//------------------------------//
// 12- Dusky Skies and Fast-Approaching Rainclouds 
// Story: Cold 
// by NightCoreMoon 
//------------------------------//

/x/x/x/

“If you will not say it, then I will. I am wicked, as you say. I am a scoundrel. I banished my own father and I killed my own son. I will do anything to rule this country. War is everywhere. Unless somebody unifies the nation and reigns over us we will see more rivers of blood and more mountains of the dead.”

“It is cold... My old wound hurts when the air is cold.”

“Relatable,” Sunset murmurs as she nestles further into the bed. “So, what, this is the kid’s favorite movie or something?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow answers, scraping the bottom of the bowl for a few lightly-buttered unpopped kernels. “It’s like a really old samurai movie. The director based a whole bunch of stuff in this movie on that one. It’s a. Like, a, uh… it’s not a ripoff. It’s the good version.”

“An homage?”

Rainbow tries to snap her fingers with little success. “Yeah, that’s it. An homage. My fingers are slippery.”

“You should wash your hands.”

“And miss part of the movie? No thanks.” She glances at the clock. “Dude, we’ve been watching these for over three and a half hours now. It’s almost midnight.”

“Time flew by. You weren’t kidding, this movie’s been awesome.”

“Hey, I actually do gotta pee though. Lemme up?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Want me to pause?”

“Nah, they’re just gonna talk for a while.” The girls disentangle themselves from the sheets and pull apart. “All the big fight scenes are over anyway, plus I can quote the whole ending. Almost. But I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll try not to fall asleep.”

“Yeah, you do that. We’re right up at the end.” Rainbow cracks her neck to either side, grabbing her phone from the end table on her way out the door. On her way to the bathroom, as she does her best to wipe the butter on her pants, she looks down and notices the absolute flood of notifications. Three missed calls, a dozen texts, and about a hundred MyStable blips sit waiting for her.

“Glad I’m on do not disturb, jeez…” she murmurs to herself as she closes the door, sits down, and starts to take care of business.

One call each came from Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. The texts were from an assortment of people, and their contents caused her heart to sink. She ignored the MyStable ones completely, as she could infer what most of them were probably going to say. She focused her attention on the most important ones.

A text from Applejack read “you’ll always be my best friend no matter what”. One from Pinkie read “this doesn’t change anything between us, I promise”. Fluttershy just said “❤️”. One from Jet Set said “just ignore the rumors and lies baby” and one from Spitfire said “sorry we all found out this way but hey welcome to the club” and one from Apple Bloom said “I’m so sorry, I tried to stop them” and one from Scootaloo said “do you believe me now?”

Against her better judgment she swiped over to MyStable itself and at the top of her feed was a post from Anon-a-Miss herself from about three hours ago, tagging her directly.

“Did u guys no that RAINBOW DASH has a dirty little secret? She munches on carpet! That’s right ladies, she is in the muff market. Sorry fellas, but these buns ain’t gonna hold a hotdog anytime soon. That rainbow colored hair ain’t just hereditary. Every month is pride month for this gal. She is as gay as the day is long and then some. Queer as a three dollar bill. This dike can stop rivers from flooding unless it’s the river between her legs whenever she sees a naked lady. That’s right, kids; Rainbow Dash is the world’s biggest LESBIAN!!! Surprise!”

Rainbow sighs, and swipes over to her phone app. She scrolls down to an entry labeled “Squirt”, taps on it, and puts the device to her ear. It rings once before immediately picking up.

“Rainbow?” Scoot asks from the other side. “Are you feeling-“

“Shut up,” Rainbow snaps. “Shut. The fuck. Up. You little bitch. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me? I don’t know what you’re-“

“What the fuck is outing me gonna do on your quest to ruin Sunset? Huh? What the fuck have I ever done to you?”

“Rainbow, I don’t know why you’re getting mad at me, I didn’t even-“

“It was you or Belle, and unless you told her, the only one who knew was you.”

“I’m not the only one who knew you’re gay!”

“You, my parents, Fluttershy, and my exes are the only fucking people in the world who know. And I seriously doubt that any of them would do it. And I won’t tell you any of their names because I, unlike you, respect people’s privacy enough not to just blab about it to random strangers online. I’m not like you, I’m not a fucking asshole.”

“Sunset knew too.”

“And how the FUCK would you know if she did or not?” Rainbow asks. “Huh? How would you know what Sunset knows?”

“I don’t know, Rarity said Sunset told her she was bi. I figured that you two would, you know. Sync up.”

“Sexuality isn’t a period, numbnuts. What did you hope to accomplish, other than burning your bridges with me and my family?”

“Okay, first of all? Stop insulting me-“

“You lost your right to be treated with respect and dignity the moment you started airing everyone else’s dirty laundry. The moment you lied about Sunset following you around town. The moment you pushed her to try to fucking hang herself. So many moments that it’s impossible to keep track of them all. You fucking sociopath. You think it’s okay to play chess with our lives just because your best friends are jealous that their sisters have best friends of their own. You don’t have a good enough reason to do this shit, not to Sunset, not to Fluttershy and Pinkie and AJ. And especially not to Rarity. She treats you like another sister and you betray her privacy? Even if you didn’t pull this shit on MyStable, stealing my right to come out at my own pace in my own time, I disowned you back in Fluttershy’s apartment. But now? You’re fucking dead to me, you demented little cunt. Lose my number. I’m blocking you on everything. Don’t ever show your fucking face at my house again. Don’t fucking speak to me at school. Don’t even fucking look at me if we run into each other out in town. You are less than nothing to me now. Do you get me?”

Silence greets her from the other line.

“Do you get me, Scootaloo?”

“Yeah. I get you.”

