Right as the clock strikes 2:30 PM, the final bell for the school day rings. All of the students at Canterlot Hight bolt up out of their desks and frantically race out of the classrooms into the hallways. Though many of them seem to have exiting the school grounds as their top priority, some individuals have chosen to stay inside. But the reasons for doing this vary from person to person.
As for most of the athletes, the next destination is the locker rooms next to the gym, or probably the football or baseball fields. Some of them go over to the school's weight room to fulfill their schedule of fitness training. Other group of students grab their things and head over to various classrooms where after-school activities take place. Science club, book club, etc.
But there is one particular student that is staying after just this once, for one special reason. She decides not to meet up with her friends like she normally would, but instead pulls out a bouquet of lilies that she had kept safely stored in her locker.
And her name is Sunset Shimmer.
The process of keeping them from getting damaged wasn’t easy. After Sunset had spent the last month and a half growing the flowers in her own backyard garden, she had to be careful regarding how she removed them from the soil with her tools.
She had been growing many kinds of flowers in her garden, but she knew exactly whom the lilies were for. It’s the whole reason she planted them in the first place.
It was only a day ago when Sunset finally decided that they were ready and took them out of the ground and lovingly placed them into a pot to stay alive. She was entirely sure to keep them watered just as often as necessary while she waited for Friday to come. During that night, with the lilies under a carefully positioned heat lamp, Sunset had gone online and booked two tickets for a movie on Saturday. The place is a dine-in theatre that serves food during the showing of the movies. She reserved one ticket for herself, and one ticket for... you.
And now on this day, Sunset is ready to take a leap of faith and ask you the question she had swelling inside of her for over a year. The lilies, gently wrapped in a bouquet, are slowly taken out of the locker and into the view of the other students. As this happens, everyone’s jaws drop while their eyes go wide.
This is a sight that they have never seen before and will probably never see again; Sunset Shimmer, one of the most desirable and popular girls in school, is showing signs that she has feelings for someone. This may be something they will never see again.
The lovestruck girl nonchalantly ignores them, at least thankful that it’s not the glares from earlier in the school year. There was a time when somebody she knew competed with her for the crown at the fall formal. When she didn’t win, she had used magical powers to turn into a demon and try to take the crown herself. She was stopped, however. But in the process, she learned a valuable lesson that eventually taught her how to slowly gain everybody’s respect back.
But all of the bad times are behind Sunset now, and she’s ready to move on to bigger and better things. The confidence that kindles within the girl’s heart tickles her emotions as she proudly trots down the hall, looking for you.
Your history with Sunset has been rather… uneventful. Neither of you had ever really thought about eachother, let alone conversed. The fact of the matter is, you each simply came from different social circles. You simply never had a chance to really get to know one another.
Despite the newfound dominance over the dark past, the most powerful thing on Sunset Shimmer’s mind right now is love. Sunset has no idea how you are as a person, but she has a strong idea of how she feels about you. She’s completely certain.
She’s not wrong to think that her reputation with you had been heavily hindered during the fall formal. You had seen her turn into a demon and go against Twilight and her friends. You had watched the entire thing unfold before your very eyes.
If there was a way for Sunset could go back in time and prevent you from witnessing such a horrible feat, she would take that option in a single beat of her fluttering heart. But of course, time has walked on, and so has her relationships with her peers. Friendships have been gradually restored, and Sunset’s likability is beginning to resurface at a whole new level. Maybe this could mean that she has a chance.
Sunset has erased her past self, and replaced it with a girl that has what it takes to finally win the heart of the one she loves more deeply than she’d like to admit. Though, Sunset really would love to admit it all some day; she can’t wait until she will sing it to the world, proudly declaring her undying love for her significant other.
The feeling of affectionate freedom.
And if there was anything in the world that could prove to this girl that love really does exist, anything to open her eyes to the beautiful details of the world around, it’s you.
Sunset’s entire world has become warm and soft, welcoming each step she takes as she thinks about you. To her, you’re not just the sweetest person she’s ever met in Canterlot High. Her entire world itself is completed by you, and she can’t really put her finger on why she’s always liked you so much.
You don’t even need to be sweet-talking to make her sigh every time she heard your voice. You never needed to be super attractive or have any kinds of good looks for that matter. With other people, those are important factors to Sunset, but you are a stunning exception. Sunset doesn’t even care what you look like; you could be the ugliest person in the world… and she would have fallen head over heels as long as it was you she was falling for. She doesn’t care about anything else in the whole world.
So… she wants to find out what’s fueling her flame for you. She has muster up enough fortitude to search for you in the hallways and confront you in a way that most guys would only dream that she would do with them. The girl turns every corner, anxious to find you on the other side of each one.
