Art of a Sun's Love Volume 1

Early the next morning, on August 2, at around 5:30 in the morning, Dawn was the first in the house to wake up. She had always been an early riser since she was a baby, and so her parents never had to wake her up just to get her ready for school. On this morning, she ran to her parents' room, and then quietly opened the door. Neither Sunset nor Vincent stirred as she tip-toed to the bed, and so without any warning...

"DOGPILE!"

...Dawn had landed on her father, waking him and Sunset up with a start.

"AH!" cried Vincent as he was awoken.

"Morning, dad," smiled Dawn.

"Ugh. Dawn, you're not a little child anymore," sighed Vincent, "you've gotten big over the years."

"Good morning, Dawn," said Sunset before letting out a big yawn, "up early as usual, I see."

"The early bird gets the worm," said Dawn, "Aren't you and dad gonna tell us about the middle school years?"

"Of course we will," said Vincent, "we did promise you, after all. Now... can you please get off of me?"

Dawn got off of the bed. Now Vincent could stand up again; he put on his slippers and picked up his walking stick.

"Shall we have our morning shower, my lovely wife?" he asked.

"Indeed," giggled Sunset. Dawn rolled her eyes, but neither parent noticed that.

By 8:00 in the morning, the rest of the Sentry family was up as well. Among them were Fictionary's husband Butterscotch, the twins Scootaloo and First Base, and their respective spouses Rumble and Silver Spoon. All three couples, much like Twilight and Flash and Vincent and Sunset, had at least one or two children. An elderly Page Turner was also there as well as a woman named Cindy, the mother of the twins.

The family was all gathered in the dining room for breakfast.

"Good morning, Sentry family," Vincent addressed.

"Morning," said the rest of the family. Vincent stood in between Flash and Sunset; together, the three of them were the unofficial leaders of the family.

"Everyone sleep well?" asked Sunset. Most replied yes.

"Excellent," said Flash.

"Now will you tell us about how middle school was?" asked Dawn.

"We'll get to it, Dawn," said Vincent, "right now, we're going to be discussing our plans for this month." Dawn groaned with disappointment.

"First item on our list," said Sunset, "last Thursday's jewelry show at Canterlot, I believe, was a great success, and we'd all like to thank Silver Spoon and her husband First Base for that wonderful display. Well done, Silver."

Applause filled the room for Silver Spoon as she blushed modestly.

"Thank you," she said whilst First Base kissed her on the cheek.

"Okay, next item on the list," said Flash, "if you're all aware, next Monday marks the anniversary of the Rainbow Falls Riot from twenty-three years earlier. My wife Twilight, a survivor of the event, shall be hosting a lecture at the Rainbow Falls Town Hall in memory of the victims. Twilight dear, do you have your lecture all planned out?"

"I certainly do, Flash," said Twilight, "I've been practicing it all week."

"That's lovely, dear," said Flash, smiling with pride at his wife.

"It's a wonder you guys got any sleep," muttered Violet.

"I heard that, young lady!" scolded Twilight.

"Sorry, mom."

"Right. Anyway," said Vincent, "onto our third item; as I'm sure you're aware, thirteen days from now marks the twentieth anniversary of when Sunset Shimmer and I got married."

This was met with great applause and cheers.

Vincent chuckled. "Yes, yes, thank you very much," he said, raising a hand for silence before continuing, putting his arm around his wife. "Being married to such a wonderful woman as Sunset has been the best years of my life. Had we not met as children, the Sentry family probably wouldn't be what it is today."

"Nor would anybody we've impacted, Vinnie," giggled Sunset, grabbing her husband by the necktie and kissing him on the lips.

"Ew!" giggled Dawn.

"Ahem. Sunset," said Flash, tapping his sister-in-law on the shoulder, "Sunset!"

This caught Sunset's attention. Embarrassed, she and Vincent broke away from their kiss and he straightened his tie once more.

"R-right," said Sunset, "let's move on. School will be resuming in a few weeks, so children, you'll have to prepare for it; textbooks, notebooks, pencils, paper, the like. It'll also be Dawn and Dusk's final year at Canterlot High."

"Alright!" said Dusk, and he walked around the table just to give Dawn a high five.

"Don't celebrate just yet," said Sunset.

"What do you mean?" asked Dusk.

"There's still more to talk about," said Sunset, "and yes, Dawn, we'll get to story time once Comet and Song Cue come over."

"Yay!" cheered Dawn. She put both shoulders on the table and rested her head on her hands, looking up at her mother and smiling. "So what's next then?"

