Chapters Sweat dripped from fiery copper-and-gold locks, running in beads and thin rivulets down smooth, beautiful skin as orange as the disc of a setting sun.
Flash Sentry lightly jogged on a treadmill, sweat plastering a faded grey T-shirt to his pale peach chest as he watched Sunset Shimmer, his eyes lustily drinking in her bare shoulders and arms, her smooth, delicious midriff, her long, lean legs, and her stunning supermodel face. Every bare inch of her honeyed skin glowed as she lightly shuffled and danced in place, driving punches into a training bag. Each impact of gloved knuckles on canvas was met with a loud smack, a grunt of exertion, and a burst of talc. Sunset's sneakers squeaked on the floor as she stepped, turned, and threw her whole body into her workout.
Sunset Shimmer was fire: warm and inviting, but always with the promise of burning you down and destroying anyone who stepped carelessly around her. To those she cherished, she was a light in the night, shelter from the cold, and the promise of warmer days. To those who roused her ire, she was destruction in the shape of a living goddess.
Sunset shook out her hands and stepped back from the swaying bag, untying the towel from around her waist and running it through her hair and over her face before tossing it around her neck. "I think...that's enough," she said. "I'm gonna go grab a shower."
Flash watched her go, admiring the sway of her hips, the sheen of sweat on her glowing orange skin. He swallowed, looking down at his own pale, fuzzy peach-white arms, and frowned.
An hour later, after Flash himself had finished working out and had showered and changed, he was behind the wheel of his black, shiny symbol of manhood, Sunset Shimmer sitting in the passenger seat. She was talking excitedly about some concert or other she was going to with her friends the following weekend; Flash had half an ear on her discourse and half an ear on the road.
"Oh hey," Sunset said suddenly as Flash turned smoothly onto a street two blocks from her apartment. "I need to pick up a couple of things from the grocery store. Do you mind? It's right up this way."
"Sure, no problem," Flash said. He knew the store all too well. He'd made many trips there to pick up one thing or another while they were dating. He eased the car into the left lane and coasted to a stop at the parking lot entrance, checking that the coast was clear before pulling in. He parked the car in an open slot not too far from the doors and turned off the engine. "Do you need a hand?"
"Nah, I've got it," Sunset said with an easy smile as she dug her wallet out of her handbag, which sat on the floor between her booted feet. "I'll be back in a sec." She undid her seatbelt, opened the door, and got out of the car.
Flash watched her disappear into the supermarket, hands idle on the base of the steering wheel. He swallowed heavily, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. After several seconds, he undid his own seat belt, leaned over to the passenger side, and hauled Sunset's bag up into the seat. His heart thumped and thudded as he dug through the bag, constantly flicking his eyes up to make sure nobody was watching.
After a few minutes of digging past mints and tissues and tampons and tweezers and a huge hairbrush, Flash found what he was looking for: a small jar of foundation. He uncapped it and looked inside. A warm, inviting orange glow, like the setting sun, stared up at him from the little jar. Licking his lips, he screwed the lid back on. Checking again to make sure nobody was watching, he slipped the little jar into the pocket of his hoodie, then hurriedly crammed Sunset's bag back into its space on the floor. His breathing was heavy and his heart hammered as he felt the hot weight of his pilfered treasure searing his colorless flesh through the thin fleece and cotton he wore.
Sunset returned a few minutes later with two bags of groceries, which she put in the back seat. Once she was belted in, Flash took off for her apartment, perhaps breaking the speed limit by just a hair.
Once they reached the apartment complex where Sunset lived, she gathered up her things and favored Flash with a brilliant, sun-kissed smile. "Thanks for the ride," she said. "You're a good workout buddy, we should do this again."
"Yeah, totally," Flash agreed, nodding rapidly. "I gotta book it, see you later!"
Sunset looked at him curiously, but shrugged and closed the door, sashaying off to her comfy little home. Flash backed out into the street, turned the car around, and headed home.
Once Flash had pulled into his own driveway, he killed the engine, grabbed his gym bag out of the back seat, and hurried inside and up to his room. He dropped off his bag and shed his hoodie, then took the little jar of foundation out of his pocket. He swallowed, turning it over and over in his hands. Hiding it in his palm, he snuck out into the hall, then crept around the house, cautiously checking to see if anybody else was home.
As soon as he verified he was alone, Flash shuffled into the bathroom. He examined his pale, colorless face in the mirror. Unscrewing the cap on his stolen treasure, he scooped out some of the creamy makeup with his fingers, shivering at its coolness and texture. He spread it haphazardly across his cheek, grimacing as it clumped and streaked. He smoothed it out, watching little bits of it crumble down into the sink like crumbs from a messy eater's mouth. He scooped out more foundation and spread it on his other cheek, learning as he went, evening it out, covering the streaks, evening it out. He kept going until almost his entire face was a glowing, fiery orange.
