Sunset woke up feeling refreshed. Messy but refreshed. She hadn't done anything last night. She didn't know why, but she had been exhausted. She thought she was just gonna close her eyes for a minute, but that turned into the whole night. At least she got good sleep.
She checked her phone to see what she had missed. Usually one of the girls had something planned Friday nights. Wasn't always something big, but things like going over to Pinkie Pie’s to watch a movie or just hanging out at the park.
Sunset's phone showed only one missed text message. Everyone must've been pretty busy for there to only be one message on her phone. Usually there was at least one message from each of the girls with a yay or nay response.
But there was only one message and it wasn't even a group message like it usually is. It was from Applejack:
Hey Sunset. I don't feel right about not bein’ honest with you after school. We weren't actually talking about Pinkie Pie's dream when you walked up. We were actually talking about a dream I had. I'll tell you about it if you wanna know.
Sunset had almost forgotten about that. It did seem weird how everyone shifted a bit when they realized she was there. For just a moment, she thought they were going to shut her out again. Thank goodness Pinkie brought her in and started telling her that crazy dream. She knew Pinkie's dream hadn't been the actual conversation topic, but she also knew that Pinkie was covering for one of the girls that must've been uncomfortable. This text from Applejack made everything make sense.
Sunset started typing in a reply, but stopped when she noticed the time. Applejack would be working in her orchard about now. Sunset recalled a conversation once about Saturday morning plans and how Applejack would need to know about things way in advance because of her family’s apple orchard. She was usually free by the early afternoon though. Sunset would give her a call then.
Sunset set about her usual Saturday morning routine. She made some coffee, had some buttered toast, and relaxed by her window looking out at the city. She found a little bit of comfort in the view from her apartment. All she could see was the sky, the buildings, and the cars, and every now and then, she felt like she was back home in Equestria. The city here had a very similar feel to Manehattan.
She took a bite of her toast and was suddenly very aware of her hands. She could admit that they were very useful. Even rank them a very close second after telekinesis. And in a world like this that only very recently was exposed to magic, they must have been a necessity. She still missed her magic, but she didn't feel the need to chase after it anymore. She was actually content with her life and her new friends. Besides, she did have magic now. She felt it every time they ponied up. It was different from the magic she had in Equestria, but it was still powerful.
After breakfast, Sunset headed out to the mall. No real plan. Just killing time before she could call Applejack. Sunset liked the mall. Especially in the mornings. It wasn't super crowded and she could just stroll around and enjoy the sights and sounds of other people living their lives.
She used to do this when she was first banished here too. The only difference back then was that she didn't have friends. She didn't even know what friendship was then. So she would sit there in the mall and fluctuate between complete depression and despising the people for looking happy. Now she could sit there and enjoy the quiet time and the people watching.
Then, she saw it. There in the window of the game store. Tirek’s Revenge. She had to stop and catch her breath for a second. She had seen rumors about there being a sequel to Rise of Tirek, but nothing concrete. But now here it was.
She had spent so much time with Rise of Tirek. She had all the power ups. She found all the secret areas. She even unlocked the special character that was only obtainable by getting the perfect ending. She had to play through it 3 times in order to make that happen. Sunset was Pinkie level excited. She even let out a “squee”.
But then her heart sank. She saw the worker through the window starting to take down the poster. Why were they taking down the poster?! She decided to ask and ran into the store.
“Hey there. I was just wondering why you're taking the Tirek's Revenge poster down.”
“Oh. Sorry if it got your hopes up. We're not supposed to start hanging these up until the studio announces the game publicly. There's still a bit of a wait for the game to be released.”
“Oh. Okay. But it is going to be released? Because I've only heard rumors so far.”
“Well, technically it's still just a rumor.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He must have sensed the disappointment in Sunset's voice. Because he asked if she wanted one of the posters.
“Yeah! Well, if you have extras.”
“Extras. Ha! I got enough of ‘em to plaster this whole store! Just wait a minute. I'll get one from the back for you.”
“Ok thanks!”
Sunset waited for a minute. She was so excited, she was literally bouncing. But at the 5 minute mark, she was wondering what was happening. 10 minutes later, Sunset was slumped down and about to leave. The worker almost exploded out of the back room.
“Sorry about that. I had a heck of a time finding a rubber band for this thing.” He handed her the rolled up poster. Sunset squeaked as she grabbed it.
“Oh my gosh! Thank you so much.”
