Freeze Frame

Juniper Montage shuffled listlessly down the sidewalk, lost in thought. She had lost track of how long she'd been walking or where she even was; her mind was a whirl of confusing, conflicting emotions, thoughts, and memories. Freeze Frame, her dorky older brother, the brother who'd always helped with her homework and watched movies with her and played games with her, the brother who danced with her at her Quinceañera, who held her and comforted her when she was upset, who made breakfast for her when Mom was busy or sick...

Her brother, who she now realized she'd taken completely for granted for so long, was in love with her.

Colors and shapes passed by her in a vague blur as she walked, sounds blending together into a hollow, distant buzz as she meandered through the forest of memory, searching for any sign, any clue, any signals she'd missed about her brother.

A loud, blaring sound cut through her introspection. Something slammed into her, tackling her to the rough sidewalk. She heard a screeching sound, a torrent of obscenities, and a flurry of murmuring voices. Someone was saying something to her. She blinked, struggling dazedly to sit up.

"—all right?" a male voice asked. Juniper adjusted her glasses and blinked. A peach-colored face topped with spiky blue hair swam into view, eyes full of concern. "Hey, are you alright?"

Juniper frowned in confusion. "Huh?"

"You almost walked right into traffic," the boy in front of her said, slowly pulling her to her feet. Juniper blinked, then looked around. People were staring at her, whispering and murmuring.

Juniper's heart jumped into her throat. "Oh my god, what?" She watched the truck that had almost hit her kick into gear and pull away, the driver casting a disparaging look back at her. Then a familiar head of red and gold hair bobbed into view.

"J-Juniper!" Sunset Shimmer panted, bracing her hands on her knees. "My god, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Juniper stammered shakily. "Sunset Shimmer? How did you—"

"You're lucky we were walking by here," the blue-haired boy said. "I almost didn't get to you in time."

"Oh, umm..." Juniper squirmed, blushing as she looked from one to the other. "Th-thanks," she said, ducking her head. "S-sorry about..."

"Are you okay, Juniper?" Sunset asked. "You looked so distracted, and then you just walked right into the street..."

Juniper looked down, drawing into herself, unconsciously grabbing her left arm with her right hand. "Y-yeah..." She shuddered. "Oh god..."

Sunset laid a hand on Juniper's arm, her teal eyes boring compassionately into Juniper's. "Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked.

Juniper looked up at Sunset, then over at the boy. Her eyes widened. "Oh! Um. W-well...I don't want to, um, intrude..."

"Oh, it's cool," the boy said. "I'm Flash Sentry, by the way."

"Flash is my...well, ex-boyfriend, but..." Sunset blushed. "We're sort of trying to figure out if maybe we wanna try it again."

"Oh," Juniper said, her mouth pursed in a small 'o'. "W-well, I don't want to be a third wheel then."

"Oh, we're not on a date or anything," Flash said. "We're just hanging out." His body language made it clear that he was desperate for it to be a date. "More importantly, there's no way we're gonna just leave you alone after you nearly died!"

"That's right," Sunset said firmly. "Come on, the diner Pinkie Pie works at isn't too far from here. Let's go sit down, get something to eat, and talk, okay?"

Juniper looked from Sunset to Flash, then swallowed and nodded. "O-okay."

A few minutes later, the three of them sat in a booth in a retro diner with an old-fashioned jukebox and waitresses on rollerskates. While Juniper looked over the menu, Sunset busied herself with texting her friends. She pursed her lips. "Twilight and Rarity are nearby, they said they'll be right over," she said. "I'd hoped Pinkie Pie was working here today, but she's doing a thing with her sisters. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are busy with stuff, and Fluttershy...isn't answering, so she's either busy with her animals or she's asleep." She put her phone away and perused the menu. "Do you want to wait to talk about it until the girls get here?"

Juniper nodded. "I...I think so, yes," she said. She looked away, frowning. "I'm...not even sure how to talk about it anyway."

By the time Twilight Sparkle and Rarity arrived, Flash Sentry was working his way through an order of chili cheese fries and a cherry cola, while Sunset munched on a grilled chicken salad and Juniper listlessly spooned hot fudge around the edge of an ice cream sundae, one elbow on the table, her mouth pursed in a faint frown.

"Good day, everyone!" Rarity said as the others scooched in to make room for the new arrivals. "Lovely morning, isn't it?"

"Well, for some of us," Sunset said. "Juniper doesn't seem to be having a very good day." She glanced at Juniper, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh? What's wrong, Juniper?" Twilight asked. "Whatever it is, we're your friends, and we'll do our best to help you out!" She offered a bright, hopeful smile.

"That's right, darling! We're here for you, all the way!" Rarity agreed heartily.

