Something's Not Right

As was so often expected during the lunch hour of Canterlot High, the school's cafeteria was abuzz with activity. Boys and girls from all over CHS had come together, now hanging out with their friends and cliques, enjoying their lunches and just generally hanging out with one another. But, amidst all this activity was one notable table, that of the Rainbooms. Though these girls, heroines of the school, were largely known for extraordinary goings on, even they had their quiet days. And today was just such an occasion, as all of them seemed content to simply sit together and eat. Some, like Pinkie, were more enthusiastic about their food than others, wolfing it down with little regard for etiquette, which got on Rarity's nerves no end, but, all-in-all, things were relatively peaceful. That is, until Rainbow decided to break the silence at long last.

"So, Sunset. How's that sciency thingy you were going on about?"

Chuckling slightly, the former unicorn looked up from her meal before giving her answer.

"It's fine actually. Thanks for asking. There are a few things I need to sort out, but otherwise, it's pretty much done."

Rainbow nodded at that, turning her attention back to her meal. But, after downing a few bites of it, she looked up, noticing something a little odd. Fluttershy, who, as most would expect, hadn't said anything for a while, was in the process of drinking quite a large glass of water. One by one, her friends began to notice this also, and soon, all of them were staring at her as she just drunk the whole thing, never once coming up for air before it was done. When she finally did finish, she gently placed her glass down, letting out a deep sigh as she did so. Unfortunately, it was here that she noticed the eyes of her friends, causing her to blush a little as she meekly spoke up.

"Um...yes? Is something wrong?"

Looking left and right, Rainbow cleared her throat a little before replying.

"Well...it's just...you seemed really thirsty just now, Flutters."

As one would expect of a girl like Fluttershy, this led to a more fierce blush on her part, but, rather than shy away, she instead poked her index fingers against one another as she tried explaining herself.

"Oh...um...well...I was just feeling a bit thirstier than normal. I mean, it's probably just me, but...um...it's been feeling a little warm lately."

None of the other girls seemed to look down on her for her reasoning, and in fact, many of them seemed sympathetic, especially Applejack, who took this moment to start speaking up herself.

"Well shoot, sugarcube. That ain't no reason ta fret. Ah'm feeling rather baked mahself lately."

To emphasise her point, the farm girl took off her famous Stetson hat and started gently fanning herself with it. Rarity, but contrast, simply swept aside some of her purple hair before adding her own voice to the mix.

"Yes, well, my guess is that the school's air conditioning must be faulty. There have been a few reports of bad equipment about as of late after all."

There were a few general nods of agreement to that, but, before anyone else had a chance to say anything, they were interrupted by the sound of somebody clearing their throat. Turning in unison, the girls all saw that, to their slight surprise, one of their fellow students, a boy, had arrived at their table. Sporting green dreadlocks and a distinct beanie hat, this boy earned himself a few smiles from the girls when they realised who it was.

"Hey there, Sandalwood. What's up?" Rainbow asked.

Shrugging his shoulders and smiling back, Sandalwood slipped off his school back-pack and placed it on the girls' table, opening it up as he started speaking back to them.

"Nothing much. Just got back from watching Flash's band play."

To that, Sunset raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I mean, don't get me wrong, Flash's music is good and all, but how can you guys stand to be playing in that practise room when it's so hot today?"

Turning to her, the boy gained a look of confusion.

"Er...hot?"

Rainbow let out a brief cackle before speaking up.

"Yeah! It's like a hot summer day right now!"

Sandalwood heard that, looking to each of the girls, before reaching up and scratching his head briefly.

"Um...maybe I'm not feeling it, but...it's actually not that warm today. I actually had to come to school in a coat and everything."

Naturally, the girls all seemed rather taken aback by such a comment, and while some might have wanted to refute the boy's point, they instead began to look around them. Sure enough, as they looked around at their fellow classmates, they noticed that none of them seemed to look as if they were suffering any kind of severe warmth. No fanning themselves with their hands. No beads of sweat. Nothing. This was, of course, an odd moment for them all, but mostly, they just looked to each other as if it was something not worth worrying about, instead looking over to Sandalwood as he began to speak again.

"Anyways...I thought I'd pop over and give Pinkie a little something."

Hearing that, Pinkie's eyes widened, she clasped her hands together, broke out into a massive smile and let out a loud gasp as she regarded the boy.

"Oooh! Is it that super-special-awesomely-super thing?"

The girls, naturally, seemed confused by such a remark. But Sandalwood, simply letting out a hearty laugh, reached into his bag and pulled out a small box, after which he handed it over to the pink girl.

"You know it."

Taking the box, Pinkie immediately got to opening it up, revealing its contents; a very special-looking mixing bowl, perfect for the kinds of baking she normally did in her spare time. Needless to say, Pinkie looked to the gift with her usual amount of enthusiasm.

"Wow, Sandy! This really is super-special!"

Folding his arms, the boy laughed again before replying.

"No problem. After all those parties you helped me set, it's the least I could do."

Putting her gift down, Pinkie looked up to the boy, still maintaining her big smile, and leapt forward, embracing him in one of her customary friendship hugs. The boy, perhaps not used to such a thing, found himself very nearly winded by such a cuddly attack, which actually amused the rest of the girls a great deal, with giggles abound on the table. Fortunately, the boy soon composed himself enough to return the hug, which ended soon afterwards, with Pinkie parting from him. Then, before anyone could say or do anything, Pinkie leaned in close and, in a move that shocked all of them, planted a tender kiss upon Sandalwood's cheek. The area around heir table fell deathly silent, with nobody believing their eyes. Sandalwood especially seemed practically frozen by this turn of events, almost like he were a statue. As for Pinkie, she simply smiled sweetly at him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks again, Sandy!"

And with that, she took her seat once more, resuming her lunch from earlier. Sandalwood, by contrast, remained dumbfounded for a few minutes, to the point where the rest of the girls actually started to worry about him. But, thankfully for all concerned, he soon shook himself out of it, blushing a great deal before giving a nervous chuckle, after which he started to move off, looking over his shoulder to Pinkie the whole way. Now knowing they were out of earshot of the boy, Sunset leaned in closer, keeping her voice almost to a whisper as she spoke to her friend.

"Pinkie? Wha...what was that all about?"

Pinkie, looking to Sunset, and then to the rest of her friends, only now seemed to really grasp what had just happened, turning over to where the boy had been a few minutes ago. After looking as if she was deep in thought for a while, she started to gain a small blush of her own, but nevertheless kept her smile as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Dunno. Guess I was just feeling really friendly today."

Hearing that response, Rarity looked to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Pinkie, darling, I'm well aware that you're probably more affectionate than most, but you should be a bit more careful. Don't want to give the poor boy the wrong impression after all."

But Pinkie looked to her, seeming barely fazed by her words.

"Silly! It's not just him. I don't know why, but I've been getting this...I dunno...this feeling today. Like I wanna hug every boy I see. I know it's kinda weird, but hey, when have hugs ever been bad?"

Chuckling slightly, Applejack leaned in closer to her friend.

"Well, there was that one time ya tried doin it ta mah brother during his last birthday. Poor fella still ain't the same."

Looking a bit guilty, Pinkie looked to Applejack.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

But, none of them seemed all that troubled by the event in question, with all of them simply laughing together about it all. That is, except for Sunset, who looked to Pinkie with some curiosity, and even, so a small degree, some concern.

"Pinkie...this feeling you've been having. It...it wouldn't, by any chance, have started yesterday afternoon, would it?"

Pinkie turned to her, her smile fading just a little, as she started pondering that for a moment.

"Well...yeah, I think so. Why?"

Sunset, at this moment, noted that all of her other friends were starting to look to her, bearing similarly curious looks. For a brief moment, the former unicorn seemed reluctant to speak, almost to the point of being embarrassed by something. But, as time went on, and the stares of her friends persisted, she simply slumped her shoulders and let out a sigh.

"Because...in all honesty...I've been getting those feelings myself lately."

Needless to say, the other girls seemed quite surprised by such news, but, rather than what Sunset was expecting, they all started to look at each other with varying degrees of nervousness. As for Pinkie, she seemed, by contrast, rather eager about the whole thing.

"Wow, Sunset! That's incredible! We can be, like hug-buddies or something!"

Knowing that Pinkie was completely sincere in such a remark, Sunset couldn't help but smile and give a brief laugh in response to such a statement. But, before she managed to get any further words out, Rainbow, who was scratching the back of her head in an obviously-nervous way, started speaking up.

"Um...yeah. I think...well...that I may have...you know...kinda started feeling that way myself...a little."

Sunset looked to her with surprise, but again, she couldn't say anything, as Applejack now added her voice to the mix.

"Yeah. Same here too."

Sunset regarded her with equal shock at that, and soon afterwards, she turned to her last two friends. While Fluttershy, naturally, bore a fiercely red face over this issue, Rarity tried her best to remain as dignified as possible.

"Well...I suppose I may have been feeling rather...warmly to the boys of late. Of course, a lady wouldn't simply act on such feelings willy-nilly like that."

Applejack and Rainbow both rolled their eyes at that remark, and as for Sunset, she sat there, scratching her chin, looking deep in thought for a few moments, muttering a few words here and there.

"Hmmm...all of us getting strange feelings...all feeling warmer than it actually is..."

Looking to her, Fluttershy noted that, just for a moment, Sunset's face bore a look of recognition, like the kind of expression one would wear when meeting someone familiar.

"Um...Sunset? Is...is everything alright?"

Turning to her quiet friend, Sunset broke into a small smile, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. Just thinking out loud. I mean...I was just thinking this whole thing felt somewhat familiar to me, that's all."

Looking down to her still-uneaten lunch, Sunset chuckled a little.

"You know, it's funny. If I didn't know better, I say I was about...to go...into..."

She stopped mid-sentence, leading to all of her friends looking to her with confusion. Sitting there, Sunset regained her thoughtful expression, muttering a few things under her breath, while her expression was one of incredulity. Then, slowly, it morphed into one of confusion. Then, it was shock. And finally, it was a look of great concern. Gradually, she looked up at all of her friends, many of whom started to seem worried about her. When she spoke, she kept her voice as quiet as possible, despite very much sounding like she'd rather speak at the top of her lungs.

"Girls...we need to get to the music room...right now."

As one would expect after such a statement, the girls all looked to each other with confusion, culminating with Rainbow looking back to Sunset.

"Er...Sunset? What's going on?"

Looking over her shoulder, Sunset seemed to be making sure that nobody else could hear her, before looking back to Rainbow.

"It's just...I need to talk to you all...right now."

Again, the girls looked to one another, and again, one of them spoke. This time, it was Rarity.

"Sunset. What exactly do you need to talk about that's got you so worried?"

Biting her lip slightly, the fiery-haired girl gave her answer, though not one that filled them with any confidence.

"Girls...if I'm right...we have a very, very big problem!"

Confirming Suspicions

The music room was, without question, the most popular hang-out spot of Sunset and her friends. And yet, today, during the lunch hour, it sat nearly vacant, with it's many instruments simply placed by the side, ready to use when their owners arrived. However, the place was not entirely empty today, as there, sitting in the corner, was none other than Twilight Sparkle, a recent transfer student from Crystal Prep. At this present moment, the spectacled girl was busy, holding a notepad and writing down furiously, with a strange blush upon her cheeks as she did so. However, as she absent-mindedly chewed on the end of her pencil, the door of the room flew open. Immediately, Twilight got to her feet, hiding the notes behind her back as if embarrassed, and it was here when she realised who it was that now entered this place.
"What the...?" she started.

