Rain at Sunset
by OldTimer
It was the end of semester at Canterlot High, and everyone was busy getting ready for the upcoming finals. Like the election of the Fall Princess, the battle of the bands and the Dazzlings had become another unusual memory for the students of Canterlot High. Once again, life was back on its usual track.
Sunset Shimmer was in the library, an undefined number of tomes scattered on the reading table in front of her. Although she had been living in the human world for a while, physics was still quite a challenge for her Equestrian mind. Her friends, as well as everyone else, had gone home hours ago. A female voice broke the silence of the library.
"Still here, Sunset Shimmer? The library is closing in fifteen minutes"
It was Miss Cheerilee, the History teacher and keeper of CH library. Sunset Shimmer rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock on the wall, then at the woman that spoke to her.
"I'm sorry, Miss Cheerilee, I didn't realize it was this late. I'll put back these books and go home right away" she said, smiling at her teacher.
Miss Cheerilee stepped closer to the table and took one of the books to read the title.
“Physics, uh? Need any help with that?”
“I think I’ve finally figured out how this all works”
“Good for you! Now let’s put these back and call it a day, there’s a big rainstorm coming and we better hurry”
A few moments later, every book was back on its shelf.
“All done!” Miss Cheerilee said in her usual cheerful tone “the library is ready for tomorrow!”
She gave a knock at the shelf, unaware of the dusty stack of theatrical props that was precariously placed on top of it. One second later, Sunset Shimmer was covered in a pile of dirty rags, sawdust and chalk powder.
“Ouch”
Miss Cheerilee helped Sunset Shimmer to get up and groaned.
“The Drama club.” she said in a flat tone.
Sunset Shimmer shook off most of the dust from her hair and clothes, raising a grey cloud around her. She coughed loudly.
“I better go take a quick shower”
“I concur” Miss Cheerilee said, coughing in turn. “Go now, I’ll leave a note for the janitor”
Sunset Shimmer took a brisk walk to the gym. Like the rest of the school, it was empty. She went directly into the female locker room and started undressing. She placed her clothes on a bench and entered the showers. Just before she could get under the water, she heard a voice coming from behind her.
“Look girls, Christmas came early this year!”
Sunset Shimmer turned around, immediately covering herself with her arms. Standing in front of the entrance door to the showers room, three well known figures were looking at her. One of them was holding her clothes.
“What do we have here?” Adagio Dazzle asked her two friends.
“The little singing brat that destroyed our amulets” Aria Blaze replied.
"Are her boobs bigger than mine?" Sonata added.
"Shut up, you bird brain"
Instinctively, Sunset Shimmer stepped back, trying to find a way out of that awkward situation. Unfortunately, the only exit was blocked by the three girls in front of her and the fact that she was stark naked didn't help too.
“What do you three want?” she snarled.
“Oh, just a little payback for humiliating us.”
"Listen girls, we don't need any of this. Why don't you give me back my clothes and we call it even?"
"Oh, but I quite like these things" Adagio said, an evil smirk on her face while she held Sunset Shimmer's jacket in her hand "In fact, I think I'm going to keep them for me. After all, friendship is sharing, isn't it?"
“Give me back my clothes!”
Sunset Shimmer stepped forward, ready to face her foes.
“Not so fast, pretty girl” Adagio said, holding her phone in front of her. Sunset Shimmer cringed.
“Unless you want me to take a few pictures, you’ll stay here and be a good girl”
Naked and powerless, Sunset Shimmer watched the three girls go away with her clothes. She heard the locker room’s door being closed and their laughs fading as they got away. She paced in the locker room for a few moments, looking for something to cover herself with, but there was nothing. Just empty hangers. She sat on a bench, tears swelling her eyes.
“What am I going to do now?”
She went to the door and peeked inside the gym. It was completely empty. Mustering all of her courage, she bolted out of the locker room and headed towards the gym’s door. She leaned against the door, panting.
I have to find a way out of this situation.
There was no sound coming from the corridor. The library was just a few steps away.
Maybe I can go back to the library and use some of that stuff that fell on me to cover myself.
She took a deep breath, then opened the door and jumped outside. Her run was interrupted by a quite large, human-shaped object that appeared out of nowhere in front of her. Unable to stop her momentum, she knocked off the sudden obstacle and fell over it. To her utmost surprise, it was warm and apparently covered in cloth.
