“Dad!” Fluttershy shouted from her room.
“It’s too early in the morning for this, hon,” Posey said, trying not to fall asleep in her coffee. “What did you do?”
In the kitchen making omelets, Discord had the very look of innocence on his face. Which, of course, meant that everyone knew he was guilty as hell. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”
“Hon?” Posey said simply, and in that simple syllable contained the multitudes of every raised eyebrow, every huffed statement and every angry glare. This was clearly a married woman who knew her husband all too well.
And he knew it too. “Okay, okay, look, I just want to try to make up for not being there all those times, okay?”
“It’s not a contest, Dee,” his wife reminded him.
“You’re right, it’s not,” he said in a tone that sounded hurt. “I just want to make it up to her, okay?”
“I don’t know what you did, but you’ll want to explain it soon.”
At that point, Fluttershy came out of her room with her bags in tow, the look on her face somewhere between hurt, testy and worried. “Dad, I’m sure you had a very good reason for doing it, but could you please tell me why you cancelled our plans to go to Modesto?”
Discord gave his daughter a bemused smile. “Because it’s nothing but farmland?”
Fluttershy crossed her arms. “Except for the camping area and the cabin we took forever to find.”
He sidled over to her and put a loving arm around her shoulders. “Fluttershy, dear, don’t you think that I would’ve made sure my darling daughter and her stalwart friends had the time of their lives?” With a sleight of hand that would’ve made a magician – or at least a particular teenage one Fluttershy knew – jealous, he produced an ivory-colored folder with gold embossing on it. “You might just prefer this instead.”
Fluttershy took it and looked at it. “Club Tropicana?”
Posey woke up slightly at that. “The one in Harmony?”
“I would’ve set them up at the one in Jamaica, but I didn’t know if the others had passports,” he said with a shrug.
Posey walked over to the coffeemaker, a slight smile on her face. “You old charmer,” she said fondly to her husband.
He winked. “Aren’t I, though?”
As for Fluttershy, she opened the folder and looked at the documents within. “Dad, this is—”
“One of the best resorts in the world – exclusive luxury beachfront villas, complete with a private beach, golf course and reservations desk service. So premier, in fact, the waiting list is a year in advance – and that’s if you’re a celebrity; the merely wealthy have to wait even longer. You’ve got two weeks to enjoy everything there is there, as well as the town of Harmony itself and nearby Cambria and Morro Bay. You’ll love the place.”
“You will,” Posey said, moving to where her husband was. “Your father took me there before we were married. It’s a gorgeous place.”
A look of amazement crossed the teen’s followed by realization that there was no way she could afford this, much less her friends. “Are you sure?”
He waved it off. “Just put it on the card. In fact, you can pretty much put everything you all need on that card. Heaven knows American Express charges me a fortune for it anyway.”
She gasped and said again, “Dad, are you sure—”
“Am I absolutely sure I want my daughter and her closest friends to be treated like royalty at a place known for it? Yeah, pretty sure.”
“But if it takes a year to get a reservation,” Fluttershy asked, “how did you manage?”
“Oh, I called in a favor from a friend,” he admitted. “Besides, Madonna’s on a world tour right now, so she doesn’t have time to use it. Fortunately, Starlight Glimmer’s on the same tour, so she pulled some strings for me.” He then looked at his wife. “Also, I’m going to be in Spain for the rest of the month, because Starly needs a guitarist, so I’ll be guesting.”
“Something happen?”
“Yeah, her usual guitarist had a family emergency, so that was the price.”
“Fine by me,” Posey said as she held her coffee in a ready-to-drink position, “but if Madonna tries any of that Kabballah shit on you I’m going to kill her.”
“Eh, I think she dumped it and is neo-Buddhist now or whatever. Besides, that phase should be over by next year, anyway,” he said glibly.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy put the folder in her bag and then hugged her father. “Thanks, Dad, really. I’m absolutely sure—”
“—that I’ve died and gone to heaven!” Rarity swooned. As planned, they all met at Sunset’s house, with all packed and ready to go. Everyone was surprised by Fluttershy’s statement until she told them it was her father’s idea, to which nobody was surprised in the least.
“That good?” Applejack asked.
“Are you kidding?” Pinkie gasped. “It’s only the crème de la crème of resorts in California! It’s totally AWESOME!” A second after Pinkie hit the Royal Canterlot Voice, the rest rubbed their ears from the brief sonic assault.
“How do you two know about it?” Fluttershy asked.
“My family stayed there for a week as a part of an article my mother was writing for Condé Nast Traveler,” Rarity explained. “It was one of the most wonderful places I’ve ever been. If I could have, I would’ve have stayed there forever.”
“How would I not? It’s practically the only reason to go to Harmony!” Pinkie clarified.
“Harmony? Where’s that?” Rainbow asked. “Doesn’t sound familiar.”
Twilight looked up from her phone. “A lot longer of a drive than to Modesto,” she said. “It’s down by San Luis Obispo.” Applejack gave her a blank stare, and Twilight clarified: “It’s closer to LA than it is San Francisco.”
Seeing the look on her friend’s face, Sunset spoke up. “I can trade off with you, AJ. You don’t have to do all the driving yourself.”
“Thanks, Sunny,” the blonde said gratefully. “Ah was a bit worried about the drive as is, but practically to LA? No thanks.”
“Well, let’s get going since we got a long drive! I got shotgun!” Rainbow announced.
“Nope – Ah think Sunny needs to be, because she’s gonna need to see the road,” Applejack said, “unless you’re planning to drive.”
“Uh, no thanks. Just got a copy of The Ancient Machines. Been waiting for that book forever!”
“Isn’t that the Tomb Raider/Uncharted crossover?” Twilight asked.
“The first part of a crossover franchise!” Rainbow said back excitedly. “Videogame comes out next February and the movie next summer! Now we’re gonna see who’ll find the lost legacy of Dr. Indiana – Daring Do, or Golden Compass!”
“I’m just astonished that she’s actually reading something,” Rarity joked, and the others laughed.
“Well, daylight’s burning and it’s a six-hour drive,” Octavia added, picking up her bag. “Time for us to go.”
“I’ll lock up,” Twilight suggested.
“I’ll grab your bag for you, sis,” Sunset said as she grabbed hers; the others took theirs as well. However, once she reached for Twilight’s, she felt a sharp sting on her hand. She looked up in surprise to see Twilight angrily having slapped her hand, then took her bag as she glared at her. “Twily!” she said, hurt. Twilight didn’t answer, instead pointing out the door.
Sunset got the hint, and walked. Pinkie immediately joined her and said, “It’s okay, Sunny. Believe me, I understand more than anyone here how you feel.”
The former unicorn felt comforted by that. “Thanks, Pinkie,” she said, trying to fake a smile.
Pinkie put her arm around her friend. “C’mon, I wanna get a comfy seat, since it’s going to be a long ride.”
A second later the only two left in the house were Octavia and Twilight. “That was uncalled for, Twily,” Octavia said in a disappointing tone.
“What do you mean? I was just grabb—”
“You know what I mean, Twilight Sparkle,” Octavia said, using the full-name ultimatum. “You just humiliated your own sister in front of all our friends, and now you’ve gone way too Goddamn far. Frankly, I think I’ve had enough of your antics – I think we all have. You’re outright torturing Sunny now, and I’m not going to put up with that, understand?”
Twilight reacted as if she’d been betrayed. “What do you mean ‘won’t stand for that?’ Look at how she treated me—”
Octavia continued to glare at her. “Yes, I have – and I’ve already told you what I think of it. I’m beginning to wonder if maybe my parents should adopt her instead. At least that way she’d have a sister who gives a damn about her.”
“What? That’s not fair, Tavi!” Twilight cried.
“Really? Just like ostracizing your sister for…how many days now? Twilight, she loves you – the fact that she’s putting up with this bullshit should be proof enough!”
“But what about what the others said?”
The older teen threw her bags down in frustration. “For fuck’s sake, grow up! Do you even realize how sick we are of this little game of yours? Do you really hate Sunny that much?”
“You know the answer to that!” Twilight looked both scandalized and angry at the same time.
“Funny, because we just had this talk two days ago and yet here we are again.” Octavia went face to face with her cousin, mere inches separating the two. “Yes, Sunny’s lying about something, I know that. And I want her to tell us, because she means the world to me – but I also want her to tell us in her own time. She’s afraid right now, or can’t you tell?”
“Not really,” the younger girl admitted. “Afraid of what?”
