Chapter 104

The ticking of the clock was the only sound in Fluttershy’s house.

It was about 2:00am on Friday, November the 18th.

Most of the front room was dark, save for the light above the table, where the shy girl and I were sitting across from each other in silence. Between us, a chess board sat on the tabletop, its pieces strewn about in disarray, locked in a motionless battle.

She was the light; I was the dark.

On the table close to me was an array of taken pieces: many pawns, both rooks, a bishop, and both knights.

On her side, a lonely pawn.

She and I stared at each other, expressionless. It was her turn, and she was mulling over how she would make her next move.

I sat with my arms folded, watching, waiting.

Her eyes dropped to the board and she cleared some hair from her face with one finger, hooking it behind her ear. She studied the board in earnest, sucking on her bottom lip as she weighed her options.

Finally, a timid, yellow hand hovered over the board, reaching tentatively for one of the few remaining light pieces that had any real power.

I raised a brow, which Fluttershy noticed.

She quickly withdrew. “Eep!”

“What?”

“You, um… made a face.”

“No I didn’t.”

Fluttershy glowered at me for a second, then she returned her eyes to the board. With a quick inhale, she reached for the same piece —quickly this time— and moved it to a new spot, plopping it down with a wooden clunk. Then she hunched down, folded her arms on her lap and watched me nervously.

With one arm freed, I reached up to stroke my chin as I drew a slow, thoughtful inhale. I spent a moment scanning the board—not because I needed to, but because I was really just fucking with her by that point. After all, this is war, which, when fought properly, is just as much a mind game as it is a contest of strength and strategy. The Spartans knew this; they taught it to me, and I’ve taught it to many, many, many soldiers in the centuries since.

I scratched my chin, my fingernails scraping noisily over that rough stubble, a sound that I knew drove Fluttershy mad at times like this. Just as I was considering how long I should torture her for, however, her soft voice came across the table in song—much to my surprise.

I looked up from the board to watch my girlfriend’s shoulders bounce back and forth, her hair swaying gleefully as she danced to her own melody.

Then she realised I was looking at her.

She trailed-off quite suddenly once her eyes met mine, her face immediately adjusting to a deep shade of scarlet. Then she cleared her throat and quickly looked down at her lap, as if she’d been scolded for something.

A tiny smirk coaxed my mouth to the side as I watched her. Hm... this must be what Rare was talking about… with the singing.

I cleared my throat. “Who sings that? Wasn’t it some Swedish guys or something?”

She looked up at me, paused, and then nodded timidly. “They’re from Norway. Um, Ylvis.”

“Ah, that’s right. Why’d you stop?”

She looked down at the table, causing the hair that she’d just swept aside to slide in front of her eye again. Then she shrugged one shoulder.

“Hm.” I sighed and looked down at the board. “You know... you have a beautiful voice—and not just when you’re taking dick; you’re actually a good singer, too.”

Her eyes met mine once again, and she smiled. “Oh… um, thank you. I think.”

Silence followed, each second sliced away by the ticking of the clock.

After a few moments of half-strategising and half-thinking about her singing, Fluttershy’s voice drifted into my ears once again.

“It’s kind of crazy, this.”

“What?” I asked, not looking up.

“Me: up late on a Thursday night, playing chess with some cute guy who’s older than Jesus.”

I snorted, and she continued.

“Someone who’s personally witnessed more history than I’ve even read about...” Fluttershy paused; a little smile graced her lips. “A big, tough war hero.”

The last part made me look up. It wasn’t the ‘big’ comment that caught my attention, despite the fact that I’m pretty sure Applejack weighed more than me; it was those last two words. I stared into her eyes for a moment and then shook my head, looking back down at the board. “War hero? Nah.”

“W-what do you mean?” she asked, furrowing her brows.

“I’m no hero, Flutters. It’s hard to consider yourself ‘heroic’ when you can’t die. I mean... what’s there to sacrifice, ya know? Where’s the courage in that?”

Fluttershy cocked her head.

