> The Open Road
>  by Krickis
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 – Getting Away From It All
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

⠀

The Open Road





Chapter One
Getting Away From It All
⠀




⠀
It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but the news struck Sunset like a sucker punch. She told herself it was just the fact that they never mentioned it to her. Finding out the news because somepony on the street asked her about it was an awful experience, and it had frankly been embarrassing to admit she didn’t have a comment because no one had bothered to tell her that her parents were getting a divorce.

Maybe it was payback for not telling them when she first got back to Equestria. They’d last seen each other at the wedding, which was only six months ago; it seemed like they could’ve said something then. Then again, there were a lot of things they could have said at the wedding, but they chose silence instead.

Which was fine. Sunset didn’t care. Why should she? She didn’t care about them, she hadn’t for years. She was only upset because by not telling her, they put her in the position of hearing it from a random pony asking her to make a statement. They put her in an awkward spot, that was what she cared about.

Sunset sighed and set down the news article about them. It wasn’t very detailed, mostly focusing on who they were. A decorated military general and the mare in charge of one of the largest textile companies, not to mention the parents of Sunset Shimmer, Captain of the Twilit Guard and royal marefriend of Princesses Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy.

That was another annoyance – they wrote ‘marefriend’ instead of ‘wife’. It wasn’t a surprise, however; the wedding had not been legally binding, so as far as most ponies were concerned, she was no more Twilight and Fluttershy’s wife than she was Princess Sunset Shimmer.

That was fine. It was all fine. Sunset didn’t care if her parents got divorced, she didn’t care if anyone other than her family and friends saw her as Twilight and Fluttershy’s wife, she didn’t care if even Celestia herself constantly dodged the question of whether Sunset’s marriage was legitimate. Sunset didn’t care about any of that.

Why would she? She had two amazing wives, which was double the normal allotment of amazing wives! And whether ponies wanted to see her as a princess or not, she did have a crown and everything. Luna had given it to her, and along with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Cadance, that meant she had the majority of Equestria’s princesses backing her title.

So things were going good. Not perfect, but Sunset couldn’t very well sit around waiting for things to go perfect, now could she? Things were good, and that was good enough.

‘So then why do I feel miserable?’ she asked herself. Sometimes she wondered if being miserable was just her default state. She was happy these days, really she was, but she just always found reasons to complain all the same.

“Uhm, Sunset?” Fluttershy said as she walked into the sitting room that Sunset had been reading in.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” Sunset said with a smile. “How were the animals?”

“Good,” Fluttershy said, though she was frowning a bit. Usually when Fluttershy got back from her daily trip to feed and care for the animals, she was delighted to talk about it with the others. Clearly though, she had something else on her mind. “You, uhm, you weren’t planning on going out, were you?”

“No, why?”

“Well… there have been a few ponies asking about you.”

“Oh.” Sunset rolled her eyes and sighed, then glanced over to the newspaper. “And I’m sure I can figure out why.”

“Yeah…” Fluttershy took a seat on the couch beside Sunset.

Sunset put her foreleg around her wife, who nuzzled in closer to her. “You know, I thought I’d never get tired of having everypony’s eyes on me. But then back then, I never realized how dumb the reasons everyone has their eyes on me would be.”

“Is that what’s bothering you?” Fluttershy asked. “That nopony will leave you alone about the divorce?”

“About the divorce, about the wedding, about, well, everything! And it’d be fine if ponies actually took the wedding seriously, but they all want to know, like, why we even bothered. ‘Oh, if it doesn’t mean anything, then why do you care?’ ”

Fluttershy reached up to kiss Sunset on the cheek. “It means something to us.”

Sunset smiled and kissed Fluttershy properly. “I know. It means the world to me, it’s just… I’m so tired of the questions. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish we could just get away from it all for a while. Even on our honeymoon, it was just nonstop question after question, and I just… Argh!”

“I understand. I feel the same way. Especially around the time Twily and I got married.”

It felt a little weird for Sunset to be the one getting advice from Fluttershy about coping with other ponies, but she had been a princess for longer. “I guess it gets a little easier then?”

“A little, and ponies move on eventually.”

“Yeah. Hopefully once the divorce is over, at least that’ll stop being such a hot topic.”

“Hmm, I think I know what you need.” Fluttershy smiled. “Want to go somewhere that no one knows who you are for a bit?”

“Sure, but where would– oh.” Sunset smiled. “Visiting AJ would be cool, but really, I’d rather hang out with you and Twi today.”

“Maybe we could all go.” It was rare for Fluttershy to go with Sunset to the human world, but not unheard of. She was getting more used to travelling there these days, and she was a welcome sight among their human friends. “We could take Spike, just get out for a day.”