Sunset can feel her heart booming in her chest, literally pulsating to a point where she can actually hear it beat it’s song in her ears. But to her, the beating is just her feelings telling her to do what she needs to do… and say what she needs to say. She’ll soon be able to look back at all of this and say to herself that this was worth it; she already knows it’s worth it.
~
Alone you stand, having just closed your locker. As the surrounding crowd fades, a particular set of footsteps catches your attention. It’s obvious that someone’s behind you, but you don’t want to show that you’re aware just yet.
”Uh… hey” A voice sounds from behind.
Can’t pretend to not know anymore. You slowly turn around, almost pretending to be surprised. Standing right in front of you is a sheepishly postured Sunset Shimmer. Her head is lowered slightly towards the flowers that she gently holds in her hands, allowing her radiant hair’s colors to become more prominent. Her soft cheeks are flush red, and the lower parts of her eyes squinted from a clear indication of nervousness.
You can swear on your life you’ve never seen Sunset like this. Sure, she was nervous when the other students were shunning her right after what happened at the fall formal, but that situation was in a much dimmer light than this one. This one brings brightness to the entire hallway with her very presence.
”H-hi.” Sunset meekly greets you in a voice more airy than usual.
Just the sound of her voice strikes you as… humble. She’s holding these flowers in her hand, blushing like crazy… It’s pretty clear what Sunset might say next; you’re already internally bracing for it.
“Hi, Sunset.” You start the conversation, feeling like you’re giving her some sort of green light to pop the question.
”Umm… can we talk?” She manages not to stammer again.
Every word she utters feels like she’s already saying it hundreds of times over. It’s just in the very softness and uneasiness of Sunset’s voice at this moment.
A fake smile is forced onto your face and you nod your head.
“Yeah… I got a minute.”
A minute is all you’re going to need.
Sunset stands there for a few seconds, sliding one of her feet back and forth. Her question is too scared to come out at first, afraid that it’s going to present itself the wrong way in how it sounds. But there is one thing that can overpower that fear inside of Sunset, and she knows very well what it is.
The girl continues. “So…”
She can’t figure out a way to say this. Which words is she supposed to start out with to grab onto her crush’s interest?
What is the right thing to say?
”I…”
You silently give Sunset a couple of seconds to spill it out, but it feels as though the longer you wait, the more the pressure builds within her.
“Yeah?” You cooly respond.
”Well… I’ve been doing some thinking… and wondering and stuff…” The shivering girl hesitantly stutters once more in the face of your presence.
It’s hard to tell whether Sunset’s shyness is coming from how the mane 6 had changed her attitude on things, or… whatever is up with her on this specific day. Sunset has had a rough past, and has been known to exert a rather tough or independent impression whenever faced with an uncertain situation.
But you, however. There’s something about your presence along that’s… doing things to Sunset. And she doesn’t even know how to point it out to herself so she knows exactly what about you it is. It’s… melting and shaking her down, making her into putty in your hands.
In the hallway, only a couple of students remain. But the scene that is taking place has captured their full attention.
”I was wondering if… you’d… like to go out sometime…”
This is it, Sunset. This is the proposal that begins an entirely new chapter in life. This is the part where love enters, and brightens up even the darkest of days. This is where all of this starts.
“Oh, you mean like… hang out?” You redirect the subject, as though it’s going to make a difference.
You know she’s going to go right back to the point she was trying to bring up. The force inside of her is too strong for her fear this time; she must ask you.
”Well… no. I mean… more than that.” Sunset clarifies with the lilies shaking furiously in her restless grasp. “I’m talking about… I… um, would you like to go on a, um… date? With me?”
There it is.
You’ve never seen her... be like this during the entire time you’ve known her. Sunset has never been this out of character, at least in front of you. How can she seriously be this affected by you?
”And y-yes. A… d-date date.” Her resistance stammering has given in. She knows for a fact that she put the idea into your head at this point.
As you watch the mighty Sunset Shimmer cave in before you, you contemplate all of the things you could say to her that would rock her world. You could just go ahead and say yes, already. You can’t imagine how happy that would make her.
Sunset stands in front of you, completely silent now. She is at the mercy of your decision as she forces the most awkward smile you’ve ever seen onto her face. But the smile somehow works with her contours, given that she already has a very well sculpted facial structure that can pull off most crazy expressions.
This is one of the many reasons that pretty much any popular guy in school you can think about would die to go out with Sunset Shimmer. This girl’s properties are, and have always been, serious business. You could tell by everyone’s reactions to her.
But their reactions to her literally mirror how she is behaving around you, which already says enough about what you’re making her feel deep inside of herself.
