1 of 4- This Day Was Going to be Perfect

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The morning sun slowly climbed the sky and its beams entered the bedroom window of a small village’s local librarian. The light gently rested upon a dark oak writing desk littered with scraps of crumpled parchment, empty inkwells, a bowl of sand, and a framed photograph of six people: one man with short, messy navy blue hair beset upon every side by five wildly different women. The six were all sitting in a donut shop, each wearing fine dresses (and a suit in his case) but for the fact that they all were torn and covered in various bits of food, animal hair, and who knows what else. Each bore huge, beaming smiles.

Songbirds began sharing the music of the morning as the sunbeams crept slowly along the walls, and crossed a cedar bedside table which held an oil lamp, a pair of horn rimmed glasses, and a stack of various books: A Brief History of Magic, Celsius 232.8, The Secret Life of Star Swirl the Bearded, Fallout: Equestria, two calculus textbooks, and Caring For Pet Owls for Dummies. Each had a different colored bookmark nestled between the pages exactly three centimeters from the spine.

The sun continued its ascent into the sky and the light began moving along a queen sized bed with a cerulean comforter adorned with decorations of small moons and stars. Underneath this comforter was the man from the photograph, Dusk Shine, and he was currently snoring with all of the grace of a panther, if it was attempting to fly a zeppelin that was rapidly losing air and was also on fire. His hair sprawled off in more directions than could be counted in just one sitting.

As the sunlight finally hit his closed eyes the snoring ceased as Dusk rolled just over enough for his eyes to open without being burned. He slowly blinked the sleep from his violet-irised eyes before wiping the grit from them with his fingers. He then leaned forward and stretched out his arms and back before absent-mindedly running his right hand on the scars underneath his chest, yawning, and reaching into the distance with his left hand. The magenta six pointed star on his dorsum began to glow faintly.

His door opened and a mug of steaming hot brown liquid soon came to his fingertips and, after blowing on it, he took a sip. He smiled: coffee, straight black, just the way he liked it. While he drank he extended his right hand towards the writing desk as the paper and inkwells found themselves floating into the nearby trash can. After this task was finished he levitated the pair of glasses on his bedside table into his hand and slipped them on.

Draining the last of the mug, Dusk sent it back out the door and down the stairs and into the kitchen sink, a feat accomplished by years of practicing NVT: non-visible telekinesis, a form of magic typically only accomplished by the mages of the highest order who were well into their 60s at the earliest. He had just turned 20 a few months ago.

Dusk slid out of his bed, returned the comforter and sheets to their respective rightful places, and continued to do another series of stretches, this time his legs. A small nearly inaudible sound then began, a sound that had taken Dusk a while to recognize, and Dusk sighed and shook his head slightly. Without missing a beat he telekinetically opened his window, then his closet, and removed a mattress, and moved it to a specific place on the floor. Then he cocked his head, listening intently, before rotating the mattress slightly and returning to focusing on his stretches.

After a few moments the sound got louder, and suddenly a multicolored streak shot in through the open window and onto his bed, then disappeared, giving way to a woman bouncing off of his bed and onto the mattress he just placed, landing perfectly even with it. A moment later a thin stream of water droplets shot in through the window and landed directly on the bed, soaking it through. At his disapproving stare that seemed to indicate he was approximately 312% done with her shenanigans, she chuckled nervously.

“Hey Dusk.”

Dusk nodded, muttering “Rainbow,” before standing up and reaching a hand out to his guest. He teased, “I see you're on time to crash land into my bedroom. As always.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes before taking his hand and letting herself be pulled up. She then dusted off her cutoff denim shorts, the only article of clothing she was currently wearing, and crossed her arms. She cracked her neck and then flicked her red, orange, and yellow bangs out of her eyes.

“This is only, like, the second time this week that I messed up that turn”, she retorted defensively as she glanced everywhere but at Dusk and ruffled her cyan-feathered wings. When her magenta gaze landed upon the now-wet bed, she then finally met his amused eyes with a sheepish half-grin before she faced the water and put her hands out over it. The rainbow toned lightning bolts on the backs of her hands began to glow.

“And besides,” she placated, “I'm still a little sore from the hurricane we did last week.” While she spoke, several small globules of clear liquid floated up and out of the blankets. Rainbow gently bit her tongue as the spheres began to merge. Once there was only one ball of water roughly the size of her head, she glanced back at Dusk, raising her eyebrows and motioning towards it.

“Well I suppose,” Dusk began, glancing between the water and his friend’s prideful smirk. “But Fluttershy’s doing fine right now and she gave her two hundred percent best effort while you were...” he trailed off as her smile melted and her eyebrows began to narrow, and after a brief moment of internal debate about whether he should say what he was about to say and if it would be worth what she would do in response, he decided that it was and continued.

“Barely even a hundred and ten,” he noticed that Rainbow cocked an eyebrow at this and the faint ghost of a mischievous simper began to grow ever more prominent. He pushed onward. “In fact, you seemed to be using your hydrokinesis a lot more than your actual flying that day, so in all honesty...” He dramatically shrugged his shoulders, turned his head to the side, and put his arms out palms facing upwards, now fully embracing the inevitable. “I think you're just getting sloppy.”

Dusk suddenly found his face and chest soaking wet. After wiping his eyes and opening them, he saw that Rainbow had her hands planted firmly on her hips as she gave him The Look: slightly squinted eyes, lowered brow, scrunchy half smirk, and the vague air of fake disappointment. She leaned forward and tapped on Dusk’s nose with a finger with each word.

“I. Don't. Get. Sloppy.”

And with the final tap she gave a gentle flick before taking a few steps back and falling back onto his bed with a mighty thwomp. She crossed her right leg over her left and rested her head on her arms as she faced the ceiling.

“I actually just wanted to chat with you a little.”

Dusk nodded before he cast a quick heat spell to evaporate the water on his body and turned to his dresser.

“I’m guessing it's about Rarity?” he asked, as he pulled some of his drawers open. As they spoke, he began to pull out a few articles of clothing, absentmindedly planning his attire for their plans later on in the day.

Rainbow groaned. “Well I was gonna warm up to that...” she turned her head to gaze out the window as she continued. “I both love and hate that you always know what I'm thinking...

“Oh yeah,” she said as she leaned up on her elbows. “I'm sorry we got in an argument in front of you and Spike, by the way.”

Dusk glanced up at this. He didn't expect her to bring up... that day. They had been arguing pretty much constantly when they were alone but had been keeping it pretty much held together around their friends. After the events of the Dragonborn Pilgrimage, however, emotions were a bit high...

“So whatcha gonna do with the egg, Spike?” Rainbow inquired, gently hovering above the trio. Dusk and Rarity were flanking the dragonborn who was clutching an egg and gently rubbing it with his thumb. Or at least, the claw that was the equivalent of a thumb.

“Well I can't exactly give it back,” he said, not taking his eyes off of the orb. “Phoenixes don't return to the nest if it's been disturbed by anyone, dragonborn or human or whatever.”

Dusk nodded. “I once did a study on Philomena, Celestia’s pet phoenix. Spike took notes for me.”

“Are you going to hatch it?” Rainbow asked, teasingly. “I think you'd be an ~adorable~ mama.”

Spike rolled his eyes while Rarity stuck her tongue out at Rainbow, before saying “You aren't wrong that he'd be adorable, Dash, but I don't think he has the right parts to be a mama.” Through her giggling she didn't notice the brief uneasy look that passed between Spike and Dusk.

“Definitely an adorable papa though.”

“Can I be a handsome papa instead?” Spike pleaded.

“Nope,” Dusk said, shaking his head. “That title goes to me.”

The girls shared a laugh at this before they continued walking through the forest back home. Dusk would have teleported them all back but he didn't have the energy to do so anymore. The fight with the three elder teenage dragonborn had not only depleted his own reserves, but Rarity had to bolster him as well. Rainbow was fine though, as her aquamancy took very little focus to use.

“Who would be the mama, though?” Rainbow asked.

Spike shrugged. “Having two dads probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.”

“Well you two have too many obligations to do so,” Dusk began, pointing to Rarity and Rainbow. “Pinkie’s got her hands full with the twins, and Applejack has too much responsibility on the orchard.”

“Fluttershy could do it,” Rarity interjected. “I'm sure if you asked her she'd love to do it.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow grumbled, crossing her arms and muttering under her breath. “I'm real sure she would if you forced her to.”

Rarity gave a sly, sidelong glance at her suddenly bitter for some reason girlfriend. “Excuse me?”

Dusk’s breath hitched. He'd been expecting this for a while. Spike just glanced confusedly at everyone, wondering at the sudden mood shift.

“Fluttershy just loves doing whatever you tell her to do,” Rainbow replied, voice sickly sweet. “Even if she hates it because she's such a good friend.”

Rarity stopped walking and crossed her own arms, leaning forward and giving Rainbow the evil eye. “Are you insinuating something, Darling?” This wasn't the darling that meant a term of endearment reserved for someone special. This was the darling Rarity pulled out when she was spitting angry.

“Oh, nothing,” Rainbow said, grinding her teeth. “Aside from driving her to a freaking nervous breakdown.”

“Rainbow if you had a problem with the miscommunication we had during her modeling career, that-”

“Oh, you mean the one that gave her such a bad anxiety attack that she's still having nightmares about it!?”

Rarity recovered from the shock of being interrupted and the resulting anger when Rainbow mentioned this. “She had an attack?”

“A huge one.” Rainbow responded with venom rather than mutual concern. She was boiling over. “You know that whole ballet opening? She came to my house after she missed your spa date, and I asked her what was up and she just burst into tears!”

“I... didn't know...”

“She had another attack because she was crying so much she couldn't BREATHE. When she calmed down I told her to tell you you couldn't do it anymore but she didn't want to disappoint you. I guess she just cares more for your approval than her own safety.”

“I already apologized to her!” Rarity yelled, defensively. “I know I made mistakes! I know I upset her terribly, and I know I did wrong. But we’ve both put it behind us, why can't you!?”

“Because you did it to her in the first place!” Rainbow screamed, now on the ground. Wings aflare, fists clenched, and her face in Rarity’s. “You cared more about your career than about my best friend’s feelings, all for the sake of impressing Photo Finish! Even if you say you're sorry now that doesn't mean anything. You would do it again in a heartbeat!”

SLAP!

Rarity’s hand lay extended for a moment, just long enough to let the moment sink in. Rainbow’s face, now frozen an angle from where it had been moments ago, sat in open mouthed shock.

“How... dare you.”

Hot tears began burning in both of their faces, the sting of regret coloring the air. The silence was broken by a single sob, and the pair slowly turned to face their audience. Spike was weeping, burying his head in Dusk’s chest. Dusk simply stared off in the distance.

They had always made sure to keep their fights private and out of detection from their mutual friends. Until now.

“It really wasn't cool to either of you,” Rainbow said, interrupting Dusk’s memories. “We just, you know...” she shrugged, or at least tried to. She then sighed and sat fully up, wrapping her arms around herself, and uncharacteristically staring at the ground.

“We finally broke up last night.”

Dusk had had in his arms a pair of khaki shorts, a white t shirt, and his underclothes, but the articles suddenly found themselves on the ground as he rushed to her side. He reached out his right hand, hesitated, and put it on her left shoulder. Typically she'd have immediately shrugged it off, as she was never one for what she coined “sappy PDA”, but this situation was different. Dusk began to regret jumping right into what Dash wanted to talk about, but knew she'd rather get this out and then be able to ignore it than to just let it fester and never addressing it.

“What happened?” he asked. Saying ‘Are you okay?’ would have been met with either a “Yeah sure I'll be fine whatever” or a “Well of course not, I love her, you idiot”, and saying ‘What did you do this time?’ was clearly not the right way to go for obvious reasons. He also wasn't enough of a jerk to say something like that no matter how accurate it probably was. At least... not on purpose, anymore.

Dusk mentally cleared a spot in the day’s schedule to buy a pint- no, a quart- actually, make that a full gallon- of vanilla oat swirl flavored ice cream and bring it to Rarity.

Maybe two gallons.

To his great surprise, Rainbow leaned towards Dusk and rested her forehead on his collarbone. Her wings had unfurled and slumped onto the bed, and moisture had begun to form in her eyes. She was too stubborn to let anything leak out if she had anything to say about it, but it was there nonetheless.

“I brought up stuff that we should’ve talked about months ago,” she began. “She was upset with me for never wearing the clothes she made me, which isn't true because I wear them all the time because they're awesome, and she was really upset and junk, and I felt really bad about it so I brought up my Nightmare Night costume, but she was all ‘that has nothing to do with what I mean because that's a special occasion’,” a pause to inhale and readjust her head.

“So I told her that I had a hard time with knowing what was a special occasion and what wasn't one, because I do, and then she got mad at me for ‘making excuses like always’ and that really ticked me off because she just doesn't get that I just don't get some of the things that mages like you guys do and say and stuff, so I started yelling at her about how she was making excuses for the whole deal with Gabby Gums up until it was hurting her too, like she didn't even care that I was hurt first!

“And then she got even more mad at me and was all ‘first of all that's a separate issue and second of all ~darling~ a lady’s private diary is different from treating oneself to a pedicure every once in awhile’ which is stupid because that's a super normal thing for you mages to do- no offense- but all of my avian friends were teasing me about being a mage on the inside and other dumb stuff like that which I mean I can deal with no biggie but she didn't even think it was important to me at all!”

Dusk listened intently as she began to ramble, even through her sentences blending together and losing their full coherency, because this was the most she had talked about the relationship with Rarity since they started officially dating during the Festival of Hearts. She had talked plenty about the sex (very much to Spike’s chagrin), but this was Rainbow’s first time actually talking about her feelings and her romantic life since... well, ever, and Dusk was determined to be there for her, no matter how much he didn't want to hear about Rarity’s scary side.

By the end of her ranting she had stood up and had begun pacing around the room in an agitated manner, emoting loudly with her hands, and wings aflare. Dusk had used this distraction to change his clothes while absorbing her diatribe. He still had time to discreetly write a note and he slipped it under the bedroom door, both telekinetically, before she took in the last breath of her tirade.

“And then she said ‘maybe we should take a break’ and I know that doesn't technically mean we’re totally broken up and everything but she's said that kind of thing to lots of people before, and all of those people are now her exes, and this was dumb mistake number six, I told her exactly that, and she said ‘well maybe you'd like to join them’ and she looked pretty serious about it so I tore out of her house and I started flying...” she looked up at Dusk. “And that’s when I came here. Wait, when did you change?”

Dusk offered her a solicitous smile and took a step towards her, holding his hand out.

“While you were talking. Are you going to be okay for today?”

Rainbow glanced between his hand, his outfit, and his face, before she gently bat his hand out of the way, blew her bangs out of her eyes again, cracked her knuckles, and put her hands on her hips.

“Tch, please,” she said, dismissively rolling her eyes. “I'm not gonna let a little drama get in the way of a little light weatherwork.” Her trademark cocky smirk had returned, as well as the rest of her brash demeanor and confident pose.

Dusk grinned at her newfound enthusiasm; she had just needed to vent a little, and for at least a little while she’d be just fine.

“And anyways, the silver lining is I’m single again so now I’m back in the game, baby!”

Perhaps even more than fine.

“You can serenade the eligible bachelorettes of Ponyville with tales of your awesomeness later,” Dusk replied with only a small amount of condescension, what little of which was rewarded with a punch to the arm. “But right now I need breakfast and I'm sure you didn't eat anything today yet.”

Rainbow made as if to say something but after a moment’s hesitation closed her mouth and then shrugged in affirmation. Dusk then walked to his door, taking notice by the note’s absence that Spike had indeed received the message, and walked down the stairs into the library with Rainbow in tow. She did a swan dive over the banister, performed a front flip, and then flapped her wings hard, landing with low velocity. She let out a small “ta-da” accompanied by jazz hands.

“Do you remember when you tried that at my housewarming and broke the railing and almost Pinkie Pie’s back?” Dusk asked, chuckling at her flustered reaction before opening a closet.

“I was a little drunk, okay?” she maintained defensively. It wasn't hard cider like she usually preferred but Pinkie sure made a mean bloody mary. “Anyways it’s pretty nice out- you're welcome, by the way- so you don't need a jacket.”

Dusk emerged from the closet holding a piece of fabric. Closing the door behind him, he handed it to her.

“I think you left some clothes at Rarity’s.”

“What do you-” Rainbow began to ask before looking down. “Oh.” With a sheepish grin and a muttered ‘thanks’ she took the sky-blue halter crop top and slipped the loop behind her head. After a moment of buckling the straps underneath the base of her wings so they were comfortable, she gave a quick flap to ensure that she still had full mobility.

“I actually went straight from my evening nap on the orchard to the boutique,” she explained as Dusk unlocked, opened, walked through, closed, and relocked the door. “The girls were having one of their sleepovers at Fluttershy’s last night so Rare and I weren't exactly planning on wearing much.” She laughed but then the smile that was plastered on her face faded slightly.

“Oh darling, I feel overdressed...”

Rainbow had just landed outside her girlfriend’s bedroom window and hopped in only to discover that she was lying supine on her bed wearing nothing but her underwear, surrounded by rose petals, and bathed in the gentle glow of candlelight. She could smell lilacs.

“No, you're...” Thwumpf. “You’re fine.”

The lacy black-and-red lingerie adorning Rarity’s contrasting pale white frame left very little to the imagination. Her thick violet hair fell around her shoulders, recently straightened. Rainbow had a hard time trying to furl her wings back up.

“So are you saying you don't want me to do...” she slipped a bra strap over her shoulder. Rarity’s quite sizeable breast threatened to spill out of the cup entirely as she seductively clambered towards Rainbow and breathed, “...this?”

Rainbow’s eyes traveled from Rarity’s endowed chest to her bare belly to her shapely thighs and then finally back up to her deep blue eyes. Lust. Desire. Hunger. Pure unbridled want. And also, if you knew what to look for, a little bit of fear.

“No, I mean...” Rainbow took a few tentative steps forward before gently placing her own hands on Rarity’s shoulders. “You're... fine. As hell.” She winked and then their lips met.

Rainbow pursed her lips and lightly shook her head of the memory so it didn't get to the bad part: the morning. Instead, she jammed her fingers into the front pockets of her shorts and hovered alongside her companion as he strolled to Sugarcube Corner. He offered her a comforting, sympathetic smile as they shared a silence, opting to listen to the birdsong and the town’s hustle and bustle.

Nothing that happened the night before was going to ruin her mood. This day was going to be perfect.

/x/x/x/

This day was going to be a disaster!

A man in a suit of armor threw open a door and slammed it closed behind him. Quickly he shucked off his helmet and unbelted his sword, carelessly tossing them onto the sofa sitting in the room. His short blue hair was molded from the helmet so he furiously rubbed at it to fix it.

“Darling,” the gentle lilting voice from another room cooed. He looks up as she enters and in a single moment his stress and anxieties melted away. Her long violet, fuchsia, and yellow colored hair was all she wore.

The angry scowl dissipated immediately and fell away into cool contentment. He approached her and got on one knee, taking her hand in his and kissing it.

“My queen,” he declared. “Well... my princess.”

She grinned as she stroked his hair with her free hand. He stands up and wraps his arms around her as they kiss. He stands nearly a full head taller than her and so leans down. She returns in full force and places her hands on his hips.

“How fare preparations for the wedding?” she asks when they finally break apart. His smile fades as he strolls over and sits on the salmon pink sofa next to his equipment, setting his feet on the matching ottoman in front of it. She steps behind him and massages his temples.

