Marcus let out a deep yawn as he snuggled with a pillow. It was the first time since he moved here that he was able to sleep in and he was really enjoying it. After a few minutes, he finally lazily stumbled out of bed and left the bedroom. He quickly rubbed his eyes as he made his way downstairs and entered the kitchen. He yawned once again as he made his way to the fridge, only to blink in shock when he realized he didn’t have anything to make for breakfast.

“Right, I remember cooking the last of the food last night,” He grumbled as he closed the fridge, “Well, looks like today I am going to do some shopping and… I guess while out exploring the town a little bit.”

Suddenly, he heard whining as Sissy rushed into the room with her food bowl in her mouth, before she stopped in front of him and dropped the bowl. Marcus chuckled as she gave him a begging look.

“Really, girl? I just filled up your bowl last night,” He began while shaking his head, “No matter. Luckily for you I still have plenty of food for you, despite how much and how quickly you consume it,” He added as he gently patted her on the head, getting a happy whine from her.

---

“Welcome everyone to my latest gaming stream!” Sunset greeted with a cocky smile as she finished adjusting her headset, “Today is something special for all of you. I, the gaming queen, will be going up against someone who calls himself the king. Please, we will see about that!” She added with a chuckle as the stream paned back to reveal Marcus.

Marcus was wearing a black and green jacket with a black undershirt and his hair was greased back. Sunset tried her hardest to resist the urge to blush, but failed when he gave his own cocky smile.

“Hello, everyone! It’s an honor to be here with the wonderful and beautiful gaming queen,” He began with a flirty wink, making Sunset’s blush darkened, “Afterall, what could be a better rival, or even someone better than a queen, than a king?”

“Y-You… Talk confidently enough. I will give you that,” Sunset managed to respond sheepishly, before taking a relaxing breath.

What was going on? She has never been nervous playing against someone before? Sure, he beat her before, but this was her show, her element, and as the queen she never loses. Sunset shook her head and managed to regain her confidence and determination. As the gaming queen she is going to show him that him being the so-called king means nothing. She has never lost on her own show and she isn’t starting now, especially to this handsome stud that managed to beat her before. She will prove that was just a one time thing.

“Well, it helps when you know for certain the outcome,” He responded with a charming smile that made her blush darkly once again.

“W-Well, if you are so sure…” She began sheepishly as she tried once again to regain her composure.

The two started the match and Sunset was quickly outmatched. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t land a single hit and he slowly lowered her health until she finally was defeated by a killer combo.

Sunset could only look at the results screen in stunned silence as she blushed hotly. Anger and annoyance coursed through her veins, yet there was another feeling that she couldn’t pin down. Strangely, it made her want to try again like her other feelings did but for the opposite reason than them and she couldn’t put her finger on why.

“A perfect run?” He questioned with a chuckle, “I expected better from the so-called gaming queen.”

“Yeah! Well, I am just getting warmed up!” Sunset snapped angrily.

“Good. I don’t want it to be too easy.”

“Oh, I’ll show you how easy it will be to beat you!” Sunset snapped back, before starting the next match.

Sunset was much more aggressive this time around, forcing him to dodge her attacks, which he did flawlessly, much to her increasing aggravation. She quickly wiped sweat from her forehead and narrowed her eyes in determination as she started attacking even more fiercely. This did little to help as he continued to effortlessly dodge and block her attacks.

“Stay still, so I can hit you!” Sunset finally roared in pure anger as he once again dodged her strike and countered with a killer combo, knocking her character’s health into the red, “Come on! This can’t be happening!”

“Wow, you look hot all pissed off like this,” He teased with a chuckle.

Sunset froze and could only blush lightly as his words registered and couldn’t do anything as he finished her off with another killer combo. When she snapped out of it, she could only blink, before she pouted in defeat.

“No fair! You distracted me!” She complained bitterly.

“Aw, now you look adorable,” He teased with a charming smile, making her blush darkened “We both know that only sped up the inevitable.”

Sunset could only groan bitterly in defeat, before changing the stream to show an image of her raging with the words “on break”.

“Fine, you are more skilled than I thought, but I am just having bad luck and after the break I will show you!” Sunset spoke bitterly, before a cocky smile formed on her face.

“You seem tense,” He noted with a raised eyebrow, before a cocky, yet charming smile formed on his face, “Perhaps, I can help with that?”

“Huh?”

“Please, you have the hots for me,” He insisted as he moved closer to her as his smile widened, making her blush hotly once again.