“Why do you think a girl as smart and caring as her would run away as a twelve-year-old and turn into a hardass just short of being a gangbanger if she didn’t have something to run from?” Octavia snarled, and as the blank look continued on Twilight’s face, the former shook her head in bemusement. “Everyone in this house realizes it except for you! Don’t you think that if something was really a problem Shiny would’ve looked into it? Hell, even Cady doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal, and she’s the fucking lawyer!
“You amaze me sometimes – and I don’t mean in a good way. How would you feel if she did this to you?” Not waiting for an answer, the older teen picked up her bag. “Look, whether she lied to us or not isn’t important – the fact that is important is that she’s your sister, Twily. She saved your life just a few months ago, and I’m not telling you that to guilt trip you or anything, but…you could’ve died – and she nearly died saving you. And if you were gone, Sunny and I would’ve had to pick up the pieces. If you’re not careful, someday…she might not be there.” Nothing more to say, Octavia headed towards the van.
As Octavia reached the van, Pinkie pulled her aside. “Thanks, Tavi.”
“For what?”
“For reading Twily the riot act.”
“She deserves it,” Octavia grumbled. “Besides, you weren’t exactly holding back the other day, you know.”
“No, you were being kinder than I would’ve been,” Pinkie explained, briefly glaring at the oblivious plum-haired girl as she locked the door to her home. “Truth be told, Rainbow probably stopped me from beating the shit out of Twily right then and there.”
It was just south of Colton, a bit over an hour later, when the radio stations they were familiar with dissolved into static. “Well, that’s the last of that,” Applejack said, turning off the radio. “Anyone got any ideas to keep us busy while we get to our first stop?”
“We could find a station? I’m okay with any music,” Fluttershy said.
“I could look one up,” Octavia agreed. The two were bonding over their mutual love of music and had even jammed once together, an impromptu performance for their friends. It seemed more and more that the chiffon-haired girl was planning to change her life goals, and the raven-haired musician was already more than comfortable with that.
“Naah, because we’re going to argue about who likes what music all day,” Rarity said. “We all have varying tastes in music, and while we appreciate some of the others’ tastes, a long trip might just make things a little annoying.”
“Look, I don’t want to sit in a quiet van all day,” Rainbow declared. “I’ll die of boredom or something!”
“Well, why don’t we sing some campfire songs?” Pinkie suggested.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Sunset called from the passenger seat. “Anyone know any?”
“I’ll go first!” Pinkie shouted in glee, then immediately started singing:
“Step One: Try not to be so self-conscious;
Two: Shift your weight onto your haunches;
Three: Give a leap into the air; and
Four: Just forget your parents are both dead!”
The van suddenly fell silent as the lyrics Pinkie sang sank in. Meanwhile, oblivious to the stream of consciousness record scratch she’d caused, she continued:
“Chin up! Even if you’re not ad—”
Tavi reached over and covered Pinkie’s mouth. “I think we’ve heard enough, Pinks.”
“Where did you hear that awful song?” Fluttershy asked.
“There was this one girl with hair like mine singing it repeatedly at the cheerleader camp I went to during Spring Break,” Pinkie explained. “Funny, though, during one routine she had an emotional breakdown and we didn’t see her again. I wonder why.”
“Does anyone else know a song?” Applejack begged.
“I have another one!” Pinkie called out. “The German Name Song!”
“The what?” everyone else asked.
Without further ado, Pinkie began:
“Sunny sunny sunny von set set set set
Sunny sunny sunny von set
Sunny sunny sunny von set set set
Sunny sunny von set set set!
“Flutter flutter flutter von shy shy shy shy…”
Fluttershy facepalmed. “My father put you up to this, didn’t he?”
From the front, Applejack and Sunset looked at each other with weariness.
“It’s going to be a long, long trip,” the blonde mused.
“Apple apple apple von jack jack jack jack
Apple apple apple von jack…”
In response, Sunset started to look on her phone. “Looking up a radio station of some kind,” she groaned. “At this point I’m desperate enough to listen to talk radio.”
The van pulled off Interstate 5, just before it split off onto Interstate 505. Applejack navigated her way towards a diner seated on a lonely lot between farm fields. Pulling into the parking lot, she maneuvered into a slot practically in the center of the near-empty lake of asphalt. Finally, she got out of the vehicle, briefly stumbling before bending down to massage her legs. “So that’s what legs feel like,” she mumbled. “Funny that Ah can work my legs out for hours without a problem, but any long-distance driving just kills ‘em.”
Sunset moved over to her and making sure she couldn’t be seen, walked over and tapped Applejack’s legs. There was a brief flicker of aqua-hued sparks, and a second later, the latter stood up, feeling much better.
“Thanks,” Applejack said, the tone of appreciation in her voice clear.
“What are friends for?” Sunset replied. “Besides, we’re driving – we deserve some perks, right?”
Both heard the van’s side gate open and a second later, the others stumbled out. “Thank God!” Rainbow said, instantly sprinting around the van. “I could practically hear the blood in my legs solidify!”
“No, that was just the blood in your head,” Fluttershy joked.
Rarity looked around with a concerned expression, asking, “Applejack dear, are you sure this is the place?”
In response, the blonde fished out her phone, looking at some information before nodding. “Yeah, the Freeway Split Diner. Apparently, Ms. Luna comes here now and then, so she told mah ma, and Ma told me. Ah guess if Ms. Luna comes here, can’t be all that bad.”
“Apparently, you forget that Twily and I have seen Luna outside of a school setting,” Octavia reminded them, “so we get an entirely different perspective than you guys do. And yeah, this would be somewhere she’d go to.”
Rarity said something under her breath that vaguely sounded like profanity.
As one, they all then looked at the facility in question. Seemingly built in the fifties from the looks of its googie architecture, the general feel of the location seemed as if it was originally part of a restaurant chain that had long vanished. As it was, the building wasn’t the best kept, with a desperate need of a paint-job, some fixes to the cracked and weathered signage, patching up the significant cracks in the lot’s asphalt, nuking the location from orbit until there was nothing left, and generally starting over. The only indicator that it was still open, in fact, was the sign on the front door – itself also cracked and on the verge of falling apart – and some vague notion of movement in the restaurant from the faded windows.
“I think I’m getting tetanus just from looking at that thing,” Rainbow announced.
“You know what that means?” Twilight teased.
“Thank you, Professor Sarcasm. I really didn’t know what I was missing in my life until I came upon your dulcet words. Now shut the fuck up and let me continue to lead my life, thankyouburninhell.”
“Honestly, girls, I agree with Rainbow,” Rarity commented. “This place looks as if I’m gaining calories just being in its general vicinity.”
“Look, it can’t be that bad,” Sunset said, hoping that she’d be able to survive the day. “Let’s just go in, shall we?” She walked over to the door and grabbed the handle; instantly she could feel a sort of congealed layer of grease upon the metal. It took every bit over her willpower to not freak out over that, instead giving a plastic smile as her friends walked through.
As bad as the outside was, the inside, however, was clean, bright and retained the popluxe feel, though the interior had been updated. Given the few other cars in the parking lot, the regulars were seated at their usual tables, eating away at whatever they ordered. It was mesmerizing, in a sense: they’d stepped far away from home, into a small town in the middle of nowhere and were now in the midst of a place they’d never expected to be.
“Can I help you?” someone behind them crushed. The girls turned to look at the new speaker. She stood there, squat, frumpy and old, maybe in her seventies if the unyielding wrinkles on her were any indicator. Her hair was nearly grayed out by age, though some traces of the prismatic spectrum of her hair color still remained. She wore a chiffon-colored blouse and skirt, the traditional attire of waitresses everywhere, though she’d added an off-white cashmere sweater. Her mouth wasn’t quite a smile but instead that stereotypical curl of someone who’d been a hard smoker and was now paying for it in her late years. Her wine-colored eyes were hard as gems and as faded in brightness as her liver-spotted dusky skin.
Finally, she wore a badge that said, HI I’M SPECTRAL RUSH.
“Gaah!” Rainbow lurched back, as if filled with a sudden and terrible primal horror.
The girls looked to Rainbow, then Spectral and then back again.
“I seem to recognize your face,” Fluttershy sang in a low tone, “Haunting, familiar, yet I can’t seem to place it….”
“That’s just mean, Flutters,” Sunset told her.
Fluttershy shrugged with a wry grin. “Sometimes I am my father’s daughter.”
Rarity, meanwhile, took hold of the conversation. “Yes, table for eight, if you would.”
