Rising for Sunset [Part 3 - Wednesday]


                                            >Wake up.

                                            >Grab things.

                                            >Quick breakfast this time.

                                            >Feeling pretty good about things today.

                                            >Head for school.

                                            >You happen to meet up with Flash on the walk over.

                                            >"Well, well. Someone's looking confident today."

                                            "After all of the crap that I've gone through over the last couple of days, I think I'm feeling good."

                                            >"Good for you, man."

                                            >You talk to chat with Flash for a bit about music during your trip.

                                            >Eventually you reach Canterlot High and step inside.

                                            "Look, I understand why you like Rush. Nobody will disagree with it. But why is Xanadu your favorite track of theirs?"

                                            >"You just don't get the artistic value of it, Anon."

                                            >As you're about to give your rebuttal as to why that argument is bullshit, Fluttershy comes up.

                                            "Good morning, Anonymous."

                                            >Damnit, she's so cute.

                                            "Hey there, Fluttershy. What's up?"

                                            >"It's nothing really. I was just wondering what you thought of the English assignment that we have due for today."

                                            >You were in such a hurry to leave the class on Monday that you forgot to write it down.

                                            "Oh... Well... What was it again?"

                                            >"Anon, you really shouldn't put off your homework like that."

                                            "Yeah, I know..."

                                            >Fluttershy writes down the pages that you were supposed to read for today.

                                            >Just about then, you hear a voice call your name.


                                            >Rainbow Dash approaches you.

                                            >"I heard about your little 'competition' with Applejack yesterday."

                                            "Yes. And?"

                                            >"You may be good in her book, but you haven't proven yourself to me yet."

                                            >Fluttershy speaks up.

                                            >"Rainbow Dash, I'm surprised at you. Haven't we given Anonymous enough trouble this week?"

                                            >Another voice pipes up behind Rainbow Dash.

                                            >"Yeah, Rainbow. Anon's a decent feller."

                                            >You never would have thought before this week that anyone from the Main Six would really care about what happens to you.

                                            >Now Fluttershy AND Applejack have come to your defense.

                                            >You put your hands out to your sides.

                                            "It's fine, you guys. Really."

                                            >They seem a bit surprised to hear this response.

                                            >The only person that isn't phased by this is Rainbow.

                                            "What's it going to be, Rainbow Dash?"

                                            >"Half an hour after school lets out. Meet me out at the soccer field. And you better not chicken out."

                                            "Don't worry. I won't."

                                            >She turns and leaves without saying another thing.

                                            >Everyone else is looking at you like you're out of your mind.


                                            >Flash is the first to speak up.

                                            >"Anon, you know she's the star of the soccer team, right?"

                                            "Is she?"

                                            >Fluttershy looks worried for you, because you seem to be unprepared for everything today.

                                            >Applejack starts to lay on the skepticism.

                                            >"You know that this isn't like yesterday, right? You can't just learn to get good at a sport in less than a day."

                                            "Sure."

                                            >They all look less sure.

                                            "Look, I'm telling you guys, I'll be fine."

                                            >You turn towards the hall that leads to your next class and start walking.

                                            "Really. You don't have to worry about me today. I've got this."

                                            >At that moment, you see Pinkie Pie walking by.

                                            >She turns and calls out to you, without stopping.

                                            >"Nonny, I told you that you should get some new shoes!"

                                            >What is she talking abou-

                                            >It's happening again.

                                            >You feel the world fall out from under you.

                                            >IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN EVERY DAY?

                                            >Just before you faceplant, you come to a realization.

                                            >You forgot your new shoes at home.

                                            >You're wearing the old, shitty ones.


                                            >Nothing saves your ass this time.

                                            >You eat shit.

                                            >You can hear your comrades behind you.

                                            >A sharp breath in.

                                            >An "oooh..."

                                            >An "eep"

                                            >Before any of them can ask if you're okay, you stick out your hand and gives them a thumbs up before peeling yourself off the floor and dusting yourself off.

                                            >The rest of your morning passes without anything else going wrong.

                                            >Well, almost.

                                            >A power outage happened while you were typing a paper and you lost half of it.

                                            >You came pretty close to having that solution blow up in your face during chemistry.

                                            >But you made it to lunch just fine.

                                            >You get your tray filled up and have a seat with Flash.

                                            >After a little while, you hear your phone go off.

                                            >Looks like you've got a text.


                                            >You don't recognize the number, but you check it anyway.