“The recruits are worthless,” he complains. “They wouldn't know the sharp end of a spear if it stabbed them. I wouldn't be surprised if the castle’s wait staff could defeat them with dining utensils... and not even the sharp ones!”

Behind his head, a green aura seeped from his ears into her fingertips, and her eyes began to glow the same color.

“I would surmise that you'll just have to literally whip them into shape,” she giggles. “And I'm sure you know exactly how much I'd like to see that happen.”

He sighed contentedly. “Perhaps tonight you could show me an example?” he craned his neck as she bent further down to encapsulate his lips in another kiss, but before they made contact a knock came at the door.

Within an instant she had taken a step back and motioned downwards with her hands, making a thin pink dress appear. They exchanged a brief look of surprise and annoyance as she approached the door, eyeing the figure through the peephole.

“Hey Shining Armor,” he yelled. “Hey buddy, you there? It's Spearhead!”

She turned back and raised an eyebrow at Shining. He contemplated for a moment before shrugging and giving her a thumbs up. She nodded and opened the door.

“Oh! Um, hey- hello there, Princess Cadance. Uh, I mean... Mi Amore Cadenza.” The burly man with a blue mohawk faltered a bit before pushing on. “I didn't know you two were, ah... busy. Sorry.”

Shining’s hand settled on the back of Cadance’s neck. Unbeknownst to Spearhead, as he was immediately embroiled in a conversation concerning bachelor parties and groomsman rituals and something about his younger brother, magical energy was transferring itself between Shining’s hand and Cadance’s head as her eyes glazed over. By the time he was finished she was back to reality.

“Will your painting be finished by the reception?” She asked after Spearhead paused to take a breath. His next sentence caught in his throat before a giddy smile overtook his face.

“Of course it will be,” he zealously exclaimed. “I'm really proud of this one too and I know you both will love it, and it'll make the whole aesthetic of the dance perfect for a partying mood!”

Cadance and Shining gave each other an awkward glance as fake smiles plastered onto their faces.

“Well we’ll be really looking forward to that,” Shining said, woodenly. “But right now we’re kind of in the middle of something, Spear, so...”

He closed his mouth and nodded in affirmation. “Yup, I totally get what ya mean, buddy,” he gave a conspiratorial wink, a knowing smirk, and a light punch to the shoulder. “I'll run the recruits ragged while you're gone, almost as ragged as you two are gonna get if ya catch my drift. I'll see ya later!”

He turned and walked down the front steps and off into the street as Cadance closed the door.

“I... guess I'm popular.” he deadpanned.

Cadance turned to Shining as he pinched the bridge of his nose. She placed her hands on his head as the turquoise crystal heart on the backs of them began to glow. An orb of green mist pulled out of his head and into her hands.

“I'll take care of the fake memories, you just stand there.” she flatly declared. She opened his pants and pulled her dress up and they began to have sex. It was quick, passionless, and over within a single minute. After it was finished and after a brief cleanup spell he gazed after her longingly.

“Will I see you again tomorrow morning?”

She turned back towards him, glowing orb still in hand. She waved her hand again as the dress disappeared from view, before she turned from him.

“Unless his family starts arriving early then I don't see why not,” she teased. “You just go back to the hive, Lilu, and ensure our strength in numbers. Soon enough we can be together for entire days.”

He nodded and turned before something clicked in his mind. “But, my Queen...” he began to ask. “When you kill Celestia and Luna there won't be days anymore.”

She placed her finger on her lips for a moment before she turned to him again, head cocked to the side and a mischievous grin plastered on her face. “Then for eternity.” and with that, she closed the bedroom door.

She stepped towards the Shining Armor lying down on the bed. His eyes were wide open, glowing green, unfocused and glazed over. She straddled his form and placed the orb by his head, slowly coaxing the energy into his ear.

“Hello darling,” she cooed, sickly sweet. “It's time to wake up now...”

/x/x/x/

“Honeybun, I need a half dozen cranberry muffins out here STAT!”

“You got it dearie!”

“And a bear claw!”

“Coming right up! And tell Lucky I said hello!”

A momentary break in communication passes.

“He says hello and that the new wallpaper looks lovely!”

“Tell him I said thank you!”

It was another typical day in Sugarcube Corner. Alongside the bakers’ constant seamless back and forth, the sizzling of deep fryers, the ka-ching! of the cash register, the whirring of electric mixers, and the babbling of two infants filled the air. The scents of various breads, pastries, and other baked goods accompanied a blue-eyed young woman holding the two aforementioned babies. She was sitting in a rocking chair in the childrens’ bedroom above the bakery proper, taking in the sounds and smells and threatening to fall asleep herself.

She turned her head slightly to the side, throwing her wild unkempt and poofy magenta mane around the opposite direction, and put her mouth around the end of a particularly long straw, beginning to suck. After about twenty seconds, her mouth filled with a sweet, creamy white substance. She savored the taste for just a moment before she swallowed and went back in for another drink. Just before she took a second sip, she quickly turned her eyes to face one of the walls in the room.

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” she whispered to no one in particular. “It's just a vanilla milkshake, silly!” Then with that, she dove back in.

The straw was actually composed of around a dozen individual straws held together in a line (if you could call it that), and each segment was held together by duct tape, tied ribbons, chewing gum, or some combination of the three. It went in multiple directions before settling itself into a malt glass situated on the nightstand to the right of the girl and the rocking chair that she was seated upon. The milkshake was piled high with what seemed to be a literal entire can of whipped cream and a single maraschino cherry resting atop the so-called Mount Diabetes. Despite looking incredibly structurally unsound, and possibly breaking a few laws of physics, the glass remained upright.

The girl kissed the nearly-asleep children on their foreheads: first the boy, with a small tuft of dark brown hair, then the girl, with orange. She chuckled lightly at the white splotches left behind, sighed contentedly, and continued to gently rock back and forth. She glanced out the window to her left out across town and watched the steady stream of foot traffic. She could see a fair distance because she was on the second floor.

She could see her friend Lyra sitting across a table from her other friend Bonbon, sharing a plate of what she knew were fried potatoes with a garlic aioli, which Lyra secretly hated but ate without complaint in the desperate hopes to advance the longtime silently-nursed not-so-secret crush held on Bonbon. She could see her friend Cherry Berry, performing some general maintenance on her hot air balloon, holding a wrench in her mouth and a screwdriver behind her ear, taking the engine apart and putting it back together again because she was still upset about the whole evil Fluttershy incident but wouldn't let anybody know that. She could see her friend Applejack manning her stall selling apples (what else?) as usual, ever-present stetson hat tipped just slightly to the left to block out the morning sun. She could see a dozen other people, all of whom she could safely refer to as “her friend insert name here”, milling about their business. She people-watched for a while before the two kids finally fell fully asleep.

“Alright, Pinkie Pie”, she said to herself. “Take the twins to the crib, swap shifts with mister Cake, bake the cake for tonight's picnic, take the register, finish delivering exposition, and then go to the picnic!”

She did these things while she said them in typical mini-montage fashion but was distracted midway through by some unexpected though not unwelcome guests popping through the line whilst she worked the register.

“‘Sup, Pinks!” greeted Rainbow Dash, offering a friendly wave with her right wing.

“Hi Dashie!” Pinkie cried before glancing to her companion on the right. “Hi Dusky!”

Dusk nodded. “Hello Pinkie,” he offered. “How are you?”

“I'm great!” she answered. “I got to eat a super yummy breakfast with biscuits and gravy and lots and lots of eggs and feed the twins their morning bottles and rock them back to sleep and they're so adorable when they try to keep their tired little eyes open even though I was like ‘hey now guys I know you're cute and all but you really gotta go to sleep and you gotta take advantage of this whole mandatory nappage they've got going on because no offense Dashie but not everybody can sleep for sixteen hours a day’ and while I was doing that I was drinking a super scrum-diddly-umptious vanilla milkshake through my patented ultra-mega-super-straw-nic and then I was delivering exposition like everybody’s used to by now and then I was peoplewatching for a little bit because what else am I gonna do while I'm rocking the kids to sleep because television doesn't exist yet and I'm not gonna just stare at the wall as if paint were drying because well I mean there isn't any wet paint on the nursery wall because Mister Cake and I already took care of painting it before Missus Cake even had the babies and the absolute last thing in the whole wide world I would ever wanna do is sit down and watch paint dry because if I did that I would probably just literally BOOM! explode from inactivity and then when Pound and Pumpkin were finally asleep I came down here to start working the register and then you two came here and Dashie said ‘Sup Pinks?’ all cool and stuff like she usually does and then I said “Hi Dashie” and “Hi Dusky” like I always do whenever I see you guys and then you said hi and asked me how I am and then I told you and now we’re here so now you're all caught up!!!”

Pinkie then took a deep breath that lasted about twelve and a half seconds before she asked, “What would you two like to eat?”

Dusk ordered an apple cinnamon oatmeal muffin and a straight black coffee, and Rainbow- after being gently nudged awake by her companion’s elbow as she’d slipped off somewhere between ‘vanilla milkshake’ and ‘watching paint dry’- ordered a half dozen malasadas and chocolate milk.

Dusk raised an eyebrow at her choice of drink, curious as he'd never seen her drink anything that wasn't carbonated or alcoholic... or both. Rainbow looked at him and shrugged her shoulders, as if to ask if she wasn't allowed to drink something that differed from her norm.

“Oki doki loki,” Pinkie said with a smile. She then turned her head towards the doorway to the kitchen and shouted, “I need a black mamba with a sweet apple special and a backwards discord with a sixer of triple Cs!”

Dusk and Rainbow shared mutual looks of confusion at their friend’s chosen nomenclature of baked goods. A “coming right up” floated in from the back room alongside the unmistakable sizzle of a deep fryer and a wafting scent of cinnamon and cocoa. Rainbow licked her lips in anticipation and rubbed her hands together, rocking her weight between her heels and the balls of her feet.

“That'll be fourteen bits.”

Rainbow brought her hand to her shorts pocket and suddenly froze. She then frantically began turning and patting at her pockets until Dusk put his hand on her shoulder, and with his other hand showed her his black leatherbound wallet.

“My treat.” he said.

Rainbow heaved a sigh of relief and placed her hands atop Dusk’s on her shoulder. “All right, you're the man, Dusk!” she cried triumphantly.

Both Dusk and Pinkie chuckled at this, and as he was pulling the bills out of his wallet, he said “I know.”

After the transaction was complete, Pinkie leaned over the counter and encapsulated the two in a hug. Dusk and Rainbow glanced at each other across the back of Pinkie’s neck before shrugging and linking their arms around her back.

“I'll see you guys later?” Pinkie asked as she pulled away.

“Absolutely!” Rainbow affirmed. “We can't have a decent party without our resident party master around, after all!”

“Well...” Dusk interjected. “It's not exactly a party, more of a social gathering.” He put his change inside his wallet which he put pack in his pocket. “A potluck, specifically, but we’re looking forward to seeing you then. What are you bringing?”

“Oh, I can't tell you that, silly!” Pinkie teased. “It would ruin the ~mystery~” she said in an ethereal lilting tone, wiggling her fingers and her outstretched arms.

“Betcha a bushel o’ apples it's a cake.”

Pinkie snapped her focus directly to the speaker, one sweaty stetson-adorned country-bred green-eyed sight for sore eyes she knew as Applejack. Dusk and Rainbow turned as well to address the sudden appearance of the trio’s mutual friend.

Aside from the hat, she was wearing a short sleeved plaid flannel shirt with a crimson and white color palette, unbuttoned just enough to reveal a simple white camisole underneath, a pair of denim knee-length shorts, and of course, a pair of dirty (but not *too* dirty) cowboy boots.

She pulled her hat back from off of her thin blonde tresses with her right hand while undoing the tie around her ponytail with her left, and her long locks fell in a cascade that fully enraptured Pinkie’s attention.

“Howdy, Dusk,” she greeted, southern drawl dripping with every syllable she spoke. “Rainbow. Pinkie. How's this fine mornin’ treatin’ y'all?” Once her question was spoken she took her hat in her mouth and began to re-tie her hair but this time in a loose bun.

“Hey AJ!” Rainbow replied, tilting her head slightly to the side and giving a smirk and a one handed wave.

“Hello,” Dusk also replied, nodding once. “We’re just getting a bit of breakfast before getting ready for later today. How have you fared?”

“Same ol’ same old,” Applejack said as she took her hat out of her mouth and planted it firmly back on her head, securing her hair in place. “Sold some pies n’ fritters, made me a mite bit peckish, and I got a hankering for some good ol’-fashioned Long Island Pinkie Pie-ced tea.”

A sudden clang brought everyone’s attention to the bakery counter, where Pinkie had just set down a tall glass of an amber-hued liquid, replete with a lemon slice and, of course, many ice cubes.

“One Pie-ced Tea, three bits!” Pinkie proclaimed. Rainbow and Dusk shared a knowing look as they stepped away from Applejack towards the doorway to the kitchen proper and waited for their order to complete, leaving the two druids to converse.

Dusk never minded the wait, as he would always stand and watch people go about their everyday lives. It was something he shared with Pinkie, though he wasn't always like that. When he was younger he didn't mind waiting for things because he could read another chapter of whatever book (or books, as was the case) he had his nose buried in. He still read, for several hours of the day and night, but not while out and about and running errands anymore. Reading people was almost as fun, anyways.

Almost.

Rainbow, on the other hand, hated waiting. She hated watching people, she hated standing around, she hated not being in perpetual motion. She hated having to keep her wings still because of one too many ‘incidents’ involving the appendages and high velocity impacts into- and one time through- the bakery’s ceiling, and the sign on the wall that read “All Avians please keep wings neatly folded while inside. Yes, Rainbow Dash, this includes you. Thank you!” did nothing to assuage her antsy restlessness. Though to be fair, she herself wasn't the only reason for the sign, simply... the biggest.

If she would deign to carry a purse, or if backpacks were useable by Avians, she would of course carry around a trove of the adventure novels she had recently fallen in love with. Doing so would entirely eliminate all further potential boredom for the rest of her life, but in all honesty she much preferred occasional boredom to the ideas of either surgically removing her wings or, ugh, actually carrying around a purse. Both options were equally undesirable.

“Order up!” shouted Carrot Cake from behind the kitchen door, before he stepped out holding a brown paper bag and a cardboard drink carrier with two coffee cups occupying half of the slots. Dusk took hold of the drinks as Rainbow took the bag, both thanking him as they did so.

Carrot surveyed the line, or the lack thereof, as he removed his paper hat and ran a hand through his short and messy orange hair. His apron used to be white but was currently beige and covered in bits of dough, powdered sugar, melted chocolate, and the like. He adjusted his red and white striped bow tie as he stepped towards the lively, animated discussion currently going on between Pinkie and Applejack. Carrot and Applejack began to exchange greetings, but Dusk wasn't able to hear what was said over the rustling of the paper sack in Rainbow’s hands.

He turned to see her pull out a small ball of fried dough covered in cinnamon and sugar, grasped between her thumb and forefinger. She waved it gently in front of her nose, closing her eyes and inhaling before letting out a satisfied ‘Aaahh...’ and then biting into it. She pulled away about half with her teeth, exposing the chocolatey interior. A dopey grin crossed her face as she chewed, and after she swallowed she opened her eyes only to see Dusk grinning at her.

“What?” she asked innocently, unaware of the chocolate stain on her lower lip. Dusk tapped his own with his finger but her only response was to raise one eyebrow. He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it, shaking his head. Dash shrugged and popped the rest of the miniature pastry into her mouth, and with her mouth half full she offered the bag to Dusk and asked “Want one? You paid.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Dusk said with only the barest hint of a grimace at the ball of deep fried empty calories. “But no thank you. We should sit, regardless.” he continued, motioning towards an empty table. She nodded and followed him over, plopping down in the chair opposite him, and fishing the smaller paper sack holding the rest of her malasadas. Dusk pulled out his muffin and they began to eat.

Rainbow took hold of one of the drinks and took a swig, only to violently pull the cup away from her mouth. Her eyes reflected the pain of tasting the wrong beverage, and she meekly offered the cup of coffee to Dusk. He chuckled and took it from her hands, and his laughter only grew more intense as she struggled to swallow. Eventually she did, wincing, and immediately shoved another piece of her breakfast into her mouth. She followed it with a drink of what was actually hers, and then relaxed.

Applejack and Pinkie then pulled up chairs, Applejack with a trio of blueberry scones in tow. Both were red-faced and trying desperately hard not to show that they were laughing. They were failing, though, as the glare Rainbow was giving them could attest to.

“Something funny?” she asked, fuming from embarrassment. Applejack just took a bite of her scone and shot a glance at Pinkie, who returned one before looking back at Rainbow. She reached a finger out and swiped it across Rainbow’s chin, coming away with a blob of chocolate.

Rainbow, who had been gaping open mouthed at Pinkie’s audacity, then shot an angry glance at Dusk, who was looking everywhere but at her. She held the glare, and tried to share it with all three of her companions, but eventually it broke and she found herself laughing along with the rest of them.

After the spate of laughter faded, Dusk took a sip of his coffee before turning to Pinkie.

“So,” he asked. “Not that I'm not glad to see you over here but isn't it your shift right now?”

“Kinda,” she replied. “But Mister Cake is letting me take five because there's nobody in line and you guys are all here right now and he’s always super duper lenient with my breaks and stuff because he says he appreciates all the hard work I do around here especially with the babies and the paint job and-” at Applejack’s touch to her arm, she took a pause to take a deep breath. “So I can hang out for a minute. What are you guys doing next?”

“Well...” Dusk glanced at Rainbow, who was chewing, before turning back to Pinkie. “I was probably going to go do a little shopping and then see Rarity, and then- are you okay Rainbow? ...then I was going to go home and do a little light reading before the picnic later.”

Rainbow recovered from her slight choking spat at the mention of her girlfri- of her ex girlfriend, and swallowed. “And I was gonna fly for a while,” she said as a shadow crossed her face. “And then I was gonna see Fluttershy because there's... something we gotta talk about.”

“Ooohh!” Pinkie cried. “Whatcha gotta talk about?”

Rainbow bit her lip while Pinkie patiently awaited a response. Applejack raised an eyebrow at Dusk and motioned her head towards Rainbow. Dusk glanced at Rainbow and tilted his head slightly to the side. Rainbow shrugged and Dusk turned back to Applejack before nodding. Applejack put her hand over her mouth and turned to Rainbow, who just gave a sad half smile. The silence, however, was getting just shy of oppressive when Dusk spoke out.

“It's probably private-” he began before he was interrupted by Pinkie’s gasp.

“Wait a minute,” she cried. “Did you and Rarity break up!?”

The trio of non-Pinkies collectively facepalmed.

/x/x/x/

“Did you and Rainbow break up?”

Fluttershy’s question struck Rarity as odd.

“Well... we’re taking a break,” Rarity began to explain. “But I still care about her and would like to get past this little roadblock as soon as possible.” She paused to take a sip of her tea. “This brew is very good.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Definitely bring this later on, I have the perfect tea set for it. Anywho, I've been formulating my own apology for my past misgivings as- though I regret to admit it- she did raise some valid points. I haven't been the best girlfriend I can be to her.”

“Oohhh,” Fluttershy said, slowly nodding with understanding. She sipped her tea, before furrowing her brow in worry and setting her cup back in its saucer, and onto the table at the center of Carousel Boutique’s kitchen slash dining room. “Does Rainbow know that?”

Rarity gave a short bark of laughter before she covered her mouth and excused herself.

“Darling, you should give her more credit,” she said. “Our relationship goes beyond words, and I trust her enough to trust me. A silly little fight like this isn't enough to drive a wedge between us.”

