Art of a Sun's Love Volume 2

Chapters

Silly Love Songs Track 1 - What Is Life
Silly Love Songs Track 2 - Let Me Roll It
Silly Love Songs Track 4 - Silly Love Songs
Silly Love Songs Track 5 - Cheer Down
Silly Love Songs Track 3 - One Day (At a Time)

Silly Love Songs Track 1 - What Is Life

Five days ago, seventeen year old Dawn Spark walked into Canterlot Cafe and met with three women who collectively referred to themselves as the Dazzlings; they recounted to her the story of her grandmother Celestia and great-aunt Luna and how they had a falling out before reuniting a thousand days later. Afterward, and over the course of three days, Dawn learned about everything her parents Vincent van Colt and Sunset Shimmer went through in their childhood and teenage days. Stories ranged from the death of Sunset's father Noble Shield at the hands of Icy Heart; the first meetings with Twilight Sparkle, Comet Tail, and Math Equation; Vincent's first disastrous Fall Formal; a brief love triangle between Flash Sentry, Twilight, and Math; Comet Tail starting a relationship with Song Cue; the abuse Butterscotch suffered from Scattered Marbles; how Sunset overcame being bullied by Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon; another love triangle between Blossomforth, Vincent, and Sunset; the Sentry family becoming splintered prior to Lullaby Strings' death; and the re-appearance of Celestia's husband Sombra. All were incredible stories in their own right, but there are still many more to tell...

Our story resumes on Friday the sixth of August in the year 2038, at Waterfall Prism's restored mansion with Dawn and her parents. At this point, they were playing a board game known as Snakes and Ladders. Right now, it looked as though Sunset was going to win.

"Aww, no!" she cried as she landed on square 98. "I missed by two squares!"

"And you've angered the gorillas too," Vincent teased as his wife went down to square 78.

"Oh, I'll try to roll a two next time," said Sunset. "Just you wait!"

"Here we go," said Dawn, rolling the dice for her turn. She was on square 65 and got a six. "Yippee!" she cried, and moved her piece from 71 to 91. "Okay, dad; it's your turn."

Vincent was on square 46. He rolled the dice and got a four.

"I'm halfway there... again," he said as his piece landed on square 50. After a few more turns, Dawn made it to square 100.

"I win!" she cried happily. At that point, Dusk Charger and his two sisters, Twilight Sentry V and Violet Glow, walked into the room. Dawn was the first to notice her cousins.

"Hi, guys!" she waved. The young Sentry siblings waved back.

"Aunt Sunset," said Violet, "are you gonna tell us how you and uncle Vincent fell in love?"

"It was a very interesting period for us after the holidays," said Sunset. "Vincent, dear, why don't you start things off?"

"Don't mind if I do," said Vincent. And here's the story he told...

DECEMBER 31, 2013

It was mere minutes before the new year 2014. Many people were gathered outside of Town Hall to celebrate. The person in charge of Rainbow Falls was Mayor Marion Weseluck. She was in her late-forties with phthalo blue eyes behind her yellow-rimmed glasses, light cornflower bluish gray hair with a lighter streak (which was dyed), and she wore a pale, light grayish amber suit with a dark turquoise neck tie. She looked proper and dignified.

Among his small group of friends, Vincent was bundled up in a dark blue jacket with a dark red wool-knitted hat, thick black gloves, and a scarf that was canary yellow and black. It was very cold out here, and Vincent harbored a deep resentment for snow.

"Bothersome snow," he grumbled.

"Why do you hate snow?" asked Fluttershy.

"Apart from being silly soft stuff," said Vincent, "it can cause havoc if you're outside. It takes a lot of physical and mental effort just to go somewhere!"

"I think snow can be beautiful," said Sunset, "as long as there's not too much of it."

"That may be," said Vincent, "but it's still dangerous if we're not careful." He was about to head over to the snack table before, with a cry, he slipped on some ice and landed on his rear end.

"...just like that," he groaned.

"Let me help you up," offered Sunset. But as she walked over, she too slipped and landed right on top of Vincent!

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried.

"Erm, it-it's alright," said Vincent, blushing madly. Suddenly, both friends began to laugh.

"You two alright?" asked Flash as he walked up to them.

"As fine as we can be," said Vincent.

"Though we are a bit stuck," added Sunset. Flash helped the two back to their feet.

"Thanks," said Vincent. "Like I said; snow can be dangerous."

"I think we got the point, Vinnie," Sunset said, giggling a bit at her pet name for him.

"Yeah, well, it's only a couple of minutes until the New Year," said Flash. "The mayor will be announcing the countdown any second."

The trio then walked carefully to where a crowd was gathered around Mayor Weseluck's podium. A digital clock was set next to her to countdown the seconds to the new year.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she announced to the crowd, "it gives me pleasure to announce that it is now the time to count down to the New Year!"

Everyone cheered, and then the countdown began.

"60... 59... 58... 57..."

Whilst many people were at Town Hall to celebrate the New Year, there were some people who preferred to sleep in. Among those people was Cranky Doodle, a grumpy teacher at Canterlot High. His eyes were pale arctic blue and at one point, he had dark grayish blue violet hair; since balding, he had worn a toupee of the same color. Cranky Doodle groggily got out of bed just to open up a window.

"Hey! Keep it down!" he barked. "I'm trying to get some sleep!"

But it was no use; nobody could hear him. Annoyed, Cranky Doodle shut the window and climbed back into bed, clutching his pillow to cover his ears with.

"Kids these days..." he muttered. "No respect for their elders, honestly!"

"...26... 25... 24... 23..."

"Vincent," asked Sunset, "what's your resolution for New Year's?"

"My resolution?" asked Vincent. His resolution was to tell Sunset how he felt about her, but was afraid she might reject his feelings.

"...fifteen... fourteen... thirteen..."

"I'm not sure what my resolution is," said Vincent at last. "What about yours, Sunset?"

"...seven... six..."

"Well..." said Sunset, before deciding, "my resolution is to..."

"...one! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Fireworks were then set off and launched into the sky, meaning Vincent couldn't hear what Sunset had said; perhaps it was a good thing that he hadn't.

"Sorry, what was that you said?" Vincent shouted over the fireworks. "I didn't catch that!"

Sunset blushed slightly before saying, "Let's just enjoy the celebrations, shall we?"

"Of course," said Vincent. "Resolutions can wait for now."

Darn it! Sunset thought unhappily. I could have told him my feelings...

Still, Vincent and Sunset enjoyed the celebrations (the same couldn't be said for poor Cranky Doodle) but they couldn't stay out all night; they went home by 1:30 in the morning.

When Vincent next awoke, it was almost half past ten. Yawning, he stumbled out of bed and went to the kitchen, making himself a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. Vincent had no idea how long Flash had been at the party, but he figured he must've stayed there until at least five. He wasn't wrong; Flash was passed out on the couch, and wearing a lady's dress.

"What's with Flash, dad?" asked Vincent.

"He got drunk at last night's party," said Page, sounding annoyed. "Flash isn't even twenty-one yet! It's situations like these which makes me wish for Lullaby to be there for her kids."

"But what about Cindy?" asked Vincent. "She's not my mother, I know that, but she's the next best thing, especially with how she handled First Base and Scootaloo for almost fourteen years."

"Sure, but they live apart from us," reminded Page. Pointing his thumb at Flash, he added, "Do you think you can deal with that in the bathroom?"

"Will do, pop," said Vincent. With a bit of struggling, Vincent managed to drag his passed out brother into the bathroom. Once Flash was lying in the tub, Vincent turned on the shower. Cold water sprayed onto Flash, quickly waking him up.

"YEEEOOOOWWW!!!" he cried as he quickly stood up. "That's cold!"

"Good morning, sleepyhead," said Vincent innocently.

"Vincent?!" Before Flash could scold his brother, he looked down and saw the dress he was wearing.

"What... the... crap am I wearing?"

"It's called a dress, Flash."

"I know what it is!" snapped Flash. "Why am I wearing it?!"

"Dad said you got drunk at the New Year's celebration last night," explained Vincent. "Do you remember anything?"

"Well..." said Flash, wincing a bit from the cold water, "there was this woman with thick make up... but I don't remember what happened next."

"You didn't get her pregnant did you?!" cried Vincent, scared of the thought of being an uncle at seventeen.

