Chapter 75

Sunset sighed, prompting me to pat the couch cushion beside me as an invitation for her to sit next to us, which she did.

“Hey,” I said, breaking the silence, “remember the last time the three of us were alone in this room?”

Rarity and Sunset looked at me.

“We were telling you about your immortality,” I said to Rarity.

“Oh yeah,” Sunset nodded. “Man, we were so friggin nervous about that! Remember that night, Flutters?”

Fluttershy glanced up at the red-head briefly, but then let her head drop back down, her hair falling from behind her ear and covering most of her face.

I sighed, shaking my head as I looked at the black, silent TV in front of us.

Rarity let out a quiet groan and looked down at her hands, folded on her lap. After a moment, she drew in a breath and pursed her lips, turning her head to look at me with hopeless despair in her eyes. It was a heartbreaking sight to behold, and I couldn’t help but reach out to lace my fingers with hers, squeezing her little white hand to try comforting her.

Unable to withstand the heavy silence, Sunset spoke up again. “Hey Rare, what was it you were saying at the Sweet Shoppe, something about what you were up to while we were gone?”

The question seemed to brighten the fashionista’s eyes a bit, and she perked up, looking at Sunset. “I was…” she stopped suddenly to look at Fluttershy. “I’ve got it!” she gasped. “I know what will cheer you up, darling!”

Rarity stood and took Fluttershy’s hands in her own, pulling her up from the big, purple chair.

I watched, wondering what tricks the fashionista might have had up her sleeve.

“Come now, Fluttershy,” she coaxed, pulling the shy girl onto her feet to lead her by the hand towards the stairs. “I know how much you love trying on new outfits; and I know you will just love these.” Rarity glanced at Sunset as they passed her on the couch. “You too, darling.”

Sunset jabbed her index finger into her chest. “Me?”

“Yes you!”

“OK…?” Sunset stood slowly and reluctantly followed the couple up the stairs. “But, I don’t usually do this dress-up shit with you guys.”

“You will tonight, darling,” Rarity replied excitedly. “You stay there, Golds. We’ll be back in a few.”

I nodded, having not moved a muscle. “Mm-hm.”

*****

About twenty minutes passed and I had gotten up by then, pacing back and forth in front of the couch with Link following behind my every step. I snickered, thinking about what Rarity had said earlier about having to keep Angel in a cage while we were gone. As it turns out, in Fluttershy’s absence, her influence over them had been diminished, and Link had promptly decided to try making a meal out of Angel.

Unfortunately, the only solution for Rarity was to keep Angel fettered away in a small cage, protected from the quickly-maturing Linx.

“Meh,” I thought, “That fuckin rabbit’s a jerk anyway.”

It was then that I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and I turned to see something that I didn’t quite expect.

I held my hand out, shrugging with confusion. “What the fuck is this?”

Rarity giggled, her sapphire eyes shining brightly through the black mask that adorned her face as I looked her over, taking in the details of the shiny, back outfit, seemingly shrink-wrapped to her dainty frame. The boots were tall, the legs and body tight, and the neck-line low; showing off her surprisingly ample cleavage, topped off by her pretty face, partially hidden behind the mask. Her hair was pulled tightly into a bun of the back of her head, and the only decorations on the outfit was a white stripe that ran from each shoulder, down her arm to her baby fingers, along with a group of three diamonds that were perched on her upper thighs.

“Well darling, you told me to look after the city, so that’s what I did.”

“Uh yeah,” I replied, “I told you to look after Canterlot, not become a masked fucking vigilante.”

She cocked her head, putting a hand on her hip as she shifted her weight to one leg. “Don’t you like it, darling?”

I inhaled deeply, and then held my breath as I looked her over again.

She did look good. Amazing. Sexy, even. The tight black material hugged to her curves, and her milky-white breasts looked as though they might pop right out of that deep, wide V-neck, surrounded by the large, pointed collar. It wasn’t long before I noticed the scuff marks distributed around the suit; on her knees, her elbows, and her hands, among a few other random places, and I quickly realised that she had seen some real action in this outfit.

“I do like it,” I replied, bringing my index finger up to coax her over to me.

She stepped closer, keeping both hands on her hips, swinging them seductively with each stride as she approached me. “I thought you might like it,” she said with a sultry smirk, before reaching around the back of my neck with her forearms to hug me tightly. Up close, it looked as though she’d washed her face to remove the make-up runs from her cheeks, judging from the small amount of clean skin that wasn’t covered by the mask.

I reached around her to grip her ass, held taut under the tight material, making her feel extra firm against my fingertips. She responded with a small kiss on my lips, followed by a giggle.

“Do you think maybe you…I don’t know, took it a little too far?” I asked.

“Nonsense, darling!” she replied, “It was part of your plan anyway, wasn’t it? To get their attention?”

I sighed, followed by an agreeing nod. “Yeah, I suppose. I just didn’t expect this.”

“Me either, to be honest,” she explained. “When you and Sunset first left, I was quite agitated that you’d left me behind and charged me with watching over Canterlot, and I hadn’t planned on doing any such thing; that is, until my boutique was broken into one night while I was there.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “I bet they regretted that.”

“Indeed, darling,” she replied with a smirk. “However, I noticed something that night that left me quite miffed. The two men who broke into my shop were not afraid of me, not until I gave them a swift lesson in physicality, that is. But before doing so, I gave them several ultimatums to leave, and they simply refused to listen.”

“Why would they listen?” I said, smirking. “You’re just a pretty girl.”

“Pshh!” she scoffed. “Well, that’s where I got the idea for the suit, so I would look a bit more fearsome, in hopes that my future enemies would take heed to my warnings.”

“Did it work?” I asked.

“To a point,” she shrugged. “It would depend on who I was facing.”

“Hm,” I replied quietly, keeping her close.

“The mask, however, was a last minute addition. Something I thought of later,” she continued. “To keep the people around me safe, of course. I can’t have loved ones being used as leverage against me.”

