Author's Note

Bet you never thought you'd see this kinda stuff on an SS&E page again, huh?

Throwaway chapter is thrown away. The more I work on this fic--and the more consistently I do it--the less stressed I get about making the chapters as meaty as they're supposed to be. I oftentimes wonder how I used to function under a "daily upload" schedule. Right now, it's a crazy enough challenge just to write daily. I guess I'm older... fatter... more tired. I dunno.

But uploading sorta helps validate me... even if it'll only earn two or three comments and some downvotes. But... every little inch is precious. And the few comments I have received make me immeasurably jazzed. So, thanks for that. And those who don't comment, thanks for reading. I rarely comment on Rated M Sex-Tag'd stuff myself, but it's flattering to know y'all are there in some capacity.

Anyways, Foley is God. Good day.
-SS&E

Have a Nice Day (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Kayfabe)

Flash Sentry's dainty little feet—still moist—carried his freshly-showered body over soft carpet. It wasn't long before he was standing in the tall doorframe to Sunset Shimmer's bedroom. There, the amazon in question could be seen tidying things up along the dresser and far desk. While she hummed pleasantly to herself in a womanly cadence, she wasn't entirely... doing the best job of making the place look uncluttered. Nevertheless, she seemed to enjoy the task at hand, and when she turned to greet the pixie-esque houseguest it was with a loving smile.

"There you are, sweetie!" It was always a strange, new thing for Flash when Sunset Shimmer spoke with such affection, but nevertheless soul-soothing. "Heehee... got yourself nice and soaked, huh?" She turned to the bed to give its pillows a few more lasting fluffs. "Can't say I blame you. After my living conditions... uhhhh... 'improved,' I started enjoying longer and more luxurious showers. So don't you start feeling guilty or nothing."

Flash hung his head with a deadpan expression. He looked beyond the fuchsia hem of Pinkie Pie's Princess Peach bedshirt dangling around his tender frame.

"Agh... I'm talking too much again." Sunset Shimmer shrugged. "Age-old habit of mine. I always ramble to fill in a silent moment here or there. Most people do it when they're anxious. But me? I always seem to do it when I'm feeling cheerful. At least that's what Twilight claims. I may be the psychic, but she's usually the one who's on-point about everything. Heh."

Flash bit his lip, avoiding her gaze. He thought about where he had been just minutes ago. He thought about where his hands had been minutes ago. Sunset had done so much for him; she didn't deserve this sick pervert lazing around in her beautiful home.

"As you may have noticed, I called it quits on the stream early." Sunset Shimmer stood up, stretching her leviathanesque muscles. "Mmmmmm... yeah... the team I was assigned to absolutely sucked at DPS. I started bitching at them, but the moment they caught on that I was Shimmercoder, they started throwing. Hmmf. A-holes. I know my internet audience digs it when I get super rage-y... but sometimes it's just not worth ruining a whole night of gaming."

The boi nodded. He didn't particularly know why. He rubbed one arm with another and looked off towards the side. He focused on how large Sunset's walk-in closet looked. In the penumbra of the bedside light, he thought he saw a gaggle of dresses that could absolutely engulf him. This dreamy thought swiftly snowballed into reminding him about the shower again, and he cringed.

Sunset saw it. "Flash?" Her massive self strode over, shadowing the petite young man. "Ohhhhh Flash, honey. Why the long face?" She leaned over and tilted his chin up to face a wry smirk. "I used to be a horse-lady, remember? I know a long face when I see one."

Flash fought his entire being to sandbag that. In the end, he sighed. "Thanks for the use of your shower, Sunset."

"You're... welcome...?"

He rubbed his arm again, gazing across the room. "And the bed. And the roof. And the grilled cheese sandwich and... and... mmmmm..." He plucked lightly at the hem of bedshirt. "...your friends' pyjamas."

"Flash, if all of these generous things were meant to turn you into a complete sad sack, I would have been content to just toss you in the hamper for a week." Sunset placed her hands on her hips while raising an eyebrow. "What's gotten you so down in the gizzard?"

He said nothing.

"Let me guess." The telepath's eyes narrowed. "The events of today caught up with you?"

He said nothing.

"Literally deep-sea-diving into one's brain can be a rather heavy experience."

He said nothing.

"Was it unpleasant hearing me get all gutter-mouth on the stream? I know we both agreed it's cool that I can compartmentalize my rage these days, but you dealt with the worst of it in the past. I apologize if I upset you, honey."

He said nothing.

