“I feel bad,” Fluttershy murmured as she turned and watched a pink blur zip by them for the umpteenth time.

Rarity barely glanced up from her phone as she lounged at Fluttershy’s side. “Oh, pshaw! This is good for her.”

Fluttershy looked at her anxiously, one errant lock of pink hair slipping in front of her blue gaze. “Really?”

Twilight waved a lazy hand as she leaned on the freshly cleaned table they were all seated at, a crooked smile on her face. “Really. She needs to run it out.”

“But I'm the one who picked the soda from the vending machine! It’s my fault she—”

Spike spoke up at her feet. “It’s not your fault! Who knew that brand of rootbeer had caffeine in it?”

“It could be marked better,” Twilight said as she tracked a manically giggling Pinkie Pie darting across the floor with the mop yet again. Angel Bunny raced after her, struggling to keep up.

Tank, who was in Fluttershy's lap, had long ago given up trying to follow the pink blur and was content to quietly absorb the incredible transformation of their freshly cleaned environment. The Retro Rendezvous Hall had changed from a tired and dusty establishment to one that smelled and felt fresh. The neon lights shined in Tank’s dark little eyes, and he was smiling faintly.

“I suppose,” Fluttershy mumbled, watching Pinkie zip by yet again.

She tried to distract herself from her guilt by focusing on the music filling the dance hall.

They had all worked together to dust, wipe, rearrange, and even test some of the light and sound equipment. The latter was all working perfectly. Currently, the venue’s speakers blared K-Pop from Twilight's personal CD. Fluttershy tapped her finger to the catchy beats, and very soon she was humming along with the music.

She had no idea what the Korean lyrics meant. However, if she felt the need, she could always ask Twilight about the lyrics later. At the moment, the bookworm was squinting at her computer’s screen, so the shy girl didn’t want to disturb her.

Rarity didn’t have such qualms as she invited Spike into her lap and lovingly scratched him under his chin. The dog groaned, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling as his tail wagged. “Twilight, what have you been working on?” the fashionista inquired. “Surely the light show you’ve programmed with Pinkie is sufficient for our needs?”

Twilight glanced at her, expression turning nervous. “Hmm? Oh, this?” She adjusted her glasses and bit her lip. “Um… It’s just a, uh, side project. That I’ve been working on. Alone,” she added that last word under her breath and slouched.

Fluttershy and Rarity blinked at her. In the background, Pinkie laughed at the bunny following her. She was halfway across the floor. Angel was starting to lose ground, his ears drooping as he loped with less and less energy.

“Is it a private project?” Fluttershy asked with a tilt of her head. “Does it have to do with your work with Sunset Shimmer?”

Twilight quickly shook her head, her fair cheeks now tinging pink. “Nope! It’s not really private, and it’s not related to our undergraduate research project. It’s…” She sighed and turned her laptop to face them. “Oh, to heck with it. Here, take a look.”

Fluttershy and Rarity leaned over to see what the screen had to display. Both of their expressions brightened as they recognized the music program that had been used to produce many of the Rainbooms' music.

“You’re making your own music! How exciting!” Fluttershy gushed, eagerly scooting her chair closer.

“And how impressive it looks!” Rarity remarked with lifted eyebrows. “My dear, this looks quite different from anything we’ve seen you work on. What sort of sound have you been developing?”

It did look different. Complicated even. The music program was zoomed out, and Fluttershy had never seen so many different tracks on a song before. Some sections became quite busy!

Twilight bit her lip again. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Have either of you heard of intelligent dance music? IDM for short.”

Fluttershy shared a blank look with Rarity. They both turned back to Twilight and shook their heads.

“Won’t you play some of it for us? Pretty please? I’m always open to hearing new musical genres!” Fluttershy asked, smiling.

Twilight’s blush worsened and she spun the computer back around. “Ummm. I guess I could go and plug my laptop directly into the sound control panel. If I’m being honest, though, I’m not sure it’ll be your cup of tea.”

Rarity made a shooing motion with her hand as she grinned at her friend. “Go on, my dear! We won’t know if we like it until we hear it, now will we?”

“It’s weird,” Spike said bluntly, his eyes narrowed at Twilight’s computer. “I like her acid jazz and polyrhythms better. Her ambient jungle is okay too, I guess, but her beats could use some work.” He snorted, shaking his head in exasperation. “You’d think she’d be better at them. At the end of the day, music composition is basically just math.”

“Spike!” Twilight hissed as she stood up with her laptop.

He looked at her with one ear perked up. “What? I don’t get why you’re so embarrassed by it, anyway. Your mixes have been doing great online, and you’d get so much better if you’d let the others help you!”

Twilight heaved a mighty sigh as she glared at her impertinent and unrepentant dog. Over the years, since gaining an elevated consciousness and the ability to speak, the canine had become much more like a little brother than a simple pet. He still adored his owner and was fiercely loyal, but he wasn’t afraid to criticize her either. Quite frankly the only ones spared his pesky form of honesty were Fluttershy and Rarity, much to everyone else’s annoyance.

Fluttershy was now sitting up with an eager look on her face as she eyed Twilight with a twinkle in her gaze. “You’ve uploaded your work online? Do you have a specific artist name you share your work under?”

Rarity looked shrewdly at Twilight, her businesswoman expression firmly in place. “And you are selling your work, aren’t you? It’s all well and good to throw up a free party mix, Twilight, but knowing your production skills, I would think it quite a waste if you released all your fabulous work for free.”

Twilight stared helplessly between them, her glasses sliding down her nose. To Fluttershy, she said, “I—I’m called, uh… Star Scholar. Online.” She looked at Rarity next, shifting anxiously from one foot to the other. “And I mean… Um… No?” At the fashionista’s dramatic gasp and her dog’s grave head shaking, she pointed helplessly toward the sound control panel. It looked like a podium and was backstage to the right, only just barely visible from behind the stage curtain. “Look, before you go trying to price my music, just listen to it first, okay?? I haven’t wanted to sell anything yet because… Well…” Her shoulders sagged. “Just listen.”

She hurried over to the console and set her laptop down on top of it. Rarity and Fluttershy stood up from their seats, the latter bringing Tank and the former setting Spike onto the floor. They followed as far as the stage where they watched Twilight knelt by the control panel, ejecting the K-Pop music disc they’d been listening to from the sound system. Rising, she picked up a USB cable already plugged into the audio interface. She plugged it into her computer, and after some fiddling, new music began to play from the venue’s speakers.

The sounds were…strange. Fluttershy listened intently. There was a steady heartbeat, then a sound like rain hitting glass before the audio sample jittered and cut, like some strange rhythm. Harsher retro synths that made her think of lasers carved out what resembled a melody.

Fluttershy began to feel nervous. She didn’t know what to say. This certainly wasn’t the kind of music she would choose to listen to. She tried very hard to school her expression into something neutral, but sweat began to bead on her forehead and gather at her armpits. She fidgeted and glanced over at Rarity, who was frowning, one hand delicately holding her chin like when she was assessing a new piece of fashion.

Did she get it? Oh dear. Was Fluttershy going to be alone in her confusion? Her stomach started to cramp. How could she fail to understand Twilight’s music? She’d asked to listen to it! She avoided looking the bookworm’s way. She didn’t want to betray her utter bewilderment and dismay.

I just have no idea what to do…

Then almost halfway through the song, something strange happened. Fluttershy, who had started to unconsciously slouch as the track marched closer and closer to its conclusion, heard drums. The drums didn’t sound realistic. The sounds were too uniform and crisp. They sounded like—

“HEY!” Pinkie exclaimed. Everyone looked at her as she waved from the opposite end of the room. “Is that an 808 beat?!”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. That’s what that was! The beat was using sounds from a TR-808, a famous drum machine that was released in the early eighties. She listened, bobbing her head as the drums brought all the experimental samples together. The heartbeat, the rain, the laser synths…

It all coalesced into a complex symphony of sounds that made Fluttershy think of a time when she was little.

In her memory, it was late. She'd just had a nightmare. Her little head rested against her mother’s chest as they swayed gently on a rocking chair. Fluttershy could remember watching the rain hit her bedroom window, lights from somewhere outside illuminating the droplets. The radio softly played some eighties pop hits from the past decade. Songs about innocent romance.

Fluttershy had felt so safe and loved there, in her mother’s arms.

In the present, Twilight's music created a palpable sensation of nostalgia so strong that Fluttershy was startled by how quickly the tears sprang to her eyes and coursed down her flushed cheeks.

Rarity, her eyes flashing with concern, noticed first. “My dear! Good heavens, are you all right?”

Fluttershy covered her face with one hand, the other hugging Tank to her chest. Her ears turned pink. She didn’t mean to make a scene! The music stopped and then she heard the sound of a mop hitting the floor as shoes squeaked over the freshly cleaned floor.

“Omigosh, Fluttershy, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize my music would upset you!” Twilight said in a rush somewhere near her.

Without a word, Fluttershy felt Pinkie hug her. She knew it was the pink-haired girl because the person was tall, cushy, and smelled like cupcakes. With effort, Fluttershy removed her hand from her face, shifted Tank so that she balanced him on her hip, and hugged her friend back. She pressed her cheek to Pinkie’s shoulder and looked over at Twilight, who was wringing her hands and gazing at her with distress. Fluttershy felt Rarity rub her back behind her.

The animal lover sniffled and smiled. “Twilight, I’m the one who should apologize.”

Twilight stepped closer and stroked her friend's pink hair, her face tightening further. “No way! It’s not your fault! I was the one who—”

The shy girl gave a tiny shake of her head, making Twilight fall quiet. “Twilight, please,” Fluttershy murmured. “Let me explain.”

She pulled away from Pinkie, sparing her a warm smile that the party girl returned tenfold. It seemed the sugary jitters that had possessed the taller girl were gone now. Her large eyes, a deeper and richer shade of blue than Fluttershy’s, were brimming with care and attention. So often people wrote Pinkie off as an airhead with the attention span of a squirrel. It was such a disservice to the tireless devotion that was Pinkie Pie’s unique gift of friendship.

Seeing her friends smile was what Pinkie lived for. Nothing moved her to action swifter than seeing someone she loved hurting.