/x/x/x/

“And she's letting this big stupid fight drive a wedge between us!” Rainbow exclaimed in a fit of frustration and her waving arms. As the emotional high from her rant went down, she noticed the downcast eyes around her. She took a deep breath.

“I'm sorry, guys,” she said. “I just... really gotta go clear my head real quick, I haven't really flown since I went from the orchard to Rarity’s bedroom last night.”

“From the what now?” Asked Applejack, suspiciously raising an eyebrow. The previously dour mood faded and her accusatory gaze seemed to suggest that if she heard Rainbow say what she think she said... she had better not have.

Rainbow froze, mentally went back through what she just said, and then grabbed her cup and now-empty sack. She nudged Dusk’s shoulder, and said “Thanks for the food, see you guys later!” before briskly walking out the door. She sprinted down the street, stretched out her wings, and took off into the distance. Nothing betrayed her presence aside from the loose dust and wet spot on the ground.

“I swear that girl’s gonna fall outta one o’ them trees some day.” Applejack growled. “An’ when she does, I just hope she don't break her fool neck.”

“She hasn't fallen out thus far,” Dusk pointed out. “And if she's been doing that ever since she moved here it's probably not going to happen. Your trees all have sturdy branches anyway,” he continued, pausing to take a drink of his coffee. “So there really isn't anything to worry about for either of their sakes.”

“Well ordinally y'all’d be correct,” Applejack volleyed back through a mouthful of scone. “But a lot of ‘em are still upset after the whole slippy dippy... nine hundred... whatever.”

“Super speedy cider squeezy six thousand!” Pinkie offered.

“Yeah, that,” Applejack returned. “Only reason I’m gettin’ on Dash’s tail right now is I still don't know who’s ready to even be harvested yet!”

Quietly from Pinkie, “...but Dashie doesn't have a tail...”

“Flim and Flam did that much of a number on them, huh?” Dusk asked before draining the last of his coffee. He levitated the empty cup into a trash can near the front door as Applejack spoke.

“They darn near uprooted half the orchard we gave to ‘em when they saw they were losin’!” she cried. “If we’d known they were killin’ all those trees, Granny woulda whooped their butts back to their momma faster n’ y'all could say ‘frontier justice’.”

“Well hopefully you never have to see them again, right AJ?” Pinkie asked.

“If they got the nerve to show themselves to the people of this town after servin’ that sludge they called cider, only way they won't get run right back outta town on a rail is if they invent some magical tonic that cures everything.” Applejack took one last bite of her final scone before continuing. “And anyway, let’s talk about somethin’ else. I can't sell nothin’ if I'm in a sour mood. What kinda cake didja make, Pinkie?”

“Oh it’s a marbled yellow with a buttercream- wait a minute,” Pinkie narrowed her eyes at the smug look on her friend’s face. Dusk snickered a bit as he took Applejack’s empty bag in hand and took care of all the trash and Rainbow’s leftover cinnamon sugar on the table.

“AJ, you tricked me...” Pinkie gave sad puppydog eyes and a lip quiver. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Applejack chuckled, took her hat off, and set it on Pinkie’s head as best as her hair would allow. “Well it'll still be a secret to Rare, Shy, and Dash, right?”

Pinkie’s fake frown melted away, and she beamed as she pulled the Stetson a little tighter on her head. “You're right, AJ!” she exclaimed. “They all love surprises! Well maybe not Fluttershy as much because sometimes if she gets a really loud surprise she gets really scared and goes all kitty-tonic and sometimes she does that thingy where her eyes get all unfocused and she can't hear you when you talk to her anymore, and Rarity really doesn't like to be surprised especially when she's working on one of her dress orders, but if it's the whole pleasant and quiet kind of surprise when they're in the mood for a surprise then I know they really appreciate it especially if it's about something as yummy as cake! Dashie always loves surprises though, even if they're loud and scary like the only kinds of pranks I pull that work on her, and she also loves surprises like cake and stuff, so it'll be super duper funderful when I do the flavor reveal!” Pinkie finally paused in her speech to give Applejack a hug.

Pinkie was a little shorter than Applejack, whose tall and muscular frame stood about a head taller than Pinkie’s shorter, more stocky build. She put her arms around Applejack's waist and nestled her head on the taller girl’s shoulder. Applejack loosely linked her own arms around Pinkie’s shoulders and waited patiently for Pinkie to pull away.

When she finally did, she did with a jump backwards, and Pinkie rocked back and forth between the balls of her feet and her heels.

“Can I wear the hat until the picnic later?” she innocently requested, forefinger resting on her lips. Applejack just put her weight on one foot and crossed her arms, giving an expectant look.

“Do marmosets have mostly twins?”

Pinkie froze, unsure of what exactly a marmawhatever was, but over Applejack’s shoulder she could see Dusk nodding yes.

“Thanks AJ!” she cried. She reached into her hair underneath and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, handing them to Applejack, who thanked her and slipped one temple into her shirt.

Pinkie then stepped towards Dusk and hugged him. The two were of closer height, so she put her arms around his shoulders. He secured his arms firmly around the middle of her back. She took a step back, sliding her hands down his shoulders to his elbows before letting go, and grabbing her wrist with her other hand behind her back.

“I'll see you later Dusky!”

Dusk nodded and said “You too, Pinkie.” They then turned to part ways, Applejack following him out the door he held open for her.

“Thanks for grabbin’ my trash earlier, by the way,” she said, closing the door behind them. “I appreciate it.”

“Don't worry about it,” Dusk replied. “I’m just glad to be out of there. No offense to the Cakes but I can only be around the smell of deep fryers and baking bread for so long before I miss fresh air.”

“Don't I know it,” Applejack responded with a chuckle. “Uh oh. I gotta get back to my stall; my five minute break was a bit longer than that, and I can already see the line.”

Four people were standing in front of the apple cart. The first had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot, the second was staring intently at a pocketwatch, the third was smiling and waving at Dusk, and the fourth was counting coins in her change purse. Dusk gave them each a once over before turning to Applejack.

“You look like you have your hands full. We’ll talk later.”

“I'd rather deal with a hundred angry customers than a heartbroken Rarity.” she said, poignantly. “But yeah, we will.”

They bid farewell and headed in their respective directions, Applejack to her own stall and Dusk to a cart underneath a wide purple umbrella with saffron colored trimmings.

“Hey Dusk!” shouted the vendor, one Mint Chip. He brushed his dark brown hair out of his face as he rested a hand on the cooler. “What are we in the mood for today, buddy? Rocky road? Butter pecan? Or is this stuff for Spike, you want some of that salsa verde flavor popular with the dragonborn this season?”

“Oh no, Mint,” Dusk said, waving his hand. “It's not for either of us, actually. I'm here for vanilla oat swirl. Got any left?”

Mint clicked his tongue and winced. “Ooh boy,” he said, dismayed. “Is it for what I think it is?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Dusk said, nodding sadly. “Two gallons.”

“Oh man,” Mint shook his head and began tsk-ing, reaching into the cooler. He pulled out the ice cream and set it on the counter between the two. “When’s that dressmaker gonna find a guy who’s actually good enough for her?”

Dusk opened his mouth as if to correct the merchant but thought better of it, as it really wasn't any of HIS business what his own friends did, so he just shrugged as he pulled out his wallet. “I don't know, Mint. Six bits like normal?”

“Nah man, you're here like all the time!” he said, putting his arms out to either side. “Five is good, frequent shopper discount.”

“Oh,” Dusk said, surprised. He pulled out a 5¢ bill and set it on the counter between the two buckets before slipping his wallet back in his pocket. “Thank you.”

“It's totally cool, buddy,” he said, processing the transaction. “I gotta liquidate assets before next Nightmare Night hits and the weather people start dumping snow everywhere anyway. The boss ain't gonna be unhappy about a bit or two, ‘specially if it's to you.”

The boss in this instance was Milky Way, a polite young woman who lived up in Canterlot. She was a quite literal wizard who was very adept at frost magic. She had turned to the ice cream making profession at a very young age and was now one of the most highly esteemed of the city’s upper crust. Rarity and by extension Dusk had met her at his birthday party several months back.

“I'll have to thank Milky next time I see her,” Dusk said. He then levitated the two pieces of frozen cargo and encased them in a temperature sealing forcefield of his own design. “Thanks for your business, Mint.”

“Anytime, Dusk!” he said. Then, quickly, “Hey, how’s Fluttershy?”

“Uh...” Dusk knew of Mint’s romantic interest in Fluttershy, as did pretty much all of Ponyville, but as one of the select few people who knew that Fluttershy’s romantic preferences didn't exactly include someone of his... demographic... namely his gender... he quickly formulated a plan.

“Well I'll be talking to her later,” he said, “So I can tell you more next time I see you.”

Procrastination wins again.

“Oh okay!” he said, sated with this response. “Cool! Later Dusk!”

Dusk nodded before turning and walking away, a normal pace at first but becoming more brisk. He couldn't help but feel uneasy whenever Mint asked about or even looked at Fluttershy, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly why. He decided to push the thoughts aside as unimportant as there were bigger things to worry about.

Namely, getting out of the way.

“Onward, Crusaders, to find our marks!”

“Yahoo!”

“Hi Dusk!”

“Help!”

Four distinct voices screamed at once as a silver and red blur zoomed right over where Dusk was standing a moment ago. He recognized the voices as belonging to Scootaloo, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Spike, respectively. But wait. If Spike was with the girls, then...

Dusk sighed, muttered a curse aimed towards the young dragonborn, and broke off into a sprint.

/x/x/x/

“Don't look so glum, Minnie.”

Minuette sighed and poked at at her salad.

“Yeah, Twinkie’s right, Minnie, we’re about to be in a wedding!”

She popped a cherry tomato into her mouth, unfazed by her friends’ attempts to cheer her up.

“Well... most of us are. Sorry Lemons.”

“It's okay,” Lemon said, placating Lyra. “I didn't know Cadey much anyway, not as much as you guys did. But at least I’ll be working at the reception so we can all hang out a little bit!”

Minuette looked up to face their little group. To her left sat Twinkleshine, eating a risotto; to her right was Lemon Hearts, with a sandwich; and straight across was Lyra Heartstrings, who had eaten earlier with her roommate and so only had a small cup of soup. She pushed her salad away and sat back in her chair.

“He didn't even recognize me.”

The three sighed and went back to their food. The maître d’ came by and refilled the girls’ water and left again. After the silence grew to be too much to bear, Lyra audibly set her spoon down and spoke.

“He was talking to Applejack, Minnie. They're a lot closer of friends now than any of us ever were with him,” she stated. “And that's okay. A lot of stuff has happened in his life, like saving the world twice, and that's just what we know of!”

“Yeah, Minnie,” Twinkleshine joined. “In fact, she was the first person he met here. Well... aside from Pinkie Pie, but she said that didn't count because she didn't say hi. But Applejack was the very first real friend he ever made that wasn't family or the Princess.”

“Oh that makes me feel better,” Minuette grumbled. “He's got bigger, better, more important friends to talk to and we’re just, what, dust in the wind?”

“It's not like that at all,” Lemon interjected. “It's more like what happened to us after the Princess stopped proctoring classes. She just had other things to worry about, like her sister, and Sunset, and manually going through every single textbook she ever allowed to be printed and fixing all of the historical inaccuracies she had to let in to protect the Nightmare- er, Luna- and make sure she could get freed by Dusk.

“It doesn't mean that we’re all any less important to her,” she continued. “It just means that other things just got more important, and she doesn't have time to dedicate to us anymore because she's worried about the greater good, the good of all Equestria, and the good of the fireflies!”

Minuette groaned. “Not the fireflies again,” she complained. “That hokey religion just reminds me of Dusk even more.”

“But do you at least understand what I'm trying to say?”

“...yeah,” Minuette ceded. “I guess so. I just wish he at least said hi every once in awhile so I know he didn't just completely forget about us.” She pulled her salad back towards her and took a bite. “Maybe I'll try at the wedding. He'll be there since it's his brother and all.”

“Yeah,” Lemon sighed, seemingly in a trance. “Shining Armor.”

Lyra made a fake gagging motion at Twinkleshine, causing her to giggle which prompted Lemon to look up and see. Lemon frowned.

“Maybe I should talk about Bonbon instead, huh?”

Lyra blushed, and said “No, go back to talking about Captain Dreamy... uh... pants... please.”

The ghost of a smile crept across Minuette’s face as her friends fell into laughter. She still felt miserable even after nearly two years of Dusk’s abandonment, but she didn't have to feel miserable right now this minute. She elected to have a good time with her friends at the moment, and just worry about the sadness before she went to sleep that night.

One day she would talk to him again. One day.

/x/x/x/

Dusk’s sprint had slowed to a jog and then further to a brisk walk, and soon enough he found himself at Rarity’s house. Well, it was her business, it just was also furnished with a bedroom, kitchen, full bathroom, guest bedroom, half bathroom, laundry room, plenty of storage space... so, basically it was a house built on top of a regular dress shop and salon.

Carousel Boutique, where everything is sleek, chic, and c’est magnifique. At least, that's what her moniker proclaimed. It was accurate. The building’s color palette was a white base with predominant streaks of orchid, indigo, and marigold. There were many frills interspersed here and there in very specific patterns, and large ovular windows, and the whole building gave the illusion of being round despite being octagonal in shape. Definitely a far cry from its neighbors.

As he approached the violet front door, he cast an ambient noise dampening spell to hear if she was crying hysterically as she was particularly wont to do in breakup scenarios. Dusk still couldn't believe that Spike had abandoned Rarity in direct defiance of the note he’d left, not just because he was his own person (despite being a reptile) and wasn't Dusk’s slave, but because Spike had not only been in love with her practically since he’d first laid eyes on her, but considers Rarity to be one of his own closest friends as well. It didn't make sense but that wasn't important now.

Dusk didn't hear any crying, but he did hear her talking. “Oh no,” he said to himself. “She's past crying and right into talking to herself!” This is bad; when she was talking to herself she was in really dire straits. Dusk briefly reconsidered whether he should have brought three gallons instead.

He knocked three times, then winced at how loud it was before cancelling the ambience dampening spell. He hasn't used it often enough to get used to the non-ambient noises becoming so much louder in comparison.

As he recovered, the door opened. Rarity stood in the open doorway, wearing a simple yet professional white button-up blouse, a violet purple pencil skirt, and an apologetic smile. She opened her mouth as if to say ‘I'm sorry darling but we’re closed right now’ if it were anybody else, but after recognizing that it was Dusk she broke into a beaming smile rivaling Pinkie’s.

“Oh, Dusk!” she cried, embracing her friend. “What a pleasant surprise!” she stepped back and kissed him on the cheek. “Please do come in, darling. Fluttershy made tea.” She turned away and went back through the shop area into the kitchen.

Dusk stood there, dumbstruck. Her mascara wasn't running, her eyes weren't puffy and red, and she seemed positively radiant. In all his time knowing her, she had never reacted this way in any breakup scenario whatsoever. Granted there were less than a dozen relationships in that period of time and most of them (okay, all of them except for the one) were with men rather than other women, but that was a lot in his own experience.

Maybe... she was in denial?

Dusk decided whatever it was he shouldn't keep her waiting. He stepped inside, wiped his shoes on the mat, and pulled the door closed behind him. He released the ice cream from its force field and carried them by hand into the kitchen, checking behind him for muddy footprints just in case there were any. There weren't.

He stepped into the kitchen to see Rarity pouring a pot into a third teacup on the table in front of an empty chair, and Fluttershy sitting in another one with her own cup and saucer. Which was weird because Rainbow was supposed to be talking to her right now, which means... well, nothing right now, but potentially something soon.

“Hello Dusk,” Fluttershy said, quietly. She rarely did anything that ‘quiet’ couldn't describe, but she did things in varying levels of quiet. This quiet was sociable and boisterous for her, even though it would have been perfectly acceptable in the library. Still, she was louder than she was when they first met, considering now she was actually audible.

Her hair was bright pink and very long, coming down to her hips, and it was swept entirely to her left side. The right side of her head above her ear was buzzed, cut very close to the skin. A daffodil sat tucked behind her ear. She wore a sleeveless yellow turtleneck sweater over a long flowing skirt with color and consistency rivaling her hair, except with teal blue accents that matched her eyes.

“Hello Fluttershy...” Dusk responded, hesitantly at first, but not wishing to show his hand yet. He set the ice cream in Rarity’s freezer, unsure by the glance between the two if he really needed it in the first place. “How are you two this morning?”

A moment of silence passed as Fluttershy glanced at Rarity, who had sat down and was taking a sip of her own tea, waving at Dusk to sit down. Seeing that she wouldn't interrupt Rarity by speaking, Fluttershy answered Dusk.

“Oh, I feel very well today,” she said, voice wispy, silvery, and sweet as honey. “I came to have tea this morning with Rarity since we aren't having our regular spa date today.” She calmly took a sip of her tea before her eyes widened and she quickly set the cup back down with a gentle clink of porcelain. “Not that I have any problems with the picnic happening today!”

“I understand,” Dusk placated as he sat. “I didn't think that was what you meant.”

“Okay, good.” she took a breath, and took another sip of her tea. Dusk followed suit, awaiting Rarity’s response. The tea was... the body had... well, the aftertaste was... it was very... Dusk knew coffee, not tea, but it still tasted good.

“And I had a wonderful night, a bit of a rough morning, but I’ve been having a lovely chat with Fluttershy,” Rarity said with a smile. “But I’m sure you already knew most of that considering the two buckets of ice cream.” Smile faltering a bit. “Though I’m now a bit worried whether you got the full story...”

Dusk averted his eyes and took a sip of tea. He began to wonder how much of what Rainbow had said was the truth and how much was fabrication and embellishment. Or maybe Rarity was just pretending that everything was alright? He decided not to jump to any conclusions and just be there for his friends: all of them.

“The ice cream was a just in case kind of thing,” he said. “I wanted my bases covered for the worst case scenario, but I’m glad to see you're doing okay.”

“Why... wouldn't I be okay?” she asked, suspiciously. Fluttershy’s eyes began darting around the room, and she began to slouch, hiding behind her hair.

Oops. Dusk took another sip of tea. “I know you and Rainbow had a... disagreement,” he said, cautiously. “And I just wanted to make sure that you were doing okay.”

“Is that why you sent Spike to check on me?”

Shoot.

“I'm not upset with you, Dusk,” she continued. “I do appreciate the gesture, and the ice cream, but I really don't need any of it. Rainbow and I had a fight, yes, but all couples fight. We’re merely taking a short break from each other.” she took a sip of her tea before reading Dusk’s features. She frowned.

“What, may I ask, did you hear happened,” Rarity began to ask. “And who else heard it?”

Dusk tugged at his collar. Was it getting hotter in here? He decided it would be better to be direct and honest rather than dance around the issue. It's what Applejack would do.

“That you broke up for good,” he said, before sipping his tea and continuing. “And me, Applejack, Pinkie Pie... and probably everybody in Sugarcube Corner?”

The silence was deafening. Dusk briefly wondered if his noise dampening spell was still up.

“...well.” Rarity said, before draining the rest of her tea. “I thought I had a penchant for dramatics.”

Dusk looked at his half empty teacup and decided he’d had enough to drink. It was probably for the best he stopped anyway as he’d already had two coffees that day and it wasn't even noon yet. Also he found he really had to use the restroom but now wasn't exactly the time to ask to use it.

