//------------------------------//
// Chapter 44: Caramel Bear's Courage 
// Story: A Search for Something More 
// by HAKDurbin 
//------------------------------//

Rough Draft's P.O.V.



After staying ten days at the hospital, my arm, and most of my bruises on my face and stomach are healed, and I was allowed to go home. Some of my black eye is still there, but it has healed enough that I can see with it. Sunset and my parents stayed by my side through most of my stay at the hospital, but Soarin and Caramel and the others checked on me every day after school until visiting hours were over, and that would leave me with just my parents and Sunset to keep me company. Finally, I was allowed to leave, and Nurse Redheart brought back my clothes that have been cleaned and my special present for Sunset much to my relief.
The Thursday after I was sent home, I started going back to school. It didn't take long before I was surrounded by students asking questions and telling me that they're glad to see me okay. It was overwhelming but flattered to see so many people delighted to see me apart from Sunset and my friends. I had a lot of homework to catch up on despite Sunset bringing back my homework from every school day I missed, but thankfully I'm ambidextrous, so I don't have to worry about not being able to write on my school work because of my arm. The doctors said it will continue to hurt for several months, so I have to be careful with how much I use it for a good, long while.
Though as happy as she is that I'm healed, I notice that Sunset has been feeling down. Soarin and Caramel and the others told me about how she's been feeling a little guilty that she wasn't there to save me when Octavia of all people was. As much as I can see why since this is the second time Octavia has rescued me, I agree with the others that Sunset shouldn't be so hard on herself. Sometimes I want to tell her up front, but at the same time, I feel I should be giving her some space.
It's the Friday night after I was released from the hospital, and Sunset and I decided to eat at a burger joint for a quiet dinner date after she had rehearsal with the Rainbooms.
"Babe, slow down, you're gonna choke," Sunset says, chuckling as she watches me take huge bites of my burger.
"I can't help it," I reply after I eventually swallow. "Ten days is too long from having any real food. You saw the stuff I was eating there. Apart from that big breakfast burrito I had the morning before they released me, I ate nothing but garbage."
Sunset shudders before she says, "Admittingly, I should never have asked to try that mac and cheese casserole you had last Saturday night."
"Exactly," I say. "So, I'm filling myself up with real food until I forget the taste of that stuff."
"Well, at least chew a few more times before you swallow," Sunset pleads. "The last thing I want is to see you in the hospital again."
"Fair enough," I sigh as I take a smaller bite of my burger much to my girlfriend's appreciation.
"Thanks, babe," she says before taking a bite out of her burger. "By the way, how is your arm feeling?"
"Still hurts, but it's not so bad as long as I don't make any sudden movements," I answer. "I gotta say though; I kinda like the scars I'm getting from the wounds. They look kinda cool."
Sunset finches at the thought of my scars.
"I'm glad you're thinking optimistically about getting shot, Rough Draft, but please don't talk about it like that for a while," she says. "The thought of Adagio shooting you is still a little raw to me. It's gonna be hard enough to look at her again when we see her and Aria at the hearing knowing they almost took you from me."
"Right, sorry," I say apologetically.
We continue to eat in silence for a few minutes before Sunset's eyes light up.
"Oh, I almost forgot," she says. "The Apples and Pinkie are planning a party for you and Sonata tomorrow night."
"Oh, really?" I ask, smiling.
"Yeah, it's like a mixture of Pinkie's promise to Sonata to throw a party when she came back and celebrating that you're out of the hospital," she replies. "It's mostly just us, the Apples and our friends all hanging out for food, music, and dancing."
"That sounds like fun," I say before a thought enters my mind. "Speaking of dancing, I don't know if you've noticed, but it's been a year now since the Spring Fling."
Sunset gives a sad smile and says, "I have, actually. It's a shame they decided not to have it this year because of the Friendship Games. I would have liked to have done it right for once?"
"How do you mean?" I ask.
