Who would you ship me with?
The first thing Sunset's senses made her notice was the smell. Entering through the front door of Flash's home, the former unicorn soon took in a deep inhale, as a sweet-smelling aroma now surrounded her. A contented smile crept upon her face, and as she closed the door behind her, she took off her trademark leather jacket, setting it upon one of the hooks in the side of the wall. With that done, she started moving further into the house, looking past door after door until, of course, she found herself in the kitchen. Here, she found her lover, Flash, who was currently focusing his attention on the food that was being prepared before him. From here, Sunset could recognise it as some sort of pasta sauce, causing her stomach to growl slightly.
"Don't worry, it'll be ready soon enough."
Hearing her boyfriend like that, a blush of slight embarrassment crossed Sunset's face, but she nevertheless smiled in response, moving over to the table in the centre of the kitchen. Taking a seat, her set her sights once more on the boy nearby, seeing him make a few final additions to the pot before, finally, just leaving it on the heated ring of the stove.
"With luck, it'll only be about ten more minutes."
And with that, he turned, giving Sunset a chance to see his smiling face for the first time today. But before she could say anything, her eyes drifted downwards, to the chef's apron he was wearing. Upon it were the words "Your dinner will be ready in a flash", which, naturally, prompted Sunset to hold back a giggle as she glanced back up to Flash's face. Of course, Flash himself knew what she was laughing at, and so let out a sigh, giving a pre-emptive explanation.
"A customised apron. Grandma thought it'd make a good Christmas present."
Sunset nodded.
"I think it's sweet."
Smiling again, Flash removed the item in question, setting it neatly to one side before taking his place on the other side of the table from his girlfriend.
"Well, I hope you'll at least enjoy what I've made, Sunset."
Sunset regarded him warmly at that.
"I appreciate it, Flash."
The boy chuckled.
"Well...it's just...you always invite me over to your place, so...I figured it'd be a good thing to shake things up."
Briefly, he looked back over to the still-bubbling pot.
"It won't be a patch on my Mom's stuff though. I swear, that woman has cooking secrets even your mind-reading powers couldn't pry from her."
Again, Sunset laughed to this, but then, as she let out a sigh, she found herself looking around with a degree of curiosity.
"So...where is your Mom anyway? You never said."
Flash, after taking a sip from a glass of water that had been placed on the table beforehand, gave his answer.
"She had a prior engagement. Some of her and my Dad's old friends from his time in the army. Big reunion kind of thing."
Sunset nodded, and for a time, there was naught but silence between the young couple. As the seconds rolled on though, Flash got up, heading for the side of the kitchen yet again, where Sunset noted that he was starting to boil a kettle, as well as preparing a pair of tea cups. And it was in this moment that a thought came to her. From the look on her face, it was clear that she was somewhat embarrassed about it, and so she kept quiet for the time being. However, as soon as Flash had finished preparing their tea, and brought both cups back to their table, the Equestrian could no longer hold it in.
"...Who would you ship me with?"
Flash's cup was only an inch away from his face when the question had been asked, but now, he looked to her with slight confusion. Then, to Sunset's surprise, he gave a brief chuckle.
"Getting tired of me already, Sunset?"
In spite of the terrible attempt at humour, Sunset found herself laughing to the remark, though she still made sure to give a playful punch to his arm to make up for it.
"You know that's never gonna happen, Flash."
The boy's smile widened at that.
"Good to know."
Taking a sip of her own tea, Sunset looked to her beau and started to explain herself.
"It's just...I was having some lunch with Pinkie and Lemon the other day, and they got into this big debate about who would get together with who in that show they watch. You know, the big harem cartoon? I think they mentioned it a few times before."
A shiver went through Flash's spine at that.
"Yeah, I remember it. Continue."
And continue she did.
"Well, I was just thinking about that whole thing. And I got to wondering, if I asked people...who would they put me with, if they had the choice?"
Flash nodded.
"Yeah...I can understand that. It's a pretty interesting thing to think about, I guess."
