A Day of Surprises

Disclaimer: Equestria Girls belongs to Hasbro. Stardust Balance and Jack were created by the Warrior of Twilight. I just own the story, any other OCs, and so on.

Author's Note: This takes place sometime after the events of Good vs. Evil and several months before Seeds of the Past.

"Lights on, please? No, over… yes, over there, Miss Hooves, thank you."

Derpy nodded her head as she did what was instructed by the English III teacher, and after the classroom lights were turned on, the grey-skinned teenager returned to her seat while Mr. Saber stood in front of his desk.

"I hope you were able to take some very good notes today, class, because the test for this film will be in a few days, and you'll only be able to use a single piece of paper as a cheat… sheet…" said the middle-aged teacher, who had stopped talking because he had just taken notice of what was happening right in front of him. "Why am I not surprised by this?"

Two of his students - Casey Rhodes and Stardust Balance - were currently fast asleep, and every time that Stardust made a snoring sound, Casey would swifty follow that by saying an unknown phrase out loud. "Yip-yip-yip-yip!"

As the two continued to remain asleep, their nearby girlfriends - Applejack and Twilight Sparkle - found themselves bringing the palm of their hands to their foreheads while Pinkie Pie noticed something that she felt was needed to be said. "Huh, the last time they fell asleep in here, it was Stardust who was doing the yipping."

"Very observant of you, Miss Pie," said the teacher, and everyone else in the classroom watched as Casey was the first one to wake up, with the young teenager confused about why all of the students were looking at them until he saw Mr. Saber, arms crossed and a single eyebrow raised.

Uh-oh, thought Casey, and he knocked a couple of times against the desk that was behind him."Star… hey, Star, wake up!"

Letting out a yawn, Stardust opened up his eyes to find multiple pairs of eyes staring right at him, including the ones that belonged to his teacher. "Ah, damn, now I don't even remember what period I'm in."

Their teacher sighed, and he said, "This is still period 6, Stardust… I hope you and Mr. Rhodes will be ready to take the test on this film in a few days."

Stardust waved his teacher's comments aside, a smug look appearing on his face. "Eh, we'll be fine… and I've never failed a test in here before, now have I?"

"No, but your possible luck will run out one of these days, Stardust," warned Mr. Saber, and Stardust gave a small shrug. "So I highly suggest that-"

Riiiiiiinnnngggg!

The final bell for the day was rung, and the students all got up to leave while Mr. Saber reminded everyone on preparing their one-page cheat sheet for the upcoming test, and the last four to exit were the two young couples.

"You really should find a way to stay awake when he's showing the movie," said Twilight, looking at her boyfriend, but Stardust just rolled his eyes, as if it didn't really matter.

"I pretty much already know what happens in the entire thing anyway, love." He pulled out his cellphone while Twilight started to open up her locker. "Thanks to whoever decided to upload the whole thing on the Internet."

Before the glasses-wearing teenage girl could deliver a response to him, she noticed that there was something in the locker that had not been in there earlier. "Huh? I don't remem… oh…"

At the same time, Applejack was looking at Casey with a raised eyebrow, and her arms crossed together. "I sure hope you ain't doin' anythin' that involves piracy, sugarcube."

"No, I bought the movie online a few days ago," replied the light-orange teenager, while his girlfriend began to open up her own locker. "And even my parents saw it back when they were my age, so-"

However, before he could finish his sentence, Applejack pulled out a sweet-scented bouquet of various flowers that had been placed inside her locker, and she looked back at Casey, surprised. "Did… you get these for me?"

"Well, I… um… yeah," replied Casey, a sheepish smile showing on his face, suddenly not knowing what else to say. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Taking off the preservative cover that the flowers were wrapped in, a gracious and light-blushing Applejack kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, sugarcube… but, uh, how'd you get them into-"

"Ooh, those flowers smell pretty good!" called out Pinkie Pie, walking past the young couple with a smile on her face, as well as holding onto a life-sized brown teddy bear that someone had given her… or maybe she bought it herself. It didn't really matter. "Enjoy your Valentine's Day, you two!"

HONK!

"I'm coming, Skystar!"