“She said she went directly from your fight to me, and I’ve been with her all morning up until I came here” he said. “You know she doesn't have a clear head until she flies around for a bit. I’m sure she’ll be fine later and she’ll apologize for being a jerk and you guys will be back together again soon enough.”

Rarity pursed her lips as she gathered her and Dusk’s teacups. “I believe the point of contention was that I am the jerk,” she said, pointedly. Then she sighed. “But you're probably right, Dusk, as you always are. I know you don't date women but your masculine objectivity in the field of romance still makes a world of difference.”

Dusk nodded, then noticed Fluttershy was gazing off into the distance... right at Rarity’s kitchen wall. It was a lovely shade of lavender but he had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that she wasn't admiring the paint job.

“Pride lead me to hope that she would come to me to apologize so I could return in kind and it could be a positive experience that serves to strengthen our relationship but it seems that she mistook what I said and I will have to come to her first instead.” Rarity continued, not realizing that her audience was no longer listening. “Regardless, it's good that we both aired our dirty laundry, so to speak, and my attention was brought to things I must improve upon- Dusk... are you listening to me?”

Dusk’s eyes were fixated upon Fluttershy’s. Hers were empty and unresponsive. Another attack.

“Oh.” Rarity’s voice was sharp and clear. For a moment she sat looking between her friends, both in a stupor though for different reasons, and then she was off. In a flash she returned holding a very irritated and groggy rabbit, who immediately perked up when he saw Fluttershy.

Rarity set the rabbit down on the table (cringing slightly) and walked around to the other side of her paralyzed friend and surveyed the scene. The rabbit trudged toward his master’s still hands and nudged one with his nose. Fluttershy blinked and began to slowly pet the rabbit, but nothing else moved.

“Fluttershy,” Dusk said now that her hands were occupied. “Can you tell us about your tea?”

/x/x/x/

Rainbow twisted, turned, dove and corkscrewed, banked left, dropped, turned headfirst towards the ground, and her hands began to glow. With the sky below her feet, Rainbow craned her neck upwards, facing the ground. Struggling only slightly against the wind whipping against her skin, she slowly moved her hands up her body and straight towards the earth. Suddenly, it seemed that gravity froze and she stopped falling, for only a second before time returned to her again.

The air started condensing around Rainbows body, collecting in droplets on her skin until the entire surface of her body was soaked. Fists clenched and arms locked, water vapor gathered
around her hands. The ground was so close now, the horizon shrinking, but her heart was pounding not with fear and trepidation but with euphoria. The water began rising in temperature, and just before it got hot enough to scald her skin, Rainbow forced her arms back down the same direction as her legs.

The water blasted itself off of her limbs in a fountain, a spray of mist. She made a hard turn so she was parallel with the ground, close enough to touch it. Laughing joyfully, Rainbow spread her arms and wings, angling herself to gain altitude. The stream behind her scattered enough to catch the sun and reflect the light, leaving a contrail in the colors of her namesake.

Following the slight differences in air pressure only an avian could feel, Rainbow chased thermal updrafts rising higher and higher. She eventually found herself entering the lowest layer of clouds, bursting through until she was no longer able to see the ground anymore. Here she coasted, taking in the sun’s rays for a few minutes, minutes that to her seemed like hours.

All too soon, she felt the familiar tingling sensation in her skin that indicated that she should go back under cloud cover if she didn’t want an awful full body sunburn. On some days she would apply lotion specially designed for avians and make a little nest on a nice fluffy cumulus and just go to sleep for a while, but there was a time and a place for that. Today she had obligations, more important things to do than spend time in her true home, the sky. Things like hanging out with her oldest friend.

Rainbow folded her wings and fell back through the clouds. In a split second she calculated her speed, the time that had passed, and the position of the sun, and she mapped a trajectory back to town directly to Fluttershy’s cottage. She spun, turned, and rotated her body and wings to face the right direction, and repeated her earlier process. All that was left of her presence in the sky was mist and a rainbow.

Flying low to the ground again, but this time above the tree line, a much further and safer distance away if you had asked anyone else, Rainbow caught sight of the clearing that indicated the path to Fluttershy’s house. She fell through the tree line and glided along the path until she came to a small wooden bridge over a creek, signifying residency of the timid girl. She flapped her wings twice, glided a U shape in the air, and landed gently on her feet.

The tree to her right was covered in birdhouses, at least one hanging on every branch. Many of their occupants poked their heads out, sensing the light disturbance. Recognizing Rainbow, they chirped a greeting before pulling back in. Or maybe they just chirped for the heck of it, Rainbow didn’t know. She wasn’t the one who could talk to them.

As she stepped along the bridge approached the thatched cottage, Rainbow took in the details for what must have been the thousandth or so time. It was never boring, though, as Fluttershy usually always changed one thing or another at the request of her ever-changing clientele of roommates. Rodents, birds, reptiles, mustelids, and a bear; all needed slightly different living spaces after all.

Fluttershy was not a professional architect, and neither were the animals she’d employed to help build the house. However, there were four rough walls (or maybe five depending on what angle you looked at it from), a roof, a ceiling, and a few windows, and that was more than what Rainbow could say about her own house. Then again this cottage wasn't floating in the sky and didn't have a waterfall, but to each her own.

The front door was made of a red wood that Rainbow couldn't identify, and it was rounded at the top. It split horizontally through the middle for reasons unspecified, and its frame was dark brown. It didn't exactly match the rest of the house’s palette but it did its job well, and had surprisingly good insulation during the extreme months. Then again, Rainbow may have had a slight hand in lessening the temperatures in this area in particular. Perks of having a best friend on the weather team.

She knocked on the door twice before resting her hands behind her head. While awaiting a response she thought about how she would be breaking the unfortunate news. Fluttershy was very close friends with both Rainbow and Rarity, and Rainbow knew that she had to be very tactful about the way she approached it because Fluttershy was very prone to suffering from anxiety attacks when drama of any kind, romantic or otherwise, occurred between her friends. She relied on them to be a safe place away from the stresses of living with her... problems.

Rainbow pushed the gnawing sense of guilt away for the time being. No point stressing about it if it wasn't even a definitive. Plus it was mostly Rarity's fault anyway... what the heck is taking Fluttershy so long?

Rainbow knocks again. “Hey ‘Shy? It's me!” she calls, just barely loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to disturb any of the animals who were down for their midday naps. Although she may have slightly misjudged because a chipmunk threw an acorn at her. She rubbed her head and offered an apologetic smile to the rodent, who rolled its eyes and scampered back into its little hidey hole at the bottom of the external wall.

Rainbow would have scratched her head if that darn chipmunk didn't have such a strong throw. Either she wasn't home or she was oversleeping. Just to make sure, Rainbow took a few quick steps before pushing her wings down, and fluttered over to the bedroom window only to find it empty. She opened the window and slipped inside.

There were no sounds, no lights on, and it smelled like animals rather than tea. Fluttershy wasn't home. Rainbow leaned back against the window and pondered this for a moment... and then she remembered.

“Was I amazing or was I amazing!?” crowed Rainbow after coming off of her own high. Her hair clung to her forehead and back, completely drenched. She brushed her bangs behind her ears as she took a few breaths to bring her pulse back down. Rarity had given as well as she had gotten, and if Rainbow’s sore fingers could attest to, she had gotten a lot.

“Amazing,” Rarity said between pants. “Doesn't even begin to describe that.” Her lingerie had been discarded at some point, and she for the life of her couldn't remember when. That was typical for their midnight rendezvous. Her hair lay spread in every direction over her pillows, and it was also wet.

Rainbow smiled and crawled next to her girlfriend, and the pair laced their fingers together. She gave a tender kiss to Rarity’s forehead before setting her head down in the crook of Rarity’s neck. This was a lot more comfortable than an apple tree’s branches by a long shot.

Rarity turned her head and reciprocated the kiss, except on Rainbow’s scalp instead. She was pleased to see she left a faint outline of burgundy lipstick, before smiling and nestling her own head over Rainbow’s. She decided to worry about washing her sheets in the morning; now was the time for afterglow-fueled snuggles.

“So what are you bringing tomorrow?” Rainbow asked. “We’ve got tea, cake, something apple-y, and whatever Dusk decides on, doesn't that pretty much cover it?”

Rarity smiled and turned her body to the side, facing her girlfriend. Rainbow’s protest was cut short once she realized she had an unobstructed view of Rarity’s chest. They put their foreheads together and readjusted their grips on each other’s fingers before twining their legs together as well.

“Have you already pieced together the culinary contributions of the other attendants, darling?” she asked, whimsically, as she gently brushed her delicately manicured thumbs against Rainbow’s knuckles. “Surely Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack aren't that predictable?”

Rainbow turned her head up, looking Rarity in the eyes, and smirked. “Well you're the one who knew which one I was talking about,” she said before playfully sticking her tongue out. Rarity simply rolled her eyes dismissively before stealing a peck on the cheek..

“So anyways,” Rainbow continued, blushing (only slightly). “What's your plan for tomorrow?”

“Well,” Rarity began, turning again to face the ceiling. Only one hand continued to hold Rainbow’s, and the other rested on her abdomen. “As you know, it's the day of my spa date with Fluttershy. However, in light of our picnic later in the day, we’ve simply elected to have tea at my house. As always, you're welcome to join us.”

“Eh,” Rainbow replied, leaning on her side and propping her head up on her arm, releasing her girlfriend’s hand in the process. She started absentmindedly tracing patterns on Rarity’s belly with her free hand as she continued. “You both know I love you guys, but... I hate tea more.”

Rarity nodded. “I figured as much. What will you be doing instead?”

Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno, I'll probably hang out with Dusk. I'm gonna say sorry about being a dumb jerk and almost ruining Spike’s pilgrimage.”

“Oh darling,” Rarity cooed. “We both had a hand in that argument; you shouldn't blame yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah...” Rainbow trailed off. “Still, I gotta work on taking count stability.”

“Accountability?”

“Yeah, that. I was close. Anyways, we haven't really hung out since I caught up on Daring Do, I've just been busy. It's been wet and wild.”

“RAINBOW DASH.”

“What!? I was talking about the hurricane!”

Rainbow smiled, bittersweet. Her wing was still healing when the Festival of Hearts rolled around. Applejack had her hands full with her siblings’ whole love potion fiasco, Dusk had a date, Pinkie was out of town seeing her sister at university, and Fluttershy? She always hated the festival and just stayed in her house all day, never answering the door (as with every major holiday). All of her avian friends were commiserating over being single in bars, on dates, or with family. Her parents were no doubt having sex the entire day. That left Rarity.

Back on Hearth’s Warming, after Commander Hurricane and Princess Platinum’s kiss during the play, Rainbow and Rarity both discovered that the other was really good at kissing, even if it was supposed to be fake. Since Rarity was between boyfriends and Rainbow didn't really do commitment, they later had a one night stand. One turned into two or three and then a month or so later they were seeing each other every day.

Rainbow figured they could just do it like normal but she arrived to find Rarity crying and gorging herself on ice cream. Apparently she’d developed feelings for Rainbow but knew that they wouldn't be reciprocated. Or so she had thought. Rainbow realized that she kinda had feelings for Rarity too, so instead of having sex, they just... had a date. Ever since then they'd been an official couple in a real relationship.

Well... until this morning, that is.

Rainbow wiped the little traitors that leaked from her eyes and went back out the window and into the clouds. Fluttershy was with Rarity so she could wait. She was fine. Rainbow needed to fly again.

/x/x/x/

“Alright troops!” Spearhead cried. “Captain Armor is currently occupied but that doesn't mean we get to slack off!”

“Is he bangin’ Cadey!?”

After a rousing bout of laughter, Spearhead included, he held up his hand and everybody quieted down.

“Come on, little bro,” he placated to the fellow blue haired speaker. “It ain't our business but... yup.” Everybody let out a whoop, and one person shouted ‘get it, Cap!’.

“So while he's gettin’ a workout of his own,” Spearhead continued to the assembled mass of nearly a hundred soldiers. “We’re gonna sweat too. Oh, quit bellyachin’, we can't all sit and play with ourselves just ‘cuz the captain’s busy! Find a stretch partner, limber up, and do a dozen laps. Move it, soldiers!”

After a chorus of ‘sir, yes sir!’s, everyone split off and followed their orders. These hundred or so were gathered for intensive training for some project that Princess Celestia was planning, but only a select few knew exactly what it was. Details were on a strictly need-to-know basis, and not even the Captain needed to know. Besides, with the recent threat issued against the city, there were bigger things to worry about.

The palace security had nearly doubled, watch towers were constantly full, the streets were on lockdown, curfew was in effect, and the faint glimmer of the barrier surrounding the entire city gave everything in the city a slight magenta tinge. None of the citizens were particularly worried though, everyone put a great amount of faith in the guards. Rigorous training and a strict screening process made sure only the best of the best mages, druids, avians, and everybody else made it into the ranks. There were no weak links, and the guards were like family.

Even the ones who weren't actually blood related.

Spearhead noticed his brother hadn't found a stretch partner yet and was doing them solo. Spear sighed and approached him, disappointed not in him but in the others around, standing warily and keeping from making eye contact. Sometimes even family had problems with those who were... different.

“Little bro,” Spear said, waving to get his attention. “Do my arms?”

“Sure, Spear!” he exclaimed. Spear linked his hands behind his back, and his brother took his hands and pulled them up, stretching Spear’s triceps and lower back. After ten seconds they alternated the process. Once they finished, they placed their right feet against each other and began leg stretches.

“So didja go solo on purpose so you could spend some time with your big bro?”

“Ahaha...” a nervous chuckle. “Sure, why not?” a fake smile. “Gotta learn from the best, after all.” the smile didn't reach his eyes. They switched feet.

“They'll all come around eventually,” Spear said, adopting a more serious and caring tone. “We’ve all known you for years, and finally letting us all know you like dudes too isn't gonna change anything in the long run. You know that, right?”

“...I guess.”

Spear gave a sad half smile to his brother. Ever since he’d come out to everyone as bisexual, as liking both girls AND guys, all the guards treated him... differently. Both the men and the women. They still sat next to him at the mess, they still changed in front of him in the locker room, and they chatted with him about things, but there was just something in the air that felt different. Strained. Awkward.

“Ya know,” Spear began, cutting the silence as they did their arms and neck. “The Captain’s little brother is gay too. He’ll be a groomsman with us, so it'll give you two some time to chat.”

His brother shrugged. “I guess it'd be nice to know someone else... you know, like me.”

Spear nodded in understanding, or at least some modicum of it. Spear liked women, through and through, and only women, so he couldn't really understand why his brother would feel the same about men too, but hey. To each his own, right?

Suddenly a whistle gave three short bursts, and a rough scratchy voice cried “Commander Sentry!”

Spear looked up at the disturbance and his official name being called. Shining was Captain of the Royal Guard, there was a Captain of the Naval Fleet, and there was a Captain of the Air Division. The third was a young spitfire named, ironically enough, Spitfire. Her orange hair stood upon her head like a wild flame, commanding attention just as much as her stance, posture, and general attitude. What she lacked in age she more than made up for in skill, determination, and sheer physical ability. Also she was incredibly scary if you kept her waiting.

“Oh boy,” Spear said, only trembling slightly in fear. “I'm, uh... gonna go see what she needs. Do the laps and stuff, okay Flash?”

Flash nodded. “Consider it done, big bro.”

/x/x/x/

2 of 4- The Kind of Day Of Which I Dreamed Since I Was Small...

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/x/x/x/

“Thank you.”

Dusk turned to face his companion. Fluttershy was looking straight ahead at Rarity’s kitchen counter, washing a head of lettuce. After easing her out of the unexpected dissociative state, the trio had decided to put together sandwiches for the picnic later on as Dusk’s own contribution.

“What for?” he asked.

Their conversation had migrated to at least a dozen points, evolving as conversations between friends tend to do. No mention was made of Rainbow Dash and Rarity’s romantic drama, nor of the random sudden onset of Fluttershy’s condition. Rarity was in the markets picking a few things up that they'd need that weren't available in her kitchen.

“For... being patient with me.”

Dusk shrugged as he turned back to the cheese block, slicing away with a specialized knife. She had recently taken to rewording her apologies as words of thanks rather than “I’m sorry”s. Honestly it was a lot easier to say ‘you're welcome’ once than it was to say ‘there's no need to say sorry’ multiple times anyway, so she didn't get trapped in as many guilt spirals.

“No problem,” Dusk said, peeling away a perfectly even square of havarti from the rest of the block. “We’re all here for you.”

Fluttershy smiled as she began separating the individual leaves. Angel was resting between her feet on the floor, sleeping with a carrot lying in his teeth. She had her hair up in a side ponytail, resting behind her left shoulder, as nobody wanted any fibrous pink surprises in their meals later.

“I know, and I appreciate that. I'm just embarrassed that I let it get a hold of me as bad as it did today.”

“You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.”

“I do want to.”

Dusk set the cheese knife to the side, resting over the lip of the sink. He took the wax paper and began wrapping the unused block, deciding that there was enough ready for the five of them who ate dairy. Fluttershy would never put anything in her mouth that came out of any animal, not because of any moral objection to it (okay maybe that had a little bit to do with it), but mostly because it was just awkward considering she’d probably had at least one conversation with every cow on Sweet Apple over the years. Dusk nodded.

“Go on ahead, I’m listening.”

Fluttershy took the wax paper and wrapped the rest of the lettuce before clearing her throat and taking a deep breath.

“I know it's selfish but I'm upset that they're not...” as she struggled to find the right words, Dusk took both perishables and brought them to Rarity’s refrigerator, as his friend no doubt wanted to avoid bothering the resting bunny. “...compatible. No... happy?”

Dusk brought the sacks of heirloom tomatoes and red bell peppers over to the pair’s workstation, and unpackaged them as he mulled over her words. He alone bore the knowledge that Fluttershy had strong romantic feelings towards both her oldest and her best friends, information he had learned when she discovered Rainbow and Rarity were dating and came to him in tears.

“Are they incompatible?” he asked. “Or unhappy?”

Fluttershy sighed. “No,” she said as she took the peppers he was handing her and set them up on the cutting board. “That's not exactly what I mean. They’re a good and happy couple when they're not... fighting.”

Dusk nodded as he cut into the tomatoes. “I just want to know what it is you mean. I think you do too.”

She bit her lip in thought. “I don't know, Dusk. I think it's that... they're not perfect for each other.”

He glanced at her eyes, which were focused on the task at hand. She was frowning as she said this.

“Do you wish they were perfect?”

“Well...” she finally looked up into his concerned eyes. “If they're going to be with each other rather than...” she swallowed and licked her lips. “With other people, I feel like they should be... better. Don't tell either of them I said that!”

“I wouldn't dream of it,” he assuaged, turning back to the vegetables. Or were they fruits? “And it isn't selfish, I don't think. You just want what's best for your friends.”

“I suppose,” she replied, uncertainly. “But... some days it feels like I don't. Some days it's like I want what's best for myself, and if I can't have that then they should at least... let me live through them. If that makes sense?”

Dusk nodded. “Vicarious pleasure. Someone in your position would be after that, but it's normal. I've done the same thing. Spike is in your position. Rarity was... for a time. It's normal to feel that way.” He finished chopping before setting the knife down and facing her again.

“What's not normal is having attacks because of it. Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital, or Zecora, or anybody?”

She nodded her head. “I can't do that. Not right now.”

Dusk frowned. He opened his mouth as if to say something but he was interrupted by the ring of the doorbell and a regal voice chiming in, “Rarity has retu~urned!”

“I will come to you if I do need it, Dusk,” Fluttershy whispered. “Don't worry about that.”