“Sure, gimme a sec,” the old woman grunted. “HEY, NIGHTSET! STOP FLIRTING WITH WHEATFIELD AND GET OVER HERE!”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t bunch up your panties, you old raisin.” A new girl came, looking to be in her twenties, and could be best described as Suicide Girl. She wore emo makeup, the same outfit as Spectral, and had a half-shaved head, with the rest of her plum-hair parted on one side, including strands of violent and magenta. She had several tattoos, including an ankh around her left eye, bringing out the purple color of her eyes that much more so. Her badge said HI I’M NIGHTSET FLICKER.
Now it was Twilight’s turn to blanche. She sidled over to Rainbow and said, “You know we’re friends, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll protect us from the pod people,” Rainbow promised.
The eight finally stumbled out of the restaurant, feeling violently ill. “I’ve never eaten that much grease in my life,” Rarity moaned.
Holding her stomach, Applejack nodded. “Ah’m inclined to agree. Ah figured this was trucker food, but…good thing Ah ain’t driving the next leg.” She tossed the keys to Sunset, who inexplicably to Twilight and Octavia, was unharmed. “Do Ah want to know?”
“I’ll cast the analgesic spell slowly,” Sunset whispered.
“How are you two not affected?” Octavia accused her cousin – and Pinkie, who was walking out with one of the restaurant’s signature pies.
“Oh, I’m not really affected by anything,” Pinkie replied. “Trust me, when you live in a café, you get to deal with some occasional bad runs of food, complete with…well, ‘bad runs’.”
“Me?” Sunset replied. “Just luck of the draw?”
“Now I wish I was biologically related to you,” Octavia replied. “Maybe I’d survive this. Sunny, if I die before we get where we’re going, bury me somewhere nice, okay?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll make it,” Fluttershy assured her. “I, on the other hand, will probably not.”
“Bunch of prissy madonnas, the lot of you,” Rainbow groaned, looking as though she was going to vomit.
The last one of their group, however, did. Twilight took two steps before running over to the grass and vomiting violently. She managed to get it all over herself and the ground, making a mess of things.
Sunset took a look at her sister, dry-heaving on the grass, then at the others. She tossed the keys to Pinkie. “Pinkie, mind driving the next leg? I’ll do the last one.”
Pinkie immediately understood. “No problem. C’mon, girls, let’s get in the van. We’ll wait for you, Sunset.” Wordlessly, the others filed into the van while Sunset walked over to Twilight.
Once Sunset was reasonably sure that no one could see her, she summoned a bottle of water and handed it to Twilight. “Here.”
Without thinking, Twilight immediately took, then spit out some, washing her mouth out before she drank the rest gratefully. She then turned to look at her savior and glared. “Oh, it’s you,” she said in a soft voice.
“Well, you’re talking to me now, I guess,” Sunset said. “Progress, I suppose.” She then offered a hand.
Twilight slapped it away. “I don’t need your help.”
“You’re getting it, anyway. You might hate me right now – and I don’t entirely know why – but I’m still your sister and we’re still family. Besides, you’re not going to walk around with vomit on your shirt, are you?”
“No,” Twilight silently begrudged.
“And unless you’re planning to go topless, then you’re coming with me, okay?” The look on Sunset’s face was one of worry and a little bit of sorrow. “Please?” Sunset offered her hand once more.
This time, Twilight took it. “Fine, just this once – but only for my parents’ sake.”
“I’ll take what I can get right now,” Sunset said sadly, accepting the token gesture as the most she could get out of her recalcitrant sibling, as Pinkie pulled up in the van.
About thirty minutes later, whether due to the overloaded food or the day, everyone in the van was asleep except for Pinkie and Sunset, who was again riding shotgun. Pinkie peeked in the back via the rearview mirror. “Sunny, do you mind…?” Pinkie wiggled the fingers on her right hand for emphasis.
“Why?”
“Because I want to talk in private.”
“Sure, okay then.” Sunset snapped her fingers and a celeste-hued field covered the others. “They should be asleep until we get to the location or if I wake them up first,” she said. “What’s up?”
“I guess I wanted to know how you feel about us…I mean, you and me…I mean, well, me,” Pinkie said.
“Pinkie, I told you it wasn’t a problem, okay?” Sunset insisted. “We’re still friends – we always will be.”
“Are you sure? I mean, you say that, but you probably freaked out the other day when I kissed you.” Pinkie then hastily added, “By the way, you are a hot kisser. That or you really like pineapple lip gloss.”
“Uh, I’m not sure how to respond to that, so I’ll take that as a compliment,” Sunset said.
“You should. I just wanted to make sure that I don’t offend you.”
“Pinkie, I promise I’m not offended in the slightest.” A thought came over her. “Do you know what the male to female ratio is for humans?”
“Easy peasey, lemon squeezy!” Pinkie chirped, then added, “As of a study done in 2010, the standardized population is 1:1.03, female to male; 1:1.03:0.000061 if you add in intersex, and that number goes up to .000085 if you count the transgender population along with the intersex, which I kinda think is demeaning to both but I didn’t author that study, why?”
“And you found that out from?” Sunset asked.
“I have a subscription to Scientific American. I know everyone thinks of me as a bubblebrained sugar junkie, but the only ones smarter in school than me are you and Derpy, your grades notwithstanding, why?”
“Pinkie, I come from a world where that ratio is 1.7:1 – and that’s just for ponies. We have so many lesbian couples – ‘mare lovers’ in pony terminology – that nopony ever thinks otherwise. Hell, when I was growing up under the Princess’—”
“Your mother, you mean,” Pinkie said. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that.”
Sunset sighed. “Can I finish, please?” Pinkie nodded, and Sunset continued. “When I was growing up under the Princess’ care, there was a guardsmare assigned to watch over me whenever I wasn’t with the Princess, and Scintillating Steel was kind and sweet. She lived with two other guardsmares, Magicblast and Fireblaze, and there was no doubt what their relationship was, not when I saw them kissing one another. And it was no big deal, really: one time Scinty took me to a café owned by her best friend, Apple Biscuit. I knew Biscuit wasn’t a mare lover, because she was there with her husband and family, and they looked like a loving couple. That’s the norm I grew up around, so you being bi isn’t a big deal, Pinkie, honestly.”
“Good – for a moment, I thought you didn’t want to put up with me anymore.”
“Aww, Pinkie, but we slept together!” Sunset joked.
“Sunny, please don’t do that,” Pinkie replied. “You don’t know how much I really want to.”
“Seriously?”
“Uh, nevermind. Anyway, what about you? When are you going to tell them that you already have a mother?”
“Pinkie, I—”
“You can lie to yourself all you want, Sunny,” she said, “but you can’t lie to the rest of us – we know you. We knew a long time ago about our counterparts. And we know that Princess Celestia’s really your mother.”
Sunset was silent for a long time, and Pinkie was worried about her for a second before the girl finally spoke: “I love the family I have here: my parents, my brothers and my sister; my future sister-in-law, my aunt and uncle and cousin. You were there the day I met my paternal grandparents, and though they’re…odd, well…I don’t think I’d trade that for anything else. I love having an actual family, people who I know love me and who I love back. Does that make me an evil person?”
“But your mother – your real mother…what about her?”
She looked out the passenger window. “I…I didn’t have that with the Princess…with my mother,” she said, finally saying the word that had been on her mind for the longest time. “She’s not my real mother either, by the way.”
That caught Pinkie by surprise. “She’s not?”
Sunset shook her head. “I don’t know my dam’s name or who she was. Last time I went to Equestria, I saw her in a dream vision, but even then I don’t know her name or much about her. And I certainly don’t know who my sire was. And in the end, it really doesn’t matter – they may have been my dam and sire, but sure as hell not my mother and father. I really didn’t have a mother until the Princess came along.”
“So she is your real mother then – as much as any adoptive mother would be.”
Sunset couldn’t help but smirk. “Like the woman adopting me in two weeks?”
Pinkie didn’t have an answer for that, so she pushed her original question. “Look, it’s clear that you love Princess Celestia. You used to get wistful about your homeworld, and now that you’ve been back, you’re more open about it…except for this part. Why deny the woman…er, mare…that raised you?”
“I don’t! I never would!”
“But you are, can’t you see that?”
“Look, Pinkie, for the longest time, the Princess wasn’t my mother because she really didn’t know how to be one. She wanted to be, and she’s made it clear that she thinks of herself as my mother and that if I’d stayed, she’d have filled that role without reservation. And honestly? To me, she is my mother – she’s the closest thing I have to a biological mother, and I love her as much as if she’d foaled me. But there were four of us foals, I guess you could say – the Equestrian language really doesn’t have a word like ‘teenagers’—”
“Adolescents?”