But not all of it. His ears, neck, and the orbits of his eyes betrayed him; the smooth, shining, vibrant orange face he had been hoping for instead looked fake, unnatural, and grotesque, like a Halloween-themed clown or a sunburned raccoon or...
Well, it just didn't look good. At all.
Flash sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He capped the little jar forlornly and wet a washcloth to clean the mess off his face before anyone came home and saw.
It was foolish, he supposed, to hope there was any way he could capture Sunset Shimmer's natural, fiery radiance, even just a false fragment of her brilliant shine...
Flash sat at his usual table at the Sweet Snacks Cafe, dragging a fry through chili and cheese as he watched Pinkie Pie skate around the diner, delivering food and taking orders. Her bright bubblegum-pink skin shone with energy and vigor and life as she twirled and skated and laughed and talked with customers in her high, bubbly voice. Her floofy pink hair flounced around, long curls springing and sproinging and swishing and swaying with every motion.
Pinkie Pie was energy incarnate, a living sugar high. Just looking at her could make one's teeth ache, or put one in an instant state of sugar crash. But more often than not, no matter how exhausting and perplexing she was, Pinkie Pie could make everyone around her laugh and smile.
"Getcha anything else?" Pinkie asked as she wheeled up to Flash's table, leaning in close enough for him to smell the enticing cotton candy aroma that surrounded her. It wasn't quite a perfume or a shampoo, it was more...the very fragrance of pinkness itself. Flash stared at her for a long moment—perhaps too long—studying her long, slender pink fingers, her perfectly manicured fingernails, her sparkling sky blue eyes, her cute little pink ears, and the stretched-taffy pink smile she favored him with. A smile which suddenly turned into a playful smirk as she asked, "Cotton candy? Bubblegum? Strawberry milkshake? Pepto-Bismol?"
Flash shook his head. "Huh?"
"Well the way you were staring at me, you must really have something pink on your mind," Pinkie said. "That or you're crushing on me or just ogling me, and either is fine by me, really, you can totally ask me out if you want..."
Flash blushed. "Ah! S-sorry, I..." He coughed and looked away guiltily. "I didn't mean to, um, stare, I was just...lost in thought."
"Boy I'll say!" Pinkie said knowingly. "But just so you know, the next time you wanna ogle me, you should better do it at the beach instead of here. You'll get to see a lot more of the pink." With a wink, she skated off to another table.
Sweat dripped down Flash's neck as his heart hammered in his chest. He thought back to a day when the seven most popular girls at CHS had gone to the beach together. He'd been there, that day, and had seen Pinkie Pie gallavanting around the beach in a frilly pink-and-white one-piece that showed off a tantalizing stretch of her bright pink back and all the leg, and those legs were so long and so toned and so pink ...
An infinite sea of pink stretched out before Flash, sweeping away the kitschy 50's diner and its juke box and chatter, replacing it with sand and sun and surf as the pink faded away to pale sandy shores and sparkling green ocean waves. He heard high-pitched, cheerful giggling and turned to see Pinkie Pie running up to him, waving, orbited by a cloud of fully inflated party balloons that were only just barely covering up the fact that she wasn't wearing a bathing suit, or anything else for that matter. Heat rose to Flash's face as Pinkie drew near, her satellite balloons bumping and jostling against him as she leaned in close and grabbed his cheeks and pulled, and pulled, and pulled , and Flash looked down to see wads of pink taffy-like cheek-flesh in her pretty pink hands, and then she let go and his cheeks snapped back into place with enough force to spin him around and around and when he stopped, he was facing a mirror that showed he, too, was bright, bubblegum pink, with the same floofy pink hair in a medium afro, and he was also naked, with a single blue ballon floating in front of his groin...
"Flash? Yoo-hoo, Flash?"
The beach and the sea and the surf and sun and the pinkness of it all popped like said blue balloon and Flash was back in his booth seat at Sweet Snacks, staring into the concerned purple eyes of Twilight Sparkle, framed by thick black plastic glasses. "Ah! Yes! What?"
"Sorry I'm late...are you okay?" Twilight asked.
"L-late?" Flash echoed cluelessly.
"For our tutoring session," Twilight said. She frowned, tilting her head. "Are you...? You were kinda...really spaced out there."
Flash flushed a brilliant scarlet. "N-no, I—" He coughed, clearing his throat. "Just daydreaming," he said. "So, tutoring?"
Twilight Sparkle slurped a vanilla milkshake as she walked Flash through the finer points of his overly complicated math homework. "I will never use any of this," Flash complained.
Twilight shrugged. "Probably not, I mean, you're probably going to be a musician or a retail worker, but just try to get through it."
Flash shot her a pained grimace. "A retail worker? Seriously?"
Twilight cringed, glasses slipping. "Ah! S-sorry! I didn't...I mean, I'm not saying you're not good at anything or anything, I just...I mean..." She poked her fingertips together. "Oh boy." Her lavender cheeks flushed, turning a beautiful royal purple.
