It was always odd how, every once in a while, the day and the environment around us sometimes acts as the complete opposite to how we’re feeling. Sometimes, we can be down and gloomy on a bright and sunny day, and on others, we can be utterly joyous on a day that’s suffering from dark clouds and heavy rain. Such was the day today, as it was marked by not only bright sunshine, but also an unseasonal warmth, which put smiles on the faces of many in the town of Canterlot. However, for one group of people, this was, as expected, the exact antithesis of how they were all feeling. Twilight, standing outside the front door of Canterlot High, was looking about as sad and glum as one could expect to. Likewise, her friends, all of whom surrounded her, all looked just as down or uncomfortable with every step they took. It was a silent journey between them, and they all made their way towards the still-ruined horse statue at the front of the school.

“Well…at least we got to see Twilight again, right?”

Pinkie’s words were about as bubbly and upbeat as she usually was, but her efforts to cheer up her companions proved to be less than successful, as all of them bore looks of sheer melancholy during the walk, causing her to become silent herself as they finally reached their destination. Twilight, placing her hand upon the portal entrance, let out a sigh before turning to Sunset.

“I really messed up, didn’t I?”

Sunset looked to her, bearing a soft expression, and gently placed her hand upon Twilight’s shoulder.

“Twilight…you didn’t do what you did out of malice. And Flash…well…I’m sure he still cares about you.”

Twilight looked to her, still looking concerned.

“How? I know he said as much, but…how can you know that?”

Smiling, Sunset gave a brief chuckle before giving the young princess her answer.

“Trust me…I know when he cares.”

Twilight thought on those words, though how she truly felt about them was anybody’s guess. Still, in the end, she put on a smile, though again, nobody could tell if it was a genuine one or not.

“I just…thank you, for putting up with me as much as you did. I…I appreciate it.”

All of the other girls smiled, moving closer to embrace their royal friend. Though Twilight had hardly had the most pleasant of days, this moment at the very least was worth experiencing. None of them wanted to part from her, if only because of how down they knew she felt. But, they knew that all good things must come to an end sometime, and so began to move, one by one, away from her. Twilight, smiling to each in turn, let out a brief sigh, before looking down to Spike. Like the rest of them, he too had been worried about her, but, after reaching down and patting him on the head, Twilight silently let him know that she was fine. Getting back up, both her and Spike looked to the portal, and, as before, she raised a hand, ready to touch it and head back to Equestria. But, that was before she heard a certain voice call out to her.

“Twilight!”

Just like the last time she heard that voice, the young princess stopped, as indeed did everybody else. In unison, the turned, and saw, as they’d suspected, that Flash himself was running down the steps of the school. Twilight looked to him, utterly shocked at seeing him there, and all of her friends stood aside as they let the boy pass. When he finally reached her, he stopped for a moment, taking a few seconds to simply catch his breath.

“Wait…I…I…I need to talk to you.”

Needless to say, Twilight was taken aback by that, and looked to her friends, all of whom seemed just as surprised by this as she was. So, she gave Flash a nod, and the boy, in turn, took as long as he needed to get his breath back, before standing up tall and looking to the girl. An uncomfortable silence passed between them, during which, all of the other girls looked to one another, sharing looks that made it clear they were feeling awkward during this. But, thankfully, Flash finally broke the silence.

“I’m…I’m sorry for how I acted back then.”

To that, Twilight’s eyes widened, and she shook her head frantically at him.

“No! I'm the one who should be sorry! I should have come to you from the start!”

But, like her, Flash too shook his head.

“Twilight, I know this whole thing is new and strange to you. I shouldn’t have been so angry to learn of you trying to…to test it as you did.”

This back-and-forth of apology went on for several minutes, with the other girls and Spike turning their heads from one to the other as it happened. After a while, many of them started to look amused with how it was going on, Spike especially. But, to the relief of all of them, things eventually stopped when Twilight and Flash simply halted their apologies, looking to each other as if embarrassed. Moments later, and to the confusion of all of them, they actually started laughing of all things. When that died down, the two youths smiled warmly to one another.

“Flash…you were right, what you said before. I should have just talked to you.”

To that, Flash shrugged his shoulders.

