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"Sunset?"

A quick clicking snap of the fingers in front of my face was all it took to pull my attention away from wherever it was I was staring at – who can really tell what you are thinking about when you zone out? – and I blinked, turning towards the voice that called out to me.

"Huh?"

My co-worker leaned towards me, her hands on her hips and her eyes focused so hard on my face, I was sure I would catch fire. "I just asked you if you were alright. You were pretty out of it there for a minute."

"Oh. Oh! Uh… yeah," I mumbled, shuffling my feat as I normally did when people stared at me. I never really knew why, but I always got a little uncomfortable when I was stared at. Call me paranoid. "Don’t worry, Lily. I was just… thinking."

"That's never a good thing," she said, her lips quirking up slightly. "I don't really know how you can think in here, anyway. It's usually such a madhouse."

I shrugged, spreading my attention around the café were I worked. It wasn't necessarily busy at the moment – the night shift never was – but there was still a fair amount of college-age students and younger adults milling around, enjoying a late evening coffee break or snack. It was never too late for caffeine, it seemed.

"It’s a talent," I replied lightly, moving to slide a tray filled with empty mugs into my arms. "I’ve always a knack for zoning out."

She snorted at that, and opened her mouth to reply when a voice called out from a booth, "Excuse me, Miss? Can I get another cup?"

I sighed softly and made to set my tray down when Lily touched my arm. "Go ahead and take your break," she said. "I got this, Sunset."

"You sure?" I asked, but secretly wilted in relief. I had been working since the early afternoon shift and I was exhausted. I was done for the night in another two hours, but a short break to take the edge off wouldn't hurt.

"No prob." She grinned brightly at me, winking. "Go pee or whatever it is you do when you're on your break. Chillax, girl."

I returned the other woman’s smile and dipped my head in thanks, brushing my hands together and walking past the doors to the back room. I passed the cooking area and pushed the door open to the employee bathroom, locking it behind me. The loud 'click' of the lock sounded and I felt my spine stiffen at the sound, but I ignored it and approached the sink.

The fluorescent lights flickered on by the time I placed my hands on the sink, and I raised my eyes to inspect myself in the mirror. I looked tired, and a little ragged, but other than that, I looked like I normally did when I saw my own reflection. Teal eyes, red-and-yellow hair, a slightly roundish face that only seemed to become less childish as I entered my early twenties. Now at a solid twenty-five, I looked more like an adult human woman than I ever would have imagined.

But still, even years after leaving Equestria, I could still see shadows of my old self hiding behind my skin if I looked hard enough.

I tilted my head to the side and ran my fingers through my loose, shoulder-length hair. I had long ago abandoned the longer style I wore all the time in high school. I don't really know why. At some point I just felt like I needed a change, and changing the hairstyle I wore ever since I arrived in this world seemed like the way to go. Everyone had been pretty surprised, but after the initial shock wore off, they told me I looked more mature, and suited me exceptionally well.

But that was years ago.

Long story short… I graduated Canterlot High, decided to try for university, and suddenly... lost my focus. Just like that. I didn't know what I wanted to do anymore. I mean, what point was there to get a degree if I didn’t know what I wanted to do? My friends all had ideas and goals, but I was the only one who ever felt… like she didn’t really belong. Like she didn’t have a goal of her own. I never really talked to the girls about it, even though I suspect they already knew. But ever since then I have been kind of drifting, working part time jobs, occasionally taking various classes to see if something clicked, and living on my own in the city.

It wasn't a glamorous life, and at times it was frustrating. But it was mine.

I still talked to my friends from school on occasion. Well, most of them, anyway. Rarity and Twilight messaged me pretty often, and even saw me in person almost every two weeks. But with Rarity busy with her boutique and Twilight being… well… Twilight… there simply wasn't enough time to see one another. Pinkie Pie was around, but most of her time was spent with Skystar and her job as a party planner. Applejack and Rainbow Dash kept up with me up until I graduated, but I hadn't really talked to them much since then. Only the occasional email or text message let me know that they still were alive.

As for the rest…

Well, suffice it to say I didn't have many other friends I still talked to. We simply fell out of touch after high school.