Sunset grinned. “Well, I won’t say no to that. Let’s go see what Twilight thinks.”

“Okay.” Fluttershy got up, with Sunset following after her.

The two of them walked through the castle, heading upstairs to Twilight’s study. Since it was midday, that was the most likely place to find her, likely busying herself with some sort of paperwork, making plans for friendship meetings, or answering letters to ponies across Equestria.

But when they reached the room, they found it to be empty. If Twilight wasn’t in her study, there was only one place left to check: the library.

They started to walk towards it, but they were stopped by a door opening behind them and the sound of hooves and claws walking through it.

“I told you, Twilight,” Spike was saying as they walked out of the room, “just start at the beginning of this story arc and go from there.”

“But what about everything that happened before that story arc?” Twilight asked. “How is it any good if that stuff isn’t important?”

“It’s not that it’s not important, it’s just…” Spike shook his head. “Just trust me, okay?”

“Comic books?” Sunset asked as they walked up.

“Yeah,” Twilight admitted sheepishly. In an effort to be nice to her brother after his recent breakup, Twilight finally agreed to read some of Spike’s comics, although she still clearly felt silly for it. The only problem now, besides Twilight’s view on comics being for kids, was that they couldn’t agree on where to have her start.

“He’s right you know,” Sunset said as she walked over to her wife and gave her a kiss. “What did you decide on, Power Ponies or Flashfire?”

“Power Ponies,” Twilight said. “I think having a little understanding of the characters already might be good.”

Flashfire was Sunset’s favorite superhero comic, so she was a little disappointed, but she saw Twilight’s point. “I’m sure you’ll like it, just listen to the expert over here and start wherever he tells you to.”

“Fine,” Twilight conceded as Spike pumped his fist victoriously.

“So uhm, we were thinking,” Fluttershy began, then looked towards Sunset.

“How about we go to Everton for the day?” Sunset asked. “All four of us could go, just to get away from everything.”

Spike grinned immediately. “Can we?”

“Well, it has been a while,” Twilight said. “Sure, I don’t see why not. It would be nice to spend some time with our Everton friends.”

“Race you there!” Spike said, running off before anyone had a chance to respond.

“We still have to write to Applejack!” Sunset called after him, stopping him in his tracks.

“Oh yeah…” he muttered, causing the three mares to snicker.

Twilight used a wing to guide Spike back towards his bedroom. “I’ll put this comic away while Sunset writes to Applejack, then we’ll come get you.”

“Alright. But if Applejack doesn’t answer, you’re still gonna read the comic, right?”

Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes. “Yes, Spike.”

Sunset chuckled and walked off towards the bedroom, her wives following behind her. “You know,” Sunset said as they walked into the bedroom, “as nice as a day off will be, I don’t know if it’ll make that much difference.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy pressed up against Sunset. “I think what Sunset’s getting at is there’s a lot of pressure on her lately. Everypony has their eyes on her, and it’s getting to her a little bit.”

“Yeah,” Sunset agreed with a sigh. “I just don’t know if one day is enough to decompress.”

Twilight placed the comic she was borrowing from Spike the table beside her side of the bed, then joined Fluttershy in comforting their wife. “Well… do you think it would help if you asked Applejack if you can stay a couple days?”

Sunset looked at Twilight in surprise. “I don’t want to leave you two though.”

“Of course, it’s up to you and what you think would help,” Twilight answered with a nuzzle. “And I won’t lie that we’d both miss you while you were gone. But spending a weekend with Applejack instead of with us wouldn’t be the end of the world, and if it doesn’t prove as relaxing as you’d like, you can always come home.”

“I guess it’s something to think about,” Sunset said as she stepped away from her wives to write a message in the journal. She stopped short of actually writing anything as a thought occurred to her. “Although… Well, would I have to choose? Maybe we could all stay for a little bit.”

“Oh.” Twilight looked towards her study. “Well, maybe not this weekend, but I could probably work it out. It’s been a long time since I stayed the night in the human world. But…”

“But you’re worried about me,” Fluttershy said. “I’d need to see our Applejack to ask her to look after the animals, but I don’t think I would mind. If, uhm, if AJ didn’t mind having us, of course.”

“We won’t know unless we ask her, but at least they have a spare room now,” Sunset pointed out. Since Big Mac had moved in with his new wife, his room had become a guest room. It probably didn’t have a bed big enough for three grown women, but Sunset could sleep on the couch.

“Well, I guess it’s settled,” Twilight said with a smile. “We’ll talk to AJ about it today.”

Sunset nodded, then wrote a message in the journal.






It was funny how plans worked sometimes. What had started as a weekend turned into a full week thanks to a serendipitous break in Twilight’s schedule, which got them to start wondering if there was more they could do than just spend a week lounging around Everton.