“Good. Have a nice life.” Rainbow hangs up without waiting for a response. Immediately, she scrolls up to Rarity’s number and calls her. This time, it takes over a full minute before getting a response.

“Hullo?” Rarity drawls, groggy. “Rainbow. This better be an emergency.”

“Have you been asleep for the last three hours?”

“Mm. Four. I think. What, did you finally come to your senses and apologize?”

“Everyone on MyStable knows I’m gay now because of the damn kids. One of them, probably Scootaloo because she knew, just outed me through Anon-a-Miss. And I know for a fact that it wasn’t Sunset Shimmer because we’ve been watching movies the entire time. She doesn’t even have her phone, how could she?”

“You’re gay?”

“That doesn’t fucking matter right now!”

“Please don’t curse at me.”

“Alright, sorry, but can we focus on the important thing here? There is no fuck- no freaking way that Sunset did it. She can’t have been Anon. This is undisputable evidence!”

“No it’s not. It could’ve been anyone by proxy. It could have been Apple Bloom doing it under threat or blackmail. It could have been Snips or Snails working for her long since. It could have been Micro doing it in exchange for sexual favors. It could be any number of things.”

“Come on Rare. You have to see the truth!”

“I do see the truth, Rainbow. Perhaps it’s the rest of you who need to do so.”

“Why are you obsessed with the need for Sunset to be evil?”

“And why are you so obsessed with the need for my sisters to be evil?”

“Because Sunset didn’t fucking do it!”

“Watch your language-“

“Oh, get over yourself, princess! I’m the one who’s about to face hell on earth on Monday. And Sunset is still broken!”

“You and Sunset are not the only ones going through a rough time. If you’ll excuse me, I have a lovely dream to return to. If there is nothing else to discuss, our conversation ends here.”

“So, what, did your conversation with Fluttershy earlier mean nothing?”

“…”

“Well, Rare?”

“Right. I, hmm… Look.” She sighs. “Much as I may want our Sunset to be innocent, I would much rather believe that my sisters, my family, would never betray my privacy and spread my photographs around the internet. There needs to be actual solid concrete proof. Otherwise, there is nothing to talk about. Blind conjecture and happenstance alone aren’t enough.”

“Then what will be enough? Will anything ever be enough for you?”

“Not with what I’ve seen so far. I am tired, Rainbow. Can we please discuss this during the daytime?”

“Yeah. Fine. Whatever.”

“Rainbow, please don’t be curt with me. I still treasure your friendship. We are merely having a disagreement about the trustworthiness of a mutual acquaintance. And…” she takes a deep breath. “As a side note. Your sexuality does not bother me. I am truly sorry that your decision was unfairly taken from you, but I do want you to know that I would never judge you or think less of you because of the people you love. You have my love and support, to whatever end you will accept it.”

Rainbow slowly nods. “I… appreciate that. I didn’t ever expect you not to. It’s just that I didn’t wanna tell anybody just yet. I just wasn’t ready. But it’s good to know that I didn’t have to worry about any of my friends.” She stands and flushes. “Thanks Rare.

“Dear god Rainbow, were you on the toilet for that entire conversation?”

“Oh, like you’ve never had an important conversation while in the bathroom too.” She presses the phone between her ear and shoulder as she washes her hands. “Anyway, uh. Well. I just got off the phone with Scoot before calling you. Whether you believe her or not, I don’t. And if you could let her know that I feel to her how you feel to Sunset, about needing proof, that would probably be good. Otherwise, I don’t want her near me, my house, or my family. I’m not gonna tell you not to talk to her, but I can’t say I’m gonna be super buddy-buddy with you as long as you’re still close with her.”

“I understand, as I feel the same way about you in regards to Sunset.” She sighs. “I just wish that whoever it is that is lying confesses sooner rather than later. I do so hate having to choose sides like this. It’s absolutely exhausting even just thinking about it.”

“Yeah. It sucks.” She leans back against the door. “Hey, uh. I still gotta call Fluttershy, AJ, and Pinkie.”

“And sleep is calling my name. I hope your phone calls go well. And that Monday doesn’t serve to be too difficult for you.”

“Yeah. Bye Rare.”

“Good-bye Rainbow.”

The two hang up in tandem. Rainbow heaves a sigh of relief, which gives way to a groan of frustration as she scrolls further up. She takes a deep breath before pressing on Pinkie’s name. Almost instantaneously she answers.

“Dashie?” She asks, voice so quiet Rainbow almost mistook her for Fluttershy.

“Hey Pinks.”

“Is everything Oki-Doki-Loki?”

“I’m fine. Could be worse. Could be a whole hell of a lot better.” Rainbow sits on the floor. “I told Scoots she’s dead to me. But Rare and I are on speaking terms now, at least.”

“That’s really good! I’m glad to hear that…”

“So. Elephant in the room. You saw what Scoot posted.”

“I mean what I said. Nothing is different. I still feel exactly as I did before. I mean. I might not cuddle with you as much any more, but I never really did that much in the first place since I know you get overwhelmed by physical touch a lot, and I mean I guess I’m kinda the teensiest bit concerned that you’ll fall in love with one of us, or try to force an eventual girlfriend into our friend group and the group dynamic will get all twisted around even worse than it already is. But it’s all just a bunch of itty bitty teeny tiny things that all add up to be a way bigger thing than it actually is, there’s no really big thing that’s gonna make any problems between you and me. We maybe can’t hang out alone at my house, or I mean we can but we probably shouldn’t because you know how my family is and I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable without the rest of the girls as a buffer. But I still love you as a friend, Dashie. And nothing is ever gonna change that.”

Rainbow nods. “Thanks Pinks.”

“Of course. I know you had your own reasons for not telling any of us, even though some of us kinda already knew.”

“Oh?”

