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.