As Pinkie hurried out of CHS, Applejack shook her head in amusement, and she said, "Ah should've known that already… huh, well, I'll be, Twilight! That's a cute lil' bear you got right there."

The blushing teenage girl was currently holding her own bouquet of lovely flowers, along with a small stuffed white teddy bear, and she gave her own thanks to Stardust before speaking to Applejack. "And, um, those are some p-pretty flowers…"

Kissing the top of her head, which made Twilight feel all warm and happy inside even more, Stardust looked over at Casey to give him a reminder of where they would meet at later tonight for a double-date with their girlfriends.

"Yep, that one restaurant that opened up a few days ago," answered the light-orange teenager. "Good thing we made the reservations in advance."

"Are we gonna have to dress all, uh, fancy and stuff?" wondered Applejack. "I mean, not that I'm complainin' or nothin', but I know there's some of those places where the people look like they're goin' to a weddin' or somethin' like that."

Stardust shook his head, and gestured towards his phone that showed a picture of the dining establishment. "Doesn't really look like that kind of place to me… we should be fine."

Then, after putting his cellular device away, he thought to himself, PLEASE let there not be any kind of imbalances today. That's all I ask for.

Meanwhile, in another dimension...

"Mmmm, I don't really like to eat sugary treats on a day such as this, but these chocolates are absolutely divine… oh, where are my manners? Do you want to try one, darling?"

"I'm gonna have to pass, Rarity, but thanks for the offer… and I don't even really eat chocolate all that much." Sunset Shimmer shook her head in a polite way, and the two teenage girls made their way inside of a diner-like place that was built for mostly teenagers and young adults to spend time at, whether it was after school or just to be somewhere with friends.

Putting the small heart-shaped box of sugary treats back inside her purse, next to a few roses that someone in school had secretly given her, Rarity placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't you worry, darling; one of these days, some lucky gentleman will present themselves to you in a lovely manner, and when it's time for the next Valentine's Day to arrive, I'm sure that he'll just shower you with gifts of pure love and affection."

"Uh, I think you've been seeing one too many of those t.v. romance movies," said Sunset, and the two of them sat inside of a booth, with Rarity scoffing at what she'd just been told.

"Better than most of the things that we have on television these days," pointed out the fair-skinned teenager, while Sunset began to look at what was on the menu. "Except for that one cartoon series about all of those lovely gemstones…"

"Aw, now isn't this an unfortunate sight to find on a day like this." Sunset and Rarity turned to find themselves looking at a young teenage boy that was now standing in front of them. He was wearing a pair of dark-blue jeans, a white shirt with a v-neck collar, and a black single-button blazer, along with a handsome face and neatly-combed hairstyle that made Rarity's own heart skip a few beats while Sunset simply gave a polite smile. "Has no one in this world asked either of you two lovely ladies to be their Valentine? Unless… well…"

Sunset was about to say something when, to her surprise, Rarity let out a dramatic sigh before giving the handsome newcomer an answer. "She's more of a close friend, darling, and not really my type. Also, I'm so sorry to disappoint you, but my own wonderful valentine is already his way here." Sunset rolled her eyes. "However, Sunset here is available for asking."

"Wha…?" gasped the bacon-haired teenager, who had not expected her friend to say that, and the young man turn his attention over to her while Rarity began to casually eat the rest of her chocolates. "I… uh…" She gave him a sheepish smile, not knowing what to say just yet.

"Sunset? Well, isn't that a beautiful name for a beautiful young woman as yourself," said the young man, flashing her a warm smile that would make any other girl's heart melt away. "My name is Zenos… and would you like to be my valentine on this day of romance, Sunset?"

Rarity quietly hummed to herself as she looked at one of the menus on their table, and Sunset looked at the hopeful teenager with a smiling but apologetic expression. "Look, um, Zenos… really appreciate you asking me… but I'm fine… I don't really want to have a Valentine today."

WHAT?! thought the fashion-creative teenager, glaring at Sunset as if she were insane to turn away such a handsome young man like the one currently in front of them.

"Oh, I see…" said Zenos, who placed his hand on top of the table, and Sunset hoped that he wasn't thinking that she was playing hard-to-get. "Well, then, how about just a regular date? I'd feel bad knowing that you'd be spending this day without anyone to share it with."