“Every time I went to war, it was always the same. It meant nothing to me. It was literally just another thing I was doing.” I brought an index finger to my chin, sighing. Then I looked up at her again. “Starting a-way back when we fought with bows and swords, to the American Revolution, where we just lined-up and shot the crap out of each other, right up to the twentieth century with modern warfare —guns, tanks, planes… all that shit— I was always just ‘there,’ killing other people while I thought about what I would be doing the next year: like… maybe I would take up gardening. Again. You know?”

Fluttershy’s eyes wandered down to the tabletop, her mind no doubt filling with sepia-toned snapshots of mud, darkness, fire, and blood.

“But to all the other guys,” I continued, “it was a nightmare. I mean, they were scared shitless—and who can blame them? I mean really, who wouldn’t be scared when every moment could be your last?” I leaned closer to her, tapping an index finger to my temple. “Think about that: one bullet, in just the right spot, and BAM! That’s it. That’s the last thing you ever do. No gardening next year, no seeing your family again, no fucking that girl you like, nothing. It’s over. You’re done. Gone.”

“That’s awful,” she said quietly.

I rubbed the back of my neck and shook my head, letting out an incredulous chuckle. “I mean… I can’t even fathom that. Like... I’m always gonna have that next thing to do; the next stage in the game is always waiting for me.” I shrugged and let my hand rest on the table. “Heh. The end. I mean, for me? It’s never gonna happen. It’s just not a thing. But those guys?” —I gave my head a shake— “I don’t know how they did it. How they could walk into a battle knowing it might be the last thing they ever do, knowing they might never get to do the things they really wanted with their lives.

“I don’t think I could do it,” I confessed, looking Fluttershy straight in those big, teal eyes. “I think I’d be a coward. I’ve been spoiled by this... invulnerability, wherever it came from. I couldn’t give my life up for the greater good, especially now; if I were to lose this power, I wouldn’t have the tools to deal with pain or injuries, or fear,” —I let out a chuckle— “I mean, I’ve never even seen my own blood. Do you have any idea what that’s like?”

Fluttershy shook her head. Even though she was like me now, she’d spent her life as a normal person until just recently, and the memories of that existence were still fresh in her mind.

I raised a finger. “Those guys; the ones who fought next to me, who died next to me: they’re the heroes. Even the ones on the other side—all those people I killed; they were the heroes, Flutters. Not me.” I paused and then took a quick breath. “Like I said, it’s hard to call yourself brave when you can’t lose. It’s just not a fair fight. It’s like taking candy from a baby.”

Fluttershy sighed as she watched me fold my arms on the table and look down at the chess board again.

“I’m no hero, Flutters.”

Silence. The room felt heavy now, and even though I firmly believed everything I said, I found myself wishing I hadn’t laid it on quite so thick.

“Um... Goldie?”

“Hm?”

A pause.

“You’re my hero.”

I glanced up to send a smirk her way, but I found her looking quite serious, so I didn’t. “Thanks, Flutters,” I replied, looking down again after deciding not to argue the point with her.

“Um… I understand what you’re saying,” she continued softly, “and… I’m sorry you had to go through all that, but… not being able to put yourself on the line doesn’t mean you can’t be a hero. You can still help others.” She placed a finger to her chest. “You helped me. You’ve saved me more than once, and that’s something I know I’ll never forget—literally forever.”

As I listened to her, I was slowly reaching for one of my pieces.

“I love you so much, Goldie; and no matter what happens, I know I’m always gonna have you as my own personal hero.”

Struck by her words, I stopped what I was doing and looked up at her again. The look on her face, combined with what she’d just said, caused my heart to throb just a little bit.

Her eyes had become lidded, and a rather alluring smile appeared on her lips as she leaned forward, letting her breasts rest on the tabletop. This position shoved them up and out of that white tank top, making that flawless and full yellow cleavage extremely visible to me.

I paused with my hand over the chess board, rubbing my thumb and forefinger together. Finally, a smile spread across my face, and I lowered my hand to pluck my bishop from the board.

“Nice try, Flutters.”

The seductive look immediately dropped from her face. “Um… w-what?”

I pointed at her with the piece. “You; trying to distract me, trying to play mind games. You’ve got the right idea, but you still need to work on your delivery a bit. Next time, don’t lay it on quite so thick. It was too obvious that you were up to something.”