"You know, do what you thought I was going to ask when I took you up on that hill: take you to the dance," she answers. "I could have asked Rarity to make a gorgeous dress for me so that you'd be staring at me in awe. I'd stare back seeing you so handsome in a tux, and then we'd go to dinner before the dance and then dance the night away with our friends. We'd hold each other close during every slow dance, wishing the night would never end."
"Hmmm, that does sound wonderful," I say, resting my head with my hand. "But hey, if there's dancing involved at the party tomorrow, we can do some dancing.
"That would be perfect," Sunset says before she looks at me curiously. "But wait, you don't dance, so how are we going to do that?"
"Oh, I know how to waltz," I say.
"Really? Since when?" Sunset asks.
"Since she-who-must-not-be-named taught me before we went to that ball in Manhattan," I answer, which made Sunset frown at mentioning Octavia. Trying to cheer her up, I quickly say, "Of course we could do a more modern slow dance where you wrap your arms around my neck, and I wrap my arms around your waist, and we just move back and forth. I'm sure it would be better for my arm not to hold your hand up anyway."
Sunset doesn't say anything at first. Then she looks up to me and gives me a sad smile.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Rough Draft, but I'm still uneasy with you talking about her," She says.
"I know, but why? You shouldn't be hard on yourself just because she rescued me, and you didn't," I say. "It doesn't change how I feel about what happened between her and me. Heck, if anything, I'm as concerned as you are that she, Vinyl, and the rest of their group might have made those weapons with Twilight's pendant without a word to you guys."
"I know, babe, but it still hurts that she was there to save you and not me," Sunset says sadly. "I can't explain why I feel this way, and you probably wouldn't believe it if I did, but I just am."
I look at her sadly and reach out to take her hand.
"I understand," I say. "Just know that I hope you won't let what happened get to you. I'm out of the hospital, and Adagio and Aria are going to be locked up for good if my mom has her way. Everything is going to be back to the way we want them to be. You'll see."
Sunset doesn't say anything right away. Then she looks at my hand, holding hers and smiles before she kisses it softly, making me smile before she looks at me.
"You're right," she says. "It's better that we focus on the here and now, starting with the party."
"That's my sunshine," I say, making her smile grow as she chuckles with her mouth closed.
With that, we continue to eat our food until our plates are empty. I sigh and pat my belly, making Sunset giggle.
"Now, this is what I'm talking about," I say pleased. "That's what I call a burger."
"Glad you're satisfied, you nerd," Sunset says, giving me her signature smirk.
"That reminds me, though," I say. "What kind of stuff do you eat when you're a pony in Equestria?"
Sunset chuckles again as she scratches the back of her head.
"Oh, mostly hay-related stuff," she says. "We do eat dairy, fruit, and vegetables, but hay is usually the main ingredient in all our other foods like bread, cakes, burgers, bacon, and so forth."
"Bacon and burgers made of hay. Huh," I say, both intrigued yet somewhat disturbed. "So how did you adjust to eating meat."
"Oh, I mostly had to deal with the fact that my human body needs it," Sunset Shimmer says, shrugging. "It's a little uncomfortable to eat cow sometimes given that they talk and live socially just like ponies in Equestria, but at the same time it's like riding a horse at Sweet Apple Acres; eventually you just accept that they're technically different species and -"
Suddenly, Sunset's eyes widen, and her mouth drops. Before I can ask what's wrong, she says, "Get down!" in a loud whisper. I hesitantly obey, and we both hide under the table. Sunset places her finger in front of her mouth for silence before I can ask what's the matter. We stay in our position for about ten seconds before Sunset gets up from under the table and looks through our window.
"Whew, they didn't see us!" she says excitedly. "Rough Draft, look!"
Confused, I get up from underneath the table and look out the window where Sunset is pointing. My mouth drops as I discover that Applejack and Caramel had just passed us walking down the street hand in hand.
"By the Force," I say, amazed. "Is this really happening several feet away from us?"
Sunset rolls her eyes, amused at my Star Wars reference and says, "Yes, you silly nerd. That is Applejack and Caramel walking down the street holding hands."
