You beat Crystal Prep, didn’t you?

And you know how that turned out, Sunset.

The words resurfaced in Sunset Shimmer’s head as she and Twilight Sparkle packed up their things. Rainbow was still hanging around, talking about sports with Spike. Sunset glanced at the athlete sidelong. Her lips thinned as her mind’s eye landed on an unpleasant memory.

The day after Rainbow Dash had led Canterlot High to victory against Crystal Prep, she had paid Sun a visit. The clouds had been dark and pregnant with an impending storm. A sweet and pungent smell of ozone was thick in the air. Sunset had left her living room window open in anticipation, because she enjoyed the aroma of rain. That was why she heard the heavy footsteps up the stairs to her studio apartment. The person on the other side pounded continuously on her front door, rattling the wood in its frame.

The former Equestrian barked irritably, “All right, all right. I’m coming!” She unlocked the door and opened it, “What’s the big—” Sunset’s face went slack “—deal…?”

Rainbow Dash glowered, her right eye purple and nearly swollen shut. She had her guitar case slung over one shoulder. “I thought we could jam on our guitars for a while,” she said. Her rose pink eyes seared into Sunset, as if she could scare away any questions. “You cool with that?”

Sunset’s hand slid off the doorknob and covered her mouth. When she had gathered herself, she managed to ask, “Who—?”

“I just need to let off some steam,” Rainbow snapped. “If you aren’t free, just say so!”

Sunset’s eyes searched her friend’s face, her brows knitting. “I’m free to jam, but I need some kind of an answer first. It wasn’t Blaze, right?”

Rainbow shook her head, her face tensing like the question nettled her.

“Then…” Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. You said you were going to meet your girlfriend today. Was it…her?”

“Ex-girlfriend,” Rainbow corrected, her gaze ducking. “There. Ya happy? Now can I come inside?”

Sunset Shimmer just managed to bite back any sympathetic words. Rainbow Dash had made it very clear what she needed right at that moment, and Sun knew what it was like to be in a dark place with few places to turn to.

Without another word, she ushered her friend in. They ended up playing their guitars late into the night. Sun was a more than competent guitar player, but Rainbow Dash’s ability to shred was impressive. She played with such speed and skill, it made it difficult for Sunset to keep up with her evolving licks. The notes felt almost like a wall of sound. An angry wall of sound, but it was also tinted with pain.

This memory—a secret that Sunset had kept for Rainbow’s sake without ever needing to be asked—was what made Sun worry for her roommate. When Lightning Dust had betrayed her trust, Rainbow had shored up her emotional defenses. Her romances during their first year of college had been short, lasting no more than a week, and it was just about always with someone who didn’t go to their school. Sunset never met most of these nameless “girlfriends”, but one or two were brought around their dorm room. She didn’t like them. One girl in particular had looked at Rainbow’s work desk—covered in trophies, framed sports articles, and pictures of Rainbow playing soccer—and said with an infuriating air of approval, “Oh good! Now I have something worthwhile to tell my nosy mother about you.”

When Rainbow Dash had informed Sunset Shimmer that she’d dumped that girl the next day, Sunset gave her a high five. It was too bad that just a month later she’d found another girl just like the last. Rainbow couldn’t seem to break out of her romantic pattern. The parade of lovers she went through were just sad, watered down versions of Lightning Dust and Blaze.

This latest attraction Rainbow had toward Fluttershy made Sunset quite thrilled, despite the initial denial. Shy was gentle and kind in all the ways that Rainbow’s ex-girlfriends were not. She’s also patient and forgiving, Sunset thought with a wry smirk. If anyone can handle being in a relationship with Rainbow Dash and her monster-sized ego, it’d be Fluttershy.

About the time this thought came to pass, Twilight leaned in to whisper as she zipped up her backpack, “I’m glad Rainbow has come to terms with her feelings, but…” she chewed her lip, then said much lower, “What about Applejack?”

Sunset sighed, her smirk vanishing. “Twi, you know AJ’s given up.”

“And you know it doesn’t stop hurting that easily.”

This earned the bookworm a weary glance. “If it becomes an issue, we’ll be there for her,” she whispered back. “One romantic dilemma at a time, please!”

