//------------------------------// // "Look, cats have a terrible sense of direction, okay?" // Story: Sunscarred // by Masterweaver //------------------------------// "Are you sure it's the cats that have a terrible sense of direction?" "It's their awareness of spacial connectivity, alright? Sometimes they don't realize that a room with two doors is the same room no matter which door you go through. This is... just the same thing on a larger scale." "Fluttershy," Rainbow deadpanned, "We've been following this feline for fifteen minutes, and I know we're going in circles. If we want to find Sunset Shimmer... or whatever part of her we're going to find... we need to pick up the pace." "Sneaksniff is doing the best he can!" "...Sneaksniff?" "That's what the other cats call him. Or, um, as close as it comes to in english." Fluttershy bit her lip. "There are some subtleties that don't exactly translate without--" The mangy tomcat in front of them looked over his shoulder with a deep mrrrooowr, glancing toward a nearby dance club the moment the two girls were looking his way. "Oh?" Fluttershy followed his gaze. "She's in there?" "RrrRrr," the cat replied with a lidded gaze. "Thank you Sneaksniff. Oh!" Fluttershy reached into her backpack, pulling out a chunk of meat, and knelt down to gently stroke his ears. "You're really such a help." "Mmmmmrr." The tomcat took the chunk and, after a moment, quickly batted her knee with his head before trotting rapidly away. "...You carry around chunks of meat in your backpack?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "You don't?" Fluttershy asked, equally surprised. "Wha--no! Of course I don't, why would I?" "I just thought, you are an athlete and--" "No no no. For me it's granola on the go, keep the meat to mealtime." She shook her head. "Look, we need to find out if Sunset's in there, alright?" "If Sneaksniff says she's in there, then she's in there." Fluttershy stood, walked over to the dance club, and paused. "Although, um, I don't know if, you know, if she's busy, maybe--" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, stepped past her, and pushed the door open. "Fluttershy, there may be a crowd, but we won't have to attract attention to find--" Her voice trailed off when she caught sight of Sunset stealing the show with a saucy salsa, singing with scintillating segments of spanish scattered across her speech. "...or she could just be wearing the music video dress and getting everybody to look at her," Rainbow acknowledged. "Okay, don't panic Fluttershy. All we have to do is convince her to go back to the lab. I know you don't like crowds, just... for friendship, okay?" "I mean... yes, but--" "Alright, let's go." A blue hand grabbed a yellow arm and dragged a squeaking Fluttershy into the building. Sunset Shimmer sashayed and swayed in the centerstage, sparing a single glance toward the swinging door and smiling broadly. "¡Amigas! ¿Qué tal? ¡Entra, entra, la música es muy animada y también lo es la multitud!" "When the heck did Sunset learn spanish?" Rainbow asked Fluttershy. "Chalk it up to magic?" Fluttershy suggested quickly. "Ayiyi, maybe bit too much in character, sí." Sunset grabbed a random man, bending backwards so low that her hair brushed the ground. "But it is very much an expression of my self! ¡La pasión de la vida fluye a través de mí y el lenguaje de los amantes se derrama de mi boca!" She let out a shriek of joy as she twirled the man away into a woman that had, until then, been standing alone. "That's french," Fluttershy deadpanned. Rainbow gave her a confused look. "Sounded spanish to me." "No, she said the language of love is spilling from her mouth." "No dije amor," Sunset corrected, raising her hands as her hips shimmied to an 8/4 tempo. "Dije amantes. The arts of the french are of great beauty, true, but it is the beauty of a smooth statue--gorgeous to look upon, a dream of perfect smoothness and dreamlike wonder. But if you want to find songs that move the body to a heated height, then take the route of the spanish south--salsa, samba, las canciones de sexo y seducción!" Fluttershy went pink as the crowd parted in front of the dancing girl, jumping behind Rainbow Dash--who was pulled onto the floor without warning. "Whoa wait--!" The blue girl found her face mere inches from Sunset's smirk, blushing heavily as the red-garbed body grinded against her. "Ah, entonces te gustan las chicas, ¿eh?" Sunset laughed, twirling the flustered Rainbow in her arms. "Mi lindo pequeño arcoiris, yo te ayudaré a conseguir que usted tiene los ojos en, ¡sólo decir la palabra!" "Okay I may be failing spanish class," Rainbow admitted, "but come on! Why does everyone think I'm gay?!" Sunset blinked. "You're... not?" "No, I'm bisexual, thank you very much! Yeesh." Rainbow frowned. "Wait... are you Sunset's sex drive or something?" "Feh, if I were merely that, would I be here with the dance?" Sunset chuckled. "No no no, I am not just the carnal, I am the connective. I embody every relationship, that of love and hate, of friend and foe. Call me Íntima, if you must call me anything..." She lidded her eyes, spinning Rainbow into the arms of a green girl in a brown sweater. "Though I'd prefer you merely enjoy my song!" The girl gave Rainbow an awkward, embarrassed smile. Rainbow blushed back, before shaking her head. "Uh, okay, just--" "Íntima?" Fluttershy stepped forward onto the dance floor. "I know you're having a good time here, but we really need to get you and the others back to the lab." "Sí, sí, ¡pero todavía no! No se ha hecho ningún progreso--" "Well, that might change. Your brother's here now, you see--" "¿Mi hermano? ¿¡Te refieres a Sunburst!?" Sunset dived through the crowd and grabbed Fluttershy's hand. "¿¡Por qué no lo dijiste!? Hondele, hondele, ¡vamos de una vez!" "Could you stop with the gratuitous spanish?!" Rainbow cried, rushing after them. "¿Qué, y no ver tu linda cara frustrada?" Sunset laughed. "¡NUNCA EN LA VIDA!" Fluttershy giggled. "What?" Rainbow demanded. "What did she say? What did she just say?!" The girl in the sweater sighed. "And not even a phone number. Typical."