Chapter 117

It was January 25th, 2023. New Year’s had come and gone, as did three Saturday get-togethers—without Rainbow Dash present. The holidays were now a distant memory, and we’d since found ourselves knee-deep in the dead of winter; depressing darkness, cold wind, blowing snow and a never-ending string of fleeting days were all we knew.

Perhaps if Dash hadn’t hated me, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But she apparently did, and it made the already ugly season that much worse. Fluttershy was particularly distraught by it; she felt terrible about turning-tail and ducking out when Rainbow Dash woke. She slammed herself non-stop for ‘going soft,’ as she put it, referring to her incarceration and subsequent escape from the ‘Us’ base. ‘If she could handle that, she should be able to handle anything,’ she said, to which I had to point out several times that her dealings with ‘Us’ were completely different than dealing with the fear of losing —and bearing the unprecedented anger of— a lifelong friend.

Regardless of what I said, however, Fluttershy blamed herself for the way things ended up, despite the fact that I told her it was probably going to happen whether she’d stayed or not, and that all we could do now was wait and hope that Dash might come around.

Apparently, she would still talk to Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Sunset, but they told us that anytime they brought up the immortality, she became either quiet or outright belligerent and would try to change the subject or simply leave. She even seemed to be avoiding Rarity as well, likely because of her association with Fluttershy and me.

Luckily, we are able to keep news of the incident from leaving the group. Since Sonata, Scootaloo and the two younger sisters, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, were having fast-food a block away that night, they never actually learned about Rainbow Dash’s cancer. Once Sunset and the others found out that Fluttershy and I had saved her, we unanimously decided to tell Sonata and the young girls that Dash was just sick with a bad flu, and simply needed a day or two to let it run its course.

They bought the story, fortunately, and the group’s immortality remained a secret—and now, the only girl left vulnerable was Pinkie Pie.

It was a Wednesday evening, and my spirits were at an all-time low. Added to the weather, having no job and the situation with Dash, I had been alone all week, since early Monday morning. Two weeks prior, someone by the name of Gloriosa Daisy had contacted the girls to ask a favour. Apparently, this woman owned a campground outside of town—as well as being the official gardener for the City of Canterlot, which meant she’d been shouldered with the responsibility of maintaining the massive flower garden at Canterlot City Hall, with the help of another young lady whose name I can't recall.

With the garden in the middle of its off-season, Gloriosa was in need of a few extra pairs of hands at the buildings at the camp—namely the mess hall, some of the cabins, and even the main auditorium, as she called it. Evidently, a facelift was sorely needed: paint, flooring, plumbing and windows, just to name a few items on the ‘to do’ list. The girls were more than happy to help —with the exception of Rainbow Dash— and they accepted her invitation to spend the entire week at the camp, having booked the time off from their jobs to help out with the renovations.

Since Miss Daisy didn’t know me, I was not invited. And although the girls insisted that I would have been more than welcome to come as a handy addition to their workforce, I decided not to go. I didn’t want Rainbow Dash to be uncomfortable by my being there—only to find out after the fact that she didn’t go.

No matter, I thought to myself, I need some alone-time anyway. These past few weeks have been a mental drain, and some time with my thoughts might do me some good.

Boy, was I wrong. Only the third night in, I felt more alone than ever.

I missed Fluttershy and Rarity —and Sunset, in all honesty— so much so that I found myself thinking about driving out to the camp just to see them again. I missed their voices, their softness and their warmth, their colourful, delicious-smelling hair; I missed chatting and giggling with them, I missed looking into their big, beautiful eyes, kissing their soft lips, and running my mouth over every inch of them, enjoying the taste of their smooth skin.

They made sure to text regularly, but letters on a screen were no substitute for their presence, and really, it only made me miss them even more. My relationship with this group of women had gotten to the point where I began to worry that I had become clingy; certainly I’d never had an attachment like this with anyone for many centuries, but then again, this was also the first time I wasn’t going to have to deal with watching them age and eventually vanish from the perpetual timeline that was my life.

Interspersed with all of that was the problem of Rainbow Dash, who, as far as I knew, legitimately believed that I’d had my way with her while she was stuck in a hospital bed, doped up on drugs and dying of cancer. She wanted nothing to do with me ever again.