“Hey, it’s no problem. I mean, yeah I was kinda angry at first, but…when I walked off, I got to thinking. What you did may have sucked…a lot…”

Twilight looked away in shame for a moment, only to look back to him when he continued speaking.

“But…you did it because you cared. About me. About us. I guess…I can’t really be angry with you, knowing that.”

Twilight tilted her head, showing clear confusion at this.

“Wow. How…how can you be so…so understanding about this?”

Hearing that, Flash stopped to think of an answer, and during which, he turned to Sunset, bearing a knowing smile.

“Let’s just say I’ve had to put up with far worse than that before.”

Like him, Sunset gained a slight smirk, giving him a nod. Twilight looked from her friend to Flash and back again, not quite sure what was going on. But, when it was all done, and Flash was once more looking to her, she took a step forward, speaking in a somewhat meek manner.

“So…is…is everything okay? Between us?”

Flash paused for a moment, considering that, before breaking out into a soft smile.

“Always.”

Twilight smiled at him, breathing a sigh of relief as she did so. But, before she got the chance to say anything, Flash beat her to it.

“You know, how about…the next time you come over…we maybe catch a milkshake or something?”

Twilight was somewhat surprised at that, but looked to her friends, seeing all of them silently urging her to accept the offer. Seeing that, she giggled slightly before looking back to Flash.

“I…I would love to.”

Hearing that Flash smiled.

“Awesome! So…see you next time?”

Twilight nodded, moving forward and, in a move that took Flash by surprise, embraced him in a hug. All of her friends giggled slightly at this, but kept it quiet when the two parted. Chuckling nervously, Flash composed himself after this, giving his crush a small wave before starting to head on off elsewhere. After watching him go, Twilight let out a contended sigh.

“He really is special, isn’t he?”

To that, Fluttershy, Rainbow and all the others all let out sighs of their own, nodding in response, which caught Twilight’s attention immediately. However, all of them realised what they’d done, immediately bearing looks of agreement instead, as they looked to Twilight with a smile. As for the princess, she shook herself out of her semi-suspicious mode of thought, giving them all a final smile before turning to the portal once more.

“Well, Spike, ready to head on home?”

Looking to her, his expression was a completely deadpan one.

“Twilight…I’ve been ready to leave since day one!”

Giggling again at that, Twilight looked over her shoulder, once more giving a happy glance to her human friends, before looking forward, right at the portal. She took a deep breath, as did Spike, and together, they jumped through the portal, leaving a bright flash in their wake. With their royal friend gone, the girls remaining all looked to one another, their expressions making it clear that something was on their minds. Sunset, however, was just forward enough to be the one to actually voice them.

“Okay, show of hands. Who here thinks Twilight’s study would have ended with her figuring out that Flash is too charming, nice and forgiving for his own good?”

Without even a word, all of the girls raised their hands, some going to far as to nod in agreement with what Sunset had just said. And speaking of whom, the former unicorn also had her hand up, but, as she looked to them all, a new thought emerged in her mind, one which she was less direct about speaking out.

“Also…keep your hands up if you might have, say…started to develop some warm feelings about the boy yourself during all this?”

Shock crossed their faces, but, as they looked to one another, they knew they couldn’t lie, and so, with slight embarrassment as their expressions, all hands stayed up, including Sunset’s. But, as this awkward silence sank in, Pinkie looked to Rarity, who was one of those with her hands up, and narrowed her eyes.

“Hey, wait a minute! You never had a close moment with him!”

To that, Rarity flipped some hair out of her face a little before replying.

“Well, perhaps not…but he’s nevertheless a charming gentleman amidst a school of boorish and occasionally childish boys. A girl can’t help but like a fellow like that.”

Looking to Pinkie, Rarity raised an eyebrow.

“And besides, didn’t you miss out on a close moment with him also?”

To that, Pinkie shrugged her shoulders, looking to Rarity with a surprisingly sultry look.

“Maybe…but at least I got to see him naked!”

As one would expect, all heads snapped in her direction, with blushes aplenty to go around. As for Pinkie, she maintained her expression, placing her hands on her hips as she gave herself a quick nod.

“Oh yeah! Better hold him tight, Twilight…or else I’m gonna have that boy one day!”

After yet another uncomfortable silence, Applejack turned to Sunset, her face one of utter mortification.

“Um…can we just, ya know…forget we all just heard that?”