Chapter 74

Thursday, October 27th, 2022.

It hurt just as much as the day before.

Rarity sighed deeply as she stared down into her half-melted chocolate shake, poking at it with the straw.

It was 6:55 in the evening and the remaining group of friends, consisting of Applejack, Pinkie, Dash and Rarity had decided to gather at the Sweet Shoppe for some treats to try lifting their spirits. They were sitting in the booth in silence, listening absent-mindedly to the news on the TV on the far side of the shop.

“Generosity knows no bounds as a local boutique donates a whopping ten-thousand dollars to the victims of this month’s downtown tenement fire; all this and more coming up on the seven o’clock news.”

AJ perked up when she heard the news anchor’s introduction. “Was that you, Rarity?”

Rarity, who was not paying attention to the question, continued idly jabbing at her shake.

“Rarity!” AJ repeated sharply, causing the fashionista to suddenly look up at the farm girl.

“Hm?”

AJ nodded to the TV. “That donation to the fire victims, did you do that?”

Rarity blinked a couple times as she turned to look blankly at the TV. “Oh…” she replied flatly, turning back to her friend. “Yes, darling. That was me.”

AJ gave a nod of approval. “Well, that was mighty fine of ya, sugarcube. What made ya wanna do it?”

Rarity paused, staring blankly at the table as her thoughts dwelled on the now homeless mother and two daughters she’d rescued from the fire and left on the rooftop of the neighbouring building. “I, uh…” she mumbled. “I just wanted to…help.”

AJ chewed her bottom lip, watching the despondent fashionista for a moment before giving up on the conversation to take a sip of her shake.

It had been over a month since Fluttershy was taken, and by that point, the four girls’ hope of seeing their quiet friend again was at an all-time low.

The others were still unaware of Rarity’s activities at night, as well as Twilight’s single outing with the fashionista on Thanksgiving weekend after leaving the campfire cookout at Fluttershy’s house. They were also kept in the dark about the attempted capture of Rarity, during which she butchered her fifteen attackers with ease, but not before obtaining some critical information about the organisation that was holding her girlfriend.

It had been two weeks since she’d last talked to her boyfriend and Sunset, which was when she’d handed over the coordinates for the meeting place with the chopper that Fluttershy was meant to escape on. She’d hoped they had figured out that the numbers she had given them were actually coordinates, and although she would have preferred to just tell them outright rather than leave it to chance, the fact that they’d used a young girl to talk for them told her that someone may have been eavesdropping, so she was left no choice but to give the information to them in secret and hope they would figure it out.

Now, two weeks later, she was worried sick that they hadn’t figured out what the numbers meant after all. For whatever reason, she was unable to contact them to make sure that they’d figured everything out, and she couldn’t help but wonder if poor Fluttershy was lost in the middle of nowhere, having no one there to meet her and bring her home.

That is, if her escape was even successful.

Rarity had a lengthy conversation with Ingram on the phone the night of the attack, and they had put together a fairly solid plan to set Fluttershy free and allow her to fight her way out while he set the place up for demolition. It wasn’t a fool-proof plan by any means, but it stood a good chance of being successful, as long as Fluttershy was on top of her game.

“That Mr. Ingram certainly was a sweet man,” she thought to herself. “I am sure everything went as planned…but why haven’t I heard from them like he promised?”

Her attention was momentarily drawn back to the TV by something the news anchor was saying.

“…leaving the whole town wondering: what happened to the hero of CHS?

“Which leads investigators to the nest question: does Canterlot have a copycat hero? Or a deranged lunatic? Sightings of the alleged ‘Dark Mistress’ have been scant as of late, however, the CPD has been on the case full-time, and are determined to ascertain the true intentions of the masked vigilante that has been stalking Canterlot over the past few weeks.

"In other news, the investigation continues into the massacre of fifteen unidentified men in the old industrial park just beyond the city limits…”

Rarity cocked an eyebrow, insulted by the anchor’s description of her. “Deranged lunatic?? I ought to slice his balls off and feed them to Link!”

Applejack was intently watching the TV, occasionally glancing at Rarity with her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Rarity noticed this, and forced herself to take a sip of her shake. “Damn that Applejack sometimes…for such a simple-looking redneck, she can be so inconveniently perceptive.”