Sunset couldn't wait. She took the rubber band off and unfurled the poster to have a look. But there was a post it note right on Tirek's face. It had a date written on it that was just under a year away. Sunset's eyes got huge. She glanced up at the worker. He gave her a wink.
“It's just a rumor.” he said.
Sunset gave him a thumbs up. “Right.”
Sunset went home and hung up her poster. She was super excited for this game now. She could just imagine getting a another chance to beat the pulp out of Tirek.
She checked the time and noticed that there was about 45 minutes left before Applejack was free. She figured if she took the scenic route, she would get there at about the right time.
The “scenic route” for Sunset was less about seeing things and more about riding really fast through some long, winding back roads. Roads that most of the general public either didn't know about, or avoided.
She loved this road. She could usually drive a steady 35 miles per hour through the really twisty parts of the road. She tried pushing it to 40 once, but she nearly lost control of her bike doing that. But when most people going through this road are only doing 15 or 20, 35 is plenty fast enough.
Besides, right after that was a nearly perfectly straight stretch of road that really allowed her to open up the throttle. The one caveat to this: trucks liked to use this part of the road. Big, semi-tractor trucks. They were big, slow, and not always paying attention to little motorcycles zipping through. Sunset would really have to watch out for them.
Sunset geared up and left her apartment. It was a good thing she came back home to drop off her poster. She would not be able to ride the way she wanted to if she was carrying stuff. As she got on her motorcycle, she took a moment to admire the feel and the look of it. It was still warm from her earlier trip to the mall.
She revved up her bike and peeled out of her parking spot. Not something she normally did, but always fun. She kept her speed down on the city streets though. She had too many warnings from the police and felt like her luck had been used up in that department.
But as soon as she hit those back streets, her throttle was open. She pushed herself and her bike as hard as she could. She was shifting up and down like mad through all the twists and turns of the road. Keeping her speed right around 35 was her goal and she was meeting it.
When she hit the straight-away, she opened up her throttle all the way. She was soon pushing 80 and everything intensified. The sound of her engine came through clear as a bell through her helmet. The vibrations of her bike were actually starting to slightly hurt her hands and thighs. Sunset kept pushing and got her speed up to 100. Any slight imperfection in the road was now a hazard. If she got distracted for just a moment, she would probably die. Sunset suddenly wondered if Applejack would enjoy the motorcycle at this speed. They'd only gone about 60 on their last trip together.
Sunset had to swerve to avoid a truck that was slowing down in front of her. This put her into oncoming traffic with another truck driving straight toward her. She had a split second to decide if she would hit her brakes and get back behind the first truck or accelerate to get in front. She gauged the distance of the truck in front of her with how far she was up the side of the truck beside her. She punched it and got in front of the first truck with plenty of room to spare.
Sunset decided not to risk anything like that again and slowed to a much more reasonable 60. And without any further incidents, she made it to Sweet Apple Acres.
That dinner at Applejack's had been really good. She never knew there were so many uses for apples in recipes. Even back in Equestria, Sunset had never seen apples used so widely across a menu. And it was better than most of the food they had eaten over the winter holiday. And that was certainly saying something.
Then there was Applejack's dream. Sunset knew it had been exactly that. Just a dream. But Applejack had put in so many details. Sunset rarely recalled dreams with as much detail as Applejack had given her. She knew that dreams were like that sometimes. Not much meaning in them, but you still can't help to remember every tiny detail.
It was still pretty early for Sunset when she got home. She knew the Apples had been up early so she didn't mind letting them all go to sleep. But it was times like these that Sunset wished she had someone to come home to. All the girls had either parents or siblings or both.
Sunset felt herself sinking. She knew she didn't really have a reason for it, but every now and then, coming home to an empty apartment really got to her psyche. She knew she had good friends that wouldn't abandon her (again), but that feeling of loneliness and abandonment still washed over her. A lump formed in her throat and she was about to start crying when her phone alerted her of a new text.
Hey sugarcube. I know things started out a little weird but I think we ended the night real well.
I'm glad you're my friend Sunset.
This didn't really make the lump go away, but it did change the reason for her tears. With dampening cheeks, Sunset replied:
I'm glad you're my friend too AJ.
G'night.
A contented sigh left Sunsets lips as she hit send. She went to the kitchen and started to make herself some chamomile tea. It always calmed her after events with heavy emotions. And this one definitely qualified. She wasn't lying when she had told Applejack that the dream had made her hot under the collar. It had made her hot in other places too. And she didn't know why.
