Author's Note

Canon?

Your mom's canon.

F'naaaaaaaa.

It's 06/21/2019. Production has officially wrapped up on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic... and here I am writing slow-as-molasses slice of life sissification literature into the abyss.

Could be worse, amirite?

Psychological Orifices Exposed On Stream

Half-an-hour of relaxing silence later, and the rain had not let up. It did—however—slow to a lazy trickle. Beams of sunlight peaked in over the rooftops of Canterlot High, catching the drops of moisture with kaleidoscopic refraction. A further break in the clouds allowed the full brunt of autumn to breeze through, and it chilled the two souls seated at the picnic bench. So Sunset hugged Flash closer, warming him.

And she spoke:

"I sensed it before I found you, Flash." Sunset Shimmer's voice was soft, toasty, motherly. She stroked his silky-blue hair as she gazed beyond his head at the glowing, gray world "The Harmonic Well. I trust my Twilight's intuition. I knew it was more than just a hypothesis... but an actual manifestation. An other to the magic that brims from our beings. A yin to our yang. And it couldn't have just been a cluster of magic or a gem or an artifact. It had to be a person... as the Elements of Harmony themselves are magic."

A warm breath escaped her lips. She made sure her amazonian arms were completely wrapped around the boi's tiny frame, as if to cocoon him protectively from all sides... and guard against the chill of the afternoon winds.

"I just didn't think it would end up being you, Flash," she cooed. "A random stranger? Maybe. Another soul here from Equestria? I had my suspicions. But... But I never thought it would manifest in someone so close to me..." She stroked his bangs from behind. "Someone that I care for so very much..."

He struggled to look back at her, eyes blinking brightly. "I'm... I'm the Harmonic Well?"

"Mmmmhmmmm..." Sunset nodded, gazing at the moist clouds beyond the overhang. "The complement to our Harmonic Fountain."

"But... but how can you be so sure?"

"I knew the moment that I picked you up from before the portal a day ago."

He grimaced slightly. "You... you knew...?"

"I came to you because all of us had sensed the hypothetical Well drawing nearer... and intensifying in magic. Twilight's instruments—they confirmed what the girls and I had already suspected. For weeks... as our powers drained... the Elements of Harmony could just feel the manifestation of the Well increasing. So much so that we swore that we could reach out and touch it. It got so intense that we chose for one of us to go out and make contact directly."

"So... that's how you found me..." Flash murmured, his brow nonetheless furrowed in doubt. "But... how...?"

"Yes, Flash?"

He turned around to look up at her to the best of his ability. "How were you certain...?" He gulped. "How are you so sure that it's not just some crazy coincidence?"

She merely smiled. "Because the moment I came close to you... I regained my powers."

Flash blinked.

"I had been without telepathy... alone and naked within the confines of my own skull," she said, clenching her teeth slightly. "Most of the girls had lost abilities that they used on direct command: Applejack's strength, Rarity's constructs, Twilight's telekinesis. But I? I could no longer dance with the thoughts and emotions and feelings of all the people I loved. It... it left me feeling so very cold, Flash. And... more than a little bit scared..."

She reached her mammoth hand down and caressed his chin before framing his face in beautiful, manicured fingers.

"But that all changed when I met you. Even before I even saw you... and I approached the campus... I knew who you were... and..." Her face broke into a tender smile as her eyes grew moist. "I was so overjoyed, Flash. Not only had we found the solution to all of our problems... but I had found a dear friend... one whom I missed... and loved very much..."

He gulped. "I'm... the reason why you're telepathic again?"

She nodded. "Yes, sweetie. It's everything that Twilight predicted. The Harmonic Well inside of you responds to the Fountain inside of me... as it would respond to the rest of the girls." She stroked his cheek once more, smiling further. "When I'm near you—when any of us are near you—our powers are restored. I'm... recharged... so to speak. I have every reason to believe it will happen to the rest of the Elements of Harmony as well."

"Like..." He squirmed slightly in her warm embrace. "...how long does the recharge last?"

Sunset's eyes briefly darted towards her purse, situated atop the picnic table.

Flash caught it.

"Not... erm... too terribly long." Sunset Shimmer cleared her throat. "But... one thing at a time, Flash. It's just..." She chuckled lightly. "A truly cosmic joy that you of all people would play this part."