Pinkie Pie shifted over and wrapped her arm around Rarity’s shoulder. “Aw, come on, Rarity! Cheer up! Do you not like your milkshake? Do you want another one??”

Rarity gave her energetic friend a half-smirk. “No, thank you darling. That’s quite alright.”

“Are you sure, Rare-bear?” Pinkie asked, sliding back to her spot on the bench, around the corner from Rarity. “It’ll make you feel better!”

“It’s fine, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity insisted, before nudging her shake towards her friend. “In fact, you can finish it, if you like.”

Pinkie drew in a small gasp of excitement, and then reached into the depths of her curly hair to produce a stack of connectible straws, after which she quickly began to assemble them. The other three girls watched in half-interest with blank faces, having gotten accustomed to her hyperactive disposition and wacky behaviour after so many years of spending time together.

“Darling…what on Earth are you doing?” Rarity asked flatly.

“If I have a milkshake…” Pinkie said, in an unusually low tone as she snapped the last piece of the long straw together. “And you have a milkshake…” she continued, pointing to Rarity. “And I have a straw; there it is, that’s the straw…you see?” Pinkie whispered, holding up the straw as her eyes suspiciously darted around at the other girls, “...and my straw reaches acrooooooooooooosssss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake…” Pinkie reached across the table with the long, arched straw, plunging the far end into Rarity’s shake.

The other three girls rolled their eyes, shaking their heads at Pinkie’s theatrics.

After glaring into Rarity’s eyes for a brief moment, Pinkie began to speak more aggressively. “I…drink…your…MILKSHAKE!”

With a loud slurp, the pink-skinned girl sucked back the fashionista’s shake, emptying the tall glass within seconds.

“I DRINK IT UP!” she roared, standing up and pounding her fists on the table, attracting the attention of nearly everyone in the shop.

AJ huffed, rubbing her forehead in embarrassment. “Pinkie Pie, will you sit yer ass down and be quiet?”

Pinkie sat, giggling to herself with delight as she shifted her eyes onto Rainbow Dash, who was slouched back in the booth next to AJ with her arms folded, staring blankly at her untouched and melted shake. “What about you Dashie? You’ve barely touched your Fudgie Kaboom!”

Dash’s maroon eyes slowly shifted onto the pink girl, and she drew in a slow breath to respond. “Oh, uh…I’m not really hungry,” she mumbled in reply. “I can’t stop thinking about Fluttershy.”

The smile disappeared from Pinkie’s face and she lowered her head, resting her chin on the table as she pushed her own empty dish aside. “Oh. Yeah…me too.”

AJ looked over at Dash and reached out to wrap her arm around the blue girl’s shoulders, pulling her in close. “Aw, I know it’s hard Rainbow, but we’ve gotta stay positive. I mean, hey! For all we know, Fluttershy could walk through that door at any minute,” she said, pointing to the front door of the snack shop as Dash let her head rest on AJ’s shoulder.

“Yeah right,” Dash tried to joke, but was unable to push herself to put a smile on her face.

AJ sighed and shook her head, looking down at the table while adjusting her hat.

“It’s just…” Dash continued, “me and Flutters are from the same hometown, and we’ve known each other since we were practically babies. She was always so quiet and scared of things, and I always protected her from bullies n’ stuff…but this…I feel so helpless. I couldn’t protect her. It’s like…for the first time, I’ve let her down.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, which captured the attention of everyone else at the table. “I don’t get it. Why would they do this to her? She’s the last person in the world who deserves it.”

Rarity pursed her lips as she looked up from her shake just in time to see a single tear run down Dash’s cheek. It surprised the fashionista to see it happen, since Dash was always such a tough nut to crack, and it was extremely rare to see her cry, especially in public.

Upon seeing her friend upset, Rarity’s chest instantly tightened up, forming a lump in her own throat as the corners of her mouth began to tremble and curl downward. She did her best not to weep, but she was unable to hide it from AJ, who took in a breath to speak.

“Look, I-I know this is hard on you, Dash. It’s hard on all of us, especially Rarity,” she said, giving the fashionista a comforting smile.

“Sorry guys,” Dash sobbed, wiping her cheek. “I’m not trying to be wuss or anything. I just…I don’t feel good. I’m scared.”

