4- Smoldering
/x/x/x/
Rainbow’s sobs soon subside. She takes a few deep breaths and sits up, pulling herself from Fluttershy’s embrace. Pinkie and Applejack remove their arms from her back, and scooch away slightly to give her room. Sunset remains still on the couch.
“Sun...” Rainbow rasps, before wiping her eyes. “I really, really owe you an apology. Big time. A lot, actually.” She turns around, looking up, and places a hand on Sunset’s knee. “If what Applebloom says is true... and I believe her, now that there's solid hard evidence... then I guess I am pretty stupid after all.”
Sunset nods and leans forward, setting a hand over Rainbow’s. “No, not stupid. Given the circumstances I guess I understand your trepidation. If there's anything I'll let you get away with calling yourself, it's... reckless and hotheaded. And you talk without thinking. But not stupid.”
“Still... I just. Came in here guns blazing, and threatening to hurt you, and... fuck, I was a real bitch. Making fun of your cuts, and... jumping in front of a car. God, I can't believe I said those things...”
“It’s whatever,” Sunset murmurs, shoving down the burning sensation in her throat. “Heat of the moment.”
“Are you sure?” Rainbow asks, a pleading tone to her voice. “You really don't look like it's whatever.”
“I'm fine.” She snaps, before wincing and sighing. “Okay, no, I’m not fine. You really hurt me, Dash. I understand why, but... that's the problem. You don't trust me. I'm sick that you don't, but like, I get why you don't. I'm torn between expecting you to accept me because I guess that's what friends do, and forgiving your caution because I was horrible to you for so long. I don't know how I feel. I'm just so caught up in, in catching up to the fact that I'm here with you girls, that... I feel like it isn't real, almost.”
“It is real, sug,” Applejack murmurs, putting her hand on Sunset’s other knee. “I firmly believe that everyone in this room is here for ya, and ready to do what we can to get ya outta this mess. Right, girls?”
Pinkie firmly nods instantly, but Fluttershy hesitates.
“Shy?”
Fluttershy tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know that logically, Applebloom did it. There's the proof. But there's still that feeling that... maybe Rarity is right. I don't mean that she is right, just that there is a chance- no matter how teensy tiny- that you are Anon-a-Miss. But there's no denying that whether you did it or not, you hurt yourself. Bad. Which means that if you didn't do it then you didn't do it, but if you did do it, then you must feel awful about it, awful enough to try to take your own life. And that means you feel remorse, which means that there's hope for you. So whether you did it or not, I forgive you, and I'm willing to put it all behind us, and help you become the person that you deserve to be.”
Sunset gives a little smile at the speech. “Thank you Fluttershy... that really means a lot, despite the doubt. Maybe because of it. I just wish Rarity was the same way... but I guess in her mind I did hurt her horribly. And, like I told Applejack before, she just thinks we’re lying. I can only hope that she comes around soon, or the brats tell the truth...” her smile disappears. “The kids, I mean. I... ugh. I haven't called them that in months.”
“Trust me hun, brat ain't strong enough a word to describe what those varmints did to you. Strong enough’d be somethin’ I won’t say.”
“Bitches.” Rainbow offers.
“Well...” Applejack shrugs. “If the shoe fits.”
Pinkie sidles up next to Sunset on the couch, and puts her arms around the girl. “For the record, I’d always hoped that you weren't Anon-a-Miss. I wanted so bad that we’d find proof somehow that a secret-stealing ninja was stalking us and blaming you, or a big bundle of black magic took over your brain while you slept and made you do those things sleepwalking, or that all five of you were staging a really long and mean prank together, or any other explanation than you betraying our trust. But...” she sighs and pulls tightly. “No, there's no buts. I was a bad friend for not trusting you, and I hope one day you'll forgive me. Plus I was really really reeeeeally looking forward to our sleepovers at everyone’s house and now we can have them!”
Sunset offers a bittersweet smile and returns the embrace as best as she can. “I appreciate that, Pinkie... and honestly out of the five of you, you and Fluttershy did the least retaliation so you two are the least in need of apologizing... can't say the same about Rarity though.”
Fluttershy takes her other side. “Speaking of the sleepovers, why don't we have one tonight? Here. It's getting pretty dark, and Rarity might be waiting for Pinkie, if she hasn't left already...”
“She probably did,” Pinkie bluntly states. “I did kinda blow the lid open on her sister being in on the operation, and I did kinda admonish her for being mean to Dashie, and I did kinda annoy her a little bit on the way here in Dashie’s car, and-”
“Ah fuck!” Rainbow interrupts, standing up. “I gotta call my dad and tell him Rarity’s got the car. I'm gonna be... well I mean I'll be fine but they're gonna worry about me if I don't. Our dads can sort it out but they should know before it gets dark. Be back in a second.” She heads off to the hall before stopping for a second and turning around. “Sorry to interrupt you, Pink... and uh. Sorry for saying I was gonna throw you out the window, Sunset.”
Pinkie gives a thumbs-up, but Sunset hesitates. After a moment of deliberation she offers one as well. Seemingly satisfied, Rainbow nods and heads off into Fluttershy’s bedroom.
After she leaves, Applejack sidles forward and rests her elbows on Sunset’s knees. “Okay so Sunset, you are my number one priority right now. You understand that, right?”
She nods.