"Well..." A soft breath, and she effortlessly whisked him off his feet, carrying him over towards the vanity. "So long as you're going to stand here like a sad doll, I might as well treat you like one." She planted his little tush on the oversized ottoman and turned him towards the mirror. With a motherly smile, Sunset snatched a brush off the vanity table and positioned herself behind him. "I see you already forgot my advice on properly grooming your hair immediately after a shower." A light chuckle. "No big dealie. Just gives me the excuse to explore your lovely locks once more."

He sat obedient, docile, and quiet. Meanwhile he felt her large hands working around his scalp, straightening his bangs, removing tangles—tug after tiny tug.

"What's the age-old myth?" Sunset tongued the inside of her mouth as she hovered around him, caressing and treating his threads. "A hundred brushstrokes every side before bed? Heh... yeah, I know. It's an out-dated thing. Today's methods of shampooing, soaping, and drying one's hair sorta clashes with a gazillion brush strokes. But... still... it sounds princessy, doesn't it?" She winked at his melancholic reflection in the mirror. "Or at least Vitorianesque." A narrowing of her eyes. "... ... ...Edwardian?"

He merely swallowed.

Sunset continued brushing and brushing, her eyes darting between his hair and his reflection. "... ... ...Flash, you gotta give me something. I haven't been a one-mare-show since that one time I tried to entertain an entire battalion of Celestia's finest guards." She fussed with a tangle or two, smiling once her work paid off. "And—to be honest—they were a finer audience than you are right now."

Flash sighed. His eyes closed gently. "... ... ...I should have spent time pursuing college applications today."

"Hmmm?"

"Job openings. Inexpensive apartments..."

"Oh..." She stifled a snort, towering over him even when leaning over. "We're back to that, are we?"

"I'm serious, Sunset." His sad eyes reopened, but once they saw his tiny reflection, they glanced towards the make-up and beautification products across the vanity. But when he felt his heart leap upon seeing those, he guiltily stared at the floor instead. "I had half of the day alone to myself. I could have spent that time actually trying to establish a good future for myself. Instead... I just..."

"You just what, Flash?"

He bit his lip, fidgeted, and finally blurted: "I just soaked up your hospitality."

"Ohhhhhh sweetie..."

"I-I'm serious, Sunset!" His tiny fists clenched against the edges of the ottoman. A sore lump formed in his tiny throat. "If we're not careful... I-I'll take advantage of all the kindness you've shown me! All the stuff you've spent to make me feel at home here." He sniffled slightly, looking aside. "Just like I've taken advantage of my folks' generosity all these years. And what do I have to show for it?"

"Y'know, for having such a lovely, harmonious voice... you're really addicted to one note, huh?" Sunset laughed at herself.

Flash clenched his eyes shut. "Sunset... I'm feeling really... really bad about this..."

"You should try not doing that."

"What—living like a useless sloth in your house?"

She leaned in and squeezed his shoulders from behind. "Feeling bad."

"I can't help it..."

"Sure you can." Sunset stroked his hair with her hand this time, smiling warmly. "Something as pretty... as adorable... as beautiful as you? It'd be a shame to wear it all so sadly everyday. How about a change?"

"That's what I'm needing to do. Change."

"We're not thinking about the same kind of change, I don't think," Sunset said. "What if—Flash, hear me out—what if..." The hands gripping his shoulders rapped their fingers playfully back and forth across the ruffles of the shirt. "...all the things you've ever desired to do... all the things you've ever desired to be... you just... embraced. Because whenever you've fought it in the past, you've forced yourself to face your family's ice cold expectations instead. But you don't ever want to do what they want either—not really. So... you've always settled for 'limbo,' as a means of punishing yourself. Well..."

She suddenly slid in. As her amazonian girth occupied the ottoman, her arms lifted the gasping boi until he was seated in her lap. She hugged him closely from behind, forcing him to look at the two of them reflected so intimately in the vanity's mirror.

"...what if—to break the limbo—you simply accepted the happier option? The rosier... frillier... pinker option?"

He squirmed in her grasp. "Sunset, I can't afford—"

"But what if you could?" She smiled, giving him a light squeeze. "Huh?" She leaned her head down, nuzzling his silk blue hair and giggling into his forehead. "What if you could get everything you ever wanted? Everything you've ever pushed away from yourself... everything you've ever deserved? And—as a show of thanks—you got to look and act and be as cute and huggable around a place of comfort and safety?"

"I... I..."

"How does that sound, sweetie? Hmmm? Be honest..."

"That sounds..." Flash couldn't help but grimace. "...like being a pet."

"Huh." Sunset dryly delivered. "Imagine that."

"... ... ..." He blinked curiously at her.

