Fluttershy was worried, there was no denying it. She had always cared about Sunset to some extent; there was just something there that drew her to the girl. She was also sure that Sunset felt the same which was the whole reason the girl was such a bully. Sunset was afraid of those feelings, of that Fluttershy was positive, and that made Sunset lash out at the target of those feelings.
It was Thursday now and Sunset still hadn’t shown up at school, more than enough reason to worry Fluttershy. She had a bad feeling that something was wrong. She could smell it on the girl when they were close to each other. She had dismissed it though as a side effect of being turned into a human when the girl was really a magical pony. Could she have been wrong though? She knew she was, but was afraid to admit it, because that would mean that there was something seriously wrong.
She didn’t want to think that, Fluttershy didn’t want to even think of a possibility of not having Sunset near her. Their newfound friendship had started rocky, but it was the best thing that had ever happened. Fluttershy had been able to spend time with the girl that occupied so many of her thoughts, even when the object of her affection seemed to try her best to push them all away. Something that Fluttershy refused to let happen, even when the others may have been okay with it.
“Are ya even listenin to meh, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, her thick southern drawl making Fluttershy shudder. Normally she didn’t mind it, Applejack being one of her friends, but every since Sunset disappeared the other girls had been getting on Fluttershy’s nerves. She tried not to get angry at them, but they refused to completely give Sunset a completely fair chance.
Okay, Fluttershy could partially understand that. It was Sunset who had broken up their friendship a year ago, as well as bullied and blackmailed nearly the entire school. Something like that just couldn’t be ignored, but they did want to give Sunset the benefit of the doubt. Wanting to do that, and emotionally wanting to do so, was two different things. It was hard forgetting the pain Sunset caused when the girl was around for any normal person.
Thankfully, Fluttershy was far from normal. She remembered every hurtful thing Sunset had done, but she had dealt with far worse from her own family. It was something she was use to since she was a disappointment to her lineage, and she was proud of that. While a good amount of her family had nothing but contempt for most people, Fluttershy held compassion and love. Just because she was different than most of her friends didn’t mean she had to look down at them.
“What?” Fluttershy asked, looking up at her friends around the circular lunch table. It was one of the few smaller, round tables in the cafeteria and it seemed that the other students left it empty just for the group of friends. Not that many of the students wanted to eat with Sunset Shimmer.
“Ah was saying, ya shouldn’t worry so much about that darn backstabbin girl.” Applejack replied with an eye roll. Much like Rainbow Dash, Applejack wanted to forget about Sunset now that the flame haired girl was missing.
“Yeah, Flutters, if the bitch wants to ignore us, then she can go to hell.” Rainbow shrugged, her head propped up on a hand with elbow on the table. She was chewing on a fry while giving an exasperated sigh.
“Darling, while I don’t exactly agree with how they are saying it, Sunset is more than capable of taking care of herself.” Rarity said, wiping some crumbs from the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
“At least some of you seem to give a shit.” Sunset snapped, throwing her tray down on the table. If it wasn’t for Fluttershy grabbing it, the contents would have spilled across the table. “You know, I expected this shit from Miss Gay Pride and the country hick, but I sure as hell didn’t expect it from you Rarity.”
“What did you say?” Rainbow snapped, starting to get up only to be stopped by Pinkie Pie’s hand on her shoulder.
“I warned you my pinkie sense said it was a bad idea bringing this up.” Pinkie whispered, refusing to look up at Sunset’s angry visage.
“Sunset, u-um, where were you. If you don’t mind that is?” Fluttershy asked, worried when she saw the tears building up in Sunset’s eyes. Unlike the other girls who seemed angry at the pissed off girl’s state of mind. Fluttershy was good at sensing the emotional states of those around her though, especially Sunset’s. Especially now, the girl was practically screaming out in anger and frustration. There was also a heavy dose of despair clouding her emotions as well.
“As if you give a shit!” Sunset snarled as she stomped off from the group.
