Now we're onto the second half of volume one of Art of a Sun's Love. Sunset and Vincent start bonding again, but what will Starlight and Trixie say or do about that?

Out of the chapters in the series, this one is the most contemporary with the song named for it; "My Valentine" was released as a single in December 2011, and then onto Kisses on the Bottom on February 6, 2012.

Sub-Volume 3 - Love is Blind

Chapter 8 - My Valentine (McCartney, 2012)

Written by Zack Wanzer and James Riddle

JANUARY 23, 2012

The next few months at Canterlot High School were largely uneventful. There was a Halloween costume contest in the gym, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks came and went, as did Vincent's fifteenth birthday.

One day, Vincent was walking down the hall when he spotted Sunset Shimmer. Even though she'd been mean to him at the Fall Formal - under Trixie and Starlight's influence - being around Sunset made Vincent feel happy. He really wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but with Flash still holding a grudge on her, that would be easier said than done.

"Hi, Sunset," he said, waving. Sunset smiled and waved back.

"Hey there, Vincent. Happy late birthday, even though it was actually almost a week ago."

"Thanks, Sunset," said Vincent. He was disappointed that Flash wouldn't let Sunset come to his and Fictionary's birthday party on Sunday the 22nd (since their birthdays were ten days apart, Fictionary wanted to celebrate both their birthdays together, so their average birthday was January 22), but Vincent was at least glad that Sunset remembered.

"Sorry about Flash," said Vincent. "If it weren't for him, I could have seen you at the party."

"It's okay," said Sunset. "At least we get to see each other during school."

"Ain't that the truth," agreed Vincent. "Say, did you have any plans Friday?"

"Not as far as I know," said Sunset. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after school," suggested Vincent. "You know get an ice cream, walk around the mall?"

"I'd love to," said Sunset. "What else did you have in mind?"

"We could also check out the railway museum," suggested Vincent.

"Oh, I'd love to," smiled Sunset.

With that, the two headed off to their classes.

Finally, thought Vincent. I got to speak with Sunset without Flash getting in the way; what could go wrong now?

What Vincent didn't know was that Flash had overheard them on the way to his own class.

I can't believe he's still trying to be friends with her, thought Flash.

Flash wanted to have a word with Vincent about the ordeal. His chance came at the end of the school day.

"May I have a word with you, Vincent?" he asked.

"What is it?" asked Vincent.

"I couldn't help but overhear you making plans with Sunset Shimmer."

"Oh, for goodness' sake!" snapped Vincent. "Can't you even leave both of us alone?!"

"It's for your own good, Vincent," insisted Flash.

"I told you I can take care of myself!" said Vincent, close to shouting. "I don't need my big brother constantly making decisions for me!"

With that, Vincent stormed off.

"He's right, you know," said a voice from behind. Flash turned around.

"You too, Twilight?"

"Vincent is your brother," insisted Twilight. "Don't you want him to be happy?"

"Of course I do, but..."

"Then why can't you let him be with whoever he wants to be with?" asked Twilight.

"I'm only trying to protect him from being hurt by Sunset again," insisted Flash.

"Well, maybe you don't know Sunset Shimmer like Vincent does," said Twilight. "Is that right, Flash?"

As much as he was unwilling to admit it, Flash knew that Twilight was right.

"You're right," sighed Flash.

JANUARY 27, 2012

It was Friday. Not only was it the day Sunset agreed to hang out with Vincent, it was also officially Fictionary's eleventh birthday.

"Happy Birthday, little sis," said Vincent.

"Thanks, Vincent," said Fictionary. "Can't you let me come with you and Sunset? I hate being left out."

"Oh, alright," chuckled Vincent. "You can come with."

Fictionary gave her brother a big hug. "Thanks," she said. "I promise I'll be good."

"I hope so," said Vincent. "The last thing I want is more humiliation."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Who's that?" Vincent wondered. He went to the door and opened it. Outside was none other than Sunset Shimmer.

"Hi there," she said. "Am I late?"

"Not at all," smiled Vincent. "You're just in time."

"Hi, Sunset!" waved Fictionary.

"She's coming too if it's okay with you," said Vincent.

"Of course it's okay," smiled Sunset. "The more the merrier."

"Hooray!" cheered Fictionary.

"If only Flash would be that cheerful about me," said Sunset.

"Eh, he'll get over it," said Vincent. I hope, he thought.

"Shall we get going?" asked Sunset.

"Sure," said Vincent. "Ready, little sis?"