"No! It didn't go that far," said Flash. Vincent sighed with relief. "But I think it had something to do with an octopus and a turkey... I don't remember anything about last night at all, Vincent."

"Well, do you think you could get rid of that dress?" asked Vincent. "Green doesn't really suit you at all."

Flash took off the clothes he was wearing and handed them over to Vincent, who left the bathroom as he didn't want to be near his brother whilst stark.

Eventually, Flash was showered and more sober than he'd been that morning. Page Turner made sure to give him a lecture about being responsible.

"I am very disappointed in you, Flash Sentry," he scolded. "Getting drunk at nineteen? You know better than that!"

"But how come British kids are allowed to drink at eighteen and American kids have to wait till they're twenty-one?" asked Flash.

"The British don't always do things better," said Page. "Their drinking laws are quite skewed from what I've heard."

"I'll tell you what," said Flash. "The next time I even consider drinking is the day pigs fly."

"Much as I'm glad to hear this," said Page, "I'm afraid I can't let this incident slide, Flash. You'll be taking out the garbage for the next two weeks."

"Fair enough," sighed Flash. With that said and done, Flash began preparing himself some breakfast. All he had was some milk and toast with jam.

"You feeling better, Flash?" asked Vincent, having just come out of the shower himself.

"Much," said Flash. "You're not telling anyone about this, are you?"

"No, I'm keeping my mouth shut about it," said Vincent. "It'd be embarrassing for us if it got out."

"Got that right," said Flash. There was a pause before Vincent spoke up again.

"I had this dream last night," he said.

"What dream?" asked Flash.

"It was about Sunset," Vincent explained, "and... well, it was kind of in a world where I wasn't born."

"What was it like?"

"It was awful!" cried Vincent, looking distressed. "Sunset suffered more from being bullied by Starlight and Trixie, and without me around to save her from herself, she... she..." Vincent was so upset, he could hardly finish his sentence. Flash could tell what his brother was trying to say, and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Vincent," he said. "It was just a nightmare."

"...I'm in love with Sunset," Vincent managed to choke out. "I can't picture life without her..."

Flash stayed quiet for a minute to think about the entire situation; he knew for ages that Vincent had a crush on Sunset. At first, he thought it was merely a childish crush, but when Sunset blurted out loud that she loved Vincent, that was what cemented it to Flash. And the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt for trying to split them up. It was obvious to Flash that Vincent and Sunset were meant for each other.

"Have you told Sunset how you feel about her?" he suggested.

"I wanted to last night," Vincent admitted, "but I balked."

"It'll be fine, Vincent," assured Flash. "There's no reason to rush things."

"Thanks, Flash," said Vincent. "I wonder if Sunset feels the same way for me."

"I guess you'll have to see for yourself," said Flash. With that, the two brothers sat down for breakfast. It's best to let Vincent and Sunset work this out for themselves, Flash thought to himself. I've done enough damage as it is...

After breakfast, Vincent headed out. He had promised to meet with Sunset later on by the waterfall. Vincent wasn't entirely sure why Sunset wanted to meet up there. Still, he was certain he'd eventually find out once they were together, and it wasn't long before Sunset herself arrived.

"Hi, Vincent," she greeted. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Y-yeah," said Vincent, slightly shivering. "S-same here. So, why'd you pick this place to hang out?"

"This is the spot where you saved me from the path I was going down when I was being bullied," explained Sunset.

"So, it's kind of become a special spot for us both?" asked Vincent.

"You could say that. Erm... Vincent...?"

"Yeah, Sunset?"

"Have you... ever been in love?"

Vincent blushed. "Erm..." he said, trying to come up with an answer. "I suppose I have..." he said at last. "Why do you ask, Sunset?"

"Because..." Sunset plucked up courage. "Because I love you!"

Vincent's eyes widened and his face went as red as an apple. He didn't know what to say. Sunset looked away slightly and blushed as well, asking herself why she had to say that out loud. Still, was it worth the risk, she thought?

"You... love me...?" Vincent whispered quietly.

"Yes. I've wanted to confess sooner, but I was always too afraid."

"I... I felt that way too..."

"Really?" asked Sunset.

"Y-yes..." said Vincent. "Yes, I have."

Hearing those words made Sunset feel so happy that she grabbed Vincent and kissed him. Vincent blushed redder still; Sunset giggled slightly seeing his reaction, and hoped he'd feel the same way too.

"I love you too, Sunset," said Vincent, "but... erm..."

"What is it, Vincent?" asked Sunset, sounding confused. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not so sure about starting a relationship."

"But... but why?" asked Sunset, feeling a bit hurt.

"I'm sorry I upset you," Vincent apologized. "It's just that I'm worried about a full commitment. What if something goes wrong?"

"I... I understand," sighed Sunset. "I'm sorry if I tried forcing this upon you."

"It's alright," said Vincent, kissing Sunset on the cheek. "Maybe some day, we'll be comfortable enough to have a relationship."

"Yeah," agreed Sunset. "But for now, I'm happy we still get to be friends."

The two then sat down on a bench to enjoy their surroundings.

"Vincent," said Sunset, "last night, you said snow was bad and yet last year we had a bit of a snowball fight. Why the change in attitude towards snow?"

"I kind of wanted to amuse myself by throwing a bit of snow at you," Vincent admitted. "But then you shoved it into my face." Sunset giggled innocently. What Vincent didn't know was that she had a snowball behind her back.

"Hey, what's that?" she asked, pointing in another direction.

"Where?"

Splat! He felt the snowball hit him. Vincent turned to face Sunset, trying to keep a straight face.

"You bacon-haired sneak..." he grinned.

He scooped up a snowball of his own and threw it at Sunset in retaliation. It hit her square in the face.

"This means war!" she laughed as she reloaded her ammunition. "As aunt Luna would say, the fun has been doubled!" The two carried on with their snowball fight, happily enjoying the fun they had shared together.

Author's Note

The Snakes and Ladders board game is based upon this board: https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81OnUczXIlL._SL1370_.jpg
Mayor Marion Weseluck is Mayor Mare; her last name is based off her voice actress Cathy Weseluck.
Vincent references Thomas, Terence and the Snow.
Sunset quotes Luna Eclipsed.

Silly Love Songs Track 2 - Let Me Roll It

EARLIER THAT SAME DAY

Sunset yawned as she got out of bed. Like Vincent, she too had a pretty rough sleep. At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

"Sunset, are you up?" asked Celestia.

"Y-yeah, mom," said Sunset, trying not to yawn. "What's the time...?"

"It's almost eleven, Sunset."

"Eleven?!" gasped Sunset as she fell onto the floor. "Holy crap, I overslept!" Sunset stumbled to her feet and ran to the shower, but not without a quick "good morning" to Celestia.

Once she was all showered and dressed, Sunset made herself some cereal for breakfast.

"Got any plans for the New Year, Sunset?" asked Solar Crystal, her younger foster sister, and daughter of Celestia and her husband Sombra.

"I've asked Vincent to hang out with me by the waterfall," said Sunset.

"What, is that guy your boyfriend?" asked Solar sarcastically.

"Sh-shut up!" snapped Sunset, blushing madly. "Vincent and I are just friends!"

"That's not what I heard," Solar smirked. "Were you dreaming about him last night?"

Sunset was about to tell Solar that it was none of her business, when she suddenly remembered a dream she had last night.

"I... did," she said at last. "Except it wasn't a happy one. It was about a world where I hadn't been born, and Vincent... was alone and unhappy."

Solar felt a little bad for teasing her now.

"Oh," she said quietly.

"It's alright," said Sunset, knowing Solar was about to apologize. "You weren't to know." The two foster siblings were quiet for another minute; their bond wasn't as strong as Vincent's and Fictionary's, but they still cared for one another nonetheless.

At that moment, Sombra came into the kitchen.

"Morning, children," he greeted.

"Oh, hey, dad," said Solar flatly.

"Morning, So- I mean, dad," Sunset corrected herself; she was still getting used to having a foster father.

"Have a good night's sleep?" asked Sombra.

"Not really," said Sunset. And she told Sombra about her nightmare.

"I'm so sorry you dreamed that," said Sombra comfortingly.

"Have you ever had bad dreams like that?" asked Sunset.

"I have," said Sombra. "It shortly after I left Rainbow Falls; I was afraid Celestia and the then-unborn Solar would get hurt by my ruthless father."

