Other

by andrizzi

5 - Other world part 1

Wednesday, 7:30 am.

“Blessings, and good awakening, brothers and sisters. I hope you feel groovy today. As every morning, I’m now going to sing a sonic bliss to help you starting your day at peace, and put your senses at ease.

“Ommmm. Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee!

“Ommmm. Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee!”

Click.

Fluttershy retrieved her hand from the radio and rubbed her eyes with one palm as she awoke. Usually, she would have stayed in bed for a few more minutes, relaxing and listening Tree Hugger’s morning transmission, but she was too agitated that day. All of her thoughts went to Sunset the same moment she opened her eyes.

No, her image was already in Fluttershy’s mind even before she could lift her eyelids. Maybe even before she was awake. She was that much worried after the events of the last day.

Feeling an urgent need, Fluttershy turned her gaze at her plushies collection over the shelf and found what she necessitated. She leaned beyond the bed and stretched out her arm to reach a little fluffy plushie. It was a knitted little pony, with pink hair and a yellow coat. Fluttershy brought the little thing near her face, and she started caressing it.

While she was at it, the house started to get in the daily moveset of the family. Rays of sunshine started to enter from the window as her father’s footsteps went down the stairs. The engine of a motorbike sang loudly from the street, harmonizing with the coffee pot. Fluttershy remained still as life spurted all around her in the morning.

A part of her wanted to get up, get dressed, and get to school as fast as possible in order to reunite with her girl.

Another part was scared of what she would find.

---

Ten minutes before the lessons started, Fluttershy was standing in front of CHS’s statue. As usual, she was spreading fliers for the animal shelter, but she didn’t have the same motivation she generally did.

Since the Fall Formal, Sunset and the girls had started helping her with getting the other students interested in her charity activities in many ways, including handing out some fliers along her side as the students entered the school. It was during that period that Fluttershy developed growing feelings for her girlfriend, and when she found out that they were reciprocated it became part of their routine to meet in front of the school. They would greet each other as a couple, sometimes with some snuggles, and then they would face the challenges of the day together.

But Fluttershy still hadn’t seen Sunset that day. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t help but feel the absence of not only her lover, but also of confidence she had along her. She was only able to look at the ground and faintly hand the flyers around.

“Hello, Fluttershy.”

“Hi, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy winced and came back on earth as she heard the cheering voices. She was so absorbed in her own thought that she didn’t notice Pinkie Pie and Rarity until the two friends reached her from both her sides. “Oh, hello girls.”

“So,” said Pinkie, wrapping her arm around Fluttershy’s shoulders, “how are you?”

“Um...” Fluttershy took her time to ponder before answering. “Fine?”

Fluttershy felt Rarity embrace her too from the other shoulder. The former tittered before talking. “Well, I sure hope you wouldn’t mind having two set of arms here ready to help you out. You really shouldn’t be here alone, after all.”

Fluttershy darted suspicious looks to both her smiling friends. Her very smiling friends, who were so near that all their hips were pressing together.

She spoke with a voice as flat as her eyes went. “What do you want?”

Both Rarity and Pinkie Pie flinched, but the former tried to recover from the corner. “Hehe. Sweetheart, clearly we just want to lend you a hand. Why would you ever think that we have a an ulterior motive?”

“Pinkie is being too calm,” said Fluttershy, pointing matter-of-factly at the now whistling Pinkie Pie. “And you’re using that tone.”

“Beg you pardon?”

“You know. That charming and fluttering voice that you do while persuading.”

“Oh! Pfft, chk, th. That’s just...” Rarity stepped back and waved her hand as to dismiss the idea. Then she lifted her nose and turned her face away like there wasn’t even need to end the statement. Fluttershy instead pointed straight at Pinkie Pie with a stern look, making her sweat from the forehead.

After a couple of seconds, she broke. “Alright! Rarity said we had to be smooth.”

Rarity sighed.

“About what?” asked Fluttershy without loosening the grip.