Looking on, Twilight noted as all of her friends from this school, Rainbow, Applejack and the rest, all came flooding into the place, with Sunset at the rear. Though curious, Twilight nevertheless gained a small smile as the girls noticed her, with Pinkie especially seeming as happy as ever to see her. However, as Sunset looked back into the hallways behind her, making sure that there was nobody else about, she finally saw Twilight, gaining a look of curiosity as she did so.

"Twilight? What are you doing here?"

Hearing that, the girl held onto her notes even tighter, her blush returning from earlier as she attempted to answer.

"Well...um...I was in the middle of research and...well...I felt like I just needed a quiet place to do it."

Sunset raised an eyebrow, already feeling suspicious about the way in which the girl had answered her. The others too were curious, though they remained silent, instead watching as Sunset began to approach the former Crystal Prep girl.

"Twilight...this research? It wouldn't, by any chance, happen to be of a...personal nature, would it?"

Twilight looked to her, at the almost-piercing gaze Sunset was giving her, and found herself stunned. Though the words had undoubtedly been vague, there was just enough of an edge to them so that, in an instant, Twilight understood the subtext behind Sunset's question. And yet, there was no sense of accusation behind them, merely curiosity and concern, which, over time, led the girl to eventually nod, still looking hesitant to do so. Slowly, she brought out her notes, causing Sunset to regard them carefully, before nervously behind handed them by Twilight. With a grateful expression, Sunset accepted, and soon began looking over the notes. As time went on, and the other girls were looking increasingly impatient, Sunset's expression changed many times, eventually settling on what seemed to be acceptance, as evidenced by the sigh she let out.

"I thought so. You too, eh?"

Twilight, adjusting her glasses, gave a brief nod. Sunset, maintaining a neutral expression as she finally turned to face the other girls, and it was here when Rainbow, tapping her foot against the ground, finally spoke out.

"Okay, are you gonna tell us what's going on or what?"

Sunset exhaled deeply, looking pretty concerned throughout. Her eyes, for a moment, seemed hesitant to look at her friends, but, in the end, she finally got her words out.

"This...this is going to sound incredibly invasive on my part, but...I want you all to think back over the last year. When was the last time any of you experienced...well...your time-of-the-month?"

Immediately, the room broke out into all of the myriad expressions Sunset expected, from surprise and shock to such a bold question, to outright disgust and embarrassment. Many blushes and avoided gazes were had as a result of that question, not to mention a deep and uncomfortable silence. But, after a good long while, it was Rarity who finally broke the silence.

"My dear Sunset! What on earth would make you ask such a question?"

Sunset turned to her with a look of utter seriousness.

"Trust me on this Rarity. Because if I'm right, it's very important for me to know."

Rarity, much like the rest of the girls, seemed sceptical at such a statement, and yet, if only to humour their friend, they stopped and considered the question for a moment. Another silence followed, during which, many of the girls, perhaps as Sunset expected, began to look curious, and then confused, looking to each other to gauge each other's reactions. Eventually, and after a great deal of hesitation form all of them, it was Applejack who spoke up next.

"Well...actually...now that ya mention it...ah don't think ah've had mine since...since..."

But Sunset finished her words for her.

"Since you first ponied up?"

Applejack closed her mouth, giving a single nod in response, prompting Sunset to sigh.

"I thought so."

Rainbow took a step forward, frowning slightly and placing her hands upon her hips as she spoke up.

"Okay, that's it! Enough mystery already! What's going on, Sunset?"

For a moment, there was another silence, and Sunset looked over to Twilight, who seemed just as reluctant to speak as she did. However, after giving each other mutual nods, Sunset looked back to her friends and started speaking.

"I've had my suspicions, but...after recent events, I think it's pretty much confirmed. Our use of Equestrian magic has...changed us."

The other girls all took on looks of confusion, with the exception of Rainbow.

"What, you mean like when we grow wings and stuff?"

Sunset shook her head.

"Not just that. I think...I think the Equestrian magic has altered our bio-chemistry, making us more akin to the ponies of Equestria. At least...one part of our biology."

Raising a hand, Rainbow grabbed the bridge of her nose and groaned a little.

"Ugh! In English, Sunset!"

Taking a deep breath, Sunset gave the direct answer that was demanded of her.

"Girls...I think...we've all gone into heat."

The silence that followed was one that, if anything, utterly dwarfed the ones that had come before. All of the girls, as soon as they'd heard that, stood as still as statues. So silent was this room now that, had a pin dropped, it would have sounded like an utter clamour. They looked to Sunset, bearing looks that made it clear that they were hoping desperately that she was joking in some way. But, as the silence continued, and Sunset maintained that look of seriousness, they knew, in their hearts, that this was no joke on her part. Slowly, they began to look at each other, except for Fluttershy, who had taken to hiding her face behind her long, pink hair. A good deal of time finally passed before someone said anything, and, as before, it was Applejack.

"Um...heat? Ya mean like...?"

But, again like before, Sunset spoke her words for her.

"Yeah...mating season for ponies."

The girls continued to stare at her, perhaps out of some need for further explanation, or maybe in the hopes that, if they stared long enough, they'd all just wake up form whatever bad dream this was for them. Sunset elected to go the former route, and so cleared her throat a little before starting to explain things further.

"Look...back home, in Equestria, once a year, mares would go through a period of about two weeks when their bodies would basically encourage them to find a mate and, well, you know."

The blushes that crept onto all of their faces made it obvious that they did, indeed, know. Seeing this, Sunset continued.

"There's a lot of technical stuff about it, but, bottom line, their hormone levels would shoot through the roof and they'd be more, for lack of a better word, affectionate than normal."

At long last, somebody spoke amongst the other girls, and as before, it was Rainbow.

"That...that...that sounds like the lamest porno story ever!"

Instantly, all eyes were on the athlete, with Rarity especially looking astonished by such a remark.

"Rainbow!"

Turning to her, Rainbow shrugged her shoulders.

"What? You're all thinking it! A group of young girls all getting hit by some magical whatever, making them all horny and stuff? That sounds like the start of every single badly-written fantasy porn out there!"

Looking to her with a raised eyebrow, Applejack replied to that.

"And how, exactly, do ya know what a bad porno look like?"

Looking back to her, Rainbow gained a somewhat mischievous smirk.

"Let's just say my old friend Gilda wasn't as clever with her hiding places as she thought she was."

Most of the girls, understandably, simply shook their heads in a vain attempt to get that particular train-of-thought out of them as fast as possible. But, after yet another pause between them, another of their number spoke up to Sunset, though to her surprise, it was Fluttershy.

"And...um...you've...you've been through this before?"

Sunset gave a nod.

"I did. Back home. But ever since I came here, well, it's been replaced with what human girls go through instead, at least, until now."

Folding her arms, she turned away from them and took on a ponderous look.

"To be honest, I've never been able to decide which was worse."

As she turned back to them, it was Rarity who spoke next.

"And...you believe we're all going through this...heat?"

Again, Sunset nodded.

"I think, when we all used our Equestrian magic, it changed us, made us closer to ponies on the inside, as well as the outside. Changed us to the point that, now, we have reproductive cycles more in-line with what those in Equestria have to go through."

At that, Rarity looked utterly aghast, flinging the back of her hand up to her forehead, and began speaking out in that dramatic was she was so known for.

"Oh! This is terrible news! This is it! This is the end!"

Sunset raised an eyebrow at that.

"Rarity..." she started.

"I'm going to end up in a one-night stand with some stranger!"

"Rarity..."

"I'm going to be with child! I'll turn into one of those too-young mothers and end up on one of those dreadful talk shows!"

"Rarity!"

The young fashionista was taken aback by Sunset's suddenly aggressive tone, but the latter, taking a few calming breaths, took a few steps closer to her, holding onto her hand and trying to look as reserved as possible.

"Rarity...none of that is going to happen."

Rarity, looking quite hopeful all of a sudden, spoke to her with a somewhat shaky voice.

"It...it's not?"

Smiling, Sunset shook her head.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

Placing a hand upon Rarity's shoulder in an attempt to further calm her, Sunset then looked to the rest of her friends.

"Look...I know you're all worried about this, and I can completely understand that. This is new territory for all of you, but I promise I can help you through it."

Raising an eyebrow, Rainbow took on a more sceptical look as she regarded her friend.

"No offense, Sunset, but how? I mean, according to you, we've all got this crazy magical mumbo-jumbo going on that's gonna make us wanna...ya know...hit the sack and stuff."

Needless to say, Fluttershy, upon hearing that, took to hiding her face again, all while Sunset gave Rainbow her response.

"I know. But, back in Equestria, there were many ways by which young mares, like me, could help to avoid all that. We never had contraception, at least, not like this word does, since pregnancy only ever really occurred during heat. But, we did have means to lessen the effects of heat, and dull it's edge to the point where we could control it."

As one would expect, all of the girls turned to her with hopeful looks, with Applejack stepping forward next.

"Okay then, Sunset. If ya say ya can help us, then we'll wait fer ya."

Sunset smiled, looking more than a little appreciative of that, especially when she looked around, seeing similarly-trusting look from the rest of her friends. However, before she could say or do anything, she was interrupted by the sound of knocking on the door. Sunset, like the rest of the girls, was both taken aback and confused by this, but the former nevertheless walked over, turning the knob and opening the door. There, on the other side, a familiar, blue-haired face was smiling back at her.

"Hey there, Sunset," Flash remarked.

Smiling a little, Sunset responded.

"Hi, Flash."

But, as soon as her smile had come, it vanished, replaced instead by a look of shock and realisation.

"Gah! What...what...what are you doing here?!"

Flash was a little confused as to this reaction from his friend, but even so, he gave his answer.

"Well...um...Rainbow invited me?"

Immediately, Sunset turned to the girl in question, who only now took on a look of realisation, slapping her forehead as she did so.

"Argh! Right! Guitar practise!"

Flash nodded at that, patting the guitar case he was carrying in one hand.

"Yep. So, is this a good time, or...?"

Looking back to him, Sunset seemed to mentally debate with herself for a few moments before letting out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Flash, it's just that-umph!"

To Sunset's shock, a familiar blue hand clasped over her mouth, with Rainbow now standing to one side of her and nervously chuckling at Flash.

"Could you excuse us just one minute, Flash?"

To that, Flash simply shrugged his shoulders and nodded, prompting Rainbow to smile back at him before dragging Sunset off to the side. There, the other girls congregated around them as Rainbow finally released her. And while angry, Sunset nevertheless kept her voice down to a hush as much as possible, lest Flash hear them.

"Rainbow?! What are you...?"

But Rainbow soon interrupted.

"Look. We don't want Flash or anybody else getting wise to what's going on right now. I mean, can you image what would happen if this kinda thing was leaked to anybody else? If we start cancelling plans and stuff, people are gonna start suspecting that something's off."

Sunset rained an eyebrow, but looked around as Rarity then added her voice to the mix.

"While I'm usually loathe to agree with Rainbow on most matters, I feel that, in this case, she has a point. Discrepancy is probably the best course of action."

Sunset looked around at the rest of the group, to Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy, and saw that all of them seemed to be in agreement over this. Thinking over the matter for a bit, Sunset eventually let out a long sigh before giving a nod, consenting to the matter.

"Alright. We'll keep going on as normal for now."

But, she soon looked up more seriously to Rainbow.

"Rainbow...are you sure you're going to be okay here with him?"

To that, Rainbow snorted a little.

"Please, Sunset! I've gone pretty much my whole life without ever chasing a guy. I think I can handle being around Flash until you get that medicine or whatever sorted out."

Again, Sunset seemed thoughtful, and again, she gave a nod, agreeing to Rainbow's position. The group then parted, looking over to Flash, who seemed to be patiently waiting at the door still.