"No!" cried Sunset in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so," sighed Sombra. "The nightmares got so bad that I was almost driven to suicide."

"But what stopped you?" asked Sunset.

"Your foster mother."

"But she wasn't there with you...?"

"Heh. No. Not physically, at least," Sombra explained. "No, Celestia was with me in my mind. I imagined her at my funeral with a baby bundle, sobbing about how I was lost to her forever. I couldn't bear to hurt her like that. But I knew that if I went back to her, there was a chance my father would track me there and kill her."

"That's awful!" cried Sunset. "I'm sorry you had to go through this."

"It's alright, Sunset," said Sombra, putting a hand on her shoulder. In the last few months that she'd known him, Sunset saw Sombra as though he were a close duplicate of her deceased father Noble Shield.

"Well," said Sombra, "I must be off. Have a good day." With that, Sombra left. When he was out of the room, Sunset turned to Solar Crystal.

"What's with you and dad?" asked Sunset.

"He abandoned mom when she was pregnant with me," protested Solar.

"He did it to protect you," insisted Sunset. "He didn't want to, but if he didn't, it would put mom at risk of being killed, and you never would have been born at all."

"Rubbish," snorted Solar. "He probably just didn't want to take the responsibility of taking care of me."

"Well, maybe you should get to know him better," said Sunset.

"Even if I did, it won't take away that he wasn't there for me for sixteen years."

"You're just determined to hold onto this grudge, aren't you?" asked Sunset, losing her patience. Solar Crystal didn't say a word, and left the room. Sunset sighed and looked down, defeated.

"Why does she have to be so bullheaded and stubborn?" she asked to no one in particular. Then suddenly, she remembered something.

"I gotta meet up with Vincent!"

RIGHT NOW

Vincent and Sunset didn't know how long their snowball fight lasted, but both were starting to feel exhausted.

"Alright, Sunset," panted Vincent, throwing his snowball a rather limp five feet from him. "You win."

"That's another victory for Double S," giggled Sunset.

"How do you manage to do it?" asked Vincent, sitting next to her.

"Back in my darkest days," explained Sunset, "I would throw stuff at dummies and pretended it was Starlight and Trixie."

"Really?" asked Vincent. "You must've been really good at it."

"Took quite a lot of practice," said Sunset. "And it was good for to me to vent my frustrations."

"A good point," said Vincent. Both sat in silence for a few minutes before Sunset spoke up again.

"I had fun seeing you today," she said.

"Yeah, same here, Sunny," said Vincent, taking hold of her hand. This caused Sunset to blush. Both looked at each other and leaned closer as if they were going to kiss. Suddenly, a phone went off. Vincent pulled his phone out of his pocket to see that he'd gotten a text message.

"It's Flash," said Vincent. "It's his turn with groceries and he's asking if I need anything. No, I'm good," he said, replying to his brother's text. "Now, where were we again?" asked Vincent, having just posted his reply.

Sunset blushed madly again.

"I... I just remembered," she said. "I've to take out the garbage today. So, er, I'll see you around...?" With that, Sunset took off.

"Um, okay, Sunset," said Vincent as she left. "I understand... I guess...?" Seeing that there was no reason for him to hang around, he headed off for home as well.

JANUARY 3, 2014

Sunset was running as fast as her feet could let her. Her guitar was strapped to her back, and she was making her way to Sweet Apple Acres where she and the rest of the Rainbooms - Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie - would be recording some of the songs they auditioned back in the summer of 2013. Very recently, what was now called Sweet Apple Recording Acres had been given some recording equipment so the Rainbooms could put their music down to tape. Some protested that it would've been cheaper to simply rent a studio for about $50 an hour, but still, it would do the job.

By the time Sunset finally turned up, it was only Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie that were already there.

"Phew... hey there... girls," said Sunset, gasping for breath. "I'm not late... am I...?"

"Naw, yer actually on time, Sunset," said Applejack. "Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash ought to be here any minute. In the meantime, why don't we tune up our instruments?"

"Already done!" said Pinkie, who then did a drum fill. Her kit had been set up at the studio so she wouldn't have to lug it around between here and her family's rock farm. Rarity's keyboard, although not as awkward or time-consuming to set up, was also based at the studio. ("I would've preferred a keytar myself," she admitted.)

Still, whilst they waited for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, the present Rainbooms decided to jam a little by covering some of their favorite artists - David Bowie, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, you name it. Whilst they were in the middle of "Here Comes My Girl," Fluttershy turned up with her tambourine.

"Oh, I'm sorry for being late," said Fluttershy. "I was on my way when I saw a family of kittens who were too adorable for me to pass up."

"That's all right, Fluttershy," said Rarity. "You're here, and that's what matters."

"Eeyup," agreed Applejack. "We're givin' ourselves a bit of a warm up whilst we're waiting for Rainbow Dash."

"What's taking her so long?" asked Pinkie. "We've got some songs to practice!"

The first song the Rainboms did with Fluttershy was, appropriately, "Mr. Tambourine Man." A few songs later, Rainbow Dash finally turned up with her guitar.

"Look what the cat dragged in," said Applejack.

"My bike got a flat tire when I hit a stone in the road," explained Rainbow Dash. "Took me ages to fix the darn thing, and in the freezing snow! I like things to be cooler, but that wasn't what I had in mind."

"Well, at least you're here now," said Fluttershy. Without a reply, Rainbow Dash unpacked her guitar, plugged in and started playing the chords to "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," with the rest of the band following her lead.

The Rainbooms had made it clear that they wanted no outside producers or listeners whilst they were practicing; just the six girls themselves. In-between songs, they'd talk about the music they loved listening to. Right now, Rarity was talking about the solo career of Paul McCartney.

"Oh, he was certainly understated back in the 1970s," she told Sunset. "Paul's songwriting might not have been as memorable when he was a Beatle, but he could still hold a solid tune."

"I bet Vincent would go on for hours about the Beatles," said Sunset. "They may not be my most favorite band in the world, but I get why he likes them."

"I read somewhere saying that Paul dude died back in 1966," said Rainbow Dash.

"Don't believe everythin' ya hear, Dash," said Applejack. "It's all a load of baloney if ya ask me. Ya'll never find any other bassist like James Paul McCartney."

"Speaking of," said Sunset, "why don't we try one of his solo songs? What's the one that sounds like a 1970s Beatles song?"

"I know this one," said Rarity, playing a few chords on her keyboard. "I think Math Equation told me about it - it's called 'Let Me Roll It'."

Rarity then began to play the intro of the song, with Applejack and Pinkie as backup on bass and drums, respectively. After about half a minute, Sunset then played a guitar riff that would be repeated whilst she sang the lead vocals. After getting through the first verse and chorus, Sunset played a brief solo before singing the second verse and chorus. Following that was another solo lasting for about half a minute with the same guitar riff being repeated, and then a third repeat of the chorus before Sunset played the outro lasting another half minute.

"Do you girls feel it's time to start working on our own songs?" asked Sunset.

"Yeah, I think we're just about ready," said Rainbow Dash. "What do you say, girls?"

"Sounds fun!" giggled Pinkie Pie.

"Sure, Ah'm up fer it," said Applejack.

"Positively delightful, darling," said Rarity.

"Yay," said Fluttershy quietly, which was taken by the group as a yes.

The first song the Rainbooms voted to work on was one of Rarity's compositions, "Dance Magic." Sunset had helped Rarity out with the verses whilst Pinkie wrote the middle eight. Rarity had initially written the tune with a disco theme in mind, but it eventually evolved into having more of a pop rock sound. It had taken the Rainbooms five attempts before they got to a take that Rarity liked best.

"How'd we do?" asked Applejack once playback had finished.

"Fantastic!" cried Rarity. "We could make a music video for it one day."

"We'd probably need the right crew for it," said Sunset. She then turned to Fluttershy; the sixteen-year-old Indian girl hadn't spoken that much during the sessions apart from providing backing vocals.

"What's with Fluttershy?" asked Sunset to Applejack.

"It... kinda has to do with Big Mac," Applejack explained, trying her best not to upset Fluttershy in front of the others.

"It's okay, Applejack," said Fluttershy. "But things didn't work out between me and Big Mac."

"Why not?" asked Sunset.

"He fell in love with this girl named Sugar Belle."