I nodded. “Good thinking.”

“Especially when I started showing up on the local news. Without the disguise, everyone would have known who I was,” she explained.

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by how far she’d taken her responsibilities. “You made the news? Wow, no wonder you got ‘Us’s attention.”

“Indeed, darling. And the rest is history, isn’t it?”

I smiled, and began to drum my fingertips against her ass, enjoying the feel of the tightly-packed flesh of her cheeks under the thin material. “So you were wearing this when you fought those agents?”

She nodded excitedly. “YES!” she squealed. “I felt alive! Powerful! In control!”

“Fuck, I wish I was there for that,” I sighed, shaking my head as I looked up at the ceiling. " Who'd have thought a posh little princess like you could end up being such a fucking bad-ass?”

“You don’t know the half of it, darling. It started to thunderstorm partway through the fight, so I ended up massacring them in the rain, with lightning flashing all around…” Rarity bounced against me, giddy with excitement of her theatrics. “I was like a god to them. Those poor men were scared out of their wits, so much so, I almost felt bad for butchering them like cattle.” She paused, and then let out a small giggle. “Almost.”

I shook my head, marvelling at the imagery she’d placed in my mind. “Awesome. Like I said before, I knew you were up for it. You’re fuckin amazing, Rare.”

She responded with a cute smile of pride, sticking her bottom lip out. “Aww, thank you darling, but it’s because of you that I was able to do all these things.” She raised her chin, bringing her lips to mine again; this time kissing me deeply, giving me a taste of her tongue in the process.

I let my hands squeeze her ass as we made-out, drawing a high-pitched giggle from her when we pulled our lips apart.

We looked into each other’s eyes for a short moment before I let out a small laugh. “Hm,” I said, drumming my fingertips on her ass some more. “God, I missed that little white dumper of yours.”

Rarity recoiled slightly, rolling her eyes with a chagrined smirk. “My goodness darling, you sure know how to sweep a lady off her feet.”

“I know it,” I replied.

“Mm-hm-hm,” she chuckled, as she moved to my side, intending to face the stairs. “While I do appreciate the compliment, you needn’t be so curt about it. I'd say you’ve been spending too much time with that Sunset Shimmer. She is a sweetheart, but she can be quite vulgar at times.”

“Well, “ I said, “what would you prefer? What if I actually did sweep you off your feet?”

“Well i- AAHHH!” she squealed as I put one arm around her shoulders and reached down to hook my arm behind her knees, scooping her up into a bridal lift.

Rarity tipped her head back in playful laughter, hooking one hand around the back of my neck as she pointed the toes of one of her feet towards the ceiling. “Hehehe, oh darling! Now that’s more like it! I knew you had a little romance in you somewhere.”

“Of course I do,” I said, “and now I’ve got my little super-hero chickie-poo in my arms, so where do you want me to take you?”

She giggled once more, and then tapped my chest lightly with her free hand. “Another time perhaps, right now I have something more to show you.”

“Oh?” I replied, letting her down to the floor again.

She nodded. “I know how much Fluttershy likes trying on new outfits that I make, and I just happened to have something new and exciting for her to try on, which is sure to rouse her excitement and start her on the path to recovery. She’ll be her old self in no time!”

I cocked my head, raising my eyebrows in hopes that she was right. “Here’s hoping, Rare. I can’t stand seeing Flutters like this.”

Rarity folded her arms across her chest. “Me too, darling. It’s heartbreaking to imagine what they must have done to her to make her so…dead inside.”

“Yeah.” I reached out, taking her hand to comfort her. “Is that what she and Sunny are doing right now?”

“Yes well, they should have been ready ages ago,” she replied, putting her hand to the side of her mouth. “Oh Fluttershy! Sunset! Are you ready? You can come out now!” she called.

I turned my attention to the stairs after hearing Sunset say something from around the corner, muffled by the wall. My eyes widened when I saw the red-head emerge, letting out a chuckle as I covered my mouth at the sight of her.

She was wearing a suit nearly identical to Rarity’s, other than the size difference and the small decorations on the arms and thighs. Sunset’s larger, more toned frame filled out the shiny black material nicely, showing off her powerful curves while maintaining a feminine beauty that would make any man quiver at the sight of her, myself included.

She had the identical mask on, and her fiery-coloured locks were pulled back into the same tight bun as the fashionista, except for that one short, wavy lock that hung down the middle of her forehead, covering part of the mask. The stripes running from her shoulders and down her arms were red, rather than white and she had a large, red and yellow sun adorning each thigh, instead of the diamonds.

With the suit being as tight as it was, it only stood to reason that her olive-toned cleavage was practically pouring out of the V-neck, even more so that Rarity’s.

“Wow Sunny! looking good,” I said, giving her a thumbs-up.

“Thanks Golds,” she replied, her cheeks flushing as she looked down at herself. “These are awesome, Rare. I love how yours looks on you.”

“And I you, darling.” the fashionista replied. “Did you notice a difference with yours?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah actually, with the hands.”

“Why don’t you show us?” Rarity asked.

Sunset brought her arms up and tugged on the fingers of one glove, which slid off easily, revealing her bare hand.

I looked at Rarity, who was practically bouncing with giddiness, noticing how her gloves were attached to the sleeves, and not removable.

“You made it so Sunny’s gloves can come off?” I asked. “I take it that’s so she can do her mind reading?”

“You’re very perceptive, darling.”

“It’s a great idea, Rare. I love it,” Sunset complimented.

“I know!” Rarity giggled, pressing the heels of her hands into her cheeks. “Just don’t lose the gloves, OK sweetie?”

Sunset roller her eyes as she slid the glove back on. “Sure thing, snookums.”

I chuckled at the girls.

Looking closer at Sunset’s suit, I quickly noticed the difference in lustre between hers and the fashionista’s, indicating that the red-head’s suit was still brand new, unlike Rarity’s, which had obviously seen more action than I’d originally been led to realise.