“You know, that word does exist,” Sunset laughed. “Anyway, Cadance and I were of the same age, but we really didn’t socialize. Either Cadance was too busy, I was too bitchy or she thought I’d try to seduce Shining Armor just to mess with her.” Sunset shuddered. “That thought’s really creepy to me now, by the way. Blueblood—”
“Blueblood? Like in the guy who went after Tavi and Rares?” Pinkie asked.
“Yeah, but the Blueblood I know is harmless, for the most part. Still pompous, but at least harmless. Anyway, he and Twilight are nearly a decade younger, and they were raised mostly separate from us – Blueblood by his parents, and Twi under a different caretaker team, plus she had her parents, so the Princess didn’t know what to do with me. She tried her best, but we both regret that it was heavy on the education and light on the parenting. Maybe I would’ve been different if I’d listened more and not just had mommy issues.”
“Yes, but then I wouldn’t have fallen in love with a wonderful friend,” Pinkie said, giving Sunset a smile.
“Do you want to know why I don’t call the mare who was for all intents and purposes my mother ‘Mother’? Because even though I wanted to – still do – and even though she deserves it completely and totally…I feel like I’d be betraying my family here if I did. As it is, I feel like I betrayed the Princess because I chose to remain here on Earth instead of returning for good.” Sunset sighed. “I left the family I had, because I didn’t realize I had it. Then I gained a family here only to realize I still have one there. And now I have two…and I feel like I don’t deserve either.”
“Because you can’t be honest?”
“Because I’m afraid to know what the answer is!” Sunset said. “You see how Twily’s acting!”
“I know. And while I love you and your sister is one of my best friends, I’m going to put her through a wall if she doesn’t straighten up. She’s really pissing me off right now what with she’s doing to you, and I’m shocked you’re letting her get away with it.”
“Because she’s my little sister – older siblings are supposed to look out for the younger ones, right? Even though you and Maud live whole states away, she still looks out for you, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, but I’ve never berated or emotionally abused her because we’ve disagreed on a subject. Look, I can understand Twily being hurt because she found out you’re lying to her. And I can understand how holding a secret in hurts people in the long run; I am not looking forward to telling my parents about me being bi.”
“I’m sure they’ll understand,” Sunset assured her.
“No, what will probably happen once my parents find out is that my mom will disown me and my dad will defend me. They’ll argue and scream and then figure since I’m nearly an adult and I don’t live with them anyway, that’ll be the last time I ever hear from my mother. I’ll probably still talk from my kid sisters about it briefly, at least until my mom forces them to cut off ties, and that will last probably until Dad puts his foot down or gets the divorce that I’m surprised hasn’t happened yet. I hope I’m wrong on that; she is my mother, after all.” A sad look came over Pinkie’s face as she added, “But if push comes to shove, I’m prepared for that.”
“If you need support, I’d be happy to go with you, Pinkie.”
“Thanks, but no – the girl I love, around my mom? Don’t even want to know what she’ll do. It won’t matter that we’re not a couple or even that you’re not gay; on the contrary, she’ll make it worse because I have no idea what goes on in her mind. And God forbid if she ever finds out I was raped – I still have to tell Auntie Cup and Uncle Carrot about that, and I’m not looking forward to that conversation.”
Sunset patted her friend on the shoulder. “If you need me there for that, the offer’s still open.”
“Thanks, Sunny.” Pinkie sighed warmly. “And you wonder why I fell in love with you.”
After a quick pitstop for refilling the van’s tank as well as some freshening up in the town of Madrone, the group was off once more, this time with Sunset in the driver’s seat and Fluttershy, who needed to provide directions, in the passenger’s seat. And as they approached their destination, they moved down Green Valley Road with a purpose, seeing a wall of perfectly-manicured trees to the left and the rolling hills of the central California shoreline to the right.
Sunset looked at the trees and asked her friend, “I take it we’re almost there?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Turn left at the intersection, and then it should be the first turn on the left.” A few seconds later, Sunset hit the intersection, a t-shaped conjoining of Green Valley Road and the Pacific Coast Highway. Across from them was a small strip of grass that made up Harmony Beach State Park, with the tan sands and the eternal blue of the Pacific beyond that. To the right was a small seaside town that in Sunset’s opinion made Ponyville – the one in Equestria, at least; she’d never been to the one here on Earth – look like Los Angeles in comparison. To the left was more of the perfect manicuring, but on both sides of the road.
A stately Rolls Royce then passed them, headed for Harmony, and if anything, that was the indicator that they were in the right place. Sunset and Fluttershy nodded to one another and they made the turn. A few seconds later, Sunset turned again, passing an ornate fountain festooned with seagulls and dolphins, and various buildings in a vaguely Balinese architectural style. The van moved on passing chauffeured vehicles and hyper-expensive sports cars and Sunset was glad the majority of the van did not have windows, as the others would probably be pressed against the glass at the moment if it did.
Finally, they pulled up in front of the reservations office, a building that looked more like a small hotel – and probably was – for those who chose not to rent the vacation bungalows. The van then came to a stop, and the girls filed out to what was, essentially wonderland, the eight surrounded by a sheer constellation of stars.
“Isn’t that…?” Rarity never finished her statement as her words devolved into a squee of delight.
“Ohmigod – is that Gridiron Slam? He’s my favorite quarterback! Man’s a Goddamn legend!” Rainbow joined Rarity in that girlish squeal.
The others weren’t disappointed either, as Pinkie noted one of her favorite comediennes, Jovial Delight; Fluttershy saw Enchanté, a Franco-Japanese singer whose music she was currently listening to. Additionally, there was High Note, a famous pianist whose works Octavia loved; and Nebraska True, a country singer whose music Applejack constantly gushed over. Even Twilight found some note in recognizing Numbercrunch, a celebrity software developer who was famous for reasons apparently only Twilight knew. Sunset really didn’t know half these people, given that she hadn’t been paying much attention to pop culture until she’d gained friends, but it was clear that these were the top notch of parts of human society.
“You guys wait here by the van,” Fluttershy told them. “Sunny, come with me, please?”
“No problem,” Sunset said, tossing the keys to Applejack so she could deal with the valets. As they headed into the building, Sunset asked, “What can I do to assist?”
“Oh, nothing,” Fluttershy said breezily before looking at the flame-haired girl. “But truth be told, I wanted to apologize to you. I’ve had some time to think about it, and I was really unfair to you the other day when we made that ultimatum. Granted, we think you should still deal with it, but we forced something on you, not really offering advice and assistance, and that was wrong of me – of us.” Fluttershy frowned. “None of us wanted to do this, honestly. I know you don’t like it, but we’re trying to do what’s best for you, really.”
Sunset tried not to frown, given that she was in a place that seemed to be a garden of earthly delights. “Flutters, I’ve got enough stress as is: the adoption hearing is in two weeks, my sister hates me, and while Tavi seems to be doing well under her medication, I’m worried about what the truth will do to her. All it will take is my parents – excuse me, my prospective parents – to lose faith in me and I’m done for.”
“Do you really think that will happen?” Fluttershy asked. “I’ve seen them. They love you, completely and utterly. Why would they spurn you?”
“I’m sure they won’t, but I can’t help but panic about it. They already know I’m hiding something, and Mom’s pushed me on it several times. I really don’t know what to tell her, and the more I think about it the less I’m sure about anything.”
“Three of us know what you really look like, Sunny,” Fluttershy said with a look on her face that made Sunset remember Pinkie’s warning. “I think once they find out that their daughter is a wonderfully cute and cuddly unicorn, they’ll adjust. Sure, it’ll be a shock – I know I’m still adjusting to what magic does to me – but if I can do it, so can your family. What’s the worst that can happen?”
“Well, for starters, my brother is an FBI agent – cue the X-Files theme. That alone should be enough of a concern. Plus, I don’t have to only be concerned about how it’ll impact me – did any of you think about what will happen when the day comes the government finds out you all have magic as well? All your dad’s fortune and fame isn’t going to stop the government – any government.”
Fluttershy shuddered at that realization. “I…I’d rather not think about that.”
“I don’t have that luxury.” Sunset felt bad about saying that to Fluttershy, but it was the truth. Every day that loomed closer to what she had to tell her family was a horrifying experience, and Hollywood overexaggeration aside, there had to be kernel of truth to it. After all, Area 51 did exist, even if it was just a highly-classified military base.
