I looked to my side, scanning Sunset's face, but she held in her emotions.

"Why not?"

"It's just..." Vice Principal Luna folded her hands on the desk. "Trust me, I have witnessed all your efforts to prove that you've changed." She gestured to me. "For instance, the young man next to you is a testament to your reformation."

Sunset's eyes flickered to me, and I gave her a supportive nod. Still, I frowned, turning back to the administrator. "So why won't you let her go to the Fall Formal?"

The woman ran a hand through her blue locks and sighed, allowing her fatigue to show for a moment. However, as she opened her eyes, I noticed a warm look in her eyes as her professional demeanor eased up. Holding a hand by her mouth, she dropped to a whisper. "If I'm completely honest with you two, do you promise to not tell Tia?" Seeing our nods, she continued. "It's the parents. You might have proven to me and countless other people at this school of your 'rehabilitation,' but off campus, it's an entirely different story."

Sunset leaned forward in her seat, worry painted across her face. "What do you mean?"

"It means that if parents learn that you are attending the Fall Formal, the same event of your... 'incident,'" she gave Sunset an apologetic smile, "they could interpret it as a safety risk. All they've know about you is what you did last year, so they might wonder, 'What if she does it again?' It's inevitable that not everyone has forgiven you - though that's not to say it's due to a lack of effort on your part."

Despite her careful wording, Sunset showed very obvious discomfort. Bringing her chair around her desk and closer to us, Vice Principal Luna took Sunset's hand.

"I'm sorry. Truly, I am, but beyond the negative attention it may bring to the school, you may also be at risk from the potential backlash. We've already had to enlist adult volunteers to supervise the event. Thus, Tia and I found the safest option would be for you to skip this year's Fall Formal. Despite this, we will work our hardest to ensure you can safely attend later events like the Spring Fling."

By now, Sunset had almost-inhumanly deflated, and whatever hope she had of convincing Luna to let her attend was slowly being extinguished. Regardless, she squeezed the vice principal's hand, pleading.

"Isn't there any other alternative? It's my last Fall Formal before graduation. Besides, wouldn't it be better to prove that I can participate in school events without causing more problems? I can even volunteer to help organize or set up! Please..." She looked up longingly at the blue woman, searching her eyes for any sign of swaying her.

"I... Hmm..." The vice principal rubbed her chin. "True, I don't feel quite right about robbing you of your senior year's formal. Also, it wouldn't be right to have you work your way into the formal, so that's off the table."

"Would it be possible to just have someone supervise her?"

Both ladies turned to me, simultaneously cocking eyebrows. "You said there'd be adults there, right? Why not get a dedicated chaperone for Sunset? That way, she can attend while proving to at least the parents at the event that there's nothing to worry about."

Vice Principal Luna rubbed her chin once more. "I... I suppose that could be a possibility." Her gaze went to Sunset. "Is that something you want to do? I can understand if having an adult hovering over you would make you uncomfortable."

Sunset turned to me, but I returned a blank stare, intent on letting her choose for herself.

"If it means being able to go to the formal, I'll do it."

At that, Luna nodded. "Alright. I'll run it by Tia, and we'll try to get that sorted out. Until then, focus on your studies, and we'll keep you updated."

"Will do. Thank you, Vice Principal Luna."

"Hmm, yes, thank you, Vice Principal Lulu."

Luna's face went bright red, and behind us, a certain fair-skinned woman walked up to her sister.

"Sister," the blue woman hissed, "I recall telling you to never call me that in front of the students."

"And I with 'Tia.'" As the younger sister rolled her eyes, the elder turned to Sunset. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll be able to sort something out with assigning you a chaperone so that you can attend."

"Thank you, Principal Celestia."

With that, Sunset and I picked our bags and exited the office, leaving the two sisters to discuss their course of action. Once we were a considerable distance down the hall, Sunset let out a long sigh.