Rarity forced herself to hold in her emotions, and gave a smile to Dash, inadvertently causing a tear that had pooled up in her eye to run down her cheek, leaving a dark line in its wake. “It’s perfectly alright, darling,” she said as the door to the Sweet Shoppe opened behind them, sending in a cool October breeze that chilled the black streak of moisture on her cheek. “You’d have to be made of stone not to have a heartache for that dear sweetheart who was so cruelly taken from us.”

Since AJ wasn’t crying, she decided to lighten the mood by joking around a bit, feigning offence to Rarity’s comment. “Now just hold on a cotton pic-“

Rarity didn’t notice that AJ had stopped suddenly. Instead, Pinkie noticed it first, and had lifted her chin from the table to turn and look across the shop, after which she drew in a deep gasp.

The curly-haired girl’s reaction prompted the fashionista to look across the table at Dash and AJ, who were frozen in place, each with a look of shock on their faces. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she glanced over at Pinkie, who had the same look on her face as well, staring at something in the store behind them.

Rarity was reminded of the door opening a few seconds earlier, and wondered who or what had come in that would make her companions react in such a way. She turned around slowly on the bench to look into the isle near the front door, and like her friends, she froze in place when she saw a familiar person standing there.

It was a girl, facing in the other direction, who bore a striking resemblance to the shy girl they were just talking about.

“Is that…who I think it is?” she wondered to herself in disbelief.

She looked like Fluttershy, but she wasn’t dressed like Fluttershy. She wore a pair of dark teal tights and a long, light-blue shirt with a large, lacy neck opening. Her skin colour was the correct soft, yellow tone, and her hair was long and pink, with gentle curls at the ends, and her stature was a perfect match to the shy girl’s; tall and slender, with a timid grace that could only be duplicated by the animal lover herself.

The four girls watched, holding their breath in anticipation as the visitor turned around to scan the shop, seemingly moving in slow motion right before their eyes. Her hair seemed to float weightlessly around her shoulders when her face slowly came into view, natural and free of make-up, yet it was the most stunningly gorgeous sight the fashionista had ever witnessed.

The hair of the back of Rarity’s neck stood up suddenly as her heart leapt with excitement, her chest feeling like it was about to explode with every positive emotion possible; joy, surprise, gratitude, thrill, desire…

She darted from the booth while letting out a high-pitched squeal, and then quickly sprinted towards the girl, who had yet to move after seeing her friends, with a blank expression still on her face.

Rarity slammed into Fluttershy, causing her to stagger back as the fashionista wrapped her arms around her, pinning the shy girl’s arms against her body and squeezing as tight as she could. “My darling Fluttershy!” she sobbed, “I was beginning to think I was never going to see you again!”

Dash, AJ and Pinkie were still sitting in the booth, completely paralysed by the shock of what just transpired.

“Uh, how did you do that, AJ?” Dash asked as she lifted her head from AJ’s shoulder. “Did you see that? Fluttershy walked in here just now, literally right after you said she might walk in here!”

AJ slowly shook her head, dumbfounded by the chain of events. “I…I ain’t got no fuckin clue, Sugarcube.”

Pinkie turned to AJ suddenly, her eyes bugging out with excitement. “APPLEJACK! SAY: ‘I RECKON THE WORLD’S BIGGEST CAKE IS GONNA WALK THROUGH THAT DOOR AT ANY MINUTE!!” she screeched, imitating AJ’s drawl.

Not even two seconds later, the door to the Sweet Shoppe opened again, prompting Pinkie to pull her hair and leap up with excitement. “NO…FRIGGIN…WAY!!!”

What walked into the store next was not a cake. What the girls saw instead were the wavy red and yellow locks of Sunset Shimmer, bouncing gently against her shoulders with each step as she entered the store with a proud smirk on her face.

Pinkie gasped. “EVEN BETTER!” she giggled with joy.

The three girls finally achieved the presence of mind to move, and they piled out of the booth to join their friends in the middle of the floor.

Rarity still had her long-lost girlfriend in her clutches, with her face buried in the side of Fluttershy’s neck, soaking her soft, yellow skin with tears of joy.

Pinkie, Dash and AJ approached Sunset, who had stopped a few feet behind Fluttershy and had her arms folded, smirking at her friends as they fanned out around her.

Dash scowled at Sunset, shaking her head slowly. “You smug little bitch…” she growled, then suddenly threw her arms in the air with an excited laugh. “You are SO AWESOME!” she shouted, before throwing her arms around the much taller red-head.