Flash leaned his cheek on a propped-up hand and smirked wryly. "It's okay, Twilight," he said. "I suck at math, but so do a lot of people."
Twilight ducked her head. "Y-yeah," she said. "Sorry. I really, really didn't mean that the way it..." She coughed. "I, uh, still have trouble with the whole talking to other people thing sometimes."
Flash sighed. "It's cool," he said. "Really, you're probably right. I mean, I don't really stand out in any way, so I'll probably wind up with some kind of thankless, menial job nobody appreciates."
"Don't say that about yourself!" Twilight said. "That's an awful attitude to have!"
Flash shrugged. "I can't help it," he said. "I mean, I look around me and I see so many amazing and vibrant people, and I'm so..." He grimaced. "Bland. I just...don't stand out in a crowd."
Twilight blinked repeatedly. "Wait," she said slowly, "is this...is this a chromism thing?"
"Huh? N-no, it's—!"
"Because chromism is all a bunch of nonsense based on stereotypes and prejudice," Twilight said, slipping into her lecturing tone. "For all that we still don't completely understand about chromelanin, what is scientifically proven is that saturation and skin tone have no bearing on a person's personality, societal worth, or—"
"I know all that," Flash said. "It's just..." He sighed. "I look at you and your friends and I see this beautiful rainbow of colors , and you all stand out so much, and shine so bright, and I'm just..." He gestured at himself. "This. Drab, bland, forgettable, boring. I just..." He shrugged. "I wish I didn't look so boring sometimes."
Twilight frowned. "Applejack's chromelanin profile is similar to yours," she pointed out. "With allowable variance for the tan she's developed from farm work. I wouldn't call her boring, would you?"
Flash grimaced. "Honestly? A bit, yeah. I mean, no offense, but I'm not really...I don't connect with the whole country-twang farmer type."
Twilight looked like she was about to protest, but stopped, one slim purple finger raised, and pursed her lips. "Fair enough," she said. "If I'm totally honest with myself, Applejack's role in our group social dynamic is...fairly limited." She frowned. "Come to think of it, she gets a lot less attention from boys than the rest of us, too. Huh." She shook her head. "I'll have to research that later. Look, Flash...you're not a nobody just because you aren't purple or blue or pink or whatever." She smiled. "Everybody's special in their own way. You just need to find yours ."
Flash smiled. "Thanks, Twilight," he said. He stretched and groaned, cracking his neck. "Think I'm gonna call it quits for today. Same time next week?"
"Same time next week," Twilight promised.
Flash tossed some money on the table to pay the check, then left Twilight and her milkshake and his half-eaten chili fries behind. As he shuffled up the street to where he'd parked his car, he turned Twilight's words over again and again in his mind.
He sighed.
"She's right," he muttered. "It doesn't matter to anyone else ..."
He looked at his pale peach hand as he opened the door of his car. He frowned.
"...but it sure as hell matters to me ."
Author's Note
The concept of chromelanin is an invention of FanOfMostEverything .
The week passed, as weeks do, with days of lessons and homework and band practice and hangouts and meetups blending together, one into the next, the dull routine of high school serving up a smoothie made of three parts bore to two parts snore to one part comfortable, chilled with familiarity and poured into a glass of monotony.
Friday came, and brought with it a soccer match. Flash, like most of the student body, turned out to fill up the bleachers at the soccer pitch, eager to cheer on Canterlot's soccer team—and in particular, its captain, Rainbow Dash.
It was hard not to envy Rainbow Dash. She was the guy every guy wished he could be, except she was not a guy, but a hot chick. Flash was all too aware of the locker room talk that circulated about Rainbow Dash—all of it—and he himself had to admit that, if the chance ever arose to go out with her, he'd probably dive on top of that chance and seize it like the last bottle of water in the desert in summer. But mostly, he admired Rainbow Dash for being all the things he wished he could be.
The gorgeous athlete and rocker pounded up and down the pitch, her cleats throwing tufts of turf into the air as she gracefully guided the ball where she wanted, deftly evading opponents and sending the ball careening toward teammates, then taking it back when it was kicked her way. Her sweat-slicked prismatic hair looked like a curtain of fine rainbow silk, and her glistening skin shone like a brilliant blue jewel on a dark green backdrop.
In his mind's eye, Flash pictured himself, his skin a vibrant blue like the summer sky and his hair a bonfire of spectral spikes, running up and down the basketball court, dribbling a pebbly orange ball, shoes squeaking on the polished wood. A defender would block him, and he'd jump over them, soaring...soaring...and at the apex of his jump, bright, feathery blue wings would burst forth from his back like some kind of angel of awesomeness, and carry him all the way to the hoop from center court, slamming the ball home just as the buzzer sounded. Then he'd fly laps around the court as his team and the fans cheered, and Rainbow Dash would pass his guitar up to him from the bleachers, and he'd jam power chords that even the opposing team would rock out to—
"Whoa there, big fella!" Callused hands grabbed Flash's shoulders and pushed him down. "Don't need you goin' divin' off the bleachers an' breakin' your neck!"