“Uh…” Pinkie chuckles nervously. “I thought that maybe you might be possibly a little bit? And AJ kinda already knew. Or at least she thought she did. Or, uh, maybe she didn’t want me to tell you that? But, uh, it doesn’t matter right now because she definitely knows now. It didn’t bother her either. I don’t think that it would really bother any of us. So at least you’ll have a supportive web of friends here for you, you know?”

“Yeah. That’s good…” she leans over and rests her head on the side of the cabinet. “I just wanted to… you know… touch base. With everyone. In reverse order of… uh… hey, what’s the thing called that you told me about? Where you only have an amount of energy to do stuff each day, and doing hard stuff takes more out of you? What’s that called?”

“Spoons?”

“Yeah, yeah that! In reverse order of how many spoons it takes. And you’re tied for AJ behind Fluttershy for second lowest so don’t worry about that. Scoot was the most, then Rare. Sunset woulda been next but she’s here right now.”

“Like right now right now?”

“No, I’m in the bathroom.”

“You’re… are you peeing right now?”

“No, I finished before I called you.”

“Oh, okay. I was gonna laugh because I’m totally peeing right now LOL.”

“Ew, Pinkie! TMI!”

“Oh, you mean like for real?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I’m kidding. I don’t actually care. I’m not the bladder police. It was a joke. Just don’t gimme any details like color or smell and we should be golden. Or, uh… oh god, why did I have to say that!?”

“It’s okay Dashie, I promise- AAAaaaaaa”

“Pink?”

A moment of silence passes before she answers.

“Sorry, I dropped my phone when I stood up, but it’s okay!” She is quiet for another moment. “So do you wanna call AJ next? I know the phone takes a lot of your spoons.”

“I’m fine. For right now. I’ll probably spend tomorrow doing absolutely nothing. Well, after I drop Sunset off at your house. You still wanna have your solo sleepover with her, right, since your dad and Lime are out of town?”

“Oh. Uh. Actually…” she hums in through. “As it turns out, they came home early this morning. So it’s not gonna be as fun of a sleepover as I planned. Or as loud. But, yeah, I still wanna see her tomorrow. And she didn’t get to play MDR six with us last time, since Fluttershy totally bogarted the controller. I don’t know what we’re gonna eat yet but we’ll figure something out. What time are you gonna be here at?”

Rainbow shrugs. “I dunno. Maybe like. Elevenish? Maybe closer to noon.”

“I’ll try to be awake for that.”

“Either way I can tell you when I know for sure, how’s that sound?”

“Sounds good! Tell Sunset I can’t wait to see her, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell her. It was nice talking to you… again.”

She laughs. “Yeah, this is kind of a new record for you.”

“Special times call for special circumcisions.”

“Stances.”

“Huh?”

“Circumstances. Circumcision is when you cut off the tip of the peepee.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“Daddy’s family culture says that all boys need to do it when they’re kids. Makes it easier to clean, or something. I dunno.”

“How does cutting the tip off make it easier to clean?”

“I don’t know Dashie, I don’t have that body part!”

“Right. Well. Have fun with your dick chopping.”

“I will have so much fun with my dick chopping. You will not believe the amount of fun I am going to have. It’s going to rain disembodied dick tips up in this bizznitch!”

Rainbow blinks a few times. “What the fuck?”

“I don’t know, it’s getting late, and I think I tasted too much of the rum for the cupcakes. Oh, by the way, do you like salted caramel with your oatmeal cookies, or cinnamon sugar?”

“I don’t like oatmeal cookies. They’re liars who pretend to be chocolate chip.”

“Not oatmeal raisin, oatmeal scotchies!”

“I just don’t like oatmeal.”

She gasps. “What don’t you like?”

“What?”

“Come ON, I never get to say it. What don’t you like?”

Rainbow sighs. “I don’t like Oatmeal.”

“Oatmeal!? ARE YOU CRAZY???” She scream-cheers into the phone loudly enough to blow Rainbow’s hair out of her face. In the background Rainbow can hear her cheering and celebrating. She humors her for a few moments more before Pinkie gets back on the line.

“Thanks Dashie, that’s one of my favorite memes about me.”

Rainbow pinches the bridge of her nose. “Dude I have no idea what you’re talking about. Go home. You’re drunk.”

“Okay mooooom… and… thanks for calling me Dashie. I really appreciate it. I’m gonna let you get on with AJ now.”

“I appreciate that. G’night Pinks.”

“G’night Dashie. And tell Sunset G’night too.”

“Alright. Later.”

“Bye!”

Rainbow hangs up, and slumps over a little further, slouching hard. She scrolls all the way near the top of her contacts list to Applejack’s name and taps it. She actually rings long enough to go to voicemail, before sighing and laying fully on the floor. She props her feet up against the wall before scrolling down, but before she can get to her destination the phone rings.

“Hello?” She says, answering it.

“Hey sug,” Applejack greets, sounding very distracted. “I’ve got my hands full a bit right now so I can’t talk long but I know what this is about so I’ll spare a minute. I love ya. You like guys or gals or both or neither or whatever the heck those spacegender people are called nowadays, that don’t bother me none at all. I ain’t gonna get naked in front of ya, least not til I get used to the idea. But I don’t really get naked in front of ya in the first place anyway. Irregardless. You’re my best friend, always have been and probably always will.”

“Thanks AJ. You okay over there?”

“Bloom is hysterical. Apparently Belle used her password to get into her email and change her MyStable password to cut off her connection to Anon a Miss, since she was the account holder. Or something. I don’t know, this website is nonsensical to me. But that must be how they posted this stuff about you. Bloom thinks this is gonna be the end of their friendship permanently. I’m tryin’ to figure out where to draw the line between consolin’ her and tellin’ her the truth that…” she begins to whisper. “That’s she’s probably right.”