“Okay good. Now, while it's just the four of us, I gotta ask y'all. What in tarnation went down between those two? It just ain't like Rarity to off an’ insult Dash like that, even on her off days. And Rainbow... I ain't ever heard her talk so vulgar to her friends before. I'm concerned for ‘em both. Now, I just found out today that some lewd photos of Rarity got leaked in this whole business, so I can kinda understand why she's so on edge, but what about Rainbow?”
Sunset shrugs. “I know nothing about you girls this month beyond what you’ve posted on MyStable. Honestly I'm as lost as you are, but something’s gotta be wrong because she was digging up dirt from back before, when I actually was evil.”
“What kind of dirt?” Pinkie asks.
Applejack scratches the back of her neck. “The, uh. Bake sale incident. When she said the softball team was gonna come Saturday but they came Sunday instead.”
Pinkie puts a finger to her lips. “Well, on the way here, she did kinda seem a little flustered.”
“It's because she thought it was me,” Fluttershy murmurs. “She thought I was in trouble. So it's gotta be something else. I honestly couldn't tell you because she hasn't talked about anything like that with me recently. But I don't know why she’s acting like that. It was... scary.”
“Scary doesn't cover it,” Sunset replies. “I've never seen her talk or act so violent in such a long time. Probably since she, uh... figured out I planted weed in her locker.”
“I'd never heard that story,” Fluttershy says. “I do remember her being in trouble and having to be her alibi, but she didn't wanna talk about it. What exactly happened?”
The door in the hall opens, and Sunset exhales. “I'll text you later,” she says, before turning to face Rainbow.
She pockets her phone and leans against the wall. “Hondo’s gonna pick up my dad and they're gonna go to the bar. I forgot there was a game on tonight, completely slipped my mind. Then dad’s gonna drop him off and go home. Mom’s gonna be watching her soaps but she’ll feed Tank. So yeah, Fluttershy, I'll stay tonight like you said.”
“If I'm bein’ completely honest,” Applejack chimes. “I’d really prefer that both myself and Sunset not come anywhere close to my house for the sole reason of, one of us might try to kill my sister. Y'all mentioned earlier that we could have a sleepover here, you sure about that Fluttershy? I dunno ‘bout your parents or brother.”
“Oh, they’ll all be gone until tomorrow evening. Mom and dad are doing, whatever, and Zephyr is...” she sighs. “He's being an idiot. Like always. But I'm sure you all probably already knew that.”
“Harsh...” Sunset mutters.
“You ain't met Zeph,” Applejack chuckles. “He's as idiot as they come. The whiskey under the pantry is as smart as he gets.”
Rainbow’s ears perk up. “Whiskey?” She asks.
Sunset lets out a nervous laugh. “I needed a shot of liquid courage to steel myself for getting some peroxide an inch deep into my arm.”
“Oh, it wasn't that bad, ya big baby. How's your arms by the way?”
Sunset offers her limbs. “You'll have to check.”
Fluttershy politely excuses herself from the room as Applejack takes the longer gauze band. She unclips it and starts to unwind, ignorant of the guilty expression on Rainbow and the fearful one on Pinkie.
“Looks better,” she murmurs as some of the wounds reveal themselves. “Still hurt?”
“Eh, a little. Maybe a two? Three if you touch it.”
“I’ll take your word for it. Let’s leave the gauze on for a spell. Shower’s probably out of the picture but I said before, I’ll bathe ya. How’s the worse one?”
“Three, four if you touch it.”
Applejack unwinds the other arm, and winces. “Yup, these got infected. I'll put some ointment on ‘em and we’ll see how it does overnight. For now, at least you ain't bleedin’ anymore. Promise me you won't do nothin’ stupid like this again?”
Sunset was torn between being offended and agreeing, but leaned more towards the latter. “Yeah... promise you won't abandon me again?”
The two let out dark chuckles as they re-wrapped the bandages. It was only after they finished that they took notice of their company’s somber expressions.
“What?” Sunset asks.
Applejack pinches the bridge of her nose. “Right, I forgot to tell you, Pinkie. Sunset’s-”
“I know.” She whispers, resting her head on Sunset’s shoulder. “I... Fluttershy mentioned it earlier but I just didn't put two and two together. I didn't know it was that bad...”
“Hey, I’ll get better,” Sunset promises, taking Pinkie’s hand in her own. “I have you guys now.”
Pinkie nods, but Rainbow just shakes her head. “We shouldn't have let you get that bad in the first place... I'll get Fluttershy.” And with that she leaves the room again.
Sunset sighs and leans back. “Great, now you guys feel bad because I feel bad...”
“No, no,” Applejack shakes her head. “We feel bad because of our own mistakes and transgressions. That's guilt we’re entitled to. Your arms... that was you feeling bad because of lies and us believin’ them. Don't you feel bad for our feelings. You only need to focus on you. You are the important one here. The rest of us, we’ll get along fine. Right Pinkie?”
She nods, pulling closer. “Yeah...” she puts on a brave face and smiles. “Yeah, you're right AJ. We should be happy because Sunset and us are friends again!” She gasps. “I should throw a happy welcome back to the friend group party!”
Sunset smiles back, though it doesn't reach her eyes. “Yeah... you should do that, it sounds like a lot of fun... even though Rarity probably won't go.”
“If we give Rarity time I’m sure she’ll come around.” Applejack cracks her knuckles. “If she don't come around on her own, Sweetie Belle’s guilt will eventually burn her up inside and she’ll confess and corroborate my sister’s story. Once she admits to postin’ those pictures, Rarity won't have no reason to be mad atcha no more.”
