Sunset Prime
Chapter 3: Buffering out scratches
Sunset Shimmer woke up to her alarm on her night stand. It was 6:35. She hit the off button and groaned. Slowly, but surely, she got up and got dressed for the day. She figured if she was gonna live in Jasper, she might as well see what the town had to offer. She tip-toed out of the house, sure not to wake up the others, and ate a quick breakfast. Afterwards, she packed some snacks for her walk and headed out. Once she left the house, the first thing she noticed was Jack's motorcycle, which was in an even worse condition than last night. She gasped and made her way over to it, "Whoa, what happened to you?" she asked as though the bike could speak.
"Good morning Sunset!" She turned to see June leaving the house.
"Oh, hey June." She replied.
"Why are you up so early?" June asked.
"I was gonna take a walk around town," She turned her attention to the motorcycle, "Then I noticed Jack's bike."
June sighed, "Yeah, it's had better days. Jack doesn't know how to buffer out dents and scratches, and most companies cost way too much for it to get fixed up."
"Ya' know, I've had some experience with these situations," Sunset noted, "A couple buffers, a nice wash, some wax, and it should be good as new."
June turned to her new neighbor, "How do you know?"
Sunset turned to her, "I had to gain money so I could move here, so I worked at a car repair shop. I learned how to buffer out dents, fix old engines, and give vehicles new coats of paint or wax. Those skills even come in handy with our instruments."
June rubbed her chin and smiled. "Alright, how about this; you fix up Jack's motorcycle, and I'll pay you… twenty dollars. Sound good?"
Sunset smiled, "Sure. I'll get right to it." She ran back to her house, set her stuff down next to the garage and got all the things she needed. She headed back to June in the driveway with a bucket, some wax, a battery buffer, and some cloths. She didn't have her jacket on anymore, but that was probably for the best.
"I have to run some errands, I'll be back to see how you did." She said, getting in her car. She drove out of the driveway, "And don't worry about Jack. He's at his job." She said waving bye to Sunset.
So, with a whole day ahead, she got right to work. She started by washing out the mud and dirt, borrowing June's hose for a few seconds. Afterwards, she buffered out the dents and scratches until you couldn't tell they were even there at all. Finally, she rinsed the bike off and applied a coat of wax to give the bike a nice shine.
At about 7:51, Sunset Shimmer wiped her brow. She stared at her newly finished patient. The blue and pink bike looked good as new, the sun adding an even brighter glow to it. She made sure she didn't miss a single scratch, dent, or muddy spot. Her hands were a bit dirty as has her left cheek, but she didn't mind. Just then, June came up in the driveway. He exited the car with an awestruck look on her face. "Sunset! She looks incredible!" she complimented, walking up to the bike.
"You call it a 'she' too?" Sunset asked. Sure jack called it a she, but his mom too?
"Yeah. After Jack started calling it a girl, it kind of stuck." June chuckled. Sunset smiled. "Well, here's your money, like I promised." June said, handing a couple bucks to Sunset.
But when she fanned them out, she noticed she had three tens, not two. "Um, June, you accidently gave me thirty dollars, I just did it for twenty." She said, stopping the woman as she took her grocery bag inside.
"Oh I know, I just wanted to tip your great work." June complimented, and she went inside.
Sunset was taken back a bit, but smiled in the end. She went over to her garage and gathered her things. After getting everything situated, she left for her walk, taking one last look at the bike.
There wasn't much to this town. A couple gas stations, a restaurant here and there, and a lot of buildings. Sunset was still amazed at how a small town could have been completely surrounded by desert yet still thrive with life. Unfortunately, she wasn't looking where she was going, and around noon she accidently bumped into another teenaged girl. "Oh, sorry." She said looking at the teen.
She had a pink shirt, a blue skirt, and her light brown hair was in a high ponytail. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" She scoffed.
"Um, excuse me, I said I was sorry." Sunset pointed out.
"Hmf, whatever loser." She added.
Sunset snapped, "Hey! I'm just trying to be nice. You don't have to have such an attitude!"
"Well, at least I have an attitude." She replied. Not the best insult Sunset's heard.
Just as the girl walked by Sunset, "At least I wouldn't be beaten in a maze race by a rat."
The girl froze, then faced Sunset, "You take that back!"