"This afternoon, we're expecting a few visitors," said Vincent, "Comet Tail, his wife Song Cue, and their two children Venus Alto and Mars Treble are all coming over for luncheon. You all know the drill when it comes to visitors."

Dusk looked away and blushed a little.

"I think Dusk is happy to hear about his girlfriend coming over," giggled Dawn. His two little sisters also giggled at their brother's embarrassment.

"It's not funny!" snapped Dusk.

"It is when you faint around her presence," smirked Twilight V.

"I do not!" protested Dusk.

"Plus, she's older than you," added Violet.

"So?" argued Dusk, "As long as she's nice, I don't care even if I was a young child!"

"Children!" scolded Flash, slamming his hand on the table, "That will do."

"Sorry, dad," said Dusk meekly.

"That's better," said Flash.

"Well then, that is all for right now," said Vincent. With that, the family finished their breakfast.

A few hours later, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," said Vincent, walking over to the door, "that must be them."

He opened the door, and to his delight, there were the people he was expecting.

"How wonderful to see you," he said happily.

There stood Song Cue, now a worker for childcare at the age of forty-one going on forty-two, with a hairstyle akin to Pattie Boyd. Her husband Comet Tail, the Canterlot High astronomy teacher, stood beside her, also at forty-one with shoulder-length grayish blue hair and eyes, as well as a beard and mustache. With them were their daughter Venus Alto, age nineteen going on twenty, and son Mars Treble, age seventeen.

"Glad we could make it," said Song Cue. She and Vincent hugged, whilst he shook Comet's hand.

"Good to see you again, mate," said Comet.

"Same here," said Vincent, "how was Australia?"

"It was a wonderful trip," said Song Cue, "we got to see the sights like the Sydney Opera House and the Great Barrier Reef..."

"I got a picture of a shark," said Mars.

"Good thing you weren't fish food then," teased Venus.

"Well, that's bloody easy for you to say!" retorted Mars, "I didn't want to take a dip in the ocean!"

"Oh, behave yourselves, you two," said Comet Tail.

Vincent just laughed and tousled Venus' hair. "How's my favorite goddaughter?"

"I'm fine," said Venus.

At that moment, Sunset and Twilight came down. Both women noticed the couple and their two children at the front door with Vincent.

"Song Cue! Comet Tail!" they said happily. They ran up to the couple and gave them both hugs.

"So good to see you again," said Twilight, letting go of Comet Tail and turning to hug Song Cue.

"It's wonderful to see you again too," smiled Song Cue.

"Same here," said Sunset as she and Comet hugged.

"What's been happening while we were away?" asked Comet.

"Not too much," said Sunset, "although as of yesterday, my daughter has suddenly become interested in learning all about her family's history."

"Interesting," said Song Cue.

"Specifically, she now wants to know about the middle school years," added Vincent.

"Why the sudden interest?" asked Comet Tail.

"I heard she had a chat with three certain Dazzlings," said Vincent.

"Is that so?"

"Well Comet, Dawn wanted to know if Sunset and I had troubles before we married, so we had to start from the beginning."

Speaking of whom, Dawn had come downstairs dragging Dusk with her, Twilight V and Violet.

"Come on, Dusky," teased Dawn, "your girlfriend's here."

"She's not my girlfriend," protested Dusk.

"You sure?" asked Violet, "We heard you talking in your sleep last night about her."

"I do not talk in my sleep!"

"Hi, there, Dawn," said Venus, noticing the young redhead.

"Hi, Venus," said Dawn, "I bet someone else is happy to see you," she added, with a knowing look at her cousin.

Dusk looked away, blushing.

"Hey there, Dusk," said Venus giving him a hug, "so good to see you."

Dusk blushed redder as he felt the older girl's hug. His sisters would've laughed if not for their mother staring at them.

Soon, everyone had sat down in the living room for lunch. Cucumber sandwiches and cake were being served along with tea.

"Oh, please tell us about the middle school years," begged Dawn for the umpteenth time.

"Alright, alright," chuckled Vincent, "you never seem to let up, do you?"

"Nope," said Dawn innocently.

Vincent rolled his eyes, but he began to tell the story as to how he, Comet Tail, and Twilight Sparkle all first met...

AUGUST 25, 2008

Lullaby Strings had dropped off Fictionary at Rainbow Falls Elementary, and now, she had driven her two sons to Canterlot Middle.

"Are you excited, little brother?" asked Flash.

"I'm a little nervous," said Vincent, "what if I get pushed around again?"

"Just ignore them, and you'll be fine," said Flash, "nothing bad could happen then."

"Is that really good advice?" asked Vincent.