Every thought in Sunset’s mind spins around at rapid speeds as she sees that you’re about to answer her. Her entire world waits just for you.
And then you let it out.
"No, Sunset.” You coldly respond in a harsh tone.
~
Sunset freezes in place, at first unable to comprehend the answer that was delivered to her. The young girl stares blankly at you, contracting her pupils and keeping her arms still. The shaking of her body has ceased, replaced by her shaky breathing.
“No…” You repeat. “I don’t want to go on a date with you.”
And with that, you lift your backpack up to your shoulder and turn your collar from the now panicking Sunset Shimmer. Without you realizing at first, your face forms a sly grin, just enough in Sunset’s view for her to see it. And you can tell that she sees it as well, you can make it out in the way she jolts ever so slightly. But the grin is only the icing on the cake for Sunset.
Not only had you blatantly rejected a relationship with Sunset, but you had also done so to the physical symbols of Sunset’s deep affection for you. You said no straight to the flowers that Sunset had grown just for you; you said no straight to the movie and dine in theatre that she wanted the two of you to go to.
You have single handedly crushed all of that with a simple word.
No.
The response to your final say does not escape Sunset’s mouth, nor can it even pull itself together in Sunset’s mind. The other students who were in the hallway have apparently already left. It’s uncertain whether or not they were here to witness you rejecting her.
As you strut away, a quiet fit of laughter bubbles out from your throat.
And out to the buses you go…
The speed at which you are walking is considerably fast; you have already turned the corner out of the hallway. There can be no sounds heard from Sunset back in the hallway. The last you saw of her… she was standing perfectly still with that same blank expression.
Holding it all in.
Just as you’re exiting the front doors, you can just faintly hear the sound of a bouquet of lilies softly colliding with the cold marble floor. It’s quiet and you can barely hear it, but the sound is unmistakable.
After making it outside, you let a taunting chorus of laughter rush out of your lungs.
You find your bus in less than a minute and climb aboard, ready to go home and enjoy the relaxing luxury of the weekend. It’s going to feel even better after what you just did. Across the aisle from you on the bus sits Flash Sentry and his friends, among them is Twilight. They try to talk to eachother like they usually do, but are becoming increasingly distracted by your now maniacal laughter.
”Yo.” Flash playfully addresses you in a friendly manner. “What's so funny?”
“Oh… heh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, man.” You answer him in between breaths.
Just at this moment, Twilight’s phone vibrates in her backpack. She pulls it out and stares at the screen that displays her newest text message. Not even a half second later, her eyes grow wide and she gasps.
”Oh my gosh!” Twilight exclaims. “Flash, I need to go back into the school!”
”What? Why? The buses are about to pull off!” The guy complains.
”It’s Rarity. She’s saying that Sunset’s alone in the hallways, crying. And hard.”
Flash squints and gripes. ”Whaaaaaat? Can’t you just look into that late-”
”No, Flash! Sunset’s my friend and she needs me! I’ll get Rarity to drive me.”
You fall silent as you hope that the bus pulls off before anyone has a chance to find out that you were the cause of this. Twilight steps off as quickly as she can before racing back into the school in search of her close friend. Flash Sentry gives you a joking expression.
”Heh, sorry to have that kill your mood.” He apologizes, noticing that your laughter stopped. “Stuff like that happens with her sometimes.”
“Ah. It’s all cool.” You reply, trying to talk the same way he does.
After a couple of tense minutes pass, the bus doors finally close and the engine lets out a loud growl. The lined up buses take off one by one… eventually the one you’re on. Right as you feel the motion from the bus taking off, you lean back in your seatbelt-less seat and let out a sigh of relief.
”Yeah I know, man. It’s finally the weekend! Woohoo!” Norman joins in.
”Hey bus driver!” Flash calls out to the front of the bus as it exits the parking lot through the bus lane. “Turn on the radio! We could use some music up in here!”
It’s a good thing nobody at Canterlot High knows your number or address. It’s times like this that you’re glad that you chose not to get close to anyone.
The radio is turned on as the bus steadily veers onto the main road. The very beginning of a song is playing on the station that the radio is tuned to. The song playing is She loves You by The Beatles.
The students sitting in the back start singing along. Out of a fit of excitement, you join in. All of you continue to sing along with the radio as the bus majestically heads down the road.
And disappears in the distance to drop you off at your stop so you can continue on with your weekend.
The End
Author's Note
I've recently been told to write what I feel. And since I'm not really passionate about anything right now, I decided to post something here that I originally wrote in June of 2015. So here it is, one of the only things I've ever written that I wanted to write.
Given this story's nature, I am honestly not expecting it to be well received. But it's still my vision nonetheless. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
