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.