"Thanks," Juniper said, offering a halfhearted smile. She fussed with her glasses for a minute, then looked down into her ice cream. After listlessly toying with her spoon for a second, she looked up again. "Do any of you girls have brothers?"

"I do," Twilight said. "Older brother."

"I have a sister," Rarity said. "But no brothers."

Sunset shook her head. "Only child here, but Applejack and Fluttershy have brothers." She grimaced. "Well, Applejack has a brother. Fluttershy has...whatever Zephyr Breeze is." Rarity and Twilight shuddered.

Juniper blinked, but shook her head and pressed on. "Well, I have an older brother, Freeze Frame. He's three years older than me, he goes to Canterlot University." She took a bite of her melting ice cream. "I mean, he's always just been there, y'know? My dorky big bro. But..." She sighed. "Last night and this morning, things got...weird at home."

Sunset narrowed her eyes. "Weird how?" she asked suspiciously, even as Flash tensed up and Twilight paled.

Juniper pushed her ice cream away and folded her arms on the table, laying her chin down on them with a miserable expression. "He dropped this big dramatic love confession on me out of nowhere this morning," she said. "Like...right out of a sappy movie."

Rarity gasped, eyes lighting up. "Oh my!" she said excitedly.

Sunset blinked. "Your...brother...confessed to you?" she asked.

"Yikes," Twilight said, eyes shrinking to pinpricks behind her glasses.

"Hold up," Flash said. "You said something happened last night, too...?"

"Oh, right," Juniper said. "Sorry, I wanted to lead with the part that really threw me." She coughed. "W-well, last night we were just playing video games in the living room and I caught him staring at my legs and...and..." She blushed, her eyes roaming around the diner. "W-well, he had a...y'know..."

"Boner?" Flash prompted.

"Flash Sentry!" Rarity chided. "Do remember there are ladies present!"

"Sorry," Flash said, scratching the back of his head.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Flash is right though, right Juniper?"

Juniper nodded, her face red. "Y-yeah."

"That's not that weird," Flash said dismissively. "Guys don't really have much control over that. Or over what sets them off."

"I...guess," Juniper said. "It's just...he outright admitted he's attracted to me. In...in that way."

"Gyeah," Twilight said, pulling a face. "I know it'd wig me out if Shining Armor was ogling me like that."

"I can't even begin to imagine, darling!" Rarity said, utterly scandalized.

"Sister complex," Flash said, nodding. "I've heard about it, but I've never seen one in person before."

Juniper sighed again. "The...the thing is..." She took another spoonful of mostly-melted ice cream. "Him being, w-well..." She ducked her head and coughed. "T-turned on by me, I could...I could deal with that. It's weird, but..." Her ears burned red. "I mean, it's not a bad thing, really? Because I know he'd never...y'know..." She poked her fingertips together. "It just...caught me off guard. But the whole...thing from this morning, it's just..." She shook her head, then slumped forward onto the table. "I don't know," she half-moaned, half-croaked.

"What do your parents have to say about all this?" Flash asked.

"They're out of town," Juniper said.

Sunset paled. "Do you...do you need someplace to stay? While you figure all this out?"

"Huh? Oh...no," Juniper said, eyes wide. "Why would I? I mean, it's not like I'm afraid of my brother or anything! I'm just...overwhelmed." She shrugged limply. "I mean, it's a lot to take in." She sighed. "I mean, he's my brother. He's always just been there and I guess now I realize I've been taking him for granted my entire life, but..." She waved her spoon around. "Hearing him go on and on this morning about...about how much he loves me and how special I am to him..." Her cheeks flushed again.

Rarity smiled and sighed dreamily. "How lovely," she said.

"Gah!" Twilight cried. "Rarity, it's her brother!"

"Forbidden love, darling!" Rarity shot back, lost in the drama. "It's so compelling!"

"It's incest!" Twilight retorted.

"I don't think just being in love with your sister counts as incest," Flash said. "Not unless you act on it, or..." He frowned. "I mean, feelings are just feelings, right?"

Sunset pursed her lips. "My advice?" she hedged. "You need to sit down with him and talk it out. Discuss his feelings, discuss your feelings, lay everything out on the table. If you don't, this is just gonna fester."

Juniper swallowed thickly. "You're right," she said. She stood up, fishing some money out of her pocket and tossing it onto the table. "Thanks, guys," she said tonelessly. "I think I'm gonna go home and talk to Freeze Frame."

"Good luck, darling," Rarity said with a comforting smile.

"If you need backup, let one of us know," Sunset said.

"Or a place to crash if it gets too awkward at home," Twilight added.

"I'll be happy to pick you up and take you anywhere so you don't walk in front of any more trucks," Flash put in.

Juniper smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I think I'll be okay, really." With that, she left the diner, mind still whirling, but a plan of attack keeping her grounded.