The shy girl’s mouth hung open as I moved the bishop to a space occupied by one of her pieces, and she watched in horror as I swapped hers out for mine.

“So,” I said, holding up her piece. “I just took your queen… aaaaand I believe that is checkmate, my dear.”

“Hmph!” Fluttershy flopped back in the chair and folded her arms. “It’s not fair. You’re too good at this game.”

“Don’t feel bad, Flutters, you’re not alone. I haven’t lost a game of chess in a loooong fuckin time.”

She shook her head, scowling. “It’s like… I swear, you’re reading my mind. I don’t understand it.”

I studied the little wooden queen, twirling it between my fingers. “It’s not mind reading. It’s mind control.”

Fluttershy raised a brow.

“It’s like this:” —I put the piece down and set my hands on the table, framing the board with them— “the moves I make aren’t to advance on you, especially at the start. They’re to get you to react, to draw you out, so you’ll move your pieces where I want them. Then, when I have you in position, I close in, and it’s all over in seconds.” I raised a finger before continuing. “This is also why you seem to be doing worse every time we play; because I’m learning your style, your methods, how you think, and I can take you down faster and faster the more I get inside your head.”

She sighed, gawking at the board to analyze the carnage.

“It’s just like the rescue mission, with Rare,” I continued, “I mean, real life isn’t always like chess, but sometimes the only way to win is to draw them out; dangle something they want in front of their noses and then wait... hope... that they fall for it. Once they make that one fatal mistake —whatever it may be— the ball’s in your court. Then you call the shots.”

Fluttershy glanced up at me with a little smirk. “Oh Goldie… the mastermind.”

“That’s right,” I said, placing my fingertip on the top of her queen to rock it around. “And now I’ve killed your king, and I’ve taken his queen for myself.”

“Hmmm…” She cocked a brow and gave a seductive grin. “And what are you gonna do with her? Are you gonna force her to be your, um… sex slave?”

“I won’t need to force her once she sees what I’m packing.”

The shy girl let out a giggle. “Oh, Goldie! You’re terrible.”

“I know…” I paused and studied the little monarch for a moment, then I shifted my eyes onto my girlfriend. “You know… this queen’s pretty hot, but… to be honest, there’s another queen I’d much rather have.”

“Oh?” Fluttershy cocked her head. “And what queen might that be?” she asked with an impish gleam in her eyes.

For several seconds, the two of us stared at one another in silence, waiting for an answer.

Then, quick as lightning, I threw my arms over the chess board, grabbed her wrists, and then dragged her across the table to my side.

“EEEEEEEEK!” She squealed with excitement as her long legs and green skirt swept the board and all of its pieces onto the floor, making a loud crash that stirred Link from his spot on the couch.

I put Fluttershy on her back and pinned her arms against the table, then I took the hem of her tank top between my teeth and pulled it up, exposing her belly.

“HEHEHEHE! GOLDIE, STOP!” she giggled as I ran my lips around her navel, rubbing my gritty face against her skin. “Your whiskers… HEHEHE! They’re scratchy! EEEK!”

I placed my mouth just below her navel and blew a raspberry, drawing yet another shriek from her as she wrapped her legs around me and squeezed firmly.

“AAAAAH HAHAHAHA! Goldie, I… hahaha! EEEE!”

I blew a second raspberry—wetter this time, splattering a bit of saliva around her belly. I let go of her arms while I did this; she gripped the back of my neck, threw her head back and squealed for mercy.

Using my fingers, I pried her skirt down just enough to expose the top of her panties, then I planted a row of kisses across the warm skin just above them before lifting my head to look up at her.

Fluttershy gazed down at me, biting her lip. Her eyes were playful, filled with excitement; she brought her hands around to cup my cheeks in her palms. “Do you, um… wanna take this to the bedroom?”

I nodded quickly, feeling my manhood begin to inflate at the very suggestion. “That sounds like a fucking great idea, Flutters,” I replied as I backed away, holding her hand as she slid off the table.

“OK,” she panted, hands outstretched as she looked at the mess scattered across the floor. “Just, mmm. OK…” She quickly bent down snatched a piece from the floor and then turned to hand it to me. “Here, take your new queen and go wait in bed for me.”