“Waah!” the object cried as she hit it.
In a split second, Sunset Shimmer realized that she had just knocked off someone and was now sitting on top of his chest. In a desperate attempt to save her dignity, she covered his eyes with her hands.
“Hey! What’s the big idea?” he said, still trying to understand what had just happened.
“I… I’m terribly sorry!”
He grabbed her wrists. She panicked.
“Please no!” she implored, on the brink of bursting in tears for the embarrassment of that situation.
“Why are you covering my eyes?”
“Because if I remove my hands you will see me!”
“That’s the whole point of having eyes!”
“Listen, I… I can’t let you see me right now!”
“And the reason for this would be…”
“I’m…” her tongue became dry as her embarrassment meter reached level ‘where no man has ever been’. The first tears started running down her face.
“Wait a second, I know this voice! Are you Sunset Shimmer? Is this some kind of joke?”
“Oh, believe me, I really wish it was. Listen, the reason I can’t let you see me is that I’m… I'm naked! There, I said it!” she immediately bit her lip after these words came out of her mouth.
"Why are you naked?"
"Oh, I'm just the kind of pervert that wanders through school without clothes hoping to knock someone off"
"Seriously?"
"Of course not! Those three bitches stole my clothes while I was showering!"
The boy took a few seconds to let his brain process the information it was just given. Ok, so I’m laying here in one of the school’s hallways, with the most popular girl in the school sitting naked on my chest and covering my eyes like her life depends on it. I can think of at least seventeen worse situations to be in.
He released her wrists and sighed, lowering his arms and spreading them on the floor to avoid any accidental contact.
“Now what?” he asked.
“I… Just give me a moment to think!”
A very awkward minute passed, with no word spoken from either of them. Sunset Shimmer broke the silence.
“First of all: what’s your name?”
“Bullet. Silver Bullet”
“You don’t happen to have some spare clothes available, do you?”
“Sorry. Gym clothes were dirty so I brought them home yesterday”
“Great, just great” she snorted.
“May I venture a friendly suggestion?”
“Go on”
“I really think we should get up and find someplace to hide”
Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer realized they were openly visible in the middle of a corridor, and she was practically riding him. Completely naked.
“Suggestion accepted. Let’s move”
Slowly, she let him stand up while keeping her hands on his eyes. It took them several seconds, but eventually they managed to return in a standing position. Sunset Shimmer noticed that he was a good seven inches taller than her. Her heart rate was so high that she could feel every single beat reverberate in her ears. With a quick movement she zoomed behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders. Silver Bullet opened his eyes and tried to turn his head around, but she grabbed him to prevent any further movement.
“Look in front of yourself, soldier!”
“Aye aye, Cap’n”
The crack of a thunder rumbled in the sky, followed by the pelting sound of a rainstorm.
“I’m opened to more suggestions” she said.
“First of all, let’s go somewhere more discreet”
“Good. Make way”
He moved forward, while Sunset Shimmer followed every step and did her best to hide behind him. They entered an empty classroom and hid in the space between the door and the wall. Finally away from prying eyes, Sunset Shimmer sighed in relief and leaned on Bullet’s back.
“Uh, Sunset Shimmer?” his voice had a heated tone.
“Yes?”
“You’re… poking me”
She realized that her nipples were hard as rocks, and her breasts were pressed against his back. Blushing furiously, she yelped and pulled away.
“We need to get out of school”
“Hello? I’m naked!”
“You don’t need to point that out every five seconds!”
Another awkward minute passed. Once again, Sunset Shimmer was the first to speak.
“Do you live far from school?”
“Just a couple of miles. How about you?”
“My place is out of the question. It’s a twenty minutes bus ride from here.”
Silence. Again.
“If we could get to my apartment, we could get you some clothes”
“That would be nice, but I’d like you to notice that I’m still. Friggin’. Naked”
He paused, then an idea struck him. It was a risky plan, but they were running out of time and it looked like a doable option.
“So, here’s the plan: we reach my locker and take the emergency raincoat that I keep inside it, then we put it on and go to my place where we can get you properly dressed”
“Sounds like a good plan, but you forgot one little detail, Einstein: I’m not exactly suited for walking outside. Any plan B?” she said, lifting her leg so she could show him her bare foot.