"So...can I come in?"

The girls all looked to one another for a moment, culminating in Sunset speaking up for all of them.

"Sure."

Smiling, Flash began walking over to one side of the room, wherein he started setting up his guitar. The girls all gave one final glance to each other before, in the interests of secrecy, starting to make their way out of the music room, leaving only Rainbow behind for her pre-arranged guitar session. For a brief moment, Sunset gave a glance to her friend, which was responded to with a casual thumbs up by the latter. Smiling, Sunset joined her friends and left the room, closing the door behind her as she did so. Once outside, she looked to each of her friends, and after a while, they nodded to one another, before starting to part ways. Once alone, Sunset looked over in the direction of the library, a look of determination upon her face.

"Okay then...time to get to work."

It Gets Worse

If the school's cafeteria was the most popular and busy destination for its students, then the library was easily on the opposite end of that spectrum. While no student at CHS outright shirked their studies, they nevertheless rarely came to this place, leaving it perhaps as silent as most people would expect a library to be. Although, to be frank, that often left the resident librarian, Cheerilee, very happy. However, of the few students who did choose to be here today, by far the most notable was Sunset Shimmer. There, the former unicorn sat at her favourite desk, pouring over book after book, looking desperate to find the one tidbit of information and knowledge she sought. However, given the look of frustration upon her face, it was clear that she was getting nowhere fast.

"Ugh! There's got to be something here I can use!"

Page after page she turned, her eyes as sharp and focused as ever as she continued on her search. However, unbeknownst to her, a single figure was approaching from behind, taking very careful steps, lest the girl hear it. Finally, it struck, reaching around from behind to embrace Sunset, with familiar yellow hands clasping in front of the girl's chest.

"Guess who?" the voice asked in a sultry manner.

"GAH!!!" Sunset called out.

Needless to say, in an environment as neat and well-kept as this, Sunset's sudden outburst earned her a very loud "shhh" from Cheerilee, who, as always, disappeared behind a nearby bookcase as quickly as she had come. Slapping a hand over her mouth, Sunset spun around as soon as the mystery hands let her go, seeing, as she'd suspected, that a certain fellow Equestrian was there, smirking right back at her.

"Always a pleasure, Sunset."

Adagio Dazzle, the eldest of the Siren sisters, stood above Sunset with a hand upon her hip, looking as confident and sure of herself as ever. As one would expect, Sunset was in no mood for such interruptions at this point, as evidenced by the scowl she gave as she kept her voice as hushed as possible.

"Adagio! What are you doing?"

Chuckling to herself, the Siren walked around the desk to the other side, swaying her hips in that usual way of hers, before grabbing hold of a nearby chair and taking a seat opposite Sunset.

"Oh, Sunset. Where's the fun in having friends if you can't enjoy a surprise grope every once in a while?"

Shaking her head at such a remark, Sunset let out a groan of annoyance before looking back down to her book.

"Adagio...look...I'm really busy at the moment. I'll talk with you later, okay?"

Raising an eyebrow, Adagio noted the manner in which Sunset had spoken to her, which, naturally, piqued her interest.

"My my. If I didn't know better, I'd say you had something important on your mind."

The sarcasm in her voice was clear, and earned her yet another scowl from Sunset.

"It...it's personal, okay?"

To that, Adagio merely smirked again.

"Oh, my dear girl, now you simply have to tell me what's going on!"

Looking up from her book again, Sunset raised an eyebrow, regarding Adagio for a few moments of silence before slumping her shoulders in a gesture of defeat.

"You're not gonna leave until I tell you, are you?"

Shaking her head, Adagio gave Sunset the answer she sought, leading to another groan on the part of the latter. After yet further silence, the younger Equestrian looked over her shoulder, making sure that she was out of earshot of any potential students, before looking back to her guest. With that done, she finally spoke, though made sure to be as quiet as possible when doing so.

"It's just...my friends and I have learned that our using Equestrian magic may have made us...well...go into heat."

Hearing that, Adagio's face went about as blank as Sunset could ever remember seeing on her, just like her friends had looked when she had told them about this. But, in stark contrast to how they had reacted, when Adagio finally spoke up, she did so with a look of almost amusement.

"Oh...that is so...cute!"

Sunset frowned at that.

"Adagio! This is serious!"

Chuckling again, the elder Siren leaned back into her chair before answering that.

"Oh, I'm sure you think so, Sunset. It's just...so amusing to me that you girls actually end up in this position, all raunchy and in need of a little love."

Sunset rolled her eyes at such words, and Adagio then leaned in closer.

"So...which lucky fellows are you girls going to be relieving yourselves on?"

Sunset snapped her head back in Adagio's direction, shaking it fiercely.

"Oh no! We are not doing that! We're going to keep control of ourselves and avoid that sort of thing in any way we can!"

With that, Adagio's smile faded, and she took on a mild frown of her own.

"Hmph. Spoilsports."

Shaking her head, Sunset got back to looking at her book at last, at which point Adagio finally regarded the thing.

"So...I assume this little project of yours has something to do with your...hot problem?"

Sighing, Sunset looked back up at her.

"I'm trying to find a means of making heat-suppressants. Back in Equestria, there were a number of plants and herbs that, when ground up and added to water, could help lessen the effects of heat."

Adagio nodded.

"I see. So you're trying to find those plants now, in this world?"

Sunset shook her head.

"Afraid not. I already know that's not an option."

Adagio raised an eyebrow, displaying clear curiosity over that, which prompted Sunset to explain herself further.

"It's just...when I first came to this world, all those years ago, I was acting under the assumption that girls worked in the same way that mares did, with heat and everything. Before I discovered how they actually worked, I tried searching for those plants, only to find they didn't even exist in this world."

Looking away for a moment, Sunset took on a brief look of near-relief.

"Fortunately, by that point, I came to understand how things really were for girls here, so I wasn't too bothered about it."

For a moment, Adagio looked somewhat confused.

"So...if you already know they don't exist...?"

Sunset looked back to her, already figuring out what she was going to say, and let out a sigh.

"I know the exact plants don't exist, but I'm hoping, with enough research, I can find some other plant with a similar enough chemical makeup that can act as...I don't know...a substitute or something."

Adagio nodded, showing she understood, after which she leaned back into her chair again.

"Well, if you or the other girls ever decide to just go ahead and embrace your sudden urges..."

Her usual smirk reared its head again.

"...feel free to come to me for advice on how to deal with that."

Again, Sunset rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to take that into consideration."

Adagio raised a hand to her mouth, stifling a hearty laugh at Sunset's reaction, before leaning forward again and speaking up.

"Well, whatever plan you have, I suggest you get to it, Sunset, given how far along you are in this problem."

Sunset nodded, getting back to her book. But, after a few minutes of reading, she stopped, looking back up to Adagio with curiosity plastered all over her face.

"What...what do you mean?"

Again, Adagio smirked.

"I mean...and there really is no other way to say this...but you smell good today."

Needless to say, Sunset was both confused and disturbed by such words, and stared at Adagio for some time. The Siren stared back, retaining her smirk, causing Sunset to think hard on her words. Then, one thought in particular crept up into the girl's mind, causing her eyes to widen slightly. Looking down at her left wrist, she slowly brought it up to her face and, after a few moments of hesitancy, took a single sniff. There it was. A smell, and not one she'd ever noticed before now. It was faint, and the kind of smell that wouldn't have been noticed unless you knew to look for it. But, after just one whiff, recognition now crossed Sunset's face.

"...Pheromones."

Adagio nodded.

"Yep. One of the many little presents your heat weeks are going to give you. A boy passing you by probably won't notice it at all, but once he gets that in his system...well... he wouldn't get all lustful like you, but let's just say he'd be a little less resistant than normal."

Sunset looked to her with clear concern in her eyes.

"I need to make these suppressants, and fast!"

She then buried her face in her book, all while Adagio folded her arms and chuckled slightly.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Sunset. I mean, it's not as if prim-and-proper girls like you or the others would let any boys be near you during all this, right?"

For a moment, Sunset said nothing, staring intently at her book. But, after a few moments of silence, Adagio's words began to sink in for her, and she slowly looked up, with a look of horror upon her face. Adagio saw this and was, naturally, confused, yet remained silent as Sunset spun around in her chair, looking towards the direction of the hallway.

"Oh Faust! What have I done?!"

Almost

For a long time after Sunset had left the place, the music room had been abuzz with the clear sounds of electric guitars. Together, Rainbow and Flash both played as well and as loudly as they could, producing quite a good sound. With her usual competitive streak, Rainbow was, naturally, more inclined to try harder, while Flash seemed more in it for the purpose of simply enjoying the music. However, given everything that had been happening, Rainbow's mind was, understandably, elsewhere. Not only was she trying hard with every moment to avoid thinking about the more mature aspects of her situation, but her condition also meant that, frankly, she was getting pretty hot. Sweat beads were rolling off her forehead more and more as time went on, and eventually, it all became so much that she became fairly distracted. Needless to say, this lead to slipped fingers and off-notes.

"Argh! Shoot!"

The poor-sounding music caused her to frown at her guitar, which, in turn, led to Flash stopping what he was doing. The boy regarded his playing companion, watching as she took off her instrument and tried adjusting her strings a bit. A look of slight concern crossed his face as he looked to her.

"Er...you okay there, Rainbow?"

Realising that her outburst had been witnessed, Rainbow took on a look of embarrassment, followed shortly by one of her forced laughs.

"Heh...um...yeah, sure. I'm fine."

Needless to say, Flash was far from convinced, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"It's just...you looked like you've got something on your mind."

But the girl looked away, in an effort to keep herself from looking at the guy directly, before speaking up again.

"Oh. It's...it's nothing. Just...just girl stuff. You know how it is."

Flash raised an eyebrow at that.

"Er...okay then. If you say so."

Turning to his own instrument, Flash did not resume his music, but rather got on with a few adjustments of his own. In the meantime, Rainbow kept looking away, seeming more than a little angry with herself. As she grumbled, she did her best to stay as quiet as possible, just on the off-chance that Flash could hear her.

"Ugh! Keep it together, Rainbow! You can't just keep thinking about stuff like that! Gotta keep up appearances and stuff. Can't let him know."

Every once in a while, she'd look over her shoulder, over to Flash, always looking away again if he looked like he was turning in her direction.

"I...this is ridiculous! I'm Rainbow Dash! The awesome one! That's my whole thing! I can't just go all googly-eyed cause some guy is here..."

Slowly, she turned to him again.

"...even if it is Flash."

Once again, Flash looked over to her.

"How's your guitar coming along?"

To that, Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Then realisation struck her.

"Oh! Right! Um, well, er, you know, its fine, I guess."

Nodding, Flash gave her a friendly smile.

"Great. I'll just tweak with mine for a bit, then we can get right on back to belting out some music."

Forcing a smile of her own, Rainbow gave the boy a thumbs up. But, as she turned from him again, she took on a look of nervousness, putting her thumb into her mouth and biting it in a clear display of worry.

"I'm not gonna be able to do this! Not while I've got this...this...this stuff on my brain."

Immediately, a frown grew onto her face.

"It sucks! Having to just go nuts like this because of hormones, or magic or whatever. How do ponies cope with this kinda stuff? I mean, yeah, they probably...well...do that, but I can't just..."

Slowly, Rainbow's angry look turned into one of concern again.

"But...what if Sunset can't find anything to help us? What if we're stuck like this until our two weeks are up? Never getting a moment's rest until we're...we're...satisfied? What if...what if it never stops at all?"