“What are you…”

“You got turned on by getting effortlessly dominated by the king,” He chuckled as he moved his face a few inches from hers, “I have to admit you are both adorable and hot.”

“I…”

Sunset couldn’t think of a response, before he gently pressed his lips against hers. To her surprise she quickly melted into the kiss as he deepened it by placing his tongue inside. She returned the kiss as the two engaged in a brief round of tongue wrestling, where like how he dominated her during the fighting game, he effortlessly pinned her tongue, making her loudly moan. He then eagerly explored her mouth for a few moments, before the two separated, breathing heavily.

“I… So…. Amazing….” Sunset could only blurted out while in a dreamy daze.

“That is only the beginning,” He teased with another charming smile.

“Beginning?” Sunset could only stutter nervously.

“Of course. What do you say we take it to the next level?”

“I… Yes!” She cried out in agreement.

He nodded, but before anything could happen he suddenly faded away from her vision and she realized that was only a dream.

Sunset could feel her warm cheeks and shook her head. That was the weirdest dream she had in a while and couldn’t wrap her head around it. Who would have thought she would end up dreaming of having a second round with Marcus, where he would end up dominating her even more effortlessly? Her behavior seemed fairly normal at first but ended up gradually getting more jarring, though now that she thinks about it, she felt the same way when it happened in real life. Despite feeling angry about losing, she also felt…. Turned on? Sure, he was a nice and handsome guy, who seemed patient with her when she made a mistake and she was happy to have the opportunity to befriend someone who didn’t have to put up with the old her, especially after learning he is a gamer with an impressive collection. Does she have a crush on him? She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. She just met him and she already has at least an attraction to him. She took a relaxing breath and decided to try and figure this out later. Well, it was the weekend and she might as well see if Pinkie or Fluttershy were available.

---

Marcus took a relaxing deep breath as he squeezed shampoo onto his hands and rubbed them together. As he began rubbing his hair with the shampoo, he began to reflect on why he ended up arriving at Canterlot in the first place.

“Hello, son. I am sure you are wondering why I called you in here.”

“I hope I haven’t been doing a poor job helping out in the mines.”

“No, it’s not that son,” Marcus’ father began with a sigh, “I am worried about something else.”

Marcus and his father are currently in their large living room after a long day of work. The living room contained a large brown leather couch with a large fancy glass and jewel table, containing rubies, emeralds, and diamonds, in front of it. In front of the couch was also a large one hundred inch flat screen television, which was showing and playing the news on a low volume the two could barely hear.

“What is it?” Marcus asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Son, you have been doing a fine job helping me out with the family company,” He began honestly, before taking a brief pause, “Please, have a seat.”

Marcus shrugged in confusion but took a seat on the couch. His dad took a relaxing deep breath, before taking a seat himself.

“You know I am proud of you, right?” He asked quickly, before taking another brief pause, “You are helpful, hardworking, and nice on the job. I trust you will run it well in my place,” He complimented, before sighing, “However, there is one thing I am worried about.”

“What is it?” Marcus asked, completely confused.

“Do you remember back when you were little and how you were so shy that you could barely make eye contact and talk at all to anyone?”

“Yeah, and over the years I managed to get over that to the point that I have no issues talking with people.”

“Yes, you have,” His father acknowledged with a proud smile and nod, “However, you are still incredibly introverted and I can’t help being a little worried about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Son, you only leave the house for work, or to go to the gym on one of your days off,” His father began with another sigh, “To my knowledge you only interact with those that start talking to you first and you haven’t made many friends.”

“I….”

“I know and think it’s incredible you have made great progress with your shyness, but I feel you can still improve and I think it would be in your best interest to go that extra mile,” His father added with another smile, “It will help me feel at ease about your future, when you continue to work hard in the company and rightfully take my spot one day.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I think it might do you well to live on your own in another town.”

“Huh?” Marcus could only ask, completely confused, with a raised eyebrow.

“I think living alone will help give you the push you need. You will need to adapt and start going out more just to live your everyday life. You will be going to a new high school, where I hope you start making friends and being more social.”

“That’s….”

“I know it’s something unexpected for me to bring up out of the blue, but I feel a sink or swim situation like this will only help you out. I wouldn’t have considered it, if I didn’t think you could handle it.”

“I… need to think about it.”

“I understand. Please take as long as you need as you still have a whole week of work during fall break to decide and we can work out the details from there.”

Marcus shook his head as he finished washing his body and turned off the shower. A part of him could understand his father’s worries, which is why he ended up agreeing and so far things seemed to be going well, but it was still an huge adjustment for him to get used to. Hopefully, he will make some more friends, or even meet up with the girls again. After getting dressed, he quickly gave Sissy another petting session.