Fluttershy affectionately rubbed Pinkie Pie’s arm, thinking to herself how lucky she was to have such a friend, before turning her attention fully to Twilight. “Your music didn’t make me sad, Twilight. Just the opposite.”

Twilight blinked, adjusting her glasses. “Uh… Really?”

“Yes!” Fluttershy pressed her hand to her chest as Rarity appeared next to her, hugging her close. They spared a fond look before Fluttershy returned her attention to Twilight. “I will confess, at first I wasn’t sure if I’d understand your music, and that made me very upset. I wanted to be supportive of you! But then the drum beat came in, and suddenly it all came together in such a lovely and breathtaking way.” Her eyes teared up a little again as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Your music reminded me of a memory involving a quiet moment with my mother. Before she died, when I was just a little girl. I hadn’t thought of it in a long time, so… Thank you!”

Twilight covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes shining with emotion. They gazed at each other, understanding passing between them.

But it wasn’t enough for Rarity. She stomped a foot and held out an arm, one hand twirling through the air impatiently. “Oh for heaven’s sake, Twilight come here and hug her!”

The bookworm immediately stepped forward as Rarity took Tank and stepped back to allow her and Fluttershy to hug and laugh. They stood there swaying on the spot, and Fluttershy thought that nothing could interrupt that blissful moment.

Then they heard a cell phone ring from the table they had all just been sitting at. It was a hard-hitting runway club beat with a gay male voice rapping to the rhythm—

“Guess who's back in the house
Heels click-clackin' about
Fine, fresh, feminine, style to eleven
I'm divine, so heavenly
Gentlemen sweatin'
It's dimes across the board with no doubt
Body like WOW!”

Both Twilight and Fluttershy separated to stare at Rarity, with Pinkie Pie standing on her tiptoes to blink owlishly over their heads. The fashionista blushed and hurried to the table where her purse sat, her heels clicking over the hard floor.

“Blast and bother! I am so sorry, ladies. Let me just… Aha!” After setting Tank down on the floor and rummaging in her tiny purse, she produced her phone, frowned at the caller ID, then answered. “Hello? Yes, mother? Is everything all right?” She glanced at her friends before moving away, speaking low and urgent.

Fluttershy’s brow tightened. “Oh dear… Do you think it’s serious?”

“Hopefully not,” Twilight mused. She looked down, prompting Fluttershy to do the same.

She saw Angel and Spike looking up at her, their furry faces tense. The shy girl cooed at them, “Oh you poor things, I hope I didn’t worry you too much!” She stooped down and picked up Angel Bunny while Twilight scooped up Spike.

“Maybe a little,” Spike admitted with a wag of his tail. Twilight scratched behind his ear, and his tongue lolled happily.

Pinkie stepped closer and petted Angel. “It’s probably got to do with Sweetie Belle,” she said with a tensed brow.

The other girls gazed at her in surprise.

“Sweetie?” Twilight asked. “What’s been going on with her?”

Pinkie shrugged a little, her mouth crooking into a slight smile. “Sometimes Sweetie, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom have trouble with Diamond Tiara at school. Sweetie’s so gentle that she sometimes gets singled out and picked on more than the others. There’s been a few days where she came home early because she was stressed out. Rarity’s gone over to talk to her a few times to give her moral support but—”

“Not bloody this time!” Rarity fumed behind them. Everyone turned to see the fashionable girl clicking their way with an angry expression. “She skipped school!”

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped. “Sweetie Belle did?”

“Yes! Along with Scootaloo! They ran off to spend the day with Apple Bloom instead.”

Now Fluttershy frowned. “I’m confused. Apple Bloom was home? Was she sick?”

Rarity sighed and crossed her arms, her displeasure softening to something more like worry. “No, darling. She was suspended for a week for getting into a fight with Diamond Tiara.”

Fluttershy gasped as Twilight whistled.

Pinkie tutted and shook her head. “Major bummer. Is Sweetie home, now?”

Rarity massaged her temples with closed eyes. “No. She’s still at Sweet Apple Acres with Scootaloo, though my mother assured me she would be home soon. She’d like me to be there as she and father speak with Sweetie.” She sighed and stomped a foot. “Honestly! I don’t know what she was thinking.”

“Um,” Fluttershy scratched Angel under the chin as she ducked her head and hunched her shoulders nervously.

Like Applejack, Rarity was fiercely protective of her sister. Though the fashionista loved her parents dearly, she had admitted with some discomfort that they weren’t always the most attentive or involved. In light of this, Rarity felt it was her responsibility to fill in the many gaps left in their wake to ensure that Sweetie grew to be a good, strong, intelligent woman. Thus saying anything regarding Sweetie always necessitated some tact.

“Rarity,” Fluttershy tried again, forcing her shoulders down and her head back up. “I know you’re upset, but I very much hope that you’ll keep in mind Sweetie’s perspective.”

“And what is that, dear?” Rarity asked somewhat sharply.

Fluttershy winced, but forged ahead, just the barest hints of a tremor in her voice. “Well, Pinkie mentioned that Sweetie has been getting bullied by Diamond Tiara, right?”

Rarity arched an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“And would you also agree that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom are both fiercely protective of her?”

This earned her a blink. The fashionista glanced at Twilight as if expecting her to provide a clue as to where this was going, but before the other girl could even speak, Rarity’s eyes snapped back onto Fluttershy. “Yes, darling. Now where are we going with this rather arduous train of thought?”

“Rarity…” Twilight said, shaking her head a little.

“I’m just trying to make it clear that maybe, just maybe, Sweetie Belle feels guilty that Apple Bloom was suspended,” Fluttershy said in a rush. She set Angel down, much to the bunny’s annoyance, before she straightened and wrapped a lock of her hair around her finger. “I’m not sure if Apple Bloom was suspended specifically for defending Sweetie. Maybe she wasn’t. But be that as it may, I think Sweetie would feel bad that the feud between the girls has gotten so bad. Diamond Tiara likes to single her out because of how gentle she is, right? It’s probably fueled a lot of the enmity that’s between Diamond Tiara and the others. I’m sure Sweetie wishes she could stop being picked on, but if I were her, I’d feel awful if my friends got into trouble over me.”

Ringing silence followed.

Rarity stared at her with a slack face.

Pinkie sidled over to Twilight and stage whispered out of the corner of her mouth, “Do you think Shy broke her?”

When Rarity stirred again it was to slap a hand to her forehead. “Ugh! Of course! Why hadn’t I considered that? I’m such a damn fool!” She blew a curly lock of hair out of her eyes and shook her head. “Fluttershy, how on earth do you see through situations so quickly?”

Fluttershy looked away. “I’m not that amazing. I was just thinking of all those times you and the others have gotten into trouble defending me from bullies.”

And there were so many examples!

Applejack had received detention for tossing both Snips and Snails into a dumpster after their inappropriate suggestion about Fluttershy's skills in fellatio. Sunset Shimmer once failed a science project after she sabotaged Dumb-Bell's chemistry experiment, making it explode in retaliation for him stealing Fluttershy’s homework. Pinkie Pie had found herself in the principal's office after launching a pie at Sludge with such force that he went flying over a lunch table, following his deliberate shove that sent Fluttershy crashing to the ground. Rarity had also faced after-school consequences for using her gem constructs to pelt Garble relentlessly, punishing him for his attempt to intimidate Fluttershy into kissing him.

The one that upset Fluttershy the most, however, was the time Rainbow Dash got suspended for a week for punching Hoops so hard the boy got a black eye. He'd been trying to see up Rarity and Fluttershy's skirts. The shy girl had cried every day Rainbow was gone.

Presently, Rarity blushed, no doubt recalling her own moment standing up for Fluttershy’s honor. Clearing her throat. “Ah. Yes. Fair point, Fluttershy. Very astute, as always.”

Twilight grinned smugly. “Am I the only one who never got in trouble trying to defend Shy from bullies?”

Fluttershy paused to think. Her eyes widened. “Twilight, I think you’re right! You’ve never gotten in trouble once for that!”

Twilight, despite her studious nature, wasn't entirely unfamiliar with trouble. On one occasion, she had landed herself in detention for attempting to persuade Principals Celestia and Luna that heavy snowfall warranted a snow day, all to evade a science test. While she never would have failed the test, she had reluctantly joined in with her friends' mischievous scheme as a display of solidarity. Even now, the memory cast a shadow over her otherwise impeccable academic record.

They’d all passed the test, at least. Somehow. Who knew that faking a blizzard could teach so much about the water cycle?

Pinkie crossed her arms and thought hard. “Hold on a sec! Maybe she didn’t get in trouble at school, but wasn’t there the time at Camp Everfree—y’know, before all the kooky magic problems started—when Twi almost got stuck in the Conflict Resolution Corner by Gloriosa Daisy?”

Rarity snapped her fingers and grinned. “My, my, that’s right! She’d had a rather large argument with Hoops if my memory serves correctly?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh. Yeah. That.”

Fluttershy blushed, her hair slipping forward to cover her face. It wasn’t a pleasant memory. Hoops had been spreading rumors that Fluttershy had performed oral sex on him when they had gone to fetch firewood. Twilight had made a valiant effort to make Hoops recognize his wrongdoing and apologize. However, when he persisted in claiming the story was true, Twilight had taken it upon herself to loudly and systematically dismantle Hoops' fragile narrative, much to his dismay.

There may have been a few…ahem…colorful epithets used as well.

“She didn’t get in trouble though,” Spike chimed in readily. “And that jerk deserved it!” he added in a light growl.

“Hear, hear,” Rarity said with a prim nod.

“I think we’ve gotten off-topic,” Fluttershy squeaked.

Through the narrow sliver of vision she had through her curtain of hair, Fluttershy could see the others exchange abashed looks.

“Yes, we have. So sorry about that, dear,” Rarity said, patting her shoulder. “I’ll, of course, keep your wise words in mind when I see Sweetie Belle later tonight.” She yawned a little. “My goodness, I should imagine I won’t have to wait long. We’ve spent quite a bit of time here!”

Twilight nodded, looking around. “I’d say this place looks a heckuva lot better than when we first got here. Maybe we should head out?”

They all murmured their agreement and began to prepare to leave.