"Why can't people get it?" She let out a groan and dropped into a slouch. "Most of the school has already forgiven me, so it just hurts to know that I haven't been able to convince anyone outside of here."

I stopped. "To hell with them, then." She looked at me inquisitively. "Look, it's like Vice Principal Luna said: pretty much everyone here knows you've changed."

"That doesn't mean everyone's convinced."

"Then don't aim to convince everyone."

A pause. "Uh, you know what I've been trying to do this whole time, right? Kinda defeats the purpose if I'm not making it up to every person I wronged in the past."

"Do you think it's feasibly possible?"

"I won't know until I try."

"You don't have to. Take it from me: that's an impossible task 'cause you can't change everyone's opinion of you no matter what you do." I sighed. "Trust me, I know."

She winced, remembering the rumor. "Sorry."

"Don't be. You fixed it, and I'm not bothered by it anymore, so it's fine. Sure, there's people that might still believe it, but that's their loss. I'm still going to live my life like I'm not, so at that point, they're just being ignorant." I stared straight into her eyes. "Rather than dedicating yourself to righting every single wrong, dedicate yourself to living a friendly and empathic life. That way, you can impact the lives of others while being genuine, and it would be logically ignorant to think otherwise."

"I guess... I guess I never thought of it that way." As she mulled over my perspective, a relieved smile formed on her face. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

She jabbed my arm, and we made our ways home.

The next couple of weeks were uneventful, but Vice Principal Luna quickly informed Sunset that she would be able to attend the Fall Formal so long as a chaperone was present at all times. To what extent "present" entailed, though, was not elaborated upon. Still, Sunset merrily joined in on her friends' preparations, which took up most of her time. While it was a bittersweet experience, the thought of knowing she would be able to experience her senior formal made it bearable. Eventually, the night of the Fall Formal had arrived, and I pulled into the parking lot, spotting Flash waiting for me by his car.

Around him, students in various formal outfits made their way inside the school. Some dressed in ornate, flowing dresses. Others looked like they just woke up from a nap and threw a blazer over the t-shirt they slept in. Regardless, they entered the building in groups or pairs. I spotted Big Mac, wearing a simple red vest and a white shirt, escorting his youngest sister and her friends. A couple feet behind, several girls whispered among themselves while fawning over the farmer. Behind them, Snips and Snails sneered at the groupies, likely devising a plan to take a couple of them home. I rolled my eyes, knowing there was no way in hell a girl would willing sleep with either of them.

Considering it's those two, though, they definitely weren't going to charm girls into bed, but I pushed the implications out of my head, approaching my friend and flashing a grin.

"Lookin' good, Flash."

"Thanks. You look sharp as hell, too."

Unlike last year, he wore a closed, double-breasted black suit jacket, and underneath, a black bowtie sat over a white dress shirt. To top it off, he had matching blue cuff links and a pocket square. The ensemble was significantly more muted than his previous outfit, but it matched him nonetheless.

While Flash relied on a primary color to make his outfit pop, I elected for a purely monochromatic palette. I donned a fitted grey suit with a black shirt underneath. I also had a striped black straight tie and a black pocket square. It was simple, but just elaborate enough to not look like a last-minute wardrobe grab. I glanced down at my watch.

"Sunset's late."

Flash shrugged. "Rarity's probably fixing everyone's makeup."

I chuckled. "Makes sense. Well, wanna just head inside then?" I turned to follow the crowd of students filing into the auditorium, and Flash trailed behind me.

Walking into the gigantic hall, I was welcomed with party decorations. Balloons and party streamers lined the walls and most bits of furniture. The lights inside had been dimmed, save for the colored show of beams dancing around the room. Along the outer walls, the moonlight also provided a soft illumination. Along the wall to our left was a photo booth, likely petitioned by Photo Finish after she had struggled to take any decent photos when surrounded by crowds of dancers on all sides. At the opposite end of the wall, a tiny DJ system was set up in the corner, and a familiar blue-haired girl operated the plethora of turntables and mixers. The music consisted of popular pop songs, and the DJ did a good job of mixing and fading the music as needed. Judging from her energy, though, she wasn't having too much fun. Next to the booth, the stage was empty, curtains down. The stairs were blocked off, keeping people away until the winner of the Fall Formal crown was chosen.