Pinkie rubbed her nape. “Well, we really-really want to help you. Really. Just thinking about you makes my fever go on a joust.”

When she saw the dumbfounded expressions on her friends, Pinkie rolled her eyes disgruntled and burst out, “Really? My fever goes up and down… because I’m worried sick. Come on!”

Rarity shook her head and reached for Fluttershy’s shoulder, making her turn. “What Pinkie here is trying to say is, while we don’t want to force ourselves into your private life, we cannot just attend events like yesterday. We care about you, you know we do, and it would be oafish from us to not at least trying to help you.”

Rarity looked at Fluttershy straight into the eyes as she spoke. She wasn’t using the pitching and sophisticated voice anymore, her words were passionate and coming right from her heart. “I want to believe in Sunset this time. I really want to believe that she had a bad day. But you must tell us what happened.”

After a short moment of silence, Fluttershy broke the eye contact and stared downwards. They truly looked concerned about her, and probably about Sunset too. Fluttershy was sure that they only meant well, but was it ok to tell them?

Why wouldn’t it be? In the end, there was nothing to be ashamed for. And Sunset didn’t ask her to keep it a secret, so maybe it was ok to talk about it with a friend. Surely it was ok to talk about it with a friend.

But what if she was wrong?

What if Sunset assumed that it was too much personal to involve other people, even close friends? What if she only trusted Fluttershy to share about that side of her life with? She could get angry. She could feel betrayed, maybe she would never trust Fluttershy again. Maybe she would hate her if Fluttershy revealed everything.

“Please, darling.”

Fluttershy looked back at her friends, without knowing how to respond. She was only able to open her mouth without emitting a sound, when someone arrived and caused all the girls to startle with one word.

“Hi.”

Turning around, they all saw Sunset Shimmer. She was looking as usual, except her eyes were half-lidded open and her mouth was flat. No one could tell if she was just tired or in a bad mood. Unsure about how to behave, the girls remained silent as Sunset slowly approached them.

Once she was near enough, Sunset enveloped Fluttershy with one arm, holding her close. She gave her a little and fast peck before pressing their cheeks together. “Sorry I’m late.”

Fluttershy’s fears finally turned down a skosh. She was still worried, but she was happy with Sunset wanting her close again. “How are you, Sunny?”

“Sleepy.”

Behind Fluttershy, Rarity said, “Hi Sunset, we were just talking about you.”

“Yeah, speaking of the devil,” added lightly Pinkie Pie. Her playful expression morphed into a concerned one after a moment of pondering. “Ugh, no offense?”

Sunset looked up from Fluttershy’s shoulder. “None. Taken.” Then she rolled her eyes to Rarity. “You were talking about me, then?”

“Yes,” answered Rarity, without hesitation.

Sunset understood what Rarity was implying just by watching into her blue eyes. Sunset’s gaze went down to Fluttershy’s hair before talking again. “I know I was a party pooper yesterday.”

“That’s hardly the matter,” said Rarity with severity. Then she softened her tone. “Sunset, if you should have a problem–”

“I know, but you don’t have to worry. There isn’t a real problem, I just have to deal with a situation.”

Rarity asked with concern, “What kind of situation?”

“It’s just a hypothetical situation, and I’ll probably deal with it after school.” Still holding Fluttershy by her shoulders, Sunset moved towards the stairs in front of the school. “Really, I don’t want you to worry about this, it’s nothing.”

As they reached the front doors, Sunset turned apologetically to Pinkie Pie. “I’m sorry for the party.”

In reply, Pinkie touched her own chest with the fingers of her left hand and imitated Rarity’s attitude. “That’s hardly the matter, darling.”

Then, when they were inside the hall, Pinkie leaned on her side and whispered in Sunset’s ear, “You owe me a good party, anyway.”

Finally, Sunset chuckled faintly. The two groups departed for their lockers after promising to meet again at launch.

As they were walking in silence through the halls, Sunset kept a tight grasp around Fluttershy’s shoulders. It was the first time that they walked this close to each other in public.