"How about this?" asked Flash, "You'll get to see Sunset more."

"Now that sounds appealing," said Vincent, "but will she and I have at least one class together?"

"Who knows?" asked Flash.

Soon enough, the car arrived at the school. "Here we are," said Lullaby, "now remember, boys; stay out of trouble. You're a step closer to becoming adults, after all."

"We'll be good, mom," said Flash.

The two brothers then kissed their mother goodbye and then she drove off.

"My first class is writing in Room 112," said Vincent as they walked deeper into the school, "what about you, Flash?"

"I'll be taking chemistry in Room 113, so right next door to you," said Flash.

"Surprised they didn't put the A in front," remarked Vincent.

Their conversation was interrupted when suddenly, another boy ran up from behind and bumped into them. He was about Vincent's age, and he had grayish blue hair and eyes to match. Unlike Vincent, he didn't have glasses - at the time, Vincent had government-styled glasses and didn't like them very much, but he had to wear them because his vision wasn't 20/20.

Anyway, the other boy knocked himself the the two brothers to the ground, before quickly picking himself up.

"Sorry, guys!" he cried with a youthful English accent, "Got myself in a bit of a pickle right now!"

"What on earth-" Vincent began, but Flash quickly pulled him away as three other boys, presumably around seventh or eighth grade, pursued after the frightened sixth grader.

Rover, presumably the leader, had dark grayish cobalt blue hair and deep green eyes. Fido, seemingly the brawn of the trio based on his structure, had moderate vermilion hair and his brown eyes were so dark you'd confuse them for black. Spot, the shortest of the trio, had very dark gray hair and dark grayish persian blue eyes.

"Who are these guys?" asked Vincent.

"They call themselves the Diamond Dogs," explained Flash, "most likely named for a David Bowie album."

"How do you know about them?" asked Vincent.

"I bumped into them before," said Flash, "a girl the same grade as me, Rarity, could tell you all about them."

"Yeah, well, there's no time for that!" cried Vincent, "I've got to help that poor kid!" And he shot off like a jackrabbit.

Vincent soon caught up with the Diamond Dogs; they had the other boy cornered, shaking with fear.

"Right, shrimp," said Rover, "give us your money!"

"I-I-I'm s-sorry, g-guys," the other boy stuttered nervously, "b-but I left my w-wallet at home!"

"Do you think we're that stupid?" snapped Fido, "We know you got it!"

"Hey!" snapped Vincent, "Leave him alone, you big bullies!"

The Diamond Dogs and the other boy turned to face Vincent, staring at the brutish trio with a firm glare. The mean kids just laughed in Vincent's general direction.

"Look at him, guys!" laughed Spot, "That nerd's a real beanpole!"

"No, no. Four-eyes would be a better insult," snickered Rover.

"How about a four-eyed beanpole?" jeered Fido, and the Diamond Dogs laughed even harder.

Vincent just growled. "Pick on somebody your own size!" he snapped.

Spot stopped laughing as he assumed Vincent was making fun of him. "Hey!" he snapped.

"That's a good one," snickered Fido.

"Aw, shut up!" snapped Spot.

Because the Diamond Dogs were focused on Vincent, the other boy saw this as a chance to quietly sneak away, and then he shouted out loud...

"Run!"

"Quick! Follow me!" exclaimed Vincent, and he and the other boy ran as fast as they could, but they didn't get far before they ran into Flash.

"Whoa!" the boys all cried out.

"Vincent, are you okay?" cried Flash.

"Yeah! Never better!" he replied, "We're just about in the clear."

Just then, the school bell rang.

"Oh no!" cried Flash, "Come on, Vincent! We might be running late!"

"Wait!" said the other boy, "Do you know where Room 112 is?"

"I'm on my way there," said Vincent, "by the way, the name's Vincent, and that's my older brother Flash."

"Hi, there."

"I'm Comet Tail," said the other boy, shaking hands with the two brothers, "thanks for helping me out, Vincent; it's nice to meet you and Flash."

"Think nothing of it," said Vincent. On that note, the three boys quickly ran off to find their classrooms.

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Soon enough, they came across the rooms they were looking for. Flash said goodbye to his brother and new friend and went into 113 whilst Vincent and Comet went into 112. Both were breathing heavily with relief as they entered. The teacher, Miss Cheerilee, noticed them. She was a woman in her thirties with grayish harlequin eyes and pale, light grayish rose hair with light ceriseish gray streaks.

"Where have you two been?" she asked firmly, "You've nearly missed roll call!"

"We're sorry, Miss Cheerilee," panted Comet, "we had a bit of a run-in with the Diamond Dogs."