“What if she doesn't?” Sunset asks.
“She will.” Applejack pats Sunset’s knee. “Belle n’ Bloom are two peas in a pod. Belle’s a good kid, despite her parents. She’ll empathize with Bloom’s punishment. She ain't the type to just let Bloom take the fall alone.”
Sunset sighs, but begrudgingly nods. “Fine, I’ll take your word for it, since you know them better than I ever will...” after a second she furrows her brows in confusion. “Wait, what do you mean despite her parents?”
Applejack never has the opportunity to answer because Rainbow enters the room again with Fluttershy in tow.
“We want pizza or Chineighse?” She asks, phone in one hand and wallet in the other. “I'm paying.”
/x/x/x/
Rarity pulls the driver door open with one hand, eyes glued to her phone in the other. She types out sentence fragments then deletes them over and over again. Eventually she huffs, murmurs ‘forget it’, and pulls herself up into the SUV.
“I see you two were cold,” she says, glancing at the two huddled kids in the back seat. “Tired, too.” They appear to be asleep.
“Can’t imagine you would be, after a day like today...” she sighs and adjusts the heater, the mirrors, the seat, the everything for a minute before finishing with her hair. She then buckles and turns on the radio.
“I FEEL MY SOUL GO COOOOOLD!” It screams, as she presses her palms to her ears. “ONLY THE DEAD ARE SMILIIIIING!”
“Oh for the love of-”
She cranks down the volume but yet another angry metal song assails her ears.
“THEY COME FOR ME!” It screams. “DISCOMFORTING!” The confused Rarity realizes she turned the tuning, not the volume. “THEY MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I’M ONE STEP AWAY FROM DOING IT!” Where the hell is the volume knob? “IM THROUGH WITH IT!” Damn this car to hell! “I CAN’T DO IT!” She finds it and cranks it down. “Can't get through it- CLICK!” And finally changes the station.
“Faust almighty!” She huffs, before turning back to see two very groggy preteens glaring at the radio. “Sorry.”
They merely grumble in response before settling back into their previous positions.
~enough to chill my bones, it feels like I don’t know you anymore, I don't understand why you're so~
“This song is so overplayed...” she murmurs, manually turning the dial to a different station she trusts not to have broken glass in a blender.
~dying is easy, it's living that scares me to death~
“Not exactly in the mood for that...”
~it feels like you don't love me anymore~
“Oh come on now, do you have to play the only songs I don't want to hear?”
~the coldest shoulder cast in metal, frozen to the bone~
Satisfied with the musical selection, Rarity puts the transmission into R and begins to back up into the admittedly spacious garage.
~to rely on hook, line, and sinker, what a sinker, sinking like a stone~
She pulls into D and begins the drive towards home.
~you'd be better off alone~
She frowns as the lyrics hit a little too close to home. She contemplates changing it again but decides to drown out the lyrics and simply focus on the upbeat melody and her own inner monologue.
“Admittedly, I shouldn't have called Rainbow stupid...” she mutters to herself. “That was certainly uncalled for, even if I’m defending my sister. There was no rational reason to resort to name-calling anyone other than the slimeball traitor responsible for the mess in the first place. It was a brief slip of judgment but honestly can you blame me? My head just wasn't in the right place... I'll certainly have to apologize. More than just words though, I’ll have to buy her a gift. But what to buy? Food? Concert tickets?” She sighs.
“Heh, right, concert tickets. I don't even listen to rock and roll, let alone metal. Maybe I'll ask Scootaloo. She knows what bands Rainbow Dash listens to. In due time...” she cracks her neck and adjusts her grip on the steering wheel. “Surely she’ll apologize for calling me a... trollop. It isn't like her to say that off-hand. Surely she only said that because I insulted her intelligence. I don't hold that against her. I do expect an apology though and I feel I deserve one in return. None of us are thinking clearly right now. In a few days surely S... Sun... done... grunt? Bitch queen will slip up and everyone will see her as the lying cheating thieving scheming conniving fraud I know she is.” She huffs.
“Oh, Applebloom saw her attempt suicide. Oh, she was sad and depressed. Oh, Micro said the wifi signal of the IP router came though Applejack’s playbox three thousand. Oh, Sweetie Belle texted her and said she lied about something. Pfft. As if Sunset wouldn't use them as pawns in her sick game to get back at us. Ever think that maybe Sunset told them to lie bad on purpose? Ever think that maybe Sunset wants to turn us against our own sisters? Ever think about that, Applejack? Gullible, gullible, gullible!” She grits her teeth and smacks the steering wheel with each ‘gullible’, then sighs.
“Well I suppose that's dumber than trusting her with those pictures. Creator, Rainbow isn't the dumb one, I am. Oh Rarity I don't know how to buy girls’ underwear, please show me how. Oh, I don't understand, it's just so hard. I'm a horse and I don't wear clothes. How do I know what size it is? Oh it's okay says boo boo the fool, I’ll just show you and give visual references for measuring sizes. Here, take this gun and six bullets! Here, aim them at my head! Here, have some photos of me in my bra and panties, no way can you abuse that! Here, take this and post them all over the internet so every horndog in a fifty mile radius can wank off to you! You stupid bitch!” By the end she is screaming, foot practically to the floor on the gas.
