Now wrapped up in her coat as white as snow, trembling despite her crossed arms, Fluttershy appeared in front of Twilight. The latter looked up from her advanced physics book with a smile. She felt as if this day would never be over… She couldn’t wait to be warm at Sugarcube Corner!
“Can we leave now? It’s almost six and a half.”
“Yes. Let’s hurry. I’m freezing to death.”
Twilight put her book back into her bag, and she needed a few more seconds before noticing something was wrong. Pinkie Pie wasn’t here. She told it to her best friend who opened her eyes wide before being touched by some kind of illumination.
Since Fluttershy was in love, sometimes she was as absent-minded as the missing member of the group.
“She helps Mr. Savvy putting things away. She’ll meet us there as soon as she’s done with it.”
This additional piece of information should have reassured the teenage girl. She hadn’t disappeared, after all, she was only a few meters away. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know the town and would get lost on her way. Yet, immediately, an unbearable weight coiled her stomach and she felt her throat clenching.
Although the man who was their boss had been rather sympathetic with them today, when he distributed them their very first pay, there was something sinister about him, unexplainable.
Since Sunset Shimmer and Applejack told them to beware, Twilight hadn’t helped being wary of almost anything. She had noted the serial numbers of some of the items, for example, just to make sure they weren’t counterfeit and she had carefully recounted her bank notes and check out whether they were fake ones or real ones.
It escaped rationality, and rationality was the adjective which described her best. Yet, something was growing inside of her. A fear like from out of nowhere. No. More than a fear, an anguish. Something was going to happen. She didn’t really know what. But it was a fact.
They had to go back to the truck.
Pinkie Pie put down the last cardboard box. It hadn’t taken her more than five minutes. With all the love she had for Fluttershy, she just knew she wouldn’t have packed it off so quickly if the teenage girl had done it. Now, all that was left to do was to tell the boss goodbye and to go to Sugarcube Corner running. She should have asked her friend to order her a double hot chocolate with whipped cream on top.
She rubbed her hands together and came near Mr. Savvy, sitting on an upside down box and busy counting today’s takings. She wondered what demanded so much focus in the view of their poor turnover.
“Sorry”, she said, clearing her voice. “We’re done. Can I leave now?”
The man looked up from his notebook and looked beyond Pinkie Pie’s shoulders. Everything which was piled up outside was now inside the truck. And her two friends weren’t here anymore. At least, they weren’t right beside them but far enough not to have a glimpse at what they were doing.
He put his pen and notebook beside him, and walked to the teenage girl. A hand was put around her shoulders, that she looked at, bewildered.
“You did an excellent job, today, Pinkamena. I’m so proud of you.”
“Well… Oki doki loki.”
“I could have another job for you, something that would be not as thankless and with a much better pay. With a physique such as yours, I know you’ll be very successful.”
“Prostitution, you mean?”
“Did I say that?”
No, indeed, he never said this word. Was it necessary for her to understand what this was all about? Talking about her physique, telling her she would earn more money… Some of the girls from the Rebellious used to be escorts and other things of the kind, and she knew how this kind of work was camouflaged.
“No thanks”, Pinkie Pie answered, pushing away Mr. Savvy’s hand which had slipped along her back.
“What a pity. You have potential.”
Once again, he put his hands on her, and this time, his palm cupped her thigh. As soon as she tried to resist, he became more insistent, grabbing her by the waist. Soon, she found herself stuck against the truck’s wall, Mr. Savvy’s body leaned completely against hers.
He couldn’t stop repeating he knew she wanted it secretly, his lips crushed against her neck. Pinkie Pie tried her best to struggle, and to push him away, but the whole thing happened to be rather difficult. Especially as he wrung the arm she had been able to get off above her head, to make sure she wouldn’t be able to escape his wandering hands, which seemed to soil her everywhere at the same time.
Who did he think he was trying to assault? She wasn’t only the nice young woman she seemed to be. Deep inside, something bad was concealed behind party’s streamers. It was like bitterness resurfacing, acrid and corrosive. A devil was shouting inside her belly, commanding her to let him out and to blow out between her hands.
The best probably would have been to make it shut up, to choke him in the depths. If the man hadn’t tried to slip his hands under her sweater, it would have been a possibility. But he had just crossed this limit tainted with danger.
There was a box cutter on one of the cardboard boxes, which gleaming blade was out. Twisting herself, she was able to free her arm, the one which wasn’t wrung, and she stretched it until she could reach the extreme tip of the shaft.
As soon as it touched her fingers, instincts from the past came back and with it, the devil she wished she had killed forever. Quickly, Mr. Savvy took a step back, the tip of the box cutter aimed at his throat.