Once they explained everything, Miss Cheerilee couldn't be mad for long.

"Thank you for telling me everything," she said, "I'll have a word with Principal Pierce about this. In the meantime, why don't you take your seats?"

Vincent and Comet looked over to see two empty spaces next to a girl about the same age as them. She had moderate violet eyes underneath her glasses and moderate sapphire blue hair with violet and rose streaks. Both sat down next to her.

"Morning," Vincent addressed the girl.

"Hello," said the girl. After that brief glance, the girl then did a quick double take. "You don't happen to be Vincent van Colt, do you?"

"Yes, I am. Why? You heard of me?"

"Sunset Shimmer told me about you," explained the girl, "oh, where are my manners? I'm Twilight Sparkle," she turned to Comet and said, "and you are?"

"I'm Comet Tail."

"Nice to meet you," said Twilight.

Soon, it was lunchtime. Flash joined Vincent and Comet Tail at their table. The three noticed two familiar girls sitting as well.

"Hi there, Sunset!" Vincent called out to the redhead.

"Hi Vincent!" Sunset waved back.

"You know her?" asked Comet Tail.

"Old friend from elementary school," said Vincent, "Sunset, this is Comet Tail."

"Nice to meet you," said Comet Tail.

"Same thing," replied Sunset.

"I heard Twilight mention she told you about Vincent."

"Who's this Twilight?" asked Flash.

"Oh, she's this girl Comet and I met in our first class," explained Vincent, "Twilight, that's my older brother Flash."

"Hello," said Twilight.

"Hi," said Flash.

Then there was trouble. As Flash was making his way to a seat, he accidentally tripped and his food went flying!

"Whoa!" he cried. Unfortunately, Twilight got the brunt of the flying food.

"Oh, man," groaned Vincent.

Poor Twilight now had spaghetti and jello streaming down her hair.

"I am so sorry!" gasped Flash in shock, "It was an accident! I'll go see if I can find some towels." He raced off before anyone could say anything. Some students had seen the incident and laughed at Twilight's plight.

"Who knew the egghead could be such a slob?" snickered one.

"A real jam she got herself into," another jeered.

Vincent was angered that they were mocking Twilight over an accident, and he wanted to call them out for it, but he didn't get to as Sunset did it for him.

"Shut your mouths, you little worms, before I cram my lunch tray down your throats!!" she yelled.

The students stopped laughing and cowered in fear. Sunset covered her mouth in shock; did she really just say that? Had she let her anger get the better of her?

"Sunset?" asked Vincent meekly, afraid of what would happen next. Sunset raced off without another word.

"Sunset!" called Vincent, racing off after her, "Wait!" He found her against a wall, face buried in her knees with deep shame.

"Are you okay?" asked Vincent gently.

"NO!" shrieked Sunset, taking Vincent by surprise, "I threatened to harm two students just for laughing at Twilight after Flash's lunch fell on her!"

Vincent could tell Sunset was shaking and that she had tears in her eyes.

"It's alright, Sunset," he said, gently putting a arm on her shoulder, "I was about to yell at them as well."

Sunset then noticed that Comet, Twilight and Flash were walking up to them. Twilight had much of the mess cleaned off of her.

"Sunset?" asked Twilight, "I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" asked Sunset.

"For standing up for me, of course!" said Twilight, laughing slightly, "Oh, sure, you went a bit too far, but I'm grateful for you defending me against those jerks."

"You're welcome," said Sunset. To her surprise, Twilight went and gave Sunset a hug to her gratitude. Vincent joined in as well, his reason being for comfort. After a few seconds, Sunset put her arms around the two in a hug as well.

All too soon, the three friends broke from their hug.

"Are there any classes we'll be in together, Sunset?" asked Vincent, "For the last four classes I haven't seen you."

"Well, what are your next classes then?" asked Sunset.

"I've got art and language arts," said Vincent, "language arts is next for me."

"Same goes for me," said Sunset, "looks like we'll be sharing a class after all!"

"Hooray!" cheered Vincent.

"He really likes her, doesn't he?" asked Comet to Flash.

"It sure looks that way," said Flash, "my mom thinks it's puppy love."

"How? They're not dogs."

"No, Comet!" laughed Twilight, "What Flash means is..." Then she whispered into Comet's ear, "Vincent's got a crush on Sunset and vice-verse."

"Oh," said Comet Tail, realizing what this meant. All too soon, the school bell rang, indicating the end of lunch time, and Vincent and Sunset walked together to their next class. Little had either they, Twilight, Flash, or Comet realized was that their quintet would be complete for years to come.