Spike helped Twilight gather up her things by fetching her laptop bag while she turned off the sound system and unplugged her computer. Rarity found herself muttering over one last smudge she’d found on a table that she simply could not leave alone until she’d buffed the offensive mark from existence. Fluttershy smiled beatifically as she let Angel ride the large cloth push broom on the way back to the supply closet.

Her bliss turned to horror when she noticed Pinkie gleefully polishing Tank's shell with furniture polish. She hurried over to stop her impulsive friend, explaining how the chemicals could deteriorate the reptile's shell. Both Pinkie and Tank appeared more dismayed as she explained further. Eventually, Pinkie grabbed the tortoise and carried him overhead as she bounded to the bathroom to wash his shell.

“OUTTA THE WAY! REPTILE EMERGENCY!” she screamed as she went.

Just as they were finishing up and turning off the lights, Pinkie Pie emerged from the bathroom, apparently on a call on her phone. “Uh, huh? Uh, huh? Wah, huh? Uh, yeah! Of course, I’d be down to go out! What time ya thinkin’?” She nodded, a comically serious expression on her face as she hugged Tank to her very generous bosom. “Mmm! Mm, hmm. Mm, hmm. Sure! Oh, the girls? Well, I’ve got Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy here with me. Why don’t I ask ‘em? Oops, one sec, I’ll put ya on speaker too!”

The others peered at Pinkie curiously when she stopped near them. She set Tank on the table, looked at her phone, then hit a button on her touchscreen. Grinning, she looked around at them all. “Guys, Rainbow Dash just had a super awesome idea! She wants to go out tonight!”

“Hey guys! Hey, babe!” Rainbow’s voice said through Pinkie’s phone speaker. The line also had rumbling background noise, as if Rainbow was in a moving car.

“You’re not driving while talking on your cell, are you?” Twilight asked critically.

“Nah,” Rainbow answered. “My friend Sassaflash is driving. You guys are on speaker too so that she can hear. Anyway, what do you guys think? Wanna have some fun tonight?”

“It’s a Wednesday,” Twilight said with a frown.

“So?”

“So…” Twilight rubbed at her forehead. “I mean, is there anything even going on in town? It’s the middle of the work week.”

Pinkie nodded her head eagerly. “Oh, lots, Twi! There’s probably a few live shows, karaoke, trivia night—”

Twilight’s eyes lit up at the last one, but Rainbow was quick to shoot it down.

“No. No way. No egghead stuff. I want to go out drinking with you guys, okay? You all still have your IDs, right?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. Drinking? She exchanged a look with the others. Wringing her hands, “Umm… Rainbow?”

“Fluttershy? Hey! Aw man, please say you’ll go out with me! Sassaflash is coming too. It’ll be fun!”

“I’m sure, Dashie,” Fluttershy said, fidgeting as she twirled a lock of hair again. “But… Well, this is sort of sudden. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Rainbow answered quickly. Too quickly.

Pinkie bit her lip while Rarity shook her head. Twilight reached under her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. “Say, Rainbow, what were you and Sassaflash doing?” the bookworm asked.

“What were we doing?”

“Yeah. Cuz, no offense, but you don’t have a very good poker face. Or voice, as it were,” Twilight said dryly.

There was a long pause.

Fluttershy rubbed her arms, trying to comfort herself. She looked down and saw Angel and Spike peering up at her, their ears pinned back. Tank was walking slowly toward the phone, his black eyes wide.

What had happened?

“All right, smarty pants, ya caught me. Something did happen,” Rainbow groused.

“What happened, Dashie?” Pinkie asked next, her eyes uncharacteristically tensed.

A rough sigh. “I met my mom, all right?”

“Mon Dieu!” Rarity gasped.

Fluttershy placed her hands on her cheeks, her heart thumped hard. Rainbow had gone to see her mother? Did it not go well?

Oh, Dashie… You're so impulsive. Sunset told us to take it easy, but instead you…

Twilight grimaced. “Rainbow… Are you sure you want to go out drinking—?”

“I’ll go with you, Rainbow,” Pinkie said with a pert little nod.

Everyone stared at her, flabbergasted.

Rainbow Dash whooped. “All right, Pinkie! I knew you’d be down to clown!”

“Always, Dashie,” Pinkie said with a smile.

Twilight reached over and muted the call. To Pinkie, she hissed, “Pinkie, hold on a sec, think this through—!”

“What about the rest of you?” Rainbow asked, unaware they’d muted themselves.

Pinkie shrugged and said to Twilight, “What’s to think through? Rainbow is hurting. She’s asking her friends to be there with her. It’s more than either Rarity or I did. At least this way we can try and help her get through this from the start instead of letting her hurt all by herself. That’d be kinda lousy, don’t ya think?”

“Hello? Did I lose you guys?” Rainbow called.

Pinkie gestured at the phone. “It’s Dashie, right? Sassaflash is already going to go with her. So she's doing this anyway. We’re supposed to be her best friends. She needs us, and I'd rather make sure she had a super duper time.”

Fluttershy gazed at Pinkie in awe. Oh, yes. Her exuberant friend was tireless in her dedication to others' happiness. A quick look at Twilight and Rarity revealed the same admiration mirrored on their faces.

Pinkie reached down and unmuted her phone. “Sorry, Dashie. Like I said, I’m totally up for it. Ya got a spot in mind, or do you need ideas? I could probably recommend a few places!”

There was some chatter in the background as Rainbow conferred with Sassaflash. A moment later, she came back on the line. “Sass says she knows some places near her house that might be good. I kinda wanna pub crawl, if that’s cool?”

“It can be argued that the less time we spend in any single establishment will reduce the odds of us raising suspicions, but we still might want to refrain from going to too many bars. Every time they have to check our IDs, we’re rolling the dice on getting caught,” Twilight grumbled.

Rarity looked at her sharply. “Do you mean to say you’d like to join them?”

She sighed like she'd just dropped her favorite book in a puddle of mud. “How can I not? Someone’s got to keep Pinkie and Rainbow out of trouble!”

“Hey!” Rainbow snapped. Pinkie Pie just giggled.

“Rainbow, I would very much like to come with you all, if that’s okay?” Fluttershy said, fussing with the hem of her blouse.

“Duh, feather brain. Of course, I want my girlfriend to come with me. You’re my fave, babe!” Rainbow said with a short laugh.

Fluttershy blushed as the other girls cooed and grinned at her, but she let a small smile spread on her lips.

Still, she worried. Rainbow’s meeting with her mother had no doubt been very trying, given her sudden insistence on a night out like this. The tomboy had never done it before, and she wasn’t much of a drinker.

Except, of course, when something truly upsetting happened.

Like breaking up with Lightning Dust.

Rarity let out a dramatic sigh. “Well, I was going to work on my design for my fashion studio lab tonight, but if everyone else is going on this adventure, how can I not take part?” She tutted and looked around at them all. “But! If we’re going out, I really must insist we dress up.”

“Aw, man, Rares—” Rainbow started.

“Ah, ah! That is my condition, Rainbow Dash. Come now, I know you can pull together a passable ensemble,” she said this last word as the French would, making Twilight roll her eyes. “And surely Sassaflash, with her excellent fashion sense, can dazzle us?”

“You’re damn right I can!” Sassaflash yelled in the background, laughing.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll get jazzed up,” Rainbow griped. “Happy now? Will you come, Rares?”

Rarity smiled graciously. “Rainbow Dash, I wouldn’t miss it for all the world's diamonds.”

“Cool,” Rainbow let out a huge breath of air, and Fluttershy’s heart squeezed again. The tomboy must have been worried her friends wouldn’t come with her. “I’m gonna try and get a hold of Sunset and Applejack, too. It’d be freakin’ awesome if the whole gang could get together!” She cleared her throat and asked more seriously, “Though, I wanna keep the crap with my mom out of it. I’d appreciate it if you guys could do the same. It’s… uh. Kinda awkward to explain over text, and they aren’t answering their phones.”

Fluttershy frowned a little. When did Rainbow feel the need to withhold information from some of their friends?

Twilight put her hands on her hips and spoke first, “Sure, I guess. Might have to ask why later, if that’s okay.”

“We can deal with it later,” Rainbow said, sounding short.

The shy girl had a few ideas about why she hadn't told Sunset Shimmer—namely, that Rainbow had explicitly ignored their friend's advice to avoid stressful situations while their new powers remained unmastered. But she couldn't understand why Rainbow felt the need to withhold things from Applejack. While she acknowledged that the tomboy and the cowgirl had been at odds more since graduating high school, she couldn't believe they had grown that far apart, could they?

Twilight continued, “We’re also gonna need to hammer out details. Are we meeting somewhere? When? And are we carpooling?”

“My van oughta have enough space if we wanna stick together,” Pinkie piped up.

“I’d feel better if we did,” Fluttershy said, meekly. This wasn’t the first time they’d all gone out at night like this. True, it had never been specifically to go drinking before, but they’d found other ways to enjoy the nightlife.

Typically, they had all stayed together through the evening, keeping an eye on one another for safety. However, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Sunset Shimmer often split off to flirt with boys. Before she’d gotten closer to the group, Sunset Shimmer had even gone so far as to part with the others to leave with a complete stranger. Fluttershy worried when she did that, but the redhead had always turned up the next day, sometimes late for school, swaggering and looking smug. Fluttershy had never seen the boys again, and she blushed thinking about the implications. That had happened three times by her count. By senior year, Sunset seemed disinterested in random hookups, much to Fluttershy’s relief.

But the drinking would be a new element. Could they still look out for one another if they were under the influence? Even with just a buzz?

Rarity reached over and rubbed Fluttershy’s arm with a soothing smile. “We shall remain together as I’m sure we always have,” then she winced and held up a hand. “Ah yes. Speaking of, there’s a small wrinkle about reconvening, I’m afraid. I do need to go to my parent’s home for a bit to talk to Sweetie Belle. I should hope it doesn’t take more than half an hour.”

“Oh yeah, so you heard too, huh?” Rainbow said, sounding tired.

“Yes, such beastly trouble it all is. Have you spoken with Scootaloo at all, Rainbow?”

A rough sigh. “I tried. But I may have screwed that up. It’s been a while since we talked and she wasn’t too stoked to get lectured by me after so long.”