Shit happens, as they say. Everything changes once you grow up; your goals change, your friends change, you change. Barely anything stays the same and it's all you can do to hold onto what you cherish most and keep it close. Because if you doubt yourself, and you never really care to take what you want and aren't even the tiniest bit selfish for something you care about, then you can – and will – lose it.

Holding back a grimace at myself in the mirror, I splashed water on my face, ran a towel across my cheeks and forehead – careful not to smudge my makeup – and unceremoniously exited the bathroom. I ran my fingers through my hair a final time before I entered the main floor, and then with a heavy sigh, pushed myself through the door. Lily glanced up from her notepad as she was writing an order and her dark eyebrow raised in silent question. I simply shrugged and, plastering a grin on my face as usual, my break ended just like that.

The minutes flew by as I took orders, made coffee and charmed our clientele. Being outwardly friendly was important in the service industry and I was good at it, even if I wasn't feeling particularly charitable that evening. But after working at this café for a full year now, it was pretty much ingrained into me to slap on a fake smile when I wasn't feeling one-hundred percent.

That little skill was particularly useful when I was having my period. I mean, fucking hell, if there’s one thing I could have gone without when I turned into a human, it was that; I'd take a good heat any other day of the week. Though, the regulars and my co-workers were familiar enough with my little quirks to steer clear of my Resting Bitch Face.

"Good evening!" I chirped as I approached a recently occupied table. The pair of girls – high school age at first glance – looked up at me with unreadable smiles. Weren't they out past their bedtime? Or was that not a thing anymore? Celestia only know how late I stayed out when I was younger. Who was I to judge? "What can I get you girls?"

"Coffee, please," Girl Number One said.

"Tea for me," Girl Number Two added, and I jotted their order down.

"Do you want black tea, green tea, oolong tea, jasmine…" I rattled off the teas we stocked and I almost laughed at Girl Number Two's widening eyes as I reached our fifteenth variety. "We also have tea bags."

"I… uh…" she stammered. "Just… iced tea, please." Her head ducked and her friend snorted a laugh.

I felt bad for her, and decided to put her out of her misery. "Don't worry Sweetie, I'll take care of it. I made a killer passion fruit iced tea. Be back in a sec."

Winding behind to counter, I set to work on their coffee and iced tea. The coffee was easy; we had a machine for that sort of thing. But ever since my brief time at university and having a roommate with a particularly weird tea fetish, I learned that tea was something you had to do by hand; especially the mixed variety.

"Hey Lily, where's the muddler?" I called out to her. She was currently shuffling things around on her tray to take back to her booth.

"Uh…" Her eyes fluttered shut in concentration. "Second cabinet to the left from the one that has the thingy. The box thing with filters." Then, nodding, she made her way to her booth, her arms full of food and drink.

"Thingy. Right," I muttered with a shake of my head. I found the muddler, of course. Lily was an odd cookie, but she had a good memory for little things. I returned to my work and dumped all my ingredients in a Boston Shaker. Idly, I wondered if I could possibly find my calling as a bartender. I decided to look into that later and plunged the small instrument of metal and plastic into the shaker, mixing all the ingredients together. I finished with a mixture of fruit juice and black tea, and dropped a maraschino cherry into the large glass I poured the entire thing into.

I returned to the pair of girls a few moments later with a cup of coffee and my tea and fruit concoction, and placed them on their table. "One coffee and Tea of Doom for you girls. Enjoy."

"Thanks!" they said together, and I lingered around for another moment as my tea was sipped at tentatively. A second later Girl Number Two's eyes lit up and she smiled widely up at me.

"Wow! This is excellent!" She beamed her appreciation.

Shrugging, I smiled back and nodded. "Thanks a bunch. I appreciate it. If you need anything else, let me know." And without further ado, I continued on with my night.

That was usually how all my evenings went. Aside from the odd request or cute girls that came for a drink or sandwich, there was little else to keep me occupied as I drifted through my mid-twenties. Nothing really changed, and nothing else really happened that stood out to me.