Ignoring the come on, just say YES already look that Rarity was giving her, Sunset shook her head. "Again, thank you, but I'm fine with just spending today with my friends, like I do pretty much every day… maybe there's another girl in here you can ask, or try finding her somewhere else-"

"Well, that's just the thing, Sunset," interrupted the young teenager, who was now starting to get a little bit on her nerves. "I can't really think about other girls to be with because I'm looking at a perfect one right now… so, let me try asking this again: Will you -"

Sunset was about to deny Zenos' request again when suddenly, another voice came from out of nowhere to do it for her. "Look, man, she's telling you in the nicest way possible to just leave her be… don't try and make things worse for yourself."

The handsome teenager looked around to face whoever had spoken to him, but he didn't see anyone -

"Look a little lower, Einstein."

He did just that, and found himself looking at another young man, as did Rarity and Sunset, but there was a major difference between the two: The newcomer was almost around the same height as Sunset (give or take a few inches), he wore a pair of regular jeans, a Navy blue button-up shirt, and a pair of glasses on his face that also had a small goatee.

Plus, he looked more a young man who was getting ready to enter his second year of college instead of continuing senior year at a high school, and while Rarity was getting a he's alright, I suppose vibe off of him, Sunset was now wondering why this new person looked so different than anyone else she had ever seen before.

"Oh, my bad, sir, I didn't even notice you there," said Zenos, and he went right back to looking at Sunset. "Come on, beautiful, you don't want to let a perfect opportunity to go-"

"Is your head too thick or something?" interrupted the young man. "When a girl says no to you, she means no… don't make me have to repeat myself."

Before the good-looking fellow could give him a response, the bartender that had been watching the two of them interact suddenly cried out, "Hey! Don't be causin' any kind of trouble with him, alright?"

Zenos gave him a reassuring look, and he said, "Oh, it's no worries, sir, I was just-"

The bartender shook his head, and he said, "I was talking to you, sonny. Now, how 'bout you let the two young ladies enjoy their time together before I have you thrown out of here?"

At this point, almost everyone else in the diner was looking at the handsome teenager and the shorter individual, who made a head gesture for him to walk away... and that's exactly what happened, much to Sunset's relief.

And yet, another reason why I dislike this world so much, thought the young adult, and after Zenos quietly left the diner, he looked over at Sunset. "You okay?"

"Uh… yeah, I'm… I'm okay," replied the bacon-haired teenager, giving him a small nod. "Thank you…"

Then, a thought suddenly popped into her mind, and she added, "Look, er, if you're about to ask the same-"

A chuckle came out of the young man, who shook his head before saying, "I can respect your decision on not having a valentine, Sunset, it's fine… just enjoy your time with your friend here, alright? Hopefully no other a-holes try to ask you out repeatedly."

"Uh… okay, thanks… again," said Sunset, and he began to walk away. "Wait! I… er… we didn't catch your name."

He turned back around to look at her, and a smile appeared on his face. "I'm Jack… enjoy your Valentine's Day, Sunset… and you, as well, Rarity."

Then, Jack walked away from their booth and left the establishment, while Sunset continued to wonder why he seemed-

"How in the world did he know what our names were?" asked Rarity, which brought Sunset back to reality. "I mean, he obviously heard Zenos say your name, but not once did I ever say to either of them what mine was."

Sunset gave a small shrug in response. "Maybe he found out by someone he know from CHS, Rarity, or he probably saw it on the poster for the movie we were in."

Rarity raised one of her eyebrows, and she crossed her arms. "Perhaps, darling… you know, it's alright for you to admit right now that you've taken a liking to him."

"What… Rarity, I just - we just met the guy!" exclaimed a surprised Sunset, trying to not look embarrassed, while Rarity just gave a small shrug. "Okay, you really need to lay off of those t.v. romance movies… or stop eating so much candy."

Taking notice of the fact that her heart-shaped box of candy was practically empty, Rarity sighed before speaking to Sunset in a casual tone. "Perhaps you're right, darling, my apologies… let's just see what sort of food this place has to offer - ooh, that salad looks wonderful."

Sunset just rolled her eyes, but while Rarity continued to look over at the items on the menu, she looked back at the door that Jack had walked out of, wondering if she would possibly ever see him again.