“Man. That’s rough. I hope that things get better.”

“Yeah, me too. Hey, look. Are you okay? I know you don’t call on the phone often on account of you don’t like talking to people when you can’t see their face. I just wanna make sure this ain’t like a huge emergency or nothin.”

“No. I’m fine. I just… I just needed to hear you say that we’re all good. That’s it. I’m gonna be okay. All this shit doesn’t bother me, it’s just the anxiety and fear that you might have a problem with it. But you don’t. I’m totally fine, I promise.”

“Alright hun, I’ll trust you on this. I gotta go. Hey. Tell Sunset I said goodnight, okay? I’d tell her myself but her phone is still in her apartment.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that. Later AJ.”

“Later Dash.” She quickly hangs up.

Rainbow curls up into a ball on the floor, before scrolling to her last phone call of the night. She slips it to her ear and waits.

“Rainbow,” Fluttershy’s voice coos, barely audible. “Are you okay?”

She screws her eyes shut. “No.”

“I was afraid of that. Can I do or say anything to help you out right now?”

“I don’t think so…” she wipes at the tears now staining her cheeks. “This fucking sucks.”

“I know. I know it does. I’m so sorry that this happened without your consent. You didn’t deserve to be outed like that.”

“What am I gonna do?” Rainbow whimpers. “I don’t know how to deal with this. It was so much easier to just hide this from everybody, but now? I don’t think I can do this right now. How am I supposed to be here for Sunset when I need her to be here for me now?”

“It’s going to be okay. I know you’re upset, and things are going to be hard for a while. But it isn’t forever. You’re still taking Sunset to Pinkie’s house tomorrow morning, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, then instead of thinking about anything long term, just think about until the morning. Is anything concerning being outed going to affect you during the night?”

“…no.”

“Okay, then that’s good. Do you think you’ll be able to be a supportive friend to Sunset at least for the night and part of the morning?”

Rainbow nods. “I think so.”

“Good. That’s all you need to worry about as far as Sunset is concerned. But I know you must still be upset and concerned about this after you drop her off. I doubt you want to be alone right now, right?”

“No. I don’t. I just… need to…” she swallows hard. “Can I please come see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Come to my apartment after you drop off Sunset. I’ll be here for you. Whatever you need. You’re my closest friend, Rainbow, and I hate knowing that you’re suffering.”

“Are you sure you have the spoons for it? I mean, you just had all of us over.”

“Oh Rainbow, I will always have a spoon for you. I love you. You’re one of the most important people in my life, and I could never imagine being here without you. You have been there for me through the hardest parts of my life, and I mean it when I say that I’d be dead without you. You pulled me out of the water, remember? And even if it did stress me out to have you over again so soon, it would be worth it because I know you’re hurting and you need me. You’ve been there for me when I’ve needed you, and I am more than happy to return the favor. And also I still have all of your breadsticks.”

“Okay. Good. I…” she sniffles. “I love you too…” she then cracks the smallest of smiles. “No homo.”

Fluttershy giggles on the other line. “I’m glad to hear that you’re at least in a positive enough mood to be joking around. Be sure to use that with Sunset, okay? For her sake.”

“Of course. I just…” she wipes her eyes. “I just needed to call everyone real quick so that I can get out all the…. all the worry and shit, so I don’t fuckin dump on Sunset when she needs to be the one who’s doing the dumping.”

“I understand that. Who else do you need to call tonight?”

“Nobody. Just you. I called you last because… you’re the easiest person to talk to. You’re like dessert. You get eaten at the end of the meal so you can just rest and taste the sweet.”

“Aww, that’s really nice of you to say!”

Rainbow shrugs. “It’s true.”

“Well, much as I appreciate that, how long have you been on the phone for?”

“Like… twenty minutes. Sunset’s watching the end of a movie. I’ll get back there now. I just needed to…”

“I know. You’re strong, Rainbow, stronger than all of us in a lot of ways. You can do this.”

“Yeah. I can. At least for Sunset’s sake.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright. See you then.”

A few seconds of silence settle in before the two girls hang up in tandem. Rainbow sits up, stands up, and heads back to her room. When she opens the bedroom door, Sunset is sitting up and staring at the screen with rapt attention.

The mother has her young daughter with her atop a horse. The katana is slung over her back, gleaming in the crimson sunset. The triumphant blasting of brasswinds contrasted heavily with the somber strings, but blended seamlessly. They are riding off into the distant horizon, the black speck of their silhouette vanishing into the darkening sky. The credits roll.

“Holy shit,” Sunset breathes, putting her hands to her mouth, voice shaking, eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “That was beautiful.”

“Glad you liked it,” Rainbow says as she puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I told you the movie was badass.”

“I understand the five hoof death kick reference now. You’re right, it wasn’t silly after all, given the right context.” She looks up. “You were in there for a while.”

“I figured I was already in there so I pinched one off. Then I figured I should get a new tampon in while I was in there. I didn’t wanna run back and forth a hundred times tonight so I just took care of it all in one go.”

“You washed your hands, right?” Sunset asks with a knowing smirk.

“Nope,” Rainbow teases as she ruffles Sunset’s hair.

“Oh noooo,” Sunset halfheartedly protests. “Not the pee hands!”

Rainbow chuckles as she reaches over to turn the lamp on. When she does, the pattern of red dots on Sunset’s arms instantly snap her out of the jovial mood.

“Hey, are you all right?”

Sunset reaches her arms out, tilting them to either side. “Yeah. I think the compression’s what caused this. But it’s not slipping or sliding around or anything like that. It’s still secure. It’s not wet. And it doesn’t hurt. At least not any more than it usually does. I think I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Your mom told me it would be fine until morning. If you’re worried you can go downstairs and ask her, but otherwise I think it’s okay. It’s not like it was before, because the scabs sliding around were all gross and shit. But this feels okay.”