Horror now gripped her as that thought sank in further for her. As for Flash, he'd long since finished tweaking with his own guitar, and now looked over to his music partner. Here, he noted, briefly, as she gave a short turn-around, that she was looking quite upset at something, and so, naturally, put his instrument aside for one moment and took a step closer to her.

"Rainbow?"

Spinning in place, Rainbow looked to him with surprise in her voice.

"What?! I mean...yeah?"

Flash raised an eyebrow.

"You've...well...you've been acting kinda weird since we started practise. Are you sure everything is okay?"

Again, Rainbow forced a smile.

"What? With me? Of course everything's fine! I'm Rainbow Dash, remember? Ain't nothin gonna get me down!"

But Flash still seemed concerned about her, bearing a sympathetic look as he folded his arms.

"Rainbow...I know you probably don't consider yourself as close to me as you do to Sunset and the other girls, but...well...I like to think that we're still friends. If there's anything you need, I'm...well...here for you."

Rainbow looked at him, at the honesty and sincerity upon his face, and knew that he'd meant every word of that. But, rather than seeming charmed or happy about his words, she turned away again, looking, if anything, even more worried than before, keeping her voice as quiet as possible.

"Shoot, Flash! Why do you have to be so...so...ugh, nice?! You're not doing yourself any favours here, buddy!"

Slowly, the athlete turned back into his direction, again trying to force a smile and let him know everything was fine.

"Heh. Thanks for the offer, Flash old buddy, but I'm pretty cool right now. So thanks, but no thanks."

Trying to look as composed as ever, Rainbow put a hand on her hip and used her other free hand to sweep aside some of her multi-coloured hair. However, when she did so, something happened on Flash's side of things. He looked at her, almost as if he was confused by something, which, naturally, led to Rainbow looking back at him in a similar manner. The boy tilted his head to the side for a moment, in the kind of manner one would when trying to make sense of something. After a while of this, Rainbow, understandably, started to become a little nervous.

"Er...Flash? You okay there, bud?"

Flash's eyes blinked a few times, and he eventually shook his head ferociously, as if trying to get himself out of a kind of trance.

"Er...yeah. It's just..."

He seemed hesitant about something for a moment, but eventually, he just blurted out what was on his mind.

"Rainbow. Are you...are you doing something different with yourself? Maybe styling your hair in a new way or something?"

Rainbow was taken aback by such a question, but nevertheless looked herself over briefly.

"Er...no. Why do you ask?"

Again, Flash seemed confused.

"I'm not sure. It's just...there's something about you today. You wouldn't happen to be using that magic of yours right now, are you?"

Again, Rainbow shook her head.

"Not right now, no."

Raising a hand, Flash scratched the side of his head.

"It's like...I dunno, like you have a glow about you."

But, rather than seeming confused by those words, Rainbow, perhaps as a result of her current state, instead took on a slight blush, lifting her hand and gently sweeping aside a stray hair that had fallen in front of her face.

"Well...thanks. I mean, I have been doing more exercise lately, so maybe its showing?"

Flash nodded, though still seemed a bit unsure about all of this.

"Well, it's...nice. I mean, you're looking pretty awesome at the moment. And I don't mean that in a weird way or anything, just...you know."

Despite herself, Rainbow chuckled slightly at the awkward manner in which the boy had offered his compliment.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself these days."

Like her, Flash blushed slightly and gave a laugh, and together, and together, they smiled to each other. But, as time went on, Rainbow looked away, again seeming nervous about something.

"He...he did offer to help. And it's not like he's under any magic and stuff. So..."

She looked deep in thought for a moment, her eyes darting left and right, as if she were mentally debating with herself. Eventually, and after much consideration, she turned to face him once more.

"Um...Flash? We're friends, right?"

Flash was a little confused by that, but even so, he gave a nod.

"Sure."

Hesitantly, Rainbow took a single step closer to him.

"And if one of your friends was in trouble, you'd do what you could to help them, right?"

Again, Flash nodded.

"Of course I would."

Another step from Rainbow.

"So...would you, say...help a friend, who just happened to be a girl, with...well...a girl problem?"

Flash was a little unsure of that one, but still, he gave another nod.

"Sure. I mean, I said I would help, so...I guess I'd help no matter what the problem was."

Rainbow smiled a little, though bit her lower lip as she did so. She took another step closer to him, and then another, and another, all the while looking at him with a look in her eyes that could almost be described as hunger. But, before she could come any closer than a foot towards the boy, both she and he were taken aback by the sudden and loud sound of the music room doors bursting open. They turned in unison to see a very concerned, not to mention exhausted, Sunset Shimmer. The former unicorn panted furiously as she stood in the doorway, looking to both of them, before getting out her words in about as clear a way as she could.

"DON'T DO IT!!!"

Needless to say, Flash was confused by his ex's sudden appearance like this, but as for Rainbow, she stood there, thinking over what had just happened, and at the way Sunset was looking at her with concern. It took a few moments, but soon, her eyes widened with shock and realisation, and her head snapped back in Flash's direction.

"GAH!!!"

Immediately, she jumped back away from him, leaving the boy even more nonplussed about what was going on. Rainbow, spinning around, clasped her face with both hands, bearing a look of extreme guilt as she did so."

"I...I...I...I...what did I just do?! Oh God! I almost became a man-stealer!" she called out.

"Wait, what?" Flash added.

Sunset, having caught her breath, walked closer to her friend, with the latter turning to face her, moving forward and placing her hands upon Sunset's shoulders.

"Sunset! I...I almost..."

But Sunset did not look upset or angry with her. Rather, she just looked relieved. And her tone was reflected in the calm way she spoke.

"Its okay, Rainbow. It's your first time going through this. The fault is mine. I shouldn't have left you here."

But Rainbow still seemed upset at this point.

"What am I gonna do?! We've got two more weeks of this!"

Sunset nodded, giving a sympathetic look to her athletic friend. But, before she got the chance to say anything, she was distracted by the sound of somebody clearing their throat. Turning, she saw that it was Flash, who still retained that confused look of his.

"I don't mean to interrupt. But...can somebody please explain what's going on?"

Sunset hesitated for a moment, but, after feeling a tap on her shoulder, turned back to Rainbow, who looked to her with certainty in her expression.

"Sunset...after what I just did...we gotta tell him."

The former unicorn considered that for a moment, after which she let out a deep sigh. She smiled at her friend, giving her a brief nod, before looking back to Flash with utter seriousness.

"Flash, take a seat. This is gonna be a long story."

To that, Flash looked up at the ceiling and let out a sigh.

"It always is, isn't it?"

Better...Then Worse Again

"...Heat," Flash said.

"...Heat," Sunset agreed, nodding as she did so.

It had been a few minutes since the incident with Rainbow, and Flash was currently sitting opposite both her and Sunset at a table, set up right in the middle of the music room. The boy looked over to his music partner for a moment, seeing the look of sheer embarrassment upon her face as she desperately tried to avoid looking at him. As he sat there, he was, naturally, deep in thought over all of this, with the wheels in his head practically visible as Sunset watched him. Eventually, and after a hellishly long and awkward silence, Flash let out a sigh, leaning back into his chair and folding his arms.

"You know...just one week. One week of you girls having normal days without any magic to turn things upside down. Maybe hanging out and getting milkshakes, or practising your band and stuff. That...that wouldn't be unwanted, you know."

Sunset twiddled her thumbs together as she looked down at the table.

"Sorry you got wrapped up in all of this, Flash."

Looking to his ex, Flash let out another sigh and gripped the bridge of his nose before speaking up again, his tone far more relaxed than before, albeit somewhat tired.

"No, it's...it's fine. I mean, you guys are probably going through worse than I am right now."

Turning, the boy looked over to Rainbow.

"Rainbow, I'm sorry that my being near you caused you so much grief."

Again, the athlete seemed hesitant to look at him.

"Ugh! For the love of...! Flash! Could you please stop with that whole knight-in-shining-armour thing you've got going?! Because I'm really struggling to keep myself under control here!"

Needless to say, Flash was a little taken aback by that kind of aggressive response.

"Erm...sorry?"

Looking to Sunset, he took on a look of clear confusion, prompting a brief giggle on the part of the latter. But, that laughter soon vanished as soon as Rainbow looked to her herself.

"Sunset! I'm really hoping you've got that potion or whatever sorted out! Who knows how much more of this I can take!"

Turning to her friend, Sunset's smile vanished, replaced instead by a look of hesitance and concern.

"Rainbow...I wish I could tell you I've got good news, but..."

She didn't finish, for Rainbow now looked at her with utter horror in her expression.

"Argh! I knew it! I'm gonna be stuck like this!"

Immediately, she smacked her face right down into the table, shocking both Sunset and Flash to no end. As the latter two shared concerned glances at one another, they then looked down to Rainbow once more as she kept on groaning under her breath. Eventually, Sunset let out a sigh, reaching over and patting her friend on the back.

"Look, Rainbow, I...I know things seem bad now, but I think I have a way we can fix this."

As soon as she heard that, Rainbow looked up to Sunset, seeming more than a little hopeful. Seeing that, Sunset took on a small smile before starting to explain herself.

"I haven't been able to find the plants we need here in this world, but, I do know the plants must still exist over in Equestria. I'm going to get in touch with Princess Twilight. I'll let her know what's going on, and hopefully, she'll send over some of what we need."

Hearing that, Rainbow lifted herself up, brushing aside some of her hair, which had become a bit messed up with her face-banging, and took on a smile of her own.

"Alright then! Sounds good!"

Sunset nodded, but said nothing further to her, for she was instead distracted by the sound of Flash clearing his throat. Turning, the former unicorn looked to the boy as he spoke up, his tone showing clear concern.

"That's all well and good, Sunset. But what are we supposed to do before Twilight sends that stuff over? I mean, if you girls are going to be suffering with this heat stuff, and letting off those ferry...er...phero..."

Raising an eyebrow, Sunset finished the word for him.

"Pheromones?"

Flash looked a little embarrassed for a moment before getting right back to it.

"Right. Those. It sounds like you girls are gonna be in a lot of trouble until Twilight can send that stuff over. So what are you gonna do in the meantime?"

Sunset now looked deep in thought, obviously thinking over what had just been asked of her.

"Well...the only real thing we can do is avoid incidents like what nearly happened between you and Rainbow. We need to minimize the amount of contact between our group and the other guys here at CHS, at least for now."

Thinking on that, Flash nodded.

"Right. Leave that to me."

Looking to him, Both Sunset and Rainbow seemed more than a little worried about what he'd just said. But, after seeing those looks on their faces, Flash raised a hand, giving them a friendly smile.

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna go around telling them about all this heat stuff. I'll just say that you're all going through some personal stuff right now and need some space. Trust me, the guys'll listen to me on that one."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sunset took on a look of appreciation.

"Thanks, Flash. We owe you one."

To that, Flash shook his head.

"We're friends, Sunset. You don't owe me anything."

Sunset's smile widened after that, as did Rainbow's, and together, both girls watched as Flash rose up from his chair, making his way over to the door of the music room. However, before he got the chance to open it, he was stopped by it sudden bursting open right in front of him. There, looking far more worried and fearful than most would expect of her, was Aria Blaze, the middle Siren sister. While Rainbow and Sunset looked to her with confusion, Flash regarded her with that usual friendly smile of his.

"Hey there, Aria."

But Aria, as soon as she saw him, instead side-stepped around him immediately, looking to him as if he were a monster or something.

"Argh! Get away from me!"

As one would expect, both Flash and the other girls were a little startled by such behaviour. But Flash, being Flash, simply blinked a few times before shrugging his shoulders and placing his hands in his pockets.

"Um...okay then. See ya later...I guess."