“It’s good to see you too, Dash,” Sunset chuckled, hugging the rainbow-haired girl in return.

Meanwhile, Rarity had backed away slightly to plant little wet kisses all over Fluttershy’s soft, smooth face, leaving small bits of moisture on her cheeks, her jaw, the tip of her nose, her chin and finally, her lips. The fashionista backed up to gaze into her lovers eyes, but found her happiness screeching to a halt upon realising that she hadn’t actually noticed the shy girl’s demeanor yet.

This was not the girl who disappeared from her life over a month ago.

Instead, this girl appeared to be nothing more than an empty shell of her former sweet, kind, demure self. Gone was the beautiful lustre of the teal ribbons that used to reside around her pupils, now replaced by dark, hollow emptiness. Her face remained blank, and even the presence of her friends failed to bring any emotion to the surface of her delicate features.

The sight of it tore Rarity’s heart in two, and she couldn’t help but begin to weep sadly as she cupped her palms over Fluttershy’s cheeks. “Oh goodness, darling,” she whimpered, her bottom lip quivering uncontrollably, “w-what have they done to you?”

AJ tipped her hat to the red-head. “Good to see ya, Sunset. We’re real proud of ya fer bringin Fluttershy back.”

“Thanks Applejack. It’s good to be back,” Sunset replied. “It was one hell of a trip, let me tell ya.”

Two pink arms suddenly wrapped themselves around the red-head, and she found a pile of curly pink locks of hair tickling her face.

“SUNSET SHIMMER!” Pinkie screeched with glee, releasing her friend from the hug to hold onto her shoulders as a more serious tone came over her. “Now Sunset, this is very important…”

Sunset cocked her head. “What is it, Pinkie?”

“When you were outside, did you happen to notice any super-duper large cakes headed this way??” Pinkie asked.

The red-head raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“Just nevermind, Sunset,” AJ chuckled, waving Pinkie off.

Sunset smirked. “Actually Pinkie, come to think of it, there was something pretty sweet headed this way.”

Pinkie stopped to stare at Sunset after hearing the unexpected remark, just as the door to the shop unexpectedly opened a third time.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside to find the girls staring back at me with sparkling eyes.

“Hey guys,” I said casually, as if we’d just left five minutes ago.

“I told you they’d be here.” Sunset smirked at me.

I shrugged, shaking my head. “You were right, Sunny. As always.”

“GOLDS!!!” They cried out in unison. Dash sprinted over and leapt onto me, wrapping her arms around the back of my neck and her legs around my waist. It surprised me; not just the act of it, but also the fact that she was so much lighter than I expected. She was emitting a strange combination of giggles and sobs, burying her face in my shoulder as her colour-streaked hair brushed my cheek, wafting the smell of Fruit Loops into my nose.

“Makes sense…” I chuckled to myself as I felt two large, soft objects press against my back, followed by a pair of pink arms wrapping around both me and Dash from behind. I turned my head towards the opposite shoulder that Dash’s head was on, and was greeted with curly, pink locks tickling my cheek, filling my nose with the smell of strawberries.

Sunset watched with a smile as I was bombarded by hugs, and then turned around to find a less jubilant sight. Rarity was tightly holding onto a motionless Fluttershy with dark streaks down her lily-white cheeks, weeping combined tears of elation and sadness; happiness for Fluttershy's long-overdue return home, and sadness for the unusual lifelessness that she’d brought with her.

The red-head sighed, disappointed by Fluttershy’s failure to return to her normal self. Since leaving Niagara Falls, Sunset and I had been banking on the reunion with Rarity and the rest of the group to cheer the shy girl up and bring her back to her usual sweet demeanor, but already, this didn’t seem to be the case.

Sunset stepped up beside the couple and gently placed her hand on Rarity’s back to comfort her. “Hey, Rare.”

The fashionista quickly lifted her head to look up at Sunset, her sapphire eyes glistening with moisture as she laid eyes on her friend, causing even more tears to stream down her make-up stained cheeks. “Oh Sunset,” she sobbed, removing one arm from Fluttershy to wrap it around the red-head. “Thank you, darling. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“Nah,” Sunset replied, hugging the fashionista back, “it should be us thanking you. You’re the one who is responsible for us being together again.”