“What are you two whispering about?” Rainbow asked suddenly.

Sunset and Twilight jumped, and they tried their best to look innocent. The athlete was looking at them both with her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. Even Spike sat straight with one ear cocked.

“Nothing,” Sun and Twi said in unison.

When they left the building, they began heading toward the quad. The day was cool and partly cloudy.

“So what are you guys doing next?” Rainbow asked with her hands in her pockets.

Sunset Shimmer shrugged. “I have a lecture in an hour, but I’m free till then. Twilight?”

Twilight’s eyes squinted in thought. In her hand she gripped Spike’s leash. He trotted at her side, his ears perked to the university’s ambience. Since Everfree was pet-friendly, he didn’t have to hide in her backpack all the time, but the leash was something they had no choice but abide by. “My next lecture isn’t until this evening,” Twi said with a quick glance at Sunset. “I was going to start studying, but if you two are going to hang out, I’d love to tag along!”

Rainbow’s expression soured at this remark. She deftly put Twilight in a standing headlock and rapped lightly on her bookish friend’s forehead. “Hell-ooo! You’re never ‘tagging along’, Twilight! When is that going to sink into that egg-shaped head of yours? You’re one of us!”

“Ow, ow! Okay, Rainbow!” Twilight managed to wriggle out of the headlock, some strands coming loose out of her tight hair bun. With a frazzled air, she straightened out her blouse and adjusted her glasses. “I suppose I should stop saying that.” She smiled sheepishly. “Force of habit.”

“How about we get some late breakfast?” Sunset suggested. She patted her stomach. “I skipped eating this morning,”

“Sure!” Rainbow said. “Where though?”

“It’s Thursday, so they’re doing french toast at the Windigo Dining Hall. We’re still early enough to get some before they switch to serving lunch.” Twilight shivered with delight. “Have you tried their french toast? They’re delicious!”

Sunset Shimmer grinned. “Sounds like a plan to me!”

They redirected for the dining hall, located close to the freshman dorms. It was larger than the one close to the sophomore residence hall and the interior design was reminiscent of a 50s diner, with lots of tile and custom neon signs. The three friends entered the line for the serving counters. As they waited, Sunset nudged Rainbow. “So how are you going to do it?” she asked.

Her roommate blinked at her. “Do what?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and made air quotations. “Y’know. About your ‘itch’?”

Rainbow shrugged one shoulder, her chin tilting up as she scanned the tables of the dining area. It was true that it was busy that morning, but Sun knew her sporty friend was only trying to buy herself time to respond while appearing unconcerned. Finally, Rainbow said, “I’ll ask her out.”

“Just like that?” Twilight chimed in. Her eyebrows shot up. “Like on a date, date?”

Rainbow frowned at her. “Yeah. Why?”

Twilight blushed and looked away. “Oh. Nothing.”

“No, come on, what?”

Sunset smiled patiently and put a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Rainbow.” Her roommate turned a disgruntled gaze on her. “Remember how we said Fluttershy needs a catalyst? You two are opposites in a good way, but if you come on too strong, she’ll get nervous and rabbit on you.”

Rainbow’s face screwed up. “Just from asking her on a date?” Sunset and Twilight nodded their heads. The athlete rubbed the back of her neck, one eye squinting. “Then how am I supposed to let her know I’m interested in her? Write a coded message?”

“I’d keep it simple,” Twilight said, slipping once again into her authoritative tone. “I read once that the other party is more likely to be engaged if you set things up so that they feel some measure of control. You can push Fluttershy’s limits, Rainbow, but give her a chance to act too.”

“You go ninety percent of the way, and Fluttershy has to do the last ten,” Sunset said, nodding. “Doing it that way will probably be better for you both in the long run. She needs to feel confident with you, after all. Fluttershy won’t if you’re taking too much of a lead. Asking her out on the spot will force her to confront all of her anxieties at once. That’s a tall order for any person to deal with, let alone Flutters!”

Rainbow puckered her lips as she let this advice sink in. All the while they moved steadily up the line. The food trays were close.

“Okay, how about I still take her out, but I make it out like it’s just to say ‘thank you’ for her helping me with the project?” she suggested.