And with that, the boy moved off, making his way out of the music room at last, at which point, Aria rather abruptly slammed the door behind him. She panted for a bit, almost like how someone would if they'd just got out of a life-or-death situation. Rising up from her own chair, Sunset walked over to the Siren, looking quite confused about all of this.

"Aria? What's wrong?"

Looking to her, Aria took a step forward, still looking more than a little fearful.

"Sunset! Something weird is happening to me!"

Looking over her shoulder, Sunset gave a brief glance over to Rainbow, who promptly shrugged her own shoulders, before looking back to Aria.

"Okay. What's up?"

Likewise, Aria looked around, making sure that nobody was here to hear her, save for those already in the room. When she was satisfied that they had real privacy, she started explaining herself.

"Well...you know my boyfriend, Wiz?"

Sunset nodded, prompting Aria to continue.

"Well, I was hanging out with him at Sugarcube Corner, like we usually do at this time of the week, when...when I suddenly just...just lost it!"

Sunset raised an eyebrow.

"Lost it?"

Aria nodded.

"Yeah! I was all over him, looking down at him like...like...like I needed him. And I mean physically needed him! I didn't care if people were watching, I just watched to get on him right then and there!"

Hearing that, Sunset's eyes widened.

"Oh no."

Aria nodded again.

"I know, right? I don't know what happened! I mean, luckily, I was able to pull myself out of it, but...but I have no idea where that came from!"

Leaning forward, Rainbow finally added her voice to the mix.

"What did Wiz think about that?"

Aria looked to her and shrugged her shoulders.

"How do you think he felt about it? He was freaked, that's what!"

In this moment, Aria let out a sigh.

"He said it was fine. That it didn't bother him. And I believe him. But at the time...well...let's say he was pretty shocked by the whole thing."

Hearing every word of that, Sunset took a step back, and even started muttering to herself.

"No. Oh no! No no no no no!"

Seeing this, Rainbow looked to her friend with worry.

"Sunset? What is it?"

And like Rainbow, Aria started looking at her the same way.

"Yeah...do you know what's going on with me?"

Raising a hand, Sunset slapped her forehead with frustration.

"Ugh! How could I have been so stupid?!"

Aria and Rainbow looked to each other with a mutual sense of confusion, before looking back to Sunset, the latter giving Aria a tense look.

"Aria...I need you to get your sisters together."

Aria retained her look of confusion, but said nothing as Sunset turned to Rainbow.

"I think our problem is even worse than I thought."

The Problem Spreads

It undoubtedly took a while, but in the end, Sunset had managed to track down not only her friends, but the other Siren sisters, Adagio and Sonata. Once gathered, the girls all followed the former unicorn to a small, and currently unused, classroom. As soon as they were all inside, Sunset closed the door behind them, making sure to check the hallway beforehand, just in case there was anybody who could listen in on them. With the door firmly shut, she turned to her friends, of whom, Applejack spoke first, folding her arms as she did so.

"Okay, Sunset, ya got us here. Now, what exactly is goin on that ya couldn't wait ta tell us?"

Sunset let out a sigh, looking to each of her friends before finally starting to explain things.

"This problem of ours...it might actually be worse than I thought."

To that, Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah, you said as much before. But how can it be worse?"

Slowly, Sunset turned to Adagio and her sisters, staring at them briefly before looking back to the group as a whole.

"I think...that we may not be the only ones going through heat right now."

And that caught Adagio's interest immediately, causing her to raise an eyebrow as she added her own voice to the mix.

"Sunset, dear...are you trying to suggest that the three of us..."

With one hand, she gestured to herself, Sonata and Aria.

"...are in heat like the rest of you?"

Sunset nodded.

"I am. According to Aria, she's already started displaying traits that are typical with those in the middle of an intense heat period. A lack of inhibitions, some aggressiveness, you name it."

Placing a hand on her hip, Adagio looked to her middle sister, who tried desperately to avoid looking back at her, before regarding Sunset once more.

"Far be it from me to question the scientist amongst us...but in case you'd forgotten, my sisters and I don't have Equestrian magic. You and your friends saw to that, remember?"

Again, Sunset nodded.

"I do remember. But even so, you did have it. And, more importantly, you went through the same physical transformation as the rest of US. The ears, the wings, all of it. The details might have been different, but it was the same kind of change."

Looking away from them, Sunset let out a sigh.

"Your exposure to Equestrian magic may have been brief, but I think it was substantial enough to cause you to have a heat cycle like the rest of us."

A pause followed her words, and the other girls all looked to the Sirens, with their expressions ranging from sympathy to concern. As for the three sisters themselves, they were, needless to say, quite shocked by the whole thing, looking to one another as if they had no idea what to do now. After a long and rather uncomfortable silence, it was Sonata who finally broke it, looking to her eldest sister with hope in her eyes.

"But...we'll get through this...right, Dagi?"

Adagio said nothing, instead turning to Sunset once more. The look on the face of the latter made it clear that things were not going to be as easy as Sonata was apparently hoping for, and it led Adagio to let out a long sigh before turning to her in earnest, placing a hand upon her shoulder.

"Sonata...it'll be difficult, at least for now. It's been a long time since any of us have gone through this. Centuries in fact."

Briefly, the eldest Siren let out a chuckle.

"Say what you will about being stuck in human form. But at least it kept us from having to deal with this sort of thing every year."

To that, the Sirens all enjoyed a moment of laughter together, one that even Sunset felt the need to join in on. As for the fully human girls, they regarded this with some incredulity, eventually settling on turning to each other and affording themselves an "I-guess-you-had-to-be-there" sort of expression. When the laughter finally died down, Adagio swept some of her hair aside before looking back to Sunset, who spoke up to her.

"To be honest, Adagio, I'm surprised you didn't notice this kind of thing."

To that, Adagio shrugged her shoulders.

"Me? We're talking about a near-constant desire for physical intimacy and satisfaction. I have that every day, remember?"

Staring at her for a moment, Sunset soon let out a sigh and placed her hand upon her forehead.

"Right. Forgot who I was talking to."

Smirking, Adagio gave a nod before speaking up again.

"Well then. I trust you do at least have some good news to give us?"

Sunset sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Honestly, it's up to Princess Twilight at this point. All we can do is wait for her to send the needed plants over. As for our side of things, we'll just keep things under control between us, either until she comes through for us, or until this heat period passes."

Looking to her friend, Rarity frowned somewhat before speaking up.

"Darling, are you sure that's all we can do?"

Sunset gave a morose nod.

"I'm afraid so."

To say the mood was glum would have been a bit of an understatement, as each of the girls looked to one another without any hint of confidence or assuredness. Not even Pinkie Pie was her usual bubbly self at this point. It was the kind of mood where a distraction, any distraction, would have been welcome. Fortunately for the girls, said distraction now arrived, as the door to the room suddenly opened. The group turned in unison towards it, seeing none other than Flash Sentry. The boy, upon entering, seemed confused by this large gathering of girls, only to turn to Sunset with a smile upon his face.

"Well, job's done. I got around and spread the message as quietly as I could. The guys here at CHS won't be bothering you girls while this is going on."

Hearing that, Sunset breathed a sigh of relief, holding her hand to her chest as she did so.

"Oh! Thank you, Flash! Believe me, we were in serious need of some good news right now."

Flash nodded to that, after which he turned, only now noticing that the three Sirens were here. Confusion crossed his face once more as he looked from them, to Sunset, then back to them, before finally settling on Sunset.

"So...what's up this time?"

Folding her arms, Sunset let out another sigh.

"Adagio and her sister are in heat too."

Flash stared at her for a few moments before slowly turning to the three in question. Adagio placed her hands upon her hips and gave the boy a nod, confirming what Sunset had just said, leading to him letting out a sigh of his own.

"I...I was only gone for ten minutes!"

Sunset nodded in agreement, clearly sharing the boy's sense of exasperation. After yet another silence between them, Flash turned to his ex again before speaking up.

"So, how did that happen?"

Sunset turned to him and gave him his answer.

"Remember the Battle of the Bands? Them taking our magic and transforming? That's how."

Hearing that, Flash rolled his eyes somewhat.

"Honestly...that Equestrian magic should come with a surgeon-general's warning or something. Be warned, continued use of this magic may cause heat."

The deadpan manner in which he'd spoken that caused a number of girls, and even the Sirens, to giggle somewhat, which admittedly did a lot to lighten the mood everyone had been suffering through. But, as they laughed together, Flash stopped for a moment. It took a while, but he soon developed into an expression of clear thoughtfulness, one that Sunset soon noted. Gradually, and after much thinking, Flash then morphed into a look of slight concern, turning to Sunset and speaking in a worried tone.

"Um...Sunset? You say that exposure to Equestrian magic is what changed you girls?"

Needless to say, Sunset was taken aback by that question, but after thinking it over, she gave him a nod, prompting Flash to continue.

"So...so this kind of thing could happen to anyone that's exposed to it?"

Again, Sunset nodded, but this time, she spoke up.

"I...I suppose so, yes. Why?"

Upon being asked that question, Flash looked away slightly, bearing a look that Sunset knew well. It was the kind of look one wore when they were about to say something that they knew was going to cause concern. But, eventually, the boy got his words out.

"It's just...if what you say is true...then...wouldn't that mean that all the girls here would be going through this?"

As expected, those words caused a complete silence in the room, with all eyes on Flash. The looks on everybody's faces made it clear that they were hoping that he was joking about this, but one look at him, and they knew that this was not the case. After staring at him for some time, Sunset finally spoke.

"Flash...what are you talking about?"

Raising a hand, Flash nervously scratched the back of his head, before finally responding to Sunset's question.

"Well...it's just...remember the Fall Formal? When you used Twilight's crown? You used Equestrian magic on everybody, hypnotizing them and stuff."

Sunset's eyes widened upon hearing that, but, before she got the chance to respond to it, Flash then turned to Adagio and her sisters.

"And later, at the Battle of the Bands, you three did the same thing, using your song magic, or whatever it was, to enchant the entire crowd before going through your transformation."

Like Sunset, the Sirens were taken aback by those words, looking to each other with dumbfounded looks. Looking back to Sunset, Flash spoke up again, with his tone one of worry.

"Would...would that kind of exposure be enough to...you know...put the girls here through what all of you are going through?"

Sunset froze upon hearing that, staring at Flash as he continued to wait for an answer. In time, she turned to the rest of her friends, all of whom were giving her similar looks. She opened her mouth, but no answer came, for she had none to give. Instead, and after much silence, she instead looked over to a window on the far side of the room. Without saying anything, she rushed over, looking out onto the school campus. She scoured the place, looking at student after student, paying particular attention to the girls. It wasn't long before her fears were confirmed. For everywhere she looked, the girl students of the school were either flirting with the guys, or giving them amorous looks as they passed by. Never before had she seen this much clear interest between the sexes at this school, and it was a state of affairs that caused her to turn once more to her friends.

"Okay...I think it might be time to go to the principal about this."

To the Principal

The walk to the Principal's office was, understandably, a difficult one. Not only were Sunset and her friends full of worry over the newly-realised scope of their problem, but everywhere they turned, they could see signs of it. Girls passing them by giving Flash a few winks and a smile, far more so than usual, and beyond that, a great deal of amorous behaviour with other boys in the hallway. In all the time the girls had been here, not once had they ever remembered Canterlot High being this full of hormonal behaviour. So great was their concern that they upped their pace every few minutes, until they were only a short distance away from their destination. In the midst of it all, Pinkie broke the silence.

"Well...at least everybody's being friendly to each other...right?"

Looking over her shoulder, Sunset gave her friend a disapproving frown, causing the party girl to quietly twiddle her thumbs and look away. Looking ahead again, Sunset let out a sigh.