"Uh… Stardust? I think we're all under-dressed right now to have dinner here."

It was now early in the evening, and both of the young couples - who had all decided to wear a mixture of formal and casual clothing - were now inside of the new restaurant that they would be having dinner at, waiting for their names to be called out so that they could be seated.

However, what they were currently seeing was very different to what the four friends had assumed it would be: Classical dining music was being played on a piano by an elderly gentleman, the walls were covered in a fancy wallpaper, and like Applejack had said earlier, pretty much everyone but them were dressed as if they were attending a wedding.

"Huh… you'd think they would've put a little more effort into their advertising," muttered Stardust, now rubbing the back of his head. "This looks like someplace Rarity would be in."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "Uh, how about we go somewhere that ain't so-"

"Party of four for a Miss Sparkle, Miss Applejack, Mr. Balance, and Mr. Rhodes? Your table is ready," said a middle-aged waiter, which made the young cowgirl let out a sigh.

"Guess I spoke too soon."

Twilight looked over at Stardust, and she said, "Um, it's okay if you don't want to eat here-"

Stardust shook his head, and gave her a small smile. "No, I do, love, it's fine… come on, let's not have this day end on a bad note."

So, the two couples followed the waiter to a table that was set for four people, and Casey was about to take a seat when he noticed Stardust pulling out first a chair for Twilight, which led him to giving a sheepish and apologetic smile to Applejack as he did the same for her. "Sorry, AJ… I, uh, I'm still a little bit new to this sort of thing."

A smiling Applejack was about to tell him that it was okay when their water suddenly asked the four of them what they wanted to drink, so she glanced over at the menu placed in front of her. "Uh… I don't suppose y'all got any drinks that have apples in 'em?"

"We have some sparkling apple cider that's pretty popular with other teenage customers," replied the waiter.

Applejack nodded her head, and she said, "Well, alright, then, I'll take some of that."

The waiter looked over at Casey, who said that he would have the same as his girlfriend, and after him was Twilight. "I think I'll have, er, some of your orange soda."

"And I'll take some of your Cola soda," said Stardust, with the waiter writing everything down on a small notepad.

"I will be back in a moment," said the waiter, but before walking away, he took another look at the scarred teenager. "Um, quick reminder, sir - we have a zero policy for thievery here, so please don't give us a reason to call the authorities on a day like this."

Confusion appeared on Stardust's face since he had no idea what he was talking about, but as the waiter walked away, the young teenager realized that it probably had to do with the scar that he had over his left eye, which had been given to him by one of their friends during a very unfortunate incident.

"Well, that's just great," muttered Stardust, rolling his eyes. "He probably thinks now that I'm a damn criminal or something."

Twilight placed a comforting hand on her boyfriends' shoulder. "I'm sure he doesn't actually think of you like that… come on, let's see what kind of - oh…" Her eyes turned a little wide as she saw what the prices were for most of the food items, as did the rest of their friends soon after.

"I don't even know how to pronounce half of what they got on here," said Applejack. "You know how to say any of these, Star?"

Stardust shook his head. "Not even if we were in my old world would I know what the hell was on this menu… except for maybe, uh…" He was now reading the last page. "Now this is something I can read and has an understandable price value… look, love, they have plenty of vegan food."

"Ooh, they got Hawaiian Style pizza and bread sticks," said Casey, knowing what he was going to order. "What about-"

"Aw, would you look at that?" He turned around to see a young, handsome, and well-dressed teenage boy, who was getting ready to leave his own table. "Your sister brought you out to dinner. How thoughtful of her."

A slight frown appeared on Casey's face as he said, "Er, I'm not her brother, man, and she's not my sister. She's my girlfriend… why would you think-"

"Well, aside from you two almost having the same kind of skin color," pointed out the handsome teen. "You don't really look like someone who'd be goin' out with a girl such as herself."

Irritation, annoyance, and some anger was shown across Casey's features, but that all went away after Applejack said, "Listen here, fella, I don't really like what you're sayin' to my boyfriend, so unless you're fittin' to give an apology, how 'bout you just head on outta here before you cause some sorta trouble."