"I love you Flash," Sunset said casually through a sigh. "But... blessed Celestia... you're an iceberg that refuses to melt sometimes. Heh..." She shook her head, smirking. Another squeezing hug, and she kissed the top of his head. "Tell you what!" She pivoted him so that the two were looking face to face. "Let's start you out slow."

"Start me out on what?"

"Indulging, silly bean." She winked. "What would you like to do tonight? And don't you dare say 'whatever you want, Sunset,' or I'm gonna shove you up a chimney."

"I... don't get it..."

She rolled her eyes. "I already showed you what I do to relax, silly bean." She tapped his button-nose. "How about you show me how Flash Sentry relaxes."

He rubbed his face, blinking at her. "How... I relax...?"

"Heehee... that's right."

"I... uhm..."

"Well?" She reached a hand up to brush his bangs aside. The silver beads of her bracelet rattled. "I'm waitiiiiiiiing."

He glanced aside, his face contorted cutely in thought. At last, his mouth muscles relaxed. "Oh, uh... I think..." A sideways giggle, breathy and thin. "...I can think of something."

"Oh yeah? What?"

Grainy TV footage showed a menacing man in black tossing a masked figured off the top of a sixty-foot tall metal cage. The camera waved, attempting in vain to capture the moment of bodily impact. A large crowd of rowdy onlookers howled in bloodlust across the arena as the feed switched to a shot of the masked man lying limp atop the shattered remains of the Spanish Announce Table.

“Good God almighty! Good God almighty!” The commentator howled in an Oklahoman accent. “They killed him! As God is my witness, he's broken in half!”

The crowd continued to roar through the speakers of Flash's laptop.

The boi sat cross-legged on the huge living room couch, and smiling from ear-to-ear like a dumb little pixie. He looked from the laptop on the table in front of him and towards the amazon to his left. “Heeeeee... that's a classic line, right there!”

“... … ...” Sunset Shimmer gazed at the ongoing carnage with a perpetually furrowed brow. “... … ...you don't say.”

“Granted...” Flash squirmed back and forth, his voice taking on a curiously chipper tone as he pointed at the recording. “Jim Ross was sorta self-programmed to say that sort of a thing. I mean... when you're constantly on the road and having to improvise wrestling commentary, it's understandable that you say certain lines more than once. But this particular moment with Mankind goes down in history. Like—nobody but him and 'Taker knew that this was going to happen! But it gets even crazier afterwards. That's why the King of the Ring '98 is so legendary!”

“I... see...” Sunset Shimmer continued squinting incredulously at the laptop. “...so... is the match over?”

“Heck no!” Flash's voice cracked. “I mean—at the time they probably thought as you did! You hear that? Even Lawler's convinced! And you're gonna see Terry Funk and a bunch of other backstagers coming out to check on Foley and wheel him off... but Mankind was the king of hardcore! Heehee! He still is!” Flash pumped his little girly fist. “Foley is God!”

“Evidently so...” Sunset Shimmer bit one side of her lip, then the other. Her round turquoise eyes reflected several striped jerseys as referees huddled around the collapsed wrestler on the laptop.

Flash stifled another giggled as he hugged himself and leaned forward off the couch. After a minute, he gave Sunset a glance... then a second. The boi's eyes fluttered curiously. “Is something the matter, Sunset?”

“Hmmm?” She looked towards him, snapping out of the moment. “Oh! No. Nothing... nothing's the matter...”

“Is this too violent for you?”

“Pffft!” She rolled her eyes and waved a hand. “No. Noooooo. I'm basically a superhero. I've seen worse.”

“Well, I guess... this is technically a bloodsport.” Flash rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile. “I can see how that might be offensive.”

“I'm not offended, bothered, or grossed out, Flash. It's just that I...” She ran a hand through her hair and squinted awkwardly at the laptop. “...I didn't... particularly expect this as the sort of thing you watched during your free time.”

“Why? What did you expect?”

“What did I—?” She snorted, smiling sharply. “I think you know what I expected.”

Flash shrugged. “I've gotten into a wrestling kick as of late.”

“Define 'as of late.'”

“Erm... sometime after you and I... uh... stopped hanging out.”

“Ah.” Sunset nodded. “I see.”

“I forgot what started it. Maybe it was a rabbit hole night on Youtube. But I started getting hooked on late 90s era Attitude Wrestling. And... and...” Flash giggled, pearly whites glinting in the living room light as he gestured at the noisy footage. “...and it's just so surreal! How stupid and fake and yet clever and real it all is! Was! Was. Erm... modern professional wrestling isn't quite this savage. At least not in the high-paid circuits.”

“Personally, I'm glad for that.”