I nodded towards Sunset before turning to my indigo-haired girlfriend. “So what’s the material you used for these? It’s kind of unusual looking.”

“Ah,” Rarity clasped her hands together. “It is a special blend of very high-density materials, meant to withstand the…ahem, experiences we will surely be putting them through.”

“Hm, where’d you get it?”

The fashionista smirked at me. “I have connections through my regular supplier. He was able to get me more than enough to make multiple suits, with extra material left over in case something ever damages them.”

I shook my head. “You need to be careful,” I said. “The whole idea of the mask is hide your identity, but ordering something unusual like that through your business can be pretty easy to track.”

Rarity scoffed, waving me off. “Nonsense. I had it ordered through a nameless cash account, so it has been untraceable since leaving my supplier’s warehouse. Plus, I picked it up myself in order to avoid possible tracking through a delivery service. The only person who knows I have it is my supplier himself, and he and I go back many years, so I trust him implicitly. He would never rat me out, that is, if he’s even realised what I’ve used this material for.”

“That’s good thinking, Rare,” Sunset nodded.

I glanced at Sunset, stealing a peek at her cleavage before turning back to Rarity. “So what can damage them?”

“Well, my magic, for starters,” the fashionista replied. “My diamond blades were the only thing that I could cut this stuff with.”

“What about bullets?”

“It depends on the weapon, I suppose,” she replied. “They can withstand a great deal, I assure you, darling.”

“Hey, I believe you,” I said, smiling as I scratched the back of my head. “So I take it Flutters has one of these as well?”

“Obviously, darling!”

“What about me?” I asked. “Did you make me a cool suit?”

“Uh,” Rarity cringed, her eyes darting around. “Actually…no.”

I shook my head, giving her a disappointed scowl. “What?” I complained, pulling on the bottom of my T-shirt, stretching it out to show it to Rarity. “You guys get cool, indestructible super-hero suits and I get to wear this dog shit??”

“Hey! I bought you those clothes!” Sunset chided, folding her arms.

“I-I’m sorry, Golds,” Rarity defended. “I know all of the girls’ sizes off by heart, but I had no idea what you are, nor did I even come up with a design for a male suit.”

I glared at her for a short moment, but then let out a playful laugh as I gently punched her shoulder. “I’m just fuckin with you, Rare. I don’t really need a suit. Hell, I’ve gone this long without it, why would I need one now?”

Rarity huffed, giving me a frustrated slap on the arm. “You devil! That wasn’t nice!”

“Sorry Rare, I was just teasing,” I replied, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

“Like I said, You’ve been spending too much time with her,” Rarity huffed, pointing a finger at Sunset, who bit her lip nervously and looked down at the floor.

I shook my head. “It was just a joke. I’m sorry,” I said, planting an apologetic kiss on her temple.

Letting her head sway to the side, Rarity allowed a smirk to spread across her lips. “Ohh, how could I stay mad at you?” she gushed, perking up again. “Now let’s see how Fluttershy’s suit fits. Where is she, Sunset?”

Sunset turned her head towards the stairwell. “She was right behind me,” she started. “Hey Flutters! Let’s see you!”

I removed my arm from Rarity’s shoulders to instead hold her hand as the three of us waited in anticipation to see the shy girl’s outfit, listening with exiguous impatience as her soft footsteps made their way down the stairs.

She emerged, a sight to behold. Her suit had the same details as the others: the wide collar, the deep V-neck, the curve-hugging tightness, the tall boots, and of course, the same fresh, shiny surface as Sunset’s virgin suit.

Her arm stripes were different yet again; yellow this time, and on each of her thighs were three pink butterflies with little green antennae on their heads. Her hair, like the others, was pulled back into a tight bun, held in place with a wide, back ribbon. As if Rarity’s and Sunset’s cleavage wasn’t enough, Fluttershy’s suit took her generous bust to a whole new level, shoving her breasts upwards with enough pressure to make one think they were going to burst like balloons.

I leaned my head closer to Rarity, who was gripping my hand tightly, giddy with excitement. “I gotta ask, Rare, and I’m not complaining, but what’s the deal with the titties?”

“Ah! I thought you might notice that,” she giggled.

“You thought I might notice?” I shrugged. “How would I not notice? Flutters’ tits look like they’re gonna fly out and knock something over.”

“It was quite deliberate, I assure you,” Rarity explained. “I had three good reasons for it; one: It has proven useful for distracting male opponents. Two: the neck needed to be large enough to get in and out of the suit. Unfortunately, the market isn’t exactly flooded with indestructible zippers, so I was forced to make the suits without any fasten-able openings. And three: it’s Fluttershy. Need I say more?”

I shook my head. “Say no more. Number three is reason enough.”

Sunset was facing Fluttershy by that point, staring down at her yellow, tightly-packed cleavage as she gave a lusty bite to her bottom lip. “Looking good, Flutters,” she chuckled, trying to play off her comment as casual, rather than a product of her mandatory arousal.

Rarity gave a limp-wristed wave towards the shy girl. “Agreed, darling. You look absolutely smashing! What do you think? How does it feel? Does it fit OK?”

Fluttershy slowly brought her gaze up to meet Rarity’s, instantly creating a twinge of uneasiness in my stomach when I saw her dark, brooding eyes through that black mask. “Um, why do we need these?” she asked softy, but coldly.

The fashionista was caught off-guard by the question. I felt her grip tighten on my hand as she prepared a response, her light-hearted demeanor fading quickly as she drew in a shaky breath to speak. “W-well darling, I just-“

“We don’t need masks to do what we do,” Fluttershy cut in. “It gets in the way, and it’s annoying to wear.” She reached up to peel the mask from her face, and then reached behind her head to yank the ribbon from her hair, letting her pink locks flow down around the shoulders of the dark suit. Without a care, she tossed the items onto the couch and folded her arms, staring at the floor with a cold, unnecessary cruelty in her eyes. “It’s stupid.”