How were we ever going to get through to her?

A movie was playing on the TV, trying, but failing miserably to keep my mind off of the girls while I sat alone in the middle of Fluttershy’s couch. Link had filled her place on the chaise lounge as always, keeping it warm for her. In all honesty, I disliked laying on the lounge by myself. I really didn’t find it all that comfortable; it was worn out and had sunk badly. The only reason I ever sat there was to be close to Fluttershy—and Rarity, too, if she happened to be there. Lying there on my own, especially tonight, only made me feel more alone.

Some company might have been nice, but I was careful not to consciously wish for it because you never know who you might end up with.

It was already too late, apparently; the universe must have heard my thoughts and decided it was going to be a dick about it.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

I turned partway to listen, slouched down too far in my seat to see over the back of the couch. This was one of those semi-interesting moments in life where I wondered if I would find myself ripping someone’s head off within the next few moments.

I heard the door open next. “Hello?” a familiar voice called.

Link immediately leapt from his spot, straight over the back of the couch to meet the newcomer.

I closed my eyes and huffed quietly. Oh god...

It was Sonata.

“Are you here, Gold Boy? I saw your truck outside.”

“Yeah, I’m here,” I answered, totally devoid of enthusiasm. Not too early to rule out any head-ripping…

Her footsteps clunked along the wooden floor, accompanied by the soft padding of the lynx’s feet alongside her. Seconds later, she appeared at the far end of the couch with her hands clasped behind her, wearing that long, black coat of hers.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I replied, giving her a quick glance as Link sat next to her.

“Whatcha doin?”

I pointed at the TV. “Movie. Watching.”

“Oh… cool. Uh, is it OK if I hang out here?”

“Here? ... I dunno.” I looked over at her again. “How’d you get here, anyway?”

“I borrowed P’s car. She said I could use it while she was gone.”

“Do you have a driver’s license?”

Sonata shook her head.

“Does Pinks know that?”

This time, Sonata nodded.

After watching her for a few seconds, I exhaled and turned my attention back to the movie. “Fair enough.”

Despite my evasiveness, she smiled awkwardly and shrugged. “Um, you know… it’s kind of boring at P’s house without her there.”

“What about her sisters?”

Sonata shrugged. “I have been hanging out with Marble all week; she’s cool, and really nice, but… she had to work tonight, and I didn’t really wanna hang out with Maud or Limestone, so… I just thought I’d come over here and see what you’re up to.”

I was about to ask why she wouldn’t want to spend time with Maud or that other bitch, but then I stopped myself, figuring the answer was obvious. So I just nodded, keeping my eyes glued to the TV.

“Sooo…” Sonata continued, her eyes darting around.

“So… what?” I asked, glancing over at her.

“You never answered me.”

I shrugged and shook my head.

“Is it cool if I hang with you tonight? I’m kinda lonely.”

My eyes slowly drifted down from her to the couch, and then back to the TV. “I guess.”

She paused for a moment, unconfident in the tone of my answer; more than likely she was put off by my lack of energy. “Are you sure? Cuz if you want me to leave, I will. I don’t wanna bug you if you… you know… don’t like me, or whatever.”

I brought my attention back to Sonata, watching her eyes gleam in the dark, reflecting the light of the TV. Then I sighed and shook my head, facing forward. “I don’t not like you, I just…” I paused, momentarily distracted by the movie. Finally, I looked up at her again. “Uh… fine. Sit down, make yourself at home.”

The siren brought her hands together and giggled when I patted the cushion next to me.

“Wanna watch with me?” I asked.

“Just one sec,” she replied, raising an index finger as she headed back to the table, unbuttoning her coat to slip it off. I’m kinda hungry; you mind if I grab a snack?”

I waved over my shoulder. “Help yourself. We don’t have tacos though.”

“Shit!”

A smirk materialized on my face.

“What do you have then?”

“Uh… chips, cookies, ice cream… that kinda shit.”

“Ooh! Ice cream? Where?”

I rolled my eyes. “Gee, I dunno. In the freezer, maybe?”

“Oh… right.”