Problems. Always problems. Nice foot, though.
“Then what if I carry you on my back? It’ll look like I’m carrying a large backpack under the raincoat”
"Large backpack? Are you calling me fat?"
Smooth move, genius. There’s a girl on the verge of a mental breakdown behind you and you use one of the no-no words.
"Wrong choice of words. My bad. Can I add in my defence that the situation is a bit odder than my usual afternoons?"
She sighed again.
"Sorry. It's just that... well... You must think I'm some sort of freak, after all the stuff that happened with me around. But I do assure you that exhibitionism is not on the list."
"What stuff?"
"You know, the Fall Princess election where I turned into a raging demon and tried to enslave the whole school and lately the sirens that almost ate everyone during the battle of the bands..."
"Wait, is that all true?"
"Didn't you see it for yourself?"
"I transfered into this school this year, so I missed the election. As for the battle, I usually work on weekends. Plus, I can't stand that Flash Sentry guy"
"You know we used to date, right?"
"You dated that numbskull? The guy that once kept putting money in a broken vending machine for twenty minutes?"
"Wait, what?"
“I’d love to tell you this story, but we really need to move. School will close in a few minutes. So, are we ok with the plan?”
“We don’t really have many other options, do we?”
“Nope. Unless you know a way to turn yourself invisible”
I actually know one, but my magic does not work here, she thought, avoiding to mention her equine origins.
“Let’s go”
Carefully, they went through a couple of corridors, constantly looking around and hiding behind every corner. Luckily, the school was deserted. The sound of the rain was the only audible one. They finally reached the last corner before entering the main hallway. Luckily, it looked like that everyone else had already left the building. They looked at the clock on the wall: it was almost 6pm, meaning the janitors were about to close the doors and start cleaning.
“We’re almost there, my locker is in the first row”
That meant the locker was dangerously close to the entrance doors. Glass doors to be exact, and with the cafe just across the street (which was probably crowded with people waiting for the rain to slow down), Sunset Shimmer didn’t want to take any risk of being seen in her birthday suit. She cringed, tightening her grasp to his shoulders.
“What’s wrong?”
“The doors. Someone could see me from the cafe”
“Ok, you wait here. I’m going to the locker and take the raincoat. it’ll take less than a minute”
Less than a minute in which she would have been fully exposed. It was a risk, but they were getting out of time.
“Ok” she sighed, releasing his shoulders.
As he made the first step away from her, she immediately crouched down, tightly holding her knees in her arms, desperately trying to leave the smallest portion of her naked body exposed. She heard the locker’s door being opened and then closed, then the sound of steps coming closer. Seconds later, he was standing in front of her, holding the mean of her escape: a dark green piece of folded oilcloth that once unfolded revealed itself as a quite large army-style raincoat. Looking at that thing, Sunset Shimmer reckoned that it was long enough to reach his ankles and wide enough to accommodate both of them. With a little luck, no one would notice that there were two people under the hood.
“Ready?”
“Let’s do this!”
Getting under the raincoat turned out to be more difficult than expected: first they had to fasten all the buttons and cover her with it, then, once she was finally no more exposed, he had to turn over and crouch so she could lift the raincoat enough to slid it over him and then let him stand up. In the end, she was practically on him. They adjusted the hood and closed the collar.
“A little cramped in here” he said, feeling the pressure of her breasts against his back.
“Let’s just get over with this”
With a final, even more awkward move, she climbed on his back, clinging to him with arms and legs. She let out a high-pitched squeal when he slid his arms under her thighs to have a better hold on her.
“Let’s go”
The main door closed behind them as they started their journey across town.
***
Adagio Dazzle and the rest of her mischievous party were sitting at a table in the cafe and looking through the window at the school gate, enjoying what they thought was their victory. They saw the cloaked figure coming out of the main door and setting out in the rain.
“Nope. Just some fatso in an army raincoat” Sonata said.
“You sure she’s not her?”
“Nah, it’s definitely a guy. Look at the shoes.”
“Do you think she’s still in the shower room?” Aria Blaze asked.
“Maybe. Maybe she’s hiding somewhere else. In any case, she’s bound to be found out sooner or later”
“What are we going to do with her clothes?”