"Oh," said Sunset. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay," said Fluttershy. "He and I still agreed to be just friends."

"Well, that's good to hear," said Rainbow Dash, but before she could continue, Pinkie interrupted.

"Speaking of love, how are you and Soarin getting on?"

"Let's just move onto another song," snapped Rainbow Dash, noticing that Pinkie and Applejack were trying to stifle some giggles.

"Rainbow Dash, don't you want to talk about it?" asked Sunset.

"No!" snapped Rainbow Dash.

"Denial is a river in Africa," joked Pinkie.

"I said, no! Now shut it!" snapped Rainbow Dash.

"Jeez, Dash!" exclaimed Applejack. "No need to be so blunt."

The next song being practiced on was one Applejack began called "Friendship Through the Ages." As they began their first take, Sunset's mind was on the conversation - and subsequent teasing toward Rainbow Dash - they just had.

What if things really don't work out between me and Vincent?she thought worriedly.What if we aren't good enough for each other? What if he goes for that... that big belly bimbo known as Blossomforth...?

"Hey, Sunset!" called a voice.

"Wha-? Um, yeah, Pinkie?" asked Sunset. "What is it?"

"Did you wanna get some lunch?"

"Oh! Um... sure. What'd you have in mind?"

"I was thinking pizza." The other Rainbooms all responded positively to Pinkie's idea, and on that note, they headed off together.

Author's Note

The first segment takes place at the same time as Vincent and Flash's scene in the previous chapter. The second and third take place immediately after the previous chapter as well.

Silly Love Songs Track 4 - Silly Love Songs

JANUARY 11, 2014

At Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh was tending to his girlfriend, Sugar Belle. She was a beautiful young woman at nineteen-going-on-twenty with moderate cerise eyes and poofy moderate magenta hair tied up near the end with two ball-shaped hair clips; one light blue, and the other a very light gray. At this moment, the two were having a talk about different ways of making apple related treats.

"From what Ah've heard," said Big Mac, "if ya'll use wood from an apple tree in a wood burnin' stove, it'll add more apple flavor to what ya'll cook."

"Really?" asked Sugar Belle in amazement.

"Eeyup," replied Big Mac in his usual manner. "Granny Smith taught me that."

"So how has your sister's band been going?" asked Sugar Belle.

"They're doin' mighty fine," said Big Mac. "Though," he added with concern, "of her friends, Sunset Shimmer, ain't doin' so well from what Applejack tells me."

"What's wrong?"

But before Big Macintosh could reply, there was a loud scream coming from the barn where the music was being recorded.

"What was that?" cried Sugar Belle.

"Sounds lak trouble," said Big Mac. "We'd better go investigate."

A FEW MINUTES EARLIER

"'My Past is Not Today' - take 23..." Flash groaned with dismay, and he used to find it a lovely song.

The Rainbooms were recording Sunset's composition "My Past is Not Today" - or at least, they were attempting to. For the first seven takes, Sunset found herself unable to play the correct chords on the piano because of shakiness in her hands; it had been loaned to them by Celestia and Sombra. Because of their familiarity with the accompaniment, the Rainbooms were almost certain they could've picked it out without Sunset's help; Rarity had even offered to play the piano in Sunset's place, but the latter had refused.

Poor Sunset Shimmer was looking pale and sick. In the last fifteen takes, she had been stumbling in her vocals; she'd forgotten a few lyrics in one take, and her voice cracked in another. It had become painful to watch and listen to for Song Cue and Comet Tail; they'd come to Sweet Apple Acres to listen to the Rainbooms practice, but seeing Sunset stumble was the last thing they wanted to see.

"Maybe we should try this again when you're feeling better, darling," suggested Rarity.

"No," said Sunset. "I want to get this done today." And then she began to play the chords.

For take 23, things were looking up as Sunset got through the first verse and chorus, but after she'd finished the chorus, her voice began to quiver as she got to the second verse. Without warning, she stopped. Flash turned off the recorder so as not to waste valuable tape.

"Hey, Sunshim!" called Rainbow Dash. "You okay?"

There was no answer.

"Sunset?"

Suddenly, Sunset broke down sobbing in front of everybody in the room. Now everyone was worried for Sunset as she buried her face into hands as she cried uncontrollably.

Comet decided to see if Sunset needed help, but as he got closer to her, Sunset suddenly went berserk. She'd shoved Comet to the ground, picked up a stool and sent it flying towards a wall, fortunately not hitting Fluttershy as she'd ducked out of the way just in time.

But it didn't stop there as Sunset knocked over anything that got in her way; microphones, an amplifier, guitars, and even demolished Pinkie's drum kit right in front of her! The pink haired girl was not very happy about that at all.

"Hey!" cried Pinkie. "That took me an hour to set up!"

RIGHT NOW

Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle had turned up just in time to see Sunset throwing a microphone in Rainbow Dash's way, but luckily, the rainbow haired girl ducked before she got hit. Then Sunset turned her anger towards the piano and began to punch and kick at it.

"What's going on in here?!" demanded Big Mac. "Does Sunset have rabies?"

"No, I don't think it's that," said Song Cue. "But whatever it is, it can't be good!"

"Ya'll got that right!" said Applejack, putting down her bass. She then grabbed Sunset around her chest and started to drag her away from the piano, and then out of the barn.

"Settle down, Sunset!" called Applejack. But she didn't. She broke free from Applejack's grip but then found herself in Big Macintosh's; he was much bigger and stronger, so escape for Sunset was futile.

"Let me go, you stupid hick!" Sunset screamed. "I'll kill you!" But Big Mac ignored her threats and dragged her as far from the barn he could into the cold weather. The wind hit them like a knife, but it wasn't enough to knock Sunset out of her spell; it was as if some demon was taking control of her and taunting her endlessly.

Eventually, Sunset was dragged to the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres, and before she knew it, Applejack slapped her hard in the face, and Sunset's screams of rage turned into yelps of pain. After a few slaps, Sunset had finally calmed down and Big Mac let go of her. (Sugar Belle had stayed behind to make sure nobody had been hurt; no one was, thankfully, but they were shaken up.) Sunset sat on a nearby tree stump, and the oldest Apple siblings stayed close in case she did something crazy again.

"Why was she acting all crazy like that?" asked Rainbow Dash. She and the others were cleaning up the mess Sunset had caused; Pinkie was trying to reassemble her drum kit, but had forgotten how it was supposed to be put together.

"It'll take forever to put this back together," she groaned.

"I think I know what's up," said Flash, heading towards the door. "I'll be back in about a few... or longer, depending on what it takes."

Applejack and Big Macintosh were most relieved when Flash walked up. He turned to see Sunset sitting on the tree stump; she'd barely moved in the last ten minutes or so.

"Erm... you're not gonna climb a tree and try to jump off of it, are you?" asked Flash, hoping to strike some small talk.

"Wouldn't that be a way to end a day?" replied Sunset, not looking at Flash. "What's up with everyone?"

"They say you went insane and started throwing things," said Flash. "Why?"

Sunset blew some hair that had gotten into her face and rolled her eyes. "I dunno who the hell that was in the barn," she said, "but that person's in for trouble."

"What person?" But Sunset didn't answer Flash's question. After a few moments, Flash asked, "Is it because of... Vincent?"

Sunset looked up at Flash and responded with a rather blunt "yes" before looking back down again. Flash then decided to sit on the tree stump as well, facing away from Sunset. Neither looked at or spoke to one another for about fifteen minutes; despite the cold, they appreciated the silence. It felt like they were communicating telepathically and thinking about the same person.

"Did something happen between you and Vincent?" asked Flash finally.

"Nothing bad, thankfully," said Sunset. "I think it'd be best if I told everyone about it."

"Better than flipping out and throwing things at them," agreed Flash in a joking tone. Sunset just chuckled. With that, they went back up to the barn.

When they arrived, the others were still unhappy with Sunset's ruckus.

"Whoa," said Sunset. "I caused that big a mess?"

"Yes, you did," replied Song Cue. "Don't you remember?"

"I think so," said Sunset.

"Well, why'd you suddenly go crazy on us?" asked Rainbow Dash. Sunset took a deep breath and spoke again to her friends.

"I was just feeling frustrated." she said. "You see... I'm in love with Vincent." Song Cue's expression suddenly went from annoyance to a mixture of understanding and surprise.

