There was definitely a sense that Crystal Prep had relaxed a great deal since Principal Cadence had taken over the school. And the lunch hour gave a fine opportunity to truly see it. All around the front yard of the building, students were gathered into their various social cliques and groups, talking with each other and hanging out in ways that simply might not have been possible in the old days, given how rigorous and serious thing tended to be. But, it was definitely looking as though things were, for the most part, more upbeat than most students were used to. In particular, two of the school's most noteworthy individuals, Sunny Flare and Indigo Zap, were sitting next to one another on the front steps of the school, eating their respective lunches. For a time, they said nothing to one another, but, after a while, Sunny looked to Indigo with slight curiosity in her expression.
"Say...Indigo?"
Taking a bite of her sandwich, Indigo replied as best she could.
"Hmmm?"
Sunny blinked at her a few times before just coming out and saying what was on her mind.
"...Do you like girls?"
Instantly, the question earned her the expected reaction, as Indigo began to look as though she was chocking on her food, spluttering it for a moments before just slamming her fist into her own chest. That seemed to do the trick, and after swallowing what she could, she started panting to catch her breath, before looking to her colleague with shock plastered all over her face.
"I'm sorry...what?!"
Sunny shrugged her shoulders.
"Just a simple question. Do you like girls?"
Indigo looked around, as though hoping somebody would be there to help explain what was happening right now. But, realising she was alone in this, she looked back to Sunny.
"Wha...I...but...it is not a simple question! You don't just ask stuff like that!"
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Because I'm fairly certain I just did."
Indigo frowned.
"That's not just idle conversation stuff, Sunny! That's...you know...really personal."
Hearing that, Sunny frowned right back.
"What, you think I'm going to judge you for it or something?"
Indigo raised her hands defensively.
"What? No! You've not...that's not what I..."
She let out a grunt of frustration.
"Ugh! I just...how would you feel if I asked that question to you?"
Sunny looked away, considering that question for a moment, before looking back to her friend and shrugging her shoulders.
"I wouldn't mind."
Indigo frowned again.
"Yeah, right!"
Sunny glared at her.
"Don't believe me? Okay then...ask me."
Indigo seemed taken aback by that, prompting Sunny to continue.
"Go on!"
Naturally, Indigo was completely out of her depth in this, and was frantically looking around herself, as though worried somebody might be listening in on their conversation. When she was absolutely certain that they were alone, with no chance of being overheard, she gulped, before just giving in.
"Um...well...do you...do you like girls, Sunny?"
To that, Sunny shrugged again.
"Meh."
Indigo's frown returned.
"Meh?!"
Sunny nodded.
"Yeah. Meh. Wouldn't really bother me. Might take a while to explain to my Mom if I dated one. But me personally? Guess I could take it or leave it."
Indigo rolled her eyes.
"Okay, but...I bet this would go way differently if we asked someone else here."
"Asked us what?"
The arrival of the new voice caused both girls to turn, seeing that it was none other than Lemon Zest who stood before them, with one hand upon her hip and looking to them with interest. Indigo, though hesitant, decided that it was probably best to put her money where her mouth was, and so just went ahead with it.
"Um...Lemon? What would you say if someone were to ask you...if you liked girls?"
A smile came to the green-haired girl after hearing that.
"Sure, why wouldn’t I?"
To that, Indigo turned to Sunny with a look of triumph.
"Ha! See! I told...you...that..."
Slowly, she looked back to Lemon.
"Um...pardon?"
Lemon gained a confused expression.
"Yeah. I mean, I like guys too, but I'd be pretty happy with a girl I think."
Indigo blinked slowly, all while Sunny looked to her with a victorious smirk. After a while, Indigo shook her head to get herself out of that state, before fumbling her words.
"I...er...really?!"
Lemon nodded.
"Dude, have you seen some of the girls we know?"
She started counting off her fingers.
"Pinkie pie? A cutie. Sunset Shimmer? A cutie. Sonata? A major cutie."
Indigo looked to Sunny, who still had her smirk, and started to look disgruntled.
"Okay, maybe one person would be okay with the question. But what about...um...ah!"
Turning, Sunny saw that Indigo had spotted Sugarcoat, who just so happened to be walking towards the school when, all of a sudden, Indigo caught her attention.
"Sugarcoat!"
The other girl looked to her.
"Yes?"
Indigo, now a bit more confident than before, spoke the question again.
"Do you like girls?"
Sugarcoat blinked slowly, then nodded.
"Yes."
Indigo, understandably at this point, had a slow blink herself.
"...What?"
Sugarcoat began to explain herself.
"I like girls. In fact, I've got a date with one in a week or two."
That caught the other girls' interest.
"Really? Who?" Sunny asked.
Sugarcoat looked to her.
"Moonlight Raven."
Lemon pondered that.
"Moonlight...Moonlight...oh! That gloomy girl who likes poetry?"
Sugarcoat nodded, opening her mouth to speak, only to be halted when Indigo, to the surprise of all of them, let out an exasperated yelp.
"Argh! I just...am I just the weird one here? I don't know how to answer a question like that, and you're all so...so..."
"Composed?" Sugarcoat suggested.
Indigo sighed, slumping into the steps of the school more than before.
"Yeah, that."
Seeing her friend this way, Sunny’s expression softened, and she moved slightly closer to her, placing her hand upon her shoulder.
"Hey, it's fine. If you can't think of an answer, that's okay. It's not like there's a rush for this or anything."
There was a general sentiment of agreement at that, as both Sugarcoat and Lemon nodded in response to Sunny's words. Seeing those looks, Indigo seemed to brighten up, at least a little bit, nodding in appreciation at what had been said. However, it wasn't long before the silence was broken by Lemon.
"You know...I think there's a pretty good way to tell if you do like girls or not."
Indigo raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah?"
Lemon nodded, then pointed to her.
"Close your eyes."
Indigo seemed confused by this, and when she looked to Sunny it appeared as though she felt the same way. But, if only to humour her friend, Indigo did as instructed, sighing before closing her eyes tightly. In the darkness that followed, she heard Lemon's voice again.
"Okay, now imagine some girl you know. Maybe a friend, one of us, Sunset or whoever you want to think about."
Indigo nodded, and while the others couldn't see who she was thinking about, Lemon apparently knew when she'd done so, and so gave her final instruction.
"Okay...now I want you to imagine that girl...naked!"
Instantly, Indigo's eyes snapped open, and her face blushed so hard that she looked as red as a tomato. Though Sunny seemed greatly amused by this, Lemon, for her part, seemed to think she'd done a job well done, and stepped forward before slapping her hand on Indigo's shoulder.
"Well, looks like you do like them. You're welcome."
Still mortified, Indigo turned to Lemon, then Sugarcoat, then finally to Sunny, before speaking in a hushed, yet sarcastic tone.
"Yeah...thanks."