Rarity pursed her lips and nodded as she looked around at the others. Fluttershy chewed her lip. It really hurt her to hear that the CMC was having such trouble. They’d once spent so much time with the three younger girls both as friends and mentors. It was easy to feel like they’d failed them somehow.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Rainbow said, her voice hardening. “You want deets, Twi? Here’s what me and Sass were thinking…”

They talked some more and smoothed out the logistics. Pinkie volunteered to be the designated driver. Sassaflash insisted she wasn’t planning on drinking much, if at all, which earned a complaint from Rainbow. Before they ended the call, they agreed on a place to meet and set a time. At Rarity’s insistence, she urged Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy to come with her to her parents' home. Her reasoning was that they could all get ready there since Rarity had tailored outfits for them and a bevy of accessories and makeup available in her old room.

Unable to resist the fashionista’s wheedling, they agreed and finally left the dance hall.

After settling into Pinkie’s van, the party girl glanced at Rarity as she started the vehicle up. “Do you mind if we switch back to my music, Rares?” They’d listened to the fashionista’s runway music playlist on the initial drive over.

Rarity nodded with a smile. “Why, of course, my dear! Do go on, it’s your van after all. Thank you for allowing me to indulge my musical tastes.”

Pinkie gave her a thumbs up. “Hey, you don’t gotta twist my arm to listen to your playlists! I love that stuff! Boots and cats and boots and cats and––!” She bobbed her head to her own beat as she fiddled with her phone. Rarity danced, voguing to Pinkie’s impromptu beatboxing. Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy laughed at the sorority sisters' antics.

Then, without warning, a guttural roar blared out of the speakers, making everyone scream.

“DO YOU KNOW THE PAIN
I LIVE WITH EVERY DAY?
MY HEART IS TRAMPLED
IN THE MUD!
MY BLOOD IS EARTH,
MY SOUL THE SEED,
MY HOPE A DIRTY BLOSSOM
RISING
FROM THE BONY EYE OF GREED!”

Squealing guitars, lightning-fast drums, and screeching vocals filled the van. Angel panicked and jumped down the front of Fluttershy’s shirt. Tank retreated into his shell while everyone else, Spike included, cringed and covered their ears. All the while, Pinkie was panicking, her eyes wide as she tried to turn the music off. She epically fumbled the device once, twice, three times until it bounced over her shoulder onto Spike’s head, then flipped onto the center seat between Twilight and Fluttershy.

Twilight quickly reached over and hit the pause button. The music cut off, leaving only a ringing silence. Everyone sighed in relief.

Pinkie looked at all of them apologetically. “Sorry, guys! I had it on shuffle.”

Rarity put a hand on her chest, still heaving a little from her scare. “Heavens, I believe you’ve knocked ten years off my life, Pinkie!”

Fluttershy rubbed her ear, still grimacing. “Was that… Skull Cruncher?”

Pinkie Pie and Rarity looked at her in shock. “You know who that was??” The party girl balked.

“I recognized them too,” Twilight said with a wry chuckle. “Actually, Fluttershy was the one who introduced me to them! We saw them during the Starswirled Music Festival before senior year.” She pulled out her phone and glanced at Fluttershy. “Mind if I show them the pics we took?”

Fluttershy blushed. Her ‘metalsona’ wasn’t exactly a secret, but she hadn’t really advertised it either. It was just so difficult explaining it to anyone she knew. She’d let Twilight join her that day of the festival partly because it was the first large-scale show she’d ever gone to and she was nervous she’d get pulled into the mosh pit, but also because the bookish girl was so quick-witted and open-minded that she swiftly overcame her initial shock. She’d even asked if she could use some of Fluttershy’s makeup so they could match!

After the show was done, Fluttershy had removed her makeup and costume, hiding the staff inside a large canvas bag she’d brought specifically for the trip. Her secretive nature was all the hint Twilight needed to stay mum about their activities. The others had questioned them incessantly about the bag’s contents, but Twilight managed to steer the conversation to other things.

Fluttershy felt like something of a "poseur" among the metal crowd after removing her metalsona so completely, but they were surprisingly accepting of her as a fan, even though she wasn't hardcore about it. She had even made a few metalhead friends whom she still kept in touch with online.

Looking at Pinkie and Rarity, it was clear that the only way to get them to accept that this was part of her was with a picture.

Fluttershy nodded demurely to Twilight, allowing her hair to curtain her face. Carefully she extracted Angel from her shirt and stroked her bunny. The poor thing was still quivering in her hands.

Twilight pulled up a photo on her phone, showing it to Pinkie and Rarity. Their eyes widened. It captured Fluttershy and Twilight with Grim Pickle, a towering metalhead. He sported a thick beard, plum-colored hair, and a pink bandana, topped with a teal jean jacket adorned with shoulder spikes. Despite his intimidating look, they’d learned he shared a love for animals that rivaled Fluttershy’s. The shy girl often exchanged messages with him even to this day. They often discussed metal music, cute animal videos, and crochet patterns.

In the photo, Twilight was decked out in dark makeup, sporting spike earrings and black nails. But it was Fluttershy who stole the show. She had transformed into a metal queen, her look complete with metal ear loops, a black bat tank top, a studded choker, and high-heeled leather boots. Her ensemble's standout piece was a wooden staff, adorned with animal skulls and green LED lights, a creation of Star Weld that lit up with each strike to the ground.

“Whaaaaaat?” Pinkie said. Then, as if this wasn’t enough, she snatched up Twilight’s phone and held it where she and Rarity could oggle it even closer. “Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”

“I second that,” Rarity gasped. She looked at Fluttershy, who flinched a little with reddening cheeks. “Why darling, I had no idea! Were you afraid we’d tease you if we found out?”

Fluttershy shrugged helplessly. “No? Well… Perhaps a little.” She still vividly feared the kinds of jokes Applejack and Rainbow Dash would crack at her expense. She loved them, but it was as if she was only allowed to be a frail creature who sang arias to birds, unironically watched preschool shows, and snuggled with animal plushies.

Er, well, she did do those things, but not just those things!

Rarity smiled kindly at her. “Fluttershy, you needn’t have worried so! Your outfit was flawless! I will have to ask your advice the next time I create an alternative fashion line, darling.”

Pinkie nodded eagerly thrusting a thumbs up. “Yeah, yeah! You look really cool, Flutters! I like it! Ten out of ten!”

Fluttershy’s blush worsened as she blinked at them. “Oh! Thank you!” she squeaked. She hadn’t expected them to praise her metalsona’s look. She rubbed her knees together as she fussed with the hem of her blouse. “Maybe I was being silly. It was just… It was hard to explain to anyone at the time,” Fluttershy finished with a little sigh.

She ran her fingers through her forelock, peeking nervously through her curtain of hair. “I guess it hasn’t come up since then because I don’t listen to them as much anymore. Only occasionally.”

“But how on earth did you come to listen to such an aggressive band, Fluttershy? Didn’t the music and its fans scare you?” Rarity asked with wide eyes.

Fluttershy pouted. There it was. The assumption. But Rarity was just asking for clarification, not teasing her.

With effort, Fluttershy lifted her head, though she hugged Angel Bunny to her chest and nuzzled him as she spoke. “Star Weld introduced me to them after our parents passed away.” She smiled absently. “Or, rather, he fell asleep with his laptop playing music in his room. It wasn’t on shuffle, but the music player came to Skull Cruncher and just did one track after another.”

Her eyes glazed as she looked out the window, recalling the memory. It had been a late afternoon one weekend. Fluttershy was home and still a freshman in high school. She wasn’t confident enough to leave the house on her own yet, and none of her friends had been available to come get her. Anxiously, she’d tried to listen to music of her own to drown out the sharp screaming and guttural death roars, but no matter what, the fierce metal pierced through all her efforts.

“I was stuck at home with nowhere to go and I couldn’t bring myself to intrude on his privacy. Knocking on his door or calling for him didn’t work. He’s a very heavy sleeper, you see.” Fluttershy’s forehead wrinkled as she explained her dilemma. “I tried to drown the music out but it wasn’t working. I was very upset about it. But then… Then I listened. After thirty minutes, I was able to make sense out of some of the lyrics.” She smiled absently. “I thought the songs’ messages were surprisingly poignant! It spoke to a lot of the rather difficult feelings I was having at the time. Grief. Disillusionment. Even a little bit of anger.”

Anger about losing her parents so early. Anger about their car’s brakes malfunctioning. Anger at herself for not preventing her parents from leaving that night. Star Weld blamed himself for putting off the car maintenance he usually performed for them. It wasn’t reasonable. Her older brother would have just changed their oil, he hardly would have thought to check the brake line. This was knowledge imparted to Fluttershy by Applejack. She’d turned around and explained this news to her older sibling multiple times but Star still insisted to this day it was his fault.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, wished she hadn’t asked her parents to go to the store in the first place. All just because she wanted to have milk with her cereal in the morning. It was such a painful thing to die over.

Because of this, she’d been unable to eat milk cereal for several years. She was largely over that particular hangup, but the juvenile breakfast that had once been such a staple morning meal of her youth was still her least favorite. The only reason they had cereal boxes in the house these days was because Star Weld could make and eat it quickly before work.

Fluttershy held her hands up, her cheeks turning a shade redder. “I listened to them alot during middle school and high school. Actually… Studying Skull Cruncher’s music composition was what helped me create better songs. If you can, um… believe that. Ha, ha. Ha…” She grinned weakly as she tucked her hair back behind her ear.

Ah yes. It could be quite a heavy thing to explain that a technical deathcore band had anything remotely transferable to pop-rock, but for their more energetic songs, Fluttershy had certainly borrowed concepts. Rainbow had always assumed, in her usual egotism, that she was the source of Fluttershy’s more “hardcore” ideas. Fluttershy had been content to let the assumption stand. It was just easier that way.

Rarity blinked, still looking bemused. Pinkie, however, slapped her hands to her face. “OMIGOSH! Now I understand why you had me doing blast beats!”

Her sorority sister stared at her now. “Doing a what, dear?”