"I'll take it back when you accept my apology, which by your IQ, won't be for an eternity." Sunset snapped back. She then continued on her walk, leaving the teen speechless.
Sunset was starting to feel a bit puckish. It was about three and she was thinking of finding some lunch. That's when her phone rang. She checked to see who it was, but only saw a number. She shrugged and answered it, "Hello?"
"Sunset! I'm glad you picked up." Sunset recognized the voice as Mrs. Darby.
"Hey June, what's up?" Sunset asked.
"I was wondering if you could check on Jack at K.O. Burger. I tried to call him, but he didn't answer." June replied.
"Sure no problem. Where's that?"
"Not far from the desert, just head up main street and you'll see it soon enough."
"Okay, thanks."
"Bye." June hung up
Sunset saved the number as June's cell and hopefully walked up main street. Just as June said, she soon found a small restaurant next to a gas station. She headed in side, it wasn't the best place, but then again it wasn't the worst. She decided while she was there, she might as well get something to eat. She ordered a salad and a lemonade. After paying and getting her meal she sat near a window and happily ate. After a couple minutes, she saw Jack coming up to her. "Hey Jack." She waved.
"Hey." He waved back, "What are you doing here?"
"I was just walking around town when your mom asked me to check on you." she explained, "Something about not answering your phone?"
"Oh yeah, I had to work extra today since I was late yesterday." He said taking a seat.
"Oh, was that because you helped me bring that box in?" sunset asked concerned.
"Oh no. I just… I hit a snag on the way here." He reassured.
"Oh good." Sunset sighed, "So, are you on break?"
"Yeah. I'll be off in a few hours." Jack said.
"Cool." Sunset commented. A silence fell over the two as Sunset finished her salad. After a few minutes, she finally spoke again, "Look, I'm really sorry about the girls' behavior last night. I had nothing to do with-"
"Hey, hey, it's alright. It was pretty funny." He chuckled, "You should have seen your face."
Sunset giggled, "My face? What about you? You looked like you saw a ghost!"
The two laughed for a while until, "Darby! Back to work!"
"Yes sir!" Jack shouted back, "Sorry gotta go."
Sunset smiled and raised both her hands as though saying "its fine". After finishing her meal, she headed outside and looked around. She saw Jack's motorcycle parked next to the restaurant looking as good as ever. She noticed the sky and how the sun gleamed on the clouds. She decided to sit down and sketch. She leaned against the wall of the building and took out a note book. She flipped through the book, song lyrics and drawings littered the pages. She finally reached a black page and started drawing. She sketched a rough draft of the sky and a desert plain. Then she added some detail and even decided to draw a motorcycle. She styled it her own way and even added her cutiemark for design. Before she knew it, she was staring at a work of art.
Then the door to the building opened, "Hey sunset." She turned to see Jack, "Were you waiting for something?"
"No. Just taking a break from walking" she replied standing up.
Jack looked at her notebook, "Wow, did you draw that?"
"Oh yeah, just something I made." She replied, getting her things together.
"Cool." Jack commented. He turned to his bike then back to her, "You, uh… wanna ride home?"
Sunset looked at him, "Um, sure. But I've never ridden a motorcycle before." She put all her things in her bag and walked with Jack to his bike.
"Oh don't worry, it's really fun." He put his helmet on, 'And don't worry about wearing a helmet. This thing is super safe. Never had an accident before since I got 'er." Sunset nervously smiled as he got on the bike. He pat the back of the seat, gesturing her to sit down. With a few hesitation she did, gently wrapping her arms around his stomach. He kicked the kickstand up and revved the engine, causing Sunset to jump a bit. "It's alright, just relax and enjoy the ride."
"Alright," Sunset nervously noted, "Just don't do anything crazy."
Jack nodded and slowly backed the bike up. Just as he was about to drive off, he cocked his head to the side, "Keep your feet up and hold on tight!"
"What?" Sunset asked. Before she could get an answer, Jack revved the engine again and drove off in a flash. Sunset tightened her grip around his chest and closed her eyes. She didn't think Jack would be such a show off, not to mention a trickster.
Jack sped down the road, sunset's hair waving frantically behind the two. "Come on Sunset, you need to see this!" Jack shouted over his motorcycle.
