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."