I shook my head and continued watching. Behind me, I could hear the siren moving around; the clatter of bowls when she pulled one from the cupboard, followed by a dull clunk when she set it on the table. The jingling of silverware followed, then the peeling of a plastic lid, a laborious grunt as she dug out a scoop, and eventually, the opening and closing of the freezer.

Quietness followed for a short time—aside from a bit of soft rustling, making me wonder what she was doing, but not enough to make me want to ask or look. I took a deep breath and reached up to rub my forehead just as an unexpected sight passed in front of me, making me do a double-take. It was difficult to see at first with her being silhouetted in front of the TV, but even so, it didn’t take me long to realise that Sonata was pants-less.

Carrying a heaping bowl of ice cream, she had crossed the room to the far side to fetch a blanket from the basket that sat near the foot of the lounge. She bent down to pick out a thick, red comforter, showing off a pair of violet cotton panties, lined with horizontal yellow stripes—and to make matters worse, she had a half-wedgie, leaving one of her round, blue butt-cheeks completely exposed.

I let my hand drop to the cushion with a soft thump. “Where the fuck are your pants?”

Sonata stood and looked back at me. Up top, she was wearing a light gray T-shirt with darker gray sleeves and a rather short hem that showed off her midriff. It hung away from her body in the front, held outwards by a modest rack that was led by a pair of semi-stiff nipples. She flung the blanket over her shoulder and then reached back to hook a finger inside her underwear, pulling it free of her crack. “Over there,” she replied, pointing to the table as she made her way back to the couch and sat to my immediate left, spreading the blanket over herself.

“Uh... why?” I asked, watching her set the bowl on her lap.

She shrugged. “I dunno. I just don’t really like pants; I’d rather hang out in my undies. It’s waaaay more comfy, if you ask me.”

“O… K.”

“Yeah…” she mumbled as Link hopped onto the cushion beside her to lie down. She gave his head a little pat, and then took the first scoop of ice cream before speaking with her mouth full. “Me and P do this all the time.”

This caught my interest, and so I raised a brow and turned her way. “Oh?”

“Yeah. I mean...” —she swallowed— “not right away, but she warmed up to the idea before long.” Sonata looked at me quite seriously after digging the spoon in for another bite. “You’d be surprised how self-conscious that girl is about her body.”

“Who, Pinks?”

The siren nodded, putting the spoon in her mouth.

“Hm.” I looked at the TV again. “That is surprising. She never really struck me as the self-conscious type. You know she masturbated in front of me once?”

Sonata’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “For realzies!?”

“Yup,” I replied. “She is definitely not the shy type. Granted, she was fully clothed at the time.”

“Like… she really isn’t that bad, compared to most peeps —I mean, everyone gets nervous about taking their clothes off in front of people, right?— but for P, with the personality she has, it’s actually pretty bad.”

“What’s her problem?” I asked, folding my arms. “She think she’s a bit on the chubby side or what?”

Sonata nodded and swept some hair behind her ear to keep it away from her cheek. “Yeah, I think it is, which is crazy; I’ve told her a bunch of times she looks fine. Like... sure, she’s a little chunky, but she’s got it in all the right places, you know? I think she looks good!”

I nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Pinks is bomb, for sure.”

Sonata took another bite. Then she put her finger across her upper lip as she chewed, giggling mischievously. “You know what? This one time, we were watching movies, and... on kind of a dare — hehehe— we actually hung out in just our panties! Hahaha! For a whole night!”

I turned to face her, eyebrows raised. “What, like… topless?”

Giggling, she closed her eyes and nodded; she may have been blushing a bit as well, but the room was lit too dimly to tell.

“So… wait, you’ve seen Pinks’ tits?” I asked, trying not to sound too interested. Admittedly, I was feeling quite envious of Sonata right then.

“Oh yeah. Tons of times now, but that was the first time.” She shook her head and poked at the ice cream with her spoon. “It took a lot of convincing at first, you know… to get her to do it. I don’t know why; like… she’s obviously not shy, and she looked totally hot, so… I dunno.”

“Yeah… that is kinda weird,” I replied, trying to ignore the little tingle I was feeling in my nuts. “I mean, I’ve seen her at the beach in a bikini before. That was a while ago though; I think she’s actually put on a few extra pounds even since then—not enough to look bad, but still…”

The siren was quiet, twirling the spoon in the bowl for a few moments before speaking again. “I kinda think she was just self-conscious to do it around me, maybe cuz I’m a lot skinnier than she is... or something like that.”