“And now let me take your friends away from you! Great! Fantastic! Wonderful! How can this possibly get any worse!?”
Suddenly she sees some flashing red and blue lights through the back window.
“Oh, SON OF A-”
/x/x/x/
“Alright, we’ll take an extra large pepperoni, an extra large meat lovers supreme, and an extra large vegan veggie delight, some crazy bread sticks, a dozen wings, one two-liter each of mountain fizz, diet mountain fizz, sunshine cola, and whatever the spring water is that you got- okay yeah, glacier freeze, that, and um. You guys want garlic, cheese, ranch, or marinara? You know what, screw it, I’ll take two of each. No, three. And. Hm. Brownie or cookie... both. Yes, a fudgalicious chocolate brownie and a carnival sized chocolate chip cookie-zza. You got all that, Flash? Mhmm? Yeah, I trust you. My total is... oh dear lord. Eh. Yeah that's fine. I'm at Fluttershy’s. Yeah, we’re having a sleepover. You know the address? Good. See you in an hour. No, look, don't strain yourse- okay fine, see you in half an hour, but I swear if you crash your car because of me I am gonna shove your guitar so far up your ass you’ll be belching power chords, got me? No, that's not a threat, that's a promise. Heh. See you when I see you, buddy. Bye. Alright girls, pizza’s ordered... what's with the faces?”
Rainbow pockets her phone as she looks back at Fluttershy, Sunset, Pinkie, and Applejack giving her suggestive looks.
“What?” She asks again.
“I'm tellin’ Twilight you’re mackin’ on her man.” Applejack says with a wink.
“What?” Rainbow asks again, in a slightly different and more muted tone.
“So when is FlashDash gonna be a thing?” Pinkie asks. “That's right, I already coined the ship name.”
“What.” Rainbow asks again, except more of a say than an ask because of the inflection.
“You two would honestly be really cute together,” Fluttershy murmurs, pressing her forefingers against each other. “You both like the guitar, after all...”
“Oh come on!” Rainbow huffs and eyes Sunset. “Alright, your turn. What do you wanna say to make fun of me?”
Sunset shrugs. “I don't know, sounds like you just ordered pizza from someone who happens to be your friend. Dunno what these girls are all about.”
Applejack leans forward to lock eyes with her. “Really?” She asks. “You don't think judgin’ by that conversation Rainbow don’t got the hots for mister Sentry?”
“Well... no.”
“I don't wanna fuck Flash!” Rainbow defends, stamping her foot down. “I don't even like... him.”
Pinkie cocks her head to the side. “Why not?” She asks. “He's cute and fun and talented and nice and wait a minute is it because he likes Twilight?”
Rainbow puts a hand out towards her. “Bro are you guys seriously gonna say I'm the one who likes Flash when the first word Pinkie uses to describe him is the word cute?”
“Pinkie describes everyone as cute,” Fluttershy points out. “You, me, Applejack, Sunset, Principal Celestia, Disciplinarian Tirek, the really nice janitor everyone says is weird, Mister and Missus Cake, Angel, Winona, even random strangers.”
“Well duh,” Pinkie says. “Everyone’s cute in their own way. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If I dug Flash I’d say he was sexy because booty is in the eye of the holder. But uh. I don't think Flash is sexy. I'd be his friend though!”
“Well, Sunset,” Applejack begins to ask. “Why don't you think Rainbow likes Flash?”
Sunset blinks a few times before giving the farmer a confused glance. “Because Rainbow doesn't go after that type?”
“Thank you!” Rainbow blinks. “Wait, what type of guy do I go after?”
Sunset rolls her hands. “Well, I mean. You know. None of them.”
Rainbow freezes, and Sunset immediately purses her lips, eyes wide.
The room is silent.
After a moment, Pinkie coughs.
“Well none of the guys at CHS are in the same league as our Dashie,” she says, pointing at the ceiling. “Except maybe Soarin’, but everypony knows Soarin’ doesn't feel that way about Dashie. Especially after... oh, uh. Sorry Sunset, we’re not supposed to talk about stuff you did before.”
“I can't say the guys at Crystal Prep are any better,” Applejack adds. “They're all a bunch of pretentious idiots. Except for the one who’s datin’ the Dean. Shiny Armor? Somethin’ like that. So, what, you go after college boys, Dash? Farmers? Professional athletes? Gamers? Musicians?”
“Girls,” Fluttershy curtly interrupts, drawing surprised glances. “Rainbow is uncomfortable with the conversation. Let’s change the subject, okay?”
Applejack and Pinkie both see that she's telling the truth, and nod. “Sorry,” they both say in unison.
“Thanks Fluttershy...” Rainbow murmurs. “Anyway, uh, Sunset? Can I chat with you in the kitchen for a second?”
Sunset nods and stands, following her over. Fluttershy begins to tell them something about how Rainbow had an ex-boyfriend once that broke up with her or something, but Sunset doesn't hear the individual words. Instead she kicks herself for almost letting it slip.
“Dash, I’m sorry-”
“Suns, no, I’m sorry.”
Sunset blinks. “Come again?”
Rainbow shakes her head and leans in closer, whispering. “I should've known you weren't Anon-a-Miss from the start. I really am an idiot.”
Sunset blinks again. “We’re past that, I thought.”