"The song we were working on was a subtle message to him," Sunset went on. "But I kept worrying that a relationship between us wouldn't work."

"And that's why you went crazy and started throwing our stuff?" asked Fluttershy.

Sunset sighed. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Sunset, I can understand how you feel," said Sugar Belle. "Before Big Mac and I started dating, I was worried a relationship between us wouldn't be able to work."

"What actually happened?" asked Sunset.

"This rather obnoxious guy named Feather Bangs started flirting with me."

"He wasn't too bad, was he?" asked Sunset.

"Nope," said Sugar Belle, imitating her boyfriend's way of responding.

"Him and me eventually argued fer Sugar Belle's hand," continued Big Mac. "And in the fight, we ended up wreckin' the shelf Sugar Belle was using for her sweets."

"I know what that's like," muttered Flash. "Except for the shelf thing."

"So how'd you end up together?" asked Sunset.

"While I was out shopping," said Sugar Belle, "Big Mac built me a brand new shelf that looked much more grand than my old one."

"Aww, that's really sweet of him to do that," said Sunset.

"Eeyup," smiled Big Mac.

"But what about Feather Bangs? How'd he take it?"

"He was pretty disappointed when he saw us at a table," said Sugar Belle.

"But then we suggested he try his luck on three ladies who had been in love with him all along," explained Big Mac. "And do ya'll know what we found out?"

"What's that?" asked Sunset. Big Mac couldn't contain a smirk.

"He was almost as bashful as Fluttershy!" Hearing this made the others laugh.

"He wasn't used to actually talking to girls," explained Sugar Belle. "That's why he acted so cool to try and impress them."

"Vincent never acted like a cool guy to try and impress me," said Sunset. "He always does what he can to help someone in need. Still," she said, looking at the lyrics sheet to "My Past is Not Today" and sighing, "how am I going to surprise him with this silly love song we can't even finish?"

"You think that people have just had enough of silly love songs?" asked Song Cue, having not spoken up until now. "I've looked around me and I see that isn't so." And then she began living up to her name:

"*rest of the first verse goes here*"

At that moment, Vincent was at the local cafe, thinking about Sunset. He was using his phone to look at pictures taken of him and Sunset together; in almost all of them, they were smiling together.

I love you, Sunset, he thought to himself. But I wish we could take a relationship seriously...

As Vincent was thinking, he could hear music playing from the Jukebox. Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs" was playing and got to a set of lyrics which Vincent could right now relate to:

"*second verse goes here*"

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Song Cue had gotten to a verse which reminded her of her relationship with Comet Tail:

"*middle eight goes here*"

By this point, the Rainbooms (barring Sunset) were playing their instruments to go along with Song Cue's singing. Pinkie was only able to play her snare drum as her kit was still in pieces. Song Cue was dancing with Comet, as was Big Mac with Sugar Belle; Flash just sat there and recorded everything on tape. Soon enough, Sunset chimed in with a verse of her own whilst the Rainbooms chorused "she loves him" in the background:

"*repeat of second verse goes here*"

Back to Vincent; he was just leaving the cafe and heading his way home, singing a verse of his own:

"*repeat of first verse goes here*"

"Hey! Could you mind keeping your singing to yourself?"

Vincent snapped out of his singing mode and noticed many people looking at him as though he were stoned.

"We're not in a musical, you know!"

"Well, isn't that how we express our emotions?" Vincent retorted.

"Why don't ya buzz off, Mr. Singsong?"

"Fine! I was heading home anyway! Some people have no taste," Vincent muttered to himself. "I wonder how Sunset and her band are getting on..."

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Song Cue had just finished her part of the song.

"You see?" she said. "Love songs aren't silly."

"See, Rainbow?" teased Sunset. "Told you Soarin would love your singing."

"I wouldn't be caught dead writing a love song!" protested Rainbow Dash. "Let alone a silly one!" The rest of the Rainbooms just laughed.

"One o' these days, Dash, ya'll be eatin' yer words!" chuckled Applejack.

Eventually, Pinkie Pie's drum kit was reassembled and they got back to recording the 24th take of "My Past is Not Today." (By now, Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle had returned to the house.) The song had a piano intro which carried over onto the first verse and chorus. At the start of the second verse, the bass and drums came into play, and when the second chorus kicked in, Rainbow Dash played the guitar before delving into a solo based upon the verses, leading to a "Day in the Life"-styled outro with Sunset singing a third repeat of the chorus. It taken the band a couple of takes to complete it because Sunset had missed a couple of lines here and there, but take 26 was what they now called the definitive version.

Just then, Flash's phone went off.

"Hold on," he said. "I gotta take this." He took out his phone to see who it was. "Hello?"

"Hey, Flash. It's Vincent."

"Oh hey, little brother. What's up?"

"I just got home, Flash. How's recording getting on?"

"Oh, it was... eventful," said Flash.

"Well, I heard they were doing a new song. Could I come by and hear it?"

"I'll ask the band first," said Flash. He looked up to the Rainbooms. "Vincent wants to know if he can stop by and listen to your new song."

"Sure thing!" said Pinkie.

"Come on over," said Flash.

"I'll be there in about ten," said Vincent.

"See you then," said Flash. With that, he hung up.

"You think he'll like it?" asked Sunset hopefully.

"I'm sure he will."

Within ten minutes, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," said Rarity. As expected, it was Vincent waiting at the door.

"Trick or treat," he joked.

"Yer three months too late," replied Applejack.

"I know," said Vincent. "I was just being silly."

"Sounds like your silliness is rubbing off on him, Pinkie," remarked Sunset.

"Think I should be a teacher of silliness?" asked Pinkie. But no one really answered her question as they knew the reason Vincent was here.

"Flash says you want to hear our new song," said Fluttershy.

"That I do," said Vincent.

"Sunset wrote it herself," said Rarity. Sunset blushed a bit.

"I hope you like it," she said. "We just got it set up for playback." She went to a laptop computer she'd brought and began typing. Within seconds, the song began playing.

"This was incredible!" cried Vincent when the song was done. But before he could say more, Sunset was so happy to hear that Vincent loved her song that she hugged him and kissed him. This caused most of the girls to giggle. Sunset let go of Vincent and composed herself.

"Oh, it's not like you and Soarin had some sweet moments, eh?" she retorted. Once again, it was Rainbow Dash's turn to be on the receiving end of teasing. She was about to make a snappy comeback, but couldn't come up with anything and admitted defeat.

"Alright, fine!" she cried. "I'm dating Soarin! You happy now?!"

"Yes, but why are you so brash about it?" asked Sunset.

"If my family found out," said Rainbow Dash, "they'd never let me forget it."

"Oh, right," said Fluttershy, remembering the nature of Rainbow Dash's family.

"Don't be ashamed about being in love with Soarin, Dash," assured Sunset, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Being in love is a normal concept."

"How would you know?" snapped Rainbow Dash, but not as harshly. Sunset motioned over to Vincent, who then walked over to her. Vincent then put his arm around Sunset and smiled at her. Song Cue couldn't help but giggle at the scene.

"Let's rock out some more!" suggested Pinkie Pie.

"Sounds lak a hoot," said Applejack. The other Rainbooms agreed, with Fluttershy once again last with a quiet "Yay!" With everyone agreeing to Pinkie's idea, the Rainbooms went back to playing music.

Author's Note

Sunset's outburst is based upon a Beatles alternate history book I've read called The Death and Life of Mal Evans by Peter Lee.

The sequence where Song Cue, Vincent and Sunset sing to "Silly Love Songs" is meant to play out a little like a Disney musical number. Lyrics are not included due to FiMFiction rules.

Silly Love Songs Track 5 - Cheer Down

After a couple of more hours at Sweet Apple Acres, Sunset finally returned to her home. It was getting close to dark, so Sunset was lucky she arrived home when she did; there would be a snowstorm soon at night. The first person to greet her home was Celestia.

"Welcome home, dear," she greeted. "How did today go?"

"I had a bit of a mental breakdown at band practice," said Sunset sheepishly.

"Are you alright now, sweetheart?" asked Celestia in concern.

"Yeah," said Sunset. "The reason I went mental was because I realized that I was in love with Vincent, but I was scared that we couldn't make a relationship work out." Sunset sighed and sat down on the nearby sofa, looking up at the ceiling.