Dusk nodded before turning to face the doorway just as Rarity strode in holding a shopping bag with a baguette poking out of the top. She was removing her sunglasses as she set the bag on the table, and slipped them into her purse. She pulled out the loaf and levitated it to Dusk, who took it and began cutting it with a bread knife into sandwich-size slices.

“Did I miss anything fun?”

Dusk shrugged and Fluttershy looked from him to the new arrival, who was putting the rest of the bag’s contents into their proper places. Her gaze lingered on Rarity’s hair, her collarbones, her jaw line, her eyes- wait.

“We’re just taking care of the vegetables,” she said, recovering from her brief lapse in focus. “Nothing too exciting here.” she giggled demurely before turning back to her work. She began assembly as Dusk cut the bread. Five sandwiches with bread, meat, cheese, tomato, lettuce, and pepper, and one sandwich that skipped the animal products. The condiments would be applied later up to each individual’s tastes.

“And the fruits!” Dusk supplied.

“Darling, I know that technically speaking fruits have seeds, but I will literally die before I call a tomato a fruit.”

Dusk narrowed and subsequently rolled his eyes at Rarity before smiling and turning back to the bread, chuckling. “I believe you.”

Once he was finished with the baker’s dozen of slices, he put the unused portion of the loaf into Rarity’s bread box and split the unused end piece into thirds. He placed one piece in Fluttershy’s work space and handed another to Rarity, who hesitatingly accepted. It was only a few carbs, after all.

When Fluttershy finished assembling, she scooped up Angel into her arms. The trio began wrapping each one in separate papers and began loading up Rarity’s waiting picnic basket with the sandwiches, condiments, tea set, empty water pitcher, cups, utensils, and finally, the blanket. Satisfied that everything was in order, the trio headed to the front door. They had enough time for a leisurely stroll through town on the way to the picnic grounds before it became their designated arrival time.

However, when Rarity opened the door, she came face to face with none other than her girlfriend, clenched fist raised as if to knock.

“Gah!” Rainbow Dash shouted, nearly tripping herself stumbling backwards. She looked between the trio, shock giving way to recognition and then immediately to sadness and regret.

“Rain-” Rarity began before Rainbow turned and took off flying.

“...bow.”

Her shoulders slumped, she bit her lip, and she crossed her arms before looking down at the ground. Dusk and Fluttershy both reached their hands to Rarity’s shoulders. She glanced at both of them in turn before giving a gentle, hopeful smile, and pulling a tissue out from her purse, dabbing at her eyes, careful not to let her mascara run.

“It'll be okay,” Dusk said. “It's just a simple little misunderstanding; it'll all work out in the end.”

Rarity nodded. “Of course, darling.”

/x/x/x/

“Ugh, are you kidding me? Really??? That has got to be the absolute worst timing in the entire history of Equestria!!!” Rainbow grumbled to herself, focusing on the misfortune so she didn't focus on the sadness.

She had already flown enough today that she had gotten burnt out on the stimulus, and now flying didn't even feel good anymore. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Pinkie and Applejack on the ground carrying a cake pan and a basket of apples.

“Called it,” she said, absentmindedly, before wincing at remembering who it was she called it to.

By now she was halfway to their designated picnic grounds, and could clearly see the state of the weather. It wasn't cold or gray, but it was definitely a shade or two darker than would be desirable, as the cumulus cluster could tell her. She cracked her knuckles and began formulating a plan for exactly what direction to shove it all in.

West would put it over the town, and since it wasn't scheduled she would definitely catch flak for it back at Weather HQ. East and south would both send it into the Everfree Forest, so those were out. And the only thing north was the capital city of Canterlot, which was a several hours’ train ride away.

Rainbow’s flight arc brought her down into the primary clearing. She dipped to the ground before pulling a 180, flying straight up for a moment, and then coming down at a low velocity. She folded her wings and adopted a wide, strong stance, facing her palms towards the sky.

As her Marks began to glow, she felt the pull of the clouds’ nature magic. It felt as if long, thick cords were tethered to each individual puff, and they all anchored themselves on Rainbow’s wrists. At first, nothing happened. She might as well have been trying to drag a boulder. Again. However, after a few moments of slight strain, the clouds finally decided to cooperate.

She dug her foot deeper into the ground, rooting herself into the earth (much to her chagrin), and slowly moved her outstretched arms to the left. The resistance was intense, and it took a lot of strength of will, but ultimately Rainbow’s willpower was greater.

The clouds migrated northward, brightening the clearing significantly. There wasn't very high velocity since water vapor is not very dense, but the low inertia of the mass and the limited friction in the sky allowed them to continue on their path uninhibited, and would no longer be a hindrance.

Rainbow wiped the thin sheen of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead with the back of her hand, and pulled her foot out of the ground, wincing at the dirt. This gave her an idea.

She put her hands out to either side and the marks glowed again. Just as before in Dusk’s bedroom, collections of droplets fused into larger balls of pure water, and when they were sufficiently large enough, she used one to wash the sweat, grime, and dirt out of her hair that had built up since the morning (and last night’s activities), and used the other to scrub the dirt off of the sole of her foot.

Maybe she should look into shoes.

Once she was sufficiently clean, she discarded the water by way of flinging it off into the trees. Her hair felt nice, but the problem was the rest of her body did not, and the difference was enough to drive her crazy. She sighed, but then shrugged and gathered more water before bathing the rest of her body.

It wasn't necessary to remove her clothing, as her shorts and top were just porous and breathable enough that water had no problem penetrating and subsequently leaving them. She never wore any material that trapped moisture inside. She started at her legs and moved upwards, finally finishing with her face (recycling for clean water when desired). After this was all finished she tossed the globules again, and checked the position of the sun.

There were a few minutes before everyone else would arrive, at the earliest, if they were all speedwalking. However, since they were for the most part divided into the druids and the mages, it would take a while. Actually... that's not entirely true. Rainbow mentally smacked herself. Fluttershy was a druid too. Still, it’d be some time.

Rainbow sat on the ground, put her hands behind her head, and laid fully down. For a moment she had prepared to cloudwatch, but... well, can't watch something that isn't there, right? Instead she let her thoughts wander. To a point. She felt her eyes drift closed. She hadn't exactly had a restful night’s sleep... or morning... and her afternoon was full of a lot of flying... nobody would care if she took a short nap, right?

/x/x/x/

“We are... NEVER... doing that again.”

“Aw, come on Spike, it wasn't that bad!” Scootaloo said from the harness that was currently hanging in a tree’s upper branches, around a dozen meters up.

“Hey, I found mah tooth!”

The young dragonborn plucked pebbles and twigs from in between his scales as Sweetie Belle crawled out from underneath the wagon. She gave him a weak thumbs-up before collapsing facefirst. Her hair immediately shot off in every direction.

“So uh... can someone help me down?”

Spike crossed his arms and glared up.

“You realize the only one with wings here is you, and the only mage here will accidentally set you on fire, right?”

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Applebloom holding a lasso. “It’th okay, Thpike,” she said through her chipped front incisor. “I got thith, you jutht make sure Thweetie’th okay.”

Spike winced at the gap in her mouth, but stepped back and did as he was asked, keeping her in his peripheral vision the whole way.

“You better not do what I think you're about to do, Applebloom!” Scootaloo cried, equal parts anger and fear apparent in her voice. When the rope came flying up, she hid her face in her hands, but when she didn't feel it wrap around her waist she opened her eyes.

The farmer had latched onto one of the branches and was testing the weight. It seemed sturdy enough so she began climbing. After Spike lead Sweetie Belle up to her feet, the two moved close to the base of the rope just in case. However, Applebloom had done this often enough that there really wasn't anything to worry about.

When she made it to the top, she slid along the branch over to the caught harness. “Maybe nektht time you'll put theat beltth in before we try to go thkydiving again.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever, Twitht.”

Applebloom glared as she undid a belt buckle causing Scootaloo to plummet.”

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHH-oof. Thanks Spike. Hey! It was just a joke, Applebloom! No need to try to kill me!”

Sweetie Belle snickered into her hands, earning her another glare from Scootaloo.

“Well you did almost kill us just now...” Spike supplied.

“That's different,” she responded. “I do that almost every day!”

Applebloom had reached the ground, and tugged at the rope. Then she tugged again. Uh oh.

“Aw man,” she complained. “Thith wath Applejackth favorite rope! She’th gonna be tho upthet with me!”

“You're missing a tooth.” came the dragonborn’s blunt reply.

Beat.

“Point taken. But she’th probably at that picnic by now so maybe I can get home fatht enough to take more of Thecora’th magic tooth growing potion and then we can all try to get our markth in rope making?”

Scootaloo removed her helmet and shrugged. “Yeah, okay,” she said. “We sure as heck aren't gonna be getting them in daredevil stunts. I've tried everything at this point!”

“And my sister isn't home either so we can't really hang out at the Carousel Boutique since it's locked. So yeah, let's do it!”

The trio put their hands in together. “Cutie Mark Crusaders rope makers yay on three!”

An awkward silence descended over the group.

“Uh. Thpike. Aren't ya gonna put your hand in?”

He simply raised an eyebrow before showing them the back of his scaly purple not-gonna-be-getting-a-mark-anytime-soon hand. A collective ‘oh’ of recognition passed over the girls, so they followed through with their cheer and collected their things before heading off back towards town.

It was a fairly long and treacherous climb to get back to level ground, but the only one exhausted by the time they got back to the hill of their launching point was Spike. Halfway up he had begun using both his arms and legs to climb, crawling like a “true dragon”, unused to this much physical exertion. The most he usually had to do was climbing ladders and the walk to Rarity’s house.

“Are you okay Spike?” Sweetie Belle asked. “You don't look so good.”

“What” wheeze “do you” wheeze “mean?” wheeze “I'm” wheeze “just” wheeze “fine!” and with that he immediately collapsed onto the ground. The girls gave each other an amused look before picking him up and placing him in Scootaloo’s wagon and dragging him the rest of the way.

By the time they reached the outskirts of Ponyville, Spike clambered out of the wagon and stretched his limbs.

“Thanks guys,” he said. “I really appreciate what you- BLARGH!” he shot a jet of flame, and a missive appeared from it, falling to the ground. It bore the royal seal of Celestia. The four of them looked at the paper and started laughing, but Spike’s laughter was interrupted by another small burst of fire. No message this time, though. They froze for a minute, waiting, but no more came.

“Alright, let's see what we have here...” he muttered to himself before picking up the paper. He unrolled it and read it, face slowly morphing from curiosity to concern to shock.

“What's up?” Scootaloo asked.

“What doeth it thay?”

“Is everything alright?”

Spike looked at the three and after a moment’s hesitation he cried “Everythingsokaybutigottagorightnowbye!” and shot off through town. They simply looked at each other and shrugged before heading in a different direction towards Sweet Apple Acres. Probably just some boring important Princess stuff or something.

“Oh, shoot...” Scootaloo muttered, patting her pockets and glancing at the wagon.

“What’s wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Nothing!” she cried, almost instantaneously. “I just, uh... need to go pick up some stuff from my house.”

“I’ll come with.”

The two nodded as Applebloom shrugged. “Y’all can jutht meet me at the clubhouth. Catch ya girlth later!”

“See ya!”

Sweetie Belle waved her off until she turned round the corner of a building before turning to Scootaloo. “What is it really?” she interrogated. “All your stuff is in my room. Is it... you know?”

“...uh huh...”

Sweetie hugged her friend for just a moment before pulling immediately away, looking around to make sure nobody saw. “You’ll be fine if I come with you, right?”

Scootaloo simply nodded, refusing to make eye contact.

“Hey,” the young mage said, moving to be in view. “There’s nothing to be scared of when I’m with you-”

“I’m not scared!” she cried suddenly, cutting Sweetie off. “I’m just, you know... worried. You know how he is.”

This time Sweetie Belle nodded. “Okay then. We’ll go get your medicine and then hang out with Applebloom and then we’ll go home.” She plopped down in the wagon, dangling her legs out the side. “Tally ho!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes before stepping on the scooter attached. “You’re ridiculous,” she teased, and they wheeled off into town.

/x/x/x/

“Do you have everything?”

Minuette turned and did a quick mental checklist of the contents of her bags. Clothing, toiletries, cash, makeup, the emergency mace she hoped to never have to use, books, medication, odds and ends, all fitting in just two pieces of luggage. She noticed the other girls doing the same but with a tad bit more cases.

Twinkleshine had four, and Lemon had three. Lyra only had one case, but it was a very large one and counted as more.

“I’m pretty sure,” Lyra said, sticking her head inside her oversized bag. Then, muffled, “Yup! It looks fine. ...um... little help?”

Bon Bon lightly sighed and smiled, stepping around to help her roommate out of trouble. She wrapped her arms around Lyra’s waist and pulled. It took a moment but she slid out, and the girls fell on the train platform into a tangle of limbs. Lyra’s face was incredibly red, probably due to the lack of oxygen. Yes, that was definitely the reason.

Minuette stifled a giggle as she offered a hand to the fallen girls, and she gave Lyra a knowing wink.

“It's really a shame you're busy this weekend, Bonnie,” Lemon offered. “Not sure why the candy shop has such strict hours.”

Bon Bon shrugged, and attempted to straighten her dual toned blue and pink hair, which had become mussed up from her tumble. “It's a tough job,” she said, scratching her ear. “But the pay is definitely worth it. I'll miss you girls.”

Lemon, Twinkleshine, and Minuette came together for a group hug with her, and Lyra hesitantly latched on around them. They would have pulled away later had they not been interrupted by the train whistle and the conductor’s “All aboard for Canterlot!”

“I want you all to have fun,” Bon Bon said. “Take lots of pictures, but please be safe.”

“We will, Bons,” Lyra placated. “What's the worst that could happen?”

“Something could eat your pie, oooohhhh~” Lemon teased before giggling at Lyra’s pained expression.

“Hey, not cool. That was very traumatizing, and also it was one time, Lems. One. Time.”

“I am serious though, girls,” Bon Bon affirmed. “Lots of people get pretty crazy around weddings.”

“It'll be okay,” Twinkleshine gently stated. “We’re the ones who live there after all.”

“...okay...”

She didn't appear convinced but decided to let it go. She simply elected to wave as the quartet boarded the train, and continued to wave as it departed, and didn't cease until it was no longer in sight. Once it was far enough away she immediately turned, pressed her finger into her ear, and briskly walked back towards the main part of town.

“This is Special Agent Sweetie Drops reporting to Overlord. Package has been delivered. Moving to change shifts at Gate Twenty-One B. Overlord, do you copy? Over.”

A moment of silence passed before her earpiece chirped.

“This is Overlord, and we copy you, Agent Drops. Our deep cover agent has eyes on the Package. How far are you from Gate Twenty-One B? Over.”

‘Bon Bon’ turned to face the sky. Peculiar cloud movement from the east; that would have to be reported later. Right now was more important.

“Close enough. He can't have gotten very far. Going radio silence. Out.”

“Roger that, Agent Drops. Forty eight hours of radio silence begins now. Out.” and with that the line went dead.

‘Bon Bon’ arrived at the ‘chocolate shop’ she ‘worked’ at, and ‘punched in’ at the ‘time clock’, before going into the ‘bathroom’. Wait, no, that was the actual bathroom. A few minutes later she left the actual bathroom and went into the ‘bathroom’, and entered the hidden passage to Tartarus.

She worried for a moment about her charge, and whether the “eyes” on Lyra and the other girls were trustworthy enough to keep them safe. She only wished that she could have informed them of the potential Changeling invasion, but that was strictly against protocol. Instead of worrying, she elected to put her trust in Spitfire and the rest of the Canterlot military and focus on the task at hand.

That runaway bugbear was going DOWN.

/x/x/x/

“Hi Dusky! Hi Rarebear! Hi Shyshy!”

“Howdy y’all!”

“Hello again, girls.”

“Darlings, how are you!?”

“...hi Pinkie... hi Applejack...”

The trio and the duo met and formed a quintet. Pinkie and Rarity hugged as Fluttershy and Applejack exchanged nods, and then Pinkie waved at Fluttershy (who waved back) while Applejack gently clapped Rarity on the shoulder. Rarity through her eyebrows and a nod inquired about why Pinkie was wearing the hat, and Applejack merely shrugged.

Conversations began to overlap as they began to walk, mostly small talk. All were very careful to avoid mentioning a certain avian woman. Even though there were five voices working nigh-on constantly, the group all had chemistry enough that interruptions didn't impede the flow of communication.

“How was your day?” “What did you eat for breakfast?” “Biscuits and gravy and eggs and have you ever pondered your own mortality?” “Wait what?” “Your hat is super fan-tibbly-tabulous!” “Oh... Why thank you darling!” “What are you bringing today?” and the like as the group hustled and bustled, with more emphasis on the latter, on their way to the designated site. It was only evident that anything was wrong or even different until...

“So Pinkie, what's the surprise inside that suspiciously cake shaped pan?” Dusk teased.

Pinkie stuck her tongue out in response before giggling. “Well, Dusky,” she coyly replied, “If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise. Even though you and AJ already know. And judging by the look on Rarity’s face that she’s trying to hide she can probably guess too.”

“What? Me? No... okay yes. I'm sorry darling, I know you wanted it to be a secret.”

“Oh well,” Pinkie shrugged. “At least only Dusk and AJ know the flavor because AJ’s a big meany pants, so that'll still be a surprise. The flavor is the best part anyways, isn't that right, Dashie?” She turned around and looked above the group before realizing they were short one and her face fell. “...oh.”

The cordial mood instantly shifted to a tense one, and everyone’s gait slowed considerably. Two little girls ran by, laughing and chasing each other. The sun may as well have grown legs, stood up, and walked away for all the warmth it was delivering. Finally when the silence became too much, Dusk groaned.

“Okay, this is ridiculous,” he growled before taking a step forward from the group, all of whom had suddenly stopped, and turned around to face them. “We can't lose a good mood just because we get reminded that Rainbow Dash may or may not have overreacted about a little misunderstanding. She's our friend, she should be making us happy, not too upset and afraid to talk to each other. We should be enjoying the lovely weather she probably worked really hard on to make sure we had a good time today.

“Rarity, I know you're the one who’s the most upset about this” he continued, briefly glancing to Fluttershy as he spoke. “And I'm sorry that you're hurting right now, but surely you know that Rain is hurting too. For Celestia’s sake, she was crying this morning because she thought she really messed up with you. All you have to do is tell her that you're not actually breaking up with her and everything will be fine, right?”

Rarity rolled her head in thought before ultimately shrugging. “You're right,” she sighed. “I figured she might be emotional today, but I didn't know she was that upset. I certainly wasn't too torn up considering I didn't even know there was a problem. ...well, any more than normal between us.” She sighed. “I do agree that Dash made it absolutely beautiful outside. And if she did that while upset with me... and alone... she deserves us to be in higher spirits than this.”

Dusk nodded. “That's good. Fluttershy,” she turned so he could at least see one eye behind her hair. “You can't be feeling too well about this since you've been Rainbow’s friend for longer than any of us, and you also spend more time with Rarity than any of us do. Excluding Spike.”

“...no. I don't. Feel well, that is.”

“I understand that, all of us here do. And we don't blame you for doing so, since we’re all more or less in the same boat, right?” he paused for the girls to murmur and nod in agreement. “But conversely, Rainbow has known you for longer than she's known all of us too. You know how she is with emotional guilt, especially with you. And if you're upset because she's upset, and she's upset because you're upset, then it'll just blow more and more out of proportion!