Ironically, Fluttershy had never felt her girlfriend more distant.

---

Later, at lunch time, Sunset lifted her tray of food from the counter and went to the usual table of the other girls. Once she was halfway she noticed that she wasn't the first to have arrived.

Rainbow Dash was keeping her head up while wearing her shades, her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she was leaning her back over the backrest.

Applejack was leaning forward on her seat and had her arms crossed over the table, her face covered by her stetson.

Sunset sighed and resumed her pace. She sat down in front of the intimidating duo, thinking about something to say to break the ice. Her superior mind came out with a sheepish, “Hi.”

Neither Rainbow Dash or Applejack seemed to even acknowledge her presence.

Sunset gulped, cowed into silence, and focused on her lunch. While she was emptying her plate, Rainbow Dash and Applejack simply kept looking at her from behind their accessories. Feeling uneasy, Sunset tried to speak up once again. “You really should eat your food before it gets cold.”

Like the last time, there was no response.

Sunset had almost finished her meal, and she couldn’t stand to be treated like that. “So, I'm getting the silent treatment, huh?” Still, the two girls ignored her. “Look, I know that I shouldn't have acted like that yesterday. It was wrong from me to burst out at Fluttershy, regardless of what I was going through, but I–”

“You’re wasting your breath, Sunset,” said Pinkie Pie, coming from the background. “Those two aren’t going to talk with anybody for a while.”

Sunset looked puzzled at her. “What are you talking about?”

Pinkie Pie laid her tray of food on the table and went behind the dynamic duo to lift the shades and hat with her indices. Under the accessories, both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were keeping their eyes closed. Applejack was even drooling.

“What the...? Are they sleeping?” asked a bewildered Sunset.

“More like they're trying to recover from last night,” replied Pinkie Pie with a disapproving tone. “I know all the clues to recognize a late party, and I can tell you that those two got totally wild last night.”

Rainbow Dash snored loudly as to confirm from her sleep.

“Wow, what time do you think they got home yesterday?”

“Baby, I don’t think they went home at all.”

Sunset's eyes went wide. “You’re saying that they came directly to school without some sleep?”

“Well, Rainbow Dash here is just being her regular self, but I had a class with AJ first, and she was just as comatose. Luckily for them, nurse Pie here has just the right medicine for this kind disease.” Pinkie went to her tray and took a bottle of water.

“Well, I guess that hydration is important,” commented Sunset in thought. “But I don’t think that making them drink water will be enough to put them on their legs soon–”

As Sunset talked, Pinkie removed the shades from Rainbow Dash and spurted the water on her face with a strong swing of the arm.

“–or you could do that,” finished Sunset flatly.

As Pinkie put her sunglasses back on their place, Rainbow Dash started to make some ugly waking up noises. “Urg, whaaa...?”

Pinkie slapped her friend lightly on the head. “On your feet, Lazarus!”

In response, Rainbow's face fell on her plate of spaghetti and said something that was muffled by the food. Even if she wasn’t sure, Sunset thought it was something like: “Let me try again in three days.”

“That’s what you get for going to a not Pinkie-approved party,” said Pinkie as she reclined Applejack's head backward. “Without even inviting me, moreover,” she added, muttering to herself.

Pinkie emptied the remaining half of the bottle on Applejack, who woke up between some coughs. “Well, hello there. How are you doing?” asked Pinkie, with a half grin and slightly disappointed eyes, as her friend finally woke up.

Applejack straightened up and shook her head slowly. “Ah feel like Ah got shot through the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy Six thousand,” she said before resting her chin on the table.

Right after Pinkie took a seat between the tired duo, they all heard Rarity greeting everybody as she was approaching them her own food. “Bonjour.” She arrived at the table and her attention was immediately caught by her friends’ neglected state, making her smile disappear. “Please, tell me you haven’t reduced so because one of your dares.”

“Howdy, Rarity,” muttered Applejack, looking at her with bloodshot eyes. “And no, it ain't nothing to do with that.”