“Or maybe because you tried to take over the world and you two used to be enemies,” I suggested, jabbing her with my elbow and then smirking. “But still, she did it, so… good for her, I guess.”

Sonata took another bite and spoke with her mouth full. “Oh yeah, she got right into it once she finally did it. I think because she took the plunge and then I told her she looked awesome, she felt… like, I dunno, liberated. You know?” She swallowed and let a giggle slip out. “You shoulda saw her: the only thing she was wearing was a little tiny thong. Hehehe! You could barely see the frickin thing!”

The image this conjured up in my mind caused a slight swelling below the belt. I shifted in my seat, clearing my throat as I tried to control it. “Huh,” I muttered, trying to think of a way to ask for more information without looking too obvious about it. “So… are her tits, like… nice, or what?”

“Uhh…” Sonata tilted her head, licking the sweetness from her lips. “Yeah, not bad.”

I wanted… no, I needed to hear more than just: ‘yeah, not bad.’ Rubbing my chin to look as nonchalant as possible, I drew a breath to ask further, desperate to achieve the most accurate mental snapshot I could. “Not bad as in how? Are they… I dunno… saggy, or anything like that? They got those blue veins on them? Does she have those big ‘sunny-side-up’ nips?”

Sonata looked at me, her brows creased suspiciously, which caused me to look away rather quickly. “No... not really,” she finally answered. “None of that. They’re not droopy at all for how big they are. They kinda remind me of balloons, actually; like, kinda weightless. And yeah, her nips are pretty nice. Don’t tell her this, but I’m kinda jealous of her; for realz, I wish I had boobs like hers.”

“Hm.” Satisfied, I nodded and then brought my eyes back to the TV, thinking she was done. She raised a finger, however, drawing my attention back to her.

“Actually, she does have some little stretch-marks on them, around the bottoms, but it’s not really that noticeable.”

“Oh… yeah. She’s got those on her hips, too. Comes with the territory, I guess.”

Sonata agreed in silence, and then continued to enjoy her ice cream while I watched the movie. Once the final bite was gone, the siren dropped the spoon into the bowl with an obnoxious clang and then set it in front of Link so he could lick it clean.

“You wanna see them, don’t you?”

I raised a brow and turned partly towards her, but kept my eyes on the TV, looking like I wasn’t really paying attention to her. “Huh?”

“P’s boobs. You wanna see them.”

I could feel the blood drain from my cheeks, knowing I’d been correctly called out for being... well, me. I turned to face her, trying to think of a good response. “Well, I... not... well…“

Sonata snorted and giggled at me, folding her arms. “I’ve seen you looking at them. We all have.”

All!? I bit the inside of my cheek, staring at the TV to avoid eye contact with Sonata. “Even Pinks?”

Sonata yawned deeply, smacking her lips afterward. “She’s never said it, but yeah. I’m pretty sure she’s noticed.”

I let my head fall back against the cushion, sighing. “Well, shit.”

“Meh.” The siren waved me off. “Tons of guys check her boobs out. I wouldn’t worry about it. She’s probably pretty used to it.”

Sonata was quiet for a few minutes, then, out of nowhere, she turned to me, raising a brow. “You’re kind of a horn-dog, aren’t you?”

My head whipped to the left to face her. “Where in the world would you get an idea like— ... yeah, I kinda am, actually.”

The siren laughed and covered her mouth.

“To be honest, I really miss Rare and Flutters,” I confessed, turning back to the movie. “I’m so used to having them around, I’m finding it a lot harder to be alone these days.”

“Aww… that’s kinda sweet.” She smiled, but then reached up to rub her eyes. “Plus you really like boning them, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do like banging hot women, now that you mention it,” I said curtly, rolling my eyes. “And by the way, it doesn’t really help matters that you’re sitting here with no pants on; just sayin.”

“Oh…” she looked over at me, blinking heavily. “I didn’t really think about that; I’m sorry. I can put them back on if you want.”

I waved her off. “Nah, it’s fine. I can’t really see anything with that blanket on you anyway. Although... that shirt doesn’t exactly leave much to the imagination—and I can still see it.”