"Holy cow," I say as we watch Applejack and Caramel wait to cross the street from us. Caramel is talking to Applejack while Applejack is laughing, entertained with what he's saying. "I see this with my own eyes, and I still can't believe it."
"Me neither," Sunset says. "So this is what they've been hiding these past couple weeks. They just decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend behind our backs secretly."
"Oh, they aren't yet," I state before I cover my mouth.
Sunset looks at me, confused.
"How do you know that?" she asks.
"I can't say," I say quickly. "Let's just say I Pinkie Pie promised that I wouldn't say anything about something that might or might not happen between them."
"Got it," Sunset says, fully understanding. "Still, though, it would be nice to learn more about what they've been secretly up to."
"Agreed," I say. "Maybe we should ambush them and be all 'Okay, what's going on here?'"
"No, let's not do that," Sunset says. "I don't want to ruin their date."
I scratch my chin in thought before I get a new idea.
"Well, we could follow them and try to hear what they're saying," I say. "Maybe take some pictures to show the others. If we get caught, we could say we happen to be taking a walk after our own date, which technically we are."
Sunset raises her eyebrow and gives me a skeptical smirk.
"You know, Mr. Draft, I get the feeling that you're starting to think like my old self," she says smugly. "I'm not sure if it's a good thing that I'm giving you this kind of influence."
"Point that out all you want, my beloved, but you know you want to follow them," I say in a confident singing voice.
Sunset looks away and bites her lip before she grins and excitedly says, "You're right. I do. Let's go!"
Sunset quickly takes out her wallet from her back pocket and places a couple of dollar bills on the center of the table before she grabs my hand and yanks me out of my seat and out of the restaurant.


***********************************************************************************************



For about ten minutes now, we've been quietly following Caramel and Applejack, watching them talk and laugh while holding hands. Every now and then, Sunset and I have to shush each other, trying to contain our excitement.
"I can't hear what they're saying," I whisper.
"Me neither, but I don't think we can come any closer without them noticing us," Sunset whispers back.
"Where are they even going? This doesn't look like the way to his house or Sweet Apple Acres," I quietly ask.
"I don't know," Sunset answers. "I assume they've already eaten or something at this hour."
"Ooo, do you think either one of them is taking each other to a secret hideout that's special to them, and they've never told anyone about it until tonight?" I suggest.
Sunset stops walking and gives me a smirk,  saying, "Babe, I love you, but your taste in romance is almost as bad as Rarity's."
"Meh, as long as you are by my side, I can live with that," I say with a shrug.
Sunset shakes her head in amusement before we continue following our two friends. The sneaking goes on for a couple more minutes until Applejack and Caramel stop in front of a construction store. She says something to Caramel that I think means she's going to be right back, and Caramel nods with a smile before she enters the store. Sunset and I hide behind a tree as we see Caramel looking at the moon with a love-struck, goofy grin on his face.
"Wow, he must be in heaven right now," Sunset whispers.
"Oh yeah, he's got it bad," I whisper back. "If he was in even more bliss, there would be hearts floating above his head."
Sunset covers her mouth as she snickers at the thought.
"Well, he hasn't fainted yet, so that's good," she says.
"Good point, Sunset," I say, grinning. "I'd say our dear Caramel is finally starting to become a man."
"Looks like it," Sunset says, smirking. "Maybe we should stop following them now. I think we've learned more than enough without either of them knowing we're here."
"Agreed," I say with a nod. 
We turn around and quietly walk away until we hear Caramel shouting in panic. 
"HELP! HEl -"
Sunset and I turn around to see two hooded figures with one of them covering Caramel's mouth and dragging him away.
"Hey, stop!" Sunset calls out as she and I run over to them.
Suddenly, the hooded figure not holding Caramel holds out what looks like a pellet and smashes it to the ground. Smoke comes out and covers our eyes, and we start coughing until the smoke clears, and the three of them have disappeared.
"Oh, please don't tell me this is Adagio and Aria again," Sunset says worryingly.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," I say. "They can't have gone fa - wait, there they are!"