Nothing more to say, the pair wandered over to the reservations desk, where an all-too-familiar reedy and pale man with an aquiline nose, pencil-mustache and slicked-back iron-gray hair stood.
Sunset and the man recognized each other instantly. “YOU!”
“What are you doing here?” Sunset asked, surprised to see the sanctimonious idiot she and Octavia had dealt with weeks before.
Pristine glared at his personal nightmare. “Me? What are you doing here, you little witch? Because of you and your fellow troublemaker, I lost my job at the Bayside! I was lucky enough to pull some strings to get this job here in the middle of nowhere! Now get out of here and take your future adult film star friend here with you!”
“Excuse me?” Fluttershy began.
“Shut up, nobody was talking to you,” Pristine told her, turning to Sunset. “Give me one reason why you even deserve to breathe the general air of this establishment?”
Sunset pointed at Fluttershy. “Because I’m here with her.”
“Oh? And who are you? Sweetie Drops? Or perhaps Carpet Diver? Actually, come to think of it, you look like you’re probably Spunky Wild. Sorry, we don’t le—”
“Leave her alone,” Sunset warned, stepping in to protect Fluttershy.
“Oh, I see. So you and that other girl and this one here are playmates,” Pristine said with an air of superiority. “Well, if you were rented by one of the guests, I’ll have to contact them and see which on—”
“Excuse me?” Fluttershy said in a low tone as she glared at the man. “Did you just insult my friend?”
“Well, you clearly have the intelligence of your average adult film star – dumb as a br—GAAK!” Pristine said no further, as Fluttershy reached over and grabbed him by the tie, yanking him down.
“Listen to me, you sanctimonious prick,” she seethed. “For one, don’t you ever talk to anyone like that again, do I make myself clear? Secondly, I am a paying customer and you don’t have the right to talk to me like that!”
“Let me go, you virago!” he yelped.
“No,” Fluttershy said in a dark tone that made Sunset wonder which one of the chiffon-haired girl’s parents Fluttershy had inherited that from. “You’re going to apologize to us, serve us correctly and then – and only then – can you start worrying whether I should report this to your boss.”
“Don’t worry, I’m already here.” A woman not much older than them appeared from out of nowhere and, looking at Pristine being strangled as no big thing, turned her attention to Fluttershy instead. “Is there something the matter, miss?”
“Yes, I’m checking in for a stay, and your reservations desk seems to have a problem with teenagers,” the chiffon-haired teen explained.
The woman got a good look at Fluttershy, and suddenly her eyes widened. “Ms. Fluttershy, if I recall correctly?” When Fluttershy nodded in response, the woman grinned. “I saw you at the concert in San Francisco. I must say, you’re an incredible musician. Did you learn from your father?”
Hearing that, Fluttershy blushed. “No, my grandfather taught me,” she admitted. “Dad’s suggested that I go into a musical career.”
“Well, if you’re as good as your father, then I’d be interested in seeing you on stage.”
Pristine then did a double-take. “Wait – Concierge, you know this brat?”
Concierge murder-glared at Pristine. “This ‘brat’, as you so just insulted her, is Fluttershy. She’s the daughter of Discord and an up-and-coming musician in her own right,” Concierge said. “And Discord is a regular at the resort, so you just made a big mistake on top of all the ones you’ve made already.”
“Already?” Sunset asked.
“Yes,” Concierge replied, watching her employee sweat bullets. “Midnight Moondust and Screwball were here just two weeks ago, and Mr. Personality here asked if they were prostitutes.”
“Well, if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy said to Concierge, “would you assist us in checking in?”
“It would be an honor and a privilege,” Concierge said with a smile, “just after I inform my desk attendant here that if he wants to keep his job he’ll be doing everything to ensure that your every need is met to your exacting specifications and satisfaction.”
He blanched. “Every need?”
“Yup! And there’s eight of us here!” Sunset said, rubbing salt in the wound. “You even know one of them – the girl that was with me last time?” If it was possible to become even paler than previous, Pristine did so at that point.
The next few minutes were spent as Concierge and Fluttershy conducted their business, along with a lot of compliments by the former towards the latter and a significant amount of blushing by the latter. A few minutes later as Fluttershy was handed eight keycards, she smiled and thanked Concierge for her excellent service.
“It’s no problem,” Concierge said. “Enjoy your time here.” She then turned to Pristine. “And now you and I are going to have a little talk in the back.” The look on the man’s face was one of abject horror, and as she dragged him into the office behind the desk, Fluttershy and Sunset walked back towards where the others were waiting.
“So, I take it you’ve had a run-in with that guy before?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yeah, Tavi and I had the misfortune of clashing with him when we all went to San Fran,” the flame-haired girl replied. “Violet was with us at the time, and since it was her restaurant, her partner tore him a new one. Guess he got fired from that. No worries; not really concerned about that.” As they approached the others, she sang, “Hey, Tavi! Guess who we ran into?”
Fluttershy and Sunset related their mini-adventure while the former passed out the keys, and by the time it was over, the girls were giggling, with Octavia full out laughing.
“Well, let’s go check out our new chateau for the next two weeks, shall we?” Rarity said, her eyes positively gleaming.
“We got the Despansar bungalow, since it’s made for small groups like ours,” Fluttershy said. “I didn’t think we’d need anything extravagant, so I asked for the smallest thing they had.”
“THAT’S small?” Rainbow gasped as she stared at the “modest” bungalow.
“Ah think that’s larger than mah house,” Applejack said in shock.
“I know it’s larger than mine,” Twilight, Sunset, Octavia and Rarity all said at the same time.
Fluttershy looked a bit on the embarrassed side. “I did ask for the smallest they had,” she blurted.
Pinkie pointed to a concrete pad next to the house. “Oh, look! They gave us a golf cart, too!”
“Yes, if I recall correctly, there’s some portions of both the resort and Harmony proper that you can drive those on,” Rarity added. “As long as you don’t pass the posted limits, we can take it anywhere.”
“Ah think we should consider sleeping arrangements,” Applejack noted. Before she could say anything further, Twilight virtually teleported to Octavia’s side, grabbing her arm.
“Well, I guess my choice has been decided,” the raven-haired teen sighed, giving Sunset an apologetic look.
“Well, Fluttershy and I are fine with each other,” Rarity suggested.
“AJ and I will probably be up all night gaming or something – you did bring your PS4, right?” Rainbow asked her friend.
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yes, Ah brought the damn thing – was hoping to try out some bodyboarding, but Ah suspect you’ll have me trapped in front of the PS4 all vacation, won’t you?”
Pinkie immediately sidled up to Sunset and put her arm around her. “Guess you have me all vacation!” the cotton-candy-haired girl chirped. “Don’t worry, I don’t snore in bed!”
“Pinkie, I—”
Pinkie dragged Sunset off in a cloud of smoke. “Can we take the room with the view of the ocean? Thanks!” Pinkie immediately raced into the house with her bunkmate before anyone could state otherwise.
Twilight looked at the space where the two had been just a second ago. “Is it just me or is Pinkie extraordinarily happy right now?”
Rarity couldn’t help herself. “Why, Twilight, dear, you should know by now that I wouldn’t stand in the way of young love.”
“I know that, but….” The plum-haired girl paused. “Wait. Pinkie? And Sunset?”
Octavia crossed her arms. “Pinkie, I can believe. There’s always been something about her that seems to pine when Sunny’s around. But I don’t think that Sunny—”
“Figures,” Twilight scoffed. “As if it was bad enough that I have to deal with her lying, now I have to watch my ass—”
SLAP!
Twilight felt her cheek sting like no tomorrow and instinctively, her hand went up to it. She then looked at Rarity, who was shaking her hand from its own pain, but who also had an angry look on her face.
“I think I’ve – no, we all have – had enough of your behavior Twilight Sparkle,” the fashionista seethed. “It’s bad enough that you’ve turned your sister into a pariah despite all she’s done for you and that you’re acting like an ungrateful little spoiled child. But I will not stand for you making light of Pinkie’s feelings for your sister, are we clear? It’s hard enough for her given that Sunset can’t return her devotion, as well as everything she’s been through to get to this point. Furthermore, I thought she was your friend, and as a friend you should have more tact and be supportive of her.”
“What? I wasn’t making fun of Pinkie!”
Rainbow crossed her arms. “No, you weren’t. But you’ve been a bitch to your sister, Twily, and that’s just bullshit. Speaking as someone with an adopted sister, you never do anything to make them not feel like they’re family, got that?”
Applejack nodded. “Can’t say Ah know about the adopted part, but Ah can agree on the rest of what she said.”