Tapping her finger lightly against the table, Sunset waited for a moment before finally just speaking up again.
"So...?"
The boy looked to her, clearly unsure about this whole thing, then set his cup aside for a moment, scratching the back of his head in a nervous manner. There was a long silence between them as he continued to appear deep in thought, though it was obvious from looking that this kind of thinking was something of a challenge for him. But Sunset was patient, and gave her lover all the time he needed to get his thoughts in order. After almost a full minute of no talking between them, the boy finally said something.
"Okay...I do have one idea, but..."
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"But what?"
Flash sighed.
"You have to promise not to laugh."
Naturally, that caught Sunset's interest. But after seeing the way Flash was looking at her, she too sighed.
"Okay...I promise."
Flash nodded, looking at least a little bit relieved over that.
"Okay...well...if I had to choose...I'd say you'd probably make a good couple with...Adagio?"
Another silence passed, and as it lingered, Sunset's expression was stoic and unmoving, much to Flash's concern. Then, out of the blue, the ex-unicorn slapped a hand over her mouth, forcing back an obvious laugh, which, of course, led to Flash looking to her with a degree of indignity.
"You promised!"
But Sunset waved her hand at him in a defensive manner as her laughter continued.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
After wiping away a laughter-induced tear from her eye, Sunset, having now calmed herself down, began to explain.
"It's just...Adagio? Really?"
Flash nodded.
"Look, I don't really think about this kind of thing that much, but...I figured, since you two actually have some things in common..."
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"Like trying to take over the world?"
But Flash replied in a more frantic tone.
"And also because you're both incredibly intelligent girls who hail from another world."
The Equestrian gave a chuckle.
"Nice save."
Flash let out a sigh of relief on that one. But shortly afterwards, Sunset looked to him with a somewhat mischievous look.
"So...I suppose you're thinking of us together right now? Two sexy Equestrians embracing each other?"
A blush erupted onto Flash's face, prompting Sunset to continue.
"You know...maybe we could involve her. Get her to spice up our nights together with...some extra company?"
Here, Flash buried his face in his hands.
"Ugh! Stop!"
Sunset chuckled, leaning forward and giving him a pat on the head.
"I'm just teasing."
Flash looked up, and while he seemed to know this already, he nevertheless spoke with caution.
"I just thought...you know...you'd make a good-looking couple. I never really gave it much thought beyond that."
Sunset nodded.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, I'm actually kinda flattered that you'd think of me hooking up with pretty much the sex symbol of our social circle."
Flash raised an eyebrow.
"As far as I'm concerned, Sunset, you will always be the sexiest."
This time, it was Sunset's turn to blush.
"Well...thanks, Flash."
Nodding, Flash considered himself for a moment, before speaking up yet again.
"But...well...Adagio is just one person you could be with."
Again, Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Anyone else in mind?"
As before, Flash seemed somewhat embarrassed by this line of questioning. But with the most awkward part already out of the way, he was much quicker to give an answer this time.
"Well...what about Twilight?"
For a time, Sunset seemed taken aback by that. But then, her expression became one of curiosity.
"Which one?"
Flash shrugged his shoulder.
"Either, really. You've grown so close with both Princess Twilight and the one from this world that...well...it just seemed like a good fit. The way Princess Twilight helped you through your difficulties after the Fall Formal, and way you supported the other one after that Midnight Sparkle incident. Whichever one you went with...I can just see you two being really comfortable with each other."
Sunset thought on that one, a small smile creeping onto her face.
"Yeah...I can definitely say that I could be okay with that."
Briefly, she looked down at her cup.
"Me and her...me and both of them...we've been through a lot. There's definitely closeness there, no question about that."
A smirk crossed her face.
"At the very least, I can say she'd be the most adorkable girlfriend in the world."