Rainbow Dash spun her head and narrowed her eyebrows. “Ya sure? I think I said something like ‘I dare you’ or something at some point.”

Applejack grunted and massaged her temple for a moment before answering. “...you may be right.”

Right at that moment, Fluttershy arrived too, sitting near Sunset. “What happened?” she asked with concerned, while her girlfriend placed an arm around her waist.

Rainbow Dash lifted her head of a couple of inches. “Uuh, I dreamed about Squirtle using Water Gun on me,” she said, slowly and weakly.

“Lucky you, Ah got a Waterfall all over mah face,” retorted Applejack, causing Sunset and Pinkie to giggle. Applejack turned to the latter with an annoyed look “Why did ya wake us up?”

Pinkie Pie skewered some spaghetti on her fork then brought it near Applejack’s lips. “Because recess time is running short and you have to eat, silly.” Pinkie proceeded to help Applejack and Rainbow with getting fed before they all had to go to class.

As they were all eating in silence, Sunset suddenly noticed that her backpack was vibing. She quickly turned over and pull the diary out of it. Hurrying, she leafed through the pages until she found the one writing itself.

As she was reading, she felt Fluttershy gently poking at her shoulder.

“Sunny? What’s going on?”

“Yeah,” interjected Pinkie, “who’s there? Is it Twilight? Ooh! Ooh! Is she coming visit?! Is it for a new threat to our world? Is it just a courtesy visit? Ooh! I can throw a ‘first courtesy visit’ party! I mean, that would be the first time that she comes here without worrying about–”

Despite their tiredness, both Rainbow Dash and Applejack found the strength to clench Pinkie Pie's mouth with their hands, muffling her waffling.

Sunset finished reading the page fast, then she put the diary back inside the backpack. “It’s Twilight. She’s not coming, though. She was just replying to my last message.”

“What about?” asked Rarity.

Ignoring Rarity, Sunset hastily turned to the two partygoers. “So, you two had a lot of fun last night?”

Applejack shrugged. “Suppose so. Kinda have a bunch of blurred memories right now, but Ah can tell it ain't fun now, for sure.”

Pinkie Pie looked down with a chuckle, “Looks pretty funny to me.”

“Trust me, it’s not,” replied Applejack harshly.

Rarity narrowed her eyes to Sunset. “You’re not going to change the subject. What were you–”

Rarity was interrupted by the sound of the bell that was marking the end of lunch break, meaning that they had to return to their school activity.

“Well, I guess that’s all,” said Sunset before getting up and moving away fast, much to Rarity disagreement.

Fluttershy hurried up and engulfed, in an unlikely way from her, what was left on her plate before chasing Sunset. When she was out of earshot, Rarity turned to Pinkie with a fierce look. “We must have a real talk with them. And you are going to help me to hold them down.”

“Okie-Dokie-Lokie! But first you’ll help me holding those two up,” replied Pinkie as she was attempting to lift Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who were out cold again.

“Deal.”

---

All of the Rainbooms, barring Sunset, were resting on the stairs in front of the school, waiting for the only member left to join them. In the meanwhile, they were planning what to do that evening. Casually, Pinkie Pie wanted to try out some recipes for cupcakes at the sugarcube corner and she needed some taste testers.

“Or tasters, how I like to call them,” said Pinkie with a smile. As usual, she saw some puzzled faces from her friends and understood that she had to explain that out. “You see, I took taste and tester and–”

“Darling, you do know that it’s already a word, right?” asked Rarity.

Pinkie Pie snorted. “Well, duh. Of course, it’s a word. I just used it in a sentence.”

“I meant–” Rarity shook her head “–nevermind.”

“So you’re all coming, right? Right?” asked Pinkie Pie as she started to bounce in front of them.

Rainbow Dash stood up from the stairs, faltering a little. “Well, I’m not gonna say no to some free sugar. Feel like my head really needs it right now.”

“Yeah, me too,” chimed Applejack with a big yawn.