Sunset smiled. “That’s better. She might still get nervous, but if she has something safe to keep her grounded—like you two still just acting like business as usual—then she’ll open up more.”

Rainbow held up a hand, her eyes glazing. “Come to think of it, I already kind of had to do that. So I guess you guys are right.”

“Really?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah.” Rainbow said, looking at her absently. “It was at the mall last night, when she was showing me this—” she broke off, her cheeks tinging. Hastily, she looked away. “Clothes…thing.”

“Clothes thing?” Twilight repeated with a frown.

Sunset’s face twisted with confusion as well, but her expression cleared and tinted red as she recalled something Rainbow had let slip earlier:

She has great taste in lingerie.

“Rainbow, you went shopping with Fluttershy?” Twilight pressed, still oblivious. “That’s a surprise! I didn’t even think either of you were that interested in—”

“Oh look! Food trays!” Sunset butted in loudly. The line had moved up enough that she could reach around the people in front of them and grab one. “Here’s one for you, Rainbow. And you, Twilight.”

“Er, thanks?” Twilight said as she took her tray.

Sunset smiled apologetically at her as their line moved up. No longer needing to reach to get a tray, she waited till the stack was right next to them to reach for one when a man grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of line. She jerked away instinctively, her other hand rising up like a hoof ready to trample the unexpected threat. She stopped cold when her eyes met the beady black gaze of the person holding her.

“Bray,” she said with displeasure.

---

Rainbow Dash drew herself up as she stepped out of the line, red flags springing up in her mind as Sunset pulled out of the stranger’s grip.

‘Bray’ was a tall man with a wiry frame stuffed into a tacky black track suit. He had a long face that still seemed to struggle to accommodate his massive donkey-sized teeth. His brown hair was cut short on the sides, but was long at the top, and it flopped into his black eyes.

“Sunny,” Bray said in a high, phlegmy voice. “We need to talk.”

Rainbow Dash stepped closer, her lip curling. “Who do you think you are, pal? You can’t just—”
Sunset grabbed Rainbow by the arm. Hard.

With cold calmness, Sun said to Bray, “This isn’t a good time. Can we set up a meeting later?”

“No,” Bray said, crossing his arms. “We have an issue right now.”

Sunset pursed her lips. “Fine.” She looked at the others with apology written across her face. “Guys, I’m sorry—”

“No way am I letting you go off by yourself!” Rainbow snapped. “Who is this guy? Why’s he bugging you?”

Bray sneered at her. “Mind your own business, little girl.”

Rainbow’s eyes flashed and her fists clenched as she took a menacing step toward the man. “That’s it, creep!”

Sunset stepped in front of her. “Rainbow, stop!”

Twilight peeked around the athlete at Bray, her arms hugged close to her chest. Spike growled at her feet. “I agree with Rainbow, Sunset. I’d rather not see you leave with this man!”

“It’s not up to either of you,” Sunset returned hotly. Her eyes locked onto Rainbow’s. “Rainbow Dash…please trust me.”

“I dunno Sun,” Rainbow replied. “I don’t like this.”

“Just trust me!” Sunset insisted.

Rainbow puckered her lips and stepped back, both hands held up.

Sunset turned to Bray. “Let’s get this over with.”

The tomboy watched with a growing sense of unease as her roommate walked off with the man. She turned to Twilight and asked tightly, “Do you have any idea what just happened?”

Twilight sighed heavily. “Let’s get back in line and I’ll tell you what I know…”

---

That day, Fluttershy had an earlier shift at the animal hospital, so she rose early and quickly got ready. When she arrived at her work, she helped Honey Grace with seeing to the needs of their stay-in patients, and afterwards, they did station prep. By the time the first customer had come through the door, the pair of vet assistants were ready and waiting to assist the techs. Fluttershy tried to stay present in the moment, but her thoughts kept wandering to the night before:

Fluttershy, the things you say are honest. It’s what you feel, and it’s like… I dunno. All net.

The shy girl thought to herself as she held a cat for a blood draw, All net? Does this mean she felt something? She said she liked my lyrics. She bit her lip, her grip slackening. Oh, but I ruined it by saying it was about Bulk Biceps! Why did I have to panic? Why can’t I be brave like her?