“If you’re sure, you’re sure…” Rainbow nudges the door closed. “So uh. You want any dessert. Like ice cream?”

Sunset frowns slightly. “Not particularly, no. Probably won’t be able to eat ice cream again for a while.”

“Oh, shit, my bad-“

“No, you’re okay! Honest. It’s just, about as much to do with the cold outside as it is that I basically only ate ice cream for like a month. Plus I’m full from the soup, and the popcorn on top of that. I think I’m just ready to go back to sleep now.” She looks down at her outfit. “Oh, um. About that.” She looks back up at Rainbow. “Can you help me take this off?”

Rainbow blushes and takes a step back. “Huh? Why?”

Sunset cocks her head to the side and furrows her brows. “I don’t wanna rumple the fabric much, or wear the same outfit during the night as I did during the day. And I can’t say that the fabrics are the most comfortable to sleep in. Is that okay?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah, that’s okay, I just…” Rainbow sighs. “Yeah, no, that’s totally fine. You wanna borrow some pajamas?”

“If that makes you comfortable,” Sunset says, placing her hands in her lap. “I don’t usually wear clothes when I sleep, but I don’t wanna put you in an uncomfortable place, so I’ll take whatever I can get. What are you willing to offer me?”

Rainbow stumbles to her dresser, rifling through the top drawer.

“Okay, I got a couple things in here. Um, here’s a red set that’s a button up shirt and some shorts. A couple tank tops, a pair of black pants with some lightning bolts.”

“Are you feeling okay, Rainbow?” Sunset asks, genuine concern coloring her voice. “You look kinda pale.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I got some green thermals too. Anything work for you?”

“The button up would probably be easiest for me, considering I don’t have the best range of movement for my arms as far as verticality goes. And I might as well take the shorts too, to keep the set matching. Man, I regret not packing anything, but my dirty laundry pile is way bigger than yours. Plus it was dark and I didn’t wanna inconvenience Applejack any further…”

Rainbow comes back to the bed, scarlet fabric in hand, and sets them on the bed.

“So, uh,” she coughs. “You need help taking these off?”

“Yeah, that’d be helpful,” Sunset stands up and looks into Rainbow’s eyes. “Are you… okay to do that?”

“Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t I be?” Rainbow replies, looking anywhere but at Sunset. “Everything’s great, we’re just two girls about to get undressed, that’s totally normal for girls to do and it not be a big deal. I’m fine.”

Sunset places a hand on Rainbow’s arm. “Hey. I trust you. You don’t have anything to worry about as far as my feelings go. I know you’re not gonna take advantage of me or anything. It’s not any different than when Applejack did it, or Fluttershy, or when Pinkie’s probably going to. Just because you like girls, that doesn’t mean I have any reason not to be okay with you helping me get dressed.” She flashes a comforting smile. “Plus, it’s not like anyone else knows about that.”

Rainbow takes a step back and drops her gaze to the floor.

“Hey, you okay?” Sunset asks, sitting back down and trying to steal a glimpse. “What’s wrong?“

Rainbow slowly turns her face back up, revealing the two tears that had fallen. She clenches her fists.

“Look, um.” She swallows. “While we were watching the movie, Scoots kinda outed me on MyStable.”

“What!?” Sunset stands again. “Why the fuck would she do that to you?”

“It wasn’t her. It was Anon-a-Miss.”

Sunset drops her arms to her side, feeling the air exit her lungs as if she was just punched in the back.

“But… why?”

“I don’t know why,” Rainbow grunts, looking back down. “Well. I kind of do. In the bathroom I called her to ask why. And she said that you knew I was gay. I think she was trying to make me think it was you all along. I don’t think she even knew you were here. That…” she puts her head in her hands. “That bitch.”

Sunset reaches a hand out, but frowns. “She said I knew?”

Rainbow gently pushes past Sunset to flop down onto the bed. “Yeah. I dunno where she’s getting that from. She can’t know you know unless you told her, and I know that didn’t happen. I mean, sure, maybe you could be triple crossing us and be secretly in league with her for the long con, but that’s stupid.”

Sunset narrows her eyes. “Hey, can you call me real quick?”

Rainbow reaches over the nightstand for her phone. “Okay. Ahem. Hey, Siri, call Sunset Shimmer. What’s this about?”

The room fills with the background music over the scrolling credits, and the quiet ringing. After a few rings, the call goes straight to voicemail, upon which Rainbow hangs up.

“Suns?”

Sunset clenches her fists. “Hopefully it’s about nothing,” she whispers. “But I have a really bad feeling that something else is gonna happen with Anon-a-Miss. But…” she then cracks a dark smile. “That might actually be my ticket to innocence. Heh… well, only time will tell with that. I’m tired, too tired to worry about this right now. Now, uh, Rainbow.”

She turns to find Rainbow suddenly pantsless.

“Yeah, sure,” she says, absentmindedly rifling through yet another pile of clothes. “Lemme just find that one pair of blue pants real quick. They got wolves on it. Do you see one?”

Sunset blinks. “No. You got through that real easy.”

“Go through what?”

“The whole thing about undressing me.”

“Huh?” She looks up, inquiringly. “Whaddaya mean? I’m still tryin’ to psyche myself up for that.”

“Well, right now you’re…” she turns away, her cheeks growing slightly red as she does. “That pair has a hole in it by the way.”

“Ohhh, I get it- FOUND IT!” She returns back to the bed and slips on the located article. “There’s a difference between me getting undressed in front of you, and me taking your clothes off. Like, if it’s me it’s okay because I know you’re not into me, but…” she freezes in place, eyes widening in shock.