"Sunset," comforted Celestia, "you're not the only one who has had fears like this." Hearing this made Sunset perk up.

"You mean... yourself and... dad?"

"Yes," said Celestia. "It was shortly after my fifteenth birthday..."

FEBRUARY 26, 1986

Celestia was talking with some friends of hers at the local malt shop. Lullaby Strings was one of them, as was another CHS student known as Novo. She was a dark-skinned sophomore with strong magenta eyes, and her hair had a gradient going from brilliant fuchsia to a strong mulberry.

"You'll never guess what Luna did last night," said Celestia.

"Did it involve a spaceship, a German, and some kinda alien?" asked Novo nonchalantly.

"No. She put on some of my clothes and stuffed a couple of balloons in the pants, saying that she was doing an impression of me."

Lullaby and Novo couldn't help but chuckle at this news. Celestia went red with embarrassment.

"Do you think she was trying to drop a hint?" teased Lullaby.

"Well," said Celestia sheepishly as she put a hand on her backside, "maybe I have been getting a bit large in the barge lately."

"Embarrassing body parts aside," said Lullaby, "any of you have plans to go to the dance this weekend?"

"Not me," said Novo. "My sister and I are heading over to the spa with our mother."

"What about you, Celie?" asked Lullaby.

"Erm..." Celestia looked away, blushing slightly.

"You're thinking about asking Sombra, aren't you?" Lullaby said with a smirk.

"Wh-whatever get you that idea?"

"The tell-tale scarf that you're wearing?"

"I-i-it's a gift from another friend!" protested Celestia, taking the scarf off.

"Of course it is," giggled Lullaby.

"It's okay to admit you like him," said Novo. "But why haven't you said so to him?"

"I'm not sure how he would react," explained Celestia. Lullaby then looked over to a table where Sombra was sitting, not paying attention to the world around him.

"Now's your chance," she said to Celestia.

"N-now?!" cried Celestia, blushing redder in the face. "Wh-what should I say?!"

"First thing that comes to your mind," said Lullaby. "Just go for it, Celie."

"But what if he says no?"

"Don't think about the 'what ifs'," said Lullaby. "Just take the chance while you got it."

But Celestia was still feeling nervous, so Lullaby was forced to push her all the way over to Sombra's area. He was surprised to see her.

"Oh, hello, Celestia," he said.

"Um, hi there, Sombra," said Celestia, rather shyly. "I-is it okay if I s-sat w-w-with you?"

"Of course you can," smiled Sombra. Celestia carefully sat down next to Sombra. "Was there anything you wanted to say?"

"So-Sombra..." stammered Celestia. "I... I l..."

"Yes, Celestia?"

"...SOMBRA I LOVE YOU!" No sooner had Celestia said that, she covered her mouth. The malt shop was filled with silence; you could almost hear a pin land on the floor. After a few moments, Sombra finally found his voice.

"W-well, Celestia," he said, sounding a bit shy himself, "I love you too."

"Y-you do?" asked Celestia at last.

"Ever since we first met," said Sombra, "you were the first person who saw me for who I truly was."

Celestia couldn't help but blush at that comment. Then, she got closer to Sombra and kissed him squarely on the lips. Surprised, Sombra kissed her back.

"So, did you have any plans for the dance?" asked Celestia.

"Well, I wasn't sure about going at first," Sombra admitted. "I didn't know if you would have been interested in going with me."

"Why not?" asked Celestia.

"Well..." said Sombra, "I didn't know if you were going to be busy at that time."

"I've a clear schedule this weekend." Whilst Sombra and Celestia continued talking, Lullaby and Novo commented on the scene.

"Told you she'd do it," said Lullaby. "Now pay up." Novo sighed and rolled her eyes as she gave Lullaby a five-dollar bill.

JANUARY 11, 2014

Sunset giggled. "I had no idea Vincent's mom was like that back then," she said.

"She was... eccentric, to say the least," said Celestia. "But she was still one of my closest friends all the same."

"Yeah, she was a lovely lady," agreed Sunset.

"Indeed," said Celestia. "Vincent is so much like her in many ways."

"Well, thanks for the talk, mom," said Sunset.

"No problem, sweetie," smiled Celestia.

JANUARY 15, 2014

It was shortly after the brunch period at Canterlot High School. Vincent and Sunset were heading to their next class, which was geography. One of the other students they saw already in the classroom was Skystar, a sophomore with light arctic blue hair with a rose colored flower in it and brilliant cyan eyes. She was Novo's daughter, but her skin color was lighter. One of her well known habits was carrying around two clams with googly eyes on them named Sheldon and Shelly.

"Good morning, Skystar," said Sunset.

"Hi, Sunset," said Skystar. "Hey there, Vincent."

"Oh, hey Skystar," said Vincent. "Shelly, Sheldon," he added, addressing the two clams. Skystar moved the clams up and down to make it look like they were talking.

"How's your day going so far?" asked Skystar.

"Pretty good," said Sunset. The three of them (five if you included Shelly and Sheldon) talked for a bit until the bell rang. The teacher, Novo, spoke up.

"Everyone take your seats." The students didn't need telling twice; Skystar sat in her usual seat, next to Pinkie Pie. The next thing Novo did was hand out a sheet of paper with all the students' names on it to keep track of who was there that day.

"Our lesson for the day is climate change." While some of the students didn't seem very interested, Pinkie and Skystar were among the ones that were.

"I can't wait to hear about the ocean," whispered Skystar to Pinkie. It was one of her favorite subjects.

"Because of the shells?" asked Pinkie.

"Yup yup!" Skystar quietly giggled.

After a few minutes of class, an announcement came on the intercom.

"Attention, all staff and students," said Luna. "We have just received word that a shooter may be on campus grounds. Everyone is to be on lock down until further notice."

"A shooter on campus?!" Pinkie almost shrieked. "We're not gonna die, are we?!"

"Pinkie Pie, calm down," said Novo firmly. "The most important thing in situations like this is to not panic. Everyone to your places."

With that said, the students began to take their designated safety places while Novo locked the door. Poor Sunset began to feel scared; what if it was Icy Heart having escaped from prison seeking revenge? Vincent noticed how upset Sunset looked.

"Sunset?" he whispered. "Are you alright?"

"No," Sunset whimpered quietly, but loud enough so Vincent heard her. "Can you... hold me?"

Vincent was surprised, but agreed to it anyway.

"That help?" he asked.

"Mmm, yes," murmured Sunset. He's so warm, she thought to herself whilst blushing. Like a giant teddy bear.

She's so soft, thought Vincent. I hope that didn't sound perverted...

Both Sunset and Vincent felt comfort in holding onto each other during the lockdown; so much so that without realizing it, they both fell asleep. As time went by, they began to dream...

***

Vincent and Sunset both found themselves in a large field with a big tree in the middle.

"Isn't it beautiful out here?" asked Sunset.

"Yes," said Vincent. "But not as beautiful as you." Sunset blushed at that compliment.

"Aww, you're just saying that," she giggled.

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Vincent insisted. Taking each other's hands, the two teens stared lovingly into their eyes before closing them and slowly leaning forward. Both kissed passionately for what felt like ages; whilst they kissed, Vincent began stroking his girlfriend's hair. Sunset giggled as she felt his touch and stroked his hair in return.

"Getting cosy, are we?" Sunset teased, batting her eyelids at him.

"Maybe," said Vincent innocently. "Wh-what else shall we do, my love?"

With a teasing smirk, Sunset whispered something into Vincent's ear. When she finished, Vincent went bright red. A voice could be heard in the distance, but neither noticed what the voice was saying. Vincent looked on as Sunset slowly took off her jacket and it landed on the grass. Then she began to slowly lift up her shirt...

***

"Vincent! Sunset! Wake up!"

Sunset let out a scream as she was startled awake, accidentally smacking Vincent in the jaw, waking him up as well.

"Ow!" cried Vincent, rubbing where he'd been hit.

"Sorry," Sunset apologized. "Skystar gave me a wake up call."

"Oh," said Vincent. "How long were we asleep?"

"About two hours," said Skystar.

"Two hours?!" exclaimed Sunset. "What's going on?"

"The lockdown's over."

"What about the shooter?" asked Vincent.

"It turned out to be a false alarm," said Skystar. "The person they thought was a shooter was actually a pest exterminator."