Rarity shook her head quickly. “Shush! The others don’t know about what I’ve been up to since you left.”

Sunset cocked her head in confusion. “What do you mean? What have you been up to?”

Rarity slid her other arm off of Fluttershy to wrap it around Sunset, finally giving her a full hug of gratitude. “I’ll tell you later, darling,” she answered quietly.

AJ stood beside me, giving me a little smile as she graciously tipped her hat. “Howdy partner.”

I smiled back, then glanced at the two colourful girls latched onto me. “Sorry, I’m out of room,” I smirked.

AJ chuckled. “That’s OK, sugarcube,” she replied, taking in a deep breath with a look of triumph on her face. “I’m real glad Fluttershy’s back here finally. With you on the case, I knew it was only a matter of time.”

Dash finally released me and dropped her feet to the floor, wiping her face with her hand as she smiled up at me. “Yeah, I totally knew you would kick their sorry asses!”

“Whoa, I can’t take all the credit. I would never have been able to do it alone. Everyone had a hand in it, even Flutters,” I explained, raising my hands up.

“Really?” Dash asked, turning around to look at the shy girl, who had been released from Rarity’s grip and was now facing us. “Fluttershy!” Dash's voice cracked as she ran over and wrapped her arms around her childhood friend.

I smiled at the sight of the reunion. Watching the little tough girl sobbing and embracing her much taller friend was heartwarming to see, and I couldn’t help but snicker as Pinkie nuzzled her cheek into my back, hooking her hands together in front of my chest to squeeze me tighter.

I shifted my eyes over to Sunset and Rarity, who were in the midst of disconnecting from their hug to watch Dash embracing Fluttershy.

Rarity had her back to me, and I had yet to see her face since entering the shop. I kept my eyes on her bouncy, purple loops of hair, waiting intently for her face to come into view.

It was almost as though she knew what I was thinking. After a moment of watching her friends' reunion, the fashionista seemed to know that I was watching her, waiting to see her face, and her head finally turned in my direction.

When our eyes locked onto one another, it was as if everything else in the room came to a halt and went dark. All I could do was marvel at the way her perfect, blue eyes sparkled like diamonds, and even though her make-up had been washed down over her cheeks, she was still just as beautiful as I remembered, and I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms as soon as possible.

I stepped forward to go to her, forgetting that Pinkie was attached my back still.

“Whoa!” Pinkie squealed as she was yanked forward suddenly, causing me to stop again to look over my shoulder at her.

“Shit, sorry Pinks,” I said, drawing a giggle from her as she finally let go to head over to join Dash and Fluttershy. When I looked ahead again, Rarity was headed my way with her arms outstretched, desperate to finally have them wrapped around me once again.

She exhaled loudly when our bodies collided, pressing firmly against each other as we hugged tightly. She backed up after a few seconds to begin planting kisses all over my face, followed by one long, wet kiss on my lips.

It wasn’t until that vanilla aroma hit me that I realised how much I missed her. I ran my fingers through her silky indigo hair, then down her back to her waist, shocking me with how dainty and small her stature was compared to Sunset’s, and even Fluttershy’s.

“Oh darling, how I missed you!” she sobbed as I picked her up off the floor, hugging her even tighter. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing her back to me! I love you so much, I don’t know what I would have done if I had to wait even one more day!”

“I love you too, Rare,” I replied as she rested her head on my shoulder. “But it’s because of you that we’re here right now. You saved our asses.”

She let out a sob combined with an elated exhale, shaking her head.

“I knew you could do it,” I continued. “Didn’t I tell you, you were ready?”

She backed up and smiled humbly, wiping a tear from her face with her hand, succeeding only in creating a long, black smear across her cheek. “Oh, t’was nothing, really. I was only trying to help.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Come on, Rare! Seriously?” I said, drawing a giggle of pride from the fashionista. “What you did; it meant everything. It turned the whole mission around.”

“It was all by your design though, darling.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re the one who pulled it off. YOU saved Flutters, Rare, and I am SO fuckin proud of you right now.”

“Aww,” Rarity gushed, pursing her lips as her eyes filled with moisture once again. She ran her fingers up the back of my head through my hair, her breath quivering slightly as her eyes became more intense, staring deeply into mine. “You drive me completely mad sometimes,” she whispered, her body beginning to radiate heat from below her purple skirt. “You’d better fucking kiss me right now, before I explode!”