He bit his lip slightly: "So... you didn't seek me out because you sensed the Well..."

Sunset sucked her breath in as if she had just been stabbed. "Oh, Sweetie..." Her voice shook with tangible remorse. "I wish that I had... I wish I had looked for you sooner, knowing what you were going through... what I had done to you and... and how alone you had been rendered after all that had happened." She stroked his face—but her hand was shaking. Tears welled up in her eyes. "You've been so sad and so dejected for so long... and it all could have been avoided if I just reached out to you—like the friend that you are to me... that you always have been..."

He reached a dainty hand up and grasped her large wrist. "Sunset..." She gazed at him ardently. "...I chose to ghost on the whole lot of you..."

"Doesn't make it right that I let you." She sniffled, tears running down her face. She rubbed one dry on her amazonian shoulder and heaved, causing his whole body to rock gently in her grasp. "You were in such a precious and fragile state, Flash—when we dated—and all I did was shit all over you."

"Sunny—"

"It's true!" she exclaimed, then steadied her sad breaths as best as she could manage. The valkyrie held her ex closer, murmuring into his tiny neck. "You needed someone to support you... to nourish you... to restore the magic inside of you." She gulped. "And here we are... five years later... and us girls are needing the exact same thing from you and... and it's not right..."

"Sunset..." Flash murmured against her fiery red hair. He winced, struggled, whimpered, and pushed at her massive limbs with his thin wrists. "Sunset...! Please!" His girlish voice cracked. "Look at me!"

She did so—reluctantly—with puffy eyes and a stretch of crimson bands trailing over her sad face like a veil.

He took a deep breath, maintaining composure. "You're saying that... this Harmonic Well is inside me—that you've sensed it for all this time leading up to now—and because of this I have the ability to restore what you and the girls have lost?"

"It..." Sunset gulped, slowly nodding. "Everything confirms our suspicions, Flash..."

"Then... then isn't this a good thing, Sunset?" Flash remarked. "Isn't it for the best that I find a way to help you seven?"

"Flash..."

"Especially after all that you've done for me now?"

"Flash, sweetie, I..." Sunset grimaced for some reason. Slowly, the hug drifted apart, so that he was balancing against the edge of the picnic table—as far as the paranoid amazon could distance herself from him. "I... I-I..."

He blinked worriedly at her.

With a sharp breath, Sunset reached into her purse. There was the tell-tale rattling of beads, and Flash watched as she swiftly slipped the bracelet back over her wrist. As soon as it was on her person, she breathed calmly into the moist silver light of the afternoon. Another few inhales and exhales, and she spoke with renewed calm:

"It's not as simple as you think." She wiped the last of her tears dry, sitting tall and proper in front of the boi on her lap. "There's... a reason... Flash... for why I... I'm taking my time with... with..." A hard gulp. "Nothing is ever simple with Equestrian Magic," she blurted. "I may know a lot about you and about this Well/Fountain relationship, but there's a lot more to be learned."

"Are you ever going to tell me more so that I can help you with—?"

"Flash, my primary concern is getting you someplace happy... safe... and situated," Sunset said. At last, her smile returned, and the majestic woman caressed his face. "All this kerfluffle about magic—the best thing it's accomplished was leading me to find you. I... I think that's the mark of destiny, Flash. And I don't want to ruin that... not now that I have a second chance to make things right with you, sweetie."

He calmly breathed. "Yeah... okay... I... I-I guess I can understand that."

"I'm glad that you do, Flash."

"But answer me this..." His eyes narrowed. "If you knew that I was the Harmonic Well all this time—what with your restored telepathy and such—then why did we just now do the Vulcan Mind Meld thingy?"

"You mean why did I bring you here to CHS and then engage you in the dreamscape?"

"Yyyyyyyyyyyeah..."

"Well, Flash..." She squeezed his shoulders. "Maybe you don't think it's important to see in its fullest... but I want to know about the magic that was instilled in you."

"And did you find it?" Flash asked.

The amazon's hulking body nearly fell right off the picnic bench then and there. She blinked incredulously at the boi. "Didn't you see?!?"

"See what?"

"At the end... with the mirror..."

"I..." Flash squirmed in her lap, avoiding her gaze. "...things sorta got foggy after that moment with..." The sides of his face grew rosy, and the tiniest of smiles bloomed across his lips, accompanied by a warm trilling. "Mmmmm... with the girls and the dress..."