                                            >"I hope you don't mind, but I got your number from Pinkie Pie."

                                            >Okay, so that explains that much.

                                            >It still doesn't explain how PINKIE has your number, but you know it's better not to ask.

                                            >"I'm really sorry about all of this. Would you be willing to meet with me before school tomorrow so we can talk about it?"

                                            >It's from Sunset Shimmer.

                                            >She wants to clear all of this up.

                                            >Maybe today is as good as you thought it would be after all.

                                            >As the bell rings for classes to resume, you send her a text back saying that you will.

                                            >Your next class period passes uneventfully.

                                            >That leads you up to... English again.

                                            >"Today I'd like you to fill out these worksheets on the reading."

                                            >That can't be good.

                                            >You only skimmed the reading after Fluttershy gave you the page numbers-

                                            >"I will allow you to partner up for this.

                                            >The room is instantly a massive shift of people trying to sit by their best friends so that they can chat.

                                            >After the room settles, you're sitting next to Fluttershy.

                                            >She didn't notice you for a moment and nearly jumps out of her seat.

                                            "So... partners?"


                                            >"O-okay. Sure, Anon."

                                            >You both work on the worksheet packet.

                                            >But mostly Fluttershy.

                                            >You help out where you can, but it requires a lot of reading the text thoroughly for the first time.

                                            >It's going well, but it seems like there's something else on her mind.

                                            "Fluttershy?"

                                            >"Yes, Anonymous?"

                                            "Are you still worried about how I'm going to deal with Rainbow Dash later?"

                                            >"N-no, of course not..."

                                            >That doesn't sound convincing.

                                            "Really? Because you sound nervous."

                                            >"Well.. maybe a little bit. Rainbow Dash is a really good athlete, and I just don't want you to feel bad if you can't win."

                                            "It's really okay, Fluttershy. Thank you for being concerned about me, but I promise you that I know what I'm getting myself into. So don't worry about it anymore, okay?"

                                            >"O-okay. If you say so."

                                            >She gives you a small smile after you reassure her.

                                            >You two wrap up the assignment and write your name on it.

                                            >She has beautiful, cursive handwriting.

                                            >Damnit, everything about her is adorable.

                                            >The bell rings and you split off from Fluttershy to go wait for your challenge against Rainbow Dash.


                                            >It's almost time.

                                            >You're ready.

                                            >You KNOW that you're ready.

                                            >You throw open the door and step out onto the field.

                                            >"Looks like you didn't chicken out after all."

                                            >Rainbow Dash is standing at midfield with a soccer ball trapped under her foot.

                                            >Scanning the field, you can see Fluttershy and Applejack are both sitting in the stands to watch this.

                                            >No Flash this time though.

                                            >Your eyes settle on Dash again.

                                            "Nope."

                                            >"That's fine with me. I'll beat you anyway."

                                            >She kicks up the ball and catches it.

                                            >"First to score ten goals wins.

                                            >You nod and take your position on one side of the line.

                                            >Dash places the ball.

                                            >Fluttershy lines up at the center from off-field.

                                            >"Ready?"

                                            >There's a long hesitation before she finally blurts out:

                                            >"Go!"


                                            >Before you can even move, the ball shoots past you with Rainbow Dash in hot pursuit.

                                            >You try to maneuver around her to get it back, but she is FAST.

                                            >She shoots...

                                            >She scores.

                                            >The game just started she's already ahead of you by a point.

                                            >She turns to look at you and the look on her face is SO SMUG.

                                            >"You sure you don't wanna just give up now?"

                                            >You put on your game face.

                                            "Never."

                                            >You reset for the next one...

                                            >Ready to go this time, you manage to get the first kick in and start dribbling the ball down the field.

                                            >She hasn't caught up to you after a couple of seconds, and this is starting to feel good.

                                            >Even if your soccer technique is awful.

                                            >Just then, it happens again.

                                            >You slip in the grass and Rainbow dashes by, stealing the ball.

                                            >By the time you right yourself again, it's already too late to stop her.

                                            >She scores again.

                                            >And again.

                                            >And again.

                                            >And again.

                                            >It keeps happening until she has nine goals to your zero.

                                            >Then it happens.

                                            >"ANON! CATCH!"

                                            >You turn to see something sailing through the air towards you.

                                            >You catch it.

                                            >It's the new tennis shoes you bought yesterday.

                                            >Flash is here.


                                            >You grin.