I smiled as we leaned in and brought our lips together. Her tongue found its way into my mouth almost instantly, flicking the tip of mine a few times first before engaging in full contact, feeding me a dose of her chocolate-flavoured saliva, a by-product of the shake she had been nursing earlier. A wave of tingling warmth was starting to wash over the two of us when we were suddenly interrupted.

“Get a room, you two!” Sunset’s voice called out from a few feet away, causing Rarity to giggle into my mouth, her lips curling up into a smile against mine.

We reluctantly pulled our mouths apart, and I let her feet return to the floor.

“I suppose we’re probably causing quite a scene in here,” Rarity smirked, looking around the shop.

She was correct. When I looked around, every single eyeball in the place was locked squarely on the seven of us. I glanced at Fluttershy to make sure she was OK with all the attention, but she hadn’t reacted, nor did she even seem to notice.

The quiet comments of people could be heard around us once we started paying attention to them.

“Isn’t that the girl from the school shooting?”

“They were just talking about her on the TV!”

“She’s back! Where do you think she was?”

Dash’s voice suddenly caught mine and Rarity’s attention.

“Hey Flutters! What’s up with you? Snap out of it!”

Rarity looked at me with worry in her eyes upon hearing Dash’s concern for the shy girl. “What’s happened to her?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

“She doesn’t look herself at all,” the fashionista replied, placing her fingertips over her mouth as she watched her girlfriend stand there, like a statue.

“Pfft,” I replied, raising my eye brows. “You think this is bad? You should have seen her when we first picked her up. She was having quite the bad hair day, to put it lightly.”

Rarity closed her eyes, shaking her head. “How awful it must have been for her, the poor dear. Has she been like this the whole time?”

“No,” I replied. “When we met her at the chopper, she was actually pretty outgoing; like, more so than usual. But once we got on the road, she got really quiet, and it just kept getting worse.”

Rarity anxiously tapped her bottom lip with her index finger. “Poor thing,” she groaned. “What do you suppose is bothering her so much?”

“Um,” I began, rubbing my eyebrow with my index finger, “she mentioned losing a friend. Some guy who helped her escape.”

This information caused Rarity to gasp suddenly and cup her hand over her mouth. “Mr. Ingram! He didn’t make it?”

I could see the shock on Rarity’s face. “What is it?”

“He…” she paused. “Mr. Ingram. I spoke to him on one of the phones I took from my would-be abductors. He and I came up with the plan to get her out and meet you and Sunset in the desert.” She shook her head in despair. “How unfortunate that he didn’t make it, he really was a nice fellow.”

“Well, I think there’s more to it than that,” I explained. “On the way home, Sunny offered to read her so she could have a better understanding of how she was feeling, and Flutters wouldn’t allow it.”

Rarity shook her head. “Hm...from what Mr. Ingram told me over the phone, she’s been subjected to some terribly dreadful abuse. There’s no telling what she may have been through that she doesn’t want us to know about.”

I sighed deeply as I looked around the shop, noticing everyone else in the place still gawking at us. “We should go.”

Rarity looked at me suddenly, then noticed the same thing I was seeing all around us. “You’re right, darling. This probably isn’t the best thing for her right now.”

“We should take her home,” I said.

Rarity stopped for a moment, then raised her index finger. “Actually, her animals are at my place, and it is closer. Perhaps we should go there first? That way she can spend a bit of time with her friends a little sooner, and then we can bring her pets home with her afterwards.”

I rubbed my chin for a moment, staring at Fluttershy as I thought about Rarity’s proposal. “Yeah, OK.” I nodded. “Let’s do that.”

With a glint of excitement in her eye, the fashionista turned to the group. “OK darlings, we’re going to head to my place to spend some time together. Fluttershy doesn’t need to be out in the middle of a crowd right now.”

Dash excitedly put her arm around the shy girl’s shoulders. “You hear that, Flutters? We’re going to RAD’s! Come on!”

*****

“Gah!” Rarity gagged. “Where did you get this monstrosity?”

“We picked it up in California,” I replied. “It’s been a fucking great car, actually; other than being a gas guzzler.”

“I think it’s awesome!” Dash shouted, just to spite Rarity.

Pinkie and AJ approached next.