“A blast beat!” Pinkie said, eagerly tapping the back of her seat. “It started in hardcore punk, but it shows up in deathcore all the time. See, it’s a single-stroke roll played between your cymbal and snare, with your kick drum going BOOM with every cymbal hit! It sounds kinda like boom-bam-tss, boom-bam-tss, boom-bam-tss—-” and the drummer picked up rapid speed, carrying on like that for half a minute so that she almost sounded like the real thing. Pinkie was very proud of her beatboxing skills.

“My goodness, I had no idea!” Rarity said, smiling again.

Twilight nodded eagerly. “Some of Fluttershy’s sadder compositions share characteristics with deathcore as well. The riffs she and Rainbow worked on were basically just slowed-down deathcore melodies.”

Fluttershy wrung her hands, looking around at them all. “Yes. Though, as I’ve said, I don’t listen to bands like Skull Cruncher as much anymore. Oh, but I still like them! They just aren’t part of my usual rotation these days, if that makes sense. I listen to more thrash and heavy metal if anything.”

There was a beat of silence. Then Pinkie sat forward and put her hand on the gear shift. She didn’t move or look at anyone. “I know everyone thinks I just like reggae, ska, and pop, but I like other stuff too. Sometimes, I’m not really feeling super chill or happy, y’know? So when I’m feeling down like… like I have been lately, I’ll listen to something with more teeth to it. Like Skull Cruncher.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I understand, Pinkie. It’s not always easy to be upfront about our interests when people have a fixed idea of you in their heads. If you’d like to play some metal music, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

“Neither would I,” Twilight said kindly.

Spike winced and held up a paw. “I don’t hate it or anything, but if we do listen to that stuff, can we turn down the volume a bit?” He pointed at his floppy ears with a wry grin. “Sensitive hearing.”

Rarity waved a hand as she also turned forward. “I agree. I am perfectly capable of tolerating some primal walls of sound so long as we can lower the volume.”

Pinkie looked lovingly at them all before she smiled at Fluttershy over her shoulder. “Hey Shy, ya like Sepultura?”

“Sass, can I talk to you?”

Sassaflash spun around, only to find her own bewildered face staring back at her from the shiny surface of Spitfire's brand-new sunglasses. “Huh? Uh, sure. What’s up, Shades?”

She could almost see the vein pop up on her roommate’s forehead. “I told you not to call me that. I don’t want a dumb nickname.” Spitfire reached under her glasses to rub at her eyes with one hand. She leaned inside the bathroom doorway and looked at Sassaflash again with a serious look. “Sass, it’s good that you’re going with Rainbow Dash. I don’t know her other friends too well, but we know what’s at stake here.”

Sassaflash blinked, returning the cap to her bronzer. “We do?”

Spitfire crossed her arms and glared over the rim of her glasses, one lock of her fiery orange hair slipping over her warm brown gaze. “I don’t have the time, nor the crayons to explain this to you, so lemme put it plain—Keep. Cap. Safe. If we lose her, we lose our shot at nationals. Capiche?”

Silence… Then—

“Geez, you can be so freaking mean. I’ve told you, I’m not a soldier. I have twice as many feelings as you do. You can’t just step on them like that!” Sass pouted and wiped an imaginary tear from her eye.

She received a snort in response. “What, all two of them?”

Sassaflash glared at the older girl. “The grunts must have hated you!”

Spitfire grinned. “I was an MP, of course they hated me.” Her expression turned serious again. “Seriously, though. It’s up to you to watch out for Dash. Not just for the team, but as her friend. She’s a walking wound right now. Even on a good day, she’s pretty impulsive. I can’t imagine what she gets up to while she’s this hurt.”

Sassaflash sighed as she turned back to her makeup bag. She rifled for her blush powder. It had been a little over an hour since they’d returned to campus. Rainbow had returned to her own dorm to prepare for the night, leaving Sass and Spitfire for the time being. Sassaflash had bathed, styled her hair, and was trying to finish getting her face done before she put on her outfit and fetched Rainbow at the other girl’s dorm building.

“I know, I know,” Sass said wearily. “I promise I’ll do my best to look out for her, all right? But it’s like you say—she’s impulsive! If she’s got it in her head to do something, she’ll do it! That’s half the reason I’m even going out with her tonight.” Sassaflash growled and dumped her makeup bag into the sink. Where the hell was her blush? “Even if no one joined her, she’d troll around for trouble all by herself.”

“Like I said, it’s good that you’re going. Maybe Dash’s pals will help you out too if you can pull them aside and explain what happened. Just stick close to her is all I’m saying. I’m not asking for you to turn water to wine, Sass, just minimize damage whenever necessary, all right? You’re her vice-captain, she needs you.”

The blonde waved an impatient hand. “All right, all right! I got it. Message received. Can you take your head out of my butt now?”

“I’m not saying this just for Rainbow’s sake, Sassy…” Spitfire’s voice became soft and gentle.

Sassaflash hated it when she did that.

Spitfire had been there that day. She’d seen the actual moment when Sass had put the proverbial gun to her romantic life and pulled the trigger.

Sassaflash leaned on their bathroom counter and glared down at her makeup. It had only been three days since she’d broken up with Caramel. Three. She’d gone without speaking to him for longer during one of their massive fights, and yet this was just so much harder.

Why? Why was it so goddamn hard? Caramel was a selfish jerk and he didn’t put nearly as much effort into their relationship as she did. This should have been cut and dry, then.

Triflin’ ex? That wasn’t the half of it. Sassaflash hoped Caramel’s cookies never fit his glass of milk ever again. She prayed he always stepped in something wet after putting on fresh socks. She fervently cursed him to a life of unskippable video ads.

She was getting better at this whole not cursing thing, she had to admit.

But in quiet moments here in the dorm, when she thought Spitfire wasn’t looking, she’d pull up pictures of her and Caramel together. Specifically, pictures from over the summer, when she’d taken him to Hawaii.

There they were, tanned and smiling with surfboards in front of a gorgeous tropical sunset.

Swipe.

Now it was nighttime and they were toasting glasses of sangria over half-eaten plates of lobster and chorizo in a patio dining area, the beach lit with the moonlight behind them as their faces glowed under the heat of island torches.

Swipe.

Ah. Yes. The infamous sunburn to top all sunburns. Sassaflash looked like she’d been roasted alive. She lay half-naked and miserable in a bed of tangled white sheets. Caramel, barely in the frame, very carefully laid a kiss on her ruby-colored forehead, his eyes cutting sideways to the camera. He’d doted on her, carefully applying aloe gel to her unhappy skin, ordering room service with his card, making her laugh whilst performing his own rendition of the hula show they would have gone to go see that night, and assuring her that he wasn’t mad they had to cancel their plans for the day because he loved her.

Because he loved her.

Swipe, swipe, swipe.

Caramel was a jerk. Until he wasn’t. But as their years-long relationship had aged, so too did those kind and chivalrous moments become more and more far apart. Why did it all have to end this way?

She tried not to think about the promise ring she’d thrown at him that awful day of the party when his frat brothers puked all over the front porch and tore up her parent’s lawn. She tried and failed not to see how it glinted in the sunlight just before it struck him over the heart. Caramel had just stared at her like she’d murdered their child. And theoretically, she supposed she did.

They would never get married. They would never have kids.

Not together, anyway.

No. Never together for anything ever again. Not for sunsets, sangria, or sunburns.

They were through. Six years together, and the end had come so abruptly, Sassaflash had wanted to puke the second the promise ring had flown from her hand. She’d screamed instead. Told him she hated him and she never wanted to see him again. When she’d stormed back for the house, she knew it was Spitfire that had stopped Caramel from pursuing her. Sass had been both grateful and angry for that at the same time.

Damn her. Damn him. Damn everything.

In the present, Sassaflash looked at Spitfire in the bathroom mirror and swallowed down the lump in her throat. “I’m fine,” she said with a cheerful grin.

Spitfire stared at her, then slowly shook her head. “Don’t do that shit. Not with me.”

The grin faltered a little. “What?”

“Lie.”

Sassaflash’s eye twitched. “I’m not lying. I’m fine. As fine as I can be.” She rifled through her makeup again. If she couldn’t find the blush she was going to beg Spitfire to run out and buy her some. She didn’t want to go out with just half her makeup done, and at least that way she could get her friend out of her hair. “I only cried once today. Aren’t you proud of me?”

Spitfire smirked. “Oh, so proud.”

Sassaflash’s grin turned crooked as she found her blush. Finally. Though she was a little disappointed. A little time alone before tonight had started to sound nice. “I’m not going to go off the deep end, Spitfire. Maybe I do try and put on a brave face, but I’m kind of amazing at it, don’t you think? I should get a gold star for it.”

“You use humor as a shield too, did you notice that?”

“Yep.” Sass shot her a look. “I also noticed you’ve got a big sister complex about a mile wide, so what’s your point?”

Spitfire chortled as she stood next to Sassaflash. Their eyes met in the mirror just as Sassaflash began applying the blush powder to her cheeks.

“Look, believe it or not, I do want you to have fun too. I just want both you and Rainbow Dash to be safe. All right?” She clapped Sassaflash on the back, earning her a disgruntled glance. “You’re not just my teammates, you guys are my friends. If there are any problems, I want you guys to call me. Okay? Hell, even if nothing goes wrong and you spend the night somewhere else, at least send me a text so that I don’t lose any sleep over you dorks.”

Sassaflash pursed her lips as she looked at her roommate. Teammate. Friend. She smiled and tried to blink the fresh tears from her eyes.

“Love ya, Shades.”

The blonde yelped when Spitfire put her in a headlock. “What did you say, mouthbreather? I think I heard wrong,” the older girl growled playfully.

“No, no, no,” Sass shrieked and slapped at her roommate frantically. “Spitfire, leggo! You’ll mess up my hair and makeup you fart knocker!”

Rarity’s family home was so typical of what you’d see of an upper-middle-class suburban residence that Rainbow liked to joke it looked like the one seen in the film, Home Alone. Any attempts to humble Rarity with the picturesque domesticity were usually met with a dismissive laugh.

They had not always lived in that house. No, once upon a time they had all somehow managed in a small cramped apartment, with Rarity and Sweetie sharing a room. It wasn’t like Sassaflash and her well-to-do family who had lived in such comfort all their lives and who enjoyed overseas trips every year.