Not that they would’ve complained about that, to be sure, but it had only been six months since their honeymoon, which had given them a chance to relax and not do much of anything.

So they started talking about alternative ideas to what to do, and Sunset explained some of the things in the area that might appeal to them. Fluttershy didn’t care much what they did so long as they did it together, but Twilight wanted to see as much as she possibly could. 

Which left them with only two options. Compromise on what they did, or arrange a whole road trip. At first it seemed like the former was the only realistic option, but then things seemed to line up to work in their favor.

First, Twilight worked her scheduling magic to get them two weeks off, giving them more time to actually see things instead of just driving around. Then Applejack found them a good deal on a sidecar for Sunset’s old motorcycle, which gave them a means to travel. Rarity heard about what they were planning and offered to fund their trip in thanks for their hospitality whenever she visited Equestria, solving their problem of not having human currency.

All in all, things worked out. Not immediately – they had to make preparations for leaving home, as well as renew Sunset’s license and tune up the motorcycle. But that only gave her something to focus on, and within a month, the four of them were stepping through the portal.

Before Sunset could even get her bearings on the other side of the portal, she heard a chipper voice call out, “Sunset!” The next thing she knew, there were a pair of arms around her, all before she had even taken in her surroundings.

“Hey, Pinkie,” Sunset said as she hugged her back. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike had already come through, so they were all together.

“Whoa, where did you come from?” a teenager asked as he stared at the group of women.

“What? We’ve been here the whole time, silly,” Pinkie said while waving a hand dismissively.

Sunset shrugged. “Yeah, why?”

He shook his head and pulled off his glasses, cleaning them on his shirt. “Sorry, I don’t know what I thought I saw there…”

He went about his way, leaving the other giggling. “That was a close one,” Sunset said with a grin. Maybe she should be more worried about being caught by high schoolers, but she really wasn’t. She’d always managed to throw off suspicions before.

Pinkie took Sunset by the hand and pulled her along. “Come on, I’m parked over here!”

Sunset let herself be guided along by the other woman while Twilight put her arm around Fluttershy and walked side by side. Spike ran around, clearly having fun being back in a dog’s athletic body.

It was a little weird to see. The first time Sunset had seen Spike as a dog, he had been a little puppy, small enough for Twilight to hide him in her backpack. Now he was much too big for that; while standing on all fours, he came up to about halfway up her thigh, and if he jumped onto his hindlegs he could easily reach the middle of her back.

He ran ahead of them, then ran back before getting too far. Twilight and Fluttershy seemed to find it amusing. Ever the good boy, however, he stopped before going into the street and waited for the others.

They made sure there weren’t any cars coming, then they all walked across the street as a group. They walked over to a nearby parking lot and everyone climbed into Pinkie’s minivan. Pinkie drove, of course, and Sunset sat beside her in the passenger seat. Twilight and Fluttershy took the middle seat, leaving Spike to the back.

“This must be so exciting for you all!” Pinkie said once they were all inside the car. “I wish I could go with you, I’m so jealous.”

“We’ll do something soon,” Sunset promised. She tried to make time for Pinkie regularly, since she knew her friend struggled with everyone moving away. “You know how being a pony works pretty well now, maybe we can show you around Ponyville while the other Pinkie waits inside or something.”

Pinkie shifted into reverse and backed out of the parking space. “Aww, but then she’ll miss out on the fun. Couldn’t I just wear a clever disguise or something?”

“Pretty sure the bright pink fur and distinctive voice would give you away.”

Pinkie groaned, but at least she didn’t argue. They turned their attention to other things as they drove, mostly about Pinkie. “So how’s work going?”

“It’s super-duper!” Pinkie said. “I’m the most senior manager now, only the Cakes have more seniority than me.”

“That’s awesome!” Sunset said.

“Yeah, congratulations,” Twilight added, which Fluttershy and Spike mirrored. “I’m really glad to hear things are going so well for you.”

“Think you’ll ever branch out with your own business?” Sunset asked. “You’re definitely a good enough baker to make it.

“I’m sure I could, but I don’t want to,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “I make enough money as a manager, and I don’t have to worry about running a business myself. Besides, I have more free time now, which is nice since I have a boyfriend.”

“Oh shit!” Sunset lit up. “How could you not tell me that sooner? That’s fantastic!”

“Yup! We’ve only been together two months. Well, two months and nine days, but who’s counting?”

“So, tell us about him,” Sunset insisted.

“Well, he works at that coffee shop we all used to go to, you’ve probably even seen him there. His name’s Caramel Macchiato.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said. Sunset looked back to see her covering her mouth with her hand.

“What’s up, Fluttershy?” Spike asked.

“Oh, uhm, it’s not a big deal, just…”

“Do you know his pony counterpart or something?” Twilight guessed.