“It’s a Dodge Diplomat!” Pinkie gasped, pressing the heels of her hands into her cheeks with excitement. “Like the cop cars from ‘Police Academy 5’ and ‘Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain!’”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie folded her arms and scowled at the rainbow-haired girl.

“No, she’s right,” I said. “Well, I’m not sure about those movies, but they did use these as cop cars in some states.”

“It looks like it’s in great shape,” AJ said, walking up to kick the front tire, causing the whole vehicle to rattle.

“Hey!” I warned. “Don’t break the fuckin thing!”

“I’m not gonna break it!” AJ defended, spinning around on her boot to face me. “Just relax, sugarcube.”

“Well as much as I’d like to stand here and stare at this overgrown tin can, we really should head over to my place,” Rarity insisted.

“OK then,” I said. “Who’s coming with me?”

“Shotgun!” Sunset quickly called out.

“Dammit!” Dash cursed. “Well, I guess I’ll ride in the back.”

“I’ll go with Pinkie,” AJ said.

We all stopped to look at Fluttershy, who was still standing by the door of the Sweet Shoppe. Rarity inhaled deeply, held her shoulders high, and put on her bravest smile before walking over to the shy girl. “You can come with me, darling,” she said quietly as she reached out and laced her fingers together with the shy girl’s, and they walked together towards Rarity’s car while the rest of us piled into our own vehicles.

*****

“Hahaha! Leave it to Fluttershy to get captured by spies, and then come home with five cats!” Dash laughed, flopping down on Rarity’s couch next to Pinkie, who was also giggling with delight as the kittens ran back and forth across her lap.

Sunset was shaking her head, pacing back and forth in front of the TV. “You don’t know the half of it, Dash. This whole thing was absolutely fucking crazy.”

As the girls talked up a whirlwind of conversation, Rarity and Fluttershy had moved off to the side, near the small staircase on the right side of the main room. The fashionista was quietly grooming the shy girl, adjusting her pink hair with her fingertips while talking quietly in hopes of eliciting some kind of response from her girlfriend’s empty persona.

I sighed as I watched the indigo-haired girl fight a losing battle, feeling a sharp pang of sympathy in my heart for the two of them; reunited at last, but still not truly together.

Rarity had gotten a tiny taste of happiness when she finally saw her girlfriend again, only to have it squashed when she found a bottomless pit of emptiness in the shy girl’s eyes, tainting the sweetness of their long awaited reunion. It broke my heart when I saw Rarity finally glance over at me with desperation in her eyes, having no idea what to do about the absence of her long-lost lover’s personality.

I heard AJ’s voice close to my ear next. “Is Fluttershy gonna be alright?”

I turned my head to face the farm girl, who was worriedly chewing her bottom lip. “She’s been through a lot,” I replied, after taking in a deep breath.

AJ’s eyes dropped to the floor while she let out a disappointed exhale through her nose. “Will she ever be the same again?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck as the sound of Pinkie’s voice drew my attention to the couch.

“We should have a party!” she was squealing. “THE BIGGEST DAMN PARTY EVER!!!”

AJ quickly interjected. “Uh, PInkie Pie, that might not be the best thing just yet. Fluttershy’s not really herself.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “We’re just having a little visit here for now, but we’re gonna head for home pretty soon so she can get settled in.”

“Oooooh,” Pinkie moaned, leaning back on the couch, disappointed by the news. “OK.”

“Don’t worry,” I continued. “There’s always the Saturday thing, which I actually had an idea for.”

The girls all stopped to listen, except for Fluttershy.

“Um,” I was a bit nervous about my proposal, ”I was thinking…I wanted to do the Saturday dinner.”

They were silent for a moment, clearly surprised by my offer.

Dash was the first to react. “That’s cool,” she said with a nod and a smirk.

“Are you sure?” AJ asked. “You just got back from such a big trip. We don’t expect ya to-“

“It's OK,” I said, cutting her off. “I want to. Really.”

After a short moment, AJ nodded. “OK then. Saturday it is. But, if you need any help, just say the word and I’m there.”

“Actually,” I said. “I was planning on something a bit different.”

“Oh?” AJ replied, placing her hands on her hips.

“Yeah…wait, what day is it?” I asked.

“Thursday. Why?”

“Really?” I asked, before rubbing my chin thoughtfully. ”That’s doesn’t give me as much time as I thought.”