On the right side were a handful of tables with assorted confectionaries as well as a couple of fancy-looking punch bowls. In each corner as well as the wall adjacent to the entrance, a few chairs and benches provided spaces for people to rest their feet after hours of partying, and out in the hallway, a couple benches had been left for people who wanted to rest further away from the music, though much of the halls had been blocked off with stanchion ropes preventing students from sneaking off. Along the walls of the auditorium and the accessible parts of the halls, adults lounged around, watching out for any miscreants. If any of them were excited to be there, their outfits certainly didn't express that sentiment.

Despite the booming music and epileptic lights, most of the people inside still shied away from the center. A large crowd had formed on the right side of the room as students pretended to focus on grabbing cupcakes or drinks, and while some groups had a couple dancers, they stayed in their corners, afraid of being watched by their peers. I turned to Flash, frown inevitably formed on my face.

"Dude... this looks like shit...-take mushroom." I gave an apologetic smile to the nearby supervisor who snapped her head right to me, glaring. "Was it really this dead last year?"

"Beats me." Flash crossed his arms. "I couldn't really pay attention 'cause... Nevermind."

"She's not here yet, so it's fine." I searched the crowd and searched for a new topic to discuss. "Y'know, I'm surprised you don't have a date. I figured someone like you could haul in any girl you wanted." I sneered at him. "Or are you still waiting for Twilight to come back?"

A blush. "Hey... A man can dream, right? Besides, you're in the same boat as me, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "It's a work in progress."

"You can say that again."

"Okay."

"Shut up. Want something from the dessert table?" He smiled. "I heard the Cakes baked fall-themed goods, like pumpkin flavored cupcakes. I haven't had those before, so I need to try something."

"Sure, surprise me."

"You got it, bud." Snaking through the mass of people along the borders of the room, Flash disappeared. Feeling awkward standing by the entrance by myself, I decided to slither along the left wall, making my way over to the only other person I felt familiar with. I snuck into the curtained booth, greeting the girl as the loud music magically faded to a bearable volume inside.

"Hey, Barista."

She groaned. "Oh, great, as if tonight couldn't get worse."

"You could be working. Imagine, another graveyard shift with no one to talk to."

"God, don't remind me." The barista twisted two channel knobs to fade into the next song. "Honestly, though, at least Cherry would've let me do more than flip between songs on a playlist."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Really? That's all you can do?"

"Yup."

"Damn." I kicked the air aimlessly. "So why do you do it?"

A shrug. "For the resume, I guess. I'm technically doing this for community service, so the school can vouch for me if I include it when I apply for a better job." She smiled. "There's that music store on the other side of town that I wanna apply to."

"Fair enough."

"Yeah. So don't fuck it up for me, okay?"

"No promises." We shared a grin.

"If you do, I'm spitting in your cup the next time you go on one of your midnight coffee runs."

"I'll make sure to switch with Sunset."

"You asshole," she groaned. "Now scram! A girl's gotta man the machines." Returning to the sound system, she waved a hand back at me, and I stepped back outside the booth. Scanning the crowd, students had slowly pushed towards the center, though there was still a substantial gap where only the most daring dancers stood. At the other end of the room, I spotted Flash standing in line, checking his phone impatiently and peeking over people's shoulders to make sure there were still sweets remaining. I texted him to meet me outside once he got his food and navigated through the sea of attendees until I exited the auditorium, walking out to the front steps of the school.

