Sunset after the Storm

The first day at Canterlot High whizzed by. Lightning met new people and even got to become friends with a few of them.

After school ended, Lightning texted his mother that he would go home later than she expected him to, since he was hanging out with a few friends. As he stepped out the front doors of the school, he found Sunset Shimmer waiting for him with her friends.

“Hey, Lightning! Over here!” She called out to him, waving a hand high in the air.

When Lightning approached her, she introduced her friends to him.

“Lightning, meet my friends. Girls, meet Lightning Storm. He transferred to Canterlot High today.

“Alright, so… Lightning, this is Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie,” Sunset said as she introduced her friends one by one to Lightning.

“Nice to meet you all,” Lightning replied, happily shaking hands with them. However, he had to yelp and cringe after getting his hand caught in Pinkie’s monster grip, eliciting a laugh from the girls.

“Well, it’s good to see someone who’s very enthusiastic,” Lightning said, massaging his aching hand.

“Yup! It’s always awesome seeing new people, especially cool people like you!” Pinkie Pie piped up, a wide grin on her face.

Lightning chuckled and said, “Thanks for the compliment. So, where are we going?”

“Hmm… I’ve been thinking Sugarcube Cafe, how about there?” Sunset suggested.

“Sounds wonderful, darling. The cupcakes they sell there are simply dazzling,” said Rarity in her heavily accented tone, while the other girls voiced their agreements.

“Lightning?” asked Sunset.

“Well, I don’t know much about the area around here, but it sure does sound good to me,” Lightning responded with a light smile on his face.

“Good. Sugarcube Cafe it is, then. Come on, we’ll show you the way,” said Sunset as she and the girls began walking towards the front gates.

Lightning followed as he thought to himself, See? It ain’t that bad. Let’s give this place a chance.

Inside Sugarcube Cafe, Lightning and the girls spent a good time together, throwing jokes and making each other laugh, while telling each other’s stories. Pinkie turned out to be exceptionally good at making people laugh; no wonder she was called the element of laughter.

First, they talked about the things that had happened in their lives recently, as well as about themselves; Rainbow Dash bragged about flattening the opponent team in a recent soccer match, while Applejack talked about helping her family out on her grandmother’s farm. Fluttershy talked about taking care of lost animals in an animal shelter, followed by Rarity talking about working in a fashion shop and dealing with all the fellow snobs who worked there. The way she expressed disgust towards her colleagues was enough to get everyone a good laugh. Finally, Twilight explained about her research, which was something that had to do with how gravitational forces propagated through different dimensions and universes.

Then the topic had moved on to the adventures they had so far, from the point in time where Sunset had turned into a demon-like entity (“They’re not going to let me live this one down, are they?”) to their most recent expedition, which involved getting trapped in a mirror by, as Rainbow Dash put it, “an annoying, whiny, self-centered teenager”.

All the while, the eight of them had smiled and laughed through their conversation, enjoying every moment of it.

“So, Lightning Storm, what’s your story?” Rainbow Dash asked, after laughing for several minutes and finally managing to calm down.

“Hm?” Lightning looked at Rainbow Dash, still trying to stifle the giggles coming up from his throat while wiping a tear from his eye.

“I mean, where did you live before coming to Canterlot? And why did you move here? I mean, we all told you our own stories, so it’s only fair if you told us yours,” Dash inquired.

Lightning’s chuckles disappeared. “Oh, well… it’s a long story…,” said Lightning, fidgeting with his cup of coffee while gazing out the window. The coffee was becoming cold. Or was it his hands that were becoming cold? “Alright, I’ll tell you my story. It’s not like it’s gonna do me any bad.

“I used to live in Manehattan. I attended Manehattan High, which was kinda like a high school version of the shop where Rarity works. I mean, look around and all you see are egoistic, self-centered, childish snobs. I hated it. Naturally, I was alone, without friends. Not that I wanted to become friends with them anyways; I had been backstabbed more-than-enough times to know better. So I made myself an outcast, not expecting anything from people around me.

“What made my life bearable, though, was the presence of a best friend. Not everyone in that school was an egoistic brat, mind you, and, well… Opera Songs was one of them. She was an honest, kind, and pleasant girl, never going around people’s back to stab them, or putting on an obvious facade just so she could keep her nose high in the air, or using others just to look down on them. And… that’s what made the two of us become friends. She was, like, the only person who would be genuine towards me no matter what, and so I cherished our friendship. I still kind of consider myself to be lucky, even after… after what happened….” Lightning’s voice faltered, and his reminiscing smile was replaced by a sad gaze and a frown.