“Let her go, who needs her.” Rainbow Dash scoffed, pissing Fluttershy off more than she ever thought possible. How could she act so, so, so much like the bitch Rainbow accused Sunset of being? Fluttershy knew that it was because the slight had pissed off Rainbow, as well as hurt her a little, but at the moment she didn’t give a damn.
She loved Rainbow and her friends, but she had to admit that she still hurt over them breaking up. Of course she knew it was Sunset’s fault that they broke up, but unlike the others, Fluttershy did try to talk to them after. It was the others who were adamant about ending their friendship, and in the end Fluttershy had to accept it. Now that they were back together, things for the most part seemed like their fight never happened. Fluttershy seemed to be the only one that was still affected by the stupid argument.
“I do, for one.” Fluttershy said as she pushed away from the table.
“What are ya doin, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, her emotions at war inside. Fluttershy could feel the anger at Sunset, but also the worry for the girl, even if said worry was buried deeper than anything else.
“I’m going to check on our friend.” Fluttershy angrily replied, “Something I think you all should be doing, but you know what? Don’t bother!”
Fluttershy could feel her own eyes burning her eyes as the girls stared at her in shock. Spinning around on her hell, she stomped off after Sunset. Thankfully Sunset must have showered recently, the scent of her shampoo lingering in the air. Following the scent of strawberries, Fluttershy made her way down the mostly empty hall to the girl’s restroom and pushed her way in.
“Sunset?” Fluttershy asked, looking at the flame haired girl who was fighting back tears, furiously scrubbing at her face in the sink.
“Go away, I don’t want to deal with any of you right now.” Sunset snapped, pulling up from her previous leaning position. “I shouldn’t have bothered coming in today, but for some screwed up reason, I wanted to see you. To see you all.”
“Don’t talk like that.” Fluttershy said, taking a step toward Sunset. Sunset stepped away and walked to the opposite side of the room, leaning on her hands against the cold, hard cinder blocks. Sighing she leaned her forehead against the wall as Fluttershy came up to her and started rubbing her shoulder.
“Why do you even care?” Sunset said, trying her best to keep the tears from falling. She should have known better than to come here seeking comfort. “The only reason you all bother with me is because that bitch Sparkle asked you to keep an eye on me.”
“I care for you, I can’t say why the others do, but I care for you. I cared before Princess Twilight came here, and I still care for you.” Fluttershy said, a deep blush covering her cheeks as she tried to hide behind her hair. She was trying to figure out just how far to go, just how much should she admit to?
“Yeah, prove it!” Sunset snapped, spinning around to glare at Fluttershy. For several moments Fluttershy shifted nervously, a determined look finally settling on her face.
“Screw it, I don’t care about the rules.” Fluttershy said, grabbing Sunset’s shoulders and pinning the girl to the wall.
“What are you doing?” Sunset demanded, fear filling her when she realized just how strong Fluttershy was. Sunset herself was a lot stronger than the average teen, but Fluttershy, her strength was so far beyond Sunset’s own.
“You want proof that I care?” Fluttershy asked, leaning closer and closer to Sunset. “Fine, I’ll show you just how much I care!”
“Wh-?” Sunset started to ask, her voice cut off as Fluttershy’s lips smashed against hers. Unlike the gentle kiss that Sunset would have expected from this girl, the kiss was rough and eager. It was as if she was putting all of her desperation for Sunset to understand into the kiss, and Fluttershy was. She was begging Sunset to understand as the fire haired girl struggled.
At first nothing seemed to happen, then all of a sudden, it felt as if the two were struck by lightning. The world turned dark for the two, at least at first. Slowly, light filled the abyss they found themselves floating it, neither wearing any clothing at all. Despite being naked, nothing was showing as their bodies seemed to be filled with a bright inner light.
“Where are we?” Sunset asked, scared as she looked around.
“I don’t know.” Fluttershy squeaked out, unsure if this was really happening.