She wasn't actually attracted to...anyone. She never had been. Back in Equestria, she was either too young or too obsessed with power. And here...well, this was the first time she was thinking about it. She had had urges before, but not brought on by anything or anyone. And they were quickly dismissed. Usually because she had things to do.
Did she like Applejack? Was she attracted to her? No. While Applejack was beautiful when she got dressed up(she even gave Rarity a run for her money)Sunset was definitely not attracted to Applejack like that. So why did Applejack's dream spark so strongly within Sunset? She wished she had someone to talk to about this.
…
Duh, Sunset.
She picked up her phone and started typing:
Hey Rarity. I need some help with...relationship stuff. Can we meet up tomorrow?
Sunset put her phone down and took a sip of her tea. Her phone buzzed and it made her jump a little. She had been sitting and musing over things for over an hour, so she wasn't expecting such a quick reply. She looked at her phone:
Well, I ain't Rarity but I might still be able to help ya. :)
Sunset looked at the top of her screen. It was from Applejack. She had sent it to Applejack. That was more than a little awkward.
Oh hey AJ. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to wake you up.
I wasn't asleep. Me and Big Mac came into town to pick up some supplies that we forgot this afternoon. Figured we'd just get it done since the store was still open.
Oh. That makes sense. What did you guys forget?
Traps. Set up the last of them today and they only last about a week. So we needed more to be ready for next week.
Traps? Do you guys get a lot of pests there?
Only during the off seasons. Once the blooms show up, everything mostly takes care of itself.
Well that's good. At least it's not all the time.
So...are you still weirded out by my dream?
The sudden shift of topic made Sunset pause. She knew it was why the conversation started, but couldn't answer right away.
I guess you are.
Applejack's text shook her out of her stupor and she quickly responded.
No, AJ. It's not your dream at all. It just made me start to think about myself. My own personal romantic history. Or lack thereof. I just figured Rarity might have some experience and advice that might help me.
Oh. Well Rarity's never had a boyfriend. At least not that I know of. I don't think any of the girls have.
Oh. Well I’d still like to get together. You girls always make me feel better when I'm in a funk. I feel a little better just texting with you.
Aw shucks, Sunset. Thanks. I'll send out a 911 for tomorrow at the bakery. You just relax and get some sleep.
Thanks AJ. You're the best. Good night.
G'night Sunset.
Sunset put her phone down and finished her tea. She had really good friends. If she had had friends like these in Equestria, she probably would've been able to stay there. But at least she had found them here.
Sunset changed into her pajamas. Just as she was crawling into bed, her phone informed her of another text.
Lunch at the bakery. Bring your appetite and leave your wallet.
Sunset loved how straightforward Applejack was. She very quickly drifted off to sleep thinking of her amazing friends.
Sunset walked into the bedroom and saw Applejack on the bed. She was so gorgeous and Sunset couldn't be happier that they had this amazing life together. She knelt down and gave AJ a kiss. She had never loved anyone this much in her whole life.
Sunset went to the bathroom and got in the shower. She was soon joined by the most beautiful woman she'd ever met. Her white skin glistening from the water. Their embrace felt as natural as breathing.
After her shower, sunset went to the kitchen for some food. There she found the cutest pink mop of hair she'd ever laid eyes on. It was currently bent over inspecting something in the oven. Sunset snuck up and gave Pinkie's butt a pinch. The squeak from inside the oven was one of the cutest things ever. Pinkie stood and gave Sunset a glare but it was soon turned to giggles as sunset picked her up and spun her around the kitchen.
Sunset left Pinkie to her baking and walked out to the back yard. She always found Fluttershy out here with the animals. Few things made Sunset smile as big as watching Fluttershy tend to the animals. She had such a way with them, Sunset wondered if she had a magic all her own. Upon noticing her, Fluttershy stood and walked over with such an angelic grace that Sunset nearly started weeping. Their embrace was gentle but it spoke volumes of their deep love.
Sunset heard music in the garage. She walked in and was assaulted by the sounds of some sick guitar shredding. Who else but her Rainbow Dash? Sunset stood in the doorway admiring her as she played. She was so lost in her music, she was completely unaware of her surroundings. Her sweat had caked some of her rainbow locks to her face. She was beautiful. And she had to tell her. Sunset walked over and turned off her amp. Rainbow spun around to protest but before she could, Sunset locked their lips together. “Just had to tell you how beautiful you are.” Sunset turned the amp back on and walked out. Her life was so perfect.