Sunset purses her lips and turns away, nodding slowly. “Oh. Um. I see.” She awkwardly wrings her hands together. “So uh. You… are into… me?” She asks.

“I’m not into you! I mean, I’m not… into-into you. I mean…” Rainbow covers her reddening cheeks with her hands. “It’s not like that. I don’t like you like that. It’s just that… you, uh…” she sighs and covers her eyes. “I… uh… think you have really nice tits. And I don’t wanna make you feel uncomfortable if I stare.”

Sunset is quiet for a few moments before she bursts out laughing.

“Du-ude,” Rainbow whines. “Don’t laugh… not cool.”

Sunset puts a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder as she leans in. “Okay,” she breathes, trying to stop laughing. “Alright, I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I’m just…” she finally catches her breath. “I just did not expect you to say something like that. I was just caught off guard. And I’m… kinda flattered?”

“Like, I‘ve fucked girls before, and I’ve been in the shower with girls before, and it’s not been a thing that’s really mattered at all ever. I’m friends with a lot of them, and I’ve known them for years. So with them, it’s totally normal. But with you? I was friends with you for a couple weeks, then I hated your guts, and now I’ve been friends again with you for a couple days. I don’t think my brain is used to seeing you as, you know, a friend. I still think of you as…” she groans. “As a s…”

Sunset sits next to her. “As a what?”

“As a se…”

Sunset can’t help but smirk. “You sound like Fluttershy.”

Rainbow puts her hands in her lap and stares at the wall. “As a sexy bitch. I hated your guts and wanted to throw hands with you but I always thought you were really stupidly hot. I mean, I was friends with Gilda before you put her in jail, and from the moment she started inviting you to our hangout sessions, I had always wanted to… hrrmmm iwantedtohavesexwithyou.”

Sunset blushes as her smile fades away. “Rainbow that was… that was years ago.”

“Yeahhhhhh…” she moans as she leans back against the wall. “I mean it’s not as bad as it was back then, because when you planted weed in my locker it knocked it up a bunch of notches but after you cut me off from AJ it knocked it back down. The feelings I had went from hatefucking to punching you in the face. But then when you started being friends with us again the punching you in the face feeling went away, and when you stopped having that bad girl aesthetic and started being an actually good person, especially to Fluttershy…” she gives a small sad smile. “I started to admire you. Because you were a good person deep down all along, you just never really knew friendship…” the smile disappears. “But then Anon-a-Miss happened and the… hatefucking… came back.”

“Rainbow-“

“And it hasn’t gone away yet.” She turned to face Sunset but couldn’t quite manage to make eye contact. “I meant what I said this morning. I want to be your friend. I just didn’t really think I was gonna have to deal with all these feelings quite as soon as I am. And with Scoot outing me, now I’m all nervous and paranoid and worrying about nothing.” She chanced a look up. “I’m sorry Sunset. I should be supporting you since you’re suicidal and stuff, I don’t need to be whining about my stupid shit-“

“It’s not stupid.” Sunset scoots right up next to Rainbow and places a hand on hers. “Just because my problems have a more tangible presence doesn’t mean that your problems don’t matter. You are in pain right now, and I understand that. I’m here for you for this, just like you’re here for me for… for this.”

Rainbow’s face tightens. “I scratch your back you scratch mine?”

“Yeah,” Sunset says, shrugging. “Basically.”

Rainbow nods. “I’m dumb.”

“You’re not dumb,” Sunset gently chides, bumping foreheads. “You live in a culture where your sexuality is judged by people on the streets. The people in your family, in your school, in your town. There are people here who are assaulted or even killed just for liking the same sex. As if it’s anyone else’s business but their own.” She gently exhales. “And if it’s any consolation I literally don’t care either way. I know you’re not going to do anything to me that I don’t want you to do. We’re just gonna be putting pajamas on. At least you don’t have to give me a freaking sponge bath.”

This cracks Rainbow’s stoic exterior. “Yeah… gosh darn it.” She snaps her fingers in an exaggerated fashion. “Curses. Foiled again!”

Sunset pulls away and stands up, putting her arms out as far as they would go. “Alright now please for the love of god take this jacket off of me.”

Rainbow stands, follows her, and reaches for the denim. She dry swallows, then proceeds to remove it. She gently sets it on an empty part of the floor before turning back around.

“Your arms okay?”

“They’re fine,” Sunset soothes, now lifting her arms as far as they would go, which admittedly wasn’t very high- barely even parallel to the ground. “The dress would probably be easier going down.”

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow murmurs as she unbuttons the straps from the chest piece. She moves slowly and deliberately so as not to actually make contact with anything untoward. “Hey so after this,” she begins to ask as she prepares to pull the dress down. “Do you want the bra off next or the tights orrrrrrr-“

The syllable holds in her mouth as she freezes- again- upon finding that the answer is the tights considering there was no bra to speak of. Her eyes glaze over for a few moments before she is snapped out of her reverie.

“Take a picture,” Sunset jokes. “It’ll last longer.”

Rainbow screws her eyes shut and pulls the dress the rest of the way down. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine Rainbow, they’re just boobs.” She pulls her arms back to her side, and crosses her wrists over her stomach. “You literally have two of them yourself.”

Rainbow slowly opens her eyes back up, blinks twice, and shakes her head back and forth. “Okay. Yeah. You’re right. I’m being dumb- no- hormonal. That’s just tits. Same as I figured.” She absentmindedly takes the tights off as well. “Dumbass teenage horny brain.”

“You’re fine,” Sunset says, stepping out of the tights as she rolls her eyes. “Flash just stood there for like two whole minutes going ‘duuuuhhhhh’ no matter how many times I tried to get him to move on. So you are definitely holding more blood in your body.”

Rainbow puts the clothes back in the pile before reaching for the red top. “Blood… you mean like. How there’s only enough in the body to work the brain or the dick?”