Fluttershy also agreed, looking at Twilight with concern. “Why are you doing this to her? She loves you, Twily. And all you’re doing is pushing her away.”
Twilight wheeled on her cousin. “Did you put them up to this?”
“No,” Rarity answered for her. “We’re all just saying what’s on our minds. We just felt now was the time to let you know how we felt.”
“How you feel?” Twilight asked. “What about how I feel? My sister has been lying to me all this time – and you all aided and abetted her! Instead of helping her to realize she’s lying to her family – you know, me, my brothers, parents and oh, my cousin here – you all just let it slide? I have to wonder: does Pinkie’s family know she’s a lesbian?” The other girls suddenly had awkward looks come over their faces and that was more than enough for the shark to smell blood in the water. “So you’re all lecturing me about handling an awkward situation and yet you haven’t helped someone you’ve known longer than Sunset with a personal issue of hers – and it’s been probably what, years?”
“It’s more complex than that, Twily,” Fluttershy defended.
“Bullshit. My mother’s a child psychologist – don’t you think she would offer to help if she knew? Or is it that Pinkie’s ashamed of it?”
Rainbow suddenly grew angry at that. “That is a Goddamn bullshit thing to say, especially given that Pinkie’s in love with your sister. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t punch you into next week for that.”
Applejack put her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Not helping.” She then turned to give Twilight a bad look. “Are you done insulting everyone just because you’re throwing a temper tantrum over your sister?”
Twilight was about to open her mouth, but out of the corner of her eye saw Octavia’s disapproving look and wisely decided to keep her mouth shut.
“Girls, can I say something?” Fluttershy asked. All the others nodded, and the chiffon-haired girl continued. “Twily, I know we’ve handled things badly. I know I have. And I don’t know about the others, but I’m colored by being a de facto divorced child for most of my life. I now know that’s not true, but that’s how I felt and part of me still feels that way. So my life has been one big, huge lie. My own father lied to me, even though he meant well. And yes, Pinkie hasn’t dealt well with her bisexuality – part of that is because her mother’s a bigot. Despite the fact that she lives with her aunt and uncle, she’s still coming to terms with her own feelings, how she feels about your sister and how that plays into her life.
“We’re teenagers. We screw up completely and utterly – hell, I made a fool of myself literally in front of the entire world – and that’s just how things are. Maybe we haven’t been supportive of Sunset in the right way, or of you, or of Pinkie.” Fluttershy glanced at the others, and though they were stone-faced, she could tell that they were both silently in agreement and partially humiliated. “But we are all a family of sorts – our friendship has grown, and even though we’ve hit some hard spots, we all stick together.”
Fluttershy walked over and took Twilight’s hands in hers. “You don’t realize how fortunate you are. You have an older sister who has been through so much, yet has time and time again looked out for you, sometimes in ways you may not ever understand. And she’d do it time and time again for her loved ones: for any of us, but most of all for her family. She adores you, and you’ll have that love every day for the rest of your life, if you’ll let it happen.
“But right now, you’re not.” Fluttershy backed away, standing over by Octavia. “Lately, Tavi’s been more of a sister to Sunset than you have. I look at you and I don’t see Sunset’s sister, I see Gilda before she started to try to change, or Flash Sentry, or Lightning Dust or any of the girls that tried to get back at Sunset after she changed. I see the kind of people that turned the sweet girl your sister must’ve been in the beginning into the monster that we dealt with in our early high school years, and now the person who’s trying to turn her life around but is afraid of losing everything she holds dear.” Fluttershy looked directly at Twilight, asking a simple question: “Do you really hate the girl who is so happy to become your sister?”
Twilight was silent for a long time, looking down. It wasn’t until she looked up again that the others realized she’d been crying. “No,” Twilight sobbed in a near-whisper. “I don’t. I don’t, okay? Is that what you want me to admit? How could I hate her? She’s done so much for me, for Tavi – for my whole family! And all I want her to realize is that she’s not alone, that I’m here for her! But I can’t take that after all this time, there’s still a part of her that remains standoffish.”
“Sometimes that happens, Twily,” Applejack said. “Remember Winona?”
“Your dog?” Applejack nodded and Twilight looked at her oddly as she wiped her eyes. “What about her?”
“This is gonna sound strange, but hear me out. When we first got her, she was real standoffish – Ah mean really standoffish, but at the same time, there was something in her eyes that said she wanted to be with us. And it’s not like we weren’t gonna get her anyway; the real reason we were getting her was because Ma was in a bad way after her accident. Plus, we weren’t Winona’s first family; we were her third – the first ones had bought her from a puppy farm in Iowa, but had to get rid of her because of some reason. The second family got rid of her because their newborn was allergic to dogs – don’t know if that was true, but she was at the shelter. Anyway, it wasn’t until we got her home that Winona finally opened up and realized she was home for good.”
“You do realize you’re comparing Sunset to a dog, right?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah!” Rainbow laughed, “especially since isn’t she really about that size an—” To Rainbow’s surprise, Rarity, unladylike, punched her in the shoulder – and it hurt.
“Thank you,” Applejack said.
“It was a pleasure,” Rarity replied.
“Anyway, once we got Winona home, she realized she had a home for good, and turned into the spoiled, loveable dog you all now know,” Applejack finished.
“So the moral of the story is that Sunset needs a collar and is overdue for a flea and tick bath?” Rainbow jested, only to be glared at by Rarity. “Okay, kidding, kidding!”
“The point that Applejack was trying to make,” Octavia interjected, “is that Sunny’s probably still afraid that the family’s going to get rid of her at the last moment – and that you’re not doing anything that allay those fears. That and the other point is that Rainbow’s a shitbird.”
“Hey!” Rainbow snapped.
“I call it as I see it,” Octavia said. “Now can we go in? I need to take my dosage soon and I’m going to be fairly useless for the next hour or so afterwards.”
“On one condition,” Fluttershy said. “Twily, I’m not asking you to make up with Sunny right now. You’ve got a lot to think about. What I’m asking you is just to set it aside for now. We have two weeks of vacation here, two weeks to enjoy ourselves before we go back to a normal life. Give her – and you – that time to realize what you mean to each other, okay?”
“Fine.”
“Guess that’s all we can ask for,” Octavia said, grabbing her cousin. “C’mon, let’s go unpack.”
“Choose whatever room you want,” Fluttershy told them. “We’ll be up shortly.” As Octavia and Twilight went off to choose their room, Fluttershy said to the others, “Girls, we need to talk.”
Rarity nodded. “I assumed you were getting to that in your conversation.” Though they said nothing, both Rainbow and Applejack nodded.
“I spoke to Pinkie earlier today. She’s having second thoughts about forcing an ultimatum on Sunny. And honestly, so am I. We’re not being fair to her. We didn’t do this to Pinkie, so why are we doing it to her?”
“Because Pinkie was raped and found out her sexuality then? Because we’re not going to do anything that would harm our friendship or jeapordi….” Clarity suddenly sank into Rainbow’s mind. “Oh.”
Applejack, a bit more on the uptake, nodded. “Look, we didn’t mean to—”
Rarity sighed. “Yes, we did. We didn’t want it to come across that way, but yes, we did – and we’re not being good friends about it.”
“Look, we’re here for them both, right?” Rainbow asked.
“You’re not getting it, Rainbow,” Fluttershy replied. “Princess Twilight asked us to show Sunset the ways of friendship and to be a better person. How can we do that if we’re blackmailing and threatening her?”
“Fine, fine; maybe we should do something about it.” Rainbow groaned. “I’m beat, okay? We can talk about it later and let Sunset know we’ve changed our minds or something. We’ve got two weeks to talk about it. Can we all go get unpacked?”
A group of boys walked by. Despite their glasses, their body languages showed how stunned they were at the five ladies lazing out in the sun. One told the other something, and the other nodded, taking a step towards them, specifically the girl with large cleavage and chiffon-hued hair, and her counterpart with the statuesque body and flaming ruby and gold hair. The latter sat up ever just so slightly and reached for her sunglasses. The two boys backed off slightly, and ended up falling backwards into the pool.
Rarity turned her and chuckled. “My, you have a way with boys, Sunset. You as well, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy blushed, enough so to stand out against her bikini, which was purple, white, red and gold in a “futuristic” pattern. “You know they’re only after me for one reason.”
Sunset, wearing a jade-and-black bikini that didn’t leave much to the imagination, commented, “You have a boyfriend that’s wild about you, Flutters. Who cares what these guys think?”