"So you remember that at least?"

"Yes, Sunny..." He sighed heavily, hugging himself. "I've always remembered that."

She reached down and tilted his chin up to face her again. "...why do you say that so sadly?"

He merely blinked. “Sadly?”

Her lips pursed in confusion. “Flash,” she said. “That was a beautiful, wholesome moment. I only know so little about you and the family of your former house-servants, but it looks like they brought you to a moment of complete happiness and innocence that your sister and your folks never—”

“It was just one moment, Sunset,” Flash said, gently pressing her hands away. He gazed up at her with a deadpan expression. “And I've spent far too long in my life looking in on it... giving it more weight than it deserves...”

“How could you say that?” Sunset winced. “Sweetie...” She caressed his hair despite his protests. “There's more to it than one moment. They allowed you to be yourself... with no strings attached... with no expectation of anything whatsoever...”

“We were just kids,” Flash muttered, avoiding Sunset's gaze all of a sudden. “And as I've grown older, I've allowed myself to be bound by silly little fantasies. It... isn't fair to the girls who befriended me to attach so much to them... to what we did when we hung out.”

“But... I don't think you know what I know, Flash,” Sunset said. “Or seen what I've seen. Or maybe you have but you've forgotten...”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Just drop it, Sunny—”

“I can't drop it, Flash.” She tilted his chin up. “And I won't. Now look at me.”

His face merely tensed.

A slice of the valkyrie hissed through the amazon's teeth. “I said look at me.”

Wincing, the prissy young man squeezed one eye obediently open, followed by the other.

“Now...” Flash absorbed his entire perspective. “...you had an experience when you were super young. For a short while, you were unsupervised on the CHS campus. You walked up to the mirror. And you... found something. You met someone.” Her eyes narrowed. “Does this ring a bell? Any bell whatsoever?”

Flash stared at her. His skin paled slightly, and beads of sweat formed along his brow and neck.

Sunset merely blinked worriedly at the matter.

“I... th-think...” Flash wheezed at first, but cleared his voice to speak straighter. “I think you're looking too much into a weird, repressed memory, Miss Cleo.”

“Flash...” Sunset stroked his cheek. “Honey... why are you doing this?” She breathed warmly, sadly. “Why are you always doing this?” She braced his pretty face with both hands so she could stare into him more intently. “Have you done this your entire life? Denied something so precious to you and punished yourself for it?”

“What you call precious...” Flash clenched his teeth. “I call an obsession.”

“It's a magical resonance inside of you, Flash—”

“It's a stupid, dumb fetish.” He reached a hand up to clutch her wrist, but he wasn't strong enough to break contact. “And I'd be better off forgetting all about it. You would be better off to not encourage it.”

“But why, Flash?” Sunset looked him up and down. “Haven't you considered that maybe... just possibly... something great and powerful and beautiful in this universe is on your side in all this? The same side of you that remembers that adorable little child feeling free and happy and loved in that princess dress—?”

“It's not as innocent as you think, Sunset,” Flash said hoarsely. His nostrils flared. “There's another half to it. A gross, disgusting, selfish, demeaning half.”

Sunset's reply was swift and calm. “And you think that's a bad thing?”

Flash Sentry blinked.

Sunset smirked sweetly. “Trust me. I know a thing or two or three or... seven... about being 'gross' and 'disgusting' and 'selfish' and 'demeaning.'” She stroked his hair slowly, smiling into him. “And I've discovered that it's not only okay... but it's fulfilling... in more ways than you can guess.” She shook her head. “It won't tear you down. It won't render you useless. All this time, you've been fighting it, but what have you gotten for the struggle? Limbo? A life in the shadows?”

He squinted at her. His lips opened thinly. “... … … what are you trying to turn me into, Sunset?”

“Yourself.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Yourself, Flash.”

He gazed back at her. Eventually, his eyes cast themselves aside. He exhaled slowly. “I don't know what to tell you, Sunset.”

“That's okay, sweetie.”

“I just...” Another sigh, and his already limp body went limper. “I just don't know...”

“Shhhh... you don't have to. Honey, come here...” And she leaned him forward.