“Well, girl, I am off to explore the town and maybe meet some new potential friends. I trust you will be good while I am gone?”

Sissy only gave a bark in the affirmative, making him chuckle.

“Good, girl. Well, I am off and I will be sure you get you some treats while I am at the mall,” He responded with a smile, before going on his way.

---

Sunset could only sigh bitterly in defeat as she sat on her couch and placed her bare feet onto the table. She realized that Pinkie works today and while she could always visit her on the job, she couldn’t really do much to have fun with her. Fluttershy sent her a quick text saying she was busy preparing for their next session of taking care of the animals at the local shelter and assured Sunset that she can handle it and to do something more fun, in her usual timid way.

“Great, just what I need,” Sunset grumbled with a frustrated sigh as she crossed her feet and grabbed the remote, “The only two of the group completely willing to give me a chance are busy,” She added as she turned it on and scrolled through the channels for something to watch, “Rainbow and Applejack are a no, until I can get them to actually give me a second chance. Rarity is a maybe, but I have to deal with her being lukewarm about it and right now I need complete support and friendliness.”

After a few moments of boring commercials, Sunset sighed once again in frustration, before she turned off the tv and simply lie down on the couch.

“Well, there’s Marcus, who seems really friendly….” Sunset pondered to herself with a light blush, “I have taken a liking to him and…” She froze as her blush darkened a little, “The only problem is I can’t contact him,” She finally added with a sigh, “You know what, I am just going to go out and see if I can have fun on my own!”

After a quick shower, she with a couple towels wrapped around her chest and waist pondered what to wear for the day. She pulled out different clothing and gave each one a quick once over. She was in the mood to wear something different than her usual attire to help give the impression of the new and better Sunset Shimmer. She eventually decided on a red and yellow flame styled short sleeve shirt with matching shorts. She looked through her different boots and shoes for what would fit her attire best, before settling on a pair of matching flame styled flip-flops with black straps, containing a symbol of a red and yellow sun. She quickly pulled out a small mirror and looked over her appearance. She placed a hand on her chin and felt her new look was incomplete. She then grabbed a hairbrush and thoroughly brushed through her long hair, before grabbing a scrunchy that was black as coal and set her hair in a long flame styled ponytail. She ended up giving a small, yet genuine smile at her reflection, before she decided to go on her way and try to make the most of her day.

---

Marcus’ stomach growled as he made his way through the town and he groaned while rubbing it. The first thing on his mind was finding a place to get some quick breakfast. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a group of young adults leaving a place with paper bags in their hands. He picked up the pace and rushed towards where they had just left. When he arrived there, the first thing he noticed was a sign with the words "Sugarcube Corner". Through the glass windows, he saw a bunch of people eating breakfast and he entered with a smile on his face, more than happy to finally have breakfast for the day. Before he could even think, he suddenly heard an excited gasp and his vision was suddenly filled with familiar pink and poofy hair.

“Marky! What a wonderful surprise!” She exclaimed with a cheerful giggle.

“Pinkie?”

“Uh-huh,” She responded cheerfully, “I didn’t expect you to come in here for breakfast, but I am so happy you did!”

“Pinkie, what have I told you about being too affectionate with customers?”

“Whoops, sorry Mr. Cake!” Pinkie responded surprisingly sheepishly, before separating from Marcus and giving him some space.

Now that they were separated, Marcus noticed Pinkie was wearing a blue and white maid uniform and her hair was in a long poofy ponytail.

“Come on. Let me lead you to a free table,” She began with a cheerful smile, “Where I will serve and take care of you,” She added with a wink.

“Pinkie, try not to cross the line. We don’t need you making another customer uncomfortable.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Cake! I can keep myself under control!” Pinkie assured her boss with a surprisingly serious look.

“Just making sure you don’t cause any more issues.”

Pinkie then led Marcus to a free table and handed him a menu that she pulled from her hair.

“Here you go, Marky. I will go see if others are ready to order, but I will be back soon to serve you.” Pinkie told him with another cheerful smile, before she reluctantly left him with a small frown on her face.

Marcus took a relaxing breath as he looked through the menu. He eventually settled on a full breakfast platter, containing eggs, bacon, and pancakes. True to her word Pinkie quickly arrived to take his order and decided to sit down with him, during her first break of the day.

“So, what are you planning on doing today, Marky?” Pinkie asked as he used his knife to cut his pancakes.

“Well, I guess I am just exploring the town and I do need to get some food for myself and Sissy.”