“What… what happened?” asked Fluttershy, her voice barely audible.

“An incident,” Lightning replied, looking down into his cup while his frown deepened. “An incident that ended up in me moving here.”

“Was it… was it bad?” Sunset asked cautiously. Lightning didn’t respond. He didn’t have to. His expression said enough; the way his eyes were looking down into the bottom of his cup; the way he was biting his lower lip; the way he was frowning at the table; how his eyes looked like they were moistening; everything told the girls the answer.

An awkward silence filled the air, the atmosphere of cheeriness and joy gone so suddenly. Even Pinkie sat still in her seat, an expression of sadness in her face. After moments of silently staring at each other, unsure of what to do or what to say, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“Look, Lightning, I’m sorry for bringing it up. I didn’t mean to—”

Lightning interrupted her. “No, no, it’s okay. It’s something I really shouldn’t be hanging on to. I mean, it’s already happened, so it’s not like I can change it.” He looked up from his cup, and the girls couldn’t help but notice the emotion his eyes held: pain. A deep, genuine pain. And yet, there was a small yet distinct smile on his face. “It’s alright, Rainbow. It’s okay. It’s just… a single memory now. Something I have to live with… for the rest of my life, probably.” With that, he leaned back in his chair with a sigh, his eyes gazing up at the ceiling.

Another minute of silence went by before Sunset spoke up. “Oh, right! Lightning, do you happen to play any type of musical instrument?”

Lightning, sitting up in his chair and looking at Sunset with a questioning look, answered, “Uhh, yeah. I know how to play the guitar, and also a bit of piano.”

At that, Sunset’s expression lightened up. “That’s great! You see, the seven of us here are members of the school band Rainboom. We were wondering if you would want to join us as a new member. We are always welcome of new members, you know.”

Lightning hesitated, while his eyes glazed over. The voice began speaking again. Don’t accept it, Lightning. Don’t let her get close to you. She’ll hurt you in the end, just like how Opera did. She’s done that in the past; she can do it again anytime she wants to. She—

“I said. Shut. Up,” Lightning muttered under his breath with clenched teeth. He shook his head and looked up at Sunset. “Sure. I’d be happy to join,” He answered with a smile.

If Sunset had noticed anything off with the way Lightning had reacted, she hid her confusions. She smiled back at him. “That’s great! You should totally come to our practice. It’s on… when was our practice, Pinkie?”

Pinkie gasped, a shocked expression on her face. “It’s during lunchtime tomorrow, silly! How can you forget?”

“Hehe, well… I’m not good at remembering dates, apparently…,” replied Sunset, scratching the back of her head.

“Well… I think I need to get going, my parents will be worried if I don’t go home soon.” Lightning said as he looked out the window. The Sun was setting, painting the sky a mixture of fiery red, golden orange, lavender purple, and ocean blue. The sight was simply magnificent to behold.

“Oh, okay then. I think we should go home as well,” Sunset said to the other girls. The girls agreed in unison.

As they left the shop, Sunset saw Lightning standing on the sidewalk and gazing towards the horizon, hands in his pocket. He was staring at the sunset, the colors reflecting in his eyes.

Sunset said goodbye to her friends and walked up to him. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sunset asked once she was standing right next to Lightning.

“Yep. The sunset here’s just… amazing. Like, it’s one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen.” Lightning replied, once again wearing a thin yet warm smile on his face.

The sight also planted a small piece of happiness in Sunset’s mind. She had partly seen how badly damaged he was, and yet he was smiling at the sunset that filled and reflected in his eyes. The thought that he could find happiness here was enough to make Sunset happy as well.

Sunset placed a hand on his shoulder as she quietly said, “Hey….” He looked down at her with a questioning expression. “Whatever you had to go through, it’s going to be alright. We’ll be here for you. I’ll be here for you. I promise.”

For a moment, Lightning’s electric blue eyes gazed down into Sunset’s cyan ones. Then he smiled again, wider than before. “Thanks,” he croaked. “Thanks for the encouragement.”

He then patted her on the shoulder and began making his way home. After walking a few feet, he turned and asked, “So, I guess I’ll see you during band practice tomorrow?”

“Yup. You know where the music room is, don’t you?” Sunset replied.

Lightning nodded and turned to continue his walk home.

As his figure reached the top of the hill near Sugarcube Cafe, Sunset shouted out towards him. “See you tomorrow, Lightning!”

Lightning turned around and waved his hand towards Sunset in wide, slow arcs. Then he turned and went over the hill.

Well, he thought as he neared his house, today went better than expected.