“Throw them away. I have no use for that stuff”
“I’m hungry”
“Me too”
***
The rain was so thick that it practically created a water wall, making it difficult to see more than thirty feet away. Loaded with the extra weight of Sunset Shimmer on his back, Silver Bullet had to be extremely careful with each step. The thick waterproof cloth was protecting them from the water, but at the same time didn’t let any air in or out. This, together with the peculiar situation they were in, had the result of a rapid increase of temperature. They were both abundantly sweating, in spite of the rather cold external air. Sunset Shimmer’s naked body was slowly becoming slippery, forcing her to clench tighter to Silver Bullet, who, on the other side, was doing his best to avoid thinking about the fact that, de facto, the cargo he was carrying was undeniably a sweaty, healthy naked girl. Even without a mirror, he was pretty sure his face could compete with a ripe tomato in a ‘who shows the deepest shade of red’ competition.
“So,” he asked, mentally taking note that his voice had an unusual higher tone “had any interesting experiences lately?”
“Uh, pretty much the usual stuff. School, friends, band practice. How about you?”
“Well, there is that one time I wandered through town carrying a naked chick on my back”
“Can you avoid using that word please?”
“Which word?”
“The one that starts with an n! I’m very sensitive about that word right now...”
“Naked?”
“That one! I would really appreciate if you stopped using that word…” she said, her cheeks turning crimson.
“Fine” he said, smirking “There’s no need to get angry, Mrs. Grumpypants. Or should I call you Mrs. Nopantsatall?”
“Oh, stop it!”
Twenty minutes later, they finally reached their destination. It was an apartment complex, the kind with stores at ground level and three upper storeys, with external balconies that served as hallway. Each upper storey had twelve doors and twelve windows.
“You live here?”
“Yep. It’s cheap and quiet.”
Silver Bullet had been panting profusely during the last part of the trip. The effort of carrying Sunset Shimmer on his back all the time had taken its toll on his muscles. He was relieved that it was finally over. He spent his last remaining energy climbing the stairs to the first floor and reaching his apartment’s door. As they finally arrived in front of the entrance, he almost fell down in exhaustion. He looked at the doorknob, sighing.
“Houston, we have a problem”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to open the door”
“Well, do it!”
“I’d love to, but my keys are in my pocket. And my hands are a little full at the moment. Can I put you down for a second?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Hence the problem part. I’m almost at my limit.”
Sunset Shimmer pondered his words. Sure it looked like the balcony was clear, but she didn’t want to risk someone from the street noticing that there was a second pair of legs coming out of the raincoat. Moreover, a pair of naked legs. She let out a big sigh.
“I’ll do it”
“Do what?”
“I’ll take the keys and open the door”
“You sure?”
“No”
“Ok. Any other ideas?”
She let out another sigh.
“Which one? Left or right?”
“Right one”
Tightening her legs around his waist, she pressed her chest on his back, keeping one arm around his neck and freeing the other one. She reached his pocket and slowly slid her hand inside it. He quivered at the touch of her fingers. A thin layer of fabric was the only thing that separated her fingertips from his groin. His warm, sweaty groin.
Calm down, Sunset Shimmer. You’re just looking for some keys.
After what seemed to be an eternity in which neither of them dared to say a single word, Sunset Shimmer grabbed the keys from his pocket. She moved her arm so she could slid her hand out of the raincoat and scrabbled the door trying to find the keyhole. The collar and the tightened hood were blocking her visual, but somehow she managed to open the door. Moments later, they finally were inside.
Safe, finally.
She climbed down from his back. As soon as her feet touched the floor, he let out a long, painful sigh.
“Just… give me a moment to catch my breath” he said, panting. The back of his shirt was drenched in their sweat.
He slowly unfastened the front buttons of the raincoat, finally coming out of it. Sunset Shimmer grabbed the flaps and covered herself before he turned around. She looked at him, his face was flushed and his shirt was completely soaked.
“Bathroom is over there, feel free to use the shower. Clean towels are in the cabinet” he said, pointing at a sliding door behind him.
“Thank you” she said before heading inside.
She closed the door behind her and switched the lights on. The bathroom was quite small, but clean and well organized. She took off the raincoat and looked at her reflection in the mirror: she was messy, drenched in a mixture of their sweat and still completely naked. Her chest and belly were empurpled from the contact with Silver Bullet’s back.