To that, both youths shared a laugh, but it was short lived, as Flash soon took note of the time. He stood from his seat, making his way over to the side of the kitchen, wherein he finally took the sauce off the heat. Afterwards, he went over to some pasta in a pot, which had apparently been cooking beforehand during all of this, checking it before bearing a satisfied smile. Sunset watched as he prepared both sides of the meal, and a few minutes later, he returned, holding a full bowl of the stuff in each hand. Gently, he set one in front on her, and then one at his own spot, before getting back into his seat.
"Hope you enjoy it."
Sunset nodded, taking a nearby fork and getting some of the food onto it, before promptly placing it in her mouth. Flash watched eagerly, but after only a few moments, he took on a look of relief as his girlfriend gave him a smile.
"It's really good."
Flash looked far more relaxed after hearing that, and so got on with his own meal. For a time, the two simply contented themselves with eating their food, but, after almost five minutes of this, Flash stopped, looking to his lover with curiosity.
"Sunset? Who...who would you ship me with?"
Briefly, Sunset seemed surprised by this, only to stop and smile.
"Yeah...guess it's only fair you get to ask that."
Setting her fork aside, she leaned back into her chair, considering the question. Flash watched her, actually seeming quite interested in what she had to say on the matter. And he didn't have to wait long, as the ex-unicorn soon broke the silence between them.
"Well...I think we've established at this point that most of my friends have a liking for you."
A blush formed on Flash's face at that.
"Yeah, who could forget? But I can't deny that I'd feel pretty lucky being with any one of them."
Sunset giggled, but soon started to continue.
"You're sweet with Fluttershy, you get on great with Pinkie, you'd make an attractive couple with Rarity, and you're on pretty good terms with Applejack."
Thoughtfulness crossed her face.
"But if I had to pick just one of them...it'd be Rainbow."
Surprise covered Flash's face at that.
"Why does it always seem to come back to me and her in these situations?"
Sunset shrugged her shoulders.
"Dunno. It's just...I think of you, and then I imagine her standing next to you, and I think...yeah, that aesthetic works for me."
After a few minutes of silence, Flash nodded.
"Well...I guess I can understand that."
However, Sunset then seemed to gain a degree of hesitancy.
"Although, if I'm being honest...if circumstances were different, and you and me weren't together...I'd actually suggest Twilight for you."
Hearing that, Flash's face became just a touch uncomfortable.
"No offense, Sunset, but...I'm not sure if that'd be a good idea."
Sunset nodded.
"I understand. It's probably still hard to think about you two not being an item anymore. But I'd be lying if I said I hadn't actually hoped for you two to stay together at the time."
The boy, after staring at her for a few moments, then gave a sigh and a nod.
"I...I appreciate that, Sunset."
Another pause, and then he continued.
"In truth...I do still think about her sometimes. And then, this other one? From Crystal Prep? She's so much like her, and with us so much, that...well...it's hard not to think sometimes that...it's like having her back all over again."
He then looked her right in the eye.
"I have no intention of wanting to be with anyone besides you Sunset. I want to say that right now. But when you say that you'd think of me and her as good for each other? I'd...I'd be dishonest if I said there wasn't some small part of me that didn't still regret not making it work with her."
Sunset said nothing for a time, but when she did, her expression was one of affection.
"Thank you for being honest with me about that, Flash. And you know...I wish things had gone better between you too."
Again, silence fell between them, but at the end of it, much to Sunset's surprise, Flash actually started to chuckle a bit, eventually leading to him speaking up again.
"So...my main take-away from this is that...we both have a mutual attraction to the Twilights?"
Thinking on that, Sunset couldn't help but give a smile and a laugh of her own.
"Yeah...I guess so."
Shaking his head at the absurd situation they'd found themselves, Flash lifted his nearby cup of tea and held it out to Sunset.
"Well then, in that case...here's to us continuing to have more in common than we thought."
Smirking, Sunset raised her own cup, gently clinking it against Flash's.
"I'll drink to that."
They each took a sip, and when they placed their respective cups down, Sunset looked back to him with a more amorous expression.
"Although, just for the record...you're still mine, Flashy."
To that, Flash returned the look.
"I'll definitely drink to that."