He didn't resist. The boi lay against the amazon's bosom, his arms folded gently between them. He lay the side of his face along her upper chest, staring out at the rain and mists. The former valkyrie's embrace was soft, comforting—yet also firm and controlling. He felt safe with her... but also nervous and intimidated. In truth, it was a feeling he always had around his former girlfriend, only now it was... delivered so cherishingly. So much more gently and affirmatively... with the purpose of coaxing something out of him, instead of outright forcing it out.

It... felt nice.

And yet, a part of him—a purely selfish and repressed part—almost wished the bully in her would surface more. If only a little bit. He didn't dare think about it—not with how his lower half was currently positioned in proximity to the large woman's lap.

A shudder ran through Flash's body at the thought. He felt gross, guilty, and worthless. He clenched his eyes shut and surrendered to Sunset's closeness... and the delightful lilac perfume permeating throughout.

“... … ...Flash, sweetie?”

He breathed against her chest. “Yes, Sunny?”

“I've got to ask...” He felt her hand stroking the back of his head. “...remember how in the dreamscape I was my pony self?”

“Hmmmmm...” He very nearly giggled right then and there. A smile blossomed across his sleepy face, but he fought it hard enough to reply in a calm tone: “Yes. I remember.”

“After our subconsciouses merged, I could have changed my appearance to anything else. But even though I had control, I stayed a pony. After all—you seemed to like it so much.”

“Yeah...” Flash exhaled. “I guess I did.”

“But... I can't help but wonder... … … why did you appear as your high school self?”

He bit his lip.

“Those drab clothes... … ...those worn shoes and that slick, boyish hairdo...” Sunset Shimmer stroked his back. “... … ...is it because that's what you wore when you and I last went out?”

“You were the telepath during our dreamwalk,” Flash said. “Can't you tell me why?”

“I absolutely can. But I want to hear what you think.”

He squeezed an eye open. The boi caught the amazon's left wrist in her peripheral. The rainy afternoon light glinted twice-as-silver off her bracelet's beads.

Sunset was quiet. Waiting. Patient.

After a breath, Flash spoke: “It's just like you being a unicorn, Sunny. I'm... reflecting my true self in that place.”

Sunset merely nodded. “Hmmmmmmm...”

Flash's brow furrowed. “What, you don't believe me?”

He felt her stroke his hair again. “Let's just say, I understand a whole lot more about you than I did the previous day.”

He shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to make of that statement. This entire experience had been... mind-blowing, to say the least. Before entering the dreamscape, Sunset had promised him that his head wouldn't be “fried” by it all. And while she was technically correct, the awkwardness and straight-up oddity of the venture were starting to catch up on him. The more he thought about what had just transpired, the more he felt naked and... more than a little bit violated. At least, that's what the logic centers of his brain told him. The slowly increasing beat of his heart told him something else, and he wasn't entirely sure he could live with what it sounded like.

“What... uhm...” Flash squirmed against the massive woman cradling him. “What do we do now with... with...”

“Yes, Flash?”

He bit his lip. “This... this whole Harmonic Well thing.” Part of him wasn't entirely sure that he believed it, but he felt like trusting Sunset—at least in this area. She was doing a fine job of holding him—maybe she could cradle his destiny as well. “Supposedly, I can restore you and the other girls' super powers?”

“Magical abilities.”

“Sure. Those too.” Flash gulped. “But... like... what does that mean, exactly? Do you all need help? Do... do you need me to visit the others or something? Like... what are we to do now?”

“That depends, Flash.”

“On what?”

He felt her squeeze him gently. “On what you want to do.”

The boi was silent.

“Just be honest, Flash. What do you want the most right now?”

“I... uh...”

He shifted against the warmth and lilac. He felt like a child in her embrace, and yet the smell of her perfume and the sound of her voice reminded him with every breath that she was his former girlfriend—almost even a lover. It was a very strange blend of being... and while he felt like he should have felt grossed out or even turned-off... there was something very tantalizing about the sincerity coming from Sunset's end.

His heart beat faster and faster... but he corralled it with a steady thought, reeling everything back into his gut—where a different sensation fountained forth. One that gurgled from his center.

“I... could really use a bite to eat,” he said.

She giggled lightly—again with that young womany sound that couldn't possibly belong to a giant but did. Magic. “Fair enough, Flash. Let's head back home, shall we?”