The three of us were blindsided by the comment, especially Rarity, whose grip on my hand instantly went limp upon hearing the insult.

Flabbergasted, I shifted my eyes onto Rarity to find a heart-breaking sight; her eyes were moist, her lips parted slightly as her jaw hung loose, devastated by the sharp, piercing indignity dealt to her by the last person she should have expected it from.

It was plain on Rarity’s face how it made her feel, and it twisted my insides into a tight knot to see it happen. Of anyone, she was the least deserving of such a nasty jab, especially after all the heartache she’d endured. She’d spent the past month alone, worrying about her missing lover, single-handedly defeating a group of kidnapping spies while obtaining the means necessary to free Fluttershy, who was now standing in that very room because of Rarity’s actions.

She had been overcome with joy when she laid eyes on the shy girl at the shop, only to have her elation crushed by the zombie-like state that Fluttershy was in, so what did she do? She pulled out these outfits that she’d put her own time an effort into creating in a last-ditch effort to try bringing her girlfriend’s spirits up, hoping to finally have her true lover come back so they could be reunited at last…

All to have it spit back in her face.

Fluttershy had sliced Rarity to the core, and I could hardly stand the sight of it.

I glanced over to Sunset, who was chewing on her thumbnail, completely dumbfounded by the scene. Her posture had changed to a less confident one, and she appeared to feel somewhat foolish about her suit after the shy girl’s ruthless attack.

Next, I shifted my sights onto Fluttershy, finding myself in a headspace I never thought I’d find myself in.

I was angry with her. She’d intentionally used her poisonous words to hurt Rarity, and in that moment, not even her pretty face, her soft hair, her graceful stature or her quiet voice could stem the tsunami of fiery-hot blood that had begun coursing through my veins.

I completely understood her demeanor after all she’d been through; the darkness in her eyes, her utter silence and her complete lack of emotion. It to be was expected after such an experience, and I supported her completely and was ready to let her recover at her own pace.

But this…this was not OK. I was unwilling to stand by and let her use it as a excuse to hurt others, especially Rarity. I’ve been around long enough to have seen this type of downfall before, and I wasn’t about to let it happen between these two girls, both of whom I loved fiercely.

I let go of Rarity’s hand to step forward, swiftly making my way towards Fluttershy. “That’s it,” I growled, shaking my head. “Enough is enough.”

Rarity and Sunset watched in shocked silence as I took the shy girl by the arm and hauled her to the stairs, pulling her upwards as she stumbled along behind me, her feet dragging up the steps to the hallway at the top, where I headed to the bathroom on the right with her in tow. I shoved her through the doorway, and then closed it firmly behind me as she stumbled across the room, barely catching herself before falling into the tub.

I stepped towards her, just as she turned to face me with an irate scowl on her brow. I placed my index finger just in front of her nose as I spoke.

“You and I are gonna have a talk.”

Her dark, bottomless eyes glared back at me as I stepped back and shrugged, putting my hands in the air.

“What the hell was that all about??” I asked loudly.

Fluttershy didn’t answer, but instead kept a stiff upper lip and folded her arms.

I backed up another step and put my hands on my hips. “How could you say that to Rare?”

Her eyes dropped to the floor for a moment, then she locked them back onto mine, maintaining the dark scowl.

I stared back at her for a moment, waiting to see if she might respond.

She didn’t.

I let out a sigh and shook my head, pacing around the small room, replaying in my mind the awful scene she’d just created in the front room. After rubbing my forehead in frustration, I locked eyes with her again.

“You don’t wanna do this,” I said firmly. “You don’t wanna alienate the people who love you, cuz they’re the reason you’re here right now, instead of being locked up at the bottom of the ocean.”

She sighed, then turned her head to the left, defiantly breaking eye contact with me to stare at the wall.

“I’m telling you,” I continued, “if you keep acting like this, the next time you need them, they won’t be there to help you. You’ll be alone. What then?”

She was motionless.

“Trust me on this, Flutters. I know how people work, and I’ve seen it many times.” I pointed my finger at her. “Rare had the biggest hand getting you out of there, and you had no right to talk to her like that. All the way home you’ve been quiet, short-tempered and dismissive every time Sunny and I tried to help you, and there’s no reason for it.”

Fluttershy suddenly turned her face towards me, giving me a sharp glare as her jaw clenched tightly. “No reason?” she fired back. “No reason?? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “OK. Let’s think about this. First of all, how would we know what you’ve been through if you refuse to talk to us?”

She responded by folding her arms tighter.

“And secondly,” I continued, “I am the last person you wanna pull that card on. You can’t even fathom the shit that I’ve been through; the things I’ve seen. Now, I’m not trying to say that whatever you went though wasn’t horrible, or that you need to pretend everything’s A-OK, but you don’t see me going around, putting down the people I care about, so there’s no reason you should be doing it either. They don’t deserve it.”

“This just happened to me,” she replied. “What bad things have you been through lately? You can’t preach to me anyway; like you said, Rare is the one who saved me. All you did was pick me up and drive me home.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “I…WHAT??” I asked loudly, scowling at her in response. “Are you kidding? Do you know what Sunny and I went through to try getting you back? I came out of hiding! Sunny broke into the CIA! THE MOTHER-FUCKING C-I-A! And she offered to fuck a guy to get him to help her get in, and that’s after she dyed her amazing hair that shitty brown colour to disguise herself. She also beat the shit out of the woman who stole that bug for Cody, the same bug that ended up in YOUR HOUSE! Sunny did that in the bathroom inside the CIA headquarters, FOR YOU! Do you understand what kind of a risk she took by doing that??”

Fluttershy fidgeted with her feet, scowling down at the floor as I continued.