I looked down at the little wooden piece and furrowed my brow. “Uh… what?”

Fluttershy turned back and paused, then she ran her finger over the piece, slowly and seductively. “Just look at her, Goldie; all these bumps and ridges…” —she inhaled deeply and bit her lip— “I bet she would feel really goooood...”

I raised a brow at the shy girl. “Oh boy… are you gonna put her in the dungeon?”

Fluttershy smiled and winked. “If she’s lucky.”

I scrunched my nose. “Ew…”

Her eyes widened when she realised how her answer could have been interpreted. “Oh! No… I mean, yes! She’s going in my, um…” —she cleared her throat and turned back to the mess on the floor— “Just… go to bed and wait for me. I just wanna pick this stuff up first.”

I waved dismissively. “Just leave it. We’ll get it later.”

“No-no, I’ll be quick.” She squatted down and started gathering up the pieces. “I don’t want Linkie to mess with them; they might end up lost or something.” She looked over her shoulder at me. “You go. I’ll be right there.”

“Alright,” I sighed as I turned and headed down the hall.

***

Fluttershy quickly gathered the pieces up and piled them into the back of the board, which closed up like a briefcase for storage. She wasn’t quite finished when she glanced at the couch rather abruptly; Link was sitting up and looking over the backrest, staring curiously at the front entrance.

The shy girl glanced at the door and then back to the cat. “What is it, Linkie? Did you hear something?”

Link’s only response was to twitch an ear.

Fluttershy knew exactly what this meant: someone was outside. She glanced at the clock and furrowed her brows.

Who could be out there at this hour?

With a deep breath, the shy girl balled her fists and stood, then she made her way to the door. She approached slowly and silently, placing her ear against the wood to listen carefully.

The sound of light breeze was evident, which was normal; that sound could always be heard out here, whistling noisily through the trees. She was about to open the door to take a peek outside, but she stopped when she realised the breeze had camouflaged a different sound.

Breathing.

Right on the other side of the door.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she glanced back at Link again, who remained motionless, watching from the couch. She slowly turned back and looked down at the doorknob. Her heart rate climbed steadily as she wondered who could be standing at her front door so late on such a cold night, out here in the middle of the woods.

She felt no danger, but still the fear gripped her, like the fear of a ghost, or of the unknown; she wanted desperately to call out to her boyfriend, but she knew that would give away her position, and she preferred not to leave the door unattended to go get him.

She had no choice but to see who it was.

Open the door, Fluttershy.

She had to push herself, even though she was fully aware that simply facing the intruder would be the best course of action. Whoever this was couldn’t hurt her; after all —and even though she wasn’t proud of it— she knew that she was quite capable of maiming pretty well any normal human being to death quite easily.

Open the door, Fluttershy.

One more deep breath, a tight clench of her fists, and Fluttershy quickly grabbed the doorknob and tore the door open, ready to face whoever it was.

When she made eye contact with the intruder, she froze instantly. She thought she was ready for anything, but as it turns out, she was wrong.

It was a woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a long, black fleece coat with two rows of big, back buttons down the front. Around her neck was a thick, burgundy scarf, and coming out of the bottom of the coat was a pair of legs that sported tall, pink boots with white toes.

Her skin was a pale blue—save for the redness on her cheeks and nose, due to the cold. Her eyes were a deep shade of maroon, and her light blue hair was styled in a short bob, with bangs that were cut into a rather unique V-shape, accented by two dark blue stripes along the center.

She stood with one closed hand in the air, about to knock —and evidently hesitating— but was deprived of the chance to do so. Her eyes were wide; clearly she did not expect the door to be opened like this, but she managed to get her bearings quickly and withdrew her arm, clutching her hands together on her chest.

“Um… I wasn’t sure what else to-WHAAAA!?”

She was quickly cut off when the shy girl’s instincts kicked in.

Fluttershy grabbed her arm and yanked her inside, then she twisted it behind her back, causing the stranger to grunt in pain as her shoulder was wrenched around, her arm pulled to an impossible angle and placed between her shoulder blades. She had no choice but to obey when Fluttershy pushed her over to the table and bent her forward, slamming the side of her head down against the wood with a loud thud.