As I made my way out, there were some students lounging along the hallway, and at a bench, a couple was arguing - something about someone smelling fishy, but between the two, they couldn't agree on the culprit. Stepping out and deeply inhaling the fresh air, I took out my phone, swiping through the obligatory pre-formal photos on MyStable, when I noticed a limousine pulling up to the front of the school. I internally groaned and stepped away to go back inside, not wanting to deal with Diamond Tiara and the entourage her dad had likely hired.

However, as its doors opened, I heard a cacophony familiar voices. Whipping my head back around, I watched in awe as Sunset and her friends exited the vehicle. Their dresses, all uniquely reflecting their characteristics, were stunning. I watched Sunset stroll with the girls over to the front door. She wore a black sleeveless dress. A strap at the center of her chest wrapped around the back of her neck and connected back with itself, and at the point of connection, a orange gem shone brightly. At the bottom, the layered skirt ended just above her knee, and she held a small black clutch with an orange trim.

They greeted students as they passed them, and as they walked up the stairs, Sunset approached me, beaming.

"Hey! Lookin' snazzy!" She snapped her fingers into guns before giggling. Licking her thumb, she pressed against my sleeve and hissed, laughing yet again.

I chuckled alongside her. "Thanks, Sunset. You look good, too."

Her smile grew mischievous. "That's it? Just 'good?'"

Next to her, Rarity crossed her arms, not quite catching onto the banter. "Now that's no way to compliment a lady," she huffed. She sported a blue and purple dress, and her entire body was adorned with jewelry.

I smirked, locking eyes with Sunset. "Fine. Sunset, you're beautiful - breathtaking even - but I don't think you need me to say that."

"Well, darling, you're no Casanova, but it's a start." The purple-haired girl shrugged, but the amber girl next to her turned red.

"Oh, um, wow. Th- thanks."

"I just say it how I see it."

She nodded. "Well, I need to go check in with Vice Principal Luna before I can head inside. You all can go ahead."

Rarity and a couple others nodded, but I turned to face Sunset again.

"I can-"

"-go with you."

Rainbow Dash and I glared at each other. Around us, the girls looked amongst each other, confused.

"Uh... okay, you both can come with me." The other four girls made their way to the auditorium while Sunset, Rainbow, and I stopped by the supervisor just past the front doors. Sunset approached him, and he put a walkie talkie to his mouth before nodding at her.

She turned back to us. "The vice principal's coming, so we can just hang out here."

We lounged around one of the benches for a couple minutes before Luna arrived, Rainbow on Sunset's left and myself on her right. Like the rest of the adults, the administrator didn't dress up for the occasion, but considering she and her sister regularly dressed with a sense of formality, she blended in sufficiently enough. Next to her, though, was another woman. She had pink skin and poofy lime hair and wore a simple outfit of blue jeans and a cream-colored blouse with a floral design.

"Good evening, you three. Staying out of trouble?"

Sunset gave Luna a nervous smile. "Hopefully."

"Great." She reciprocated before gesturing to her companion. "This is Daisy, and she'll be your chaperone."

"Hi, Daisy. Pleasure to meet you." Sunset held her hand out.

The chaperone only nodded, glaring at the girl.

The vice principal cleared her throat. "If you need to go anywhere that may break sightlines, you must let Daisy know beforehand. If I hear that you intentionally separated from her, well... we'll have no choice but to bar you from future school events."

"Got it."

"Good, now if you'll excuse me, Tia should be back with some cake." The blue woman waved at us and departed, rubbing her hands excitedly.

"Wanna head in?" Sunset got up from the bench, brushing off her dress. Rainbow and I followed suit as the chaperone trailed behind. As we approached the entrance, I noticed an increase in students inside, and looking over them, I noted that more dancers had filled in the center, and it looked like the energy of the crowd was growing to an expected level. The music had likely helped everyone ease into the party as more intense and popular songs were played. I even heard a few turntable scratches that had been snuck in.

Suddenly, from the wall of bodies at the doorway, Flash dove out to safety, breathing heavily. His tie had been undone and draped around his neck, and a few upper buttons on his shirt had been undone.