“No, you don't understand. I just realized that, like. You know about me. You're like the only one who knows right now, besides Fluttershy. If you really were Anon-a-Miss, you'd have used that instead of my grades. But I never talked to you about my grades, just to Fluttershy and Scootaloo. Right?”
“O...kay?” Sunset replies, not exactly following. “What does what me knowing about have to do with Anon?”
Rainbow exhales out her nose. “Anon-a-Miss’ plans were to expose us all for our deepest and darkest secrets, right? If you really were evil, then you'd tell everyone that I was actually gay. Make sense?”
Sunset bites her lip and looks away. “I see...” she looks back. “You realize that even when I knew I was still evil, I didn't tell anyone? Even though it could have worked, and I could have gotten my hands on the role of Team Captain more easy?”
It is now Rainbow’s turn to blink, and she leans against the counter. “Huh... never thought of that before. Well... why not?”
“Why not?” Sunset asks, putting her arms out. “What do you mean why not? I'm not gonna out you. That'd be incredibly disrespectful and just, you know, beyond evil. I wanted power through legitimate means, psychological warfare and bugs, spies, wiretaps, intel, not through bigotry. I was an evil asshole, not- oh wait I see, no, you're right, that makes sense.” She nods and puts her hands on her hips. “Okay look, I’m only telling you this because it's relevant, but I had relationships with both mares and stallions in Equestria. It's pretty normal over there for mares to be in relationships with other mares because the population is like three quarters female. Princess Celestia herself had some female consorts in the past-”
“Celestia’s gay?” Rainbow asks.
“She prefers the label omnisexual but... basically. I don't know what that means about this world’s Celestia. Anyway, it doesn't matter, the point is, that... liking girls is something that I take for granted, even though it's not quite as widely accepted as it is here in the human world. And I fucked up just now, when I almost accidentally outed you to the others. And I wanna apologize for that.”
Rainbow nods somberly. “Apology accepted, but it's fine. You didn't say too much. And honestly, I feel like everyone would be fine with it. AJ isn't the type to judge people based on their sexuality. Uh, Pinkie’s parents are super anti, but like. Pinkie is Pinkie. And Fluttershy already knows, she’s always known. There's probably more she knows about me than things she doesn’t know. I'm the one who should be sorry for just assuming you would be an anti gay asshole when you were evil.”
“You don't gotta-”
“Then neither of us have anything to be sorry for. No blood no foul. We good?” She asks, putting her hand forward.
Sunset nods, smirks, and takes Rainbow’s hand in her own. “We’re good.”
“Cool.”
Rainbow’s phone starts to ring.
“Hold on, lemme take th- Rarity.”
Sunset puts an eyebrow up. “Rarity’s calling you?”
Rainbow rolls her eyes. “She shouldn't be talking on the phone when she’s driving my dad’s car. She knows better than that. Whatever, I'll send her to voice mail. I don't wanna talk to her right now anyway. If it's important enough, she’ll text.”
/x/x/x/
“Pick up, you daft idiot! Ugh, I swear, of all the days to leave my purse at home...”
“Ma’am,” the police officer coughs, and moves his chewing gum to the other side of his mouth. “Ya know she can't hear you if she didn't answer.”
Rarity huffs. “Yes, officer, I’m aware. But I’m sure you can imagine the level of stress I’m under.”
“I'll bet,” he says, glancing down at the pad of paper in his hands. “Speeding, reckless driving, driving without a valid license on hand, driving without proof of insurance, and all this without any proof of ID. Oh hey,” he writes something else down. “The headlights are off too.”
Rarity’s eye twitches.
“Do you mind if I send a text instead?”
He shrugs, and adjusts his sunglasses. “You can send whatever you want... hmm.” He gazes at her over the rims. “Have we met before?”
Rarity clacks away at her phone. “No sir, I don't believe we have.”
He blinks, then leans back and puts his thumb and forefinger to his chin. “You wouldn't happen to be an underwear model, would you?”
Rarity sighs. “I’m going to kill Sunset. I am literally going to murder her.”
The cop cocks an eyebrow. “For your sake I’m gonna pretend I didn't hear that. I'm gonna have enough paperwork processing your ticket as it is, don't wanna add threats or conspiracy to commit murder too.”
“No, no, we wouldn't want that, now would we... dammit Rainbow Dash will you pick up the bloody phone!”
/x/x/x/
“Oh for the love of...” Rainbow pulls her phone back out of her pocket and glares at the vibrating device.
Please answer.
It's important.
Rainbow please.
I'm serious.
I need you.
Answer your damn phone!
I require your assistance!
Please!
Rain.
Bow.
Dash.
Omg.
Rainbow huffs and literally turns the device off, gently tossing it onto the kitchen table. The screen turns black a split second after the final message.
RAINBOW THE POLICE PULLED ME OVER AND I NEED YOU TO TELL THEM THAT I DIDNT STEAL THE CAR SO I DONT GET A TICKET!
“Unbelievable,” Rainbow mutters. “She's even texting and driving. That's just reckless and irresponsible.”
“Seriously?” Sunset asks. “With the kids in the car?”
“I know!” Rainbow nods her head and walks back into the living room. “People these days...”
/x/x/x/
Rarity fumes at her phone.
“So uh,” the cop says, chewing loudly. “Do you have any proof that this, uh, ‘Rainbow Dash’,” he says with air quotes. “Gave you the keys to Mister Hot Hoof’s ride?”
Rarity grits her teeth. “No.”