The visitor squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, wincing as a sharp pain rang through her skull. “OOOWWEEEEEEEE!”

“What are you doing here, Sonata?!” Fluttershy whisper-shouted.

The siren didn’t answer.

The shy girl turned to look at the empty doorway, then back at Sonata. “Where are the other two!?” she asked, shoving the siren’s head even harder against the wood.

The blue-haired girl grunted. Squeezing her eyes shut with her mouth opened wide, she panted a few quick breaths in an attempt to control the pain, and then answered.

“I… I don’t know!”

Fluttershy tightened her grip yet again. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I don’t know where they are! F-for realz!” She opened her eyes and tried to look back at the shy girl. “I… I ran away!”

The scowl on Fluttershy’s brow softened, and a look of dubiety began to creep in. “You… ran away?”

Sonata nodded—or she tried, rather; her freedom to move was restricted by the shy girl’s grip, after all.

“Why!?” Fluttershy asked, hardening her tone again.

“I… I just wanted to, because of something somebody said to me… a few weeks ago.” She winced and let out a grunt; the pain in her shoulder had begun to radiate through her entire body, so she quickly decided to finish telling her story in hopes that the shy girl would release her. “I left while Dagi and Ari were asleep, so they couldn’t stop me from leaving. I didn’t know where to go; I knew I couldn’t go back to Canterlot, but I was getting hungry… and cold, and I remembered hearing something about a Rainboom saving the school or something, so I asked some people at an old diner about it and I found out it was you. So I decided to come here, because I remember you being kind of nice...” She tilted her head slightly to look at Fluttershy. “A-at least, I thought you were nice…”

The aggression left Fluttershy’s face after hearing the Siren’s story, and her eyes began to drift along the tabletop as she processed what she’d just been told.

This was an unexpected turn of events, especially given how long the three sisters had been wandering this world together.

What was said to this girl that would make her want to do this, to make her seek out an enemy?

Fluttershy brought her eyes back to Sonata. “So, you came here to… ask me for help?”

Sonata nodded quickly. “I didn’t know what else to do. Like… I have nothing. No money, no food, nowhere to sleep; Dagi was the one who always looked after that stuff. She’s smart! I didn’t expect it to be this hard on my own, and… I tried to go back, but… they were gone, and now I can’t find them. I don’t know where they went! And... I didn’t know what else to do, so... I came here.”

A sense of compassion began to develop in Fluttershy’s conscience; she stared vacantly, realising that the siren’s intrusion here was nothing more than an act of desperation. Her instincts led her here, but it couldn’t have been an easy decision to make. Before she had much time to ruminate, however, Sonata’s voice once again grabbed her attention.

“Um… do you think you could let me go? This is kind of hurting my arm—like, a lot, actually.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy’s brows rose when she took notice of the stomach-turning angle that she was holding Sonata’s arm at, so she let her wrist go and then slowly released the pressure from the back of her neck.

Sonata placed her hands on the table and straightened up slowly as Fluttershy backed away, chewing her thumbnail.

What was she going to do with this girl?

The two stared tentatively at one another; Sonata faced Fluttershy and leaned against the table, rubbing her shoulder. It was then that the shy girl noticed how rough the siren actually looked: her face was pale—aside from the rosiness her cheeks and nose, which was running slightly. Her eyes were bloodshot, with dark, puffy lines beneath them, and her eyelids looked heavy. All of it was an obvious sign that it’d been quite a while since she’d seen a full meal and a decent night’s sleep.

A gust of air came into the room suddenly, bringing the November chill with it.

Fluttershy glanced outside. The front door still needed to be closed, but she was reluctant to turn her back on the siren to do it.

“Linkie!”

Without delay, the big, shaggy cat leapt over the back of the couch and pranced across the floor, his claws clacking along the wood as he went. When he approached the door, he lowered his head and pushed it shut, then he turned and headed back to the couch.

“Thanks, cutie,” Fluttershy said sweetly, keeping her eyes locked on the pale, blue visitor.