“Yes, I wish I could find the beau of my dreams,” Rarity commented. Ever the fashionista, she was wearing a sarikini in muted colors. “Unfortunately, I found myself a reluctant member of Blueblood’s Attempted Molestation Club.”
“Tell me about it,” Octavia sighed. She wore a periwinkle-and-white tankini, and held a non-alcoholic mai-tai. “I swear, if I ever end up dating anyone who even remotely looks like him, someone please put me out of my misery.”
“At least you have a body.” The others looked to see Twilight, wearing an indigo one-piece and hiding behind a book. “No one’s ever going to look at me.”
“Twilight, why hide what you have, darling?” Rarity asked. “You look quite fetching.”
“I’m with four girls who make me look flat as hell,” Twilight said.
“Yes, and the two who make you look more, ahem, ‘fleshed out’ are all in the pool,” Rarity replied, pointing at Applejack and Rainbow, both of which were less built than Twilight, topwise. “Besides, if someone like Rainbow can get a boyfriend, then you should. All you need to do is just spruce up your look, dear. A little more elegance and a little less librarian, perhaps?”
“I just want a guy who I can love and who’ll love me,” Sunset replied.
“You already have a potential suitor, don’t you?” Octavia jested. Everyone gave her a lidded look and she said, “Look, I’m just kidding. Seriously, though, Sunny, don’t break Pinkie’s heart, okay?”
“We’ve already talked about it. She knows I can’t love her, and she’s mostly accepted that, I’m sure. But what I was saying is that I want someone I can tell my deepest, most intimate secrets to.”
“So I’m guessing not Flash, then?” Twilight asked, and Sunset tried not to react that her sister had actually addressed her, albeit indirectly.
“Not even when we were dating. Maybe there was something about him that I just couldn’t quite trust,” Sunset said, though she knew that wasn’t the whole story. “That should’ve been a warning, but one I didn’t listen to.”
“Well, it’s over and done with, right?” Octavia told her. “You’ll find someone. Hell, someone already found you, okay? I’m sure a year from now, we’ll be happily wined and dined by boyfriends that absolutely charm the pants off us.”
“Not me,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile. “I’ll wear a skirt – easier for Puppytails to deal with.” The others looked in mild surprise at her risqué comment; as for Fluttershy herself, she leaned back in her beach chair, a wide smile on her face.
“So, you going to do it?” Rainbow asked as she and Applejack floated in the water.
“I’m considering it,” Pinkie said.
“Wish you all the luck, Pinkie,” Applejack said. “Ah know it won’t be easy for you.”
“Thanks.”
A few hours later, the eight drove down to the Tahitian Moon, a grand restaurant on the end of a pier built only to host the restaurant. With the setting sun as their backdrop, enjoyed the fruits of a full day.
Applejack leaned back in her chair, stuffed from the meal she’d had. “Best teriyaki ribs Ah ever had. A gal could get used to this real quick,” she said, a contented smile coming onto her face. “Ah have no idea how you’re not spoiled by all this, Flutters.”
“I guess that’s just a side effect of Dad not living with us until recently,” Fluttershy said, still eating from a fish fillet she’d ordered. “Since Mom had to raise me and Angel pretty much on her own, even as a doctor she tried to keep it fairly low-key. Granted, the part of Canterlot we live in is pretty well off, but that’s upper-middle class, not a ‘Hey, did you know I’m rich?’ neighborhood.”
“So, what did you do with your old home?”
“Dad wants to turn it into a private recording studio, while Mom thinks we should rent it out. I’m kinda leaning towards Dad’s idea, but at the same time, I’d hate to see the old place torn up so we could make the changes.”
“So you’re really thinking about a career in music?” Sunset asked her.
“I…I’m torn, honestly. Part of me loves it, and since I’ve spent time with my Dad, I’ve had some discussions with him and others, and they really think I could do it for a living, and not just because I’m Discord’s daughter. Heck at one concert that Dad and I played at Sacramento, I was just on stage playing a tambourine and Violet got mad at me because she thought I was wasting my talents.” She then looked at the ocean and added, “So I really think I could do it. But at the same time, I’d have to let go of another dream: being a vet.”
“You love that, don’t you?” Twilight asked her.
“I do – I really do,” Fluttershy replied. “But I can’t do a career in both. There’s so much time and effort involved in veterinary medicine, and just as much time involved in music studies.”
Octavia nodded. “No argument there – I know it’s going to take up all my time in college. And pre-med and music are so vastly different, it’s not like you can flip back and forth between the two. Well, you can, but that’ll really be hell on your life.”
“I guess I have to think about it then.”
“Look at it this way: if you go into a musical career? I get a study buddy! Finally, I don’t have to deal with the non-musical philistines I have at home!” To punctuate that, the raven-haired girl stuck her tongue out at her cousins.
“Hey, maybe if we started that band I was talking about….” Rainbow began.
“Rainbow, for one, nobody’s starting a band with you and naming it the Rainbooms!” Pinkie groaned. “Secondly, you don’t know how to play an instrument!”
“I could learn!” the Latina responded, and the others laughed.
“Rainbow, you’re already a top-notch athlete,” Twilight giggled. “Leave something for the rest of us, okay?”
“Yeah. Besides, being musicians is kinda mine and Flutters’ thing,” Octavia pointed out. “Let us deal with that?”
“Oh, so you’re musicians?” Three girls appeared out of nowhere, as if they’d been stalking the group. The lead girl stood there, a haughty look on her face and undisguised loathing in her pink eyes. Her burnt-orange and gray-blue hair fell down her shoulders in cascading waves. “You really think you’re hot shit when you haven’t done anything other than hang on Daddy’s testicles for a couple of times on-stage?”
“Told you she had a bigger entourage than you, Quila,” a second girl, this one with curly gray hair and celeste eyes, said. “Bitch is apparently getting a little big for her britches.”
“Eh, with a group like this? Probably gotta be fucking at least one of them,” a third girl, with long brown hair shot with streaks of black and gold, said. “Goddamn carpet munchers are always like them, so up in each other’s gashes. You know, like those two back at school that can’t keep their hands off each other.”
“Yeah, well, I’m going to teach Vinyl a lesson someday,” the first girl said. “But first things first.”
Rainbow got up to her feet. “Listen, bitch, I don’t who know the fuck you think you and your friends are, but we were just having dinner here, minding our own business. You came over to see us, so you can wander your little asses back to wherever the fuck you came from.”
“And there’s the girl with the strap-on,” the third girl replied.
“Rainbow, do you realize who you’re talking to?” Twilight asked.
“Some rich stuck-up bitch who’s dumping on Flutters?”
“No – that’s Tequila Sunrise! And the other girl’s Windsong,” Twilight cried.
“Who?” Rainbow said, to the mortification of the newcomers.
“They’re two of the hottest pop stars around, though I don’t know who the third one is.”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” the third one said in snobbish voice. “I’m Stagecraft, star of stage and the thespian arts. I wouldn’t expect lesser plebians to know talents such as mine.”
“Wow, one of them has taste, even if she’s hanging with the wannabe here,” Windsong said to her friends. “Still doesn’t explain that they’re losers, though.”
“You know,” Rarity said, interjecting herself, “I thought you would be as regal as you two are portrayed. Ms. Sunrise, wasn’t your first song ‘I’ll Always Be Your Friend’? And you, Ms. Windsong, wasn’t yours ‘The Stars We Are’? And yet you’re here, insulting fans and a fellow musician! I’m honestly disappointed.”
“And that’s why they say you should never meet your heroes,” Tequila hissed. “They turn out to be disappointments. Just like Discord.” She leaned forward into Fluttershy’s personal space and added, “When I was growing up, I wanted him so badly. Then my mother took me to a concert when I was thirteen, and because she’s a Hollywood star, she got me backstage to meet my hero. And you know what happened? You. Ruined. Him!”
“What are you even talking about?”
Tequila reached over and took a glass holding some sort of tropical non-alcoholic drink. “This was the guy that I told everyone I wanted to lose my virginity towards. Even now, I sorta dream of being in his arms,” she said with a soft, girlish look on her face, which turned into a frown as she added, “And you know what? The moment I met him? He treated me like a little kid. Not like someone who even at that age would’ve spread for him if he’d asked. Oh, no – he treated me like a sweet little girl, and that moment I realized he had a kid just like me.” She threw the drink in Fluttershy’s face and growled, “And now I know he did – some spoiled little fuck like you. I’ll bet he’s probably even with your mom, still.”