Fluttershy shook her head. “We don’t know him, but well, we know about him a little. He was, uhm, Amber’s coltfriend.”

“Really!?” Pinkie beamed. “We’re like twins!”

“Yup,” Spike said flatly. “Out of everyone in Equestria, Amber’s the one who’s like your twin.”

“Well, who else would it be?” Pinkie asked while looking in the rearview mirror. “Applejack? We might be cousins, but we’re not twins.”

“Anyway,” Sunset said with a roll of her eyes. “Tell us about Caramel. How’d you meet?”

“Well, I recognized him from the coffee shop when he came into Sugarcube Corner, then we just kind of kept running into each other at our jobs. I’d see him in the morning when I picked up coffee on the way to work, then he’d come see me to pick up a treat on his way home. Then he admitted he was really coming to see me, and asked me on a date!”

“Aww.” Sunset smiled. “And it’s been going good?”

“Yup! He’s a total sweetheart! He met my family and everything, but his family lives out of town so I haven’t met them yet.”

“I’m glad to hear it’s going well,” Sunset said. “You deserve someone who’s gonna treat you right.”

“And if he’s like the pony Caramel Macchiato, I know he’ll be a perfect gentlecolt,” Fluttershy said.

“Gentleman,” Spike corrected.

“Oh, right.” Fluttershy giggled. “Amber always said he was sweet, and that if she liked stallions, she would’ve stuck with him for sure.”

“I’d love to meet him sometime,” Sunset said. “Maybe he can come to a gathering at Sweet Apple Acres or something.”

“I think that’d be great! He gets along well with Applejack.”

“That’s good to hear,” Sunset said.

“Uhm, Twily?” Fluttershy prompted quietly.

“Huh? Oh, sorry, I was kind of zoning out there.”

Sunset looked back to see Twilight looking sheepish. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about how weird it is that this Pinkie is dating Caramel Macchiato, but our Pinkie isn’t. And then that got me thinking about how the Twilight and Fluttershy in this world aren’t together, and we don’t even know anything about the Sunset in this world.”

Sunset smirked. “That’s cause no one else could be this awesome, babe.”

“One of you is enough!” Spike shot back.

“Is that really that weird?” Fluttershy asked. “You’re always saying how we’re our own ponies. Er, people.”

Twilight nodded. “Well, yeah, we are. But Pinkie, your parents are Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And, er… we know both Fluttershy’s have the same parents.”

It was clear Twilight wasn’t even comfortable bringing Fluttershy’s parents up in front of her, but Fluttershy didn’t seem to mind. “So our parents are all the same then.”

“Exactly,” Twilight said. “So why did our parents settle into the same matches, but our generation is all different?”

“Hmm…” Pinkie said. “I guess because of Sunset, right?”

“Wait, what?” Sunset quirked an eyebrow. “You think I’m the reason everyone is dating other people?”

“Well, you are the original difference in the worlds. You came to this one.”

“That… actually might make sense.” Twilight put her hand to her chin. “If Sunset hadn’t come to this world, maybe the Twilight and Fluttershy here would have… no, wait, that’s not right. Sunset, if you hadn’t left Equestria, I might not have ever become Celestia’s student.”

“Oh, you still would be Celestia’s student,” Sunset said.

“You can’t know that though. And if I wasn’t Celestia’s student, I never would have gone to Ponyville and met Fluttershy.” You changed our world by leaving it, and you changed this world by coming here.”

“Uhm, Twily…” Fluttershy was frowning. “We came here to get away from stuff like this. We’re just supposed to be having a relaxing vacation.”

“Right, sorry…”

Sunset turned to look out the window. She had once seen a vision of what would happen if she hadn’t left Equestria, and some things had still happened. But she hadn’t seen far enough to know if Twilight and Fluttershy still got together, let alone any of their other friends.

It was possible, but if it was true, then what did it mean? What were the implications of something like this? Was she making changes for the better or the worse? And how far out did it ripple?

“It just makes my head hurt,” Spike said, bringing a smile to Sunset’s mouth. Maybe it was best to just be like Spike for this occasion.

Thankfully, they avoided any more weighty discussions on the way to Sweet Apple Acres, turning instead to their plans for the trip. As expected, Pinkie was surprised by what the last stop on the trip was, but she was ecstatic to hear about it.

That carried them the rest of the way to the farmhouse. Pinkie pulled in behind Applejack’s truck and they all got out. Applejack and Apple Bloom were both waiting out on the porch for them.

The Apple sisters walked over to meet them halfway. “Hey, Sunset,” Applejack said as they hugged.

“Hey, AJ.”

“Can I have your bike when you’re done?” Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “No, ya can’t have it. I said you could ask if you can use it some time… And where are your manners? Ya ain’t even said hi yet!”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Hi, Sunset. So can I use your motorcycle when y’all get back?”