Sonata watched with wonderment as Link jumped over the couch and found a comfortable cushion to lie on, out of the curious siren’s sight.

*****

I was lying on Fluttershy’s bed, twirling the queen between my fingers.

“Don’t worry, your majesty,” I reassured the inanimate monarch, “it’s awesome in there. You’re gonna love it.”

I chuckled quietly, giving myself a proverbial pat on the back for my brilliant sense of humour when I began to listen for Fluttershy. Admittedly, I was becoming somewhat impatient, especially now that the sound of chess pieces being picked up had disappeared and was replaced by silence.

What the heck is she doing? I rubbed my forehead, grunting impatiently. Why couldn’t she just leave that shit for later? It’s not like she won’t know if Link starts to-

I heard the front door open, prompting me to stop and listen. I stared at the wall, brows furrowed as I heard the sound of an unfamiliar voice speaking quietly, followed by the sounds of a struggle: the shuffling of feet, grunting voices, the rustling of clothing and finally, the heavy thud of something hitting the tabletop, followed by:

“OOOWWEEEEEEEE!”

“What the…? Who the hell’s that?” I whispered as I set the queen aside and sat on the edge of the bed, listening intently.

Some back and forth talking filled the next few moments, with Fluttershy sounding rather aggressive at the start. The conversation came down the hall in nothing but murmurs, leaving me to guess at what they might have been talking about.

Obviously, Fluttershy was OK on her own, but my curiosity was starting to get the better of me, so I decided to go out there to see what was going on. As I stood from the bed, a cool breeze slid down the hall and swirled into the room, followed by Fluttershy speaking a single word that I didn’t quite hear. Once I entered the hall, I saw Link jump over the back of the couch; a few seconds following that, I heard the front door close, then another murmur from Fluttershy just as Link returned to his spot by leaping over the back of the couch again.

When I entered the front room, I found Fluttershy and a mysterious blue-haired girl standing by the table, staring apprehensively at one another. When I stopped at the far end, my foot scuffed on the floor, which drew the attention of both girls to me.

Fluttershy had a look of distress on her face, as if something she really didn’t want to deal with had just been unexpectedly dropped in her lap.

The other girl looked, for lack of a better word, confused… and kind of sickly, to be honest.

“Uh… hi?” I said, cocking my head as my eyes went from the blue-haired girl to Fluttershy to give her an inquisitive look.

The shy girl sighed, cleared her hair from her face and then rolled her eyes. “Um… Goldie? This is Sonata. Um… Dusk.” As she spoke, she raised a hand and gestured to the other girl, then she let it flop back down to her side.

Sonata gave me an innocent-looking wave, smiling weakly as the shy girl raised a finger at her.

“Um… could you stay there for just a sec?”

Sonata put her hands behind her back and nodded.

Fluttershy headed over to me and put her hand on my shoulder, turning me around so we both faced the couch. “Oh goodness…” she sighed, “why is it always me who has to deal with these things lately?”

“Well, Flutters... I’ve told you before: once you order a hooker, it can be really hard to cancel them if you change your mind.”

“Goldie! She’s not a hooker!” Fluttershy huffed, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “She’s a… a siren!”

I leaned away and glared at the shy girl with wide eyes. “What? You mean…?”

She nodded quickly.

“What the fuck…” I whispered, looking over my shoulder at the girl, who was taking a quick scan of the room. It had been centuries since my own run-in with the musical trio, but on second glance —and after looking past the modern clothing and hairstyle— there did seem to be a vague familiarity with this one. Motherfucker, I thought as I looked her up and down.

I turned back to Fluttershy. “What’s she doing here? I thought they hated you guys.”

“They do... I-I think,” she replied, “but she says she ran away from them. She’s got nowhere to go and nothing to eat. She says she came here for help; she didn’t know what else to do.”

“Hm… she does look pretty rough,” I admitted, giving Sonata another glance. “How do we know it’s not a trick? You know the kind of conniving bitches they are. It could be a ruse to get closer to you guys or something.”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder, keeping tabs on the visitor. “I thought of that too, but, um… what if she’s telling the truth? What if she really does need our help? I don’t wanna send her away if she doesn’t mean any harm.”