I point to the end of the block where the two figures are carrying Caramel away.
"Let's go," I say before Sunset grabs my shoulder firmly.
"No, you stay here and tell Applejack what's happened, I'll go after them," she says before she leaves without letting me say a word. 
I groan in annoyance at her desire to protect me before the store door opens to reveal a confused and worried Applejack.
"Rough Draft? What's going on? Where's Caramel?" she asks.
"Uh, well, I don't know how else to say it, but basically, Sunset and I were walking home from a dinner date when we saw two hooded figures capture Caramel," I say, scratching the back of my neck.
"WHAT?!" Applejack shouts in panic. "Where's Sunset?"
"She went after them," I answer. "They went that way and -"
As soon as I point in the direction where Sunset is following the hooded figures, Applejack starts racing after them without a word. I call out to her and start running after her as fast as I can, but Applejack is slightly faster than me. Finally, just as I am about to lose her, she takes a turn to a driveway to a house where Sunset is standing at the front porch. 
"I thought I said just tell her what happened," Sunset says as she watches me catch up with them.
"She started running after you before I could finish explaining," I say with my hands on my knees, out of breath.
"What in the world is going on, Sunset? Who took Caramel?" Applejack demands.
"I don't know yet," Sunset says. "Whoever did appears to have smoke pellets and lives in this house."
"Well, if the latter is true, then that thankfully rules out Adagio and Aria escaping," I pant.
"Well, then who? Trixie?" Applejack asks.
"No, she lives closer to CHS," Sunset answers. "I don't know who lives around here or who would want to kidnap Caramel."
"Well, I ain't waiting to find out," Applejack says determinedly. "Someone kidnapped my date, and I want to find out who and why."
Without another word, Applejack walks to the front door and bangs on it ferociously. Sunset and I look at each other worryingly before a woman in her late forties opens the door and smiles at us.
"Rough Draft, how nice to finally see you," she greets in a chipper voice.
Applejack and Sunset turn to me in confusion, and I stare at the woman dumbfounded.
"Uh, do I know you?" I ask.
The woman scoffs in an upbeat demeanor and says, "Oh, that's right, we haven't been introduced. I'm Mrs. Drops, Bon Bon's mother. We haven't met, but Bon Bon has shown me many pictures of you and the rest of her friends!"
Sunset and Applejack keep looking back and forth between Mrs. Drops and me as I stand there bewildered at this surprise.
"Oh, Mrs. Drops, how nice to finally meet you," I say in my best cheery demeanor.
"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, young man," Mrs. Drops says. "And who are your other friends?"
"Uh, this is Applejack and my girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer," I say as Applejack and Sunset give Mrs. Drops a friendly but awkward greeting.
Mrs. Drops turns to Sunset, confused.
"Girlfriend?" She asks. "I thought you are dating Octavia Melody."
Sunset frowns at her comment, and I clear my throat and say, "No ma'am. Octavia and I broke up a few months ago."
Mrs. Drops frowns and says, "Awww, that's a shame. You two sounded like such a loving couple judging by what Bon Bon and Lyra have said about you."
Sunset grows more uncomfortable, but before I can say anything further, Applejack jumps in.
"Look, are Lyra and Bon Bon here?" She asks impatiently.
Mrs. Drops turns to Applejack, taken aback by her abrupt demeanor.
"Well, yes," she says. "They just came home and went downstairs with someone."
"Well, that someone happens to be my -" Applejack begins before she suddenly holds her tongue. Sunset, Mrs. Drops, and I turn to her curiously as she struggles to say another word.
"Your what, dear?" Mrs. Drops asks with her eyebrow raised.
Applejack continues to stutter until Sunset cuts in.
"What she's trying to say is that we just saw them with another good friend of ours, Caramel, and we're wondering if we can come in and join them," she says calmly. "We haven't seen them in a while, and we thought we could fix that while they're with our other friend, Caramel."
Mrs. Drops' face turns cheery again instantly.