Flash shook his head; the soccer game returned, and a few people were looking at him either curiously or crossly. He looked up to see Applejack's emerald eyes staring down at him, half-concerned, half-playful. "Y' alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "You looked mighty out of it for a second there." She paused, then asked tersely, "It ain't drugs, is it?"
"What? No!" Flash said indignantly. "I just..." He ducked his head. "Drifted off into a daydream."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "If'n you say so," she said.
"Wow, Flashie, you've been doing that a lot lately," Pinkie Pie said from further down. "I mean, I'm all for letting my mind wander—sometimes it comes back with cake!—but maaaaybe you should get it under control a little better?"
"Y-yeah," Flash said roughly. "Sorry."
Below, Rainbow Dash scored a goal that came dangerously close to breaking the opposing goalie's wrist. The entire CHS side of the bleachers cheered; Rainbow pumped her fist in victory, then rushed over to the fallen goalie to check on him, helping him to his feet and checking his wrist. Once he assured her he was fine, she jogged back over to where she was supposed to be, and the game continued.
"So awesome," Flash whispered.
Rarity's long, luscious curls of purple perfection were tied back with lengths of black silk ribbon into a frame of short, shoulder-length corkscrew curls that bounced and bobbed to either side of her face. A black headband graced her forehead, soaking up sweat. In contrast to her usual elegant daywear, today she wore a black silk karate gi with gold trim and a crimson belt. She bowed formally to her opponent, Octavia Melody, who was dressed in a simple white gi and red belt. The referee signaled the start of the match, and the girls sized each other up, looking for an opening.
Flash sat with Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, watching the match. "I still can't believe Rarity does karate," Flash commented.
"Even a prissy diva like Rarity needs to be able to take care of herself," Rainbow said. "Of course, I'm kinda surprised she does competitions ."
"I'm just surprised she's in a different dojo than Octavia," Sunset said. "I mean, you'd think both of them being Wondercolts, they'd be in the same dojo."
Flash watched two of the daintiest, most proper girls he knew at school lay into each other with swift exchanges of fists and feet, letting out sharp battle cries as they danced back and forth, striking and blocking, seeking contact. A smooth grey palm blocked a dainty alabaster foot, turning the kick aside before replying with a sweep that forced Rarity to hop back, nearly losing her balance. Rarity answered with an attempted throw, but misread Octavia's recovery and took a rising punch to the breadbasket. The horn sounded. "Point, Melody!"
The match continued along the same vein, each girl scoring points in turn, until it came time for the deciding, tiebreaking point. Flash and the girls watched with breathless anticipation as Octavia and Rarity sized each other up, looking for an opening.
"Crane kick! Drum technique! Get her a bodybag!" Pinkie Pie yelled. Sunset whacked her upside the head with a rolled-up program.
Rarity drew Octavia in with a feint, then twisted around to the side and delivered two quick snap kicks Octavia had no chance of blocking. The horn sounded, and Rarity's section erupted in cheers. The two girls stepped back, bowed to the referee, then bowed to each other.
"The winner of the Canterlot City Red Belt Invitational, Teen Division," the emcee announced as he rushed onto the floor with a shiny gold trophy, "Miss Rarity of the Takeshita-dou Karate Club!"
Rarity tossed her hair primly as she accepted her trophy and hoisted it above her head for all to see, then made her way back to the locker rooms. The other girls ran off to join her, leaving Flash loitering around at the venue's entrance, waiting, as he'd driven the girls to the match and would be needed to secure their return to Rarity's place, where the four of them were planning a victory slumber party.
When they emerged, Rarity was fashionably dressed in the blouse, skirt, and purple boots combo that she had favored for most of junior year, her hair restored to its usual style, her huge handbag slung over one shoulder, her trophy held firmly in the other, while Sunset Shimmer carried her gym bag. "So sorry to keep you waiting, darling," Rarity said to Flash as they approached.
"It's cool," Flash said. "I'll get you girls over to Rarity's so you can get your little party started. Oh, congrats on the win, by the way."
"Thank you," Rarity said. "To be honest, I was a bit worried there at the end."
As soon as all the cargo was stowed in the trunk and the girls had crammed themselves into the car, Flash got into the driver's seat and started the ignition. Rarity had earned the coveted shotgun position; he glanced over at her as she engrossed herself in her phone, no doubt posting news of her victory all over social media. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, navigating the dark streets of the city.
A few minutes later, Rarity looked up from her phone. "There, the celebratory pizzas are ordered," she said. "With luck, we should arrive at my house just in time to meet the driver."
"I'll make sure you get there in time," Flash said confidently.
"Hey, what's this rollin' around on the floor back here?" Rainbow wondered. Flash glanced into the rear view mirror, but couldn't really see what was going on in the back seat. "Is this makeup?"