“Yeah that one. Ooo, this fabric feels nice!”

“Yeah it’s, uh. Lemme check.” She checks the tag of the shorts. Eighty percent linen. Twenty percent co… col… uh, cooler? That doesn’t sound right. Man, this writing is hard to read, faded to hell. Oh, wait, I’m gonna assume it’s cotton.”

“Linen. Isn’t that flax?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow shrugs as she pulls the shorts up. “Ask Rari…”

Sunset smacks her lips. “That ain’t gonna work chief.”

“My bad,” Rainbow murmurs as she buttons up the shirt. Save for the last few. “Uh, I’m gonna need to… do these.”

Sunset shrugs. “Alright. Do ‘em. I don’t care if you touch my chest, I sure as hell can’t do it myself.”

Rainbow pauses. “You know, I could just… NOT do these last couple buttons. Wink.”

“Gasp,” Sunset drones, monotone. “Oh no. You fiend. What ever shall I do.”

Rainbow chuckles as she fastens the last couple of buttons. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

“Wow golly gee whiz willickers, you freakin’ think so?” Sunset teases.

Rainbow sits back and admires her handiwork. And then her face falls slightly. “I think that’s a bit too small on you,” she remarks as her eyes subconsciously draw down to her now-exposed navel, and noticed just how tight the shirt is. “In fact I think it might be a bit too small on me. Come to think of it I don’t know when the last time I wore that was.”

Sunset shrugs. “It’s fine. It’s anything. It’s better than nothing. Or, well, maybe in your case. For me it could go either way.” She looks down at the gauze, particularly at the red spots. “It doesn’t look like the spots are too much bigger. Yeah. They should absolutely be fine. Now, uh. I just gotta take those pills your dad gave me, and then I think I’ll be ready for bed.”

“I’ll get you a glass of water,” Rainbow says before she walks out the door. But as her hand is on the knob, she stops. “Hold on a second. I just realized. Earlier. AJ told me that you left your phone in your apartment.” She turns around. “Why’d you ask me to call you?”

Sunset smirks. “Well. Let’s just say that I have a hunch.”

“A hunch?”

“Alright. Level with me. Let’s just assume for argument’s sake that Scootaloo can pick locks, broke into my apartment, and, let’s say ‘borrowed’ my phone. Let’s say she started reading my text history, mainly with you, and learned that I know that you’re gay. The moment she knows that I know, she makes a post on MyStable suggesting that I- who definitely knows now- outed you, to get you to implicate me. It would be a perfect plan, probably would’ve even worked too, if only she wasn’t too stupid to realize I was right next to you the whole time.”

Rainbow sighs. “Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, I know you didn’t do it. I watched you. AJ said your phone is gone. And it is weird that she said that you know. It makes…” she slams her fist into the door. “So much goddamn sense.”

A quiet knock on the other side of the door causes Rainbow to open it.

“Mom.”

“Hey sweetheart…” Windy murmurs. “I… saw on MyStable.”

Rainbow pulls the door fully open, but continues to stare at the floor. She does nothing as her mother steps forward and pulls her into a gentle hug.

“I love you,” she whispers. “So much.”

“I…” Rainbow holds her back, and her voice breaks. “I love you too, mommy.”

Sunset awkwardly turns away from the exchange, fidgeting her fingers together and actually noticing that yes indeed the pajamas were probably a bit too small for her. In fact they felt so tight around the armpits that she imagined that these were probably from Rainbow’s childhood and she just never really sorted through any of her clothes. Despite her proclivity for not wearing many clothes normally, whether back in Equestria or alone in her apartment, this felt somehow… lewd. At least the shirts weren’t too ridiculously tight, she reasoned.

“I wanna go see Fluttershy tomorrow,” Rainbow eventually murmurs. “Do you need the car?”

“Are you going to be staying the night?”

“I… maybe.”

“Actually, I can get groceries Monday, it’s fine. You probably need her more than I need more dumplings.” She pulls away and looks up at her slightly-taller-than-her daughter. “Do you want a pasta and potato sandwich?”

“On sourdough?”

Windy pats Rainbow’s cheek. “Comin’ right up. And, Sun-“ she freezes on the spot. “What… the hell… are you wearing?”

Sunset gave her a sheepish smile. “I think these pajamas are slightly too small on me.”

“Honey, you look like you’re about to explode right out of that,” she says, reaching forward and taking Sunset by the hand. “Here, I’ll let you wear a pair of mine. They’re probably a lot more suited to you in the, ah, the chest department.”

As Rainbow watches her mom kidnap her friend- for her own good, sure, but kidnapping it was regardless- she reaches for Sunset’s pills. She opens the cap and pulls one out, but she stops as she looks inside. It was a fresh bottle, still having the cotton ball at the top. She finds her eyes glued to the caplets. In her mind’s eye she can see herself pouring them right down her throat, sprinting to the bathroom and locking the door. She blinks away the horrible vision and screws the cap back on, visibly shaken. She sets the bottle back down and looks at the two little white ovals sitting in her palm. She closes her hand over them.

“I can do this…” she whispers to herself. “For Sunset.”

She leaves for the kitchen and grabs a glass, filling it with water. She brings it back just in time for Sunset to exit the master bedroom in a button-up top that actually fits her. This one is a dark maroon, with a plaid design.

“This feels really nice too, thanks Windy.”

“Oh of course, any time.” She turns to face Rainbow. “Dear, I think maybe next time you offer pajamas to your lady friends, you should make sure that you aren’t giving them clothes from the little boys section. Especially when they’re more, shall I say. Gifted, than you are in… some departments.”

“Little… boys?” Rainbow asks, blinking.