“I'm not saying that you aren't entitled to your feelings, because you are, but don't let being sad that your best friend is sad make her worse when being supportive and- more importantly- happy, is going to put her in better spirits, and by extension it'll make you feel better in the long run. I know it'll be difficult but we’re all here for you.”

Fluttershy nodded, and pulled her hair back behind her ear. Pinkie and Applejack were exchanging confused glances with each other and Dusk. Pinkie slowly raised her hand.

“Rarity didn't break up with Rainbow,” Dusk said, remembering that they were slightly out of the loop. “Rainbow just thought she did.”

A collective “oooohhhh” came from the druidic duo.

“I...” Rarity began before faltering. Then, she mustered her courage and continued. “I made a mistake. Several, in fact. Her only mistakes were letting emotion rule over logic, which one has to expect when talking to her. I was selfish, and rude, and... and she deserves better of me. And I would also like to apologize to all of you for being a contributor to our current state of affairs.”

“Y'all don't gotta apologize for nothin’, Rares,” Applejack cut in, stepping in front of her. “Not to us. It ain't your fault how Rainbow responded, and it ain't fair to beat yourself up over it. Relationships are a two way street, whether you're a man and a woman or two girls or whatever.”

“Yeah, Rarebear,” Pinkie said from suddenly atop Applejack’s shoulders. “Dashie fights with you just as much as you fight with her!”

“That ain't helpin’!” Applejack hissed.

“She does have a point though,” Dusk said, as he put his arm around Rarity’s back. “The burden isn't yours alone to bear. I think you both just need to talk things out for a little bit.” He leaned in and conspiratorially whispered, “With all of your clothes on.”

Rarity blushed as she laughed through a thin sheen of fresh tears. She dabbed at her eyes again, and replied, “I can only speak for myself on that front, but I agree. We may take leave of the picnic at some point to discuss things, and hopefully then everything can go back to normal.”

“We can only hope,” he said, pulling her in for a hug. They were soon joined by the others, who came in together around the pair. They held for a minute before pulling away and picking up the baskets and barrels and other containers from the ground, lightly brushing away any detritus.

“Now let's go eat these before they go bad, all I had today was coffee, tea, and a muffin, and I always get hungry when I get inspiration for friendship reports.”

/x/x/x/

“The man’s about to go on a honeymoon and do nothing but have sex with his wife for two whole weeks, and he's currently awol from his post to go have sex with his fiancé. Is that what you're telling me, Commander Sentry?”

Spearhead tugged at his collar, wondering why it was suddenly so incredibly hot outside.

“...yes?”

Spitfire pinched the bridge of her nose so hard that her fingernails left indents, which was quite an incredible feat as she always kept her nails short. ‘Less wind resistance’, she always said.

She sighed. “Well, I'm busy so I can't wait around. I just need you to deliver this,” she handed Spearhead a missive signed with Celestia’s royal crest. “To the Captain once his... business is complete. It's of the utmost importance to keep this out of the hands of any citizens, and especially from anybody other than Captain Armor himself.”

Spearhead motioned as if to take the paper but Spitfire pulled it back. “Do not under any circumstances give this to any person of any rank, not even the Princess herself, under penalty of I will personally come into the barracks and kick your ass the moment I find out, do you understand me Commander?”

He meekly nodded and took the paper.

“Hold on,” she said suddenly. “Let me check and make sure it's the right one!”

Quickly, he shoved the scroll back into her waiting hand. Immediately she took it and bonked him in the head with it, glaring disapprovingly. He rubbed his head in confusion for a moment wondering ‘what the heck?’ before he realized.

“Oh. Oops.”

She gave him the missive one last time and crossed her arms. “Give this to him, but ask him something that only he would know first. If he doesn't know, well... you've probably got bigger problems to worry about then.”

“Well...” he started to ask. “Why do I need to make sure he’s him if you don’t need to make sure I’m me? And why do I need to confirm his identity in the first place? Does the air force have more intel than us?”

Spitfire quickly leaned in, causing Spear to flinch. “You clearly know my reputation,” she explained, calmly. “You wouldn’t be as afraid of me if you weren’t actually a fellow comrade in arms below my station. I have a different way of verifying Captain Armor’s identity than I do of confirming yours. Yours is the massive amount of sweat. I trust in your ability to know your immediate superior officer. You and him have been in the same or adjacent stations ever since the disaster that was the Dreadstone raid. Yes, I did my research.

“You have to confirm his identity because if anybody besides Captain Armor receives this missive, then the impostor will know mission critical information. Any impostor in this situation is more than likely not going to pass this information along so if that happens then we’re boned six ways from Sunday. And yeah, I and my superiors have more intel. I’d tell you if I could but if I do I’ll be dishonorably discharged and I would literally have to kill you.” She took a step back and flashed what might possibly have been but most certainly wasn’t a smile for a brief moment. “And I’d hate to have to do that to a good soldier. So can I trust you to do this for me?”

Spear glanced between the paper and Spitfire a few times before clutching it tightly and resolutely nodding his head.

“Consider it done, s- ma’am.”

She raised an eyebrow before nodding in affirmation and turning to take off. She flew off towards the Wonderbolts barracks built on Canterlot Castle, becoming a speck in the distance. Spearhead let go of the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding since he slipped and accidentally almost said ‘sir’.

In the Equestrian military, ‘Sir’ was the standard term of respect for a superior officer, regardless of gender. He'd referred to both Princesses as sir when given direct orders by them in the past when he was the highest ranked officer present. However, with Captain Spitfire it was different.

Former Air Marshal Stormy Flare had an estranged son, whom hadn’t been seen or heard from since competitions for Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. This had always been public knowledge, but one day Flare had revealed she'd also had a daughter as well. This daughter, Spitfire, rapidly rose in the ranks of the Equestrian Air Force despite a constant wave of strong opposition from her own mother. She earned her position through blood and sweat, though no tears as it was unknown whether it was even physically possible for Spitfire to cry.

The Wonderbolts were clambering over themselves to recruit her. Wind Rider, then the current Captain of the Wonderbolts and Air Chief Marshal in the EAF, overrode Flare’s vocal objections to Spitfire’s acceptance and enrollment in the Wonderbolts Academy. Spitfire plowed through the competition and made it to the top, cementing her position as Captain, and she had her eyes set even further up the ladder.

The only thing particularly different from anybody else was her strong preference that everybody refer to her as ma’am rather than as sir. It was a small enough alteration that nobody bat an eye at this. Not that anybody would dare to even think of crossing her. In fact, if she had asked for the throne itself, the guards would probably die trying to overthrow Celestia and Luna themselves rather than face the wrathful inferno of an angry Spitfire. Then again, she bore the utmost respect and loyalty to the Princesses, so luckily no deadly coup d’état had to occur.

Spearhead took one final look at the missive laying in his hands. He hesitated for exactly one second, which was just enough for him to visualize what would become of him if he failed, and then he gulped and sprinted back to the field.

Everyone was still running the laps when he returned. The track was nearly three kilometers around, so it would take a maximum of an hour and a half to hit the whole dozen, though realistically it would be closer to just one hour. Nobody liked to slack, especially since the faster they ran the quicker they could move on to the fun part: combat training. He quickly picked out Flash in the crowd: well, at least everyone wasn't steering clear of him. That was the biggest worry.

Spear took a look at the position of the sun in the sky. He figured it would be about another two hours or so before Shining was finished with his... business. His sexual business, that is. There wasn't anything guard-related going on in there any time soon.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, marked with a shield.

Spear turned to follow the hand up to see none other than Shining himself. His hair was a bit disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot, but despite looking tired he still looked happy. Which is to be expected from someone who just had sex with one of the most beautiful women in all of Equestria.

“That was quick. For you guys.”

Shining shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say, some days are just fast. I'm getting old, man.”

“Bro, you're three years younger than me.”

“I know,” he replied with a wink as the two men fell into hearty laughter. As it died down the two surveyed the scene below them. “How’s Flash?”

Spear shrugged. “He's okay. He's strong, just like his big brother. Huh? Huh? Nothing? Oh well. But yeah, he’ll be fine. It's everyone else I’m worried about, buddy.”

“I doubt you'll have to worry too much about that after the wedding,” Shining placated. “My little brother is gonna be up there right next to me on the altar, after all.”

“Dude... you mean...?”

“Yup,” he nodded. “I'm gonna ask him to be my best man.”

“That's awesome, bro!” Spear cried. “I mean, yeah I'm a little bummed that you aren't gonna ask me, and that kinda explains why you haven't asked me yet, but that’ll be really exciting for him! Do you think he knows?”

“I doubt it,” Shining responded, resting on the fence overlooking the field. “He hasn't even sent a response to the wedding invitation yet. Cadey asked Princess Celestia to send it herself through Spike, so I know he got it. But it wouldn't be unlike him to have had it lost in all the friendship reports and stuff the Princess has him doing.”

“Well I guess it's a good thing he's got lots of friends. It's more than I can say for Flash. Remember when that one redhead left, and he didn't take it so well?”

“You mean, what was it... Sunburn?”

“Yeah, the girl who was studying under P-Cell before Dusk was. He was assigned to guard her with one of the other guys, the one who didn't talk much after his brother died...”

“The Dreadstone suicide bomber?”

“Yeah, him. Anyways, Red was the only person he really talked to as himself and not my little brother. And he was still in his teens when she got exiled... I just hope that he gets along well with Dusk. It'll be good for them to hang out, considering... oh yeah!”

Shining turned to face Spear who was handing him the sealed scroll.

“Captain Spitfire said to deliver this to you, but only if I knew that you were the real you.”

Shining took it, broke the seal, unfurled it, and read. He knit his eyebrows together in concern.

“What's it say?”

Shining rolled up the scroll and tucked it into his tunic before turning to Spearhead.

“Our guys found a dead body. A citizen. Got all the marks of an incubus. There's curfew at sunset now. The vamps are gonna be patrolling once the sun sets. Everything else is just information for where to make my barriers stronger and keep a harder eye out.” He sighed. “Great. Now we gotta sacrifice our freedoms just to keep from getting killed.”

“...shit, man.”

Shining gripped his sword hilt.

“Not even the streets are safe anymore...”

/x/x/x/

After fifteen minutes of half-heartedly attempting to earn a mark in whistling, Applebloom gave up during her walk through town and her family’s orchard. Sweet Apple Acres, aptly named for its many many acres of apples. Although a lot of the varieties were very tart. Still, two and a half for three ain’t that bad.

It was still a season away from peak apple harvest, and another season from cider, and yet another season before zap apples. Still, when there wasn’t frost, harvesting occurred year round, and the patriarch of Ponyville’s branch of the apple clan was out and about, busily at work.

‘Big’ Macintosh, elder brother to Applejack and Applebloom herself, was placing a ring of baskets around one of the trees. Once completed he stood before the trunk and placed his hands on either side. As the apple shaped marks on the backs of his hands began to glow, he closed his eyes and leaned his head in towards the tree. For a moment it seemed nothing was happening, but eventually one of the fruits fell off of the branch and into a waiting basket.

After the first was another, then another, then a few more, and then a dozen, and finally it seemed to be raining apples until after a few moments the cascade slowed to a stop. Mac took a step back, gently pat the trunk a few times, then began stacking the baskets. Each was around a half meter tall, and he put them in stacks of six. He lifted each stack one at a time and placed them into the large wagon hitched on the back of a tractor until all were moved and secured. He brushed a thick brown callused hand through his long orange hair before turning to notice his little sister.

He waved, and she returned it, continuing on her merry way. A little... too merry. She wasn’t smiling her usual toothy grin, something which is incredibly suspicious.

“Hey,” he said, calmly. She immediately froze.

“Hey, Big Mac. What i- are you doing on thi- today here... now?”

He raised his eyebrows.

“You’re ju- in the middle of harve- doing the ol’ apple tree- orchard thing, all of them, haha...” She pursed her lips and her eyes wandered everywhere except for her brother’s face.

He crossed his arms and put all his weight on his right foot, chewing on a piece of wheat.

“What i- nothing i- why are y’all lookin at me like- I’m ju- I’m on my way to the hou- to our home to- hungry from a long day of cru- Thcootaloo acthidentally almotht killed uth and I broke my tooth but I thtill have thome of Thecora’th potion at home tho pleathe don’t be mad!”

Mac smiled and stepped towards the tractor, hauling himself up to the driver’s seat. He turned on the engine before glancing at his sister and waving her over. She hesitantly stepped forward, and he swooped down to grab her before pulling her up and into his lap, placing her hands on the wheel. She grinned at him before taking the steering in one hand and the throttle in the other, and drove it to the barn.

Upon arrival and disembarking, Mac gripped Applebloom under her arms and around her chest before turning and jumping down onto the ground. He set her down before turning and walking back to the house.

“Tho uh... I take it I unload the bathketh into the barn ath my punithment for bein’ irrethponthible an’ thtuff?”

He tapped his nose before heading inside. Applebloom sighed and turned to face the obstacle before her. Three dozen heavy as heck baskets chock full of apples lay before her, taunting her for her misfortune. Dumb Scootaloo and her dumb ideas...

She grabbed at the bottom of one stack and tried to pull but it wouldn’t budge. She tried to pull again but she could feel the entire stack begin to give away. She frantically stepped back and put her hands on the third basket up, halting the fall, and pushed slightly. Once satisfied that gravity would not be a jerk, she clambered up the tractor to grab at a basket on the top of a stack.

Straining with all her might, she grabbed both handles on either side and grunted, lifting it slightly. It was slow going but she pushed with her legs and pulled it up and out of its base. Satisfied, she began to turn around but the very bottom of the basket clipped the very top of the next one down, and she winced as the entire stack went careening sideways.

This wouldn’t have been so bad if this didn’t knock over the entirety of the next stack, and then the next stack, and then the next stack. She closed her eyes because she didn’t want to look, but the sound was bad enough. When all was quiet and she opened her eyes, there were seventeen overturned baskets of apples- well, they were empty now- sprawling their contents all over the dusty ground.

“...how could thith happen to me?”

/x/x/x/

Faint, boisterous laughter woke Rainbow from her nap. She turned her head slightly to see her friends entering the clearing. The avian leaned forward and stretched her back and shoulders before unfurling her wings and flapping once to get her on her feet. She stretched her arms before moving her body to face the group.

“Hey, glad you slowpokes decided to finally show up!” she teased, crossing her arms.

“Hi Dashie!” Pinkie cried. “Again! I brought the surprise!”

Dusk opened the basket and telekinetically pulled out the red and white checker patterned blanket as everybody else exchanged greetings with Rainbow. He unfolded it in the air before floating it a little past Rainbow (who was being hugged by Pinkie) and levitating it down to the ground. Everybody then stepped on and around the blanket, setting their various items in the middle.

Rainbow sat at one corner, and Applejack settled in next to her. Pinkie skipped to Rainbow’s other side before twirling and revealing that the item inside the cake pan was indeed a cake (with pink icing). Rarity hesitantly sat next to Pinkie across from Rainbow, offering a friendly smile which luckily was returned. Fluttershy sat down next to her, and Dusk took the empty space between her and Applejack.

He opened the basket fully and began distributing everything: dishes, sandwiches (paying careful attention to which one was Fluttershy’s), and everything else. Fluttershy poured herself some tea before passing the pot to Rarity. Rainbow unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. Two butterflies floated through, pink and orange, as Dusk set the empty basket down between himself and Fluttershy.

“Dig in, y’all,” Applejack said, lightly tossing an apple to Pinkie. “This is a mighty fine spread, and some mighty fine weather to boot. Good job, Dash.” and with that she took a bite herself.

“Yeah,” she replied to the compliment with a mouthful of sandwich. “I am pretty great at stuff.” She swallowed before taking another bite. “Almost as great as this sammie, Dusk.”

After passing the teapot to Pinkie, Rarity cut herself a slice of cake as she analyzed Rainbow’s face. She seemed happy, but... it was always hard to read her when she was stuffing her face. “Aaahhh,” she breathed. “It is gorgeous out, just gorgeous.” Laying it on thick to elicit a reaction. “You’ve really outdone yourself darling.”

Nothing. Just a smile and a nod before taking another bite. Normal behavior for her, honestly.

Applejack shared a glance with Rarity as she took a sip of water. She read the expressions of everyone else around. Fluttershy was smiling, and looking around at the trees. Pinkie was taking a sip of the tea, and then she grimaced before she took several packets of sugar out of her hair and added them to it. Dusk was about to eat an apple but he dropped it as a confused look passed over his face.

“Dusk!” a voice cried from behind Pinkie. Was that... Spike?

“I!” wheeze “Have...” wheeze “some...” wheeze “lemme just...” he paused to catch his breath for a moment as Rarity and Fluttershy shared a concerned glance. He opened his mouth as if to say something else but he belched and a flame shot out, and along with it came a scroll, and he collapsed on the ground. Poor little guy needed to work on his cardio.

Dusk, unfazed, simply picked up and unfurled the scroll, and began to read.

“My dearest Dusk Shine,” he began. “I am sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot.” he leaned back and raised his eyebrows in surprise before turning to the others. “Wedding?” he asked, to a chorus of shrugs.

He continued. “I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much appreciate it if you and your friends could help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. I would like Fluttershy and her songbird choir to provide the music,”

“Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed, putting her palms together in glee. “What an honor!”

“I can think of no one more qualified than Pinkie Pie to host the reception-”

“Whoo-hoo!”

“I would like Applejack to be in charge of catering,”

“Well, color me pleased as punch!” she cried. Rainbow began to yawn loudly.

“I would very much appreciate it if Rainbow Dash could perform a sonic rainboom as the bride and groom complete their ‘I do’s,”

“YES!”

“And Rarity will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids.”

“...Princess Celestia wants me to... huh guh bah wedding dress? Mmmhh, for a Canterlot wedding!?” the overwhelmed seamstress began to swoon and make more unintelligible noises as Fluttershy shot a hand out, but shot a sidelong glance at Rainbow and retracted it. A moment later Rarity fell entirely backwards onto the ground. Rainbow gave a gentle smile at the display before it fell away slightly.

“And as for you, Dusk, you will be playing the most important role of all: making sure that everything goes as planned. I will see you all very soon. Yours, Princess Celestia.” he quickly reread the letter before turning it upside down and backwards. “But... I don’t get it. Who’s having a wedding?”

His gaze met Spike’s, who was rubbing the back of his head and holding out another scroll. “I, uh... was probably supposed to give you this one first.”

Dusk took the second- well, the first- scroll and unfurled it, clearing his throat. After a moment, he began reading. “Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Sh... holy- my BROTHER!?”

After a moment of silence, everybody (sans Dusk who was sitting frozen in open-mouthed shock) began babbling excitedly amongst themselves.

“Your brother’s getting married?” Applejack asked. “Congratulations, Dusk! That’s just great news!”

He shook his head. “Yeah,” he said. “Great news. That I just got from this... invitation? He didn’t even tell me himself, Celestia did! And it’s happening this weekend? Gee, thanks, ‘bro’. What, he couldn’t tell me face to face? No sit down heartfelt hey man let’s go get dinner and actually hang out for the first time in years before I drop this bombshell on you? ‘Hey, Dusky, I’d tell you I’m making one of the biggest most important decisions in my life that changes everything but that’s okay because you’ll hear about it when the Princess sends you the invitation!’ Really? And who the hell is this ~Princess Mi Amore Cadenza~ anyway because I SURE DON’T KNOW HER!”

Everyone had leaned away from his angry tirade that incorporated his sandwich being appropriated to become a puppet version of his brother. By the end he was standing, fists clenched, invitation completely and utterly ruined, crinkled beyond repair, and breathing heavily. Nobody dared approach him except Fluttershy.