The cat jerked a leg free from Fluttershy’s grip, slashing Sugar Spin’s hand. The vet tech let out a yelp, clutching her hand to her chest. Her green eyes flashed with indignation as she glared.
“Nice going!” she snapped, making Fluttershy wilt.

“Gosh, I’m really sorry, Sugar Spin!” Shy said as she hugged the cat to her chest. It was purring happily.

Sugar snorted and glanced at her hand. The scratch was just behind her first knuckle. Blood was trickling down to her wrist. “That’s just great,” she sighed.

Fluttershy started to return the cat to its carrier. “Here, let me get you a band-aid.”

“Don’t bother,” Sugar Spin snapped. She held up the capped needle. “I got the blood. Just take the cat back to the front and let the owners know we’ll inform them of the results.”

Fluttershy’s shoulders slumped as she watched her co-worker leave the examination room. Petting the cat’s head, she murmured, “I’m ever so sorry I didn’t do right by you, Fluffles. The needle must have hurt when you moved. I should have had a better grip on you. You didn’t know any better!”

The cat mewled softly, its ears pert and forward as it held her gaze.

Fluttershy sighed and returned it to its carrier. Picking it up carefully, she carried the feline out to its owner. Just as she got through wishing the customer a good day, Sandy Scarab called out to her. “Fluttershy!” The girl looked at her supervisor in confusion. The older woman gestured for her to come to the back with some air of urgency.

Fearing the worst, Fluttershy joined the woman in the back hallway. Sandy’s face was pale and drawn. “Fluttershy, Honey Grace just let a parrot fly out the back door.”

“A parrot? You mean she let out Captain Smitty!?” Fluttershy squeaked.

Sandy nodded, her eyes closing with a look of suffering. “Yes. Prism and Sugar Spin are prepping to assist Doctor Heartclaw with a scheduled surgery. Honey is out looking for the bird right now. Can you please go help her? With luck, we won’t have any more emergencies come through the door in the next couple of minutes, and our other patients don’t require any immediate attention.” Sandy put a hand on her hip and breathed heavily through her nose. “You see, I wouldn’t normally send both my vet assistants out, but that bird belongs to a very important client. The faster we get the bird, the faster we can get back on track.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I understand! I’ll go right now. Is Honey just behind the building?”

“Yes. The bird’s wings were clipped so it couldn’t have gone far!”

“Don’t worry, ma’am. I’ll try my best!” Fluttershy hurried down the hallway, and as she passed the surgery room, her ear tweaked to the sound of Prism laughing.

“That’s what you get for trusting too much in the animal witch!” the vet tech giggled.

Fluttershy slowed to a stop just past the door, her eyes widening.

“Ugh, I know,” Sugar Spin groaned. “Have you noticed she’s been spacing out more?”

“She’s getting almost as bad as Honey Grace.”

“What did we do to deserve these weird vet assistants? Can’t Sandy scrape up better college brats?”

Fluttershy could feel the tears prick her eyes, but she took a deep breath and willed the lump to leave her throat. Captain Smitty was out in the streets and at risk of getting hurt, and Honey Grace needed help finding him. She could feel sorry for herself later.

Even as she told herself this, Fluttershy’s lower lip trembled when leaving through the rear exit.
Behind the animal hospital, there was the small employee parking lot. Honey Grace could be seen on all fours, facing the building, peeking under Doctor Heartclaw’s imported luxury car.

“Honey?” Fluttershy said, her voice a little hoarse from trying to keep her emotions in check.

Her co-worker didn’t react right away. After several seconds went by, she slowly raised her head and looked at Fluttershy. “Hi,” she said without much feeling. She blinked once, slowly. “Did Sandy send you to help me?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said, drawing closer. “Do you know where you last saw Captain Smitty?”

“The parrot went under Doctor Heartclaw’s car,” Honey said without any sense of hurry. She peeked under the car again. “I can’t see him, though.”

Fluttershy wrung her hands. “How long ago was that?”

Honey shrugged without rising up. “Five minutes? Maybe?”

“Did you check under the other cars?”

“No.”

Fluttershy started fidgeting on the spot, her head craning this way and that as she scanned for all possible perches—trees, bushes, street lights— “Honey, we might be better off spreading our search.”