“You know what else she did for you? She gave away her clothes, her phone and her jacket, of all things! We walked across the desert for SIX DAYS; from Tucson, Arizona to some fucking back-country shit-hole in Southern California, where I saved a kid from getting smeared all over the road by a speeding transport truck, then bought a fifty dollar car for fifteen grand! Actually, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I spent well over sixty grand on this whole damn mission! FOR YOU! WITHOUT HESITATION!”

I paused for a moment to catch my breath and to glance at Fluttershy, who was just now hearing all of these things for the first time. She stood next to the bathtub, her soft, light hair draped around the shiny, black shoulders of the suit that her girlfriend had made her.

Her defenses seemed to be lowering.

“Oh, that’s not all, Flutters. I forgot to mention that I caught a bullet in Las Vegas to protect an informant; a man who I hadn’t seen in over twenty years, who was telling us where to find the base that you were being held at. His life was on the line, and he’s never even fucking met you!”

The shy girl’s scowl had faded by then, and she was finally starting to look remorseful for her behaviour, but I wasn’t done. I needed to get her to open up to me, and for that to happen, she needed to be cracked.

“And yes, Rare had a major part in getting you out, but I was the one who set it up. Even still, she performed amazingly, and she was so proud of herself; as she should be. She deserves it. That poor girl’s been stuck here at home, worrying her head off about you, spending her nights alone, probably feeling completely hopeless until one night: BAM! She gets attacked by fifteen heavily armed agents, who she took out herself and was able to use the information she got from them to set up a way to get you out. She was wearing her ‘stupid’ outfit during that, by the way. And the mask isn’t for looks; it’s to hide who she is, so the agents can’t go after the other girls, or her family, or even come here to kill your animals, who she’s been looking after the whole time you were gone.”

I paused for a minute to see what she would say.

“I…I didn’t know,” she said, rather meekly.

“She was so happy to see you at the Sweet Shoppe,” I continued. "Sunny and I got you home, hoping like hell that getting you back with her would cheer you up; but instead, you stonewalled her. You knocked her right back down into the gutter by acting like a friggin zombie the whole time.”

“N-not the whole time…I…”

“Everything she did was for you, even after I made her stay behind, which I knew she didn’t like. But she was still able to make a real contribution toward getting you home, and she made you this beautiful suit, but when she finally had you back, what did you do?”

She was frozen in place, praying that I wouldn’t say it.

I said it. I felt horrible and I didn’t want to say it, but it had to be done. I forced myself to swallow the pangs of guilt boiling up in my chest, and then I continued. “You turned around and insulted her. You insulted her work. You called it stupid. You acted distant, and you made her worry about you; acting like a damn vegetable. She didn’t know what to do with you, so she got that suit out, hoping it would cheer you up, and you show your gratitude by shattering her to pieces?”

Her mouth dropped open slightly, and she gave a small shake of her head. “No…I…”

“You made her cry. After all these years of having feelings for her, pining for her, you finally have her, AND after she saves your life, and that’s how you repay her? I never thought I’d see something so venomous from you, but there it was. I couldn’t fucking believe it!

“She loves you, Flutters. More than anything else in the world, and she didn’t deserve to be treated like that. Not in a million years. All she wanted was to have you back at her side, and when she finally had you, you were dead-in-the-water. So then, all she wanted was to make you happy again.”

By that point, the shy girl’s eyes were moist and her brows were beginning to furrow.

“You cut her. Deep. And you know what? I’m the one who had to see that look on her face. I’m the one who felt her hand go limp when you said those things. You might as well have just stabbed her in the heart, cuz that’s pretty much how you made her feel after everything she did for you.”

I finally stopped. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I felt terrible for saying these things to Fluttershy. She was the love of my life, and I would never want to hurt her, but sometimes a little pain is necessary to push someone to make a change.

All I could do now was hope I pushed her in the right direction.

Holding my breath, I watched the anguish come over her as her expression sank into remorse and despair. I pushed down the lump forming in my throat when I saw the look on her face at the very moment that her heart broke; the exact moment of her epiphany, when she realised the pain she’d caused her girlfriend.

Her brows furrowed deeply, and her bottom lip trembled as the corners of her mouth curled downwards, prompting her to bring her hands up to cover her face. Her eyes slammed shut, squeezing out rivers of tears that began flowing down her cheeks.

She leaned forward suddenly, burying her face in my shoulder.

“I…I’m s-sorry!” she sobbed, soaking my shirt with her tears in short order.

I’d seen Fluttershy cry a number of times at that point, but never like this. She was wailing loudly, like a child who’d stubbed their toe. Her voice was loud and guttural; foreign and unfamiliar to me, muffled against my chest as she slowly wrapped her arms around my shoulders, squeezing herself into me as she let loose all of the suppressed emotion she’d been keeping bottled up ever since we met her in the desert.

I wrapped my arms around her in return, rubbing her back for comfort, feeling every sharp inhale that accompanied each sob, and all I could do was look up to the ceiling while doing my best to ignore the guilt I felt for doing this to her.

She wailed into my shirt for what felt like hours, saturating it with her tears as I lovingly rubbed her back, waiting for her to get it all out, hoping after which she might open up to me about why she’d been so out-of-sorts.

Finally, she spoke.

“You’re r-right, I’m a m-monster!”

Her words caught me off guard. I frowned, staring at the ceiling as I listened to her continue to speak between sobs.

“I n-never should have b-been set free! I’m a horrible freak; a m-murder machine!”

“Murder machine?” My eyes darted around the room, realising her issue may not have been quite what I expected. “What are you talking about?” I asked, taking her by the shoulders to pull her back so we could face each other.

She tried to open her eyes, but her emotions prevented her from doing so, and she continued dumping buckets of endless tears down her soft, wet cheeks. Her teeth were gritted, her bottom lip quivering, her face contorted with anguish, all stemming from the horrific events of the past month.

“Flutters, what do you mean, you shouldn’t have been set free?”

She shook her head, sobbing continuously as she answered. “They turned me into a…a beast! A horrible monster! I killed all of those p-people in that base…I blew it up with th-them inside; hundreds of people, all d-dead because of me!”