“...Dusk? Are you okay?”

His snarl dissipated as he returned to reality. His eyes refocused as he turned to his friend, who had placed a hand on his arm. He took hold of his glasses with his free hand and removed them, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

“I’m sorry,” he said, shakily. “I just... he and I used to be so close.” He smoothed out the invitation with his magic before gently setting it on the ground and wiping his glasses with his shirt. “We used to be best friends, back before I even knew what friends were.” Replacing his glasses, he continued. “Spike, you know you’re irreplaceable to me, but...”

Spike nodded. “I get it.”

Dusk smiled as a tear fell down his cheek.

”Sh... Shining?”

He looked up from his writing desk. Shining took a pinch of sand and sprinkled it over the fresh ink on his parchment before replacing the quill in its inkwell and turning to face his little brother.

“Hey Dusk, what’s u- oh.”

A prepubescent Dusk Shine stood in his older brother’s door frame. Black eye, split lip, and a huge tear in his brand new mauve vest. He was crying, and Shining was at his side in a moment.

“Are you alright? No, don’t answer that. Where else are you hurt? Who did this? Is it the same guy as last time?”

“...yes.”

Shining pulled Dusk into his arms and let him cry in his brother’s warm embrace.

“Want me to kick his ass?” A horizontal nod. “Write a strongly worded letter to his parents?” Another horizontal nod. “...want me and Spear to kiss in front of him and scar the little shit for life?” A choked sob- no wait, that was a laugh. “I mean I’d have to tell him that it’s to get back at someone for bullying you but he’d totally do that for you. He owes me one anyway.”

“No,” Dusk sniffed. “I don’t want any rumors to go around about you two too.”

“Hey.” Shining leaned back and tilted Dusk’s head to face him. “If someone tries to give me any guff because they think I like other dudes, I can take it because I probably get more chicks than they do, and can most likely bench press them. It’s you I’m worried about,” he pulled Dusk back in. “If you wanted to, you could kinetically throw them all the way to Dodge Junction, but I know that you don’t wanna do that.”

“I’m not that strong,” he said. “Not yet. But it wouldn’t solve anything. There would just be another bully to take his place... why can’t everyone just be like you?”

Shining laughed and shrugged. “I don’t know, man. It’d sure be really nice if that were the case though. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up...”

In the bathroom now. Dusk sat on the sink in just his chest bindings and pants. Shining had the first aid kit and the cotton swabs, and was applying peroxide onto the cuts and bruises.

“Creator’s sake, he really did a number on you...” Shining’s stomach churned, boiling with rage. How DARE this kid lay his hands on Dusk? “Are you sure you don’t want me to kick his ass?”

“I can’t just let you fight all my battles for me, Shine,” Dusk said, wincing from the sting. “And if we use violence to solve this problem then we’re no better than him.”

Shining shook his head. “I disagree.” he grabbed another swab and doused it in peroxide. “I know the school of thinking you’re- sorry- talking about here, and as a guard I’ve got to tell you to think of both sides. If we didn’t- sorry- fight the dragonborn during the Wool Wars then they would’ve killed so many more of us. If we didn’t fight the storm pirates then everywhere south of the badlands would have become a war zone. Sometimes- sorry- sometimes love and tolerance won’t solve all your problems. If you begin to tolerate intolerance, then it just gets out of control. Sometimes you have to use a little violence to- sorry- stop violent people. Kill one to save a thousand.”

“I don’t like that,” Dusk bluntly replied. “I believe there’s a way to- ow- talk out every problem. I mean, it might be a lot easier for me to just ask you to beat him up back, but you’re not fixing the issue there. He’ll still hate me because I like other boys- ow- and he’ll hate me more because I had my brother beat him up. We both lose there. But if he learned the error of his ways, and wasn’t such a- ow- such a jerk, and apologized for breaking one of my ribs, then we won’t have any qualms.”

Shining grimaced. “You’re entitled to your opinion and so am I. I just don’t think it’s very plausible to talk a bigoted dickhead down from hating you enough to hurt you like this to suddenly becoming best friends.”

“Oh, I’ll never be friends with him. Ow. I just don’t want us to be enemies. You, Spike, and Cadey are the only friends I want.”

Shining nodded as he stood up and discarded the used swabs. “I think I got everything, but it’ll sting for a while. Are you good?”

Dusk pulled his shirt back on. “It’s okay, I’m used to the pain at this point.”

Shining hugged Dusk again. “Let’s go get some ice cream or something,” he said. “Get you out of the house.”

“But what about your paper?”

“Forget the paper,” Shining casually dismissed. “Academia won’t get me advanced in the guard. I’d have to save Princess Celestia’s life or something for that. Writing reports and stuff is more your forte than mine. Come on, let’s go.”

“I always had Shining through some of the worst times of my life,” Dusk said, reminiscing. “He was everything to me, but ever since coming here... we haven’t really talked much.”

“Your brother sounds like a real good guy,” Applejack said, laying her hand on his shoulder. She winked. “Kinda reminds me of someone I know.”

“He is,” Dusk grinned shyly as he placed his hand over hers. “You have to be really special to become captain of the royal guard...”

“...so let me get this straight!” Rarity exclaimed. “We’re helping out with the wedding of not only a princess... but a captain OF THE ROYAL GUARD!?”

Dusk stared at her for a moment before shrugging. “...yeah.”

She began squeeing and fell. Dusk grabbed her with his magic and let her down the rest of the way gently. He looked around at the rest of the group. Fluttershy and Rainbow were chatting excitedly, as were Applejack and Pinkie. He turned and sat down in his place on the picnic blanket and began nibbling on his sandwich but found he didn’t have much of an appetite. He took a sip of water before lying back and cloudwatching- except there were no clouds. Damn you, Rainbow Dash’s efficiency!

Speaking of Rainbow Dash...

“I can’t believe it!” She cried, flapping her wings excitedly. “Celestia wants me to do a sonic rainboom at a royal wedding. Me! A rainboom!”

“That does sound really nice.”

“And I mean, yeah, you have your songbird choir which is kinda cool in its own way and stuff, but. A rainboom! Wait... I gotta start training now. Like, this minute!” Rainbow crossed her arms and put her chin in one hand. “I haven’t done a rainboom since the best young flyer competition a few years ago.”

“Dashie, that was just last year...”

“Man, why’d I eat that sandwich!?” she cried, putting her entire head in her hands. “I’m gonna have to do so many crunches to burn that off! Look at me,” she places her hands on either side of her stomach. “I’ve been really letting myself go! Feel it!” Rainbow grabbed Fluttershy’s hand and put it on her abdomen.

Fluttershy started blushing furiously.

“I mean, yeah, you can see my abs even when I’m not flexing, but there’s gotta be, like, a whole kilo of unnecessary body fat here. And I really gotta cut down on my wind resistance, because this-” Rainbow moved Fluttershy’s hand to her own chest.

Fluttershy.exe stopped working.

“This is just ridiculous, I might have to wear a binder or something. I mean, I don’t have one because I’ve never needed one before, and when I did the last one I was a lot thinner because I was so much younger back then. Maybe I can ask Dusk for one of his old ones, we’re about the same size. So if that works out and I can burn enough calories and drink enough water-” she dropped Fluttershy’s hand and reached for one of the glasses of water, draining the whole thing before dropping it back down on the ground (luckily Dusk had noticed and caught it) and continuing to talk.

“Then I can totally pull off the rainboom for the wedding and everybody’s gonna see it because everybody’s gonna be there and-” she gasped. “WHAT IF SPITFIRE SEES IT AGAIN??? I gotta go, gotta pack, gotta get ready, gotta go buy some more of my protein powder and workout stuff and work my wings, I’ll see you guys all later, okay!? Thanks for the food everyone, bye!” and with that she took off flying towards her house in the sky.

Fluttershy was still standing where Rainbow left her.

“...you gotta... talk to... Rarity...”

And speaking of Rarity...

“Did she really just leave?” She asked, putting her teacup down. “But... but I needed to speak to her! I needed to tell her that I didn’t break up with her!”

“You can just do it tonight then,” Dusk said, placating her. “Or tomorrow on the train to the wedding. Or while we’re getting ready for the wedding. Or at the bachelorette party before the wedding. Or at the wedding. Or at the wedding reception. Or on the train ride back home from the wedding. Or-”

Flatly, she interrupted him. “Darling I understand.”

“...sorry.” he leaned forward. “I should just... go home now. I’ve got some thinking to do and I really don’t wanna take my anger out on you guys.” He stood up and stepped towards Rarity, who also stood.

“Of course, Dusk,” she said as she hugged him. “It’s a lot to take in, I’m sure. It’s not every day that one learns that their sibling is getting ma~rried!”

He didn’t reply, and instead held the embrace. After nearly a minute he finally pulled away, and kissed her on the cheek.

“...So long, my dear,” she bid farewell. “I hope you sleep well tonight.” she turned to Spike, who had a mouth full. “And you too, Spikey-Wikey,” she said as she bent slightly down to kiss him on the head. Though it was biologically impossible, his scales turned red as he blushed and swallowed Pinkie’s delicious marbled yellow layer cake that he absolutely had to get the recipe for because it had the perfect flavor profile for topaz chips.

Dusk handed Spike his for the most part uneaten sandwich and then the pair turned to walk back into town.

Rarity turned to face the remaining picnickers. This hadn’t exactly been the commitment she’d hoped it was, and everything she’d intended to do during it was now un-do-able. Her girlfriend had taken off without being told that they were indeed still dating, her best friend was currently catatonic, Dusk and Spike were leaving, and Pinkie Pie was- wait a minute...

“Fluttershy?” she called, striding towards her friend. Rarity’s face melted from panicked concern to simply confused concern. “F...Fluttershy?” she asked. Fluttershy was blushing heavily, her hand was in front of her, palm out, and her face could not have been more neutral if she was told at knifepoint to make the most neutral face she could possibly think of. Although it anybody had ever held Fluttershy at knifepoint, Rarity would have literally murdered them.

“Darling,” she said, reaching a hand out to place on her friend’s shoulder. “Are you all ri-”

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, please don't be mad!”

An awkward silence descended as the two blinked at each other for a moment.

“...what did you not mean to do that would anger me?”

Fluttershy began to wring her hands and hid behind her hair, now blushing out of shame more so than anything else.

“Well, um... Rainbow kind of... took my hand and... made me... grope her... I’m sorry.”

Rarity’s eye twitched.

“Darling, I was watching, and I hardly think that classified as groping. Rainbow had you feel her breast for athletic purposes because she doesn't have a good sense of boundaries, not for any lustful reasons. Trust me,” she leaned in and in a conspiratorial whisper continued, “she prefers attention elsewhere anyways.”

“Regardless,” she returned to a normal voice, not noticing Fluttershy’s ever-deepening blush. “I'm not upset with you for that. You two have known each other for long enough that intimacy like that would come naturally anyways, and I know you wouldn't do anything like that to hurt anybody, let alone myself. So please, don't feel like you're at all in the wrong here.”

“...okay.”

“That's good.” Rarity said as she hugged Fluttershy tightly. Fluttershy hesitantly returned it and she fell into the embrace. “Besides, darling, it's not like you’re sexually attracted to her or anything.”

The avian’s heart stopped.

“I mean, I know you like girls too, but the only reason you’d have to apologize is if you liked her or something.” Rarity pulled away and smiled at the top of Fluttershy’s head. “And that's quite a ridiculous notion, so will you promise not to feel bad about this? We’ll just pretend it never happened.”

Fluttershy simply nodded, unable to make eye contact. Rarity pulled her back in and nuzzled her spine, gently humming.

‘Disgusting, selfish pervert.’

Fluttershy gripped Rarity tighter as The Voice assailed her once more. Though she was physically closer to Rarity than she typically was to anybody else at any given moment, she found herself alone once again in the white-hot bonds of self-torment.

‘Weak, pathetic coward.’

“Okay Rarity,” she said. “I won't.”

‘Filthy, dirty liar.’

/x/x/x/

Scootaloo stepped off her scooter in front of a run down little shack she once called home. The grass in the front yard was all brown and dead, littered with bits of metal scraps and broken glass. The only clear path was comprised of crumbling stones, many of which had dandelions growing out of the cracks. The remains of a white picket fence stood around the property, broken and falling apart, paint peeling.

It smelled like smoke and rotting meat.

“Are you okay?”

The question lurched her out of her reverie as she turned to the source of the voice.

Sweetie Belle had stepped out of the wagon and walked up next to her friend, smiling in spite of their surroundings. Everything seemed to be toned in sepia except for themselves and the vehicle they had come in on. She placed a comforting hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” she said, laced with trepidation. “I don't know why I expect it to look better each time. Or less... intimidating.”

“It will one day!” came the mage’s cheerful reply. A literal tumbleweed rolled by. “Just... maybe not soon.”

Scootaloo attempted to force a smile for her friend’s sake but it came off as more of a grimace. She opened the nearby mailbox, stem broken and bent, rusted beyond repair, and beheld its contents. Briefly hoping to discover the purpose of her visit within, she was instead disappointed upon noticing that whomsoever had delivered the desired package had brought it fully inside. Charitably enough.

Alas, the only thing inside the mailbox was a stack of yellowed envelopes and a little spider. Quickly, she shut the door with a shudder at the cute little critter before crossing her arms and turning her gaze to the daunting walk ahead of her.

She took a hesitant step, wings shifting uncomfortably below her shirt. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Sweetie Belle following, just far enough to not be all up in her everything, but not too far so as to not seem present.

Another step followed another, until the pair found themselves at the front door. Scootaloo’s fists clenched; whether from fear, anger, or another emotion, she couldn't tell. She raised a hand to the door knob, and gripped it tightly. She turned it.

Suddenly the door barged outwards, knocking the two girls off their feet. A cat hissed at them before bounding off into the grass. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes to see her friend laying protectively over her own body as if doing a push-up, casting a glance at the open door.

“You okay?” Scootaloo asked, before turning her head and facing down. Their eyes searched each other’s for a moment before Sweetie Belle realized the position they were in. After a moment she also realized that she was asked a question.

“Y-yeah,” she breathed before swallowing, stilling her beating heart from the sudden burst of activity. “Just a little startled.”

“Good,” Scootaloo replied before pushing herself up to her legs, reaching a hand down. “I thought it was... you know. Not a cat.”

Sweetie Belle took the hand up before dusting her clothes off. She took a deep breath as she steadied herself. Her pulse was high and the blood rushed to her head, but the blush obtained temporarily during the excitement began to fade.

Scootaloo stepped towards the door, peeking into the living room situated immediately inside. There was a tinny, staticy sound coming from the far wall, and the interior smelled like beer and cat urine. Everything was varying shades of brown, from the floor to the walls to the couch sitting on the opposite wall, which was occupied. Her breath hitched.

“What is it?” asked Sweetie Belle, poking her head around her companion’s. “Is he- oh...”

The lump snored. Aluminum and tin cans laid on the floor, the coffee table, tumbling around a vastly over-encumbered waste basket in the front right corner under a radio situated on a shelf mounted on the wall, pretty much all over the floor. There was only space to walk between the couch and the door situated in the rear right corner, which held the bathroom.

Directly ahead, on the left of the couch was a doorway, a dining room and kitchen. On the center island was a stack of several large boxes; each held two dozen more cans each. The wallpaper was peeling and many of the cabinets were hanging loosely off of their hinges. They probably used to be pure white but were now a more dingy yellow color.

To the left was a closed door with a box sitting neatly on the floor directly in front of it. In the corner was a bookshelf covered almost entirely in dust. The only thing even relatively clean about it was a picture frame sitting at about eye level.

“Nice to see you cleaned up the place, dad...”

“Is that it?” Sweetie asked, pointing at the box on the floor. After carefully maneuvering around the proverbial minefield, the two girls had found themselves standing in front of the closed door. ‘Scoots room’ said the sign hanging on the front of it.

Scootaloo bent down to pick up the small box, before opening it up to reveal the small orange cylinder within. “Bingo,” she whispered, before pulling it out and slipping it into her pocket. She closed the box back up and placed it back where she had found it.

Immediately she turned and began making her way back through the cans, minding her step each way. She froze when the man on the couch adjusted his position, but when he stopped moving after a few seconds she continued her progress, Sweetie Belle following carefully behind her.

The two eventually made their way back outside, and Scootaloo slowly shut the door behind her.

“See? He was asleep. That wasn't so bad, was it?”

She turned to the young mage and shrugged. “Nah. Just disappointing I guess. I should stop expecting it to improve. Or stay the same. It just gets worse and worse...” she trailed off as Sweetie Belle put her fists together in front of her chest as she looked at the ground.

“What's up?”

Sweetie bit her lip before she replied. “What were you being so careful for?”

“...huh?”

“Around the cans,” she motioned towards the ground. “Why were you stepping around them?”

Scootaloo looked to the side, off towards town. “Didn't wanna wake him up.”

“Why?”

“Because he was sleeping. Why are you asking me this?”

Sweetie crossed her arms defensively. “Why were you protecting me when the door opened?”

No reply.

“Come on, Scoots,” she coaxed. “There's something you're not telling me here. I know you and your dad don't get along, which is why you're always staying over at my house, but is it worse than just being awkward?”

“I don't wanna talk about it.”

She sighed and shook her head. “Alright,” she relented. “But just... promise me you will one day?”

Scootaloo shrugged, but at the concern and worry in her friend’s eye she sighed and nodded. “I'm just being... I don't know, but I'll tell you when I'm ready.”

Sweetie Belle wasn't entirely convinced but she gave up, knowing how stubborn her friend was. “Okay...” the melancholy sigh following was interrupted by a surprise unexpected hug, which she returned.

“Now come on,” Scootaloo said, pulling away. “Let's go to Sweet Apple, since Bloom’s probably waiting for us.”

/x/x/x/

“Alright, one bathket down, whoo-hoo!”

/x/x/x/

Cold sweat. Pulse pounding. Rapidly fading mental images of death and destruction. Telepathically opening the curtains. A glance outside: sunlight. Good. It was just a dream, like always. Everything is okay now.

Princess Luna placed her right hand over her chest, placing her fingertips over her heartbeat. Breathing in, 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4. In again, out again. Calm. Peaceful. Tranquil. Everything is fine.

She turned to face the tantabus, the dark swirling evil mass suspended in its glass prison, tinted a faint periwinkle from the lamps situated around the room. The sun also provided gold, until she turned to close off the windows from the outside world.

The blankets cast off, Luna turned to put her legs over the edge of the bed. She adjusted her loose nightgown, a dark enough blue to look black in the right lighting. Silky and flowing like her hair after the sunset. And a wash. She scratched the back of her scalp, wincing at the frizz.

Feet found the slippers situated immediately below, royal purple with white crescent moons emblazoned on the fronts, and very fluffy. She stood and stretched before approaching what may very well be her favorite fixture in the room, the espresso machine. A very special friend had introduced her to the delicious nectar of the coffee bean, her lifeline in the waking world.

Luna activated the machine by flipping a lever, then turning a knob. A puff of steam emerged as it whirred to life. A white mug labeled “meh.” sat in a receptacle and a stream of brown liquid began to fill it up. She bent down and inhaled the aroma; nothing beat Saddle Arabian beans. Once the mug was full, the pump stopped moving and all fell quiet again.

She took the mug in her hands and bathed her face in the steam, eyes closed and smiling. After a moment she blew gently, dissipating the evaporation, and taking a sip. Straight black, the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Her sister could not stand the stuff unless it was full of cream and sugar, but there were a lot of things that Celestia didn't like that were amazing and wonderful.