"Huh? Hey! That's my foundation!" Sunset exclaimed. "So that's what happened to it! Oh, it must've fallen out of my purse when I was getting my wallet out the other day and I just didn't notice!" She thumped herself on the forehead. "I swear I turned my bag inside out looking for that!"
Flash felt guilt squirm around in his gut. He should've just returned it the day after...
"Ah well, I haven't had any blemishes or anything lately, so it's not like going without it hurt or anything." Sunset's shoulders shrugged in the rear view. "I'm just glad I found it, foundation shopping is a real pain in the butt."
"Boy, I'll say," Pinkie agreed.
"Oh good heavens yes," Rarity said. "Chromatic matching alone takes ever so long, let alone the blending time! Why, my last trip to the makeup salon took most of an afternoon!"
The guilty knots in Flash's stomach squirmed and wriggled and threatened to burst forth from his body like some sort of alien monster.
"Yeah, that's why I don't bother," Rainbow Dash said. "A little mascara and some eyeshadow every now and then is as much makeup as I need. I don't have time to stand around all day getting my pigment matched. If I ever really need that crap, I can just swipe some from Trixie, she's got like ten jars of it."
"Goodness no, darling!" Rarity gasped. "It would never blend prop—" She paused, frowning. "Well...hmm. I suppose in a pinch, perhaps ...still..."
Flash swallowed. "S-so...getting the right color makeup is a super big deal, huh?"
"Oh, I should say so," Rarity said, examining her fingernails. "Pigment matching is equal parts chemistry and art, and it isn't something just anybody can do. Proper foundation requires a long trip to a makeup salon."
Flash frowned. "I thought they sold makeup at like, the drug store and stuff."
Rarity laughed. "Yes, but darling , that's just lipstick and nail polish and eyeliner and mascara and, well...it's the makeup you see ," she explained. "Foundation and blush and concealer and the like are a trickier beast, given everyone's unique and distinctive skin coloration."
"Yeah, you have to get color matched, and sometimes it can take hours," Sunset said.
"Oh," Flash said. "Well, I'm glad you found it then."
A few minutes later, he pulled smoothly up to Rarity's house. As the girls disembarked, he opened the trunk and started hauling out bags to schlep up to the house. "Well, congrats again, Rarity," he said as Rarity dug out her keys to open the door. "I, uhh...hope you girls have a good time tonight." Even as he said this, the headlights and glowing sign of the pizza delivery car flooded the lawn with light.
Rarity shot him a curious glance. "You're staying for pizza, surely?" she asked.
"Huh? But I—"
"I won't hear a no!" Rarity insisted. "You were there to help cheer me on tonight, so you should rightly be here for the celebration! Well, the part that involves pizza and good friends, at least," she said.
"Yeah, Flash, stick around for a bit," Sunset said with a smile. "You don't have to be in such a hurry to go."
"Parties are more fun when there's more people!" Pinkie said.
"Well...sure," Flash said hesitantly, even as the driver walked up with a delivery bag and a confused expression. Sunset took over opening the door and helped Flash hustle everything in while Rarity and Rainbow Dash attended to the pizzas and sides.
"I do hope nobody minds my going barefoot at the dinner table," Rarity said as she primly arranged her paper plate of pizza and plastic cup of sparkling water on the living room table, crossing her bare legs primly as she occupied a plush, overstuffed lounger. "I'm afraid those boots are somewhat uncomfortable and overhot after a match like that."
"Doesn't bother me!" Pinkie Pie said. She'd also shed her sandals and wriggled her stocking-clad feet around as she sat on the sofa, munching on a piece of pizza.
Flash swallowed as he looked at Rarity's shapely bare legs, reaching for his soda cup and nearly spilling it. Sunset noticed and raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Enjoying the view?" she asked teasingly.
"GAH!" Flash cried, almost dropping his cup. "I'm not—I wasn't—!"
Rarity tittered. "Oh my, darling, it's nothing to be embarrassed about," she said. "It's actually rather flattering."
"Flashie's been feasting his eyes a lot lately," Pinkie said with a teasing grin.
"Oh really now," Rainbow said with a leer. "You're not thinkin' up some weird scheme like tryin' to date your way through my whole band, are you? Like we're some harem anime and you're the dude?"
Flash sweated. "N-no!" he said insistently, eyes wide and darting around the room. "I...I'm not like that! I mean, I...y-yeah, I like all of you—as friends! Friends! Very pretty, beautiful...amazing girls who are all my friends!"
Sunset chuckled. "Alright alright, enough teasing the poor guy," she said. "Still, one thing is bothering me."
"What's...what's that?" Flash asked, gulping.
Sunset held up her foundation jar. "This," she said. "It's half empty. I hardly ever use it, so I know for a fact it was almost full."
The girls all eyed Flash suspiciously, with raised eyebrows. Flash rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes darting around the room. "Is...is that right," he said.