"We have to get this problem under wraps, and soon."

Turning, Applejack regarded her carefully as she walked alongside her.

"Say, Sunset? Is this problem ever this big over in Equestria?"

To that, Sunset shook her head.

"No. We learned long ago how to deal with it. Magic, potions, you name it. Heat has been under control for centuries back home."

Hearing that, Applejack nodded.

"Well...here's hopin we can get the same over here. Ah don't think any of us here at CHS wanna end up bein mothers right now."

There was a general murmur of agreement amongst the group, even amongst the Siren, who had been quietly accompanying them. All, that is, except for Adagio, who looked away briefly as she spoke under her breath.

"Indeed. Once was enough."

Sunset slowed down for a moment, looking over her shoulder and swearing that she could have heard Adagio say something. But, while the look on her face made it clear that she'd at least heard her, she soon shook herself out of it, convinced that she must have been imagining it. In any case, she hadn't the time to really say anything, for it was now Rainbow's turn to speak up, looking to Flash as she did so.

"If nothing else, at least we can take solace that you aren't going through this. You and the rest of the guys that is."

Looking to her, Flash offered Rainbow a smile and a nod, very much agreeing with that sentiment. However, as they continued to walk together, he regained that same thoughtful look he'd bore some time ago, and slowly, he turned to Sunset. The latter knew just from looking at him what was on his mind, and her suspicions were soon confirmed when he finally spoke up to her.

"Erm...Sunset? I'm...I'm not going to be going through this, am I?"

Sunset looked away, seeming somewhat concerned about something, and that look was all the explanation Flash needed, as he looked ahead and slapped a hand on his forehead in frustration.

"Ugh! I should have known!"

Turning back to him, Sunset spoke in as calm and reassuring a manner as possible.

"It's called rut. Sort of like a stallion's version of heat. But, if memory serves, you won't be going through it until later on in the year."

To that, Flash turned back to her with a look of confusion.

"Wait...so mares and stallions both get this intense annual need to mate...but not at the same time?"

Letting out a sigh, Sunset shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, I know. It never made much sense to me either."

Flash looked ahead of her, his face one of exasperation.

"Well...that's something to look forward to, I guess."

Sunset knew that there was little she could say to really comfort him, or indeed any of her friends at this point, and so, she remained silent, instead looking ahead down the hallway. The only positive thing for any of them came when they made the next corner, and found, there ahead of them, was the door of the Principal's office. They braced themselves, knowing that this was probably going to be an uncomfortable meeting. Sunset went first, taking a long and calming breath before reaching out for the knob of the door. Turning it, she opened it and entered, with her friends close behind her. Principal Celestia was there, as expected, looking over a few documents at her desk. Needless to say, she was somewhat surprised to find such a large group of students entering her office all at once, but, to her credit, she waited until they were all inside, with the door closed behind them, before finally addressing them.

"Miss Shimmer. To what do I owe this visit?"

Sunset looked to her friends, all of whom gave her encouraging looks, before letting out a sigh and turning to the Principal.

"Principal Celestia...I'm afraid...we may have a bit of a school-wide problem on our hands."

Hearing that, Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? This problem wouldn't happen to be of a magical nature, would it?"

Sunset nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed as she continued speaking.

"It is. I have strong reason to believe that, as a result of frequent exposure to Equestrian magic, the student population of this school..."

She paused for a moment, looking Celestia in the eye before she carried on.

"...and perhaps even some of the faculty...may now be going through the mating cycle of Equestrian ponies. Commonly known as heat.

To say that Celestia looked taken aback by this would have been a great understatement. But, after the initial shock of the statement had sunk in, the Principal leaned back into her chair, putting her hand to her chin and appearing deep in thought for a few moments, Sunset and the other youths waited patiently for the older woman to finally say something, and when she did, she did so without any mockery or sense of disbelief in her words.

"Very well...how do we deal with it?"

To that, Sunset took on a look of shock herself.

"You...you believe me? Just like that?"

A sly smile crept onto Celestia's face as she answered.

"Sunset...if there's one thing I've learned during the last couple of years here, it's that you are unquestionably our authority on strange occurrences like this. If you say that this is what is happening, then I believe you."

It took a while, but eventually, Sunset let out a deep exhale, clearly relieved by having heard that. However, mere moments later, Celestia looked away, scratching the side of her cheek in a slightly nervous manner.

"Of course...this would explain why Superintendent Sombra struck me as more...handsome than he usually does during his inspection earlier today."

As one would expect, such a remark prompted a slew of blushes or stifled giggles amongst the gathered students. Turning back to them, the Principal cleared her throat before addressing Sunset once more.

"So then. What is your recommendation?"

With the fear of not being believed now far from her, Sunset leaned forward before speaking up in a more confident manner.

"I've already sent word to Princess Twilight, and with luck, she'll be able to send over something that will help. But, before it gets here, the best course of action would be to separate the male and female students before things get out of hand."

Celestia nodded to that.

"Understood."

Turning, she reached over and grabbed hold of a microphone, which Sunset knew to be the means by which messages could be sent around the whole school.

"Now then...how best to word this so as to not create panic?" Celestia asked herself.

Sunset opened her mouth to speak, ready to offer some suggestion, only to stop at the sound of a door opening behind her. Turning, she saw that it was none other than Vice-Principal Luna. Like Celestia, she too was surprised to see so many of her students gathered here, but, after laying eyes on Sunset, she focused her attention on her. And it was here that Sunset noted that the blue-haired woman was carrying what appeared to be a large wooden box in her hand, with a note stapled to the side of it, bearing the words "to Sunset Shimmer". Raising an eyebrow, Sunset looked back up to Luna, who chose now to speak to the girl.

"I was walking past the remains of our old statue outside, when suddenly, this thing came spiralling out of it. I looked it over, saw your name on it, so I figured I'd bring it over."

Breaking out into a wide smile, Sunset leapt out of her chair, reaching forward and graciously accepting the box from Luna.

"This is it! It has to be!"

Carefully, she placed the box on the Principal's desk, and many of her friends began to gather around it. Before opening it, however, Sunset plucked off the note on the side, opening it up and starting to read. Her friends watched as her eyes strayed from left to right, before, at last, she broke into yet another smile.

"Finally! Twilight got my message! She gathered as much of the herbs and plants as she could and sent them over!"

Placing a hand upon her hip, Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Wait...she didn't come herself?"

Looking to her, Sunset shook her head.

"Afraid not. She had some important business in Equestria to take care of right now. Some visiting dignitaries or something."

Looking back to the box, Sunset took on a look of determination, reaching forward and giving the lid an almighty yank, revealing the contents. Sure enough, the box was filled to the brim with all manner of bizarre and exotic-looking plant leaves and herbs, all of which caused Sunset to continue to smile. In the end, she let out a sigh of relief.

"I was worried we wouldn't have enough. But now, it looks like we do!"

Looking to her, Celestia spoke up again.

"Will this be enough for all of the students being affected?"

Sunset offered her a brief nod before giving her answer.

"I think so."

A thought came to her, and soon, she looked to Celestia in earnest.

"Send the message. The girls of the school all need to gather in the cafeteria as soon as possible."

Turning, Sunset then looked to the rest of her friends, her face brimming with confidence.

"This is it, guys. We're gonna beat this thing!"

Tests

Though it went without saying, asking the entire female population of the school to gather in the cafeteria, with no prior warning, and without explanation was quite an undertaking. And yet, no matter what classes they were in the middle of, or what other activities they were up to, the girls of Canterlot High nevertheless did as their Principal had instructed. So, with half the school now packed into that cafeteria, the air was abuzz with speculation and rumours as to what was going on. But, behind the scenes, or rather, behind the lunch counter, in the school's kitchens, Sunset Shimmer looked out amongst the gathered crowd, filled with both anticipation and worry. She was confident this would work, that much was certain, and yet, there was still a nagging doubt within her. Sighing, she turned, looking upon her friends, who were gathered in the kitchens beside her.

"Okay. You all know what to do?"

The group of girls all gave her a nod, with Pinkie speaking up first.

"Yep! Mix the herbs into the water; give them out to the girls. Right?"

Sunset nodded, confirming that.

"Right. Now, remember, the mixture has to be exactly right. Too little, and it'll have no effect whatsoever."

The girls all nodded to that, turning in unison to the still-open box of herbs that had been brought here. Taking a deep breath, Sunset walked over to the thing, reaching inside and bringing out a small handful of the exotic plants. She regarded them carefully, feeling the texture of them between her fingers, before taking it over to a nearby counter. There, there was a pestle and mortar ready for her. After placing the leaves within it, she took the tool and began grinding it hard, memories of past attempts returning to her as she continued with her work. Her friends watched her; half eager and half curious as to how this process went on. It took some time, but eventually, the leaves had been ground up into what appeared to be a fine powder. Again, Sunset reached in, feeling what she'd made, and when she did, she let out a brief sigh.

"Okay...this should be right."

Looking at it, she opened her mouth to speak, only to be stopped when Pinkie zipped in beside her, carrying a full glass of water in her hands.

"Okay-dokey-loki! Let's get this stuff mixed up!"

But Sunset was more wary, taking the glass in an appreciative manner, while still looking carefully at the crushed herbs.

"We have to be careful about this, Pinkie. This'll be the first time you girls, or anybody here at CHS, will have ever had something like this."

To that, Rainbow started adding her voice to the proceedings.

"Pfft! Come on, Sunset! After everything we've been through the last few years, I think we can handle a little medicine!"

However, Sunset did not seem convinced of that, and as she took her herbs and finally added them to the water, her doubts began to grow.

"I know you're all eager to get rid of this problem of ours, but rushing things will probably only make things worse."

Taking a spoon, which had been laying on the side, Sunset mixed the herbs in earnest, watching as they dissolved into the water, causing it to turn into a slightly green colour. It was, understandably, not an appealing-looking drink, and the other girls started to grimace at the sight of it. But Sunset, by contrast, looked to it not with disgust, but rather curiosity.

"Actually...I think it'll be a good idea to test it first."

The girls all looked to her with surprised expressions, after which they looked to each other, as if daring one another to challenge her on that. In the end, it was Applejack who spoke up.

"Sunset. Ah know ya like ta be careful, but ya already said this stuff helps heat. What else could there be ta test?"

Sunset shook her head as she turned to her farm friend.

"It's just...look, I know this is the right kind of plant. If nothing else, I don't think Twilight would send us the wrong stuff. But...let's not forget, this stuff is meant to be drunk by mares. By ponies. And, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but none of us are ponies."

To that, Applejack looked to the glass in Sunset's hand, seeming far more wary of it than she had been before.

"What...ya think it'll poison us or somethin?"

Sunset shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure. But, just in case...I'll drink it first."

Many of her friends widened their eyes when they heard that, with several stepping forward, as if to stop her. But, Sunset raised her hand, stopping them instead. As they halted, the girl regarded them with a soft smile and an appreciative expression.

"Out of all of us, I'm the one who knows what this stuff is supposed to do, what it feels like and such. If there's anybody who should be testing it, it's me."

The girls all looked to her like they wanted to protest further, but they knew in their hearts that Sunset was right. The former unicorn looked to the green drink once more, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"...Here goes nothing."

And with that, she opened her mouth and raised her glass, downing the entire drink in just a few gulps. Her friends, naturally, continued to look worried, but, after Sunset set her glass down and let out a deep exhale from her efforts, she turned, looking up at the clock on the nearby wall.

"Here's how it works. The effects should be noticeable after five minutes of consumption. We'll wait at least that long, and if I start to feel my heat lessening...then we'll distribute the rest."