Sunset snickered as Applejack shot her sister a dirty look. “Why not? I doubt I’ll be using it. But you gotta get a motorcycle license to drive it.”

“I will! Trail Blazer is gonna be so jealous!”

“I told her she needs to drive something more sensible,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “Only having a motorcycle gave y’all hell.”

“And I told her we still have her truck,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “So it’s not my only way of gettin’ around.”

“Right, well…” Sunset looked between the two of them and pointed over towards her wives. “I’m gonna be over here, you know, not getting sucked into that debate.”

“Aww, come on!” Apple Bloom ran up and put her hands around Sunset’s arm so she couldn’t leave. “AJ’ll listen to you, you gotta reason with her!”

“Look, AB, sometimes you gotta pick your battles.” Sunset shook her head and started walking, using her larger size to just drag Apple Bloom along behind her. “And this battle is one I’m not getting into.”

Pulling Apple Bloom wasn’t as easy as it once would’ve been, and truthfully, Apple Bloom could’ve easily overpowered Sunset. She wasn’t a younger teenager anymore, she was a young adult and had wound up being almost as tall as Sunset was. Then with all the farm work she did, there really was no comparing the two of them anymore.

But she let herself get dragged over to Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, who greeted her in turn. Pinkie in particular took how close they were as a reason to pull them closer for a group hug. “Just think! If AB gets her motorcycle permit, she’ll need someone to teach her. You’ll have more reason to come around then!”

“That’s a good point, Pinkie,” Sunset said with a nod. “With that in mind, I think it’s best if you don’t drive my motorcycle. The less I have to see of you the better.”

“Psh, what makes you think I want you to teach me?” Apple Bloom waved her off. “Scootaloo can drive a motorcycle, I’ll just have him show me.”

“Sounds like something Scoots would do,” Spike said. He didn’t sound sad, but Sunset wondered if hearing about Scootaloo would be hard for him, so Sunset decided to change the subject.

“So, AB, how are things going with Trail Blazer?”

Apple Bloom smiled. “We’re doing good. We started talking about getting our own place together.”

“Yeah, I could see that.” Sunset nodded. “How long have you been together? Three, four years now?”

“Gonna be five years in a few months.”

Sunset let out a whistle. “Damn, congrats.”

“I forget that you three are actually older than your Equestrian counterparts,” Twilight said. “The Apple Bloom from our world is only sixteen.”

“Oh, that makes more sense,” Fluttershy said. “I was surprised that you’d been dating someone since you were eleven…”

Apple Bloom laughed. “No, I’m twenty-one. I even go out to the bar with AJ after work and everything now.”

“So what are you doing these days?” Twilight asked.

Sunset cocked her head to the side. “Uh, I thought we already established that – Trail Blazer!”

It was hard to say who was more embarrassed by Sunset’s comment, Applejack or Twilight. Applejack turned and physically took a step away from them, while Twilight’s head fell into her hands. It was not, however, Apple Bloom, who just laughed.

“I meant are you going to school or anything?” Twilight clarified.

“Nah, I work here on the farm,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “It was pretty much predetermined that this is what I’d do with my life, I don’t know why I even had to finish high school…”

“Because school is important,” Applejack snapped. This had been an ongoing debate between the sisters for years. Sunset had stayed out of that one as well.

“Well, anyway,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “Things are going pretty well for us here. How about you all? How’s life in Equestria?”

Sunset folded her arms. “Ugh, don’t remind me…”

“That bad?”

“Yeah, we’re kind of trying to get away from things in Equestria for a bit,” Spike said. “It’s been pretty stressful for the past six months.”

“And speaking of which,” Applejack said, “y’all probably wanna get that bike out now. Me and Sunset can grab it while y’all catch up some.”

Sunset followed Applejack out towards the barn. Once they were away from the others, Applejack asked, “So I’m guessing nopony’s lightened up about the whole marriage thing, huh?”

Although she was mildly proud of Applejack for remembering to say ‘nopony’, Sunset just shook her head and sighed. “Nope. And my parents’ divorce isn’t helping things. Now ponies are saying it’s only a matter of time until I follow in their hoofsteps…”

“No one who sees y’all together could think that, though,” Applejack assured her friend. “It’s clear as day how much y’all love each other. Everyone will see that someday.”

Sunset smiled a little. “Thanks, AJ.”

Neither of the two women were ones for sentimentality, so they didn’t press the topic. Instead, they opened the door to the barn, where Sunset’s bike awaited them.

They’d already gotten the sidecar attached, and Sunset had visited earlier in the week to take it on a test drive. She just made one more quick check to make sure they had all of their helmets and jackets packed into the sidecar, then Sunset climbed onto it.