"Uh-huh," Sunset said. "And, well, the only place it's been since last Saturday is your car , so..."
"Oh geez is that the time? I should get going I've got dogs to dish and washes to walk," Flash said, shooting to his feet. "It's been fun girls see you later—"
Rainbow pushed him back down on the couch and kept a hand on his shoulder. "Uh-uh," she said with a smirk. "This is just gettin' good. "
"Wow, this got all interrogationy all of a sudden," Pinkie said, chewing excitedly on her pizza as she leaned forward in her seat.
Flash sighed and slumped forward, his shoulders sagging. "I got curious," he said. "I just...I was curious, and I—"
"Oh my," Rarity said, covering her amused smile with one delicate alabaster hand. "That must have been quite the horrid sight!"
"It was, yeah," Flash admitted. "I looked...ridiculous." He looked over at Sunset. "I'm sorry. I really am."
Sunset rolled her eyes and smirked. "It's cool," she said. "Okay, enough drama. Back to pizza everyone."
"Wait, I didn't get enough drama yet," Rainbow said. "Why were you curious?" she challenged, peering at Flash skeptically. "Don't tell me you're a..." A sly grin crossed her face as she stage-whispered the next word. "...paintjobber?"
Rarity's pizza fell right into her lap. Pinkie's eyes went wide. Sunset froze, a slice of pizza halfway to her mouth.
Flash cringed.
"RAINBOW EUPHEGENIA DASH!" Rarity shrieked, aghast and scandalized. "How could you! Such a...scandalous word! "
"Wow, Dashie, that was so not cool ," Pinkie said.
"Oh come on, it's not like we're in public or anything!" Rainbow complained.
Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose. "Rainbow Dash, you know transcolor persons are having a rough time these days," she said patiently. "It really, really isn't cool to use that word , even in private."
"Okay okay, sorry," Rainbow said huffily. After a beat, she added, "But are you though?"
The girls shot Rainbow cross looks, then looked back over to Flash in anticipation.
Flash closed his eyes. "N-no, I..." He sighed. "I guess maybe? I don't—" He wrung his hands. "I just...I hate being so bland and boring when I'm surrounded by, well..." He gestured to the room at large. "You girls and your bright colors and you're all so amazing and stand out and everybody loves you all and I'm just...this boring dude in the background." He chuckled ruefully. "Everybody's pack mule, move-heavy-stuff, get-a-ride-here-and-there guy, but as soon as nobody has a use for me, I might as well not exist anymore. I'm just...part of the scenery. Dull. Drab. Colorless. Boring."
"Oh, Flash," Rarity said, on the verge of tears. "Oh, sweetness, is that really how you feel? What you...what you think we think of you?"
Sunset winced. "Ouch," she said. "I...I never knew you felt that way."
"Dude, seriously, whoa," Rainbow said.
"Poor Flashie," Pinkie said sadly.
"I just..." Flash gestured helplessly. "I just look at all of you, and sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to have your color , to be so bright and...and vibrant, and really stand out... " He sighed. "I know, it's weird. I'm weird."
"You are no such thing!" Rarity said. "There's nothing wrong with that at all! Aside from the part where you think you're just part of the scenery, I mean. You most certainly do matter to all your friends! If we've been remiss in showing it, well...that's on us."
"So that explains all the ogling at the diner the other day," Pinkie said. "Here I thought you were just hot for my sweet sweet bod, or maybe developing some kind of floofy skirt fetish !" She giggled. "You were just thinking pink thoughts!"
"Wow, that sounded perverted," Rainbow muttered.
Flash winced. "I've been doing a lot of ogling lately, and not for...not for the reasons guys usually ogle hot chicks," he said. "I'm sorry about that, I really am. It's just, you all, with your bright colors and your beauty and the way you all shine and glow and you're all so alive every second of every day! It..." He swallowed. "I want that. I want to be like that. To know what it feels like to be what you girls just are. "
The girls stared at him, eyes wide, cheeks tinged pink.
"W-wow," Rainbow said breathily. "That got me all choked up. Just...wow!"
"Goodness," Rarity said, fanning herself with a napkin. "I do believe that's the most sincere and beautiful and flattering thing anyone has ever said to me!"
"So why not go for it?" Sunset asked.
Flash snorted. "Yeah, right. I couldn't afford it. Besides, my dad would freak. " He sighed. "I'm not even sure if I'd wanna...y'know...commit to that ." He wrung his hands. "I mean, that's a lifestyle that's...pretty rough, y'know?"
The girls were silent for a long moment, the forgotten pizzas cooling in the quiet living room.
"What if..." Pinkie said quietly, slowly, into the silence. Everyone looked at her. "What if you could just try it for one day? You know, just to see what it's like?"
"Hey, yeah, that's a good idea," Sunset agreed.
Flash frowned. "Well, I...I guess ," he hedged. "But...but how?"