"Trouble? Why would I - ah, well if it isn't Twilight Sparkle and Stardust Balance," said the smirking teenager, who was now walking over to the other side of the table, while a waiter had arrived to bring everyone their drinks. "I'm surprised that Sunset Shimmer isn't here with you two tonight."

"And why the [BEEP] is that, may I ask?" asked Stardust, raising an eyebrow at him while Twilight wondered how this newcomer knew what their names were, and the handsome teen gave a small shrug.

"I just assumed, really, since you three all transformed into some kind of terrible monster that nearly wrecked havoc on this wor-" Before the sentence could be finished, a visibly upset Stardust immediately stood up to grab him by the shirt collar. "Well, this is an unexpected surprise."

Just as Stardust was about to yell at him, the waiter from earlier had returned to stand by the two of them. "I seem to recall me asking you to not give me a reason to alert the authorities, young sir. Please unhand the gentleman from your grip."

Not wanting to cause a chaotic scene for his girlfriend and their friends, Stardust let go of the handsome teen's shirt collar, and he said, "You know what? I think we'll enjoy our Valentine's Day night somewhere else that's more our style."

After taking a quick drink of his delivered soda, Stardust placed a few dollar bills onto the table to pay for it, and Twilight followed him out of the restaurant, as did Applejack, but once they were all outside, the young cowgirl asked, "Wait a sec! Where did-"

"Man, he had a thick skull," muttered an exiting Casey, who was shaking his hand around for a little bit, and he looked up at his friends. "So, uh, where are we going now?"

Nighttime had made its arrival, and Sunset was currently making her way back to the apartment building that she resided in.

However, for some reason, the young pony-turned-teenager had misplaced her cellphone, and she couldn't remember the last time or place that she had used it.

And I just got the new update yesterday, thought Sunset, who was wishing to remember where exactly did -

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I believe that this probably belongs to you."

The young teenager turned around before entering the building, and found herself looking at the smiling face of the same helpful gentleman that she'd met earlier at the diner.

"How did…where did…" said Sunset, referring to the small cellular object that he was currently holding in his hands.

Jack made a gesture behind him, and he replied, "You, uh, left it behind in your booth back at the diner… luckily, the bartender was able to get it before some kind of jerk would keep it all for himself or try to hack into it."

He handed it over to Sunset, but as she placed the phone inside one of her pockets, the curious teenager asked, "Wait, did... did you know I'd be here?"

"Check the back." Jack pointed to the spot that she had put her phone at, and Sunset pulled it out to do just that, seeing a white sticker that had someone's writing on it.

"'If you find me all alone, please return me to the apartment of Sunset Shimmer at'..." read Sunset, and after finishing the rest, she gave a small groan. "Pinkie… well, thank you again for returning it, and for what happened back at the diner this afternoon."

A smirk appeared on Jack's face as he waved her gratitude aside. "You don't have to thank me for that, Sunset, I was just doing what was necessary so that you could enjoy this day… and have you enjoyed it?"

"Um, yeah… I did actually," replied the bacon-haired teenager, and after a brief few seconds of silence, she moved her phone around a little. "Now that I don't have to worry about buying a new one of these… so, thank you… again."

Jack chuckled, and shook his head at Sunset's repeated thanking of him. "Well, then, you're welcome, and I-"

Woo-woo-woo-woo!

Suddenly, a trio of police cars raced down the street, and while Sunset became confused as to why that had just happened, a disappointed Jack let out a sigh as he muttered, "It's gonna be a long night, I guess."

"Huh?"

Returning back to his positive expression, Jack gave Sunset a nod of courtesy. "Enjoy the rest of your night, my dear… and you're welcome… again."

Sunset smiled at him sheepishly since she was almost about ready to give him thanks for a final time, and after taking a moment to watch him walk away from the apartment building, the young teenager made her way inside.

As for Jack, who'd taken a pause in his walk to make sure that Sunset had entered the building safely, his smile remained on his face until he began to sprint towards the destination that the police were going to.

"Would it have killed you, Starswirl, to give me some kind of magical ability?"

Sugarcube Corner

After Mrs. Cake handed over the two large bowls of ice cream sundaes, Stardust and Casey placed the owed amount of currency onto the counter, and they both thanked her before returning to the table where their girlfriends were patiently waiting.

