmosphere, looked over to her kitchen, before speaking up to her ex once more.
"So...I was gonna get myself some tea. Want some?"
Looking back to her, Flash, in a similarly hasty manner, put on a smile and nodded.
"Sure! I mean...that'd be nice."
Nodding back, Sunset made her way over to a nearby kettle on the side in the kitchen. Picking it up, she then moved over to the sink, turning on the tap and filling the thing with cold water. With that done, she set the kettle back where it was before, flipping the switch to start the boiling. While waiting for it, she rummaged around some of her cupboards until, finally, she found two appropriate tea cups, setting them down and finding a pair of tea bags to set within each. As she waited, and listened to the sound of water boiling within the kettle, she looked over to Flash once more. He was twiddling his thumbs, clearly not knowing what to do right now, so, for the time being, Sunset just left him to it. When the kettle finally finished, she poured the water into their cups, before then walking away from both.
"Okay, I'll just let that settle for a bit."
Walking over, she took a seat opposite Flash, taking a moment to enjoy just how soft her chair felt after having been out in the rain moments ago. Flash did something similar, sitting down on the sofa that he'd been standing by this whole time. A pause was felt between the two youths and, in a bid to try and break this feeling of awkwardness, Sunset finally spoke up to her ex.
"So...how's your band going?"
Smiling up to her, Flash reclined into the sofa a little before answering her.
"It's going good, actually. We've been trying out some new songs, and we even had a visitor come and watch us."
Curiosity covered Sunset's face at that.
"Really? Who?"
"Lemon," Flash replied.
Sunset's eyes widened with surprise.
"Lemon...Zest?"
The boy nodded.
"Yep. Well, you know how much she likes that kind of music. Although..."
Briefly, he looked from left to right, almost afraid as if the girl in question was actually listening in on them. When he was certain that this was not the case, he leaned forward, keeping his voice more hushed than before.
"...between you and me, I think she was just curious to see if we were going to grow wings and tails like you guys. Needless to say, she was disappointed."
In spite of herself, Sunset couldn't help but giggle at such a remark.
"Oh dear. I hope you haven't lost yourself a potential fan?"
Laughing back, Flash shook his head.
"Not really. Lemon said she'd come over and watch us again. Heck, she's even trying to encourage my sister to pick up some music."
Folding her arms, Sunset nodded.
"Ah, right, how is Scootaloo?"
Flash's smile widened.
"She's doing great. Keeps on telling me about what she and her friends are up to. In fact, I hear she's even made peace with Diamond and Silver at this point."
Sunset seemed taken aback at that, but no less pleased with the news.
"Glad to hear it. Having one less rivalry around the school should certainly help things."
Both youths nodded in agreement, but, before either of them had a chance to say anything else, Sunset took on a look of realisation, looking over to where the two cups still were. Getting up, she walked over, making sure the tea had brewed properly before, at last, taking the tea bags out. After setting them in a third cup for later use, she looked over her shoulder to her guest.
"Do you still take milk and sugar?"
Flash nodded in confirmation, and with that silent instruction, Sunset set to it, reaching over for the nearby bowl of sugar on the side. Like Flash, she too gave herself a single spoon of sugar, and, when that was done, picked up a jug of milk and poured into both cups. After properly stirring it all together, she picked them both up and started to carefully walk them over. Before going back to her own chair, she handed Flash his tea, which he graciously accepted with a smile. Likewise, Sunset too walked her and her cup back over to her chair, making sure not to spill anything as she took her seat once more. Together, both of them blew on their respective drinks, before then taking a single sip.
"Ah, now that's something we need on a day like this!" Flash remarked.
Sunset nodded, taking another sip of her own before speaking up again.
"I have to say, it's nice, having another visitor around here."
Flash looked up to her with curiosity.
"You don't invite the other girls around?"
Sunset nodded.
"Oh, sure, but not that often. Mostly, we just hang around the school grounds, or at Sugar Cube Corner."
A somewhat mischievous smirk crossed her face as she looked away briefly.
"I remember the last time one of them did come over. Rarity was fawning over some new dress design she was thinking up, and even brought some of her materials along to show me what she had in mind."
Then, her expression became one of slight concern, as she looked to Flash yet again.
"Actually...she might have left a few needles around the place, so...be careful where you sit."
Needless to say, such words caused Flash to suddenly be a little wary of the sofa he was on, as he carefully glanced to the pillows on either side of him. It was a reaction that caused another giggle in Sunset, before she took another slurp of her drink. As the two carried on like this, enjoying the peace of the moment and their drinks, they would occasionally glance out of the window. Sure enough, it was still belting down out there, with little opportunity to get out without becoming soaked. But, after sitting in this quiet for a few minutes, Sunset let out a sigh.
"It's...nice."
Looking up from his cup, Flash raised an eyebrow, prompting Sunset to continue.
"I mean...this. You and me, here, in this peace and quiet. It's pretty nice. I so rarely get the chance to do something that isn't exciting or frantic these days, so...I guess it's just comfortable to have a moment like this."
A pause followed that, and when it was done, she looked to the boy with a friendly smile.
"So...thanks...for being here."
