Felicity

Two hours later, on the ride home, that smile still lingered. It was a soft and subtle and stealthy thing—but it was there. Where only Flash could notice it, feel it, focus on it. His gaze lingered out the window of the rear passenger compartment, lost in the blur of colors streaming by, imagining that they eventually comprised the flow of hers.

What transpired between the meeting and then—Flash barely noticed. The last round of games were played. The CHS team was 2 and 0. The older siblings and their friends chose to go out for victorious refreshments, but Sunset and Twilight chose to say their goodbyes and head home instead. No doubt it had something to do with being saddled with the dead weight that was Flash...

...but for once, the guilt of the matter didn't resonate with him. Why feel guilty when there were so many beautiful things in this world? Beautiful smells and beautiful skin and beautiful smiles...

And yet, when she spoke to him... when she deigned to throw her heavenly melodies his way...

It was almost as if she was treating him as something even prettier...

A sigh escaped his lips. Something warm and sprinkled with enthusiasm. It was a very different taste than what he was used to.

Someone else in the car evidently sampled it: "So... are you going to tell us, Flash?"

He was distracted from his blur-gazing, but not enough to forget her smile. For that reason—if nothing else—he wasn't upset. "Tell you what, Sunset?"

The telepath looked in the rear view mirror at him. Bright turquoise eyes mirthful and curious. "Who was the woman you spoke with earlier?" Her voice had a harmonic tone to it, suggesting that the reality she inquired about was more pressing than anything he could illuminate about it. There was no pretending that he didn't hear her; Spike was having a puppy nap in the child seat and Twilight Sparkle concentrated on the road ahead. "I saw you sitting with her in the middle of your stroll around the fields."

Flash simply continued gazing out the window, his chin pressed against his palm. She had blue eyeshadow and nail polish... like his own hair. He realized he was delaying an answer to Sunset. It wasn't that he wanted to be rude or spiteful, but there were times when he wondered what the point was in answering a telepath out loud.

Sunset suppressed a snicker. "I'm simply trying to be polite, Flash," she answered his head. "She looked very pretty~"

"Mmmmmmmmm..." Flash exhaled dreamily. "Yeah..."

"Are you going to tell us her name~?"

He had every reason to believe she already knew her name. Nevertheless, he oblidged: "Cadance," he said.

The car accelerated and decelerated in time with Twilight's happy gasp. "Cadance?!" She beamed into the rear view mirror, and for a heart-throbbing few seconds Flash saw yer electrified eyes. "You got to speak with Cadance?! Oh gosh, Flash, I'm so envious!"

Flash craned his neck slightly towards the driver's seat. "You know her?"

"Pffft! Do I know her??" Twilight gripped the wheel tight as she smiled at the green lights up ahead. "She's a long-time friend of the family. She was my babysitter for as long as I could remember as a child! Then—when I went to Crystal Prep—she was my mentor and closest confidant. Besides Spike, of course... eheh..."

Sunset looked over at her. "She became principal—what—five years ago?"

"Mmmhmmm!" Twilight nodded briskly. "Almost immediately after the school board fired Cinch. Oh goodness... I was so very happy for her! Y'know she's the whole reason I was able to get transferred to CHS in the first place, right?"

"Yes, Twilight..." Sunset reached over and squeezed her girlfriend's shoulder with a loving smile. "You mention it at least four times every month~"

"What did you and Cadance talk about, huh?" Twilight grinned into the mirror again. "Oh—I've missed her so much these days. She always seems so busy lately. I swear! We only meet once a week these days!"

"Snrkkk..." Sunset held a hand over her beautiful face, stifling a giggle. "Oh, how terrible for you, Twi..."

"She must have been there today to provide moral support to the Crystal Prep soccer team."

"Fat lot of good that did." Sunset folded her arms. "CHS whooped their butts in the last match."

"Yes, well, Cadance is awesome but her school doesn't have the Crusaders."

"Well put~"

"Well, Flash?" Twilight glanced back at him as they paused at a red light. "What did you think?"

"She..." Flash breathed. "She... ..." He breathed some more. His nostrils tickled with the Midnight Meadows. Even through time and the trailing scent of grass and sweat, he felt like he was sniffing her wrist and being cradled in a pink cloud of warmth and wisdom and whimsy. ".... ... ..." He exhaled, hugging himself. "...she was nice."

"Heeheehee..." Twilight pushed the car into a brisk cruise as the light turned green. "She is, isn't she~?" A warm sigh of her own. "Best big sister I never had. And not just because she was a good babysitter!"

Flash gazed out at the zooming world. A dumb smile crossed his face. He wished she was his babysitter.

Sunset Shimmer giggled explosively.

Twilight glanced aside at her. "What...?"

"Ahem... nothing... just drive safe, Twilight." Flash could see her turquoise eyes winking at him through the rear mirror.

He drew his hoodie over his head—if only to hide a pleasant, rosy blush. As if his skin was trying to mimic hers.