Sonata looked down at herself. Realising those pointy breasts of hers were quite visible through that thin fabric, she hooked her hands under the blanket and pulled it up to her shoulders. Then she looked at me again, smiling innocently. “How’s this?”

I gave her a thumbs-up.

“And it’s nice and cozy, too!”

“Well there you go.”

We sat quietly for a few moments. I struggled to stay into the movie; Sonata scratched Link behind his ear. After another long, howling yawn, she asked me what movie I was watching.

“Uh… ‘Interstellar.’” I replied, staring forward. “One of Pinks’ picks, actually. It’s pretty good. They gotta go to space to find a new home because the Earth is dying or something... which is a pretty cool premise, I guess.”

“Huh…” Sonata settled back into the cushions, her eyelids starting to look quite heavy. “How far in is it?”

“About a quarter of the way, maybe. The dad’s about to leave to go into space and he’s trying to say goodbye to his daughter, but she’s pissed that he’s leaving.”

“Oh…”

Silence followed as Sonata and I watched the scene for a few moments.

As the main character drove away from the old farmhouse in his old, blue truck, Sonata leaned over to me, brows furrowed.

“Hang on... is he going into space in his truck?”

“Heh!” I let out a chuckle and turned to face her, but then my face went blank when I saw a vacant stare being returned to me. “Oh... you’re serious.”

Sonata shrugged. “I dunno. That’s what it looks like to me.”

I glanced at the TV and then back at her, brows furrowed. Then I closed my eyes and shook my head. “So let me get this straight: you actually think Matthew McConaughey is just gonna take off from a dirt road in a rusty old pickup truck and fly into space? Don’t you think he’d at least roll the windows up?”

The siren scrunched her face, blinking at the TV. “But... who’s doing the countdown? Isn’t that what they do when someone’s about take off into space?”

I gestured to the screen with my hand. “They’re overlapping the audio from the next scene! Who else would be doing the countdown? The old fuckin man on the porch?”

Just as I said this, the image of a rocket lifting off appeared on the screen.

I looked over at Sonata. “There! See?”

Sonata tipped her head back, mouth open. “Ooooohhh... I get it.” Then she looked at me again and started to laugh at herself.

I shook my head and rubbed my temple. “God damn, Sonata. You gotta have some ginseng or something; eat more brain food.”

“Ew.”

“THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU EAT ACTUAL BRAI—forget it.” I faced the TV once again, sighing.

When I looked over at the siren again, she was giggling and snorting to herself over the whole thing. In all honesty, it was cute in its own annoying way, and it made me chuckle along with her. The two of us sat there on Fluttershy’s couch in the dark, sharing a fun little laugh together—granted, it was at her expense, but still.

Before long, her laughter transitioned into a deep yawn, and she covered her mouth, eyes shut tightly. “Ohhhh... boy! It’s gettin sleepy in here.” She stared blankly for a moment. “Hm.”

“What?” I asked.

“P… she’s crazy.” Sonata reached for the ceiling and stretched. The blanket slipped down again, uncovering her shirt, beneath which her breasts had perked up noticeably when she raised her arms. She went limp afterwards, letting her hands flop down to her lap. “She’s like a Hollywood encyclopedia. I swear, you can ask her about any movie, and she can tell you all there is to know about it.”

“Yeah, she definitely knows her shit.”

Silence fell between us again, and we sat together in the dark: two ancient beings, wasting our time watching a ten-year-old science-fiction film. I turned to Sonata, ready to say something cynical about it, but found her asleep instead. Sighing, I glanced past her at Link, who was curled up against her hip with his chin resting on her thigh.

Letting my head fall back, I finished the movie on my own. By the time it was over, Sonata had rolled onto her side and curled up against me, her face pressed against my arm. Her mouth hung open and she was snoring softly, drooling warm saliva onto my sleeve. Once I realised this was happening, I stood from the couch and lowered her to the cushion, slipping a pillow under her head. Her smooth, blue legs were sprawled alluringly across the couch, and I found myself quickly covering them with the blanket when I felt that telltale tingle in my nethers, hoping to remove the temptation of getting between them.