"There you are!" he panted. "It was finally my turn to grab some cupcakes when people started pushing towards the center! But don't worry, I got us some treats!" He held out a plate triumphantly.

"It's empty."

Eyes bursting open, Flash glanced down. Aside from a couple sprinkles, there was no sign he had even put anything on it. His breathing became ragged and loud, and sweat began pouring down his face.

"No... no way." Leaning against the hallway wall, he slid down onto the ground. "Man..."

Rainbow and I rolled our eyes, but Sunset crouched down to him.

"We can go in line to get more." She looked over at Daisy, who nodded. "C'mon, let's go." Pulling Flash to his feet, she glanced at us. "Coming?"

I peeked over the mass of students, catching a glimpse of the roaring sea of bodies surrounding the tables. I gave a sideways glance to Rainbow, and we collectively shook our heads.

"Alright. We'll see you guys in bit!"

"That'll be a long bit." I joked. "Good luck."

With that, Sunset and Flash disappeared into the crowd.

I turned to Rainbow Dash. "Where're you headed?"

She shrugged. "Rest of the girls, I guess."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Yeah, very much." A pause. "Fine, do what you want."

"Cool, cool."

We navigated around student after student, making sure not to get too close to the dancers in the middle. Eventually, we spotted the girls at the opposite corner of the auditorium. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were talking to Fluttershy, who was nervously shuffling around in a chair. A few feet off to the side, Rarity was talking to a couple guys, cup in hand. I chuckled inside at their desperate attempts to charm her, but their attempts fell upon deaf ears. Rainbow and I approached Pinkie, who lit up even more when she saw us.

"Hey, hey, hey! Could you help us out?"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "With...?"

"We're trying to convince Fluttershy to dance with us, but she's practically glued to the chair!" We looked down at the yellow-colored girl, who was holding onto Applejack's hand. The cowgirl whispered a few words to the shy gal, but they seemed to be ineffective as her chest expanded to a comical size, and her eyes were wide with fear. Gazing over at Applejack, I noticed a bead of sweat forming at her temple, and she winced every now and then. Paying closer attention to her hand, I watched Fluttershy nearly crush it as she attempted to calm herself down.

I looked over towards the chair. "Do you want to dance?"

Fluttershy's eyes flickered everywhere except to my face. "I... don't... I don't... know." The music switched to a bass-heavy tune, and the boom of the speakers made her yelp, resulting in a hiss from Applejack.

"If you're not sure, I can wait with you until you're sure." I turned to Pinkie, who gave me a concerned look. "You two wanna go and dance, right? I'm not feeling up for it yet, so I can chill out here." She faced Applejack, who shrugged.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie glanced over at Fluttershy. "If you feel up for some dancing, Flutter, we'll be right over there!" She pointed out towards the center of the room before heading in that direction. Applejack stood up and followed Pinkie to the dance floor.

"Not gonna dance?" I snickered at Rainbow, who glared over to me.

"Very funny. What about you? Knees too rickety?"

"Ouch. You really got me. Maybe stick to soccer. At least you're good at that."

From her frown, a small smile snuck out. She leaned up against the auditorium wall, and I took the seat next to Fluttershy, facing her.

"So, how're you doing?"

"...fine."

Realizing her apprehension, I tried to dance around my main question, hoping to more easily coax out a response. "How do you feel about this year's formal compared to last?"

"It's okay."

"Anything differences that stick out to you?" I scanned the room. "Personally, I'm not a fan of a lot of the music."

"People."

"What about the people?" I gave her a quizzical look, but I was struggling to make any progress.

"...mmmrrsssing..."

"Huh?"

She twiddled her thumbs. "...embarrassing."

"'Embarrassing?'"

A nod.

"I see. You can talk to me about it if you're comfortable enough to do so. Trust me: my lips are sealed." I zipped my lips closed, eliciting a soft smile. "And as insurance, if you tell me, I'll tell you a really embarrassing secret of Rainbow's." I snapped my head over to the glaring girl. "Kidding. A secret of mine."