Since she was only driving it out of the barn, she didn’t bother with putting on any of her safety gear. She started the engine and pulled forward slowly until she was out of the barn, then she sped up just a little as she drove towards the others, leaving Applejack to close up behind them.

“So what are the odds of you teaching me how to drive this thing?” Spike asked.

Sunset chuckled. “Considering you have no license, aren’t supposed to be sapient in this world, and oh yeah, have paws? I’d say somewhere around zero.”

Spike grumbled, so Fluttershy scratched him behind the ears. Soon he seemed to forget he was upset as one of his hind legs started thumping. “Ah yeah, I forgot how good that feels.”

The others laughed as Applejack walked up to them. “So y’all ready to head out then?”

Sunset glanced at the others. “In a minute. I, uh… just want to do something quick while we’re here.”

It was clear that everyone knew what she had in mind. Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other, then at Sunset as Fluttershy asked, “Uhm, do you want some company?”

Sunset hesitated for a moment. Usually she went on her own, but… “Sure. I’d like that.”

She dismounted the bike and started walking with her wives, the others staying behind. As she walked, Fluttershy took hold of one of her hands, then Twilight took the other.

She didn’t normally go with her wives to see Sky. It felt wrong somehow. It was a part of her life from before they were her lovers, a part she had shared with someone very different from them. But they had never been anything less than supportive of Sunset’s desire to maintain some sort of connection with the daughter she’d never known.

The grave was getting hard to see these days, but Sunset would always know where it was. The flowers grew thick around it, and the small headstone was getting overgrown with grass and flowers.

But that was exactly how Sunset liked it. Sometimes she wondered what Fluttershy must think of their daughter’s grave, but she suspected her once girlfriend would appreciate the fact that their daughter’s grave was a source of beauty and life.

Sunset kneeled in front of it, feeling just a little awkward for her wives being there. Normally if anyone was around she would just quietly observe the grave, but if there was anyone she could talk to her daughter around, it should be the mares she loved with all her heart.

“Hey, Sky,” Sunset said gently. “It’s me again, back already. I hope you don’t mind, I brought Twilight and Fluttershy with me this time.”

Fluttershy kneeled down beside Sunset, with Twilight following after. Fluttershy held Sunset’s hand, while Twilight wrapped an arm around her back.

“Not a whole lot to say that I didn’t say last time I was here, but well, I guess I wanted to at least check-in before we left. You know how important this trip is already.”

The more Sunset talked, the stupider she felt. She thought that it would be okay with her wives, but she just felt way more like she was talking to herself than she usually did.

So instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It wasn’t like she had much to say anyway. She remained kneeling with her eyes closed and imagined Sky was sitting in the moment with them. That was something she could share with her wives, and having them by her side left her feeling more at peace than she had felt in weeks, maybe months.

When she opened her eyes again, she felt more confident about their plans. As if Sky had given them her blessing, her encouragement.

Because this was more than a road trip. This was a way for Sunset to make peace with the world she left behind, and all that she left behind in it. By the end of it, she wanted to go back to Equestria feeling ready to commit to building her future there in a way she had never felt before.

And now, here in this spot with her wives beside her, she felt like that was something she could genuinely do. She turned to Fluttershy, then to Twilight, smiling at each of them as they smiled back.

“Ready?” she asked.

“If you are,” Twilight said, so Sunset nodded. They all stood up, then they walked back to the bike hand in hand.

When they got there, they found Spike sitting on it. He was perched right in front of the handlebar as if he was going to drive it himself. Sunset chuckled as she walked up to him. “Uh, you do know you can’t stay here, right?”

“Why not?” he asked innocently. “There’s still plenty of room for you to sit.”

Sunset folded her arms. “Yeah, and what are you going to hold onto?”

“Uhh…”

“Come on, Spike,” Fluttershy said. “Let’s get you in your little helmet and goggles.”

Spike groaned, but Pinkie squealed. “Aww, you’re going to be so cute!”

In preparation for the trip, they had picked up safety gear for everyone, and Spike was no exception. Sunset hadn’t even known they made helmets for dogs, but she was glad to find they did. And even more so, she knew Twilight would be glad for it.

Since he couldn’t very well get it on himself, Sunset and Fluttershy got him dressed up. Pinkie mostly tried to cheer him up by telling him how stylish he looked, which might’ve worked if Sunset hadn’t been there.

“Yeah, all the bitches are gonna be after you in that getup,” Sunset said. “The literal bitches, of course.”

“Yeah, I got it the first time…” Spike grumbled.

“You really are adorable in it,” Fluttershy said.

Once they had him in his helmet and goggles, Sunset helped Fluttershy with her jacket and helmet as well. She could do it herself, but she was never too sure with her hands when she visited the human world.