No. Rarity’s family were self-made people who put in the work. They may not be able to afford brand-new luxury vehicles or have walk-in closets filled with designer clothes (well… Rarity did, but between her fashion supplies and her taste in clothes, she usually couldn't afford much else, hence why she still lacked a car) but they earned enough to live comfortably. Commendable enough in this economy, as every success had been earned over time with diligent hard work, clever business acumen, and good old-fashioned support from loved ones.

Hondo Flanks, after years of working the college football circuit, achieved his dream of working for the NFL. True, he was only an equipment manager, but the salary alone was enough to allow him to buy their latest family home. The large man was also immensely satisfied with getting to sit in on training camp practices and even receiving the occasional free tickets to games.

Cookie Crumbles was no slouch either. After a solid career as a respected hairstylist at a popular boutique in Canterlot City, the bouffant-loving woman hung up her clippers to pursue her passion as a gourmet cookie artist.

When Rarity shared her mother’s work shortly after their graduation, Fluttershy was dazzled by the impressive paintings the boisterous older woman managed to create. Despite the demand for her creations, Cookie only sold her gourmet cookies one of two ways: through Sugarcube Corner (being best friends with Mrs. Cake) which always had a small batch of her latest work available for purchase, or through special orders on her website, which Twilight Sparkle helped create with Rarity’s input.

The cookie business had taken off after her work went viral on Ponygram (partially thanks to Sweetie Belle and the CMC’s growing social platform and Rarity’s savvy social brokering). Now Cookie worked from home, and they had renovated the kitchen to include a double-stacked commercial convection oven. It made handling large orders much easier.

They arrived at the home to find Hondo sitting in the living room. He waved at them all as they entered, but he didn’t rise from the white L-shaped couch. Instead, he continued to glower as he watched football news on low volume. Cookie was working on a large batch order for a wedding that Friday. The house was filled with the mouthwatering scent of white chocolate cranberry, red velvet, and double fudge chocolate. Any other time and this would have been a source of delight for the girls. Rarity’s mother always set aside an extra batch to share with family and friends.

But even as Fluttershy and her friends each took their choice of gourmet treats, all at the older woman’s urging, it was clear that the atmosphere in the house was not the jovial scene they’d come to expect from Rarity’s home. It certainly wasn’t unwelcoming… Just tense. Rarity told her friends to hurry upstairs to her room while she conversed with her mother.

The sun was setting, and soon Sweetie would be home. Fluttershy looked over her shoulder as she ascended the stairs, watching the two women converse quietly with one another in the kitchen.

“Gosh,” she said as she and the others entered Rarity’s bedroom. She set Tank on the floor and rubbed her arms. “They really are treating this very seriously!”

Twilight nodded gravely as she sat at Rarity’s study desk. “As they should. It’s not good for Sweetie and Scootaloo to just skip out on school like that. What if they try to make it a habit? They only have a year and a half of school left!”

The bedroom was still untouched, despite Rarity staying at the sorority house. She still regularly returned to work on her fashion for school, or to do laundry. Her sewing corner was even freshly in disarray from her latest project.

Pinkie Pie flopped onto Rarity’s bed and sighed as Angel and Spike jumped up onto the bed with her, both already sniffing around for crumbs. “I don’t see what the big deal is,” Pinkie said around a mouthful of fudge cookie. She pulled out another one from her hair and tossed it to the animals, who eagerly split it between them.

“It’s just one day,” Pinkie continued, lifting her cookie for another bite. “Maybe they just needed a break from Diamond Tiara?”

“That’s still a conversation they could have had with their parents,” Twilight argued, crossing her arms. Nothing nettled her more than a flippant attitude towards academics. “I understand that they’re struggling. But it’s better to take a break with permission than just dip out on your responsibilities. Besides… Today’s the eleventh. I know for a fact that Scootaloo has Cranky Doodle for algebra. He usually tests on the second Wednesday of the month.”

“Yeeeah and the problem with that is…?” Spike said with a smirk on his muzzle. Pinkie snickered, and they did a fist bump. Er… Paw bump?

“Hardy har har.” Twilight turned her eyes up to the ceiling. “Look, I just think they have cause to worry. That’s all. Colleges may not look at high school attendance, but poor grades and a disciplinary record? You betcha. I’m sure Cookie and Hondo had high hopes that Sweetie would follow Rarity into Everfree State or, at least, some other decent four-year college, like Arismapi, Drake, or Griffonstone.”

Fluttershy drifted over to Rarity’s sewing corner as Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie went back and forth about the matter. She blinked as her eyes beheld the white dress form next to the work table and ribbon bank. On the mannequin was what looked like a utility belt. The hoops were empty, and there were several pouches that Fluttershy refrained from peeking inside, though she was deathly curious. What could Rarity need such a practical-looking belt for? The buckle was made of silver and was set with a large purple amethyst gem cut and polished in the shape of a heart. Draped over the dress form’s shoulders was also a black cape, the inside of which was lined with indigo silk.

Just as Fluttershy reached out to touch it, the door opened, making her jump.

“Hello girls,” Rarity sighed as she entered. “Sweetie Belle texted my mother. She says she’ll be home in about thirty minutes. She has to drop Scootaloo at home first.” She shook her head. “I wish we could just be done with this ghastly business already. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my parents so cross!”

“Does your mom want help with the baking, Rares?” Pinkie asked, sitting up. Angel, already done with his cookie half and resting in her lap, squeaked happily as he was showered with fresh cookie crumbs. He licked and nibbled these up eagerly from her corduroy pants.

“No, but I appreciate the thought, Pinkie.” Rarity waved a dismissive hand as she went to sit elegantly on the edge of her bed. “My mother has long since perfected her baking process. She has it all in hand, I assure you.”

Rarity clapped her hands together and looked at them all, donning a practiced smile. “But enough of all that! We should begin preparing for tonight, shouldn’t we?” She gestured grandiosely toward her closet and the silver clothes rack just to the left of the door. “As you all know, I still take great joy in fashioning clothing for you in my free time.”

The fashionista bit her lip and shrugged her hands. “I lament that my studies have left me all the poorer for time, but even so, I’ve managed at least two outfits for each of you since the year began. Of course, I would be only too happy to make any necessary adjustments you desire.”

“Within reason, Rares. Don’t push yourself on our account,” Twilight said firmly as she went to Rarity and held out her hand.

Rarity scoffed as she placed her hand regally into her friend’s and rose from the bed. “Tut, tut, Twilight Sparkle! I excel under pressure.” She put her hand through Twilight’s offered elbow and pulled the spectacled girl toward her closet with an eager smile. “And I believe you will quite enjoy what I have in store for you!”

Pinkie set Angel aside and rose, hopping with joy. “Ooh, I love dress-up time with Rarity!”

“Your offerings are on the rack, Pinkie,” Rarity said to her sorority sister with a large smile. She turned her head. “Come, Fluttershy,” Rarity gestured for the shy girl to follow. “Your outfits are also here in my closet.”

Fluttershy smiled. She started to follow her friends but paused when she saw a fashion sketch on Rarity’s work desk. Even at this poor angle, she could make out a familiar figure. Glancing over, she saw the fashionista was busy pulling Twilight’s outfits out. Biting her lip, Fluttershy sidled over and peered down at the paper.

The sketch undeniably depicted Rarity adorned in an outfit reminiscent of comic books. It consisted of tight-fitting attire adorned with purple quilted sleeves, black bracers, a low-cut leather tunic boasting a décolletage window, and a high collar. Also featured was the cape and utility belt currently present on the dress form.

What was most striking was the curved diamond sword on the girl’s hip.

Fluttershy stared at the sketch, contemplating its intricacies with an increased heart rate.

While Sunset Shimmer was widely acknowledged as the group's visual artist, with her mastery of various mediums and a keen eye for color, composition, and anatomy, Rarity held her own in expressing ideas visually. Though not as precise in anatomy and detail as Sunset, Rarity excelled in conveying emotion and atmosphere through her planning sketches. Her work was imbued with vibrant colors and evoked powerful emotions, offering a glimpse into the passion driving her creative process long before the final piece took shape.

Above the sewing station, a corkboard displayed a series of eye-catching sketches. The first captured Pinkie Pie in a kidcore outfit bursting with vibrant colors and playful, rounded shapes that radiated joy. Beside it, a sketch of Applejack showcased rugged, yet fashionable attire. Her design, set in earthy tones with bold lines, conveyed a sense of strength and pragmatism, reminiscent of a Western movie poster. Next, a drawing of Fluttershy in a delicate dress and shawl featured soft pastel hues. Some lines were so fine they nearly disappeared, subtly reflecting the shy girl's gentle femininity.

Typically, Rarity depicted herself in her sketches with slender yet firm lines that gracefully curved and swooped. Her figure exuded a delicate yet authoritative presence, evoking a regal sense of power. The essence captured in her drawings often portrayed her as a refined lady of the royal court or a prosperous globe-trotting artist tending to her cultural empire.

But here in this new design sketch, the edges were sharp and layered with angry strokes of different weights, not clean and elegant lines. It made it look as if darkness was radiating off of the fashionista. The colors were grim and maybe a little melancholy, too. And that expression! Fluttershy sensed…

No. No, she shouldn’t assume. It was bad to assume things, and especially something so grave!

Ah, but hadn’t Applejack and Rainbow Dash found Rarity out wandering at night? Pinkie had revealed the fashionista was searching for her mugger the day of Sassflash’s party. Could she have been doing it in this?

Well, wait. Rarity had just been sleepwalking… Right? The others hadn’t mentioned any strange outfits.

But what was it Junebug had said last week? Rarity would fall asleep out in public. True, she’d said on campus, but couldn’t her friend have also fallen asleep elsewhere? Out of curiosity, Fluttershy had done a web search for Tambelon, the place the fashionista had been discovered near.

It was far from both the sorority house and Everfree’s main campus.

Fluttershy bit her lip with worry.

Oh dear. So, Rarity had been looking for her assailant. And what would she have done once she’d found him? They’d all assumed she would call the police, but…

This drawing. This sketch it…

It radiated with a hunger for vengeance, not justice.

But still! She shouldn’t assume. When was the sketch drawn? If it was before the day of the party, then perhaps it was created prior to the matter being settled. Rarity had promised she wouldn’t go out looking for trouble again. She’d promised.