Missing the touch of a woman for the past three days had already taken its toll on my libido. While having two stunningly beautiful girlfriends —one of which was a nymphomaniac— was a wonderful thing, it had clearly spoiled me. Times like these, when they were gone for several days in a row, had become difficult to endure.

And now here I was, alone with Sonata, who was quite lovely herself, honestly, in that ditzy, goofy sort of way. The idea of burying my manhood in her and having a good release certainly wasn’t the least attractive prospect right at that moment, but I knew damn well that was out of the question; I’d be in the doghouse with Rarity in a big way, for who-knows how long. Not only that, we couldn’t be sure if Sonata was completely free of Equestrian magic, and if she ended up turning, I’d have some serious explaining to do.

All that aside, while I was initially annoyed that Sonata had shown up that night, in the end, I was actually glad for it; she was much better company than I’d expected—once she got comfortable, that is. I had been noticing this with her: she tended to act dumber when she was nervous, but once she settled, she would sharpen up a little bit.

After standing over her for a moment or two, watching Link curl up against her belly as she slept, I made the decision to head for town in search of something to do. As much as I didn’t mind the company, she was out cold now, and not very interesting anymore. I found myself yearning for something to do, and, given my poor luck with blue chicks as of late, I decided it best to get out of the house and find something to occupy my time.

Once my boots and coat were on, I left Sonata a note, telling her where I was going. Then I exited the house and jumped in my truck.

*****

It was close to midnight by the time I rattled into the urban maze known as Canterlot.

I drove around aimlessly for almost half an hour, wondering what to do with myself. Not much was open with it being a weeknight, so options were limited, aside from bars, which I was not a fan of—unless, of course, they had just the right thing to offer my particular brand of hang-ups.

Luckily, the roads were half-decent, even though the air was quite frigid. It hadn’t snowed for a few days, so the city plows had done their job of clearing the streets, making it a fairly easy drive. I drove by several late-night steakhouses and sushi joints, thinking about going in for a bite, but ultimately deciding against it. I was not dressed properly, nor was I in the mood for snooty waiters. Ultimately, I ended up in a cheap fast food drive-through followed by an empty parking lot, where I ate whatever this establishment considered to be food, listening to the perpetual rattle of the old diesel as it chattered on like a bunch of cast-iron teenagers.

What to do, what to do, I wondered as I swallowed the last bite. Going to Rarity’s place had crossed my mind; I couldn’t go in without breaking and entering, obviously, but I could have hopped the fence and had a soak in her hot tub.

Eventually, I decided against that. For one, I had nothing to change into and no towels to dry off with, and second, being there would probably just make me miss her and Fluttershy.

My next idea wasn’t much better: to go and see if, by chance, Rainbow Dash was home. Maybe, if she was there, and if she was willing to talk with me, we could work things out. Wouldn’t that be a nice surprise for Fluttershy when she got home?

So, after driving across town to Dash’s apartment, I parked the truck and stepped into the front entrance, scanning the tenant list for her name. I found it, and then buzzed her suite.

No answer.

I waited a few minutes and then buzzed again.

Still no answer.

Shit.

With a defeated sigh, I walked through the biting wind back to my truck. Inside the cab, I stared at the rainbow-haired girl’s building while I rubbed my hands together, wondering what I should do next. Sunset’s apartment was only a short distance from there, but with her not home, there wasn’t much point of going—

I stopped suddenly, remembering something about the red-head’s apartment: the balcony door didn’t lock.

I wonder if they ever fixed that?

I decided to go find out, and I started the engine to make the short drive to Sunset’s building. After parking in her assigned spot —her motorcycle was in my shop while she was away— I approached the building quietly, scanning the eleven balconies below hers for any occupants. They were all deserted, unsurprisingly, given the weather and the time of night, so, keeping quiet, I approached the wall and stood to the side of the second floor balcony. Looking up, I gauged its height at about fourteen feet to the railing—an easy reach for me.

After rubbing my hands together to warm them for a better grip, I squatted slightly and faced the wall, taking a few pursed-lip breaths to psyche myself up. Then, after a short charge, I leapt and kicked off of the wall, spinning around in mid-air to reach up and grab the second-floor railing, my feet planted on the bottom ledge. I looked up to the third floor next, squatting down so I was hanging below the rail by my hands before flinging myself up to the third floor.