“It's... kind of a sucky industry, really,” Flash commented. “Both then and now. But especially more so then. And yet... it's there. It exists in various formats for us to look back on and...”

“Throw up?”

“Be enlightened,” Flash said with a wink.

“Ahhhhh...” Sunset slowly nodded. “But of course.”

“Redneck feuds with evil bosses?” Flash nodded. “Attitude Era's got it. Runaway beer trucks? Attitude Era's got it. Supernatural blood feuds between long lost brothers?”

“I detect a pattern.”

Flash giggled yet again. “It's just so silly... and yet awesome in a way. People put their heart and souls on the line to deliver fart-level sophistication. There's... some strange nobility to the sacrifice. And—in the end—the company that fought hardest to get noticed won out over their wicked competition. It's like a televised world war. With slightly fewer deaths. Slightly fewer.”

Sunset pointed. “Who's that bald dude in the suit? He looks vaguely familiar.”

“Oh, that's Sgt Slaughter,” Flash commented. “He was the commissioner for the company at the time. At least on-screen.”

“Sgt Slaughter?!?” Sunset Shimmer chortled.

Flash smiled at her. “I'm surprised that you never heard of any of this.”

“I was barely alive in the nineties,” Sunset Said. “And neither were you.”

“Plus you were a horse.”

“Not much wrestling where I come from,” Sunset admitted with a nod. “But we do have competitive stampedes. And—boi—lemme tell you...” She waggled a finger, smirking. “When the pony galloping at the front steps into a gopher hole, it's a sad story for everypony behind.” A sideways sigh. “Except for the runners who are pegasi. Lucky bastards squeeze out of everything...”

Flash giggled... and giggled some more.

Sunset gazed at him. Slowly, a warm smile formed. “But this is nice, though...”

“Heeheehee...!” Flash hugged himself, leaning back in the sofa. “Glad you can see the entertainment in it.”

“No. I mean... sure. But...” She ran a hand through her fiery locks. “What I meant was hearing you laugh.” She breathed out her nostrils. “I think this is the happiest I've seen you since I picked you up at CHS.”

“Hmmmmmmmm...” Flash managed a tranquil smile, his eyes glued to the noisy scene on the laptop. “Well, this is how I chill.”

“Watching big sweaty men banging each other?”

He paled slightly. Sweat formed along his fair brow.

“HAH!” Sunset leaned over to pat his knee, smirking. “I'm only teasing you.”

“I just... like the pageantry,” Flash murmured, blushing slightly. “Classic wrestling is like a car crash in slow motion... with chairshots.” He gulped. “If 80s or 90s basketball had frog splashes and piledrivers, I'd be falling asleep to footage of that too.”

“You fall asleep to this shit?!?”

Flash blinked innocently at her. “Don't you have guilty pleasures that you put on repeat to doze off to after a long day?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“I...” Sunset shrugged. “I dunno. These days, I... rarely... … ...” She cleared her throat delicately. “... … ...rarely ever fall asleep alone.”

Flash cocked his head to the side. “You've been without the other girls lately.”

Sunset let loose a long, melancholic sigh. “Yeahhhhh...”

“It's because of me, isn't it?”

“Yes—NO!” She winced from amazonian head to amazonian toe, making the couch rock. She waved her hands at him. “It-It-It's not BECAUSE of YOU! I... I'm just needing to—... that is I'm just trying to—...”

Flash giggled again, smiling drunkenly at the woman. “It's okay.” He stuck a tongue out. “I'm just teasing you.”

Sunset gave him a wicked glance. “Hmmmff...” She folded her arms. “You should know better than to be snarky around a telepath.”

“Yeah...” Flash said. His eyes darted to her bracelet, and he swallowed. He resumed looking at the “wrestling” footage, squinting hard.

Sunset noticed it. “Having a hard time seeing, sweetie?”

“It's alright.”

“I didn't ask if it was 'alright.' Are you having trouble seeing it?”

He sighed, smiling tiredly. “You're a big woman. And you live in a big house... with big furniture... and big spaces in between.”

“Ah. I see.” Sunset shifted her weight. “Well, maybe I can fix that for you.”

“Nah, that's alright—” But Flash should have known that he had no say in what was happening. His breath left him as he was scooped up off his fanny.

With towering limbs, the sexy giantess plopped the two of them lengthwise across the massive sofa. She laid him down with his back against her belly, then placed the laptop between her abdomen and raised knees. Once the young man was lying comfortably against Sunset—with her bust as pillows for his cute little blue head—she snaked her arms around him and held him close.