Stepping closer to the sketch, Fluttershy searched for a date. The fashionista usually dated her work as she liked to keep track of when she updated a design. The front showed no sign of a date.

Nervously, Fluttershy lifted the paper and stared at the back.

Her hand shook.

“Fluttershy? What’s the matter, darling?”

The shy girl flinched and let the paper go. She glanced over to find Rarity peering at her through the closet door.

In the background, Twilight deliberated between two outfits. One ensemble featured a slim, dark green pinstripe jacket and skirt paired with an ivory silk shirt and a dark navy bow tie. The other option was a dark purple Lolita-style high-waist skirt paired with a frilled soft yellow shirt and a raspberry pink neck ribbon. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had already chosen a sky blue fifties-style dress with a halter top. It was adorned with pastel pink polka dots and a silky yellow ribbon cinched at the waist.

Rarity gestured eagerly for Fluttershy to join them, completely oblivious to the wide-eyed stare her friend was fixing her with. “Come, come! I’d like to help you pick something out before my sister arrives.” To Pinkie and Twilight, Rarity said, “In the meantime, if either of you girls feel happy with your outfit choice, do not hesitate to make use of our restroom. Towels are in the closet across the hall. Our hair blower should be under the sink, and I have any number of makeup options you can make use of, including quite a few that I’ve yet to open.”

“Do you just horde fashion stuff instead of saving your money?” Twilight asked dryly.

Rarity blew an uncharacteristic raspberry at the bookworm. Fluttershy approached them, feeling like she was moving through molasses. Her mouth was dry. She wrung her hands and glanced over her shoulder at the sketch, then the dress form.

The sketch was dated as being completed on Monday the ninth…

That was the day after Sassaflash’s party.

Fluttershy stifled a whimper and made herself smile a tiny smile as Rarity ushered her into the closet, babbling excitedly.

People were so complicated. They weren’t easy, like animals. There were layers to them. Like Sweetie Belle skipping school, or Pinkie Pie not mentioning her interest in angry metal music. Fluttershy didn’t want to assume the worst about the direction of Rarity’s work.

She really, really didn’t.

Sassaflash had finished getting ready for the party. After crossing the campus, she showed up outside Rainbow’s dorm just as the tomboyish soccer captain emerged from her room.

“Dang, nice timing, dude,” Rainbow said with a grin.

“You know it!” Sassaflash said with a wink. Then she whistled. “Wow! You kinda look like you tried!”

Rainbow glowered at her. “What do you mean kinda? This is my second nicest shirt!”

“Second?”

The tomboy blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck and shut her door. “My nicest shirt still needs to be washed from last week…”

Sass needed a few seconds to process why that was before beaming at her friend. “Oh ho! You pulled all the stops for your date with Fluttershy, huh?”

“Whatever,” Rainbow muttered, shoving her hands into the pockets of her trousers.

She really did look good, though. Rainbow was dressed in a red silky thin-striped button-up shirt, the buttons unfastened straight down to the diaphragm. She had on a simple gold necklace that swung in the free space there, drawing the eye to the scintillating shot of her sideboobs. It actually made Sassaflash blush.

Rainbow also bothered to tuck the shirt into navy slacks, fastened with a shiny black belt with a gold buckle. On her feet were a pair of shiny black dress shoes that Sass suspected were from her friend’s senior prom or high school graduation. Over Rainbow’s shirt, she had on a blazer jacket to match the pants, and wafting from the girl was a spicy cologne. For the most part, her hair looked the same, but Sass thought she saw gold-backed rainbow-colored earrings shaped like lightning bolts peeking through her friend’s vibrant hair.

“It’s a good thing we aren’t hanging out on campus too long cuz I’m pretty sure you’d get written up,” Sass noted with a crooked grin.

Rainbow shrugged looking down at her chest. “You think it’s too much? I can button it up till we leave, I guess.”

Sass shook her head quickly, feeling her cheeks burn. “Nope! Nuh-uh! It’s fine! Totally!”

“Ya think?” Rainbow tugged at the front of her blazer and shrugged her shoulders. She smirked. “Cool. To be honest, I always kinda wanted to try this style. It’s got big dyke energy. Makes me feel like a boss.”

And it makes you look really hot, Sass thought, feeling the heat crawl up her neck.

She gave herself a mental slap. Stop it! She’s taken. And anyway, she’d be a freaking headache to get involved with.

This was enough to quell the uncomfortable wave of horniness that overtook her. It wasn’t that Sassaflash had lied about not being interested in Rainbow. She wasn’t. Not really.

God, could you imagine? They’d be at each other’s throats before they even got undressed!

No, that wasn’t it. But she was fantastically horny lately. It had been at least a week since she’d been laid, and the conversation she’d had with Rainbow earlier had, like, unlocked her gay side or something. Without even meaning to, the blonde had been looking twice at pretty girls all afternoon.

Not that she’d stopped eyeing guys. She’d seen a few well-cut fellows that ended up flirting with her on the way here. Honestly, her head had been spinning around like a top, and by now she was not only very confused but very, very randy.

For her part, Sassaflash had not slouched in her outfit for the evening. She’d put in a bit of extra effort, knowing full well that Rarity was a fashion student with impeccable style who knew about Sass’ brief stint as a model. Given that, she’d felt like she’d needed to demonstrate her own fashion prowess or be shamed into the uncool closet for life.

For the occasion, Sassaflash had chosen black short shorts with black heart-print mesh fishnet stockings, which she paired with dark gray lace-up heeled boots that came up mid-calf. The boots actually put her on eye level with Rainbow, much to Sassaflash’s delight. For a top, she had on an Arctic blue crop top where two long slim pale yellow lightning bolts blazed down toward her navel in three electric kinks instead of the one, like Rainbow’s favorite lightning symbol.

Over this, she had on a long flowing thin gray coat that went as far as her knees. Dangling from her ears were large ornate silver earrings, and her lower neck and chest were covered in layered silver necklaces of various lengths and styles. Large silver bangles jingled on her wrists as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

“You look good,” Rainbow said, looking Sassaflash up and down with a smile.

Sassaflash cocked a hip and threw up a peace sign. “Thanks, Dashie!” She thumbed toward the elevator. “Ready to roll out?”

Rainbow started walking that way. “You bet.”

On the elevator ride down, Sass insisted on a selfie with Rainbow. Then she sent it to Spitfire and typed teasingly—

>SS: Do we look good enough to get knocked up?

Her roommate didn’t respond right away. Sass nudged Rainbow and showed what she’d sent.

Rainbow made a face. “As if!”

Sassaflash laughed and put her phone away in her studded leather clutch. She’d contemplated not bringing the accessory, but she disliked the idea of having her keys and cards loose in her pockets. She double-checked to make sure that her scarab keychain, cash, and ID were there, then zipped her purse closed again.

She tapped the clutch idly on her thigh as she eyed Rainbow sideways. “So am I right in assuming we’re all trying to stick together tonight?”

Rainbow glanced at her before returning her eyes to her own phone. She was probably texting her friends. “Yep.”

“Sooo, does that include no quickies?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Antsy?”

Sassaflash groaned. “You have no idea!”

The tomboy put her phone in her blazer’s inside pocket and shrugged. “That oughta be fine. Just communicate with us so we don’t think you got kidnapped or whatever.”

“What if a guy wants to tag along while we bar-hop? I might need to seal the deal first.”

“Might? How quick are these quickies gonna be? Geez!” Rainbow frowned at her. Sass only grinned and held up her hands in response. She wasn’t actually all that experienced with one-night stands. Or dating other people in general. She’d had a fling or two during an extended break with Caramel, but they’d been entirely unexpected.

Sassaflash stared at the floor as it hit her.

Wait… Oh my God, I don’t know how to score.

Her flings had approached her first, and they had also initiated the sex. Every. Time. How did you communicate that?

‘Hey, sexy, can you fingerbang me in the men’s bathroom really quick?’

Sassaflash felt her stomach clench.

Crap. I’m screwed.

Or…y’know, not screwed. Which would also suck. A lot.

Rainbow sighed roughly as she shook her head at Sass. “I guess if someone you like tags along for a bit, that’s fine. So long as they aren’t, like, super annoying or harsh the mood. Sometimes one of the girls—usually Pinkie, Rarity, or Sunset Shimmer—would find someone to fool around with on the side. But I’d appreciate it if you run it by us first. They gotta pass the vibe check, know what I mean?”

Sass nodded eagerly. “Totally, totally!” She winced and scratched the back of her head. She’d picked her blonde locks up into a low bun wrapped with a mini braid. “Honestly, I dunno if I’ll get lucky.”

She punched Rainbow’s arm. “Anyway, it’s not about me, tonight. I wanna be there for you too, Dashie. I know today was hard.”

Rainbow smiled genuinely as she rubbed the place she’d been punched. “Thanks, man.”

They left the building and made their way to the quad. Overhead the sky was dark and the stars were out. Sassaflash shivered a little and drew her gray coat tighter around her body. She’d hoped the coat would provide better warmth than this, but she supposed you had to pay the price for skimpy outfits, even if you layered stuff over it.

After about fifteen minutes they reached the parking lot nearest to one of the main campus entrances. At this time of the evening, it wasn’t as packed, though it was hardly empty.

Sassaflash peered around, standing on her tiptoes. “You said Pinkie was driving a van?”

“Yeaaah,” Rainbow answered hesitantly as she squinted her eyes and stared around. “I can shoot them another text, but they said they’d be here soon. They got held up because Rarity had to do a serious family talk—”

“About her?”

“No, her little sister. She ditched along with that kid I called earlier—Scootaloo. Then after that, the girls had to drop their pets off with Fluttershy’s brother before coming here.”

Sass whistled. “That’s a lot.”

Rainbow bounced a little on the balls of her feet. “They’ll be here soon, you’ll see.”

Just then, Sassaflash’s phone beeped and she pulled it out of her carry clutch. Unlocking it, she saw a reply from Spitfire.

>SF: No. If u get pregnant, im goin to kick your ass. FFS, buy condoms.

Sass pinched her tongue between her teeth as she grinned and typed back.

>SS: Screw condoms. That's what the pill is for. Bukkake and creampies, baby!