Only after they were set up did Sunset notice that Twilight wasn’t beside them. She looked over to see that she had been led away by the Apples to say hello to Granny Smith. They must have seen her coming and intercepted her since she still didn’t know that Spike could talk.

Sunset grabbed Twilight’s helmet and jacket and walked over to them. “Hi, Granny Smith.”

No one seemed to notice her, as Granny Smith continued to address Twilight. “I may be getting old, but I know you were shorter the last time I saw you…”

Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Er, of course not! How could I be shorter, it’s not like people go through growth spurts after being adults.” She shot Sunset a look that asked ‘Do people go through growth spurts after being adults?’

“I think it’s her shoes,” Sunset said. It was actually true that she had changed height, though. Or rather, it had been a shorter Twilight that Granny Smith had seen last. Becoming an alicorn had apparently affected Twilight in this world as well, as she was a bit taller than her human counterpart.

But that was two things they weren’t in a hurry to explain, so Sunset changed the subject. “Here’s your jacket and helmet, Twi.”

“And I thought you wore glasses now.”

“G-Glasses? I, uh…”

Sunset shrugged and filled in effortlessly. “They didn’t fit with her helmet well, so she’s got them packed away safely in the sidecar.”

Twilight smiled appreciatively as she pulled on her jacket. Granny Smith looked at them critically and Sunset thought she was going to grill them some more, but she instead just shrugged and gave Sunset a hug. Sunset bent down so Granny Smith could kiss her cheek. “You girls take care out there.”

“Of course, Granny. It’s been a while, but I’m pretty good on that motorcycle.”

Twilight put on her helmet and flashed a thumbs up, so Sunset turned to wave to the Apples. Instead, she was met with hugs from Applejack and Apple Bloom in turn.

“Oh, here. Almost forgot.” Applejack pulled out a cheap flip phone and handed it to Sunset. “Picked that up for y’all, just in case something happens and y’all are stranded somewhere. It’s prepaid and there’s only five hundred minutes on it, so don’t go using it too much if ya don’t need it.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea.” Sunset put the phone in her pocket. “Thanks, AJ.”

Applejack nodded and walked them over to the bike. “It’s got my phone number in it already, as well as Pinkie’s, Flash’s, and Tw–” she stopped and glanced towards Granny Smith, but Sunset understood; it had Twilight’s but she couldn’t say that.

“Gotcha. Thanks a ton, AJ.”

Applejack clapped Sunset on the back as Twilight handed her a jacket of her own to put on. She slipped it on, then her helmet and gloves. Fluttershy and Spike were already sitting in the sidecar, which looked a little crowded with both of them, but it would have to do.

“We ready?” Sunset asked. She got muffled agreements from both of the others and a woof from Spike. Pinkie ran up before they could drive off and gave Sunset and Twilight each one last hug.

Once Pinkie let them go, Sunset mounted the bike. Twilight climbed on behind her and wrapped her arms around Sunset’s torso, then Sunset started the engine. She revved it once, then turned to wave to the Apples and Pinkie.

They all smiled and waved them off, cheering and reminding her to be safe. She turned her eyes forward and instinctively moved to kick up the kickstand, then remembered she didn’t use it with the sidecar. She chuckled to herself, then pulled out into the road.

It was a freeing feeling to be on the road again. Even if it was slightly clunkier with the sidecar attached, Sunset realized now how much she had missed her motorcycle. Magic was great, but feeling the wind as she sped past the building was a magic all its own.

She couldn’t wait to get on the highway.

But she would have to, at least a little. This trip was about more than relaxing, it was about confronting her past and moving on. And for Sunset, that meant stopping by one place that part of her felt she had never truly left.

They drove through the familiar streets, and it weirded Sunset out exactly how familiar they were. Of course, there had been a time where she made this exact drive a couple times a week, but that had been so long ago…

But turn by turn, everything felt so familiar. The houses grew shabbier, the businesses grew farther apart, the city grew poorer.

And before long, she was face to face with a little red house. It was another familiar sight, and there was no way she wasn’t going to feel some complicated emotions when she saw it again, but she was not prepared for what she saw.

Sunset had expected maybe it’d look different. Hell, maybe it wouldn’t even be a little ‘red’ house anymore, it had been years and someone may have painted it over. But it looked like no one had stepped foot in it since Applejack had gone back to get Sunset’s things, and not in any kind of good way.

There were broken windows, graffiti, peeling paint, and what looked like a sunken-in spot of the roof. Sunset pulled her helmet off and frowned at the sight. “What the fuck happened here…?”

Twilight did likewise. “This is where you lived?”

“Yeah, but it…” Sunset sighed. “It didn’t use to look this bad.”