I knew, eventually, I would have to shake myself out of this funk, or someone else would do it for me. Twilight, for one, would never let me live it down if she got her third doctorate degree before I finally settled down with a goal of my own. Rarity had offered, more than once, to set me up with a position in her boutique… but I couldn't do that. This was my life, and I had to make my own way. Find my own relationships and interests.

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner," I mumbled to myself, nonsensically.

The bell at the front door jingled as another customer walked in, and I slapped back on my 'game' face, calling out for the lone woman to find a place anywhere she liked, and that I'll be right with her.

I made a pass behind the counter to snatch up my notepad and find a pen – just in case the woman ordered more than a couple items – and take a short breather to move things around, only to put them back where they were again, and then finally made my way to the new customer currently sitting by herself at one of our smaller booths.

"What can I get you?" I asked, my typical smile set firmly in pace. It was almost closing time, and the closer it got to the strike of twelve, the harder it was to keep the smile in place.

"I'm not sure," the woman replied softly, flicking a small, two-sided paper menu around to read down our list. "I've never been here before and I don't really know what you have."

I shrugged lamely. "Your typical café stuff." Only after I said it did I realize how unhelpful it sounded. I decided to elaborate. "We have coffee, tea, juice, sodas, snacks, baked goods and smaller food items, as long as intensive preparation isn't involved." I leaned down, lowering my voice to a whisper. "And if you ask real nicely, we have some stronger stuff in the back. Ya'know... if you want to slip a little something in your coffee." The woman seemed about my age, and well-put together from the look of her cream-colored sweater and black knee-length skirt, but you never know who might be a secret alcoholic…

She chuckled, her voice floating around me like a cloud. "I'll pass on the harder stuff. Alcohol and I don’t mix very well." She trailed her index finger down the menu for a few more moments, and I began to shift on my feet anxiously. "What kind of tea do you have?" she asked after a moment.

Rolling my eyes, I rattled off my usual list of our extensive teas and prepared myself for the usual stammer I was bound to receive, when the woman actually surprised me by answering, "I think Jasmine sounds wonderful. With milk and honey, if you have it."

I blinked slowly, my brain working to find a response that I had ingrained into me from years back, but had never had the opportunity to use since then. "O-of course." I cleared my throat softly. "Would you like any or cookies to go along with that? A muffin, maybe?"

"That would be lovely," she replied, her voice was soft and measured, not giving away anything the more vocal customers usually did. I dipped my head instinctively and backed away to my refuge behind the counter, floundering about as I prepared the order.

I picked out a nice blueberry muffin and -- just because I was a nice person, two sugar cookies -- from the case under the counter and placed them attractively on a plate, balancing everything on a tray. I returned back to the booth, smiling politely to the pair of girls I served earlier as they waved at me from the doorway, and I carefully placed the teacup, milk honey, and treats down on the table, making sure I didn't forget anything, and finally looked into woman's eyes for the first time.

A pair of seafoam eyes stared back at me, wide, crystal clear and doll-like. Her face was a pale, almost butter-like, and set into a expression of bewilderment. Her hair -- long, wavy and light pink -- fell in waves over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back.

As I stared at her face, my eyes taking in every inch of her near perfect complexion, I felt my mouth dry up, every bit of moisture leaving it as I realized I knew her. I fucking knew her.

"Sunset…?" she asked, carefully.

I stood shock-still, my fingers tightly grasping the tray in my hands as though it would clatter to the ground at any time. I blinked rapidly, my brain trying its hardest to reboot and come up with something – anything – intelligent to say. But if there was one thing I was sure of, I definitely knew who those cyan-colored eyes belonged to. "Fluttershy?"

We were quiet for a long time, simply starting at one another, taking each other in. Our bodies, longer and leaner, more defined and sure of themselves. Our faces, matured by time and the remnants of baby fat that was once there long gone. And our eyes, sharper, filled with experience and wisdom that only life than give.

She was different, that was certain. She looked different… but somehow, still the same.

Eventually, I heard footsteps come up behind me and I jumped as Lily tapped me on the shoulder. "Is everything okay here, ladies?" she asked politely, though I could pick up some concern in her tone. "Sunset?"