The teenage girl in front of him seemed to be completely different. Her curls which made her hair look like some giant pink cotton candy was now flat against her shoulders, and in her blue eyes burned a flame of sourness which made his limbs shake.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked trying to sound mocking but with a voice filled with traces of terror.
“What do I think? That I’m going to pierce a dirty asshole’s skin! Don’t you know what it costs to assault a member of the Rebellious?”
“This ultra-violent gang of teenagers? I thought it had been dismantled years ago.”
“It’s the case!” a female voice screamed behind them.
When Pinkie Pie looked away from Mr. Savvy and realized Twilight and Fluttershy had just climbed into the truck and seen her in such a state, a feeling of unprecedented shame took over her whole being.
It was enough to calm her down. Now she had let evil inside her out, the only way to get rid of it for good would be to go the whole hog. After all, nothing told her this guy wouldn’t try to rape another girl of her age if she let him go.
“Pinkie Pie… You know this isn’t anything like you. Don’t do such a thing, you might regret it.”
“This bastard wanted to rape me! He deserves a punishment.”
“This isn’t about him… This is about you. You’ve been able to escape the hell you fell into, and look what you’ve become… Don’t ruin everything now. You’re so much worthier than that.”
Until then, Fluttershy had stayed in the background, as always scared by displays of violence. However, it was about one of her best friends and she could feel Twilight was going to need her assistance. Of course, she hadn’t met Pinkie Pie back when she was a gang member. It didn’t stop her from loving her the way she loved the other girls. Like a sister. It was her duty as a friend to help her.
“It’s true”, she intervened. “This isn’t you. Not the real you. You’re scared and I understand that better than anyone else. But think about your future, think about your family, how disappointed and sad they’d be to know you’re here again. The Pinkie Pie we all know is still around, I know.”
They could see their friend was still hesitating. Although she seemed to be on the verge of giving in, something stopped her from giving up. So Twilight decided to slowly step closer.
“He hurt you… And he deserved to pay for it. But if you do what I know you want to do, you’ll be the one paying for it at the highest price. We don’t want to lose you, never and for no one.”
She referred to the rumors about her past which could have disastrous consequences. This time, Pinkie Pie herself thought she would be thrown on scrapheap, hated by everyone and fired from school, without any other prospect than going back to her parents’ farm, where she would have been on her own most of the time, since she had no interest whatsoever for any kind of rocks.
Tears in her eyes, she let go of the box cutter, and pushed Mr. Savvy away before rushing outside the truck. Fluttershy was able to follow her in order to comfort her, but it wasn’t the same for Twilight, who he grabbed by the wrist.
“Where do you think you’re going? You friend tried to kill me, and you all will pay for it. First, I’m going to call the police.”
A half smile appeared on the young woman’s face.
“Well, do it. My big brother is the police chief of downtown Canterlot. I’m going to explain him your products are counterfeits, and that you’ve tried to abuse a minor, he’s going to be very interested.”
Of course, Pinkie Pie had a history of juvenile delinquency which could disadvantage her in case of a complaint. However, with her as a witness, and her flawlessness, plus the fact Shining Armor knew Pinkie Pie very well and knew she wasn’t the kind to use violence for no good reason, she didn’t doubt the balance of justice would lean on their side.
Thankfully, things would never get this far. Mr. Savvy let her go as well. Right before she left his damn truck, he screamed at her that they were fired.
As if they would come back to work for him after everything that had happened.
They may had lost their jobs, but they had kept their friend. It was the only thing important.
When she met her friends, Pinkie Pie was sitting on the ground, a little farther, and was crying against Fluttershy’s shoulder. The young woman was patting her shoulder softly, like a mother to her child.
“I’m sorry”, she kept on repeating. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. We’re not upset. We were scared for you, that’s all.”
“I’ve tried to struggle, but I couldn’t.”
“Stop crying and blaming yourself”, Fluttershy added. “Everything’s okay. Nobody’s angry.”
“I am! I’ve almost gone crazy. It was very close.”
“But you didn’t and it’s all that matters.”
Twilight’s phone started to vibrate. At the end of the line, Rainbow Dash told her Soarin and her had spent more time than they thought at the stringed-instrument maker’s, and were barely out. They offered to meet them near their workplace instead of Sugarcube Corner directly. This way, they could go there together.
Pinkie Pie shook her head no. She needed a bit of time before showing her face to her friend. On the night of her mother’s death anniversary, she had a speech in order to shake her a little, and although both situations were different, she now felt she wasn’t the best person to give pieces of advice like these. Herself hadn’t completely come to terms with her past.
Inside her heart, she made a solemn promise. She would always do her best to get rid of this dirt stuck in the corner of her soul. Her friends were right… This wasn’t like her at all, this violence and this anger. She was nothing but joy and love, and it was about time to let joy and love take over the rest.