“Fanterrific! Fluttershy, are you coming too?” Pinkie landed right in front of Fluttershy with her hands joined and big puppy eyes. “Please, say yes!”

Fluttershy wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Rarity and Pinkie had probably planned it sooner, but she was sure that they didn’t have any ill intent. “Well, I don’t see why not.”

Pinkie Pie hugged Fluttershy tight. “Yay, we just have to grab Sunset and we can go.”

As called into question, the quoted girl appeared from the front doors carrying her backpack over her shoulder.

“Sunset!” called Pinkie Pie as she was crawling on the stair treads. “We’re all going to my bakery – well, the Cakes' bakery actually – for a fun evening rich of tasting. You’re coming.” Then she shook her rump like a little dog.

“Actually...” Sunset was hushed by Pinkie’s fingers on her lips.

“There wasn’t a question mark and I wasn’t asking, Sunny. You’re coming.” Pinkie Pie slid down on the rail and led the way as every girl followed her. “I can’t wait to try out all my new ideas! Ooh! Ooh! What about this: personalized muffins and cupcakes! Every single muffin or cupcake is adorned and colored in a way that resembles its owner! I could use apples and custard cream for Applejack, then...”

Pinkie stopped herself when she felt Rarity’s hand poking her on the shoulder. As she turned back, she saw that Sunset had followed them just for a few steps before stopping in front of the statue that worked as the portal to the other world.

And by the look on her face, she was willing to go through it.

All the girls spun on their feet and traded worried looks at each other, unsure of how to react to the situation. “What is she doing?” asked Rainbow Dash with concern. “Is she going to...”

With the bated breath, Fluttershy broke away from the group and ran to her as fast as she could. “Wait! Sunset!”

Sunset looked at her girlfriend and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

Fluttershy stopped in her place just two feets away, opening and closing her mouth with efforts but without results. Finally, she found the courage to talk. “Are… are you going back?”

Understanding her girl’s worries, Sunset turned over and smiled reassuringly. “I’m not going back to stay. It’s just a quick trip,” she said.

“How long are you planning to stay?”

“Not long. Maybe a couple hours, or I could stay for dinner. But I’ll be back before tomorrow.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly, keeping her gaze low on the ground for a short silent moment. “I’m coming with you,” she said shyly.

“No!”

Fluttershy winced back, frightened at the sudden outburst. She could have sworn that Sunset’s face had shifted to desperate for an instant. But even if that was true, Sunset was quick to recover her smile. “I… I’m just having a little talk. There’s no need for you to come.”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but frown in disappointment, understanding that Sunset was practically begging for not being accompanied by her.

Sunset realized that and thought fast, offering then her backpack to Fluttershy. “Here, take this. This way, you’ll be able to write me with the diary if you want to. I can’t bring it with me anyway.”

Fluttershy looked at the backpack and said, “Ok.” Then she took it and held it with care over her chest. She still did feel her chest stinging with worries, but knowing that she could write to her girl whenever she wanted was enough to build trust inside her. Enough trust to accept Sunset’s will. Besides, it wasn’t time to think about herself. If Sunset had something to do, or face, Fluttershy knew that her duty was to support her girl no matter what. She only wished to be allowed to help, though.

Trying to underline that, Fluttershy leaned closer to give Sunset a kiss. But she only met air, as Sunset had already stepped closer to the portal.

Keeping the delusion for herself, Fluttershy looked ahead and said, “I’ll bake those bran cookies for when you’re back.”

Sunset turned to her with a smile. “Can’t wait.”

“See you soon, Sunset!” chirped Pinkie Pie from a few feet away.

Sunset smiled and waved her hand while all the girls made as much.

Then, she looked the portal in front of her.

After a moment of hesitation, she walked right through it with a steady pace.

Comments

[BenRG]

I think that Sunset is genuinely afraid of what the Princess of the Day is going to tell her and she doesn't want Fluttershy to see what this truth will bring out of her.

[andrizzi]

7872155 That is a good interpretation.