The next morning was a bit hazy for Sunset. She remembered having a cup of coffee, but not much else. The next item in her memory was rushing to get ready when she realized it was 11:30 and she was still in her pajamas. She left her apartment as soon as she could and started jogging to the bakery. Thankfully it was only a couple blocks away.
When she got there, she was confused. None of the other girls were there and the bakery was actually closed. Sunset checked her phone. It was 12:15. The bakery should be open at least. And she didn't have any messages from any of the girls.
Sunset sent a quick message to AJ:
Hey I'm at the bakery. Its closed for some reason. She we meet up somewhere else?
Sunset didn't get a reply right away. She figured maybe AJ was late too so she might not see it. Sunset crossed her arms and leaned against the wall next to the door of the bakery.
After about 10 minutes, sunset still hadn't received a reply from Applejack. She was getting a little frustrated that no one had shown up yet. Or even called her to let her know what's up. She went up to the door of the bakery and gave it a tug out of pure frustration.
Sunset almost toppled over backwards into the street. The door of the bakery had swung open quite easily. She peeked inside. The lights were still off. She called out. No one answered. Sunset walked in. There was probably someone there and they just didn't know the front door was open.
She got as far as the front counter and called out again. “Hello?”
“Surprise!” All the girls jumped out from behind the counter. This time Sunset did fall backwards. Thankfully there was a chair to catch her.
“What...what is this?” Sunset was having trouble wrapping her head around what had just happened. She was glad her friends were there, but she really couldn't put together what happened.
“Its a surprise party, silly. Surprise!”
Sunset was able to chuckle at Pinkie Pie. “Well obviously. But what for? I didn't do anything special.”
“You're a great friend. That was all the reason we needed.” Rarity's matter of fact tone almost sounded hurt at the suggestion that Sunset wasn't special.
“It was my idea. Well, mine an’ Pinkies. I figured we should do somethin’ real nice and mentioned it to Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie came up with the whole surprise part. Never knew how close she was with Mrs. Cake.”
Pinkie Pie giggled. “Heheheh well yeah we're close. Mrs. Cake is the best baker in the whole city, though I think I'm getting there, and obviously to throw the best parties you gotta have the best of the best of the best tasty treats. So we got really close.” Sunset could see Mrs. Cake nodding from behind the counter while she worked on some sandwiches.
Sunset looked around to all of her friends. “Thank you guys. You all make me feel really special.”
They had their big group hug then got down to eating and talking and just having a really good time. It made Sunset almost forget about the dreams she had last night.
Almost.
Sunset and Rarity were walking hand in hand by the soccer field. She heard Rainbow Dash yell “Heads up!” just in time to turn and watch the soccer ball come hurtling toward her face. Sunset felt the ball just touch her nose when her whole body jerked and she woke up in her bed. She was grateful for it.
She was getting tired of these dreams. She was having them nearly every night. Why was she having dreams where she was in romantic relationships with her friends? She wasn't attracted to any of them that way. She was absolutely certain of that after a month of these dreams.
She looked at her clock. It was 2 am. She hadn't even been asleep for 2 hours. She grabbed her phone and started typing a message to all her friends.
Hey girls. I know its late but I really need to talk. I've been having some weird dreams for a while now and they're really starting to mess with my head.
Sunset got up and walked to her kitchen. She was tired but couldn't handle another dream like that. She made some tea and sat in her chair by the window. There was a charm to the city lights outside her window, but she really missed the stars. There was an odd comfort in them, almost as if they always knew what she was going through. It was the only comfort she had when she first got to this world. She had no one to control, she had no magic, hell, she could barely even MOVE herself. Even after all these years, she was still amazed at how these humans could live like they did. Two legs, no tail for counterbalancing, no magic. She did have to admit though,once she got used to them, these hands were VERY useful.
She was brought out of her thoughts by her phone announcing a reply. She checked it and saw a message from Fluttershy. She would have never thought Fluttershy was one to stay up this late. She opened it up:
Hey Sunset. I’m awake if you want to talk with me.
Huh. She would have never thought to contact Fluttershy directly about this. And then it occurred to her that she never really thought about Fluttershy as a person. She considered her a friend, and she had been the kindest one during her transition to friendship. And Fluttershy never brought up how much Sunset had tormented her. Maybe that was why she never thought about Fluttershy. Doing so made her remember her horrible horrible past.