"So all this time, we freaked out over a misunderstanding?"

"Afraid so," said Skystar. "But on the plus side, we got some extra sleep."

Because of the lockdown, the students had a late lunch and their sixth period class was cut short. The families of the students had been informed about the false alarm and were called in to take them home (Sunset and Skystar were among the few exceptions; they'd go home once their respective mothers were done). Celestia was in her office with Shining Armor and the man falsely accused of being a shooter; he had dark skin, light gray hair, some visible stubble on his chin, and green eyes. He looked to be in his sixties. With them were the two students who unintentionally caused panic - Snips and Snails.

"I am very disappointed in you two," said Celestia sternly. "You have made everyone on school grounds panic all over a false alarm."

"We're sorry, Principal McCracken," said Snips sadly.

"We thought we saw him holding a rifle," said Snails.

"That was the front of my equipment," said the pest exterminator.

"Well, we didn't know that," said Snips.

"Why didn't you just ask what he was doing in the first place?" asked Shining Armor.

"We panicked," said Snails. Celestia sighed and rubbed her temples; even for an innocent misunderstanding, expulsion was too harsh a punishment for the boys.

"As punishment," she finally said, "you will both serve two months' worth of detention."

"W-we're not going to jail?" asked Snips in surprise.

"Of course not," said Shining Armor. "You're just kids, and made a mistake."

Snips and Snails sighed in somewhat relief; they'd rather be in detention than in a jail cell.

Meanwhile, Vincent had been called into Luna's office. He was aided by one of the school's alumni, Sonata Dusk, to the office.

"What do you think Vice-Principal Faust wants?" Vincent asked.

"Every student's being sent home early," said Sonata. "Looks like you're next, Vincent."

Sonata was right; when they arrived at the office, Vincent saw that Luna was with Page Turner and, to his surprise, Fictionary.

"What're doing here, little sis?" asked Vincent.

"Canterlot Middle went through the lockdown," she explained. "Seems the entire city was put into a panic."

"And all for a misunderstanding," said Vincent.

"I'm just glad you're both safe," said Page.

"But where's Flash?" asked Vincent. "Is he stuck at Rainbow Falls Community College?"

"No, he's at home," said Page. "His first class was to begin at 11:30, but it was cancelled due to the lockdown."

"Thank goodness for that," said Vincent.

"Well, I hope the rest of you take care now," said Luna.

"We will," said the Sentries. With that, they left for home.

"Now then," said Luna, picking a lunch box up from the bottom of her desk, "it's time for me to enjoy a delicious lunch before I go home as well." She opened her lunchbox and gasped to find it empty.

"What the-?! I'm sure I had a taco in here..." She noticed Sonata walking off, whistling innocently. Luna sighed with annoyance; the only reason Sonata had been hired was because out of the three half-sisters - Sonata herself, Adagio Dazzle, and Aria Blaze - she was the easiest to get along with children.

As Page drove him and Fictionary home, Vincent found himself in deep thought as he looked out the window.

That dream Sunset and I had, he thought to himself. It seemed so magical. But then he thought about what had happened before he was abruptly awaken.

Sunset was about to lift up her shirt, Vincent thought. He then began to blush. Does she... want to take this to the next level?

"Vincent? Are you alright?"

"Huh?!" Vincent turned to face Fictionary, who'd just called out to him. "Um... yeah, I'm fine," he said.

"Were you thinking about Sunset again?" asked Fictionary innocently. Vincent blushed at this.

"M-maybe," he said nervously.

Meanwhile, Celestia was driving Sunset home. Celestia was still flustered over the recent events, and Sunset figured it might not be a good idea to bother her, so she kept quiet. Throughout the ride home, she kept thinking about the dream she and Vincent shared.

I can't believe I dreamed that, she thought to herself. What does that mean?

Celestia looked in the rear-view mirror and noticed Sunset thinking to herself.

"Are you alright, Sunset?" she asked gently. Sunset snapped out of her though bubble.

"Huh, what?" she asked.

"You were acting rather quiet," said Celestia.

"Oh," said Sunset. "Just deep in thought is all."

"About what?"

"Just... stuff," said Sunset. Celestia decided not to say anymore about the subject, and kept driving. Sunset, meanwhile, continued thinking about her dream, and about Vincent...

Author's Note

The pest exterminator is the Pest Control Pony from Bloom and Gloom.

Bits of this chapter are loosely inspired by the events of the January 2013 Sunnyvale lockdown.

Silly Love Songs Track 3 - One Day (At a Time)

The school year at Canterlot High School resumed on January 6. Many students were not too happy at having to return to school, mostly because of the weather; it was possibly the coldest January they could ever remember. An orange-haired freshman with brown eyes named Snipsy Snap - better known as Snips - was stupid enough to put his tongue on the flagpole and couldn't remove it. His best friend Snailsquirm - also known as Snails - didn't know how to help him; he had dark fuchsia eyes and turquoise hair.

At that moment, one of the teachers, Octavia Melody, came over to see what the problem was, and she was shocked at the sight.

"What on earth were you two thinking?!" she scolded. Because Snips couldn't speak properly with his tongue stuck on the flagpole, Snails did most of the talking.

"We wanted to see what would happen if you licked a frozen pole," he explained. "I didn't think Snips would get his tongue stuck."

Octavia sighed with annoyance; why Celestia allowed these two morons at CHS, she'd never know.

"I'll go get help," she said. "Don't do anything else stupid while I'm gone." Easier said than done, because when Octavia returned with Discord (holding some hot water in a plastic cup) and Nurse Snowheart, Snails had stuck his tongue on the flagpole as well.

"You have got to be kidding me," groaned Octavia as she facepalmed. "I thought I told you both not to do anything stupid!"

"Perhaps Snips thought you were talking to Snails," said Discord, a bit amused by what he had seen. He instantly shut up when Octavia shot him a dirty look.

"This is serious," she insisted.

"Boys, I want you to keep calm," said Nurse Snowheart. Snips and Snails immediately obeyed. "First, I need you both to remain calm and take deep breaths."

Snips tried to say, "What good will that do, Nurse?" But his speech was garbled due to his tongue sticking out.

"Just do as I say," said Nurse Snowheart, and so the boys did. "Mr. Discord, would you hand me that hot water?"

"Of course," said Discord. Snips and Snails yelped at the sound of hot water being poured onto their tongues.

"Don't freak out," assured Nurse Snowheart. "This will help unfreeze the saliva that's connecting your tongue to the flagpole."

Very gently, Nurse Snowheart poured a bit of hot water onto where Snips' tongue was attached to the pole. It took a few minutes, but at last, Snips was free.

"There you go," said Nurse Snowheart once Snails' tongue was free as well. "Now promise not do this again."

"I don't want to lose my tongue," said Snails, and then he and Snips walked away. Vincent and Sunset had seen the incident from the statue where they stood nearby.

"I honestly wouldn't hire them to cook me a meal," said Sunset.

"I wouldn't even trust them to wash a car," added Vincent. "Heck, they'd be a disaster on a movie set or the mall!" The two laughed.

"We'd better get ready for class," said Sunset. "I'll race ya to the the building!" And faster than you can say "Waterfall Prism," she bolted to the stairs.

"Sunset, look out!" called Vincent. "There's an ice patch-"

But he never got to finish, as Sunset tripped on an ice patch she didn't see and banged her shin below the knee against the stairs. Sunset cried out in pain as she rolled over to sit on the stairs. She rolled up her right pant leg and saw that her shin was bleeding from the impact. Sunset looked as if she was about to cry when Vincent carefully walked up to her to see if she was alright.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm f-f-fine," Sunset whimpered. "B-but I scraped my knee...!"

"Here, let me help you," said Vincent as he took off his backpack.

He unzipped the front-most pouch and dug out a small pack of tissues. He pulled out two and then unscrewed his water bottle, pouring a small amount onto the tissues to make them damp. Then, Vincent began dabbing Sunset's knee with the tissues to soak up the dripping blood. Sunset winced at first from pain, but as Vincent continued to treat her knee, the less pain she felt. Some students walking past observed the scene for a bit before continuing to their classes, but all made sure to walk around Vincent and Sunset.

"Does it feel better, sweetie?" asked Vincent softly. He might not have meant to call her "sweetie", but Sunset blushed at Vincent's kindness.