"You know, this actually worked out pretty well for us," pointed out Casey, referring to the fact that no other teenagers were in the cafe except for themselves, and after handing over an extra spoon to Applejack, the two of them began eating their sundae.

Stardust handed over a spoon to Twilight, as well, but before she took a scoop of the dessert, the young teen asked her boyfriend if he was okay, in regards to what had occurred at the restaurant.

"I'm fine, love, I just…" Stardust let out a sigh. "I didn't like the way he acted towards them, along with when he brought up the whole… unfortunate event that we have in common with Sunset… come to think of it, how in the hell did he even know-"

Twilight placed a warm hand on top of his, and she said, "Thank you, Stardust… um, how about we just enjoy this sundae for right now, and worry about… all that other stuff tomorrow?"

Before Stardust could give her a response, a smirking Casey said, "You better hurry, Star, before your guys' sundae melts away."

"Oh, please, we'd already be done by the time you two finished yours," replied Stardust, giving Twilight a quick pat on the back before starting to enjoy their sundae. "Isn't that right, love?"

The purple-skinned teenage girl gave a quick chuckle before saying, "Well, I mean, you'd be doing more of the work than I-"

"It's alright if you can't do it, Twilight," teased Applejack, which made her friend raise an eyebrow. "I mean, me and Casey are already a few bites or so ahead of you two."

Twilight began to eat from hers and Stardust's sundae, as well. "I never said I couldn't, Applejack… and also, Stardust is right about us being done before you and Casey finish yours."

"Well, challenge accepted, then," exclaimed Casey, now starting to scoop up a bigger serving of ice cream with his spoon, with Applejack quickly following suit.

"You're forgetting who you're talking to," replied Stardust, also deciding to scoop up more ice cream than usual, while Twilight began to eat as much as she could. "If we finish ours first, then-"

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Everyone paused their consumption of ice cream to look outside of the cafe, where they saw a police vehicle racing down the street in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Uh-oh…" said Twilight, and she looked over at her boyfriend, who shook his head before returning to eating their sundae.

"Probably someone tryin' to pull a high-speed chase or stole a bunch of flowers or something."

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

"Stardust…"

The young teenager waved away her concerns after another cop vehicle had passed by. "It's my night off, love, I don't fix imbalances on -"

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Several more police cars rushed down the street, and the three teenagers looked over at a now groaning Stardust. "I ask for one [BEEP]-ing night of damn peace, Starswirl… alright, love, I'm going. I'll call you when it's over, okay?"

Then, after kissing the top of Twilight's head, Stardust hurried out of Sugarcube Corner, and took off as fast as possible in the same direction that the cops were heading.

"Is he alright, Twilight?" asked a confused Mrs. Cake, still standing behind the counter. "I hope he didn't get a stomach ache from the ice cream."

"No, he didn't, and he'll be okay..." Twilight shook her head, and a warm smile appeared on her face, knowing (and hoping) that her special Warrior would be just fine.

Several Hours Later

"A dragon... a f****ing big-ass, fire-breathing dragon," muttered an exhausted Stardust, who was now entering the home of Rainbow Dash, which was where he stayed at until he would eventually find a place of his own. "Damn creature didn't even care that he ruined my favorite outfit."

After entering his bedroom, the young teenager took off the tattered remains of his clothes, replacing them with ones to sleep in, and began to call his girlfriend once he was lying comfortably in bed.

"Hey, love, I'm home now... sorry if I woke you."

"..."

"No, nothing too dangerous," said Stardust, trying to ignore the small amount of pain that was coming from his back, as well as not looking at his pile of singed clothing.

"..."

"Twilight, I'm fine, I don't have to - ah, [BEEP] that hurts..."

"..."

"I promise you, love, I-"

"..."

Stardust sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll stop by as soon as I wake up... okay?"

"... *yawn*..."

"Alright, I'll let you go back to sleep," said Stardust, after hearing the tiredness in his girlfriend's voice. "Yeah, love you, too... uh-huh... goodnight, love."

Then, once their phone call was over with, the young teenager closed his eyes, and a few moments later, Stardust was fast asleep.

THE END