Scootaloo leans forward from the back. “Does it count for anything if I said that we were there?”
Sweetie Belle scratches her head. “Didn't we leave before that happened?”
Rarity slumps her shoulders, then slams her forehead into the steering wheel, accidentally honking the horn.
The cop blinks. “Now that was just unnecessary.”
/x/x/x/
Rainbow sprawls out on the loveseat, and Sunset takes her place back on the couch between Pinkie and Fluttershy.
“Rarity’s texting me nonstop,” Rainbow says with a sigh. “Texting while driving is the one thing you're not supposed to do, especially with kids in the car, and double especially when it's not even your car!”
“Seriously?” Applejack asks. “That's just... does she do that when Bloom’s riding with her?”
“Hope not.”
“What about y’all?” She asks. “She ever text n’ drive in her own car?”
Pinkie nods, then reconsiders. “Well, I've never ridden in her car.”
“She did once,” Fluttershy murmurs. “But it was at a red light so it doesn't really count.”
Applejack’s phone buzzes, and she checks it. “It's Rarity.” She clicks away for a second before setting it back down. “I told her to quit textin’ and drivin’.”
“What did it say?” Fluttershy asks.
“It said, uh... tell Rainbow to answer her... blanking phone, before she shoves it... somewhere that I ain't apt to repeat.”
“Wooooow,” Rainbow puts her hands behind her head and her legs up on the couch back. “Bet she texts Fluttershy next.”
A faintly audible buzz comes from Fluttershy’s bedroom.
“Called it.”
/x/x/x/
“This is ridiculous...” Rarity texts Pinkie, fruitlessly. She contemplates texting Sunset but simply goes to the home screen and opens the phone app.
“Look, uh... ma’am.” The officer slips his notepad back on his belt. “I’ve been patient, and at first this was kind of amusing. But now... you know, it's cold out here, and it's almost the end of my shift, and I wanna get dinner before I go home. Everything’s gonna be closed. So I really need you to get in contact with Bow Hot Hoof within the next thirty seconds or I’m afraid that a ticket is gonna be the least of your problems tonight. Because if I don't eat dinner...” he puts his sunglasses up into his dark blue hair. “I get real hangry.”
“Look, officer, I’m terribly sorry,” she says as she scrolls to her dad’s name. “I really don't mean to inconvenience you in such a way but there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. My friends and I were all at one of our apartment, and we had a bit of an... altercation. And Rainbow Dash, Bow Hot Hoof’s daughter, told me to drive myself home. They're all a bit upset with me, and that's why they're ignoring my texts...” she dials and puts the phone to her ear. “I swear, my father is close friends with Bow, and he can back me up that I'm trustworthy!”
The cop appears unimpressed. “If I had a nickel for every time I've heard this story, I could afford to send my oldest to art school. If your dad doesn't answer the phone, we’re gonna have a problem.”
“Um...” Sweetie Belle leans forward. “Rarity?”
“Not right now!” She snaps. “Sit down.”
“Rarity, dad’s at the bar right now!”
Rarity blinks. “You're fucking joking right now.”
“It's Thursday... buckball night.”
Rarity sighs as her phone goes to voicemail. “Great.” She drops the device on the passenger seat. “And I don't even have Bow’s number. Scootaloo, please tell me that you know it.”
Scootaloo coughs. “Uh. I have it written down... in my address book... at your house.”
Rarity groans and presses her palms to her temples. “Why does the universe hate me so this night.”
The officer pulls his hand to his belt, specifically to a set of two silver rings. “Alright, you know what, by the time we’re done here it's already gonna be too late. So if I'm not gonna have a nice night, then neither will you three delinquents. This has gone on far enough. Ma’am, I’m gonna need you to step out of the car.”
She nods. “No, please don't do this.”
He shifts his weight to the other foot, and spits his gum out into the road. “I would really prefer if you came willingly.”
Rarity lets out a single sob, but keeps her breathing under control.
“Please.”
The cop turns around as headlights turn the corner. He turns back and places his other hand on his taser. “Cooperate, or we will do this the hard way. This is your last chance.”
The dam breaks and Rarity closes her eyes as her mascara begins to run. She unbuckles, opens the door, and steps down, all without opening her eyes.
“Thank you kindly. Now, place your hands on the roof of the car.”
She complies, refusing to open her eyes.
“I'm assuming you don't have any weapons on you?”
“...no.”
“Now that, I believe. Ahem. You have the right to remain silent...” he takes one wrist and pulls it behind her, clicking on half of the bracelet. “Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.” He pulls the other one down, fully restraining her. “You have the right to an attorney-” the passing car suddenly brakes, skidding slightly. “Stupid fucking kids... wait- wait a minute, that's MY kid!”
“Dad!?” A familiar voice cries out.
Rarity gasps and turns around. “Flash!” She cries.
Flash Sentry steps out of his running car, donned in his work uniform, a pizza delivery outfit. “Dad,” he says, stepping over to the officer. “Dad, what's going on, what happened?”
“He thinks I stole Rainbow’s car!” Rarity cries, stepping towards her hopeful savior. “Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are in the back seat, I’m driving them home. I can't get a hold of anyone, and I can't prove that I didn't steal the car!”
“Flash,” the cop ambles forward and takes Rarity’s shoulder in one hand. “You know this girl?”
“Yeah, dad, she’s a close friend. What’d you pull her over for!?”