"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?" She says. "Come on in. Do you want me to let the girls know?"
"Oh, no, thank you," I say quickly. "I think we want our visit to be a surprise. You know how those girls are."
Mrs. Drops beams at me and says, "I sure do. The basement is down the main hall and on the third door to your left. Have fun!"
Sunset and Applejack politely thank Mrs. Drops as we enter the house. Applejack quietly opens the door to the basement, and sure enough, I can hear Caramel panicking down below.
"D-d-done hurt me, please! I don't have anything! Please just let me go!" He cries.
"Aw, now why in the world would we want to hurt a cutie like you, Caramel Bear?" We hear Bon Bon say.
"Yeah, that's the last thing we would ever want to do," says Lyra.
"Lyra? Bon Bon? Is that you?" We hear Caramel ask as we carefully walk down the stairs.
"Surprise!" Both Lyra and Bon Bon say at the same time as we hear the sound of a light switch that makes Caramel gasp and Sunset, Applejack, and I quietly gasp once we peak from the bottom steps.
The basement wall is decorated with pictures of Caramel. They appear to be cropped from photos he's posted on MyStable or back when he, Soarin and I were in the E.M.R. At the center of the room is Caramel sitting on a chair in front of a table with a red tablecloth and two lit candles and at the center, a pile of sweets on a plate.
"What in the world?" Applejack, Sunset, and I whisper at the same time.
"What in the world?" Caramel asks, bewildered with his surroundings. "What is going on?"
"It's a surprise date, Caramel Bear," Lyra answers. "We haven't had a date with you since like, forever, so we decided to change that."
"What? But I told you we've only had one date for a reason," Caramel manages to say. "I only asked because I hoped it would help me get a chance with Applejack."
"And we thought you should give us another chance," Bon Bon says, sitting on the other side of the table from Caramel. "Besides, Applejack still isn't your girlfriend, am I right?"
Caramel stutters and hesitantly says,"Well, it's kind of a secret -"
"So, in other words, no," Lyra interrupts.
"I didn't say that," Caramel says.
"You didn't say yes either," Bon Bon says, smirking. "Which means you're still struggling to be with a girl that's just giving you scraps of what you want when both of us would jump and the chance to be with you."
Sunset and I turn to Applejack, who is fuming with anger. We turn to Caramel, who feels the same.
"Applejack's not like that!" He snaps. "She may not be my girlfriend, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care about me. She may not feel the same way I do, but she cares enough to let me try again and again and again to show how much I want to be with her. I mean, how do you expect me to react when you two keep talking down to the girl I love?"
Both my eyes and Sunset's widen, and we turn to Applejack again, who is even more surprised. 
"The girl you what?" Lyra and Bon Bon ask at the same time, taken aback. 
Without even thinking, Applejack steps out of her hiding spot and says, "Yeah, the girl you what?"
Sunset and I drop our mouths, surprised that she blew our cover. Caramel, on the other hand, is the most surprised with his face beet red as he realized what Applejack just heard. Lyra and Bon Bon look at Applejack angrily while Sunset and I come out of our hiding spots. 
"Hey, who said you could come to my house?!" Bon Bon shouts, annoyed.
"Your mom let us in. Besides, who said you could kidnap my date wearing hoods in the middle of the night?" Applejack ridicules before she turns back to Caramel. "As for you, care to answer the question?"
Caramel whimpers quietly at her question. He stares at Applejack for a moment before he takes a big sigh, stands up from his seat, and says, facing Lyra and Bon Bon, "The girl I love."
Sunset and I freeze in place as we watch him turn to face Applejack.
"I love you, Applejack," he says. "I know you probably think it's too fast, but the fact is I'm not afraid to say it to you anymore. You mean too much to me to not say it now. I don't deserve you, and I will always feel that way, but I still want to be your boyfriend if you will have me."
No one says a word. Everyone is looking at Applejack, waiting for an answer. Applejack herself stares at Caramel, surprised as he looks back at her with a brave and devoted look in his eyes as he stands his ground. Sunset and I look at each other, worried about what's going to happen while Lyra and Bon Bon wait eagerly for her answer as if they know it's going to be no. Then much to our amazement, Applejack smiles.