“Oh, you should go to Canterlot Mall!” Pinkie responded with a cheerful grin, “It has everything you could ever need to buy and it has really good prices too. It’s the perfect spot to hang out with friends!” She added with a giggle, before a small frown formed, “Though, I wish I could join you if I didn’t have to work the rest of the day.”

“Uh… It’s ok. I am sure we can go there another time?” He assured her sheepishly.

Before he could even blink, Pinkie’s arms were wrapped around him and she began giggling cheerfully.

“Really? Yippie! I can’t wait!”

“Pinkie!”

“Sorry again, Mr. Cake,” Pinkie spoke sheepishly as she quickly separated from him, “I suppose I better get back to work,” She added, after a brief awkward pause as she saw more people entering the building, before going on her way.

Marcus took a relaxing breath, before going back to eating his breakfast. He had never met anyone as cheerful as her. She was his opposite, cranked up all the way to ninety nine and with the knob broken off to boot. She was very overwhelming, though like he noted before a part of him kind of likes that, though it will take some getting used to, assuming that was possible.

---

Sunset took a relaxing deep breath as she entered the mall and tried her best to ignore the dirty looks her peers were giving her. She nervously continued on her way through the mall as she ignored a few people shouting insults after her.

“What are you doing here, demon!?”

“Oh, are you here to go on another tantrum and try to destroy the mall, Shimmer?!”

“If you know what’s good for you, you will stay away from all of us you bitch!”

Sunset closed her eyes and tried her hardest to prevent herself from crying as she rushed ahead and away from the dirty looks and mean words from everyone around her. Eventually, she stopped and wiped her now wet eyes and sniffed, before managing to regain her composure.

“Attention everyone! The great and powerful Trixie is having another of her magic shows and is happy to report there are still plenty of seats remaining!”

Sunset froze and looked ahead to find a familiar blue skinned girl with long white hair, containing light blue streaks, wearing a blue and purple magician outfit with a matching blue magician hat and purple boots. A dormant feeling of jealousy and anger towards the girl flared up inside Sunset, before she managed to bring it down, when she took a relaxing breath. Sunset continued walking forward and was eventually spotted by the girl, who gave her a cocky grin.

“Well, if it isn’t second place Shimmer,” Trixie taunted with a chuckle, causing the dormant feeling to flare up in Sunset once again and even more than before.

“Trixie,” Sunset simply greeted through clenched teeth.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen, huh Shimmer?” Trixie began as she glanced at the crowd around them giving Sunset dirty looks, “Though, even at your best you still weren’t a match for the great and powerful Trixie!” She added, before raising a fist in the air and receiving applause and cheers from the crowd.

Sunset found herself forming fists and even grunted in anger, but before she could say something she would end up regretting, Trixie was joined by a couple of familiar girls wearing matching magician outfits. One of the girls had light purple skin with darker short purple hair while the other had light gray skin with long blonde hair. Sunset took a relaxing breath as she watched both Fuchsia Blush and Lavender Lace approach Trixie.

“Trixie, we are happy to report we have given out all of our fliers and it looks like this show might end up becoming a full house once again,” Fuchsia announced, before blinking when she noticed Sunset and the crowd around them.

“Trixie, is happy to hear the wonderful and expected news,” Trixie began with a cocky smile, “Oh, and as you two might have noticed, Shimmer has graced us with her presence.”

“Yes, and she is lucky this is a public mall,” Fuchsia simply scoffed with her arms crossed.

“Indeed,” Trixie agreed with a chuckle, “Trixie was about to remind her that even back when she was on the top of the world she still couldn’t compete with her. After all, who could possibly stand up, let alone beat the great and powerful Trixie!?” She added, before doing another victory pose.

“I… Well….” Sunset found herself growling in pure aggravation, but couldn’t come up with a response.

“It was so wonderful seeing her try her hardest to beat us at the school talent show every year, only to always fall short,” Lavender Lace cackled with a grin.

“Yes, after watching her be all cocky and arrogant all year, seeing her yearly defeat only made it so much better,” Fuchsia added with her own grin.

Sunset grunted and narrowed her eyes in anger, before trying to calm herself down by taking relaxing breaths.

“Trixie so fondly recalls their first competition and remembers how cocky she was. Despite being her first time, she thought for sure she was better than everyone else competing. How Trixie tried to calmly explain she had no chance against her, but she stubbornly insisted otherwise, so Trixie suggested a little wager. The loser does whatever the winner wants and she agreed to it hook line and sinker. To give her credit though, she was better than most of the others at the show, but she was still no match for the great and powerful Trixie,” Trixie began with her own grin and chuckle, before doing her pose once again and getting applause from the crowd.