"Ready," said Fictionary. With that, the three headed out.

"We'll be back later," Vincent called to his parents.

"Take care, you three," said Lullaby Strings, "and try to stay out of trouble!"

"We will," called Sunset.

Their first stop was at the Sweet Shoppe, more often known as Sugarcube Corner. Inside, the cafe was being run by married couple Carrot and Cup Cake. The former was tall and thin with moderate pistachio eyes and brilliant orange hair whilst the latter was shorter and slightly plump with rose eyes and light crimson hair with pale streaks.

On the floor was a girl of thirteen with light cerulean eyes and brilliant rose hair playing with two babies. One had brown hair and eyes, and the other had orange hair and azure eyes.

"Hello," said Vincent.

"Hi there!" the third girl squeaked excitedly, making Vincent, Sunset and Fictionary jump with surprise.

"I'm Pinkie Pie, and I work here."

"Do you really?" asked Vincent.

"Well, actually, it's a part-time job I have," Pinkie admitted. "But I really like it here."

"Well, I'm Vincent," said the blue haired boy, "that's my little sister Fictionary, and my friend Sunset Shimmer."

"Hi," waved Fictionary cheerfully.

"Hi there," said Sunset. "We haven't seen you at Canterlot High School."

"That's because I'm only thirteen, silly," giggled Pinkie Pie. "I'm too young to go to high school and I don't turn fourteen until the third of May."

"Have you thought of going there?" asked Fictionary. "I really want to go there and yet I've only turned eleven and still in elementary school."

"I sure do," said Pinkie Pie. "From what I've heard it's a really fun place to be."

"Except for Trixie and Starlight," Vincent muttered. But Pinkie didn't hear him. He, Sunset and Fictionary walked up to the counter.

"What can I get for you?" asked Mrs. Cake.

"I'd like a Hot Fudge Sundae please," said Fictionary.

"I'll take a strawberry milkshake," said Sunset. "What about you, Vincent?"

"I think I'll have a banana split," said Vincent.

"Coming right up," said Mrs. Cake.

As the three sat at a table and waited for their orders, this gave them a chance for some more talk with Pinkie Pie.

"Who were those babies you were playing with?" asked Fictionary.

"Pound and Pumpkin Cake," explained Pinkie Pie. "They're Mr. and Mrs. Cake's children and I sometimes babysit for them."

The two babies in question stopped playing with their toys and looked up at who they believed to be Pinkie's new friends.

"Hi there," Vincent said to them. The babies happily babbled.

"Aw, they like you," giggled Pinkie Pie.

"They're so adorable," Sunset cooed.

Just then, Mr. Cake brought the ice creams to the table.

"Here you go," he said kindly. "I see you've met our kids."

"Yeah. They're adorable," said Fictionary.

Pumpkin Cake reached out and tried to take Fictionary's sundae.

"Oh no, Pumpkin, sweetie," said Mr. Cake, picking up his baby daughter. She just whined in protest. "That's not food for you."

Suddenly, Vincent something soft and wet hit him on the face.

"Hey!" he cried. "What was that?" Then he noticed Sunset was giggling to herself.

"Gotcha," she winked. Vincent blushed and laughed as well.

"You little sneak," he said, getting some ice cream on his own spoon and aiming towards Sunset. But before he could, Sunset took hold of his hand. Vincent blushed harder as he felt Sunset's touch, and could swear he saw her blushing as well.

"Vincent's got a girlfriend," teased Fictionary in a singsong voice.

"Oooh, that reminds me," said Pinkie. "Valentines' Day is coming up! You two got any plans?"

"We-we're just friends," said Sunset, quickly taking her hand off of Vincent's.

"R-right," said Vincent.

"Then why are you blushing like that?" teased Fictionary.

"We're not blushing!" protested Vincent.

"It's just rather hot in here," insisted Sunset.

"Well, if you're sure," smirked Fictionary.

After finishing their ice cream, their next stop was the Canterlot Railway Museum.

"Feels like ages since we've been there," said Vincent to Fictionary.

"I know what you mean," said Fictionary. "I hope none of the steam engines there have been scrapped and replaced by diesels."

"Fic, a museum is about preserving pieces of history, not erasing it," laughed Vincent.

"My bad," said Fictionary.

The Canterlot Railway Museum was full of many wonderful old locomotives; whether they were American or British.

"There's even a few engines that aren't from either country," said Vincent to Sunset. "They've also got a few select diesels and electrics."