"I love you too, you silly boy," she says much to everyone's surprise. "And I knew you wanted to be together; I was just waiting for you to make your move."
"Y-y-you knew?" Caramel asks, shocked.
Applejack chuckles in response.
"Well, you ain't the most subtle person in the world, sugarcube," she says. "But that's what I've grown to love about you. You do work hard, and you never give up. You're honest about your feelings, and you know how to make me smile. I still don't care too much about romance, but you're the only one who makes it worth wanting. What else can I say, but I do love you, Caramel, and I'd love for you to be my boyfriend."
Caramel stands still like a statue for a moment before his shock turns into a look of joy. Suddenly, he puts both of his hands on Applejack's cheeks and kisses her passionately. Applejack's eyes widen, and Lyra and Bon Bon gasp. Then Caramel's eyes snap open, realizing what he's doing and breaks the kiss bashfully.
"Uh, sorry," he says chuckling, nervously. "Got a little carried away I gue -"
Before he could finish his sentence, Applejack smiles and places her hands on Caramel's cheeks before she leans in for a soft but tender kiss. Sunset and I look at each other, smiling, happy to see our two friends finally get together. When they part, Caramel's face looks, even more, lovestruck than before making Applejack chuckle at his state of bliss.
"Aw!"
The four of us suddenly turn to Lyra and Bon Bon, who appear to be moved by this moment.
"Wait, you two are okay with this?" Caramel asks.
"What can we say, Caramel Bear?" Lyra says. "We just thought she was playing with your emotions or something. We didn't know you both were in love."
"And it was so sweet to see you stand up, confess your feelings and have your first two kisses," Bon Bon says before chuckling nervously. "In fact, I don't know about Lyra, but I kinda feel foolish about this whole thing."
"Yeah, this is kinda awkward," Lyra says, scratching the back of her head. "Could we pretend that this whole kidnap surprise date thing never happened?"
Applejack raises her eyebrow and says, "Only on the condition that you throw away all these pictures of my boyfriend."
"Done," Bon Bon says, nodding.
"Good," Applejack says pleased. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to finish our date."
With that, she takes Caramel's hand and leads him upstairs. Once they are gone, Sunset clears her throat.
"Well, we better get going too," she says. "But before we do, I would like to thank you two for rescuing Rough Draft from Adagio and Aria."
"Agreed," I say.
Lyra and Bon Bon look at each other before turning their heads to Sunset with raised eyebrows.
"Well, you are welcome," Lyra says smugly. "Though it’s funny how we were able to rescue your boyfriend, and you've been powerless to do so despite all of your magic."
Sunset's face turns grim at these words, which angers me.
"Hey, that's uncalled for!" I shout. "You have no right to speak that way towards her just because she was far away when I was kidnapped."
"And even if she was, she wouldn't have a way to track Adagio and Aria down like we did," Bon Bon says confidently. "And Applejack just proved that she can succeed where Sunset can't at saving the boy she loves."
"With Sunset's help," I counter. "Applejack was following Sunset, who was following you."
"Oh, now that just makes it worse," Lyra taunts. "She can help saving others, but not the one person who matters most to her."
"What is the matter with -" I begin before Sunset puts her hand on my shoulder.
"Let it go, Rough Draft," she says sadly.
"No, they shouldn't talk to you like this," I demand.
"It's not worth with," she says. "Let's go."
I try to protest, but she takes my hand and drags me to the stairs. I turn my head to see Lyra and Bon Bon, keeping their taunting looks. Right before they are out of my sight, though, I thought I saw a green shimmer in both of their eyes. I follow Sunset confused as I have a feeling that I've seen that look before.



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Third person P.O.V.

"Well, that showed her," Bon Bon says boastfully.
"You said it, buddy," Lyra says. "Maybe this will help Tavi get him back or something."