"Y-y-yes," she said at last, giggling a little. "Thank you."

"Might want to keep that leg rolled up," said Vincent, standing up and putting his backpack on again. "Do you think you'll be able to walk to the nurse's office?"

Sunset nodded bravely.

They soon found the nurse's office, and luckily for both, they didn't have to wait too long before Nurse Snowheart could tend to Sunset's scraped knee. As the bandage was applied, Sunset told the nurse about how Vincent treated her wound.

"I'm sure being a doctor isn't part of his future plans," said Nurse Snowheart, "but it was very kind of you, Vincent, to help her out."

"Oh, it was nothing," he said modestly.

"That wasn't nothing," said Sunset. "That showed how much you care for me." Vincent blushed a little at that remark, and more so as she took his hand and held it in hers.

"Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" asked Nurse Snowheart.

"Well..." said Vincent, blushing nervously.

"Yes... and no," said Sunset, also blushing. "We love each other, but we're not in a relationship... yet."

"Well, I heard there's a Valentine's Day Formal being arranged," said Nurse Snowheart. "Maybe you could both go together."

"Is that when the Rainbooms play for the crowd?" asked Vincent.

"We do," said Sunset. "I spoke with my mom about it and she was supportive about the band taking off."

"You girls must've been practicing a lot," said Vincent.

"Thanks," said Sunset. "Do you think we'll look great on stage?"

"I'm sure of it, Sunset."

"Okay, Miss Shimmer," said Nurse Snowheart. "Your leg is all bandaged up, and it should take at least a week to heal. Just take it easy when you're walking."

"I will. Thank you, Nurse Snowheart."

Vincent offered to walk her to her first class of the day, which was chemistry.

"I can't thank you enough for helping me this morning, Vincent," said Sunset, and gave him a hug, before kissing him on the cheek. Both blushed red once again.

"You're very welcome, darling," smiled Vincent, stroking her hair for a bit. Sunset stifled a giggle. She let go of Vincent and walked inside the classroom.

As she sat down at her desk, Sunset couldn't help but sigh romantically. Vincent had been so kind to her that morning that it made her love for him stronger than before. She felt her heart beating faster than normal, and wondered if she and Vincent should have a relationship of their own.

Outside, Vincent was lost in his own world as well. Sunset had actually kissed him, and he touched the cheek where she kissed and felt his heart beating faster as well. He looked up at the clock and suddenly snapped out of his fantasy; it was two minutes before his first class, English and writing, and he shot off like a jackrabbit. Vincent found the classroom door and made it with thirty seconds to spare.

"Are you alright, Vincent?" asked Song Cue once he'd caught his breath.

"Yeah," said Vincent. He then quickly explained what had happened.

"I'm glad to hear that Sunset's okay," sighed Song Cue. She then gave a playful giggle. "So, are you an item yet?"

"Well... sort of," said Vincent, but before he could continue, their teacher, Written Script, addressed the classroom.

"Good morning, students," he said, "and welcome back. How was your winter vacation?" The students all gave eager nods and a rouse of chatter erupted from them.

"Okay, one at a time," chuckled Written Script.

"Let's talk about this later," whispered Vincent to Song Cue. She gave a nod, and turned her attention to the teacher.

"What did you get up to during winter break, Miss Cue?" asked Written Script.

"Oh, Comet Tail came by to my house for a few days," she smiled. "We made some more models for my Railway Series layout. Some modified versions of Caitlin and Connor as British engines, actually."

"She still likes that baby TV show?!" one of the students retorted.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with liking a show meant for kids!" retorted Vincent. "How would you like it if someone mocked you for liking a show made for little girls?"

"Vincent's right," said Written Script. "If anything, Song Cue's shown to be rather dedicated to the original source material for giving Connor and Caitlin proper British bases."

The heckling student knew he couldn't win this argument, and so he stayed respectably silent. Written Script then got the other students to tell each other their experiences over the break, but had the heckling student go outside the classroom for a few minutes while this was going on.

Soon, it was the lunch period. Now Vincent could give Song Cue - as well as her boyfriend Comet Tail - the full scoop on what was going on between himself and Sunset.

"So, what's the story between the two of you?" asked Comet.

"You already know about the struggle she went through with Starlight and Trixie right?" asked Vincent. "And not to mention the bullying she suffered from Icy Heart."

Both Comet and Song Cue nodded.

"Well, the thing is," said Vincent, "me and Sunset... admitted our love to one another by the waterfall."

"Aww," sighed Comet. "That's so sweet."

"Yeah," said Vincent, blushing. "But... I don't know if we want to be committed to a long-term relationship."

"It's just one step at a time," Song Cue reminded him. "Just go at your own pace."

"Thanks, Songs," smiled Vincent. "Though I wonder if Sunset's doing alright."

Sunset was at another table with the Rainbooms. They were making arrangements for when they were available to practice after school. Right now, Rarity was attending Rainbow Falls University and couldn't come, but had told the others in advance what her plans were for the next several weeks.

"Some shoppin' trips, hangin' out wi' Math Equation in between college courses," said Applejack. "She really knows how ta plan ahead."

"So which days are all of us open?" asked Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash had a calendar for January and February and had written down when each member was busy.

"So far, we're all free on Saturdays," said Rainbow Dash. "I figure it's best to let the others know through text messaging when we're available. You never know if plans in our lives suddenly change."

But Sunset's mind wasn't on band practice; she was holding one of her notebooks and drawing an outline picture of herself and Vincent kissing.

"Uh, Sunset?" asked Pinkie. Sunset let out a startled scream and hastily closed her notebook.

"I didn't do it!" she cried in alarm. The others looked at her in confusion.

"Are... you okay?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Oh yeah, I'm totally fine!" replied Sunset, bearing a fish-eating grin. It was obviously a fake smile, but no one dared to comment on that.

"Alright then," said Applejack, breaking the awkward silence. "Now, let's try an' figure out when we record whose songs..."

For the rest of the week, Sunset was deeply lost in her thoughts. All she could think about was Vincent, and it was causing her to become rather clumsy and easily distracted. As she went to her next class, she started bumping into passing students.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," said Sunset sheepishly. Suddenly, she bumped into another student and dropped all of her things onto the floor.

"Oh, shoot!" she snapped with annoyance.

"Do you need help, Sunset?" asked a familiar voice. Sunset looked and saw Vincent standing over her with his hand out.

"Oh, yes, I do need your help," she said, blushing madly. "My notebooks have spilled all over the floor..." So Vincent helped Sunset pick up her notebooks.

"Thanks," said Sunset, and then quickly raced off before Vincent could reply.

"Um... you're welcome...?" What was that all about? Vincent thought to himself.

"She was probably feeling tense about schoolwork," he said, shrugging the encounter off. Vincent was partially correct about Sunset feeling tense, but it wasn't about schoolwork.

Ohmygoshhessocuteandkind! Sunset thought over and over. For no apparent reason, she began giggling to herself. Some students heard her and were concerned that she might be going slightly mad.

"What's so funny?" asked Indigo Wreath. "What're ye laughin' at?"

"Oh, it's... erm, this really funny joke I heard in a movie," said Sunset. "I don't remember what it was though."

"Well, if ye're sure then," Indigo replied. After Sunset carried on her way, Indigo's girlfriend, Watermelody, spoke to him.

"I think I know what zis is all about," she said. "She's clearly in love."

"But who with?" asked Indigo.

"It must be Vincent," said Watermelody. "I saw him treating Sunset's wound ze other day; he really must care for her."

When Sunset overheard that, her face blushed so red that it looked as though she swallowed a ghost pepper. Then suddenly, without warning, she screamed out loud...

"I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH ANYBODY!!"

Then she covered her mouth in shock at what she had just blurted out. Now everyone was looking at her in surprise and confusion. Without another word, Sunset hastily ran off to her next class, leaving behind a crowd of very puzzled students. Just what was going on with Sunset Shimmer, they wondered? Surely she wasn't slipping back into her old habits... right?

Five certain girls were about twenty-four hours away from finding out...

Author's Note

Sunset and Vincent's remarks about Snips and Snails make several references to the EG series. The boys getting their tongues stuck on the flagpole is a reference to A Christmas Story.

The ghost pepper is known as the Bhut jolokia; ranked at over a million Scoville heat units, it is one of the hottest chili peppers on the planet.