Part of him flourished quietly inside from the word “home.” He decided to say nothing of it.

“As much as I'd love to stay here and cuddle you forever...” She gently parted the hug, picked him up, and placed the five-foot-boi on his feet. Flash wobbled from having to use his own strength to stand for the first time in mental millennia. “A change of scenery would do us better,” Sunset continued. She stood up from the bench, her head grazing the top of the overhang. “Someplace warm... relaxing... drier.” She picked up her purse and then her umbrella. “Looks like most of the storm has passed. Should be smooth sailing.”

“What... uh...” Flash straightened the lengths of his hoodie and glanced up at her. “...what exactly do you do to relax these days, Sunset?”

“FUCKKKKKKKKKKK!!!” Eyes burning, nostrils flaring, the valkryie hollered into the boom mic of her headset. “You goddess-damn worthless garbage cunt!!!” She leaned forward in her gaming chair, practically spitting at a 3D-Animated Japanese stereotype cavorting in the middle of three panoramic monitors situated before her atop an elaborate desk. “Why'd you have to pick sniper, huh?! Roll a different hero, you sniveling little menstrual stain!” She pounded the steel-alloy surface of her furniture before re-grasping the mouse. “I swear to Celestia, if you keep throwing like this I'll share your Battle.net tag with half the Internet to piss on you for all of eternity!”

From the far side of the office, Flash Sentry blinked. He sat in an easy-chair four sizes too big for him. A paper plate was balanced on his lap, and he was halfway through nibbling on a grilled cheese sandwich. Partially scared—yet partially entertained—he ate calmly as he watched his former girlfriend heave and holler from where she was gaming.

“Fuck me with a chainsaw!” She dramatically flipped her hair and frowned before a web camera aimed squarely at her frowning face. “This is why Blizzard is going downhill these days, folks! They shouldn't have brought Hanzo back for this game. He was best being canonically dead in Overwatch 2. But nooooooooooo... they had to resurrect him as a zombie cyborg in the third installment! GUH! I never thought I'd live to see the day where I actually missed Jeff Kaplan! Jesus Fucking Christ... am I gonna have to carry this entire team with my heals?”

A brief moment of silence—aside from digital explosions and bullet impacts.

“Oh!” She suddenly brightened, eyes glittery and smile glamorous. “ChooChooGamer08! Thanks for the sub, by the way! And SmokinKenobi! Hello there! Thanks for the bits! Always a pleasure having you watching, gyrrrl!” She winked at the camera. “Don't worry, folks. Shimmercode's on the up and up... I. Just. Gotta. Shove. Some. Heals. Up. This. Worthless. Team's. Noobhole!” A sideways chuckle as her in-game character flew in to rescue teammates from an enemy flank. “You know how it is!”

Flash nibbled and nibbled, watching with sweaty anticipation.

“This is it... the last charge for the control point...” Sunset Shimmer leaned in, licking her lips as her headset rattled. “Come on... come on... save your ults your friggin' useless sad-sacks—” Her eyes twitched. “Their tank is alone! GetHimGetHimGetHimGetHim!” An explosion rippled across the center gaming screen. “Wooohoooo! Way to go, Alpiner! Fuck his shit UP! You're welcome for the heals, by the way!” She smirked at the webcam again. “Gotta give it up to the programmers for finally designing a Canadian hero—amirite?”

The entire screen lit up with gold as victorious fanfare filtered out of Sunset's earphones.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaand that is a super win!” She slumped back in her chair in a sweaty huff, wrists pounding on the desktop. “Ooo-ra! GG! EZ!” Her hands clapped in view of the webcam. “Way to go team! All except for you, Zombie Cyborg Hanzo.” She gnashed her teeth. “I hope your family dies slowly in a gas fire overnight.”

Silence.

“Thaaaaanks for watching you beautiful Shimmercoders!” Sunset giggled, keystroking several adoracute sound effects and animated gif sprites into existence across her stream. “Eee-hee-hee! Oh! Don't fret! I'm not out for the count! I just gotta go do a little bio... y'know what I'm saying? But stay put! When I come back... it'll be time for some chillin'-and-killin' with Sunset's Friday Free For All Mode! Peace out, ya beautiful animals!” She blew a kiss at the webcam (“Mwah!”) before suspending the stream.

