Sunshine was surprised when Steer left them not at a house, but a small animal shelter. “Does she work here?”

“She sort of half-owns it. Didn’t you follow me for two months or something?” Sunset asked.

“I investigated you, not your friends outside the ones included in the bet.”

“Who did your friend vote for?” Sunset asked as she knocked on the door.

“I won't say.” Sunshine answered as the door opened, letting them in.
She was immediately hit with the scent only a bunch of animals living in a closed interior could give. A small automatic perfume spray tried in vain to hide the pungent smell, and Sunshine looked around for a window to open.

“Fluttershy! Windows!” Sunset shouted, covering her own nose.

“Sorry!” the soft voice of the caretaker exclaimed before running to a large window covered with a mosquito nest and opened it, letting the contaminated oxygen be replaced with fresh air.

“I swear your nose is rotten by this point,” Sunset complained jokingly as the ambient became breathable again.

“Sorry for that. I’m Fluttershy.” The pink haired teen offered a hand to the tall woman, who accepted it while still trying to rub the smell out of her nose.

“Don’t worry, I admire your… dedication,” Sunshine said as politely as possible.

There was a bit of an awkward silence before Fluttershy clapped her globed hands. “Well, let me do the introductions.”

“To who–” Sunshine was about to ask until she realized that the sources of the pungent smell were all looking at her like if an alien had decided to visit Earth. “This is going to take a while.”

And take a while it did, since Fluttershy gave a not-brief-enough biography of each and every living being in the animal shelter, and Sunshine was sure that if the building had rats or roaches, they would have names too.
The reward at the end of the long road was the chance to interact with the small bundles of fur, scales and feathers. It was clear Sunset had visited before since as soon as Fluttershy opened the bird cages, several parrots and other avians flew to her and perched themselves on her arms, shoulders and head.
Sunshine smiled at the joyful expression Sunset had, surrounded by the love of the birds. However, it also gave her a small pang of sadness. Seeing a young version of herself so much happier than she was at that age made her feel like something had been missing.

Finally, she looked for an animal to pet, not wanting to be a rude guest, and settled on a small brown bunny. She lifted it with delicate care, and gently brushed its back with her hand, feeling is softness. “I always love how their fur feels.”

“Do you have any pets?” Fluttershy asked, and Sunshine realized her mistake.

“No, I never had time for pets, and my mother would freak out if I brought one home,” she answered, hoping to deviate the conversation.

But she had no luck. Fluttershy’s eyes lost all joy and slowly lowered her head. “How many?”

“How many what?” Sunshine asked, even the bunny in her hands looking nervous.

Even if her eyes were covered by her hair, Fluttershy’s stare could be felt through it. “How many do you kill for your industry?”

Sunshine frowned, slowly putting the bunny back into its habitat. “You may want to rephrase that,” she said threateningly.

“Is it thousands? More? Do you care?”

“To be honest. No, I don’t. They’re fur, food and money.”

“How can you say that?!” Fluttershy shouted. “They’re no different than the one you were holding a moment ago.”

Sunshine crossed her arms. “There’s a big difference.”

“Oh really?”

The woman pointed at the now scared animal with her thumb. “First, this one's a pet. It’s meant to be loved and cared for. Meanwhile, the ones used for any industry are literally born to be used by someone. As income, testing, food, or in my case, fashion.” She then pointed at Fluttershy like her mother did every time she gave her a lecture. “Any besides that, I don’t own a farm or slaughterhouse or whatever you want to call it. I buy whatever fur I need for the season in bulk, those animals are long dead before I have any say in what their future should be.”

Fluttershy clenched her firsts. “You still know where they come from. You shouldn’t support those businesses to make more money for yourself!”

“Oh, so I should cripple my way of living because I dare use a product that already exist regardless of my choice?”

As the two women continued their heated discussion, Sunset looked at them feeling torn.
She didn’t want to pick a side, but they didn’t seem to be willing to stop. Their argument was getting more and more intense. She wanted them to…

“Stop!” she shouted, and the birds perched on her flew back to their cages.

Sunshine looked at Sunset’s distraught face and sighed, feeling ashamed.

“You better just leave,” Fluttershy said, turning her back on them, but mostly to Sunshine.

The taller woman gave a barely audible and very insincere goodbye before exciting the door, and Sunset followed closely.

“I…” the redhead teen tried to say soemthing, but didn’t know how to complete the sentence.

“It’s not your fault.” Sunshine let out a long, defeated sigh. “I can’t get along with everybody.”

Sunset bit her lip, looking away. “I knew something like this could happen, but…”

"Look," Sunshine interrupted. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard complains about my business. Just, never in person.” She crossed her arms and looked at the sky. “I always wanted to shut them up, and I guess I took the chance with your friend. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not like…” Sunset struggled to find the right words. “You had valid arguments…”

“Why aren’t you mad?” Sunshine asked abruptly. “She’s your friend. You’re a horse. You should be taking her side.”

“I… it’s just that…” Sunset looked away as she continued to struggle.

Sunshine moved to look her in the eyes, studying her face. “Sunset, what do you want?”

“I just want this to work,” Sunset finally admitted before scratching the back of her head. “I guess it’s obvious what my answer will be at the end.” She expected that her words would put a smile on Sunshine’s face, but the woman looked at the sky again, thinking with a neutral expression.

As the seconds passed, Sunset felt a new wave of nervousness take hold of her. Sunshine seemed to have been as eager to become her mother as she was, so Sunset never considered the idea that the woman could also say no to the deal.

After what Sunset thought was an eternity, Sunshine broke the silence with one question. “Who’s next?”

“Pinkie Pie,” Sunset answered almost immediately. “She’s at Sugarcube Corner.” Sunshine simply nodded and went to the car without saying anything more. “I hope Pinkie can cheer her up a bit.”