Sunset closed her eyes and tried to get her heart pressure and breathing under control, before she did something she would end up regretting.

“Another thing to give her credit for is that she was great at giving foot massages.” Fuchsia added with another chuckle.

“That was the one thing I looked forward to every year, especially after having to deal with her usual terrible cocky self all year,” Lavender Lace added with a nod, “I mean even you Trixie have redeeming qualities and can be nice.”

“Trixie is choosing to ignore that little jab towards her,” Trixie began with a playful look, “In conclusion, Shimmer, it was fun putting you in your place at the height of your power and it’s more wonderful to see you have hit rock bottom. Though, Trixie does hope you are still planning on competing against her and keeping our wager as an annual thing. Trixie’s great and powerful feet have really benefited from that treatment.

“I… it’s…. No, I… I will think about that, but I don’t think I will wager that again if I decide to take part again,” Sunset managed to say evenly but with a hint of anger, after taking relaxing deep breaths.

“A shame. Well, it seems you have learned something after all. It appears you aren’t stubborn enough anymore to make the same wager for the fourth time to try and prove the fruitlessness of you being better than Trixie.”

“I… If there isn’t anything else, Trixie,” Sunset simply spoke just as evenly.

“If you change your mind, Trixie hopes you don’t forget the lotion this year,” Trixie simply taunted with another cocky smile and chuckle, before the two other girls and the crowd began chuckling along with her.

Sunset groaned in pure aggravation and formed fists, before taking calming deep breaths and counting to one hundred to calm herself as she went on her way. Once she was out of view, she immediately rushed for the nearest restroom and once inside the tears immediately started falling. She turned on the sink and washed her face as she glanced sadly at her reflection in the mirror. Seeing Trixie and hearing her words brought back bitter memories for her. Back when she was her old self, she was extremely arrogant and cocky. She always took the opportunity to prove her superiority to others by getting perfect grades and becoming the number one student in academics, attending every competition and managing to win almost every one of them available, and even making sure her record was clean, despite her antics and behavior towards her peers. However, she still didn’t do it perfectly, despite how much she wanted and wished she had. One of her weaknesses is how much she hates to lose. How much she hates being even second best. Trixie managed to take advantage of that weakness and no matter what she couldn’t fight against it. Somehow, no matter what she did, Trixie always managed to impress the judges more than her and while that alone would be bad, she managed to make it worse by making a wager and taking advantage of her arrogance. Normally, she would ignore her loss and pretend the wager didn’t happen, but Trixie was smart and covered her bases by having it be a written and signed document, which she at the time had no problem with since she was sure she would win. She didn’t want to have to deal with going to court over it, so she had no choice but to suck it up and do what she wished. Sunset took a relaxing breath and continued washing her face. You would think after that one time she would learn, but no. She was so angry and determined to prove her superiority and kept thinking it was a fluke that she made the same written wager not twice, but three times now. Sunset quickly dried her face and decided to continue to try and have a good day. Her interaction with Trixie has shown her she still has a long way to go not just with getting everyone to trust her and give her a second chance, but she still has some issues to improve on. Her temper and anger being one thing she needs to learn to have better control over. She left the restroom, more determined to improve as a person and to earn her second chance. Just because her only supportive friends were busy today and that no one else wants to tolerate her company didn't mean she couldn't find a way to enjoy herself. She could go and play a few games at the arcade and enjoy herself alone, without anyone to bother her, or her to bother them. The road to her redemption may be hard and long, but she is determined to cross it one day by taking it one step at a time, but for now she will try to enjoy herself as best as she can!

---

Marcus entered the mall and was stunned and impressed to find himself inside what he considered the be the largest one he has ever seen. He could see why Pinkie praised the place and didn’t quite know where to start. As he continued walking, a few vaguely familiar peers from school gave him friendly waves, which he sheepishly returned. He figured he should start by getting what he needed, then maybe explore the place and go from there. Perhaps, he will meet up with the girls he has met already, or even make a few new friends. Whatever ends up happening, he knows this trip will be interesting at the very least. Before he could think of where to go exactly, he heard a loud thud and in the distance saw someone had fallen down with a couple of bags. He found himself rushing towards them and decided to help them out. All he could make out was green hair and a brown sweater. Also, much to his annoyance, no one else seemed to care or have noticed which only made him increase his pace, much more determined to help this poor person.

Next Chapter: Episode 4: Exploring the town part two Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 6 Minutes