“Right. So what d’you wanna do then?”

The shy girl covered her face. “Ohh… I don’t know! Why’d this have to happen right now? I can’t deal wi-“

“Flutters... you know what I’m going to say to that, right?”

She paused briefly and then let her hands drop to her sides as a defeated sigh blasted from her mouth. “These things don’t wait for us to be ready, they just happen when they feel like it,” she recited with a roll of her eyes.

I nodded. “OK. So what do you wanna do?”

“Oh…” she glanced at Sonata. “I… I don’t know! I don’t wanna be responsible for letting a traitor in, but what if she really is in trouble?”

After a pause, I sighed and pulled my phone out. “We need Sunny.”

Fluttershy’s brows rose. “Oh. Yeah… um, good idea.”

“She can read her mind and tell us what’s up—and if she’s bad news, we’ll just kill her,” I explained as I typed on my phone.

A gasp came from the shy girl.

“What?” I shrugged. “If you send her away, she’s just gonna freeze or starve anyway. It’s more humane to just finish her off and be done with it. Those are your choices: either kill her, or help her.”

“Ohh,” she shook her head and folded her arms. “That’s… I don’t know about that. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Well, maybe I’m not the best guy to ask about this sort of thing. I dunno. That’s OK though: we don’t need to worry about it just yet. I sent Sunny a message; hopefully she and Rare aren’t too busy,” I said, slipping the phone back into my pocket. “Let’s just wait until she gets here, then we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do.”

Fluttershy nodded and turned to look at the siren, who was still propped against the table, looking down at her hands. If this whole thing was a deception, I had to give her credit; she really did look quite forlorn, and it was difficult not to feel bad for her.

“What should we do in the meantime?” I asked my girlfriend, who returned a look to me. “It’s your decision, Flutters. Whatever you wanna do, I’ll support you, one hundred percent.”

She sighed and then studied the visitor once more. “She does look pretty hungry.”

I smirked and gave her shoulder a little squeeze. “So let’s feed her.”

I made my way to the counter as Fluttershy approached Sonata, resting her hands on the back of one of the chairs. “Um… excuse me?”

Sonata looked up at her, nervously.

“Are you hungry?”

The siren’s eyes lit up. She smiled and nodded eagerly, like a five year old.

Fluttershy forced a smile in return. “Well, um, what would you like?”

“Do you think you could make me some tacos?”

Fluttershy paused and rubbed her arm. “Um… no, sorry. W-we don’t have the stuff to make them.”

“Oh…” Sonata’s expression sank a bit. “Are you sure? Maybe you could check?” she asked, her eyes showing one last glimmer of hope.

I leaned on the table with my hands, prompting Sonata to turn and look at me. “Listen: the only kind of tacos that get eaten around here aren’t the kind you really need right now, so… pick something else.”

Sonata looked at me for a moment, then she slowly turned back to Fluttershy as she furrowed her brows, unsure of how to react.

“Um… I can make you some canned soup pretty quick. How about that?” Fluttershy suggested.

Sonata’s stomach growled just then, answering on her behalf. She glanced down at herself for a moment and then nodded. “OK.”

Fluttershy smiled and stepped closer, hand outstretched. “Can I, um… take your coat?”

Sonata paused, surprised, but then she unbuttoned the black outerwear and slipped it off, revealing a pink skirt slung below a burgundy jacket with three light-blue ties across the front.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Fluttershy said, gesturing to a chair as she took Sonata’s coat with the other arm.

Sonata did as suggested and pulled a chair out to sit on it, but as she did so, she turned to Fluttershy, who was taking her coat to hang it up. “Um… hey?”

The shy girl stopped and looked at her.

“Thank you... for this.”

I stopped what I was doing and turned to see the Fluttershy’s reaction.

She paused and blinked a few times, and then she smiled warmly. “You’re welcome. And… I’m sorry if I hurt your shoulder.”

Author's Notes:

Ridiculous. But it has animals in it, so...

https://youtu.be/jofNR_WkoCE

Though I did find the end of the second verse kind of funny.

Oh, and holy shit, Sonata Dusk!