Honey Grace didn’t move. “Okay.”

The shy girl let out a little whine at her co-worker’s lack of urgency, and went to quickly check under the other cars. Nothing. Next, she searched the bushes lining the back of the building. Still nothing. Even a quick glance at the light posts at the sidewalk was fruitless. There were no trees nearby—none that Fluttershy felt a bird with clipped wings would feel daring enough to traverse an intimidating landscape to try and reach, at least.

She went back to Honey Grace, who was still on all fours, looking under Doctor Heartclaw’s car. With an air of defeat, she dropped down to sit on the curb. “I don’t see Captain Smitty anywhere.” Fluttershy hugged herself, the tears she had been keeping at bay finally spilling forth unchecked. “Oh, I hope he’s all right!”

“Don’t cry. It’s not your fault, it’s mine,” Honey said in a level, matter-of-fact tone. “The bird got away because I’m slow.”

Fluttershy’s brow wrinkled as she sniffled back snot. “You’re not that slow—”

“As in stupid.” Somehow the other girl’s voice became flatter than usual. “I know that’s what everyone thinks.”

“Er, well…” Shy’s cheeks colored and she wiped at her eyes. She tried to stiffen her quivering lip and said earnestly, “I don’t think of you that way!”

Honey sighed and rose up to sit on her heels. “It’s okay.” She frowned softly. “I get it. I am slow. Half the time I don’t know what to do until someone tells me. Even if I do some stuff all right, it doesn’t matter if I have to be told all the time. There’s nothing useful in having a moron to babysit.”

“You’re not a moron, Honey Grace. If anyone is...it’d be me.” The pre-vet covered her face with her hands and sighed, her mind skimming the memories of the recent mishap with Sugar Spin, and the false confession to Rainbow Dash the night before. “I can’t do anything right,” Fluttershy said into her palms.

“Sure you can.”

“Like what?” The shy girl peeked through her fingers at the other girl.

“Pet names.” Honey squinted one eye at her. “You never call a pet by anything other than its name. How do you remember them all so well? And why bother? Most don’t stay with us for more than a day, and half of them never come back! I mean, I get saying their names in front of customers so that they feel their pet is ‘valued’, but you do it all the time, even if no one else is around.”

Fluttershy brushed back a stray lock of hair. “Oh! Um…” she shrugged delicately. “When I hear a pet’s name, I look at them and repeat it over and over in my head. It also helps to think of them as my own pets. That way they’re never just another animal. It’s like… It’s like they’re all my special friends.”

Honey Grace nodded like this was deep and sage wisdom. Fluttershy wondered with some discomfort why this would be a revelation to anyone, let alone someone who works with animals, but she kept her views silent.

Not everyone works the same way you do, Fluttershy, she admonished herself. We’ve seen enough evidence of that since we’ve started working here!

Honey Grace, after taking some time to let Fluttershy’s words sink in, dropped down to look under Doctor Heartclaw’s car again. “Anyway, it looks like you’re depressed about something other than this parrot.”

Fluttershy nodded guiltily. She gazed morosely at her knees. “I told someone I liked that I would go to their soccer practice on Sunday, no matter what, and they were really excited about it, but now I think I have to break my promise.” Fluttershy gestured behind her at the animal hospital. “No one likes me here, and unless we can find Captain Smitty, I doubt Sandy would let me off even if someone would switch shifts with me…”

“That sucks. I’m sorry,” Honey said. She actually sounded like she meant it, in her own muted way.

Fluttershy smiled wanly. “May I ask you something?”

Honey nodded. “Shoot.”

She pointed at the car. “You haven’t moved from there since I came outside. Would you mind telling me why?”

Honey rose up, glanced at the car, then looked back at Fluttershy. “I think that Captain Smitty is here.” A pause. “Because he’s cold.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Cold?”

Honey nodded. “Doctor Heartclaw started his shift when Doctor Scale clocked out half an hour ago.” She reached under the car. “The engine is still warm…”

Fluttershy got up and went to the other side of the car. She went down on all fours, her eyes meeting Honey’s under the vehicle. “You think Captain Smitty crawled up into the car?”