The other girls got to their feet. “That was uncalled for,” Applejack said, narrowing her eyes. “You really should consider apologizing.”
“Or what?”
“Or me, that’s what.”
“AJ, you shouldn’t be a bitch about it,” Sunset said breezily before turning her attention to the offending trio. “Let me handle this – I’m much more practiced at that than you are.”
But that wasn’t necessary. Fluttershy got up and looked in Tequila’s eyes. “My father would never mess with a person like you even if you were his age, do you know why? Because he likes girls with class; after all, he did marry my mother and have children with her.”
“Oh, so your mother’s a whore as well—” Tequila never finished her statement, because at that point, Fluttershy reached over and slapped Tequila, as hard as she could.
“Now I know why you said that about him,” Fluttershy said in a surprisingly catty tone. “Is it because when your career goes south and your looks fade, at least you could say ‘hey, I have a rock star I’m sleeping with!’ Too bad you don’t even have that.”
Tequila reacted to the blow. “You’re going to pay for that, you bitch,” she snarled at Fluttershy.
“No, you’re going to be outclassed,” Octavia said, coming to her friend’s rescue. “Flutters can – and will outsing you any day of the week…probably right now, even.”
“Is there a problem, ladies?” a waitress came over and asked.
“Yes,” Tequila said. “I want that stage there ready in five minutes. These girls and I are…well, let’s just say that the people here will get the show of their lives.”
The waitress replied with, “I’ll have to talk to the manager about it, but…you’re Tequila Sunrise, right? And that’s Windsong! I’m a huge fan of you both!”
“Just doing my part for the arts and entertainment, and for loyal fans like you,” Tequila said, slipping into her stage persona.
“Now would you be a dear and let the manager know we’re eager to celebrate this wonderful place with all the wonderful people here?” Windsong added.
As the waitress scurried off, Pinkie shook her head. “You know, if you two were actually as nice as you pretend to be, you’d probably have more fans.”
“Don’t open your mouth again,” Windsong warned her. “I can practically see the pubic hair stuck between your teeth.”
Sunset got in-between Pinkie and Windsong. “Don’t say what you can’t back up; between Rainbow and AJ here you’ll be lucky if you can walk away intact. Besides, it’s clear you two are afraid as hell that Fluttershy’s going to outclass you both.”
“You wouldn’t know class if you saw it, you bacon-haired bitch.”
“Look who’s talking? As much of a bitch that Tequila is, at least she has a few hit singles from her own albums!” Twilight added. “You needed a soundtrack to actually make your name. Plus, you’re picking a fight with the wrong girl – Sunny will break you in two.”
“Uh, thanks?” Sunset voiced, surprised that her sister was stepping in on her behalf.
“I may be furious with you right now,” Twilight whispered, “but I’m not going to let this slide, no matter who’s involved.”
At this point, the waitress came back with the manager in tow. “Ms. Sunrise, I understand that you and your friends wish to put on a show for us?”
“Windy and I are, and we were just, ahem, ‘talking’ with Discord’s daughter here, who is interested in a career of her own, so we figured, what better way than to perform here and now? After all, it’s a great way for people to see if they’re really meant for the stage or not.”
The manager, clearly not understanding what was going on, nodded. “Well, then, I can have the stage ready and make some announcements in thirty minutes. The band wasn’t scheduled to play tonight, but we do have some spare instruments here, as well as a karaoke machine. I guess you’ll need some musical accompaniment?”
“We got that taken care of, no problem,” Stagecraft insisted. “If you can get me a piano, Quila and Windy here are going to perform their upcoming duet single for the first time in public!” She then looked at Fluttershy with the same glance a wolf looks at its prey. “And I assume you have something ready?”
Realizing she couldn’t back up her own words, Fluttershy was about to back down when Octavia stepped beside her. “If you’ve got a programmable keyboard and an electric bass guitar, Flutters and I can put on one hell of a show,” she chirped.
“Oh, I’m sure we have those. Let me grab a couple of assistants on site and I’ll make sure it’s ready.” With that the manager wandered off, ready for this little performance that he was sure was only going to raise the profile of the resort further.
“So, another loser enters the fray,” Tequila said. “Little girl, I’m sure the only things you can play are a toy guitar and the skin flute, but this is the real music world.”
“Yes, and I’ve been performing since I was six and have likely played more instruments than you can spell,” Octavia replied. “I’m probably the only true instrumentalist here, and I know what Flutters is capable of. So let’s see you put your money where your mouth is, got that?”
“You talk good bullshit, but I bet you can’t back it up,” Windsong argued.
“Oh, I know she can,” Fluttershy interjected, “and she will. So you two just carry yourselves away and prepare to lose – badly.”
“Just keep up your bravado,” Tequila cooed. “Let’s see how well you do once you’re reduced to a mewling child on stage. C’mon, girls, we’ve got half an hour to burn these bitches.”
“If you’re smart, you’ll use those thirty minutes to start running as far away as you can!” Stagecraft crowed.
“Just keep talking,” Rainbow said. “We’ll see who has to run once Flutters and Tavi embarrass the hell out of you.”
As the other girls departed, Fluttershy nearly collapsed to the floor if it hadn’t been for Pinkie catching her. “Easy, Flutters. We gotcha.”
“Tavi, why?” Fluttershy asked.
“Because you’re better than they are, Flutters. And if there’s anyone who deserves to be a star, it’s you. And I’m going to help you do that.”
“How?” Twilight asked. “You have thirty minutes to find a song to wow the crowd, practice and outdo professionals, even if they’re acting like jerks.”
“What song do you have in mind?” Sunset asked. Octavia explained as well as her reasoning and by the time she was done, the others had shrewd looks on their faces.
“I can help Flutters get ready for singing,” Sunset asked her. “You got a copy of the song?”
“Lyric versions should be on Youtube. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go tune that bass guitar and program the keyboard. AJ, come with me, please?” Octavia asked.
“Sure, but Ah’m no musician, you know that.”
“Yes, but you are muscle – and frankly, I don’t trust them any farther than I can throw them.”
“Sounds reasonable. Rainbow, with me?” Applejack asked.
“Oh hell yes. You’re gonna need backup like there’s no tomorrow,” Rainbow insisted.
“Girls,” Rarity said, “we have twenty minutes to pick out an ensemble for Fluttershy that will be worthy of her being on stage, so I’m going to need your help. We need to get to the boutiques, fast!”
“On it!” Pinkie chirped, and Twilight wordlessly nodded, both following Rarity as they headed towards where they parked the golfcart, leaving Fluttershy and Sunset alone.
“I can’t do this!” Fluttershy moaned.
“You can, and I’ll help you,” Sunset insisted. “C’mon, let’s go find a private spot to chat.” Fluttershy quickly wrote the bungalow ID on the bill as well as the tip, and together the two walked out of the restaurant and down to the beach. The first stars of night were starting to break out over the crepuscular sky and the view had a soundtrack made from the distant din of the pier and building and the whispering waves of the ocean sliding towards the shore. They walked down the beach until they found two unoccupied beach chairs, and sat down. “Now I want to you to close your eyes and focus on the sound of the ocean.”
“Sure,” Fluttershy stated, doing as requested. “What are you going to do?”
“Do you remember the time I ran into you while you were getting accosted by those boys from Sunnytown High?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I was afraid back then,” she admitted. “Afraid of both them and you, sorry.”
“It’s okay. I know you were afraid, and yet you put aside that fear to help me become the person I am now.” Sunset reached over and placed the tips of her fingers on Fluttershy’s temples. “That’s the strength you have and the fire within you, Fluttershy. You are the kindest girl I know and you wielded Elemental magic. That makes you special and far stronger than those other girls.”
“But what if I mess up?”
“You won’t,” Sunset said in a gentle voice, watching her fingers start to glow with power. “And even if you do, those who are your friends and those who love you will still be at your side, because we know you stood before the challenge and didn’t back down.”
“Thanks. What are you doing?”
“It’s a simple hypnosis spell. It should allow me to basically implant the lyrics in your head as if you’ve been practicing it forever.” A second later, Sunset added just in case, “and that’s all I’m going to do.”
“I know. I trust you, Sunny.”
“Thanks. Now you have some bullies to beat. You ready?”
“Let’s do this,” Fluttershy said with a confidence that Sunset had often heard in her friend’s voice: it was the sound of the line being drawn, and the chiffon-haired girl knowing she was going to hold that line and woe be to anyone or anything that even thought they would even hope to cross it.
Sunset’s hands flared cyan. A second later, Fluttershy opened her eyes, and that same glow was there.