She started typing a reply to Fluttershy when her phone went off again. This time it was a message from Rainbow Dash.
What’s up?
Short and to the point. Sunset always appreciated that about Rainbow Dash. She was closest in temperament to Sunset. Applejack may be the more honest one, but Rainbow Dash was always on the direct path. Straight to the nitty gritty. Part of it maybe had to do with her not really liking to do these things. Her phone notified her again. It was from Rainbow Dash again.
You know what? Fluttershy is awake too and I’m hungry. Let’s meet up at that diner across from the animal shelter. They have the best fries in town.
Sunset considered the idea. Fluttershy lived real close to the shelter. Rainbow Dash lived pretty close to Sunset. They could ride together. She wasn’t really hungry, but the idea of some fries was infinitely more appealing to her than going to sleep and having any of those dreams again. She replied in the affirmative and told Rainbow Dash that she would pick her up.
At the diner, the three girls got a corner table. Rainbow Dash had requested it when she saw that it was empty. It was a good thing too. It gave them room for their helmets.
Rainbow Dash ordered the chili cheese fries and a milkshake. Fluttershy ordered a garden salad. And Sunset ordered just a basket of fries and a soda. Rainbow Dash started them off after the server left.
“So what's the deal, Sunset? What are these dreams that have you so freaked out?”
“Yes I'd like to help too. If I can.”
Sunset looked at both of her friends. Rainbow dash was leaning forward and ready to tackle anything that came up. Fluttershy was also leaning forward, her hand stretched out slightly towards Sunset. They both looked worried.
“Okay, well...I've been having semi-recurring dreams for the past month or so. I say semi because I'm having them every night, but they're always a little different.”
Fluttershy’s soft voice piped up,”what kind of dreams?”
“Well, I'm dreaming that I'm in relationships with various people. In some of them we're both ponies. I even had one where they were a pony and I wasn't. That one was….interesting.”
“What's the big deal about that? So you're dreaming about relationships. Everyone does. Even me.”
“See I would have that same thought if they were just random strangers. But, see, in all my dreams, I'm in a relationship with you guys.”
Rainbow went slackjaw for a second. Fluttershy started getting a little blush. It was about that time that the food was delivered to the table which shook Rainbow Dash out of her small stupor.
“Wait, so you're saying you've been having dreams about me and Flutters for a month?”
“And Applejack, and Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.”
“And you didn't think to bring this up sooner? I mean Applejack cracked in under a week from just that ONE dream.”
“Well it didn't really bother me at first. I thought it was just emotional remnants from talking things over with Applejack. It kind of made a weird kind of sense to me at first. But then I started questioning myself. At this point i've figured out that I'm not attracted to any of you girls that way. But now I'm just confused. If I know I'm not attracted to you guys, why am I still having these dreams?”
Rainbow Dash pondered that question while she chewed. Fluttershy was just sitting and staring at her salad. Sunset continued.
“Real talk: I've never been in a relationship. Not anything real. When I was with Flash, he was literally just a tool to me. Back in Equestria, I was either busy learning out in the field or busy scheming to get more power. Romance never once crossed my mind. And now that I'm having these dreams I'm just...confused.”
Rainbow Dash set her shake down with a clank. “Dreams don't define that stuff, Sunset. You just gotta ask yourself ‘ what do I like?’ Once you know that all the confusion will be gone. Easy.”
“That's just it, Rainbow. I've been asking myself all month and I just don't know. I've never actually been attracted to anyone.”
“I was attracted to someone once. I still am kind of. I just wish I had had the courage to say something before it was too late.”
Sunset looked over at Fluttershy. She was still staring at her salad. “Why not just say something now, Fluttershy?”
“Well, um, she moved away.”
Sunset glanced at Rainbow Dash. Her eyes were wide as saucers. Sunset turned back to Fluttershy. “She? Fluttershy I didn't know you were…”
“She's not!”
Rainbow Dash’s interruption made both the girls jump. Sunset glanced between the two. She knew there was something but didn't know how to ask for details. Or even if she should.
“It's fine Rainbow. I'm not as fragile as I used to be. Besides I think it's time I let all my friends know.” Fluttershy took a deep breath and turned to look directly into Sunset's eyes. “Sunset, I like girls. I have since as far back as I can remember. Rainbow Dash is the only one that has known until now. I was scared for a long time that I would get teased for it or that my friends wouldn't like me any more if they found out. But after everything we've been through, I'm certain that our friendship is strong enough to handle the truth.”