Then she sent Spitfire a video of exactly those things.

Not her getting it. God, no. She wasn’t stupid. Those things had a way of finding themselves on the internet forever.

Buuuut she always had a score of videos she could quickly pull up whenever she’d needed to “rev her engines” so to speak.

She was a girl of many tastes.

>SF: I fucking hate u.

Sassaflash was cackling as she sent her roommate a kissy face emoji and hearts. It was so much fun teasing her super serious friend. Spitfire wasn’t a prude, thankfully, but she wasn’t beyond getting embarrassed. And adorably so! Sass just loved the way her cheeks would tinge pink and little flames would erupt behind her sunglasses—

She froze as a scary thought hit her.

Did she have the hots for her roommate, too?

Sassaflash considered the question with thin lips. With a grimace, she put her phone away.

Yeesh, she needed to get laid. Fast.

“Hey, they’re here!” Rainbow said, nudging Sassaflash. She looked really excited. She was probably looking forward to how Fluttershy looked.

Somewhat guiltily, Sassaflash looked forward to seeing what she looked like too.

A light pink cargo van with a pastel rainbow painted on the sides pulled into the parking space in front of them. When the engine cut off and the headlights shut down, Sass had a chance to see the people inside.

Her eyes popped wide.

Was she going to be hanging out tonight with goddesses or something? Even through the windshield, she could tell the other girls looked stunning. What was with Rainbow’s friends all looking drop-dead gorgeous? It was almost supernatural!

Rainbow ran to the side of the van, ripped the door open, dove inside, and descended on Fluttershy in the back seat.

“Flutters!” she yelled happily.

Sassaflash could only hear the girl squealing as the van rocked and the others turned to look at the commotion.

Grinning, Sass crossed her arms and ambled over to the open door. “Rainbow, you’re gonna mess up her outfit before we even hit our first bar,” she called to her soccer captain.

“Too right! Rainbow stop ravishing the poor thing this instant!” Rarity yelled with a smirk over Fluttershy’s panicked giggling. Rainbow was assailing her girlfriend with tickles now. All Sassaflash could see was a dainty foot in a heeled shoe sticking up in the air and Rainbow’s butt wiggling.

A girl with thick dark glasses (Um… Was her name… Twilight?) unbuckled her seatbelt in the middle of the van, turned around, and reached over the back of her seat to tap Rainbow’s head. She had on a dark green pinstripe jacket and matching skirt.

The skirt was lifting up over creamy stockinged legs. She had on what looked like spanks, but did the girl realize her pert behind was showing, or…?

Sassaflash cleared her throat as she felt her face turn hot and she swiftly looked elsewhere.

“Rainbow Dash, do I need to get a bucket of water?” the other girl asked the tomboy archly.

Rainbow finally lifted her head, a massive grin on her face. “All right, all right, I got the message.” She clambered off of Fluttershy, who, even in the dark of the van, Sassaflash could tell was burning red. The shy girl blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and adjusted the green hairband on her head with a tiny sigh. She was smiling, though.

The spectacled girl looked at Sassaflash and smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. Here, lemme scooch over for you.”

“Thanks,” Sass said as she climbed into the van. She waved at Fluttershy. “Hi, you!” She looked over at Rarity and Pinkie. “Hello Rarity, Pinkie Pie! Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys.” She settled in her seat as they returned her greeting simultaneously, and she smiled nervously at the girl next to her. “Umm… We didn’t talk as much that day at the party, but I think your name is… Twilight?” She winced. “Right?”

The girl held out her hand and Sassaflash shook it readily. “Twilight Sparkle,” she clarified kindly. Then her nose wrinkled a little. “Gosh, that’s true, huh? We never formally met.” She smiled. “Nice to officially meet you, Sassaflash!”

The blonde’s heart rate kicked up again. Twilight had a truly fetching smile. Who knew academic chic could be so damn alluring. Was she Asian? Well, she was at least part Asian, surely. What kind though?

Damn it. Was Sassaflash into Asians?

She stiffened as she tried to wipe away the sweat forming on her palms.

I’m waaaaay too thirsty right now, she thought with an inward sigh.

Pinkie Pie grinned at Sassaflash as the blonde buckled in. “Lookin’ good, Sassy!” The party girl was in a light blue polka-dot dress of some kind. Even from where Sassaflash sat, she had to tell herself to look up at the other girl’s face. Repeatedly, even.

Bless low-cut halter tops. Bless them.

“Thanks! I can’t wait to see what you guys look like.” Sassaflash’s blush worsened as she wheeled her hands quickly through the air. “Y’know, properly! Cuz it’s hard to tell with us all sitting here.”

She didn’t get much of a glimpse of Rarity’s outfit, anyway. She felt certain the fashionista looked super beautiful. Sitting behind her, all Sassaflash could see was her high ponytail and diamond earrings.

And her pretty pearly neck. Man. Rarity had a really graceful neck. It made Sassaflash think of the Egyptian queen, Nile Sun. How soft was—?

Sassaflash pinched her arm and winced.

“Well, your outfit is stunning Sassaflash!” Rarity said to Sass over her shoulder, smiling beatifically at her.

Sassaflash recovered from the stinging pain to beam at the other girl. Hearing that from someone like Rarity was beyond a high compliment!

Pinkie reached back to hand Sassaflash her cell phone. “Heya, since you know the area we’re heading to, wanna punch the street into my GPS?”

Sassaflash took the phone, relieved to have something else to look at besides all these gorgeous women. She began to type in the address where the first bar was located. “Sure thing! It’s this little spot in town that caters to twenty and thirty-somethings. We probably won’t see too many Everfree kids there, but you never know.”

“Dork, you forgot to shut the door,” Rainbow grunted as she clambered past Sassaflash’s seat to slide the van door shut.

Sass gave her a thumbs-up as she handed the phone back to Pinkie Pie. “No prob, Dashie. I just wanted to help you hit that calorie-burn goal, like a good VC should.”

Rainbow lightly pushed Sassaflash’s head as she returned to the rear seats, making the blonde gasp and slap her butt in retaliation. The tomboy yelped and crashed back into her seat, a scandalized look on her face. Pinkie snorted into a laugh as she started the car.

“Now, now. Girls, please play nice,” Fluttershy warned with a gentle smile and a motherly tone.

Sassaflash twisted around to stick her tongue out at Rainbow, and the other girl returned the gesture. Before Sass faced forward again, she looked at Fluttershy and fluttered her eyes at the shy girl. “Anything for you, Shy!” she gushed.

Fluttershy tilted her head and batted her thick eyelashes right back. It was hard to make out in the dark of the van, but was Shy wearing a leather jacket and a glittery pink V-neck?

Rainbow scowled and crossed her arms. “Okay, what the heck is that?”

“What do you mean, Dashie?” Fluttershy asked, blinking at her.

Sassaflash put on her best innocent face. “Yeah, what do you mean, Rainbow?”

“Dashie, seatbelt, please! My robot car says you’re not buckled,” Pinkie chirped from the front. The radio began to play some boppy ska music on low volume.

Rainbow’s face puckered and she flipped Sassaflash off as she reached for her seatbelt. Fluttershy’s hands flew to her mouth and she gasped. Sassaflash laughed and blew her friend a kiss before finally facing the front.

Twilight frowned, looking from Rainbow to Pinkie and back. “Hold on! Isn’t that against the Pinkie Promise we all made?? Y’know about not cursing?”

Sassaflash cringed when she felt Rainbow flick her ear, and she reached around to swat at her friend’s retreating arm.

Rainbow laughed as she dodged the blonde’s strike. “I’m not cursing, though!” she pointed out to the nerdy girl.

Sass twisted around to grin crookedly at Twilight. “She’s right. Ever since I made the same promise, I’ve been flipping the bird left and right and haven’t been pied in the face once.”

Twilight’s eyebrows lifted. She thought about this for a moment as Pinkie finally began to pull out of the parking lot. “Huh! I can’t believe I never put that together before. I wonder what other rude gestures we could do?”

“It’s the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law, guys. Sheesh!” Pinkie barked over her shoulder, her lower lip jutted as she glared at them and looked for oncoming cars.

Sassaflash playfully extended her middle finger. “Aw! But what if it’s meant in love?”

Pinkie pinched her lips and narrowed her eyes as she considered this seriously. When they arrived at the stop sign, she looked back at Sassaflash slowly.

Sass sank a little in her seat.

Holy crap, Pinkie could look really intense!

“When you flip me off, are you saying you love me, or that you’d love to make love to me?” The party girl arched an eyebrow.

Sassaflash’s eyes went wide as she felt everyone’s eyes turn on her.

She swallowed audibly and turned over her hands. “Both?” She flashed a nervous smile.

Pinkie stared at her for an extra beat before she suddenly brightened. “Okie dokie lokie! But be warned,” And here she winked, pushing up her generous breasts. Sassaflash felt hot and lightheaded all of a sudden. “I got a lot to love!” Then Pinkie accelerated hard, making everyone jerk back in their seats.

Sassaflash let out the breath she’d been holding as she looked out her passenger window. She stared at her own reflection in the glass.

Well! Here she was. In a van full of stunning women with an aching twat and a heart that was running a marathon in her chest. It had all the makings of a good coming-of-age story. A night of discovery, and adventure, and blah, blah, blah—

Whatever. She wasn’t a poet. It would be fun. Or at the very least interesting. That’s all that mattered.

Would she get some head tonight? Heck if she knew, but she sure hoped she did. Would Rainbow mind if Sass slept with one of her friends? Hmm…

Sassaflash glanced around. Even if she didn't tend to her ravenous sexual appetite, she realized she was very eager to learn more about Rainbow’s friends, and hopefully by extension, Rainbow too. They all seemed so interesting, and they clearly had a lot of history. Would she fit in with them? It was going well so far, but the night was still young. She hoped things continued as they were.

She had a niggling feeling that becoming friends with these girls was something special. Magical, even.

She had no idea how correct she would be.

Rarity's ringtone was a reference to the RuPaul song, Call Me Mother. The Skull Cruncher lyrics are something I made up on the spot. I tried something new and sprinkled in hyperlinks here and there... Because me sharing one song at the end clearly isn't enough.