“Speeding. Oh, and headlights.”
“Those are just ticketable offenses- oh, whatever. What’s she being arrested for? Stealing the car?”
The cop rolls his head. “Well...”
“Alright Rare, lemme call Dash. Okay? Can I do that, Dad?”
He sighs. “No. No, that's not necessary. I trust you, son. So, this girl’s a friend of yours, she goes to CHS?”
“Yeah, she’s friends with Rainbow Dash too. The kids in the backseat, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are best friends, Belle’s Rarity’s sister and Scoot is Rainbow’s shadow, basically sisters. And their dads are drinking buddies.”
The cop nods somberly. “Alright. Alright. I can see that this is all just one big misunderstanding. My bad.” He unlocks the cuffs and takes a step back as Rarity embraces Flash. “I'm still gonna have to ticket you, but I won't take you to jail.”
Rarity doesn't respond, as she’s too busy soaking Flash’s shoulder. Flash awkwardly sets his hands on her back.
“Flash, drive safe. Miss Rarity... I'll just leave the ticket on the front seat. No more speeding, no more reckless driving, and for pete’s sake turn the damn headlights on when it's dark out!”
“She gets it, dad. I'll see you tomorrow.”
He nods and heads back to his car, leaving the two teens in the middle of the frozen street.
“Thank you...” she whispers. “Thank you.”
“Jesus Rare, why are you speeding in the dead of winter without your lights on!?” He admonishes, firmly but gentle. “And with the kids in the car?”
She nods.
The cop honks his horn, prompting Flash and Rarity to step towards his car.
“And anyway,” he adds. “Why aren't you with the girls? Draw the short straw or something?”
Rarity wipes her face with her sleeve, further smearing her makeup, though she is far past the point of caring anymore. “How...” she sniffs. “How do you know the girls are together? It's Thursday.”
“Well, Rainbow just ordered a shit-ton of pizza, about enough for five starving teenagers plus leftovers for a week. That's why I was able to come by here. I assumed you were with them but then I saw my dad arresting you in front of Rainbow’s car. Had to stop, can't just leave you like that. So what gives?”
She nods again and huffs at the bitter night air. “Well apparently,” she spits. “Applebloom and her friends were Anon-a-Miss, and Sunset was innocent all along. So now they're best friends with Sunset again, and when I called them out on falling for the same old trick as always, they drove me out of the apartment. Rainbow Dash called me a whore.”
Flash blinks. “Are you fucking for real?” He asks. “Sunset said Sweetie Belle posted your, uh... the pictures?”
“Well... no... Applejack said that.”
“What.”
“Applejack said that Applebloom said that she saw Sunset try to kill herself earlier today, which is of course a lie, and then she confessed to being the real Anon-a-Miss, and Pinkie said that Micro said that the blog’s wifi was from Applejack’s playbox five thousand or whatever, but... my sister wouldn't do that. So obviously Sunset is manipulating them into lying to cover for her and take the fall, and now Sunset is trying to reap the rewards of our friendship while destroying our relationships with our siblings.”
Flash purses his lips. “Well... Sunset did kinda try to jump in front of my car earlier today.”
This time Rarity blinks and says “What.”
He scratches his head. “Well, she also might've slipped. But she could've jumped. Anyway I really wasn't going fast enough to seriously injure her if I did hit her, but like. Imagine how ironic it would be if I ran over my evil ex-girlfriend. Explain that away in court. Manipulative sociopathic bitch... oh well. Anyway, if that was a real suicide attempt it was a pretty pathetic one. Hm...” he pauses in thought. “I have a theory, actually... look. I'll keep in touch with you, okay? But tonight, just get home safe.”
“I will... thank you.”
“It's whatever. Anyone would've done it. Just be careful, okay?”
“Okay. Goodbye, Flash.”
He nods. “I'll text you when I get home. We’ll talk about how to get your friends back.”
She nods in return. “I appreciate you.”
He offers a thumbs up and gets back in his car, before continuing on his way.
/x/x/x/
Sunset had excused herself to the bathroom. When asked if she’d needed any help she’d said she could handle peeing by herself, thank you very much. All in all it was easy, as she didn't have to bend her arms very much. Presently she dries her hands and looks at herself in the mirror.
Her eyes are bloodshot, clearly a product of all the sleep she hadn't been getting. Her hair is a frizzy unkempt mess, hair sticking out in every direction. Dark bags sit under her eyelids, as if someone punched her in the face. Honestly she feels as if such happened regardless. Her lips are chapped and cracked, and dry as hell.
She sighs and tries to smile. It's fake. Hollow. A shell. She sets her face neutral again and sighs.
“I look terrible...” she mutters, before splashing some water on her face. She looks back up and more of the same, except now she’s wet. The water soaks through the gauze in places but she pays it no heed. She grips the ceramic of the sink top and glares at the drain. A few very pale brown drops spackle it.
She screws her eyes shut and counts to ten.
When she opens her eyes, she feels no different than she did before.
“Stupid Celestia...” she murmurs, shaking her head. “Didn't work then, doesn't work now.” She looks back up and sees herself as a pony again. She reaches a hoof forward and touches herself through the mirror. It holds for a moment, before shimmering away and fading back to her human form.
Except now there are fresh tears on her cheeks.
“I... I wanna come home now...”
She is interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Y'all okay, Suns?” Applejack asks, voice muffled slightly by the wood.