As Luna enjoyed her cup of coffee, she turned and surveyed the room. The bed, vertically crescent shaped, would need remaking, and the servants- no, the staff- would no doubt be more than happy to do so. It had been the bed of her childhood, then oversized but now the exact right shape for her body. Celestia had never gotten rid of it, nor of the room itself, even after the greater period of her banishment: simply boarded the room up and declared the entire wing forbidden. It had taken a month to remove the dust: a thousand years can really do a number on an abandoned room’s cleanliness.

She took a sip.

It didn't sting to think of the Nightmare anymore. It was of course a fear, always nagging, pulling away at the subconscious, and always a very distinct if narrow possibility of returning. But that’s what the dreams were for. It isn't like she held a grudge for her sister because of the imprisonment inside of the moon. Anymore.

The only thing that hurt, really, was Celestia’s tendency to ignore the lilacs she put up in the castle every evening to foster pleasant dreams for the staff. However, their relationship had fully repaired, thanks in part to catching up on a millennia’s worth of sisterly bonding activities centered around learning how much culture had changed in the many years of her absence. It was certainly worth having a little nighttime ritual go unnoticed.

She took another drink, savoring it as it passed over her tongue.

It was very strange that despite so many things changing, everything was still somewhat the same. Technology, fashion, food, law, etiquette, all was significantly advanced from the way it used to be, but luckily there were some constants. Magic, for example. Since the disappearance of her ancient teacher Star Swirl the Bearded, there really wasn't much in the way of new spells. Luna didn't have to do much reading to catch up in that department. But the culture? She still didn't have the hang of things. For Creator’s sake she still used the royal ‘we’, a practice Celestia had abandoned centuries ago!

However, it wasn't a big deal. It would be fairly easy to unlearn the habit, almost as easy as adopting the new royal regalia to conform more easily to modern Equestria’s laws on modesty. Canterlot and other mage-settled cities now had social taboos on female nudity in places male nudity was socially acceptable, yet avian law had made no such movements in that regard. Now due to conflicts in ancient tribal law, Celestia had ruled that avians due to their biology were not bound by those specific sets of laws in any Equestrian city, though it was still heavily frowned upon for any avian women to go bare-chested, even in the heat of the sweltering summers. Not that many would want to, but for the aquamancers who were extremely sensitive to changes in temperature. Luckily there were many articles of clothing that were created in the past thousand years Luna had personally taken a liking to. Alas, royalty could only wear casual clothing while attending informal social gatherings outside of Canterlot, and she hardly ever left the city.

Although, considering certain activity coming from the frozen north recently, that could very well be changing soon if the legends were correct. And judging by her own track record with thousand year old legends, they more than likely would be. She only hoped the platoon of a hundred and four soldiers being specially trained by Captain Shining Armor himself would be enough to stand against... him.

She took a long draught.

Surely they would be. The platoon consisted of some of the best of the best of the Canterlot military. They would be able to stand against anything. But now wasn't the time to think about potential war, now was the time to concern oneself with the upcoming wedding in just a few days.

Luna’s thoughts wandered to Cadance, the recently-christened Princess of Love. Apparently in her own absence there had been made two grand archmages, her and one Auroria. Cadance was an avian who had been given the power of the mages and the strength of the druids, and Auroria was an avian that had exhibited magical prowess from her infancy. A biological curiosity, though her parents had withdrawn from society and become reclusive due to the attention given them and their child.

Cadance, however, was the only grand archmage aside from Luna and Celestia themselves who was currently known of in Equestria. She was made such after exhibiting great amounts of compassion for a reclusive sorceress who had cast an evil spell over the people of Cadance’s home village. After she’d reversed the spell, magic beyond their comprehension brought her to Celestia, where she was given the mantle of archmage. She was a nice young lady, and most citizens of Equestria had taken kindly to her. She’d also apparently looked after Dusk in his childhood whilst Celestia was otherwise preoccupied with her prior student, and for that Luna was very grateful in a roundabout way.

With one more large gulp, she had finished with the coffee, and was ready to take on the morning. Well, it was technically the afternoon, but it was her own personal version of the morning. She placed the mug on the table aside from the machine and stepped through her room’s entrance into the awaiting foyer.

A rousing chorus of “Good afternoon, Princess Luna”s met her as the door opened. She smiled and nodded, before stepping forward and allowing them to do their work. Her clothing was removed and carried away as she was gently escorted to the baths in one corner, separated from the main room by an archway. No fewer than a dozen armed guards stood around the perimeter of the spacious room, keeping an ever watchful eye on the space around the Princess.

Upon stepping onto the tile, Luna removed her slippers and walked down the stairs into the empty basin at the center of the nook. After a moment she found her feet to be wet as the large tub began to fill with water set at a very specific temperature, the same it had been every day for years now. She approached the stool at the center of the bowl and sat, presenting her hands to either side. A total of seven people- five women and two men, one avian of each gender- all dressed in swimwear, waited first for the water to reach waist level, then stepped into specific places around her and set to work.

Two of the mages set about cleaning Luna’s hair, wetting, shampooing, rinsing, conditioning, and otherwise bringing the locks to their full luster by imbuing no small amount of magic. The two avians set about preening an outstretched wing on either side, one each. The remaining three used a mix of hydrokinesis, showerheads, and loofahs in order to wash the rest of her body. Light conversation was made between staff and royal. In all, the processes took no more or less than seventeen minutes before the Princess was able to move on to the next part of her daily hygienic rituals.

After the bath was drained, and her body was made dry by the aquamancers, Luna was again escorted gently to another portion of the room. This corner was a chair sat in front of a desk with a mirror propped at the back. Two women and a man were stationed there, and when Luna sat they began to apply makeup and style her hair. This took only three minutes, as she never liked anything fancy more so than practical, something she didn't share with her sister.

After thanking the trio, Luna stepped towards a sink. She brushed her own teeth (the one thing she absolutely mandated nobody else would ever do), and rinsed with mouthwash. After this was over she approached a nearby trifold mirror where a quartet of women stood patiently waiting. They then dressed her in basic underclothes; a slip and a corset, stockings and a garter belt, and socks, can't forget socks. However, something was amiss, as they did not move for anything after this was complete.

“Is something amiss?” Luna asked, perplexed at the breach of repetition. “Why have you ceased dressing us?”

The four exchanged uneasy glances as the princess felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to face one of the guards who had approached, and he handed her a telegram. She unfurled the scroll and read it, pursing her lips as she did so. Decisively, she rolled it back closed and stepped past him into the main room, and strutted confidently to a closed armoire. Luna cracked her knuckles before throwing it open.

“Gentlemen,” she said, addressing the guards. “And lady. My apologies.” One nodded her head in thanks. “Our beloved sister has made a request of us.”

She pulled a halberd with a crescent shaped blade off of the weapons rack lying within.

“Tonight we may finally taste combat.”

She turned and hefted the weapon, adopting an aggressive stance, smiling as she adjusted her grip. The weight in her hands filled her with an excitement not felt in several months. She made several steps, swinging in set patterns, before facing several of the guards.

“Tonight we march together.”

/x/x/x/

“Who’d have thought Shining would finally be getting married, huh Dusk?”

No response.

“Your mom and dad are sure gonna be thrilled to get a daughter, even if she's an in-law.”

Huff.

“...he didn't tell me either, you know.”

Dusk finally looked up from his book. He hadn't touched his soup. He hadn't said anything since coming back home. The moment they arrived he stormed off to his bedroom until Spike called him for dinner. Even then he only came begrudgingly and with a calculus manuscript.

“No, I suppose not.” he sighed before shutting the textbook. “And I guess we’re all going to Canterlot tomorrow.”

Spike took a sip of his own soup. He had used the last of the mutton, and if Dusk wasn't going to enjoy it then he sure was.

“I haven't gone since your birthday. And before that, the Gala... It'll be nice to see your parents again. I miss them.”

Dusk spooned up a carrot and dropped it back in, putting his cheek in the other hand. He began to swirl it in circles. Probably not planning on actually eating any. Spike took another sip.

“...I guess I miss them too.” was all he said.

Spike opened his mouth as if about to say something, but he couldn't exactly think of what to say and so closed it again. A knock at the door interrupted what train of thought he had.

“I'll get it,” Dusk said, dropping his spoon in the bowl. Broth splashed all over the table. Spike inwardly sighed and spooned up an emerald, snaking his tongue around it. He pulled it in and began crunching before turning to see the front door.

“Heya Dusky!” cried one Pinkie Pie, launching herself into a hug and knocking the poor boy over out of view. Applejack, also in the entryway, winced before chuckling.

“Pinkie, Applejack,” he greeted from the floor.

Spike watched Pinkie do a cartwheel as Applejack stepped forward slightly out of view. A moment later Dusk was visible again, and he was dusting off his clothes.

“Howdy Dusk. Catch ya at a bad time?”

Dusk waved her off. “We’re having supper but I’m not hungry. You here to chat?”

Applejack nodded. “I figured y'all wasn't in too good of a mood after today's revelation. Can't be easy hearin’ news like this about an older sibling.”

“Yeah, that's super un-fantastic!” Pinkie interjected, tone chipper as always. “If my older sister went to college without even telling me first I’d be super sad, and getting married is a WAY bigger deal than college!” A moment’s pause. “Well, to most people. Maud is pretty psyched to finally be going. She’s practically married to rocks anyway. But I wouldn't even dare to dream about getting married without throwing a hey guess what beloved family of mine I'm getting married party for them because I wouldn't dare to do something mean like get married in secret and hurt Limestone and little Marble! Hey AJ, why are you giving me the secret code to stop talking?”

Applejack slapped her forehead.

“You're right,” Dusk said, bluntly. “You'd probably give plenty of warning and not just hope that the Princess sends you a notice for it two days before it happens and then expect them to oversee all of the preparations themselves.” He turned and strode into the kitchen, followed by the pair. “You wouldn't expect them to make their best friends put together an entire ensemble of dresses and food and party supplies and a brand new set of sheet music for a bird choir and a...” he slammed his fist on the kitchen counter, causing Pinkie to jump.

“You wouldn't demand a sonic rainbow be done at your wedding without even telling them more than two damn days in advance. Rainbow’s not gonna have time to deal with the breakup in a healthy enough way to realize it's not even a breakup, Rarity’s not gonna have time to deal with it either, Fluttershy had another attack and now she's gotta worry about the stress of teaching a bunch of rusty bluejays how to do whatever wedding marches they're gonna want, odds are it'll be all of them, and you two will be in the kitchen and reception hall all day. It's not fair to you guys. You should have had more warning! You shouldn't be forced to do all this shit just because you know the groom’s little brother!”

“Hey now,” Applejack stated, stepping in front of Pinkie. “I know you're upset, Dusk, but watch your language!”

Pinkie pushed Applejack’s arm down. “Fluttershy had another attack?”

Dusk sighed. “Sorry. But yeah, she did. I don't know what caused it, she wouldn't tell me. But she says she's fine.”

“That don't sound right,” Applejack said, crossing her arms. “It never happens ‘cept for good reason, but we ain't here for Fluttershy. We’re here for you.”

“Me?” Dusk asked, slipping back into his chair. “I'm fine.”

“This ain't ‘fine’ for you, Dusk. We know you. First thing y'all ever taught me was knowin’ when to accept help. And I can tell it from right here, that you need a little bit of support right now. Support y'all can't get from Rarity, Rainbow, an’ Fluttershy. Support as a younger sibling goin’ through a tough time. Yer brother’s slippin’ away from you and it's makin’ y'all feel like cow manure.”

Dusk glared at his soup.

“I know what it's like. Back in the day when Big Mac did the rodeos instead of me, when he was doin’ so much more than what he’s doin’ now. Back when...” her voice broke. “Back when our folks died.”

Dusk’s face softened.

“I lost my grandpappy, my parents... an’ I was so worried that I was gonna lose my brother too. He was all I had left. He was my everything, just like Shining is yours too. So y'all know what I did?”

Dusk looked up to face her.

“I did everything in my power to keep him in my life. I didn't let it crush me, or toss me in the pig pen o’ despair, or rule my anger and make me lose my temper and cuss up a storm just cuz’ I'm sad. I couldn't let that happen to me, and I ain't lettin’ it happen to you.”

Dusk stood up and hugged Applejack, and Pinkie came in on the other side.

“I'm sorry...” he whispered.

“It's okay,” she responded, gripping him tightly. “Good things are gonna come from this, I swear it. And even if they don't, we’ll all be here for you. But if yer brother is even half the man I think he is, then there's a perfectly good explanation behind why he didn't tell y'all earlier. Men ain't that dumb, you taught me that much.”

Dusk let out a choked half-laugh at this. “He's definitely not dumb.” he pulled away so he could look her in the eyes, but kept his arms around her shoulders. “I'm just scared.”

“And it's your right to be such,” she replied, placing her hands on his hips. Actually, wait, those were Pinkie’s hands; Applejack’s were resting on his forearms. “Fear is normal when it comes to family matters. But you can't let it rule you is the problem.”

“I was scared of losing you when I was little,” Spike piped up from the table. The trio turned to face him. “I worried that once you didn't need me anymore then you'd just move on to bigger and better things. When you first decided to stay here, I was so afraid that Celestia would make me go back to Canterlot with her, but she didn't... and that was one of the happiest moments of my life, knowing that I could keep living with you.”

Dusk stepped over and wrapped the dragonborn in his own arms. “You'll never lose me, Spike...” he said. “I love you too much to ever let you go. And I guess Shining feels the same... sorry I was a jerk today.”

Spike shrugged. “You're a jerk every day so it's okay.”

Dusk gasped and took a step back, placing one hand on his hip and the other on his chest. “Wow.” He couldn't keep his face straight. “I came out here to have a good time and I honestly feel so attacked right now.”

Pinkie giggle-snorted as Applejack simply nodded her head and crossed her arms. “Dusk,” she said. “If jokes among friends are the worst that happens to you this weekend, I think everything will be just fine.”

He nodded, facing her. “I think you're right...” he turned to the pot sitting in the stove. “Either of you two want some soup?”

/x/x/x/

The train rolled into the station, chugging slowly decelerating before finally stopping with a long steamy hiss. The doors opened and out walked dozens and dozens of people of every shape, size, color, and smell.

Contemptible fools, all of them.

Chrysalis stood surveying the platform, impatiently tapping her foot. She was there for a very specific reason, and didn’t want to spend any more time than she absolutely had to in the wretched disguise she had concocted so she could walk about the city.

The guards were out in full force today. Fully armed, fully armored, and constantly on the lookout. They knew something was going to happen soon. They were prepared. She grinned to herself. They were scared.

It didn't make this any easier. The magenta bubble surrounding the city had still shaded everything the same shade of pink as her hair. The planned invasion would have to go perfectly well. She’d have to continue convincing everybody of her disguise until the wedding day. She'd have to ensure that nobody found out or even suspected. She'd have to keep her impulses under control.

Lilu was always ready for her. He was perfectly willing to pleasure her. He was one of the best pawns she had ever encountered in the hive. But he meant nothing to her. He was just a lowly grunt, just a cog in the machine; if he was gone, he would be easily replaceable.

But not Captain Shining Armor. He was so important to the basic essential structure of the city. He lead the entirety of the ground forces, her biggest obstacle. And with him out of the way, or better yet under her control... the city’s defenses would crumble, and then there would be nothing left between her and the princesses, the throne, the lives of every single citizen of Equestria. And the Elements of Harmony would finally be all hers.

The next step of her master plan was rapidly approaching. She could see the quartet now, four smiling, giggling girls. Probably happy about some stupid human thing or another. It hadn't been easy spending the last few weeks abusing the real Mi Amore’s connections so as to ensure the perfect choices in bridesmaids. Just intelligent enough to be useful, but not desperate enough for attention to suspect anything was strange. Coincidentally enough they happened to know the groom’s younger sibling.

She’d extracted everything. Every single memory from the spoiled princess now also belonged to her, except for the disgusting mushy ones she cast out as unimportant. A youth spend in a village full of love, the kind of love that hurt, the kind that she couldn't exploit or even feed off of. Much too sweet. An adolescence spent in the care of Celestia, browsed through to pick up any weaknesses. There were none, pure power would be the way to go. A first job in babysitting some little kid. Meeting the older brother. Falling in love with said brother. Fucking said brother before he went away to the military. Slut.

That was one delicious memory.

The leader of the group pointed at her, a hopeful eyed optimist with two toned blue hair. A sniff revealed she was a secretary for a dentist’s office, she had recently eaten a salad, there was a thin veil of faux happiness over a lingering depression, and- oohh, she's a bisexual! Chrysalis licked her lips and looked her body up and down. Very nice. That one belonged to her.

“Cadey!” she cried. Ugh, the nickname. From now on it was the formal full name only, excluding these... friends. “It's been so long!”

Hugging, what a foreign concept. If one was to express satisfaction with the presence of another being, what was so wrong with simple words? Words, she understood. Words were logical. Words were just as capable of eliciting the reactions and chemical triggers in the brain that released what made people happy. Words were understandable. Wrapping one’s arms around someone else? Weird.

“Oh, Minnie,” she cried, remembering the nickname. It burned on her tongue. “It has indeed. I missed you all so much!”

Lyra Heartstrings. Twinkleshine. And... whoever that last one was. Unrecognizable.

“Girls, who’s your friend?”

Suddenly the scrape of metal on metal sounded through the courtyard as the guards on either side of Chrysalis stepped forward, separating her from the others with their spears. Behind her, an avian slammed into the ground before pulling herself up to her full height, and extending her golden wings as far as they would go. Her fiery hair glowed in the same colors as the setting sun.

“Lemon Hearts?” The soldier asked, fearsomely.

“Uh- I, um... y... yes?”

She nodded before putting her hands out to the other guards. “Gentlemen, stand down. This woman is my responsibility.” She turned her wrist to her mouth, and whispered almost inaudibly... for humans. “Overlord, this is Captain Spitfire. The package is secure.” Luckily succubi have much better hearing.

Ah... so this is the famous Spitfire... the second biggest spanner in the works. She would be very hard to deal with, but she would only need to be slowed down or otherwise impeded. No wonder the scouts she sent looking after the so-called ‘eyes on the package’ had suddenly disappeared without warning. A pity.

“Ladies, I’d like to apologize,” Spitfire continued. “But everyone in the wedding is in terrible danger. I'm afraid I have to separate the palace staff from you until such time as Princess Celestia has decided the threat on the city has abated. Curfew has been established, and I would very much appreciate your cooperation.” She turned to face Lemon. “I will ensure your safety ma’am.”

Lemon turned to face the future bridesmaids. “I guess our weekend ends here, girls... I hope you all have fun. And it was good to finally meet you in person, Cadey, if only for a moment!”

Chrysalis waved, plastered in her face a smile more fake than the illusion that Spitfire was actually a woman. How dare people criticize and oppress herself and her people for pretending to be things they were not in order to make personal gains when the captain of the Equestrian Air Force herself is doing the very same thing?

Of course... there's apparently a difference between consuming one’s life force and protecting everyone else’s. That was the difference that these bleeding heart humans would give, justifying their hatred and bigotry. They cared too much about the lives of the week, the defenseless, the inferior... what ever happened to survival of the fittest? It made her sick to her stomach to think about.

Spitfire and Lemon began striding away until they were out of sight, leaving Chrysalis flanked by her regiment of a dozen royal guards and the trio of mages.

“Well,” Chrysalis clapped her hands. “Let's get you girls to our chambers! We’re gonna have so much fun...” a malicious glint shine in her eyes as she glanced down at Minuette’s form.

“So much... fun.”

/x/x/x/