“You have a tiny tiny body dear. You’re tall but you’re very thin. Especially the torso. And the chest. You can wear the clothes from the youth section. And this,” she says, presenting the red top. “Is from the youth section. Not the Adult Women section.”

Rainbow shrugs. “My bad. I didn’t know. Sorry Suns.”

“Like I said,” Sunset replies, shrugging. “It’s fine. It wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything you’d be the one uncomfortable. Or, uh, maybe you’d be very comfortable. Your dad though…”

“Oh, he’d be super comfortable all right,” Windy teases, with an eye roll. “Right up until I smack him upside the head.”

“Dad’s not a creep.”

“I never said he’s a creep, but he is a healthy male with a healthy sex drive especially for his age-“

“Ew, MOM!”

“And Sunset is a very pretty young woman-“

“STO-OP!”

“And it would be perfectly natural for him to-“

“SHE’S LIKE FIFTEEN!”

Sunset clicks her teeth. “I mean technically right now I’m probably in my twenties, in human years.”

The two born-humans slowly turn their heads.

“Human…”

“…years?”

Sunset chuckles. “Time… feels a lot faster in the human world. By twice. Give or take. It’s really weird. Magic shit. I haven’t talked to Twilight about it yet. Or done the math. But legally speaking I’m an adult. I think. Probably.” She shrugs. “I dunno. Haven’t really worked it out yet. Not that it matters that much. Either way I’d probably be flattered. Bow seems like a nice enough guy. Of course I wouldn’t wanna get in the way of- you know what maybe I should just stop talking right now.”

Rainbow shakes her head, letting out a quiet chuckle and holding out the pills and the water. “Yeah, please don’t talk about fucking my dad.”

“I’m not gonna-“ Sunset takes the glass and pops the pills, washing them down. “Come on to your dad. That would be weird. He reminds me too much of my dad.” She sets the half-empty glass on the nightstand. “And besides, that doesn’t matter anyway because now I’m wearing a shirt that actually fits me. Y’know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you did that on purpose.”

“Oh please,” Rainbow jokes. “I’m not crafty enough to plan that out.”

Windy presses her fingers together. “So,” she begins to say in an uncharacteristically awkward tone. “Rain-“

“I’m not gonna fuck Sunset, mom.”

“Okay, I just wanted to let you know that, if you are becoming… you know… sexually active-“

“Oh my god.”

“Hey, who’s the doctor here?”

“Dad literally said those exact same words in exactly the same way earlier, why do both of you think…” she sighs. “I will get STD screenings if and when I become sexually active.”

“Good girl.” She points two fingers at Sunset. “And the same goes for you. Please get screened if and when you get to the point in your life where you start having sex.”

“Ehe… uh…” Sunset offers a sheepish grin. “Too late?”

Windy pinches the bridge of her nose. “Please tell me you at the very least used protection.”

Sunset remains suspiciously silent.

Rainbow then gently begins to push her mother out the door. “Sunset’s a grownup in Equestria, it’s fiiiine…”

“Just be safe,” she says before stepping out of her own volition. “I care about you, Sunset. You’re a good kid. I just don’t wanna see you get hurt again. Do you want a sandwich too?”

“I’m good,” Sunset says, sitting down. “I’m. Getting real tired. I think I might fall asleep before it’s finished anyway. But thank you. Not just for the food. But for being such a gracious host. And for caring for my wounds. And for… just. For being so kind to me. Nobody has been this hospitable to me since…” she blinks away some wetness from her eyes. “Since Princess Celestia. I appreciate this so, so much.”

“Of course.” Windy nods to Rainbow. “I’ll be right back.”

And with that she walks away.

A few moments of silence pass before Rainbow drapes an arm over Sunset. “Princess Celestia?”

Sunset clumsily wipes at her eyes with her knuckles. “Yeah. Um. Look, I haven’t told anyone else this before. But, um. Well, I grew up in the slums of Canterlot. Regular street rat. My parents died when I was a kid, so I was on my own. I was okay because my magic was really powerful and I used it to stay alive. To steal food. To stay warm. To fight off the stallions who preyed on lost and lonely little foals. Until one day I made a bigger explosion than I’d meant to, and it got the attention of the guards. The Princess came and… I don’t know why. If she saw potential in me, or wanted to protect collateral damage, or if she just took pity on that dirty little filly cowering in an alley, or whatever. Regardless, she gave me a place to stay. So I would live in the Lunar suite. She made me breakfast once, pancakes with silly little faces drawn on them with the fruit. I told her I was allergic to wheat. I wasn’t. I just didn’t want her to treat me like a child. Even though I was one. Eventually she enrolled me in the School for Gifted Unicorns. I ended up top of my class. And eventually I set my sights on the throne. On conquest. I wanted to control everyone. To make it so that the disgusting depths of society were no more. I wanted to fix it all. But I also wanted me to be on top of it. To be not just Princess, but the Queen. I would do anything to rule Equestria. I saw Celestia as a stepping stone to further my own agenda. But I didn’t realize until after I betrayed her that I also saw her as my only friend. I miss her so much…”

When she is finished with her story, she finds herself laying down, her head too heavy to lift. But she continues further on a tangent, her words now slurring together.

“I hurt her so bad. She was the only mare in my life who ever treated me good, and I threw her away. But I don’t wanna throw away your mom.” She slowly reaches a hand out and snakes it together in Rainbow’s. “And I don’t wanna throw away you. You’re a good friend. Thank you for taking such good care of me today. I really appreciate it.”

Rainbow pats their hands.

“Good night Sunset,” she whispers. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

“Thanks… Dashie…” Sunset’s head rolls to the side as she finally passes out.

As Rainbow watches the peaceful rise and fall of her chest, she clenches her free fist and allows herself a few more tears.

But this time, they aren’t for herself.

/x/x/x/