My heart ache worsened when I heard the explanation, and the revelation hit me: she was remorseful for the things she’d done, and felt like she was out of control, not herself.

“Flutters, no. You’re not a monster. Those people deserved it.”

“No…” she sobbed, “I didn’t even know most of them…they were just there, doing their jobs, AND NOW THEY’RE DEAD!”

I shook my head. “They knew what they were a part of. They knew things that were happening to you, and they didn’t care. You've done nothing wrong.”

“You d-don’t understand,” she blubbered, “I didn’t just blow the b-base up…I tore people apart…like p-paper.”

I stopped again to listen to her, raising an eyebrow as she revealed more details of her breakout.

“I ripped people apart, limb-from-limb; like a horrible beast…” she paused for a moment, holding her breath as she stared fearfully into my eyes. “A-and…I liked it…”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “How did she do these things? She doesn't have the strength to do that kind of shit...”

“I’m supposed to be n-nice…not a killer! I’ve become something awful…you m-must think I’m terrible! I know you and Rare wanted the old Fluttershy back…not me!”

I glanced down at the toilet on my right to make sure the lid was down, then I brought her over to sit down on it. Kneeling on the floor in front of her, I rested my hands on her thighs, feeling their smooth firmness inside the tight, black material. Her bountiful cleavage was still popping out of the V-neck, soaked in her salty tears that continued to rain down from her dark, shadowy eyes.

“Listen,” I said softly. “You’re not a monster. You did what you had to do. They’re the monsters for what they did to you. Do you understand?”

She didn’t say anything. As her sobbing continued, she wiped the dripping moisture from her eyes with the back of her gloved hand while looking at me with overwhelming remorse in her eyes.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering about what she’d said earlier. “What do you mean, you ripped people apart?”

A few sharp inhales racked her body suddenly, showing no indication that her crying was going to stop anytime soon. Her bottom lip continued to quiver uncontrollably as I reached up to wiper her cheek with my thumb.

“I…I don’t wanna talk about it…” she answered.

“Ok,” I nodded.

Then a realisation hit me. It wasn’t the things she’d done that bothered her; it was what she thought we would think of her for doing them.

I looked her in the eyes. “Is that what all this was about? Why you were so quiet? Because you were ashamed of what you did, and you were worried about what we would think of you?”

Fluttershy looked at me for a moment, and then nodded.

I felt relieved to finally understand what had caused her to be so distant, so down on herself, and now that it was out in the open, it was time for us to fix it.

“I w-was scared that you and the girls would think I was a wicked m-monster…that you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore…c-cuz I’m not the same girl I was before." She paused momentarily, as though something else had occurred to her. "Or maybe...th-this was the real me all along, waiting to come out. Maybe I n-never should have been friends with any of you!”

I shook my head. “That's not true," I replied softly. "Just like being painfully shy isn't all there is to you, the same goes for this. You've become a fierce warrior, and that's not a bad thing because that's not all you are. We know you’re not a monster. You still are, and will always be our shy little sweetheart. You did tons of sweet things on the way home; rescuing the kittens, the way you sweep your hair aside, they way you talk…I love everything that you do. Even as tough as I am, you’ve always had no trouble melting me like butter.”

She sniffled loudly. “Y-you still think I’m sweet?”

I gave her thigh a light squeeze. “Yeah, of course I do. You don’t need to feel bad about what you did. They took you from your home, and they took you from me and Rare. They deserved what they got, and I’m proud of you for making a stand and fighting your way out. Trust me, I would have done the same thing. In fact, they’re lucky it wasn’t me who got in there to break you out.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” she said under her breath.

“Hm?” I asked, unable to hear her reply.

“Nothing.”

I drew in another breath to speak. “Anyway, you did exactly what anyone else would have done. And it sounds like you did it well. You’re amazing, Fluttershy. Don’t forget it.”

“Ooh…” she pursed her lips, then reached over to grab some toilet paper and proceeded to blow her nose.

I waited for her to finish before continuing. “You’re not a monster, you know how I know?”

She paused, then slowly shook her head.

“Because real monsters don’t care that they’re monsters,” I said. “Trust me. I know a thing or two about being a real monster, and you’re not a monster. The fact that you’ve been so concerned about this tells me that you’re not a monster.”

She balled the soaked toilet paper up in her fist and clutched it to her chest, staring into my eyes as she drew in a deep, shaky gasp.

“So, that’s why you wouldn’t let Sunny read you in Niagara Falls?” I asked. “Not because you didn’t want us know what they did to you, but because you didn’t want us to know what you did to them?”

She nodded slowly, then sniffled again. Her eyes were still moist, however it appeared as though her crying had subsided.

Or so I thought.

A sudden wave of tears trickled down her cheeks once again, and she pursed her lips tightly, looking down at her lap, sniffling some more.

“What is it?” I asked, bemused by the sudden resurgence of emotion.

“It’s just…didn’t you hear what Rare said?”

I frowned, confused. “No, when?”

“A-at the Sweet Shoppe. When she saw me, she started to cry,” Fluttershy explained, sobbing through her words. “She asked what they did to me; like there was something wrong with me…like I w-was damaged goods.”

I sighed and shook my head. “No, I don’t think that’s what she-“

I was cut off when the bathroom door burst open and Rarity, who’d obviously been eavesdropping on our conversation, stepped swiftly into the room with a hand over her mouth.

“Oh darling, no! That’s not what I meant at all!”

I quickly noticed that she’d removed her mask and had taken her hair out of the bun, which was now flowing behind her in a silky, purple trail as she came down to kneel in front of the toilet, where Fluttershy was still seated.

Rarity still had the black suit on, and with her dark, unstyled hair hanging straight down around her pale face and chest, she reminded me a bit of Morticia Addams. With her mask off, I could see that she had indeed washed her face after her makeup had run, leaving her with those beautiful, light freckles on her cheekbones and her soft, natural skin exposed. It was evident that she’d been crying, due to the tears gathered in her eyes and the moisture that trailed down both sides of her nose.