Honey nodded. “Yes.”

“Is there a reason you haven’t tried to slide under to look up into the car’s carriage?” Fluttershy asked without malice.

“If he was cold, I wanted to give him a chance to warm up,” Honey Grace said.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh! That’s…nice of you?”

“Not really.” Honey Grace’s lips quirked up into a smile. “I like seeing Sandy sweat.”

“O-oh…”

“Yeah. I know that sounds bitchy but…” Honey scowled. “She called me dumb. To my face.”

Fluttershy frowned. “That’s very mean!”

“Yeah. She told me this morning. She also thinks I sniff the cleaning supplies. I don’t.”

Fluttershy blushed again. Oh my! I sort of assumed the same thing, didn’t I…?

She swallowed and said carefully, “Honey...I’m sorry that you have to contend with these assumptions. I know the others have opinions of me that I’d rather they didn’t. But we have to remember that between us all are the patients. They need us back inside.”

Honey sighed. “Sure.” As she rolled onto her back to scoot under the car, she said to Fluttershy. “See? There you go again, thinking just about the animals. That’s cool.”

“It’s easier to think of them when you remember that they have rights like all living creatures do,” Fluttershy said seriously.

Honey raised an eyebrow. “Rights?” She turned her gaze onto the car’s undercarriage. “When you put it that way, it feels…obvious. And it’s supposed to be, huh?” She frowned. “But stuff makes you forget. I joined this pre-vet program because I thought working with animals would be cool. You sort of assume that makes you a good person automatically, but I guess that isn’t true. You have to feel it too.” She reached up into the car, her eyes squinting. “That’d be cool, I guess. To feel something. I’m not good at that, so I guess I’d have to work at it.”

There was a squawk. Fluttershy grinned excitedly as Honey Grace lowered her hand, which carefully gripped a small struggling green parrot, whose scrawny body had patches of feathers missing.

Together, they went back inside. Before they could even make it to the animal cages, Sandy Scarab intercepted them in the hallway.

“You found him! Thank goodness…” She heaved a great big sigh. “I was about to go out there myself!”

“Honey found him,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

Sandy raised an eyebrow and smirked as if this idea amused her. “Oh, did she?”

Fluttershy’s smile waned as her brow tensed. “Yes.”

The hospital manager crossed her arms as she turned a cool eye on Honey Grace. “How appropriate, considering she’s the one who caused this mess to start with!”

“It wasn’t Honey’s fault, ma’am,” Fluttershy said, her frown deepening. Her smile was gone now.

Sandy scowled at her. “Fluttershy…” her voice held warning.

“It was mine,” the girl said, her spine curling.

This earned her a raised eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Fluttershy dropped her gaze. “I was the one who left Captain Smitty’s cage open during the morning rounds. Honey was cleaning the employee room at the time!” When this didn’t earn an immediate response, she dared to look up through her bangs.

Sandy’s lip curled as she looked between Fluttershy and Honey Grace. Her jaw set. “It was a failure on both your parts. See to it that it doesn’t happen again, please!”

“Yes, ma’am,” they said simultaneously.

Sandy Scarab shook her head as she turned to return to her office.

Fluttershy felt her co-worker staring at her, and looked at her bashfully. “What?”

“You didn’t let out Captain Smitty. That was my fault.” Honey frowned. “You lied to Sandy. You didn’t have to do that.”

Fluttershy put a finger to her lips. She glanced up and down the hall to make sure no one was coming, then whispered, “I didn’t like her attitude.” She scowled. “I’m starting to think she’s just a big meanie in disguise.”

Honey Grace continued to stare at Fluttershy. Just as the pre-vet student was beginning to get creeped out, Honey said, “I’ll do it.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Er… Do what?”

“I’ll take your Sunday shift.”

Shy’s eyes widened. “Y-you will!?”

“Yeah.” Honey shrugged and gently stroked Captain Smitty’s head. “Besides, I’m going to need more practice if I’m going to ever get as good at dealing with animals as you are.” She started to walk down the hallway, toward the animal cage room. All the while, Fluttershy could hear her murmuring:

“Captain Smitty… Captain Smitty… Captain Smitty…”

Next Chapter: Chapter 14 Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 31 Minutes