“For what?” Dash asked. “You still have two days.”

“Not really,” I replied. “I was actually thinking about doing breakfast instead of supper.”

AJ’s eyebrow went up. “Breakfast?”

Pinkie groaned. “Ohh does that mean we have to get up early?”

I shook my head. “No, actually I was wondering if you guys wanted to sleep over at Flutters’ on Friday night.”

All of their eyebrows went up, and they took a moment to look back and forth at one another as they thought about the proposition.

Dash finally slapped her knee. “Sounds awesome. I’m there.”

“Count me in,” AJ said, placing her hand on my shoulder to give it a shake. A hard shake.

Pinkie giggled. “Hehe, yup!”

I looked at Sunset, who had a small grin forming on her lips. “How about you, Sunny?”

“I’ll be there,” she nodded, “and so will Twi.”

“Sweet,” I said, shaking my fist excitedly.

AJ adjusted her hat. “So what’s on the menu, sugarcube?”

“Uh,” I rubbed my chin, thinking about all the things I’d been planning on making. “I was gonna do steak and eggs, and biscuits n’ stuff.”

AJ nodded her approval. “Sounds good to me.”

I smiled at the farm girl. “Just you wait,” I replied. “I’m gonna cook it over the fire in Flutters’ backyard. Old-school, like I used to do in the wild west.”

Dash sat up suddenly. “What?? You were in the wild west?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said with a shrug. “Where do you think I learned to shoot?”

AJ chuckled. “Heh-heh, now why am I not surprised? That must have been a crazy time to live in, eh?”

I let my head fall back, rolling my eyes back in the sockets. “Ooohh! The wild west was SO much fun, you have no idea. I mean, everyone else there was scared shitless, but I fucking loved it.”

After discussing the weekend for a bit, the conversations continued on between me and the girls. Eventually, Sunset and I ended up talking quietly in the corner with each other.

“How are you holding up, Sunny?”

She shrugged. “OK. I’m still…you know, wet, but whatever.”

“Hm,” I mumbled. “I wish I could help you out, but I’m pretty sure the others would be put-off if we disappeared for a quickie. And with Rare and Flutters the way they are, it just doesn’t feel right.”

Sunset quickly glanced over at the couple, then returned her eyes to me with her brows raised. “Oh! No, I’ll be fine. Dash is getting a ride home with Pinkie and AJ in a bit; I’ll just hitch a ride with them to my apartment, and once I’m away from you, it’ll go away.” She paused for a second, and then victoriously raised one of her fists. “Finally!” she laughed.

I nodded, smiling as I stared into her big green eyes, wondering to myself what life was going to be like without Sunset Shimmer at my side.

“Yeah…” I sighed, looking down at the floor.

*****

“OK Sunset, are you coming or what?” Dash called from the doorway. “We’re leaving now!”

“Hold your horses!” Sunset replied, turning back to Rarity and I, who were sitting side-by-side on the couch. Fluttershy was sitting alone in the overstuffed rocking chair with Link and Angel sitting on the floor on each side of her, standing guard by their master with fierce loyalty, unwilling to allow her disappearance from their lives again.

“I gotta go guys. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night?” Sunset continued.

Rarity, who had said very little for the past hour, looked up at the red-head suddenly, her cheeks still stained with black streaks from her eyes. “You’re leaving?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, Rare. I gotta get home to my apartment so I can get away from this guy,” -- she pointed at me with her thumb -- “so I can have a chance to actually dry up for once, if you catch my drift.”

Rarity looked disappointed. “Oh…OK, darling. Go if you must.”

Sunset paused for a moment to watch her friend, helpless and broken with despair. She shook her head, unable to ignore the feeling of obligation to stay and lend her support, so she turned back to face the others at the door. “Go ahead, you guys.”

“Yer sure?” AJ confirmed.

Sunset nodded, turning back to me and Rarity. “Yeah. I’ll get a ride home later.”

I spoke up. “We’ll be heading out to Flutters’ soon. I can take Sunny out to get her bike from my shop. Then at least she’ll have her own way around.”

Sunset nodded, scratching her forehead. “Yeah…actually, that works out a little better for me.” She turned to AJ. “You guys go ahead.”

“Ok then, sugarcube. I’ll see ya tomorrow night.”

The front door closed, leaving me, Rarity and Sunset alone with what was left of Fluttershy.