I moved out of the way and sat on the edge of the tub so Rarity could take my place in front of the shy girl, who had started weeping profusely yet again upon seeing her girlfriend.

“Oh Rare,” she sobbed, wrapping her arm around the fashionista’s shoulders to hug her tightly. “I’m so sorry I said those awful things to you! I’m such an awful p-person!”

Rarity hugged her back, shaking her head. “Sh-sh-shhh. All is forgiven, darling. I know you didn’t mean it.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you either,” Fluttershy continued. “I shouldn’t have b-been so quiet. I was just worried that you would think I was a m-monster if you found out all the things I did.”

“I know, Fluttershy. I heard everything. Not to worry, no one thinks you’re a monster. You needn't worry about being rejected by us,” Rarity replied softly.

“I feel so b-bad about what I said to you,” Fluttershy sobbed. “I don’t even know why I said it. I guess m-maybe I was trying to distance myself from you so it wouldn’t hurt so bad if you found out about the things I did and didn’t want to b-be with me anymore.”

Rarity released Fluttershy from the hug to cup her palms over the shy girl’s wet cheeks. “Oh Fluttershy! How could I not want you around anymore? I love you dearly, and I couldn’t imagine my life without you.”

The two girls leaned forward, letting their foreheads rest together as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“I love you too, Rare,” the shy girl whispered.

Rarity smiled, letting a fresh tear roll down her snowy-white cheek. “And I already told you, darling; you are forgiven.”

“I know,” the shy girl whispered, “It’s just…I don’t know if I could forgive myself.”

I interjected, reaching out to rub Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Flutters. It’s just an imperfection of human nature. We become what we fear the most, and that’s what was happening with you. You were scared of ending up alone because we might have thought you were a monster, but if you’d kept going the way you were, it would have happened eventually. Not because of what you did in the base, but because of how you were acting towards us. I’ve seen many people make the same mistake over the years; they fear something, and it almost always comes true, one way or another.”

Rarity glanced at me briefly, then nodded a she looked back towards Fluttershy. ”He’s right, darling. We mustn’t let fear guide our paths, it will always lead to darkness and despair.”

Fluttershy straightened up a bit, wiping her eyes with her fingers.

“Oh dear, let me get that for you,” Rarity offered, unravelling a length of toilet paper and tearing it off to wipe the shy girl’s face dry. “You don’t want to get your uniform all salty, do you?”

“S-sorry…”

“That’s alright.”

“Um, so…Rare?” Fluttershy started, pausing to sniffle again.

“Yes, dear?”

“Y-you heard everything that we were saying in here?”

“Yes, darling.”

“Like…even the part about how I tore people up?”

“Oh…yes. Well, I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as all that. It takes a lot of strength to do such things.”

“Oh, um…y-yeah.” Fluttershy said, somewhat nervously. “So…you don’t think I’m a monster even after hearing that?”

Rarity chuckled. “To be honest, I was somewhat worried about what you would think of me after slicing all those men to pieces.”

“Oh…” Flutterhsy replied, fidgeting her hands on her lap as Rarity finished drying her face, then threw the toilet paper into the garbage. “I didn’t know you did that, Rarity…I don’t think we can see each other anymore.”

Rarity froze.

I sat in silence, watching them stare blankly at each other, nervously holding my own breath.

After a tense moment, Fluttershy snickered softly. “Um, I’m just kidding, Rare.”

The fashionista let out a long exhale, then wagged her gloved finger at her girlfriend. “You…” she giggled, “You almost had me there.”

I was rubbing the side of my face by then, relieved that it was just a joke; a poorly timed joke, but a joke nonetheless.

Rarity turned to face me. “That’s the first sign of humour she’s shown since she got home, and now I have to hurt her for it,” she quipped, drawing a sweet giggle from Fluttershy.

The levity was nice.

After a moment of silent gazing, Rarity took Fluttershy’s hands in each of her own, resting them on her lap. “Listen to me, Fluttershy…”

Fluttershy nodded.

“You’re beautiful. You know that,” Rarity began.

“Um…OK?”

“Do you know how beautiful you are?”

The shy girl shrugged, then shook her head slowly.

Rarity drew in a deep breath before continuing. “You are so beautiful, the only thing I could find in your absence that came even close to matching you…was the sunrise.”

Fluttershy pursed her lips in response, and I could see a bit of moisture quickly forming in her eyes again.

“And,” Rarity continued, “every morning, every single morning, I would watch the sunrise, and imagine I had you at my side, because the colours of the sky and the steady brightening of the morning sun was the one thing that reminded me of you the most.”

I could almost see a visible glow from Fluttershy’s skin as Rarity’s words moved her, causing her heart to overflow with so much love it almost hurt. “Oh Rare…that’s so…so…”

It was a beautiful moment, but Rarity wasn’t finished.

“But listen, darling,” she continued. “The beauty you possess pales in comparison to what lies in here,” -- the fashionista placed her hand over Fluttershy’s heart -- “and in here,” she finished, moving her index finger up to the shy girl’s temple.

Fluttershy was speechless. She remained motionless, aside from the single tear rolling down her cheek; not of sadness, however, this time, it was a tear of joy.

“But, unlike the sunrise,” the fashionista said, “which would always come to an end, your beauty, thanks to him,” -- she turned to me briefly -- ”will live on forever; unwavering and perfect, throughout the ages.” She gently placed her hand over Fluttershy’s heart again. “And what lies inside is no different. You will forever be my sweet Fluttershy, no matter what happens to you, or the things you are forced to do to protect yourself or others. Standing up for yourself does not make you a monster, it makes you a hero. My hero.”

Fluttershy’s hand was covering her mouth by that point, and she had tears streaming down her face again. “Oh my goodness, I love you so much, Rare!”

