The classroom used for art classes was, as you'd probably guess, as colourful and vibrant as a room could get. With every direction one looked, there was a plethora of bright colours, impressive images, or just people looking fondly towards the paintings they'd created. There were all sorts of paintings being done here, from still life images, to portraits of students who were trying really hard not to sneeze, to really out there concepts by the more artistic members of the class. But, in spite of the clear passion these boys and girls all had for their art, there was nevertheless a quiet and calm to the room, as everyone simply focused on what they were doing, never straying to the work of others or trying to interrupt anyone. Among these focused artists was Sunset Shimmer, who, as always, was busy trying to create her favourite subject, sunflowers. She smiled to herself as she made every careful stroke of her brush, making sure to get exactly the placement she wanted.
"And...there."
Taking a step back, she looked at what she'd made with no small measure of pride. It was a beautiful image that, while not precisely realistic, nevertheless captured the beauty of the flowers, giving a vibrant abundance of orange, yellow and green. Satisfied, Sunset turned to make sure her art tools were properly cleaned up, and it was here that she looked upon her friend, Pinkie Pie. Canterlot High's resident party-lover had, rather surprisingly, managed to keep completely quiet and still as she'd sat to one side and watched her friend paint, which, from the look on Sunset's face, was appreciated by the latter a great deal. But, now that the painting was finally done, Pinkie got up from her chair, walked over to it and smiled.
"Wow, Sunset! This is really, really good!"
Chuckling, Sunset gently dipped her paint-rush into an already-prepared jar of water, watching as the paint began to soak off it, before promptly glancing back to her friend.
"Thanks, Pinkie. I like to think it's a bit better than the last one I did."
Looking back to her, Pinkie's grin widened.
"It's way better! Although..."
A nervous chuckle came to her.
"...it's probably because you don't have a certain someone around spilling paint everywhere this time."
Sunset laughed in response, untying her apron before responding to that.
"Well, to be honest, the last one wasn't as good as I wanted it to be anyway. I couldn't find the right shade of orange, so, I had to make do."
Pinkie, in that moment, looked to the painting, then over to Sunset, then back and forth several times over before finally settling on her ex-unicorn friend.
"You know...you're pretty good with art, Sunset."
Sunset chuckled.
"Oh, I hold my own, I guess."
But Pinkie shook her head enthusiastically.
"Nope! You're great with it! Like that street art you..."
However, she soon slapped her hands over her own mouth, looking around the room to make sure nobody had heard her, before looking back to Sunset with no small measure of guilt.
"...I mean...erm...your art is kinda like that mysterious street artist who definitely isn't you, no Sireeeee!"
Sunset rolled her eyes.
"It's fine, Pinkie. Don't worry about it."
Feeling a touch calmer, Pinkie continued.
"But...yeah, it's like this super talent you have!"
Taking a cloth, Sunset wiped a few stray drops of paint from her hand, before taking a moment to muse on her friend's words. Thoughts and memories surfaced in her mind, and a nostalgic smile soon crept onto her lips.
"Well...it all goes back to my life back in Equestria."
Then, before she even knew it, Pinkie was zooming right in front of her, taking a chair and looking to her with eagerness. It was the same look a small child might have when looking to their parent who was on the cusp of telling them their favourite story. So, knowing she'd already started, Sunset let out a sigh before continuing.
"Back...back when I lived in Equestria...in Canterlot...there was a time when all I did was study. Magic and learning how to use it was the air I breathed. Nothing else mattered to me. Not friends, not other interests...just that."
Looking away, she glanced out of the nearby window, staring at a particular tree, watching its leaves gently sway in the wind, before promptly carrying on.
"Princess Celestia noted this and...well...you've probably heard what she's like by now. She decided it wasn't good for me to be cooped in with my books and studies all the time, so she felt it would be best for me to take up a hobby."
A smile returned to her.
"I was asked to try a whole bunch of things, like chess, gardening, even the occasional stint in whatever play the others students were putting on."
Pinkie seemed awed by that last remark.
"Oooooh! Acting?"
Sunset chortled.
"Don't forget, these were really young kids, Pinkie. So don't go expecting Shakespearean levels of performances here."
Pinkie seemed disappointed by that, but soon perked up again as her friend began to continue her original story.
"Anyways, it got a little frustrating for me, and so one afternoon, I decided to just go for a walk. You know, clear my head and all that? And that's...when I saw them."
She took a deep breath, exhaled, then carried on.
"It was a bright and sunny day, and just outside of Canterlot there was this one field, full of sunflowers..."
Turning, she looked upon her own painting.
"...I liked walking among them, and there came a time when I'd been out there for so long that...that the sun began to set."
Awe came to her expression.
"I was young back then...and when I saw that...the light of the setting sun against those sunflowers...I thought I'd never seen anything more beautiful in all my life."
Slowly, she let that memory sink in for her, and she savoured every single moment of it, smiling fondly to nobody in particular. Then, after a good long while of nothing but silence, she once more regarded her friend.
"When I finally got back to Canterlot proper, I knew what it was I wanted to do. I picked up my first paint-brush..."
Raising her hand, she gestured to the painting she'd just finished.
"...and I guess...I haven't put it down since."
Pinkie looked to her, clearly touched by that story, to the point where she was even starting to well up a little. Wiping away some of the pre-formed tears from her eyes and sniffing a little, the party-lover got up from her chair, walking over to Sunset and, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, embraced her in a tight hug.
"That...was the best...story...EVER!!!"
Naturally, a display and loudness like that soon caught the attention of the other students, but, rather than be angry that their private art time had been interrupted, they simply noted that it was Pinkie Pie, and promptly got back to what they were doing. Meanwhile, Sunset, though happy a being hugged by her friend, nevertheless rolled her eyes to this affectionate display.
"Thanks, Pinkie. Always glad to help."
Putting her friend down, Pinkie bore one of her characteristic wide smiles, clasping her hands together and practically bouncing in place.
"Seriously, that was such a good story! A beautiful sunset, some sweet and innocent flowers, a blooming taste for art, it had everything!"
Shrugging her shoulders slightly, Sunset smiled to that.
"Yeah...it was a good memory."
She chuckled.
"I still remember how happy Princess Celesta was when she discovered just how enthusiastic I was for painting. Although..."
Smiling to herself, she looked over to her own painting.
"...it took quite a while to get this good."
Pinkie giggled.
"Well, here's to many, many more paintings of beautiful sunflowers and other great stuff!"
Sunset nodded, looking over to her paintbrush in the jar of water, plucked it out, twirled it in her fingers a little bit, before looking back to her friend with a knowing smirk.
"In that case, Pinkie...I’d better get to it then."