Flash gulped down the last morsel of his grilled-cheese sandwich. Swallowing, he looked over at Sunset. “Today's Friday?”

“Okaaaaaaaaaay...” Sunset leaned back—and back further, stretching her long amazonian limbs ensnared in the gaming chair. “Whew... that session could have gone a lot better... but... then again...” She shrugged with a casual flip of her hair, as if she was still broadcasting. “...it's when things go to shit that viewers donate the most.”

“Donate...?”

“Oh yeah, Flash!” Sunset smirked, pivoting the chair to face him. “I've been Shimmercoding for over four years now! I love to game and... people love to watch me rave and rant while I love to game.”

“Wow... I... uh...” Flash glanced at the advanced, expensive PC rig. “...I-I had no idea that... that—”

“That this was my hobby?” Sunset crossed her legs sexily in the chair. “Let's face it. I never did share an awful lot about my interests back when we were dating.” Her eyes rolled suddenly and she endured a brief face-palm. “Unless 'obsessing over the Fall Formal crown' counted as an 'interest.'”

“You... uh... you're certainly passionate about your hobby...”

“Oh... pfffft...” Sunset waved a hand. “That's just a persona, Flash. People love to see my Shimmercode self projecting rage and hostility. And since Twitch has gotten less lenient about its policies over the years, I've been able to put on a great show!”

“Just how many people watch you?”

“Well—as of last month—I'm sitting on about three hundred thousand followers and a little over four thousand subscribers.”

“Is...” Flash fidgeted in the stupidly large chair. “...that a lot?”

“Pffftchyaa!” Sunset nodded. “It's nothing to sneeze at!”

“Well, I'm very happy for you, Sunset.” He bore a sweet smile. “Looks like you found a great way to make money.”

“Oh, this isn't my main source of income. I just do this on the side.”

“Then... what is your job these days?”

“Aside being an Element of Harmony?” She stretched back in the chair, breathing through clenched teeth as she popped her amazonian joints. “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh—I work as an Innovative Technological Consultant at Cadenza Corp.”

Flash blinked. “Buh?”

“But that's... er... part-time, really.” She fidgeted slightly in her seat. “All of us—the girls, I mean—we... can't really afford to have full-time jobs... what, with all of the magical disturbances popping up more and more chaotically across the region. We're almost always on-call... which—as you can understand—has been rather strained as of late. Still... it doesn't stop Applejack from working on the farm... or Rarity from managing her fashion career.” A proud little smile crossed her lips. “And Rainbow? Rainbow coaches for girls' soccer.”

“Well, that sounds wonderful, Sunset,” Flash said. “And I like the fact that you found something to.”

“Mmmmm-yeahhhhhhhhhhh...” Sunset spun around slightly in the chair, giving the office arrangement a dull glance. “...although I must admit that it's not always something that I'm proud of. Hamming it up for an audience was always Rarity's bag. And Pinkie's.”

“Do they game too?”

“Not with me they don't,” Sunset grumbled. “And I don't blame them. I'm... awfully awful when I'm in character.”

“I don't think it's awful, per se...” Flash daintily fiddled his fingers together above his lap. “To me it seems that... that you found... erm... an outlet for all of the anger and frustration that used to drive you.” He looked up at her with a brave smile. “It's like the old Sunset found a home...”

She swiveled around in the chair until she was gazing thoughtfully at him. “Wow, Flash...” A loving smile rippled across her soft face. “...you really are my ex-boyfriend, aren't you?”

He blushed slightly.

“That's exactly how I see it too. And—quite frankly, heh—anyone who thinks I mean any of the things I say seriously on the Internet should have their head examined.” She took a sip from an oversized can of soda on the desk, stifled a burp, and thumbed towards the computer. “Hell—for all I know—I'm an outlet for these viewers too.”

“Why... uh... is everything so big?”

“Hmmm? Oh! You mean... THIS.” Sunset gestured at the enormous chair, desk, soda can, headphones, and everything else surrounding her. Even the doorframe in the back, the pictures hanging on the wall, and the table in the corner—all within view of the webcam—were exceptionally large... even for the amazon's house. “Well, from the viewers' perspective, Flash, everything dwarfs me. They don't know that I'm a seven-foot-six-inch superheroine in hiding. To them, I look just like any other young adult vixen trying to cash in on the Twitch craze. Ahem... no offense to any young adult vixens trying to cash in on the Twitch craze.”