Sunset quickly splashes some more water on her face before pulling the door open.
“I'm fine,” she says, fake smile affixed again. “Got my gauze a little wet but otherwise I'm okay.”
“That’s good... glad to hear it.” Applejack returns the smile. “Come on, Pinkie wants us to vote on what movie we’ll watch.”
“Sounds fun!” Sunset takes a step out the door, takes one final glance at the mirror, and pulls it closed.
/x/x/x/
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And so the plot thickens. I mean, Rare is being stuborn, but I can see where she's coming from. Its just, knowing the truth, she looks like the bad guy.
M-more please? <:U
Only 3?
Considering what she said in the bathroom, I'm thinking you might need to add a few years on to that number.
Great now Flash going to be causing trouble, the bitter ex boyfriend thing.
I'm gonna go ahead and confess I had waaay too much fun with Rarity getting stonewalled like that.
Oh I don't know, maybe it was because you were so quick to accuse Sunset before getting the full story during Anon-a-Miss debacle, then you treated her so horribly despite Applejack telling you the truth and that Sunset almost committed suicide and you don't believe them despite that there was hard evidence right in front of you and you basically insulted Rainbow Dash for believing Sunset before storming out!
I know that sounded harsh, but you brought that to yourself Rarity!
Oh, and Flash is involved now! Just great!
Kind of hard to write off Sunset’s suicide attempt as just another of her lies when there’s more than one witness to it, isn’t it? And if Applejack was telling the truth about that, then she’s most likely telling the truth about Sweetie Belle being involved in Anon-A-Miss as well. Face it, Rarity. Your sister’s the one who humiliated you on the internet, not Sunset.
It's called karma rarity. And don't get me started on how much scoot and sweetie have built up....
That part with the police, it was a little funny.
😯😮
10064856
But the way he presents it, shows that he might be leaning more towards Rarity's way of thinking.
I believe that this might become the cornerstone argument for Rarity's belief.
Flash, Rarity, if you screw this up even further, I swear, you're both getting crotch-kicked!
I sort of remember that Rainbow Dash is a lesbian car washer in this comic, but I am not going to talk about that.
I could almost picture that moment when Rainbow was going to find out that Rarity got herself arrested and her dad's car are going to be impounded if Flash didn't show up when he did.
If Rarity provided her own driver license and registration papers (probably in the glove box) she would have been saved. That cop is kind of a prick.
Really hope Flash doesn’t end up being as dickish as Rarity. One is enough, plus I always ship sunflash
10064612
Hehehe... you said "plot" XD anyway yeah she's certainly my tritagonist (AJ's my deuteragonist, Scootaloo is my antagonist).
10064623
Your request has been submitted and is pending review. Please await a response in 5-7 business days. Thank you.
10064646
You're right, weeks is a really funny way to spell decades ;)
10064658
"I'm not bitter," Flash says, bitterly, with a bitter expression on his face.
10064748
I can imagine, I was going for a bundle of tongue-in-cheek dramatic irony there.
10064776
I the author am the universe. Praise the \[T]/ karma
10064856
"bUt sWeEtiE bElLe wOuLd nEvEr dO tHaT tO mE~"
10064910
"You're grounded for... for... TIL COLLEGE!"
10065090
It was a bit amusing to write, glad it translated well into reading.
10065411
Astute observation and analysis :)
10065476
I reread the comic just now and found zero traces of Rainbow being a) lesbian coded or b) working at a car wash. Maybe in a different EqG comic. If you find it I wanna see :P
Wh... why would the car be impounded? As far as I'm aware the police return stolen cars to their rightful owners. In my eyes, the cops would've made contact with the name on the registration, given him the keys, and an opportunity to file a report and press charges if he wanted to. Then again I'm not in the police and have no desire to be; all my knowledge of how law & order works is from, well... law & order.
Well if she had her license on her it still wouldn't have made too much of a difference because the car was registered in Bow's name, rather than Rarity's. Still, yeah, I was definitely modeling him after a blend of super troopers and reno 911.
10066227
Well... he won't be /quite as/ dickish, but that's all I can say.
10066649
It could be a difference between countries, or maybe even states. Where I'm from (Mexico) police will indeed impound a car that's reported or believed to be stolen, until the real owner shows up and provides proof of ownership (and of course pays any relevant fees $$$).
10066649
It really is.
10066649
The thing is that other writers used the idea that Rainbow and Gilda are lesbians, and that must have come from somewhere. Sorry, "lesbian carwasher" is a bit of an old fandom joke.
I thought that police would want to keep the car as an evidence of a crime, as well as, to tow the car to the safe location for the real owner to pick it up later.
(The whole thing is presented as a bit of an anecdote, since I don't think that Rarity would take the keys to the car she knows she can't legally drive)
Interesting.
Wasn't expecting a clopfic.
You know, I find it funny how so many people are bashing Rarity. I'm almost certain that they themselves would have done nearly the same damn thing as Rarity. I'm not saying that this wasn't deserved for Rarity. But I'm sure that some people writing here have done worse than Rarity has done here. It is kind of why I hate this comic. Bad writing, the comic not this story, plagued it from beginning to end, and all of the stories I've read have never really brought up the time when Sunset did something to Rarity during the spring fling. It may have been just a small segment in the first movie but it should have been something that the comic addressed for Rarity being the way she was.
What part of that conversation implied romance, I'm confused