At first, Flash, naturally, seemed to appreciate the sentiment, returning her smile and raising his cup to her, which she promptly returned. But, as the minutes rolled on, something began to change for him. His smile, and his whole demeanour in fact, began to look, for lack of a better word, concerned. He started glancing around, looking rather unsure about everything. As one would expect, Sunset was both surprised and worried about this change in her guest, but, for the time being, she stayed silent, letting him get his thoughts in order. When he finally did so, he let out a long sigh, leaning forward and placing his cup on the table in-between them. When he was done, he looked up to her, right into her eyes, his expression one of worry himself.
"Sunset...what are we doing?"
Confusion was what the former unicorn now felt, as she briefly glanced around her before looking back to him.
"Wha...what do you mean?"
Flash kept staring at her as he began to clarify.
"I mean...this. You and me, here, doing...doing all of this."
Again, Sunset looked to him with confusion.
"Well...we're just friends, spending time with one another."
Here, Flash looked down at the ground, almost as if looking at her was somehow too difficult to do now.
"I...I want to think that. I really do, but...but..."
Slowly, he looked back up to her.
"Just...just look at us, Sunset. Look at this whole moment. You. Me. Us. Do...do you see what's going on here? What's happening?"
As before, Sunset seemed confused by his words, and again, as before, she opened her mouth to speak her piece. But, the moment she did so, she stopped. She couldn't quite explain it, but when she looked into his eyes, it was almost as if, for a brief moment, she could feel what it was he was thinking. She stopped dead in her tracks, looking down at her tea, to everything around her, and then, right back to Flash. Slowly but surely, her eyes began to widen, and it was as if she was shocked to think what it was she was thinking. Gradually, she leaned back, reclining into her chair, and raised a hand to her forehead.
"It...it is happening, isn't it?"
Flash looked down at the ground again.
"I know you probably didn't mean for that, and nor did I, but...yeah...that seems to be what's going on right now."
Silence more awkward and uncomfortable than any other now fell between the two youths, and for a while, all that could be heard was the continuous rain going on outside. Then, after what seemed like an eternity of this, Sunset finally broke the silence, speaking up to the boy.
"So...what do we do? I mean...I...I wasn't expecting things to go this way."
Flash shook his head to that.
"Nor me. But...I don't know."
Sunset continued to stare at him, looking as if she was almost afraid of what she was going to say next. But, after steeling herself, she finally said it.
"Flash...do...I mean...do you think you might...we might...?"
The boy looked to her, very much seeming like he was weighing his thoughts and his options carefully. His expression softened considerably to what it had been before, and when he spoke, his tone too was soft.
"If I were to say that there was no small part of me that maybe...maybe wanted that to start again...it'd be a lie."
To say Sunset looked surprised by those words would have been an understatement, but, like Flash, she too allowed her expression to relax soon afterwards.
"I think...I think I'm of the same mind on that."
For the first time in a long whole now, Flash broke out into a smile, albeit a small one. Sunset bore a similar one, and moments later, she spoke.
"So...is...is this really happening? You? Me? Us...starting again?"
Flash thought long and hard about that, and in the end, his smile widened, just a little bit, before giving a brief nod.
"A lot has happened since the last time, and neither one of us is who we were when it happened. But...yeah...I think it might be. I mean...if you're comfortable with that?"
A brief chuckle escaped Sunset, and as she looked down to her still-half-full cup of tea, she nodded.
"It'd be weird, given everything that's happened, but...yeah...I think I am comfortable with it."
Flash smiled as before, but, unlike what happened earlier, he didn't get the chance to say anything. Instead, he watched as, all of a sudden, Sunset took on a look of uncertainty. She seemed to be thinking deeply on her next move, which, as the boy could see, now involved her standing up from her chair. She walked over, albeit rather carefully, setting her cup down on the table as she passed it by. The boy, meanwhile, observed her, watching as she made her way over to the sofa he was sitting on, before, at last, sitting down right next to him. Things were naturally, rather awkward at this point, but, in the end, they looked to one another, smiling in a way that, once upon a time, they would never have done before.
"So...again?" Flash asked.
The former unicorn hesitated, but only for a moment, before giving a nod.
"Yeah...again."
Together, their smiles widened, and the mood, understandably, was now far less uncomfortable than it had been minutes prior. Slowly, Flash looked down at Sunset's hand, which was currently resting upon the cushions of the sofa. There was nervousness in his expression, and not without cause, for moments later, he hesitantly started to reach out. Sunset watched and, knowing exactly what he was doing, simply allowed it to happen. After almost a full minute of slowly moving, his hand finally reached hers, and together, they held. Looking up from their hands, they smiled to one another, and for just a moment, they took this time to truly enjoy what it was that had just occurred here. But, as with all things, such feelings were short-lived, as Sunset then took on a concerned look once more.
"Flash..."
Naturally, the boy started to look worried himself.
"What is it?" he asked.
Sunset looked away, taking her hand out of his again, and placing them both upon her knees. A silence persisted, but, when it ended, she sighed, looking to him once more.
"If...if this is going to happen...you know what needs to be done."
Flash looked confused, but only for a few seconds, as Sunset then started to speak again.
"You know...who we need to talk to."
Immediately, understanding replaced confusion upon his face, and not long afterwards, his too became a look of discomfort. He sighed, but, in the end, nodded, silently agreeing to her words.
"Yeah...I do."
And together, in the silence that followed, they turned, looking as one at something far on the other side of the apartment; a familiar, sun-marked book.