The girls nodded to that, but nevertheless continued to seem unsure. So, they each took a seat nearby, watching the clock as the seconds, and then minutes, started to count down. Many twiddled their thumbs or tapped their fingers on the side in a display of nervousness, but all remained silent. Sunset never let her eyes stray from that clock, given how invested she was in all of this. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the five minutes finally passed. Her friends all looked to her, waiting to see if she had anything to say. But Sunset just kept on staring at the clock, waiting as yet further seconds passed. The other girls looked to one another, again egging each other on, until, surprisingly, it was Fluttershy who broke the silence.

"Um...Sunset? Are...are you feeling any different?"

At long last, Sunset stopped, looking down from the clock and towards her friends. Seeing the eager and expectant looks upon their faces, she knew she could not lie to them. So, in the end, she sighed, looking down at the ground as she gave them her answer.

"No...I don't feel any different."

To say that they all looked disappointed would have been an enormous understatement, as they all reacted to this with looks of utter despondence. Rainbow especially seemed frustrated by this answer.

"Ugh! This sucks! So we waited all this time, and the stuff doesn't even work?!"

Sunset got up from her sitting position, ready to try and comfort her friend. However, when she did so, something happened that she had not been expecting. She felt a sudden and unexpected pain, a sharp one, right where her stomach was. Instinctively, she clenched it, her face wincing and showing clear pain. Her friends noticed this immediately, rushing over to her side.

"Sunset! What's wrong?" Rainbow asked.

The former unicorn shook her head, making it quite clear that she had no idea. But, as she stood there, the pain continued, forcing her to sit down again. Her friends stood by, all ready to help, but none of them knew what to do right now. As the moments rolled on, Sunset continued to grasp at her middle, enduring this stabbing pain she was going through. Eventually, it became too much, and soon, she bolted upwards, rushing forward and past her friends. The girls watched her go, forcing her way past and straight towards a door that all of them knew led to a bathroom, typically for use by the kitchen staff. The door slammed behind Sunset after she entered, and her friends stood still. Sure enough, after a few moments, they heard it; a loud and very distinct retching sound. They turned to each other, all worried and concerned for their friend, with Fluttershy looking to Rainbow in particular.

"Is...is there anything we can do?"

Rainbow turned to her childhood friend, but sadly, she had no words of comfort to offer her. Instead, she continued to stare at the bathroom door. Quite a long time, about five minutes in fact, passed before they saw some activity, and that was the door slowly opening. They took a step forward, watching as Sunset slowly re-emerged from the bathroom. She no longer looked in pain, but instead, she looked utterly drained. She was panting heavily as she took slow step after slow step, eventually making her way back to her chair. When she sat down once more, her friends gathered around her, waiting for her to say something. When she did, she did so with a low tone, almost a whisper, even to the point of not even looking at them as she spoke.

"I...I was a fool. A stupid...stupid fool!"

The girls looked to each other, clearly confused at those words, before looking back to their friend as she continued.

"Why didn't I think of this sooner? A potion for ponies...being used on humans...and I actually thought it would work?"

She shut her eyes tight, reaching up with both hands and burying her face within them.

"...Stupid."

The mood in the room was dour to say the least, and none of her friends seemed that eager to speak to her right now, if only because they feared upsetting her further. Sunset's plan hadn't worked. This little incident proved that without a shadow of doubt. This had been it, the one plan the girl had pinned her hopes on regarding this issue they all endured. And now, it had blown up in her face, with her friends in full view of the whole thing. Things were pretty bad. But, in the awkward silence, it was Pinkie, seeing the unhappy looks on her friends faces, that finally spoke up, giving Sunset a small smile as she approached her and got on her knees, looking her right in the eye as she tried talking in that usual upbeat manner of hers.

"Aw, come on, Sunset! Turn that frown upside-down! I mean, you'll get us through this, right? You've faced worse before and come through, so you'll get through this."

At last, Sunset looked up from her hands, at the smiling girl before her. But, in spite of Pinkie's efforts, no smile came for her, causing the former's own smile to fade somewhat, especially when Sunset spoke.

"I...I don't know if I can, Pinkie."

The Morning After

A sense of failure. A feeling of hopelessness. A constant pang of having let everybody down. All these things and more conspired together to give Sunset perhaps the worst night's sleep she'd had in quite a while. And so it was that, on the next morning, just over a day since this whole mess had started, the former unicorn dragged herself out of bed, and was in no way looking forward to the day to come. Oh, to be sure, all the usual morning rituals were performed , from brushing her teeth to eating her breakfast, but all of it was tinted with a sense of lethargy and lack of enthusiasm. Not that anybody could blame her for feeling this way of course, but even so, Sunset made her way out of her apartment, and towards the often-trod path to her school.

Her mind repeated every single moment of the previous day in her mind, all those times when she'd told her friends that she could solve this issue. And then, at the end of it all, she had failed to deliver on that promise. Needless to say, she was feeling pretty down at the moment, and after the school finally came into view, she took a deep breath, bracing herself for what she knew in her heart would be yet another day of having to endure this problem all the girls faced. As Sunset approached the place, she saw other students around, boys and girls together, and after a while, she couldn't bring herself to look anymore. All she could do was tell herself, over and over again, that they were all in trouble because of her. But, so focused was she on such thoughts, that she failed to notice a certain pink friend of hers rushing towards her.

"Sunset!" Pinkie called out.

At long last, Sunset looked up from the ground, seeing Pinkie as the latter ground to a halt before her. As soon as Pinkie had finally stopped, she bent over, panting furiously, a clear sign that she'd come a long way to meet her. While the girl did this, Sunset noted that there, walking behind her at a far more steady pace, were her other friends, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity. All of them, for some reason, actually seemed to be smiling as they looked to her, prompting an understandable look of confusion on Sunset's part. Before she had a chance to say or do anything about it however, Pinkie stood tall once more, bearing a smile that, as usual with her, was far wider than that of her friends, and as she spoke, her tone reflected this happy feeling.

"Sunset! You'll never guess what's happened!"

The girl was clearly excited, that much nobody could deny. But Sunset, for her part, was far from enthusiastic right now, as evidenced by the dour look she bore after hearing her friend's words. And, as the rest of the girls finally arrived, she spoke in a lower tone.

"Pinkie, unless you're going to tell me that our heat problem had just magically disappeared, I don't think any news you have to give me is going to cheer me up all that much."

Then, in a move that was about as in-character for Pinkie as you could get, she took on a sly smile, putting both hands to her cheeks and bouncing up and down, like a bottle of soda that was about to burst. Raising an eyebrow, Sunset instead turned to the rest of her friends, all of whom seemed just as eager to tell her something, if not more so. After a long and very awkward silence, the former unicorn finally let out a sigh.

"Fine...what is it?"

At last, Pinkie spoke, in that bubbly and cheery manner she was so known for.

"We're not in heat anymore!"

A silence fell yet again, but this one was not of awkwardness, but of sheer shock, as Sunset stood frozen in place, simply staring at Pinkie. Gradually, her eyes drifted over to the other girls, many of whom started nodding with great enthusiasm, confirming what Pinkie had just said. Sunset, eventually, let her mouth hang open from the weight of what she'd heard, and a little while longer, she shook her head ferociously, snapping herself out of this trance-like state.

"Wha...what are you talking about?"

This time, it was one of the other girls' turn to speak, as Rarity stepped forward and added her voice to the mix.

"Well, I wouldn't have believed it myself, but when we all woke up this morning, we started feeling a bit...different. As in, different from how we were yesterday."

Rainbow, who now also stepped forward, chimed in herself.

"Yeah! We couldn't put our finger on it, but after talking, we realised...it was the heat."

Sunset, naturally, was a bit incredulous at all of this. But, as the moments passed, that expression slowly changed to one of realisation. Raising one hand, she placed it's palm upon her forehead. After counting the moments, she came to realise that her temperature had dropped considerably since yesterday. And then, as she placed her fingers to her wrist, she felt a lessened pulse. All of these things together caused her to stare with a dumbfounded look at her friends.

"Lower body temperature...reduced heart-rate...this...this isn't supposed to happen during heat!"

To that, Rainbow placed her hands upon her hips, looking to Sunset with a smirk.

"Yeah, we know!"

Sunset turned away, still bearing a look of disbelief.

"This...this doesn't make sense! The effects of heat are supposed to grow with every passing day over a two week period. They're...they're not supposed to just...disappear! And especially not after the second day!"

Again, Rainbow scoffed a little.

"Hey, don't go knocking this, Sunset."

Sunset turned to her, her expression softening somewhat.

"I...I know. It's just...I wasn't expecting this."

Stepping closer, Pinkie spoke up again.

"I know, right? I was expecting this whole thing to be drawn-out, getting worse and worse with every passing day, ultimately resulting in some kind of twist ending or something!"

As one would expect, all of her friends looked to her with confused looks, but, as ever, didn't comment on it. Instead, they stayed silent as, with one sweeping gesture, Pinkie directed their attention to the area around them.

"But look. The heat seems to be gone for everyone!"

Looking around herself, Sunset realised that her friend had the right of it. Wherever she looked, wherever there were girls and boys interacting, she saw that, in stark contrast to how things had been yesterday, there was none of the flirting or amorous behaviour that she'd seen from the girls of the school. It happened gradually, but, after a long while had passed, Sunset found herself actually smiling at all of this. Her breathing became that of somebody who was relieved beyond description, and at the end of it all, she let out a deep exhale.

"I...I don't know what to say!"

To that, Applejack let out a hearty chuckle.

"Well...ya can say yer happy fer one thing!"

Sunset turned to her with a smile.

"I know, but...I still don't get it! I mean...how?"

Many of her friends shrugged their shoulders, making it clear that they too were in the dark as to what was going on. But, as this silence persisted, Sunset stopped for a moment to really think about it.

"Maybe...maybe the Equestrian magic gave us all heat...but not for the extended period that mares go through? Or maybe...maybe our human bodies have become resistant to it all? Or perhaps it's some combination of the two? Or maybe..."

Sunset would have more-than-likely continued on for some time with such speculation, but, she was soon stopped from going any further by a raised hand from Rarity, who spoke to her in a soft manner.

"Sunset, darling...I think we should all just be happy that this is over."

Looking to her, Sunset sighed briefly before giving her and the rest of her friends a small smile.

"You're...you're right. The heat has passed, it seems. Whatever else...that's good news."

Her friends all smiled and nodded in agreement with her over that, but, their smiles faded a little when they all saw her start to look a little more thoughtful.

"But...if, as I suspect, the heat period of Equestrian mares has replaced our natural human reproductive cycle...we may have to get used to this kind of thing happening every year."

Needless to say, the girls did not seem all that thrilled at such a prospect. But, in the end, it was Rainbow who spoke for them, bearing a look of confidence that was typical for her at times like this.

"Yeah...that does kinda suck. But...if we only have to put up with just one day...I think it'll be alright."

Again, there was a general murmur of agreement, one in which Sunset couldn't help but smile.

"You're right, Rainbow. Had this gone on for a whole two weeks, it would have been terrible. But one day? Yeah...I think we can cope with that."

The atmosphere at this moment was one of relief, as if someone had come along and lifted a great weight off everybody's shoulders. Sunset may not have solved the problem, like she'd hoped, but she had managed to see them through it, and for that, all of her friends looked to her with great appreciation, approaching her with a pat on the shoulder or, in Pinkie's case, a tight hug. There were many giggles at this latter event, especially from Sunset, but, when she was finally let go, she recovered quickly, looking to her friends with that same smile upon her face. However, it was at this point that she noticed another figure, approaching from the school itself. Craning her neck over her friends, Sunset saw that it was none other than Flash, running towards her and calling out.