Sunset was shocked. Fluttershy being so direct was rare. She saved it for really important things that needed to be said. And this was definitely something that was really important.
“You’re right, Fluttershy. Our friendship is strong enough. I can’t say that I’m not a little bit shocked, but it’s really not that big of a deal. I mean....why would it be?”
Sunset looked back over to Rainbow Dash. She looked really relieved by Sunset’s reaction.
“Don’t worry about it anymore, Rainbow. None of the other girls are gonna care anyway. And if anyone does try to make a thing of it, now Fluttershy has two guardians.” She flashed a smile at the two girls and took a drink of her soda.
“Thanks Sunset. I’m glad you’re so cool with this. It hasn’t been that big of an issue since….” Rainbow Dash trailed off and glanced at Fluttershy. Fluttershy gave her a little nod.
“What? Do you have another bomb to drop?” Sunset’s question sparked a chuckle out of Rainbow Dash.
“Oh yeah. Are you ready for this? Fluttershy totally had a crush on Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunset blinked. She didn’t know how to process this new information. How could Fluttershy have a crush on her if she hadn’t even been transported to this world yet?
Fluttershy spoke up at this point. “It’s true. That’s why I followed you around so much when you first came to our school. I figured out pretty quickly that you weren’t her, but I couldn’t really stop myself from following you. That is, until you, um, yelled at me.”
Sunset remembered the incident. She had noticed that Fluttershy was following her around for a few days. Frankly, it had scared her a bit. She thought someone was onto her. After a few days, she got Fluttershy cornered and lashed out. She had really laid into Fluttershy. Sunset wanted to make sure that Fluttershy stopped following her. It was also that incident that showed her exactly how meek Fluttershy was. Which in turn made it easy to seek her out whenever Sunset had some frustrations to unleash. Thinking about it made Sunset feel awful.
“I’m so sorry about how I treated you, Fluttershy. I still don’t understand how you can possibly forgive me for everything that I did to you.”
“Oh it’s fine. Well, it wasn’t fine, but I know that you’ve become a new person, so I can’t hold the past against you. Besides, if I did, I would be missing out on having you as an amazing friend.”
Fluttershy’s words and smile brought a tear to Sunset’s eyes. True forgiveness like this was rare. Sunset squeezed Fluttershy’s hand. “Thank you for that. Truely.”
“Okay, back to the real reason we’re all here.” Rainbow Dash trained her gaze on Sunset. “Sunset, you need to figure out what you’re into. Let’s plan on getting everyone together tomorrow and help you get this figured out. I got nothin right now, but I’m sure one of the other girls might. For now, let’s get out of here and go get some sleep.”
Rainbow Dash and Sunset waved good bye to Fluttershy as they rode away. Sunset drove kind of slow since she was really starting to feel the fatigue. Rainbow Dash got off at her apartment. She took off her helmet and gave Sunset a grin. “Don’t worry about it tonight, Sunset. We’ll all get together and help you figure this out. Try to relax and sleep.”
“Thanks Rainbow. I already feel a bit better about it all, just getting it off my chest like this. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She gave another wave to Rainbow Dash as she rode off.
At home, Sunset didn’t even bother changing again. She went straight to her bed and flopped face first. And before she could even think about putting herself all the way on the bed, she was out.
Sunset was woken up by her phone vibrating in her pocket. She rolled over and pulled out her phone. It was a message from Applejack.
Hey Sugarcube. What’s wrong? I just saw your message. I must have been out like a light.
Sunset smiled. Her life was so much better with her friends. Her phone vibrated two more times.
One message from Rarity and one from Pinkie Pie. But before she could even look at them, her phone started ringing.
“Hey Pinkie. Your text just came in right before you called.”
“I know. I just figured I’d call because talking is waaay faster than texting.”
“That’s true.”
“So I was thinking that we’d all just come over to my place. It’s just me at home this weekend and I’m practicing some new recipes I learned from Mrs. Cake. I figured we could all talk about your issues while eating some delicious goodies.”
“That sounds like a good plan, Pinkie. What time?”
“Well I do have to clean the whole house top to bottom and do some shopping for some ingredients. But I should be ready to go this afternoon.”