"It's a railfan's heaven," said Sunset.

"Sure is," agreed Vincent.

Sunset, Vincent, and Fictionary got to have their pictures taken by some of the engines. Their collective favorite was the one with the replica of the world famous "Stephenson's Rocket". They even got to take a ride on one of the demonstration trains.

"You think we'll ever get to be engine drivers one day?" asked Fictionary.

"One can only imagine if you've read the Thomas books," replied Vincent.

At last, it was time for them to go home. Despite a planned trip to the mall, it was very late in the day.

"Thanks for inviting me out, Vincent," said Sunset. "I had a really great time today."

"Me too!" added Fictionary. "Don't forget the little one here!"

"And it was fun to spend time with you too, Fictionary," said Sunset. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

Eventually, the big day, Valentine's Day, had come. The school's halls were decorated with red, pink, and white decorations, and students and teachers alike were giving gifts to show how much they cared. Well, most of them, anyway.

Sure looks nice this time of year, thought Vincent.

"Valentine's Day - bleugh!" said a voice from behind. Two guesses to who that was...

"Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash," said Vincent. "What's so wrong with Valentine's Day?"

"It's so sissy," protested Rainbow Dash. "Everybody acting all weird and talking about love. You would never catch me acting like that with a guy."

"And yet you wonder why Trixie and Starlight spread rumors that you're a lesbian," retorted Vincent.

Rainbow Dash went red with a mixture of fury and embarrassment, but mostly the former. "I'm not a lesbian, van Colt!" she snapped. "But I'm not straight either."

"So you're a bi, then?"

"Shut up!" snapped Rainbow Dash. "Shut up nine times!"

"...I heard that you and Soarin were dating..."

"We were not!" protested Rainbow Dash, blushing. "We're just good friends."

"Ohhh, I can see it, Dashie," smirked Vincent. Rainbow Dash just stormed off, fuming.

"She's so in love with him, I can tell."

Vincent then took something out of his book-bag. It was a Valentine card.

"I hope Sunset will like it," he said to himself. He slipped it into the vent to Sunset's locker and made his way to class. What Vincent didn't know was that Starlight and Trixie had watched him.

"He thinks Sunset's gonna return his feelings, isn't he?" said Starlight. "He really is that desperate and pathetic."

"What say you and I help him see sense?" suggested Trixie.

"How do we achieve that if little Vinnie's wrapped around her finger?" Starlight asked bluntly.

"Baby steps, Starlight," said Trixie. "First we have to get that Valentine out of Sunset's locker. Then when Vincent gets no thanks, he'll believe she didn't like it."

Starlight thought about this for a moment or two, but then she found a flaw in Trixie's plan...

"How do we open the locker? Only Sunset knows her combination, and since we can't ask..."

"Who said anything about asking?"

Trixie took a paper clip out of her pocket and began to twist it about.

"I read about it online," she explained to Starlight. "Useful for pranks. Now you keep guard while I work my magic."

"Oh, so you're the leader now?" Starlight scoffed.

"Just keep a damn eye out."

"Fine," snorted Starlight.

While Starlight kept guard, Trixie used her clip to pick the lock to Sunset's locker. After some fiddling around, Trixie managed to open Sunset's locker.

"Jackpot," she said. She pulled out the Valentine and showed it to Starlight.

"Hey, Star; look at what he wrote in it," she said.

"What did he write?" asked Starlight.

"O' Sunset Shimmer, your beauty full of grace.
Your hair fits your name like the ringing of a bell,
And your smile brightens up even the darkest place.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" said Trixie.

"It sure is," said Starlight.

"What do you suggest we do with it then?" asked Trixie.

"Best hide it before Sunset gets back," said Starlight. Quickly, she shut the locker door and the two girls scampered away.

Just then, Sunset walked by. She stopped by her locker and opened it.

"I almost forgot something," she said to herself. She stuck a hand into her locker and pulled out what she was looking for.

"I hope Vincent likes the Valentine I got him," she said to herself. The Valentine was a card that came with a small marshmallow candy bar. Sunset laid the Valentine down while she went to get some books. This gave the two girls a chance.

"Sorry, Sunny," grinned Starlight as she picked it up. "You're not getting any love today, nor are you giving it!"

She quickly slipped away before Sunset could look. By the time she did, Trixie and Starlight had gone.

"Hey!" she cried. "Where'd my card go?"