Fluttershy giggled, putting her hands on her thighs. "Okay."

"Cool."

"You first."

My swallowed hard, and I spotted Rainbow hiding her laughter behind a hand. Fluttershy's soft smile became unusually sly.

"Uh, we didn't agree on that."

"You never mentioned an order. Take it or leave it." She crossed her arms with a smirk.

"Counteroffer."

"Okay."

"I'll give you a bit of information, then you give me a bit of information, and we'll just go back and forth. You only have to reveal as much as you feel comfortable with."

"Deal."

We nodded in agreement, and I took a second to ponder how to approach this "game." Fluttershy never promised to keep it between us, so there was the risk of my secret getting out to the other girls. Then, I glanced over to Rainbow Dash, realizing that no matter what, my secret was getting out to the girls. However, knowing Rainbow Dash, who's to say she hasn't already told them about the-

"Girl I like."

Rainbow groaned.

"Boy likes me."

"She's here at the formal."

"Same."

"I don't think she likes me."

"I don't like him back."

"I hope I can dance with her tonight."

"I hope he doesn't see me and ask to dance tonight."

I grinned. "Are we talking about each other?"

Fluttershy giggled softly. "I hope not."

Having understood enough, we sat in silence, people-watching. Looking over to the tables, I spotted Sunset and Flash near the front of the line. Sunset said something to him with a grin, and they both laughed. A feeling of longing grew from the pit of my stomach, but I ignored it. Behind them, along the wall, Daisy continued glaring at the girl. Turning to the dance floor, bits of Applejack and Pinkie Pie appeared as the mass of students danced. The cowgirl was unsuccessfully attempting to line dance, and the confectionary queen looked like she was spazzing out on the floor. My gaze continued right, and I caught a few more interesting moments, such as one of Applejack's and Rarity's sisters attempting to mimic their friend's dance, flapping their arms like chickens, and Big Mac chatting up Miss Cheerilee, who was one of the supervisors.

Eventually, I landed on Rarity, and I squinted, catching a slight sway in her stance. Her cup of punch had seemingly been refilled, and one of the boys surrounding her offered another. Upon further inspection, I realized none of them were drinking any. One guy put an arm around her waist, and another draped an arm over her neck. Uncharacteristically, she barely reacted. Without a word, I shot up from the chair, leaving Rainbow and Fluttershy behind and quickly walking up to Rarity.

"Hey." The arms around her retreated, but I ignored the glares around me.

"Oh! Hello, daaarling." Her face was flushed, and she seemed like she couldn't decide whether to lean on me for balance. "Would you like some puuunch?" She held out her cup.

"Are you okay?"

"...hmm?"

One of them exhaled sharply. "Hey, man, can't you see we're talking?"

Another crossed his arms. "Yeah, get your own girl."

I glanced over to Rarity, but she stared aimlessly, eyes glossed over.

"What's wrong with her?"

"What?" One shrugged. "We haven't done anything."

"I didn't say you did anything." Their glares deepened as I caught his slip-up. "Rarity?"

Frown slowly forming, she mumbled something incoherent, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Last warning, dude. Scram."

One of them rolled up his sleeves.

"Rarity! Do you need help?"

Her eyelids drooped, then she collapsed into my arms.

I opened my mouth to shout, but nothing came out.

Author's Note

Word count started getting too long, so the rest will come later to maintain consistent chapter length.

Funny story: my senior prom was at SeaWorld, and they had just opened a new roller coaster. They opened it for the night for people who didn't want to dance or hang out at the tables. Well, the DJ was so awful that more people preferred waiting in line for the ride than dancing. It was essentially a loop of El Sonidito, La Chona, and Suavemente at an eardrum-shattering volume for three hours.

Again, feedback is always appreciated.

Hope you enjoyed.