“Alright. I’ll let everyone know so that you’re more free to do what you have to do. You want us to come over early and help you clean?”
“No. I got it. It’s not thaaat bad.”
“Alright Pinkie. I’ll see you this afternoon. Thanks.”
“No problem. Byeeee!”
Sunset sent a mass message to all the other girls letting them know that they’d be meeting at Pinkie Pie’s place this afternoon. She then set about getting herself ready to go out. She was still tired, but at the same time really liked the idea of getting ready at a leisurely pace. She got her shower. She picked out her favorite outfit. She did her hair up nice. She even did a touch of make up just because she was in the mood. Why was she in the mood?
Then she realized.
She hadn’t had one of those dreams again. She didn’t have any dreams actually. And her mood was way better for it. She admired herself in the mirror. She looked good.
Sunset decided to walk to the bakery for a pastry and coffee. She was feeling it today. As she was sitting and enjoying her danish, she began to wonder about herself. She looked around at the various customers that were coming and going. She looked at them ordering, sitting, laughing, talking. She….didn’t know how to decide if anyone was attractive or not. She could see a beauty in everyone. After all, wasn’t everyone their own main character? They all had their own hopes and dreams and desires. They all had their own friends and enemies.
She started thinking about everyone she knew. She wasn’t attracted to any of them, but could she rate them on their attractiveness, at least? Rarity was definitely good looking. Sunset could put her towards the top of the list. But then there was fluttershy. She would also be towards top of the list. But it would be a slightly different list.Sunset would have to say that rarity and flutterlyshy were equal in their attractiveness just in different ways. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were similarly equal. They weren't as physically attractive as Rarity and Fluttershy, but they were actually more attractive in terms of their personalities. Finally there was Pinky Pie. she was kinda in a category of her own. Her personality can be very overbearing at times and she wasn’t the most beautiful of the girls but she had a heart of gold and she was still super cute.
Sunset shook her head. She felt really weird going over this list, especially since she knew she wasn’t actually attracted to any of her friends. She finished her danish and started to think about Flash Sentry. There was a reason he was so popular at school. He was definitely very good looking and he was actually a very sweet guy.
Sunset noticed the time. She had been sitting here musing for longer than she thought. She headed out of the bakery and towards home. When she got home she didn’t even walk up to her apartment. She got on her bike and headed off to Pinky’s house.
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Sunset couldn’t say that Pinky had gone all out but she had definitely done more than she needed to. There was a pinata hanging in the middle of the living room as well as a few balloons. Sunset found Pinky Pie already working on her baking in the kitchen.
“Hey Pinky what’s the pinata for?”
“Oh hey sunset,I just figured that we might need something to hit in case we end up getting frustrated and I figured we may as well get rewarded for our efforts.”
Sunset chuckled at Pinky’s logic. It made so much sense it was almost scary. It was about this time the rest of the girls started to show up. First was Applejack saying something to Rarity about something not mattering. She was followed of course by Rarity explaining that it does matter because looks actually matter. Next Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash came in both yawning obviously still tired from last night. They all stood around the kitchen catching up and chatting about various things until Applejack opened things up.
“So Sunset, Rainbow Dash told us that you have been having weird dreams.”
Sunset nodded her affirmation and went on to explain the types of dreams she have been having and the confusion it had caused her. When she was done Rarity chimed in.
“Well it sounds to me like you just need to get out there and play the field as it were. If it’s something you don’t know much about then trying out different things is the best way to figure out what you like.”
“Ooh ooh! It’s like going to a brand new bakery full of tasty treats. You want to try all of them out so that you can find the tastiest one.”
Sunset pondered what Rarity and Pinky Pie had said.
“So what? I should just start going on dates?”
“Makes sense to me. Goin’ on a few dates will certainly help you figure out what you DON’T like.”
Rarity and Rainbow Dash both nodded their head in agreement with Applejack's words. It was about this time that Pinky Pie popped up with a tray of cupcakes.
“Blind dates!”
“Pinky darling that idea is brilliant. We can all find people for Sunset to go out on dates with, until she at least knows what she likes.”
All the girls cheered in agreement. Sunset was grateful that her friends were willing to go to such lengths for her. But why did she have such a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.
Author's Note
This is the beginning of a series I plan on having going for a while.
All chapters after this don't really have to be read in order.
Are you ready to see Sunset's blind dates?
I know I sure am (not).
EDIT:
Sunset's dates will all be contained in my Sunset's Setups story.