After catching the rail, I stopped to look down into the yard to see if anyone was watching.

As expected, it was dark and deserted, so I continued my ascent. A leap to the fourth floor, then the fifth and so on, eventually brought me to Sunset’s balcony on the twelfth floor. I swung my legs over the rail and rubbed my hands together as I approached the sliding door, hoping the lock was still inoperative—otherwise, I had just wasted my time climbing all the way up here.

The door slid open with ease—not that I couldn’t have just broken it anyway, which I wouldn’t have done, obviously.

Inside, it looked like a typical young person’s apartment. It was reasonably clean, and it smelled quite pleasant—there was even a hint of that root beer-scented perfume that she wore, which immediately caused a pang of longing deep in my gut. Being there had already caused me to miss her, making me question why I decided to come.

But I was already there, so I slid the door shut and sat on the couch. A tablet was sitting on the far cushion. I picked it up and turned it on, but there was a password required, which I didn’t know, so I set it down. I glanced at her TV for a moment, but then I quickly shook my head.

I shoulda stayed home if I’m just gonna end up watching TV again. I reached over my shoulder to rub my back, looking around the place. What the fuck am I even doing here?

I stood from the couch and headed for the kitchen. Stopping halfway, I shook my head yet again, remembering I’d just had a rather unfulfilling snack; another one wasn’t going to do me any better.

I turned back again, completely lost. In doing so, I came face-to-face with her bedroom doorway. I knew I shouldn’t go into her personal space with her not present, but then again, I really shouldn’t have been in her apartment at all. Ultimately, I went against my better judgement and, after putting my hands in my pockets, stepped cautiously into her room, looking around the place while I tried to ignore that annoying buzz of guilt that rang up the back of my neck.

It gave me chills to be there. Would Sunset care if she knew I was here? How would she feel about this?

How did she feel about me?

I sat on the edge of the bed. Then I laid on my side and buried my face in her pillow, inhaling deeply through my nose.

Disappointingly, it didn’t smell like her.

I sat up again, quickly. Oh, yeah… she doesn’t sleep. This bed is basically just for decoration. And fucking.

I shook my head at myself, staring at the adjacent nightstand. It had a drawer on the front, its cheap-looking fake gold handle tempting me to reach out and give it a pull to see what was inside.

I took a deep breath and chewed my lip, wondering what secrets she might be hiding. Personal hygiene products? Sex toys? Maybe I could get a whiff of her puss—

I gave my head a vigorous shake. Probably a bad idea, Golds. You’re already on edge here; getting a whiff of that will probably lead to bad things. While the concept of masturbating on Sunset’s bed without her there did seem mildly intriguing, I knew that after all was said and done, I’d be right back where I started: lonely and miserable.

No, busting nuts all over myself was not the answer.

I brought my attention back to the side desk drawer. It was calling to me, tempting me—no, begging me to open it. I knew I shouldn’t, but I’d already come this far, so I figured: why stop now?

Hey, when in Rome… Again...

Like tearing off a band-aid, I reached down and pulled the drawer open, eager to learn of its exciting contents. But I was met with disappointment.

There was only one thing inside: a large, brown leather book, decorated by that same red and yellow tribal sun on the front. I plucked the book from the drawer and set it on my lap, running my fingertips over the fiery emblem.

“Hm.”

Wondering what was inside, I opened it up to find page after page of what appeared to be written letters. After scanning a few entries, however, I discovered something rather peculiar: there were two distinctly different hand writing styles in these pages.

One was obviously Sunset’s, and after reading a few of the other person’s passages, it was easy to deduct that it was Twilight. Not our Twilight, to be clear; the Twilight from the other world, as evidenced by Sunset constantly referring to her as ‘princess.’

“Hmm…” I mumbled aloud. How did her writing get in here? No way she was coming here just to write in this book; what would be the point? Plus, the princess hasn’t been here for ages—as far as I know, anyway.

Although the last entry was four years old, I distinctly remembered Fluttershy telling me that the portal had been closed for eight years, going on nine in a few more months.

If that was the case, how was it possible for the princess’ writing to be in here?