“I love you too, darling!” Rarity replied as tears gushed from her own eyes, and they quickly came together in a tight embrace, sobbing happily together.

“Damn, Rare’s good at this,” I thought as I took in the sight of the two girls. It was a lovely scene; a cluster of intertwined limbs, adorned with that shiny blackness, topped off by a pile of silky, soft hair, one half indigo, and the other half pink.

Fluttershy’s face was visible to me, resting on Rarity’s shoulder. Her eyes were closed and lined with moisture, with an expression of contentment on her face. I watched her, enjoying the tender moment she and her girlfriend were having together.

Then her eyes opened.

It seemed to happen in slow motion right in front of me. Her eyelids rose, revealing a pair of vibrant teal irises, sparkling with radiance as they locked themselves onto me, causing a tingle to radiate up my spine when I saw her old self re-emerge, revealing herself to me. Gone was that dull colour, hollow darkness and lifeless expression. All that remained was fresh, energetic happiness and undying love for both Rarity and me.

Finally, Fluttershy was truly home.

I couldn’t help but smile at her. My body felt light as air knowing that the shy girl was happy at last, and as I kept my eyes locked on her, my heart suddenly leapt when a wide, beautiful smile spread across her lips. Her sparkling eyes slowly blinked once more, causing my heart to melt instantly when I saw her adorable expression, and she reached out with one arm to grasp my shoulder, gathering up a ball of my T-shirt in her clutches to pull me in to join the embrace.

I wrapped my arms around both girls, squeezing them tightly as I took in the scent of their soft, shimmering hair.

“I love you guys so much,” Fluttershy whispered. “Thank you for rescuing me. Again.”

*****

”Seriously, could my pussy be any wetter?”

Sunset lay on Rarity’s couch, staring at the ceiling. Her mask was off, and she’d let her hair loose during the time she spent waiting nervously to find out what was happening with Fluttershy.

What was going on? What were they talking about?

Sunset shook her head, replaying the image of the shy girl being dragged up the stairs like a ragdoll, still shocked by how livid I had become after hearing her blistering comment towards Rarity.

Her thoughts stalled out when she felt another wave of hot, tingling pulses emanating from between her legs.

It was worse than ever.

She groaned, cupping her hands over her eyes in frustration. “Uuuugh! I should not have gone commando in this thing, it’s going to be a fucking mess insi-”

Sunset silenced herself when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She leapt to her feet to see who it was, and was greeted with the sight of me coming down the steps with a satisfied look on my face.

“What happened? Where is she? Is she alright?” Sunset asked frantically, unloading question after question onto me.

I put my hands up. “She’s fine, Sunny. Don’t worry.”

“She’s fine? How?”

“We had a chat. I got her to open up, and we worked it out,” I explained.

“What do you mean you ‘worked it out’?” she asked, before suddenly perking up. “Wait, Flutters is back to normal??”

I nodded. “Pretty much. I’m sure she’ll still be a bit off for a while, but she’s not acting like a zombie anymore.”

“Well that’s great!” she cheered, clapping her hands together, then shaking her fists.

“Yup,” I said, looking down at the floor.

“How’d you do it?” she asked. “How’d you get her to open up?”

“Uh, I had to upset her," I explained, "I basically bitched at her about a bunch of things until she cried.”

Sunset paused, clearly caught off-guard by the explanation. “You made her cry?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I’ve found that when people are upset or emotional, they tend to open up and say what’s on their minds a little more, so that’s what I did.”

“Wow. I bet that was fun.”

I shook my head, chewing on the inside of my cheek as I pictured the look on Fluttershy’s face when I told her she’d stabbed Rarity in the heart. “No. It’s wasn’t very much fun.”

Sunset folded her arms. “That was pretty risky wasn’t it? I mean, that could have seriously backfired if Flutters decided to put up a fight.”

“I know,” I said, “but nothing else was working, and I was pretty pissed off about what she said to Rare.”

Her eyebrows went up. ”Yeah, that was pretty shocking. It just came out of nowhere…I couldn’t believe she said it.”

I paced round the room, rubbing the back of my neck. “I mean, I was willing to deal with her depression for as long as it took, but I had to draw the line when she started acting like that. I couldn’t let it continue, and I wasn’t gonna stand by and let Rare get hurt.”

“Yeah,” Sunset mumbled, staring down at the floor for a moment before looking back at me. “So what are we doing now?”

“We’re gonna take Flutters home,” I replied. “Rare’s coming out too, so she and Flutters are probably gonna drive together, and you and I will go in the Diplomat. I’ll take you to my shop so you can get your bike and head home so you can have a little down time.”

Sunset’s eyes rolled back in her head. “Holy fuuuuck, I need down time in the worst way.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Is it bad?”

“It’s like…really bad right now.”

“Really?” I asked, reaching out to cup my hand over Sunset’s crotch to feel her heat, blazing through the material of the suit.

“Hey, FUCK OFF!” she growled, batting my hand away before pointing her finger in my face. “Do NOT get me riled up. I swear to Celestia, I will fuck you to death!”

I put my hands up in retreat, backing away from her. “OK OK, sorry!” I chuckled as I took the car keys out of my pocket.

“Are we going soon?” Sunset asked impatiently as she feverishly ran her hands down her shiny, black thighs. “I really just wanna fucking go home so I can cool down.”

“No, Sorry. Not yet,” I replied. “Before we head out, I have to go put gas in the Diplomat AGAIN, so I might as well do that now while you guys get changed out of those suits.”

Sunset groaned. “Ugh! Fine.”

I turned to head for the door. “I’ll be back in a few.”

“See ya,” Sunset waved, and then slowly turned towards the stairs as she looked down at the suit. ”How the fuck do I get out of this thing?”

She pulled at the collar, trying to slip her shoulders free, but the material was too tight and stiff to move. Unable to get her fingers under it to peel it off, she decided to head up the stairs in search of help.