“I see.” Flash nodded, looking down at the easy-chair and how far away his feet dangled above the carpet. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Since... I... t-technically am a young adult vixen trying to cash in on the Twitch craze...” She cleared her throat and smiled again. “But still... sad truth is that a huge chunk of the stream-viewing audience would... probably be weirded out by how LARGE I am.” She shrugged. “It's... sort of a microcosmic slice of the real world.”

Flash cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

Sunset blinked at him, then threw on an innocent smile. “Oh sweetie... I guess you can't be faulted for not considering it.”

“Considering what?”

“The girls and I? Ever since magic did this to our bodies? Well...” She pivoted back and forth on her chair, gazing off towards the far wall of the place. “...we don't exactly blend in with the world around us. Going out to just buy bread is... an ordeal, to say the least.”

Flash's heart sank. “Oh...” His eyes grew misty as the boi cupped a hand to his sad face. “Oh Sunset... that's awful...”

“Ehhhhh...” She tossed a hand. “An Element of Harmony gets used to it. Besides—we have each other!” A wink. “And as you know, we've got all the benefits we need.”

“Still.... you and Twilight and the others do so much to protect the people of Canterlot City and beyond from innumerable dangers.” Flash pouted. “It's just terrible that they'd not pay you the respect you deserve.”

“We're not in this for respect,” Sunset said. “And—all things considered—the less attention we attract, the better. This world has changed dramatically—and the girls and I are part of that change.” She winked. “So are you—I'm convinced.”

He merely bit his lip.

“And... when or if I get frustrated...” She gestured at the PC rig. “I just sign on here! Screaming and raging and slaying realllllllly gets the frustration worked out... eheheheh... if you know what I mean.”

Flash bore a crooked smile. “Same ol' Sunset?”

“Not quite. But close enough.” Sunset twirled once more towards the rig. “Whelp... about high-time I signed back on...”

“What?” Flash blinked. “But... I thought you told the chat room that you were going to do something...” He squinted. “Go 'bio' or whatnot.”

“Heeheehee... that was just an excuse for me to chill and talk to you, sweetie.” She winked. “I use that excuse all the time to pace myself. After all, the girls and I haven't had to 'bio' in years.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...” Flash slowly nodded. “Well that's advantageous.”

“Hey... hey...” She snickered, patting her knee. “You wanna hop on my lap and pretend that you're my baby brother?”

Flash reeled back in his seat, grimacing. “What?!?”

“Come on! It'll be fine!” She snickered some more. “From the webcam's point of view, it'd be the perfect scale! They wouldn't know the difference!”

“Eww! Ewww, Sunset! No!” Flash's face turned red as a beet as he squirmed and hugged himself. “I... I don't want to be on any streaming service—!”

“Awwwwww... come onnnnn...” She waggled her eyebrows. “You don't want to sit on my lap for all the world to see?”

He was sweating profusely by now. “I... uhhhh... erm...”

“Hey! Why don't you go throw the Princess Peach shirt on, brush your hair, and then we can pretend you're my baby sister!”

“Uhhhh... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!” Flash grabbed the plate, hopped down from the chair, and scampered breathlessly across the room. “I-I gotta go shower!”

The amazon laughed bombastically as he fumbled with the doorknob and fussed his way through the exit. “Of course you do, ya little squirrel! Thaaaaaanks for watchiiiiing!”

“You're welco—I-I mean... go to Hell, Sunset!” Flash's voice cracked adorably as he stomped a foot.

“Heeheehee...” Sunset blew a kiss. “Close the door behind you, sweetie! There's a fresh set of towels and soap waiting for you! I also made the bed with new sheets! Should be warm and fresh! Hop in if you want an early nightcap!” She watched and waited for him to close the door. Flash did so, hiding his blushing face. Alone in the office, Sunset endured a long warm breath with a smile. “Goddess, I could just eat him up.”

She pivoted towards the webcam, took a deep breath, and—

“One.. two... three...”

She tapped a button on the keyboard and the stream went live.

“Welcome back, Shimmercoders!” A slight chuckle, and she adjusted her headphones while smiling lavishly into the camera. “Isn't life great? Mine certainly has been as of late. Now... let's ruin that with some savage pwnage!”