I lifted the book and laid back on the bed to hold it above my face as I read. As I did, however, a few sheets of paper slipped out from between the pages and landed on my chest. After glancing down at them, I set the book beside me and picked the items up to inspect them.

The first one was a letter.

“Hm.” I turned the paper around to see if there was anything on the back. It was blank, so I set the letter down and brought my attention to the second article, which was a photograph. On the back was written:

And on the front:

“Well that’s super unhelpful,” I muttered aloud. After setting the photo aside, I brought my attention to the third and final piece, which also caught my attention, but in a slightly different way.

It was an even older photograph of the three ladies I’d been thinking of all night, the same ones I’d been missing so badly since Monday morning.

It was stunning to see them so young. I don’t recall exactly how long I stared at the picture for; for all I know, it could have been an hour. This was by far the best image I’d ever seen of them in their youth, and quite simply, I couldn’t peel my eyes from it.

Seeing the three of them together like this was heart-achingly sweet. Fluttershy looked so tiny and innocent, so much so that I actually felt guilty for some of the things I’d done to her behind closed doors. Rarity looked young and beautiful, unsurprisingly, but I was quickly reminded of what Applejack had told me: as a teenager, she wasn’t nearly as stunning as she was in the present. Indeed, after a closer look, it was obvious that she was trying to look prettier than she really was, but was having nowhere near the success that she was having as an adult. And Sunset looked like Sunset, only younger. Looking at her in the picture, it was hard not to feel like she was looking right at me with those big, sparkling eyes, and that beautiful, wide smile had the power to make anyone, even me, weak in the knees.

As I stared at the three of them for what felt like ages, my thoughts began to wander to the other girls: what were they like? What did the work-hardened and rough-around-the-edges Applejack look like? Was Pinkie Pie always that chubby? What did Rainbow D-

The thought of the rainbow-haired girl’s name quickly reminded me of the current situation between me and her. My heart sank when I was drawn away from this window into a brighter past, and so, with a sigh, I set the picture down and picked the book up to read some more. I hadn’t read a single word, however, when I paused and frowned at the ceiling for a second before grabbing the picture once again to take a second look at something.

What the— … what is up with that dog?

After studying the photo for a second time with no answers, I set it aside once more and held the book up to read more of its passages.

I was still perplexed by how the Princess had been writing in this book. I racked my brain over it again and again, trying to figure out how this was accomplished. Then I remembered something: the night of the sleepover, after Fluttershy told everyone about her enhanced pony-up, I had overheard Sunset mention ‘writing’ the Princess to tell her about it. How would she do that? Was she talking about this book? Did she ever get around to doing it? I flipped to the last entry again, only to be reminded that the last thing written was dated four years ago. Oh, yeah.

I closed the book and sat up, rubbing my chin as I pondered the portal. One day in particular that came to mind was the Wednesday I was looking after Fluttershy, after she’d bumped her head the previous weekend—the same day I had the encounter with her and Rarity in the hot tub. She had taken me to see the school that afternoon to show me the statue where the portal resided, and she had mentioned Sunset not going home, opting to stay here in this world instead, though she would occasionally ‘send messages’ to the princess to, as she put it, ‘stay in touch.’

It struck me suddenly. I looked down at the book again, frowning. Wait a minute… is this how she does it? Does she write in this book, and somehow, through some kind of magic, the Princess gets the messages and writes her back?

My eyes rose slowly, staring into space as I contemplated this possibility. Was this really how it worked? Why not? Weirder things have happened. I have a girlfriend that talks to animals, after all.

There was only one way to find out.

I left the bed and made my way to the dining room table in search of a pen. I found one and sat, opening the book to the first blank page.

Then I paused, holding the pen just above the waiting paper. Should I be doing this? How pissed will Sunny be when she finds out? Can I afford having two of the girls mad at me?

I began to think about the entries I’d read so far; most of them were just back and forths, updates and ‘how are yous?’ but I also remembered seeing a number of entries in which Sunset asked for advice about her friends, even referring to Twilight as the ‘Princess of Friendship’ a number of times.

Then it hit me:

Rainbow Dash.

I cocked a brow and took a pause, wondering if the idea forming in my head was really worth a shot.

Of course it was.

And so, without hesitation, I put pen to paper and began to write, mimicking Sunset’s greetings from the previous entries.