                                            "Flash, you son of a bitch! You broke into my house for a pair of shoes?"

                                            >"Just lookin' out for you, man!"

                                            >You look to Rainbow Dash and call a time out.

                                            >You kneel down and start untying the shoes that have been causing a lot of shit the past few days.

                                            >"What difference is a pair of shoes going to make? I only need one more point to win!"

                                            >You block her out.

                                            >Flash is amping up the mood the only way he knows how to:

                                            >By playing his guitar.

                                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONcxeHUxmaU

                                            >You slip your feet into the new shoes and tie the old ones together by the laces.

                                            >You turn and throw them hard.

                                            >They land in a nearby dumpster with a satisfying thud.

                                            >You turn to Rainbow Dash.

                                            "It. Is. ON."

                                            >You walk up to the starting position again, ready and raring to go.


                                            >Rainbow Dash is surprised this time when you actually slip past her with the ball.

                                            >You can feel the fire within.

                                            >Dash is quickly catching up to you.

                                            >Pushing yourself, you can see that you're approaching the goal.

                                            >You're NOT going to slip this time.

                                            >She's outpacing you.

                                            >This is all you.

                                            >She's ahead of you now, but you see an opening.

                                            >You shoot!

                                            >Everything happens in slow motion.

                                            >Your foot makes contact with the ball.

                                            >It streaks through the air.

                                            >Rainbow Dash whips around and throws a kick.

                                            >It connects with the ball.

                                            >Everything suddenly speeds up again as a black and white shape blurs over your head.

                                            >You turn around to pursue it.

                                            >It looks like a rainbow just shoots right past your face.

                                            >She kicks the ball...

                                            >And it's over.


                                            >Rainbow Dash scores her tenth goal.

                                            >Flash stops playing instantly.

                                            >Everyone in the stands generally just looks down.

                                            >Rainbow Dash immediately starts gloating.

                                            >"AW, YEAH! Who's awesome? I'm awesome!"

                                            >She turns to you.

                                            >"So, what do you have to say NOW, Anon?"

                                            >You stand your ground.

                                            "Re-match. Right here. Right now."

                                            >"Wha? I just THRASHED you ten to nothing and you want to go again?"

                                            "That's right."

                                            >There's a moment where she doesn't know how to respond.

                                            >"F-Fine then. Have it your way. But don't start crying if you lose again!"


                                            >You won't go out like this.

                                            >You refuse to go out like this.

                                            >The game starts again.

                                            >You keep putting your all into it.

                                            >Rainbow Dash keeps walking all over you.

                                            >It's a total blow-out.

                                            >Again.

                                            "Again."

                                            >"Ugh, are you kidding?"

                                            >You play her again.

                                            >You get stomped again.

                                            >You're both starting to get tired, you more than her.

                                            "Again."


                                            >"What is your DEAL Anon? It doesn't matter how many times we do this, you're not going to win!"

                                            >You look at her with a fierce look in your eyes.

                                            "Because I won't back down. Not anymore."

                                            >She looks surprised to hear this.

                                            >You think back to your encounter with Sunset on Monday.

                                            "I already made the mistake of getting in my own way, and I'm sure as hell not going to let anyone, even you, stop me either."

                                            >There's a long silence as you stare her down.

                                            >The air is still, no one says a thing.

                                            >Rainbow Dash walks over to you...

                                            >"You just stood up for what you believe in. You have guts dude. A lot of guts."

                                            >She extends a hand to you with a smile.

                                            >"You know... you're alright by me, Anon."


                                            >You shake Rainbow's hand, which quickly turns into a fist bump that you almost don't manage to reciprocate.

                                            >Fluttershy, Applejack, and Flash are cheering from the stands.

                                            >You smile.

                                            "Thanks Rainbow Dash. You're probably not so bad either."

                                            >She rolls her eyes.

                                            >"Yeah, well, I AM pretty awesome. But you're cooler than I thought you were. Good luck working things out with Sunset."

                                            >You nod to Rainbow Dash before departing from the field.

                                            >You spend the walk home talking to Flash, laughing about the whole thing as he recalls just how bad you got wrecked.

                                            >When you get home, you go straight to your room and lie down on the bed.

                                            >You're exhausted from going three rounds with Rainbow Dash.

                                            >But that's not surprising.

                                            >Not giving up had been your plan all along.

                                            >And tomorrow morning, you're going to meet with Sunset Shimmer and settle this whole mess.


                                            END OF WEDNESDAY.