A little later, Vincent was sitting at lunch. Sunset hadn't spoken to him for almost the whole school day. She didn't even give him a Valentine card.

"Maybe she's forgotten about me," he said sadly to himself.

"Poor lonely Vincent," said a voice.

"What do you want?" he muttered. It was none other than Trixie and Starlight.

"Just to talk," said Starlight.

"Get to the point," snapped Vincent.

"We couldn't help but notice how unhappy you were," said Trixie, putting an arm around Vincent's shoulder.

"I was hoping that Sunset would like the card I gave her," said Vincent. "But she hasn't said a thing to me all day. She didn't even give me a card herself."

"Sounds to me like she doesn't care for you as much as you thought she did," said Trixie.

"Take our advice, Vincent," said Starlight. "You're better off without her."

Their words hit Vincent hard. Tears formed in his eyes, and he quickly stood up and ran out of the room.

"I think that went very well," said Trixie.

At that moment, Song Cue was going to her locker (she didn't have the same lunch schedule that day as Vincent). Suddenly, a flash of yellow and blue raced by her, almost knocking her books out of her arms.

"Vincent?" asked Song Cue.

"I don't wanna talk about it!" cried Vincent.

But before Song Cue could reply, Vincent had disappeared around the corner, crying his eyes out.

"Why's he so sad?" asked Song Cue. Suddenly, she spotted something by one of the trash cans.

"What's this?" She picked it up and saw that it was a Valentine card.

"For Sunset Shimmer!" Song Cue exclaimed. "Why would anyone think of throwing it away?"

Vincent finally stopped by the school's fountain, crying. Sunset Shimmer was taking a walk when she saw him.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed and she got closer to him. "Vincent, what's the matter?"

Vincent looked up. "Am I not good enough to be your friend?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Sunset surprised. "Where would you get such an idea?"

"Starlight and Trixie said you didn't care for me and that I was better off without you."

"Why would you believe them?" asked Sunset. "Those two are nothing but liars!"

"But you never even thanked me for the Valentine I got you," said Vincent.

Sunset looked at him with confusion. "I didn't get anything from you."

Vincent was surprised. "You didn't? I thought I slipped one into your locker..."

Just then, Song Cue raced up. "Vincent! Sunset!" she cried, catching her breath.

"What's up?" asked Sunset.

"Look what I found by the trash," said Song Cue, showing the Valentine.

"What's it say?" asked Sunset, taking it.

"That's the Valentine I put in your locker!" cried Vincent.

Sunset read what was written. Once she had finished, she blushed bright red.

"You... really think that about me?" she asked.

"Y-yes," said Vincent sheepishly. Without warning, Sunset pulled Vincent in for a kiss. Now it was his turn to blush red.

"It was so sweet of you, Vincent," said Sunset. "Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome," replied Vincent. "Did you have something for me?"

"I did," said Sunset, "but I guess somebody stole it."

"Why would they do something like that?" asked Vincent.

"Maybe someone doesn't want you and Sunset together," suggested Song Cue.

Sounds like something Flash might do, thought Vincent suspiciously.

"Well, it's not their choice!" said Sunset firmly. "We can end up with who we want to, like you and Comet."

Song Cue blushed at what Sunset had said. "W-we're just good friends!" she protested.

"Then why are you blushing?" teased Sunset.

"Let's go back inside," said Vincent.

"Okay then, Vincent."

With that, the three walked back inside, Vincent and Sunset holding hands. Starlight Glimmer had seen everything, and she was furious. She later confronted Trixie over the matter.

"It didn't work!" she snapped.

"What didn't?" asked Trixie.

"The card snatching!" snapped Starlight. "They're still together!"

"But that's impossible!" protested Trixie. "I made sure I disposed of it in the trash can!"

"Well, Song Cue found it!" snapped Starlight. "Why didn't you think of using a shredder?!"

"I didn't think that far ahead!" snapped Trixie. "By the way, why are we trying to keep those two apart?"

"Why should they get to have happiness and I don't?" asked Starlight.

"What are you talking about?" asked Trixie, not understanding where Starlight was coming from.

"You wouldn't understand," said Starlight quietly.

"Don't worry," said Trixie. "There's always another plan. Where there's a will, there's a way."

Starlight perked up a bit, a malevolent grin on her face.

"Yes..." she said deviously. "There's always a way..."

FOOTNOTE

The Cake twins were born around the fourth quarter of 2011, three months before their debut in Baby Cakes, which aired January 14, 2012 (three days before my seventeenth birthday!)