His warm, sweaty back. This thought made her cheeks turn crimson. She shook her head and drew out a clean towel and a bathrobe from the cabinet, then opened the shower, getting inside as soon as the water reached a warm temperature. A couple of minutes later, she heard a knock at the door. Silver Bullet’s voice came from the other side.
“Is everything ok in there?”
“Yes”
“Great, I’m going out to get something to eat. How about some Chinese food?”
She felt her stomach grumble. Food was definitely a good idea.
“Sounds great,” she said “just remember I don’t eat meat”
“Me neither. I’ll leave some clothes you can wear, see you in about twenty minutes”
Sunset Shimmer came out of the shower feeling a whole new girl. She put on the bathrobe and wrapped a towel around her head, then came out of the bathroom. The room was silent, as Bullet was still out getting dinner. She took the chance to give a better look at the place. It was a small L-shaped room, not bigger than two hundred square feet. There was a simple kitchen corner made of a stove, a small fridge and a couple of cabinets, while on the other side there were a closet, a sofa and a few other pieces of furniture that completed the setting. She was pleased to find out that the place was clean and tidy, a perfect little apartment.
She smiled as she noticed the clothes that Silver Bullet had left for her on the table: a pair of lounge pants and a tshirt. She took the clothes and went back into the small bathroom to get changed. Although they were way too big for her, the feeling of being able to finally wear something again made Sunset Shimmer smile with joy. She struggled to tie the string of the pants tight enough to avoid losing them at every step and then put on the shirt. Finally, she found the hair dryer under the bathroom sink and plugged it in.
Silver Bullet was placing the bag with the dinner on the table when Sunset Shimmer came out of the bathroom. For the first time since bumping into each other earlier that afternoon, he was finally able to look at her without problems. This allowed him to realize something incredibly relevant: Sunset Shimmer was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. They stared at each other for a good minute before bursting out in a liberating peal of laughter. Laughter that for Sunset Shimmer quickly transformed into crying. All the fear and stress that she had somehow kept under control had finally broken the banks of her emotions. She brought her hands to her eyes and started rubbing them in a vain attempt to stop her tears. When Silver Bullet took her in his arms, the dam crumbled completely and she planted her face on his chest, bawling like a child.
***
Empty food containers were stacked on the coffee table and the tv was on. Sunset Shimmer and Silver Bullet were peacefully sitting on the sofa, watching a movie. He grabbed the fortune cookie from the table and handed it to Sunset Shimmer.
“Wanna check what’s in your future?”
“Sure, why not”
She removed the packaging and broke the cookie in half, unrolling the tiny piece of paper that was inside it. She read the words and chuckled, then crumpled the ticket up and threw it into one of the empty boxes.
“Something absurd?”
She moved closer to him and placed his arm on her shoulders.
“Can I stay here for tonight?”
“I was afraid you’d never ask it”
She kissed his cheek, then leaned on him. Meanwhile, the main character on the screen had just saved an entire city from a crazy terrorist, rescued the pretty lady and avenged his best friend’s death.
“So, what did the fortune cookie say?”
“Does it matter?”
“Nah”
***
The new day had brought clear skies and a sunny morning. Groups of students were crowding the front gate of Canterlot High, waiting for the bell to announce the start of another school day. Among these groups, there was one of five girls near the trademark statue in front of the building.
“So, has anyone heard anything from Sunset Shimmer?” Rainbow Dash asked her friends.
“Nope. Haven’t seen or heard from her since yesterday” Applejack said.
“She didn’t reply to any of my texts. Wonder what kept her so busy that she didn’t even bother to check her phone” Rarity added.
“Maybe she was too busy studying and turned it off”
“Yeah, probably studying anatomy” Pinkie Pie added with a smirk on her face, “Why don’t we go ask her? She’s right there”
As everyone turned around to look at where the pink haired girl was pointing, silence fell. Sunset Shimmer was walking on the sidewalk next to Silver Bullet. By the looks of it, she appeared to be floating a few inches above the ground.
“Whoa Nelly! Who is that guy?”
“I think I’ve seen him around campus, but I don’t really know him”
“They are suspiciously close to each other”
“Is she holding his arm?”
“She totally is!”
“Are her clothes three sizes bigger than usual?”
“Girls, looks like we have quite a story to hear...”