Pinkie pulled out her phone. "Fluttershy? You've still got that one friend, right? You know, the one from the color clinic?"
As the mid-morning Sunday sun shone its warmth down on Canterlot City, seven teenage girls, one teenage boy, one talking purple dog, and one lemur sat around the wood-paneled living room of a bungalow in the Heights, north of Crystal Prep Academy. "So, whut're we doin' way out here again?" Applejack asked.
"We're here to support Flash Sentry, darling," Rarity explained patiently.
"Support 'im with whut though?" Applejack asked. "Ain't nun'a y'all said whut was goin' on!"
"Flash is gonna get paintjo—" Rainbow coughed. "Ahem. Recolored, " she said.
Applejack's eyes shrank to pinpricks. "Aw hell no."
"Just temporarily," Fluttershy said as she gave Radar belly scritches. "Miss Zecora does free test colors for people who are, well...color-curious. It's so they can decide if they want to, you know, try the first steps to living as transcolor persons."
"But why though?" Applejack asked. "You ask me, he's a mighty fine color already, just like nature intended!"
"Now Applejack," Sunset said mildly. "Not everyone is pleased with the chromelanin they were born with, and that's okay. It's Flash's decision, and right now, he just wants to see what it's like to be a different color. He has his reasons, and we're his friends , so let's be supportive and not judgmental, alright?"
Applejack sighed. "Yeah yeah," she grunted. "Sorry, Ah jes' don't git this whole turnin' your skin a different color thing."
"Oh, I don't know," Fluttershy said as she stroked Radar's fur. "I wouldn't mind being a nice dark green. Animals love green things." She paused to listen to Radar's chittering. "Well...that's true too, I suppose."
A woman walked into the room. She wore a woven hemp dress dyed artistically in intricate patterns and simple suede slippers, three gold bangles on her right ankle and left wrist, a broad gold choker, and dangling hoop earrings. Numerous trible tattoos marked her ash-grey skin, and the tall mohawk atop her otherwise shaven head was stark white with black streaks. "Good Sunday to you, my young guests," she said. "Who among you has come for coloration tests?"
Flash gulped and stood up, raising a hand. "Um. I-me," he said. "I wanted to...to try seeing how I'd look with a brighter color."
"Ah, yes, I see," Zecora said with a smile. "It is no surprise, I get many peachies!" Her eyes twinkled. "Peachies often feel their skin is too bland, that being another color would make life more grand!"
"Really?" Flash asked hopefully, his posture relaxing.
"Indeed," Zecora said. "Come, let us proceed. I will need one, perhaps two aids. Who would you be most comfortable with among these fair maids?" At Flash's sudden pale expression, she chuckled. "There is no need to fear. They will not see your rear. Or anything else they should not see, such as your, ahem..." She grinned. "Pee-pee."
"O-oh," Flash said, relaxing. Rainbow snickered.
"Test colors are from the waist up only," Fluttershy explained with a small smile.
"And the legs, if you please," Zecora said. "For any clothing that allows a breeze."
"I've brought along a selection of apparel to try out," Rarity said. "For both men and women, in case any of us decide to get tested today. Just for fun!" she added, seeing the looks of objection some of her friends wore.
Flash coughed. "W-well," he said, "Rarity is...is a fashionista, so I trust her and her opinion, so...yeah. And, umm..." He looked the girls over. "Fluttershy," he decided.
Fluttershy blushed, pointing to herself. "M-me?"
"I trust you to, y'know, be sensitive in there," Flash said lamely. "Not that I don't trust the rest of you , it's just—"
"We totally get it!" Rainbow assured him. "Can't wait to see what you look like after all this," she added with a cheeky grin.
"Good luck in there!" Sunset said with a big, supportive smile.
Flash, Zecora, and the two girls retreated into the depths of the bungalow, where a master bedroom and half-bath had been converted into a sterile salon with a padded, papered work table, rolling stools, mirrors everywhere , and benches covered in paints, dyes, brushes, sponges, blow dryers, and all other manner of styling tools. Two huge color charts dominated one wall; Rarity gravitated over to those. "Look here, Flash," she said. "This chart will help us decide what the new you is going to look like!"
Flash walked over, studying the charts with a frown. "I'm honestly not sure what to go for," he admitted.
"Choose colors that speak to you," Zecora said. "The heart and mind know what they want, tis true."
Flash looked at Fluttershy and Rarity, glowing with butter yellow and shining alabaster vitality and feminine beauty. He thought of Sunset Shimmer and her warm, sassy fire, Twilight Sparkle and her cool, inviting lavender, Pinkie Pie and her fun, bubbly pink, and Rainbow Dash and her sporty, summery blue.
He looked over the color charts. His eyes locked on a group of colors. He swallowed.
"I'm ready," he said, shedding his jacket and stripping off his T-shirt.
Hours passed. The girls not helping with Flash's temporary transformation wiled away the time on their phones, playing cards, or playing with Spike and Radar the lemur.