“There we go...” Her warm voice shook through his slight, sensitive frame. “Say stop once you can see it well enough.” And she shifted her well-toned legs, pivoting the laptop closer to his point of view.

“Stop.” He droned.

“Heeheehee...” She leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Now... isn't that better?”

“... … ...” He gulped, his ears turning red at the softness on either side of him. “I'm afraid to move my head.”

“Don't be.” Sunset gave his ribcage a slight squeeze before resting her chin into the nape of his neck. “They can't hurt you.” A wink—one that he likely couldn't see. “Not unless you want them to.”

Flash said nothing—instead focusing on the footage before them. Footage that he had long memorized.

“Wowers...” Sunset remarked, watching with renewed interest. “So much for the stretcher!”

“Yeah...” Flash dryly exhaled. “Mick Foley was made of something else...”

“They allowed this stuff back in the day?”

“Totally...” Flash nodded, settling into Sunset's... everything as she embraced him. “Live television was a great deal edgier before you ever came through the portal.”

Sunset shrugged her shoulders around the boi. “Television is television to me.”

“They don't have that back in Equestria, do they?”

“We... have the means of capturing motion pictures. But not on the scale of broadcasting that human multi-media accomplishes.”

“Is that why you love video games so much?”

“Maybe. But—if anyone asks—I just tell them that gaming speaks to me.”

Flash giggled breathily. “What's that even mean?”

She tightened her hug slightly, as if relishing in the sensation of his giggling frame against hers. “It means it puts me in a happy place and I relish in it.”

“Heehee... well... I'm glad for you, Sunset.”

“I know you are.” She nuzzled him from behind, gazing casually at the laptop. “You're an empathetic little cherub, Flash. Ever since I first met you, I've admired how you glean joy from others' happiness.”

“That's kind of you to say, Sunset.”

“Well, it's kind of you to be, sweetie.” She blew at a lock of hair, exposing his delicate little ear. She rested her chin against his shoulder once more, breathing slowly: gently rocking his fragile frame with her hold. “... … ...I wish you'd let me return the favor.”

“What do you mean?” Flash reached a hand through her imprisoning arms to point at the laptop. “We're watching something I like, aren't we?”

“You know what I'm talking about.”

He clammed up.

“I shouldn't have laughed at you that day we went stargazing,” she murmured. “And all those little moments to follow...”

“I forgive you, Sunset,” Flash said. “You're a good person... a better person.” He squeezed one of her arms with a tender little hand. “I don't hold any grudges—”

“And I'm immeasurably happy to know that, Flash,” Sunset said. “Believe me, I couldn't ask for any more.”

“Then let it be. It's alright, Sunny! There's nothing to salvage.”

“Isn't there?” Sunset gazed at his close profile. “For you, I mean?”

He bit his lip.

“If... I could turn back time...” She snaked a hand up to caress his face and chin. “...and go back to that night... and just let you speak your peace... I absolutely would.” She gulped. “In a heartbeat.”

“What's unspoken that you don't already know?” Flash murmured. “You're the resident telepath, Sunset. You know all that there is to know about me. And even if you didn't...” He sighed. “...I gave enough lousy hints while we were going out just how... unmanly I was...”

“It's not about what you aren't, Flash,” Sunset said. “But it's about what you are... and how much more of it you could be.”

He squirmed in her grip. The boi was stuck between an amazon and a legion of bloody wrestlers. There was no escaping this moment, and the seven foot six hostess must have known it. Planned it.

“Tell me, Flash,” Sunset cooed in a motherly tone. “Won't you just tell me?” He could sense her smile through his peripheral vision. “I would so very much like to hear all about it in your own words. What's the use in tip-toeing around the matter anymore? Don't pretend like you don't want to share with someone... anyone. Might as well be me, huh?”

“... … ...”

“Y'know...” She chuckled as she tickled his ribcage with a strong barrage of fingers-fingers-fingers. “...if any other young man got offered to share his kinks with a drop-dead-gorgeous babe like me—”

“Ack! Stopit-Stopit-Heeheehee—!” The ultra-sensitive sissy wriggled all over from her torture. “Quit it!” He huffed and puffed, red as a beet. “I'll tell you, alright!!!”

“Hmmmmmmm—“ She kissed the back of his head and chuckled. “Knew I could convince youuuuuu.”

“And...” Flash fought for breath, still recovering from the tickle-assault. “...they're... not... all 'kinks.'”

“Well, why don't you elaborate, sweetie?”

Flash lingered.

Sunset waited.

Flash closed his eyes. He trembled slightly. Then—like a babbling brook, or a trickling faucet—he acquiesced to the dominant amazon's request...