"Sunset!"

It was the same manner in which Pinkie had run to her, except more serious, as was to be expected with Flash. Already, Sunset got a sense of what the boy was here for, and so she kept her smile as she made her way past her friends and towards him. Like Pinkie, he too panted when he finally reached her.

"I...I need...to talk to you."

But Sunset was already ahead of him, raising a hand and gesturing to her friends.

"It's alright, Flash. The girls already told me."

Flash looked up, having caught his breath, and seemed taken aback by that.

"They...they have?"

Sunset nodded.

"Yeah. And I can't tell you how relieved I am that this is over, at least for the rest of the year."

Flash opened his mouth to speak, but was unable to do so as Sunset turned away from him and towards the other girls.

"We'll have to try and come up with a means of lessening our heat when it comes up next year, of course, but as for right now, we'll..."

However, the girl was soon interrupted as Flash spoke up yet again.

"No. That's not what I came to tell you about."

Looking to him, Sunset's smile faded, as did that of all the other girls. Together, they looked to him, as he started growing nervous, looking over his shoulder as if somebody was going to overhear him.

"I started hearing a few rumours here and there...and I thought it might be worth finding out about it, and..."

Slowly, he turned back to the group, his eyes fixed on Sunset.

"Sunset...that thing we feared might happen...because of the heat? One of the girls...they went to the doctor this morning to find out, and..."

He tried talking further, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Sunset stared at him, and at first, she seemed confused by what he was talking about. But then, over time, as she looked to the somewhat saddened tint in his eyes, she began to understand. Her eyes slowly widened with shock, and she clasped her hands over her mouth. It took a while, but eventually, all of the other girls started looking to Flash in a similar manner, their expressions ranging from shock to outright disbelief. Flash himself looked down at the ground, as if almost ashamed to have brought this to their attention, and as he did so, Sunset took a step closer towards him, her eyes practically pleading with him.

"Flash...please...for the love of Faust...tell me you're joking about this."

The boy looked up, opening his mouth to speak, but once more, he couldn't, and simply shook his head, giving Sunset her answer. All of the joy and relief that Sunset had felt during those last few minutes, now obliterated in an instant. She raised a hand to the side of her head, and began pacing up and down in a clear display of stress. Her friends and Flash all watched her, never saying a word. Another few minutes passed, and when it was finally over, Sunset looked to her ex, with fear in her expression.

"Tell me...who is it?"

Again, Flash seemed hesitant to speak, but this time, he felt he had no choice but to do so.

"It's...it's Derpy."

Consequences

No matter how long she stared at the image before her, Sunset could not believe it to be true. And yet, in her heart, she knew that it was. The ultimate symbol of everything she had tried to avoid over the past few days, there, for all the world to see. Right now, she was standing outside of the Principal's office, but did not dare enter the place in earnest. Instead, she remained outside, simply looking through the small window on the door itself. Within, she saw them both. Derpy, sitting quietly on a chair opposite Celestia herself. The latter appeared to be speaking to the former, no doubt in that calm and motherly way she always did, all in an effort to comfort the youth before her. But it was Derpy who had Sunset's attention most of all, and for good reason.

The girl did not move, nor say a single word in the entire time Sunset had been watching her, and yet, the former unicorn knew that no words need be spoken. Instead, her attention was focused most of all on Derpy's eyes. They were tinted pink, and the area around them was slightly puffy. Sunset knew it to be the clear signs of having done a great deal of crying. The girl was devastated, and in this, Sunset could not blame her. At long last she turned, looking down at the ground and letting out a sigh that made it sound like she was on the verge of tears herself. But, before such drops came, she was halted by the sound of footsteps behind her. Turning once more, she was that it was Flash, hands in his pockets, approaching her with a neutral expression. His eyes darted from the door to her, and slowly, he started to speak.

"How...how are you doing?"

Sunset's expression was one of sadness, and right now, she couldn't bring herself to look the boy in the eye as she replied.

"Not good."

Flash nodded, needing no further input from the girl to understand what she meant by that. Instead, he walked beside her, looking through the same small window as her.

"How's she doing?"

Sunset sighed before answering.

"Celestia's probably doing her best to comfort her...but I think it's safe to say that that's a losing battle."

Again, Flash nodded, but this time, when he turned to her to speak, he was interrupted by a second set of approaching footsteps. Together, the two youths turned to see that it was none other than their spectacled friend, Twilight. The girl panted as she approached, and once close enough, Sunset looked to her with a surprised expression.

"Twilight? Where have you been? I haven't seen you since yesterday."

Standing tall, Twilight gave a nod to that before speaking up.

"Well, ever since you confirmed that we were in heat, I've been off making notes about our condition. I was hoping to be able to write a thesis on it at some point, given how unique our situation is."

To that, Sunset afforded herself a brief chuckle at such Twilight-like behaviour. Needless to say, it was a welcome reprieve from their current predicament. And speaking of which, Twilight's true motivations for being here were soon revealed, as she too peered inside the door, looking both surprised and confused by what she saw.

"So...it's true? What the other girls said?"

A glum look passed over Sunset's face, and she gave a grim nod. To that, Twilight again looked to Derpy through the door, before looking back to Sunset, adjusting her glasses somewhat before asking a question that had clearly been on her mind during all this.

"But...how? I mean, I know she'd have probably been scared about it after whatever dalliance she had, but there's no way she or her doctors would be able to know if she's pregnant at this early stage...right?"

Twilight looked right at Sunset, clearly hoping for some kind of clarification, and it wasn't long before Flash too was giving his ex-girlfriend a similar look, apparently sharing the former Crystal Prep student's curiosity in this matter. Sunset looked from one to the other, letting out a sigh before raising a hand and rubbing her temples.

"Well...Equestrians always developed faster at this early stage. And maybe that sort of thing passed on to our human physiology...or perhaps it's just something accelerated by the magic, or..."

She didn't continue, and instead, she placed her hand over her eyes, a grimace crossing the rest of her face. Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, looking to Flash for some kind of answer. Putting his hands back into his pockets, the boy let out a sigh of his own before speaking to Twilight in a soft and calm tone.

"No offense, Twilight...but I think we have more important things to think about than the how and why about all of this."

Twilight stared at them both for a moment, before then turning to the window. And here, it was as if she was seeing Derpy for the first time, especially when she saw the signs of crying and the still-crestfallen look on her face. Looking back to Sunset and Flash, Twilight nervously poked her fingers against one another before speaking up.

"Oh...right...sorry."

Flash's expression softened considerably, silently letting her know that the matter wasn't a problem. But his look became more steely as he turned to Derpy. As he did this, Sunset turned to him, raising an eyebrow and looking rather curious about something herself.

"What do you know about this?"

Looking to her once more, Flash shrugged his shoulders.

"Only what I've heard. Derpy went out to this cafe on the edge of town, a favourite spot of hers. She was feeling down because of this heat business and...she met someone."

Sunset continued to look at him, staying silent as he continued.

"From what I've gathered...they spoke to each other for a bit, then...then they left together."

Flash turned his attention towards the door of the office once more.

"The rest...well..."

Sunset nodded, frowning at what she'd just heard.

"Yeah. You don't need to tell me anything more. I've heard this story before. Some guy, looking for some action, finds a lonely, upset-looking girl. He goes to her, says all the right things...and she listens."

The former unicorn shut her eyes tight at this point.

"Derpy...she wasn't in her right state of mind. Her body demanded affection. She...she was vulnerable."

Flash and Twilight could hear the outrage in Sunset's voice, and while the former stayed silent, the latter adjusted her glasses again before speaking up, albeit in a somewhat meek manner.

"But...but the pheromones..."

She didn't finish, but then, she didn't need to, as both knew what she was going to say. And to this, it was not Sunset, but Flash, who gave her an answer, looking to her with narrowed eyes.

"The pheromones don't excuse him! I've been around you girls during this mess long enough to know that they didn't make me as...as interested as Sunset feared they might. The same is probably true of the father in all of this."

Twilight was, needless to say, taken aback by the aggressiveness in Flash's voice, but the boy soon composed himself, taking a calming breath before looking to her with an apologetic look. She looked back to him, offering him a small smile, letting him know she wasn't upset by his outburst, to which Flash seemed thankful. But, in the silence that followed, the boy looked to Sunset again.

"You should know...I've been asking around. Derpy wasn't the only student there, and if we can identify the guy..."

But he didn't finish, as Sunset raised a hand to stop him.

"I appreciate that, Flash...but don't bother. I know his type. He'll be long gone by now, and even if Derpy remembered his name...I very much doubt that he would have given her his real one."

Flash opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it again and let out a grunt of frustration, realising that his ex was right. The three stood there, in total silence, and it was here that a new sound was being heard. It took a while, but all of them soon recognised it as the clear sound of crying. Looking through the window, Sunset saw, to her horror, that Derpy had broken down once more. Celestia had got up from her desk, moved around and got on one knee, holding one of Derpy's hands and doing everything in her power to calm the girl down. But that damage had clearly already been done, as minute after minute passed of the girl simply weeping for all to see. Here, Sunset's own eyes began to well up, and she looked away from the window, unable to bear the sight any longer.

"This...this is my fault!"

But Flash, looking to her, shook his head.

"No, it isn't. It's that...that guy's fault! You never intended for this to happen!"

However, his words did little to comfort her, as she looked to him with sadness plastered all over her face.

"No, Flash...it is my fault! This never would have happened if I hadn't brought Equestrian magic to this world in the first place! Derpy...her life is ruined because of me!"

In an instant, Sunset placed both hands upon her face, as if shielding herself from view. Both of her friends heard her pained sobs, looking to each other as if having no idea how to deal with this. But, in the end, and after much thinking, Flash turned to her, with a soft look, placing a hand upon her shoulder.

"Sunset...Derpy may come out of this okay. I know she's devastated right now. I mean, heck, who wouldn't be? But...nobody's blaming her for this. Nobody's going to give her a hard time. Her parents haven't thrown her out, or made her feel bad, and nobody here is going to look down on her."

Slowly, Sunset looked to the boy from behind her fingers as he continued.

"She has friends and family that can help her through this, and will help her. It'll take time, and her life will be hugely affected, but...I think, in the end...she'll be okay."

Sunset stared at him, seeing the honesty in his face as he'd spoken. He truly believed what he said to her, and while she herself had grave doubts about the optimistic future he'd painted for her, just hearing it did at least offer her some sense of comfort. But, that moment faded yet again when she turned, seeing through the window that Derpy had once more stopped crying. Instead, she was simply staring blankly at Celestia. As her eyes focused on the girl beyond the door, Sunset whispered the only thing she could think to ask.

"What...what do we do?"

Again, Flash and Twilight looked to one another, and again, Flash let out a sigh before offering perhaps the only wisdom he had to offer.

"I guess...you just go and talk to her."

Sunset looked over her shoulder to the boy, seeing him look back to her, before turning to the door and letting out a sigh of her own. Reaching for the knob of the door, she took a deep breath, then turned it. At the sound of the thing opening, both Derpy and Celestia turned to see her. There was a long and uncomfortable silence, but, in the end, Sunset took a step inside, closing the door behind her. As the former unicorn approached, Celestia looked from her, to Derpy and then back again. No words passed between them but the Principal nevertheless knew was about to happen, and so, she stepped to one side. Sunset was soon standing before her; Derpy, the girl whose life would never be the same after today. She still blamed herself, that much anyone could see, but right now, all Sunset could think to do was drop to her knees, look Derpy right in the eye, and say the only thing she'd been thinking of during this entire moment.

"I'm...I'm so...so sorry."