Suddenly, a roaring maniacal laugh is heard all over the room as if it's coming out of thin air. Both girls scream and hold each other in fear.
"Oh, I'm sure Octavia will appreciate what I've accomplished today in some way," the voice says in a cold cheerful voice.
"W-w-who are you, and what do you want?!" Lyra asks fearfully.
"Not yet, my dear puppets," the voice echoes. "Don't worry. You two won't even remember what has transpired. Well, not for a little while anyway."
The two hyper girls whimper in fear until a dark green flash covers the entire room, and the voice vanishes. The girls stop whining and look at each other in confusion.
"Lyra, what were we doing just now?" Bon Bon asks.
"I don't know," Lyra admits. "And why is the room decorated to look like a shrine for Caramel Bear?"
"I don't know. I didn't do this," Bon Bon says before she takes out her phone and screams in alarm.
"What?!" She screams. "It's 9:03?!"
"What?!" Lyra shouts, panicking. "But I just checked my phone a moment ago, and it was 3:36! Did we just fall asleep all of a sudden?"
Suddenly, they hear someone rapidly knocking on the front door from upstairs. Bon Bon and Lyra look at each other before they go upstairs just in time to hear Mrs. Drops answer the door.
"Oh hi, Vinyl and Doc," they hear Mrs. Drops say. "Did you -"
"Yeah, hi, Mrs. Drops," Vinyl says impatiently. "Are Bon Bon and Lyra here? It's urgent."
"Vinyl, we're here," Bon Bon calls out as she and Lyra reach the top of the stairs. Vinyl runs over to them with Doc following with his eyes on a radar much to Mrs. Drops' confusion.
"Are you two okay?" Vinyl asks, panicking.
"I think so," Lyra says, hesitantly. "We just don't know what we've been doing for the past six and a half hours."
"Aw crap," Vinyl says worryingly before she turns to Doc. "Doc, tell me some good news, please."
Doc sighs sadly and turns to Vinyl.
"Number twelve is gone, Vinyl," he says. "And by the look of things, Sunset Shimmer and Applejack left before it did."
"No!" Vinyl yells out.
"Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, and number twelve were here?!" Bon Bon screams in alarm. "What were they doing at my house?!"
"We were kinda hoping you could tell us," Doc says sadly as he turns to Mrs. Drops. "Have you seen anyone else here just now?"
Mrs. Drops stares at Doc, confused.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she says. "As far as I can remember, no one has been here but the girls and me all day."
Vinyl screams with her hands on top of her head.
"Where is it?!" She screams. "Where did it go?! What happened here?!"


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Rough Draft's P.O.V.

Sunset and I continue to walk to my house. Her face stays down the entire time, and I try to think of something to cheer her up as we walk to no avail. Once we are both at my front door, I sigh and let it out.
"Sunset, you shouldn't let what they said get to -" I begin.
"Shouldn't I?" She asks. "They're right, I have failed to be there to protect you so many times now. What happens if Adagio and Aria's client comes to play, and they use you to get to me, and I can't stop them? Maybe I'm overreacting, maybe I'm not. I can't tell anymore. I can't seem to get my mind out of the possible magical problems and the fact that Adagio and Aria have this client that would use you to get to the portal because you're with me. I know I should be calm with Adagio and Aria locked up, but I'm constantly afraid that things are going to go wrong, and I'm going to endanger you further. I feel like I shouldn't let my guard down and I keep obsessing over this, and I can't get it out of my head."
She grunts in annoyance, and I frown, not knowing what to say to her. Then I hug her tightly and say, "It's going to be okay. We'll figure something out when the time comes."
"You don't know that," she says. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because I have faith in you," I say sincerely.
"Like that's enough," she says.
"Sunset -" I begin.
"Look, I'll see you at the party," she says.
I try to think of words of protest, but eventually give in, figuring that maybe she needs some time.
"Okay, then I'll see you then," I say before I peck her on the lips. "I love you."
"I love you too," she says, not looking at me as she turns and leaves. I sigh as I hope she will feel better tomorrow.