I blinked again, my eyes darting from my old friend to my co-worker, and I forced a smile – one I'm sure Lily… and Fluttershy, now that I thought about it, knew was fake – to the others.

"Y-yeah! We’re fine. Totally fine. This is… an old friend of mine, that's all." My gaze flitted past my 'old friend's', and I ignored the unreadable look that came out of those eyes. Instead, I hefted the tray in my arms and grinned. "If you need anything else, let me know." And with that, I walked back behind the counter as quickly as I could without making it obvious.

I felt her eyes on me as I cleaned. Well, pretended to clean, anyway. With my suddenly pounding heart and shaky hands there was no way I would get any proper cleaning done and, seeing as she was only of the only customer left, aside from a couple pairs of night-owls that apparently friggin' loved their coffee, it wouldn't really matter if I pretended to do work instead of actually do work. But even as I tried to pretend to be useful, I knew she was watching me.

I mean, what are the chances? Here I was, years later, waffling around trying to find out what I want out of life, and here comes the girl that always seemed to know what she wanted, ever since she was little. Here comes the girl that was, quite possibly, one of my closest friends in school. Here comes the girl, who perhaps meant the most to me out of everyone – right up there with Twilight and Rarity.

Finally, after trying and failing to wipe a chip in the counter top that never really went away, I growled in frustration and set my shoulders, walking out from behind the counter and up to Fluttershy's booth. She blinked languidly as I approached, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"I never really took you for a night person," I said, not having anything really constructive to say. Not my best ice-breaker, but hey, cut me some slack; the woman caught me somewhat unawares.

"I'm not seventeen anymore, Sunset," she replied softly, her eyes tracing my features as if to memorize them. "There's a lot you probably don't know about me these days."

Shrugging, I frowned. "I guess. I mean, we never really talked much after leaving Canterlot High…" I trailed off, then pursed my lips. "Well, at any rate, it sure is a surprise seeing you here."

"You, too," she said, the corners of her mouth climbing upwards. "I never expected you to be a waitress."

I smirked, inexplicably feeling a little playful. "Yeah, well, I'm not seventeen anymore. There's a lot you don't know about me." Only after I said that did I realize how flirty I sounded, and I clenched my hands at my sides, my cheeks burning slightly.

To her credit, Fluttershy only smiled wider. Huh. the old Fluttershy would have blushed and hid behind her hair. Go figure. "Yes, I guess that’s true." She picked up her teacup and took a sip. "Your hair is different," she finally observed.

I reached up and tugged at my shorter bangs. "Yeah, well… I got rid of the whole ‘ponytail’ thing a while ago. I like this better."

She nodded, taking another sip. "It suits you."

"Thanks," I said, then blurted out, "you're really attractive – you look great, I mean. Shit! I mean, you look good." I immediately felt my cheeks burn hotter and I wanted to curl into a tiny ball of shame.

Apparently, Fluttershy hadn't expected me to say that, and she choked on her tea, bringing up her hand to cover her mouth, a dusting of light pink spreading across her cheeks.

Hah! I still got it...

Oh, wait. Ball of shame.

"S-sorry!" I stammered. "I'm… I'm just gonna go die now. Lily will check you out – I mean… bring you your check. Damn it... sorry!" I awkwardly backed away from my old friend, all but running to the back room. As soon as I was out of eye shot from everyone, including a surprised-looking Lily, I ran my hands through my hair and moaned aloud.

What the fuck am I doing!? I raged to myself as I collapsed against the wall. I breathed deeply for a few minutes to calm my heart down. After a while I snatched my keys and purse from my locker, nearly slamming the back door as I left the building.

How embarrassing. The first time I see my friend, even one like Fluttershy, in years, and I have to screw it up by saying stupid shit like that.

"You're really attractive. You look great," I whispered mockingly to myself as I walked down the street in the direction of my apartment.

True or not, there weren’t many better ways to enjoy the taste of my own foot than to say stuff like that to a girl like Fluttershy.

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Author's Note

A/N: This won't really go how you're probably thinking.