At length, Fluttershy emerged, wiping her hands on a paint-stained rag, her hair mussed from being stuffed under a hairnet for hours on end. Her cheeks were quite pink.
"Well?" Sunset asked, looking up.
"Umm..." Fluttershy ducked her head, poking her fingertips together and wringing her rag. Radar leapt to her shoulder, curling his long, fuzzy tail around her neck. She absently sritched him. "W-well...you'll see in a second, he's...he's finishing getting dressed now."
Rarity briskly entered the room, fanning her face. "Well...that happened," she said.
Rainbow leaned forward, grinning excitedly. "What'd he do? How's he look?"
"Well—" Rarity began. She faltered. "It's..." She plastered a game smile on her face. "Best you see...see for yourself," she said lamely.
Flash Sentry walked into the room. Several jaws dropped.
He wore a maroon half-sleeve leather jacket over an otherwise bare, vividly orange torso. The shade of orange he'd chosen was much more saturated than Sunset Shimmer's warm, fiery orange; in fact, it was more the color of the off-the-shoulder top she favored wearing with her newest spiky leather vest. His hair had been dyed a deep, rich maroon that matched the jacket he wore, with a light blue-silver streak down the middle. He also wore a maroon skort, baring his bright orange thighs that disappeared into knee-high maroon boots. He held out his arms to his sides and smiled gamely at the girls. "Ta-daaa," he said, his voice wavering.
"Um," Sunset Shimmer tried, fighting down a laugh. "That's...that's very..." She coughed. "Wow."
"That sure is somethin' alright," Applejack said with a pinched frown.
"Dude," Rainbow snickered.
"That's seriously how this whole thing is ending?" Pinkie Pie said, blink-blinking her bright blue eyes. "That is what all this has been building to?!"
"I'm...completely at a loss for words," Twilight said, her glasses falling askew.
"I don't...even know what I'm looking at here," Spike said.
Radar chittered something. Fluttershy sighed. "F'naaa..."
Author's Note
Absolutely no editing was done in the course of writing this story. Hell, I didn't even go back and reread it before posting.
You all know exactly who to blame.
A grey, sleepy Sunday morning found Flash Sentry at the local animal shelter, helping Fluttershy wrestle immensely heavy bags of pet food and boxy wire cages around. "I'm sorry if I'm keeping you from doing something else," Fluttershy said as she set down a feed bag. A small ring-tailed lemur was climbing all over her long, luxurious cherry-blossom pink hair, chittering away as it watched them work. Despite the hard work, not a single bead of sweat slicked her smooth, buttery yellow skin. Flash caught himself staring at her graceful golden neck, then turned to busy himself with a cage.
"It's no problem," he said roughly. "I wasn't doing anything, and I'm...y'know...always happy to help out and stuff."
Fluttershy stood up slowly, elegantly, dusting her dainty buttery palms on her jeans. She wore a thick fleece sweatshirt that was frayed in places, with loose threads all over and the scars of old stains that repeated washings had failed to completely remove. Her geode swayed gently against her throat as she straightened something on a shelf, then reached up to give the chittering lemur a scratch. "I know you're bored, Radar," she said. "I promise we'll play as soon as we're finished up here." The lemur responded by batting at her hair with its little primate paws and bobbing its head, making a rapid barking sound before climbing up onto a shelf and perching. Fluttershy giggled.
"So what's with the lemur?" Flash asked curiously.
Fluttershy sighed. "Somebody imported him illegally to keep as a pet, but that person passed away suddenly recently. The police brought him here because the zoo is over capacity, but the director here has no idea what to do with him either, so..." She shrugged. "I'm looking after him until they can find a place to send him, since he likes me and is a very good boy for me, yes you are, yes you are!" The last, she cooed to Radar, who basked in the attention, standing straight and proud and swishing his tail.
Flash chuckled. "Well, you've always been good with animals," he said.
After two hours of moving heavy stuff around and cleaning disgusting animal cages full of piss and shit and vomit, Flash went home and scrubbed up, then plopped down heavily on his bed and picked up his guitar, tuning it before idly, aimlessly strumming something soft, sweet, and beautiful. As he played, he closed his eyes and thought of Fluttershy...
No...
He thought of yellow.
Buttery yellow and soft, warm pink, like spring flowers in a grassy green meadow. The bright spring sun shone down overhead from a cloudless sky, and Flash sat upon a gently sloping hill covered in bright green grass and springy green clover. He wore forest green shorts and a white tank top, and his skin was buttery yellow like fluffy scrambled eggs. His short, spiky hair was a brilliant blossom pink. Animals of all stripes cavorted and frolicked around him—bunnies, squirrels, kittens, butterflies, colorful little chirping birds. He hummed a melody as he tied chains of wildflowers together into little crowns and necklaces and bestowed them upon all the little creatures, who lined up eagerly to receive his fragrant spring gifts and gentle pats from soft yellow hands.