-------------------------------------------
They didn’t understand. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had promised to bring them to someone willing to hire them for a job. Yet, they were taking their time, telling them there was no need to hurry.
In Twilight’s opinion, this behavior was not professional. She couldn’t help feeling not at ease. Even if the person in question was really permissive, it also was rather impolite.
Her confusion increased when she realized they were taking the road to Carousel Boutique. Unless it was an acquaintance of the place’s owner… But if it was the case, there was no reason for it to be Rainbow Dash and Applejack who introduce them.
Inside the shop, Rarity’s assistant, Sassy, welcomed the girls as if they were important dignitaries and led them to the boudoir of the backroom, where the privileged costumers did various fitting. They were served tea and biscuits. But there was no trace of anyone to be introduced to them and vice-versa.
“Can I know what we’re doing here?” Twilight asked.
“I don’t know but it’s cozier than Mr. Sleazy’s booths!”
“I wasn’t asking the question to you, Pinkie…”
“Ya’ll going to understand. Just a little patience, folks.”
And the activities resumed. The bunch was chatting, seemingly relaxed, while savoring their beverages and snacks, yet Twilight was unable to get casual. Usually, she was fond of puzzles… However, this one looked too absurd for her to be able to enjoy its subtleties.
Not that subtle, in fact.
Soon, Rarity appeared at the threshold of the boudoir, smiling. She was wearing a white sweat-dress with large stitches with a black belt around her waist, and the whole looked amazingly elegant on her. She sat with them on one of the room’s couches.
“Sorry I’ve made you wait for so long. I had a very important meeting.”
Twilight looked beyond her friend’s shoulder. No one. It seemed obvious that the place they had to go to was right here, and the person they had to meet was right under their eyes: Rarity, no more no less.
“Is that you… for the job?” she asked again.
“Well, yes. Didn’t girls tell you?”
“To be honest, we wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Good work. I’m surprised”, Fluttershy declared.
“Not me”, Pinkie Pie claimed. “Your macarons are goooood!”
Rarity smiled to her friend, but didn’t say anything. It was nice, this little suspense, nevertheless, she didn’t think it was much worth of interest. The best was to get to the heart of the matter. It wasn’t a job interview, of course, but still the teenage girls had to know what was expected of them.
“When Rainbow Dash and Applejack told me what happened to you, I’ve wondered why you haven’t thought of asking me first.”
“Yeah, we’ve been a little stupid not to think about it. Or at least, not to suggest them to”, Rainbow Dash affirmed, nodding.
“Let’s not mind and go straight to the point. Here is what’s going to happen… Do you know who is Sapphire Shores?”
“What? The star of Equestrian pop?”
Once again, their friend smiled, this time with a little nod. Twilight looked a little lost, since she wasn’t really aware of the latest trends when it came to music or movies, enjoying the pleasure of a good book over anything else. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, on the other hand, looked as excited as hyperactive kids on speed.
“She asked me to create the outfits of her upcoming tour. It’s an enormous order, a key for my future and my career, and it happens that I’m going to need petites mains to help me out. I’m warning you, I can only pay you four dollars an hour for a huge amount of work, but if you aren’t afraid of the responsibility and hard work, I will hire you girls with pleasure. It will be less… dangerous.”
“Are you sure we got the capacities?”
“Twilight, voyons. Of course I do. I wouldn’t ask you this if I didn’t think you had the skills to finish this task successfully.”
“Rarity, you’re the best!”
Pinkie Pie fell on the young woman’s neck, and hold her in a restless and lively embrace. It was the typical kind of the teenage girl’s reaction, however, Rarity was a little less used to it, since she was seeing the group more sporadically because of her work.
To be honest, the fact to hire her friends for the job also was a way for her to spend some time with them. She knew that then, the rest of the gang would come to her boutique as well, to support and even assist them. This way, she would feel a little less this painful sensation to be an honorary member of her own bunch of friends.
Though she kept doubts about her abilities and most importantly, she hoped this casual work of responsibilities wouldn’t slow her down in her reviews, Twilight was now at ease. They were safe with Rarity, an adult with respect for them, and who loved them. Above all, she would protect Pinkie Pie, who needed to hold a course in order not to drift.
In a way, it wasn’t that surprising if there was something the others didn’t understand between Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. An invisible bond that had them understanding each other instinctively about things the others couldn’t really feel concerned about – not even Applejack, for who her parents’ absence, although sometimes painful, wasn’t accompanied by a total lack of family life, of arms to catch her in case of a fall back.
These arms, it was them, all six, who had to incarnate them. They had to be united, despite the disagreements, despite everything else.