Sunset slowly opened her eyes and saw streets and buildings wiz past her, the wind brushing her cheeks and jacket. She sat up more and smiled, she never experienced adrenalin like this before. The two came to a light and Jack slowed down to a stop. "Okay, okay, I'll admit, that was pretty cool." Sunset rolled her eyes.
Jack chuckled, "Yeah sorry about scaring you."
Sunset smiled, "It's fine." But her smile faded when she saw the ponytailed girl from earlier walking on the side-walk. Sunset tried to hide her face behind Jack's shoulder.
"Well, look who it its." She taunted, "The girl who thinks she can bump me and get away with it."
Jack turned to Sunset, "What?"
"I accidently bumped into her. Then she started picking on me, and… my anger go the best of me." Sunset explained, still trying to hide.
"Picking on ya'?" Jack asked. He turned to the girl
"Hey Jack, do you mind if I talk with the new girl?' The teen asked, trying to act nice.
Jack frowned, "Sorry Sierra. I don't think so."
Sunset was taken back, why'd he say that?
The girl was shocked too, "What? But I just wanted to ask her something."
"And then what? Pick on her again." Jack snapped, "Sorry, but you just got off the list of girls I like."
Sunset was so shocked, did those two have a thing? Just then the light changed and Jack drove from 0 to about 20 mph to get away from that situation.
Jack pulled into his driveway and put down his bike's kickstand. He hasn't talked since the run-in with the girl, Sierra Sunset recalled. She watched as he took off his helmet, then broke the silence. "Listen Jack, I'm sorry about that girl, I just-"
"Hey, don't worry about it." He interrupted, "There was nothing between us and I didn't like the idea of you getting picked on."
"Really? Because, she acted pretty weird around you."
"Well, she's in my homeroom and I thought we could be friends, but, guess not."
Sunset Shimmer felt really bad, and lowered her head. But jack just smiled and lifted her chin, "Hey, at least you helped me see Sierra's true colors; pasty grey and black."
Sunset chuckled a bit, "Don't forget barf green."
The two laughed a bit, cheering Sunset Shimmer a whole lot. "Well, I hope there aren't any hard feelings for the ride home."
"Oh goodness no, I'm just glad you're not mad about Sierra."
"Oh, I am mad. But not at you. In fact…" he ran into his garage to get something.
Sunset was a bit scared that he was in fact, mad at her. But when he came back he held a different helmet. This one had a visor and would let her hair flow. "I want you to have this. In case you want to go for another ride."
Sunset smiled and gratefully took the helmet, "Thank you. I'm glad I have a friend like you."
"Me too." Jack replied.
Just then, Aria came out onto the porch next door, "Hey Sunset!" She gained both of the teens' attentions. "Sonata's trying to make dinner again!"
"Oh no…" Sunset groaned "I'll be right there." she shouted to the Dazzling. She turned to Jack, "I am so sorry, I gotta take care of this."
"Hey no problem. Have a good night." He said going back to his bike to put it in the garage. Sunset ran into her house to hopefully stop a kitchen crisis.
Sunset changed to her pajamas and sat down on her bed. She put her new helmet on her nightstand and took out her note book. She got a letter from twilight today, but since she didn't want people to see a glowing vibrating book while she was walking around. She opened it and read;
"Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I'm glad to hear that you are starting your new life so well. Your friends Jack sounds very interesting, though I don't understand what you mean by 'stuttering and tripping over his own feet'. It sounds as though you made quite an impression on him. I just hope he won't try to hurt you, or I'll have to come down there and teach him a lesson he won't forget! But besides that, I'm glad you found a new home with a great school.
Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.
P.S. Stop calling me 'Princess', it's getting old."
Sunset simmer chuckled a bit and wrote back;
"Dear Twilight,
I guess I can stop calling you princess from now on, it was just a habit of mine. As for Jack, you won't have to worry about him. He's actually a pretty cool guy. But I'm getting kind of concerned. Sure he's a great guy, but for some reason, I feel as though he's hiding something from me. He already told me he we're good friend, but I feel as though he's giving me some kind of special treatment. I don't know why, but the more time I spend with him, the more strange I feel. I can't put my finger on it, but maybe you could help em out. Why do I feel so comfortable, yet so weird around this guy?
Your friend, Sunset Shimmer"
She closed her book and started to head to sleep when something hit her mind. She quickly picked up the book and wrote;
"P.S. We're not a couple!"