“You don’t think anyone’s living in it, do you?” Spike asked.

Sunset shook her head. She’d been prepared to feel bad when she saw her old house, but not because it had become a dump. “No. I don’t think anyone’s lived here for a long time. Not since I left it.”

“Do, uhm…” Fluttershy was barely audible until she took her helmet off as well. “Do you want to take a closer look.”

Sunset’s mouth worked between a few different kinds of frowns. “No. No, I think it’d be better if I didn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Sunset,” Twilight said. “I know you were hoping for some closure here.”

Sunset shook her head and put her helmet back on. “It’s just a house. Let’s get out of here.”

Twilight and Fluttershy both put their helmets back on, and Sunset drove off back down the road. The first stop on their road trip had always been planned to be a difficult one, and they had a lot of fun stuff planned. Sunset just had to focus on what was to come.

With no goodbyes to say here, the four of them drove off, leaving Everton behind them.
> 2 – Adventure on the High Seas
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Two
Adventure on the High Seas
⠀




⠀
There was a balance to strike. Everyone wanted to make the most of their road trip through the human world, but they were doing it on someone else’s budget. Ever the generous one, Rarity didn’t give them a limit on what they could spend, but no one wanted to take advantage of her good nature.

Hotel rooms, food, and fuel for the motorcycle – they called it gas, but it was apparently a liquid, leaving Fluttershy confused – were all necessary expenses for their trip. Beyond that, they tried to save money where they could. They passed on the idea of visiting a human theme park, much to Spike’s dismay, and focused instead on finding things that would give them the most out of their money.

And sometimes, that meant not spending money at all. There didn’t seem to be a lot they could do that was completely free, but when they found something, they took advantage of it.

It was the third day of their trip, and it was one of their cheap days. It wasn’t completely free, but a trip to the beach cost them very little. It would have been free, except Sunset insisted they had to wear special clothes called bathing suits. Fluttershy didn’t really understand why it mattered when half the population had bodies like them anyway, but Sunset was adamant about it.

At least Sunset already had a couple bathing suits, and they fit Twilight well enough that she was able to just borrow one of them. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, was smaller than either of her wives, so they needed to buy one for her.

“So, uhm, how do I look?” Fluttershy asked as she modeled her new outfit.

“You look great, Shy!” Twilight asked.

“I’m almost surprised you went with a two-piece,” Sunset said with a smirk. “But I guess it actually makes sense.”

Fluttershy just nodded. Sunset had explained that some human mares preferred to wear one-piece bathing suits to be more modest. She seemed to think Fluttershy would prefer something like that, but since she didn’t see what the big deal was about keeping her body hidden away, Fluttershy had wound up picking a two-piece bathing suit since it was somewhat closer to how she went around in Equestria.

They left the beach store and walked down to the beach itself. They were all wearing their bathing suits already, although Sunset and Twilight also had their regular clothes on over them, and they had weird shoes called flip flops that Fluttershy found she quite preferred to her normal shoes. Spike, of course, got to wear nothing.

The store was right down the street from the beach, so it was a short walk. It was a nice day for a beach trip, too. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze blowing. It was a little hot, but that just meant they had all the more reason to cool down in the water.

As soon as they reached the sand of the beach, Spike ran off ahead of them. “Wait until we’re there to go in the water!” Twilight called after him. If he heard her, he didn’t indicate.

“He’s a dog, swimming is gonna come easy for him,” Sunset said. “I’m more worried about you two.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy frowned. “Is it much harder to swim as a human?”

“Well, no.” Sunset smiled comfortingly. “It’s just kind of different, you know?”

Twilight nodded. “I expected we’d have to relearn how to swim in these bodies. It should be fun, though.”

Fluttershy looked down at the sand as they walked through it. She wasn’t sure she saw the appeal, now that she thought about it. What if something went wrong? She wasn’t as used to this body as Twilight and Sunset were to theirs, and she didn’t want something bad to happen when she was so far from home.

But she didn’t want to ruin anyone’s good time, so she just walked down towards the water with the others. It was a picturesque scene, with bright blue skies, not too many clouds, the ocean ebbing and flowing gently, and even a tiny island off in the distance.

Sunset laid out a beach blanket for them, and Fluttershy kicked off her flip flops. Sunset and Twilight pulled off their clothes, stripping down to their bathing suits. It struck Fluttershy as silly that it was okay to do that here, but they weren’t supposed to ever show their underwear, despite the fact that it covered the same amount of skin.

She didn’t bother to question it, though; Fluttershy had long since accepted that humans had weird and arbitrary views on showing off their bodies, which she would never understand.

Once she was down to her bathing suit, Sunset left the rest of her clothes on the towel and ran right into the water, jumping in as soon as she got waist deep. Twilight and Fluttershy hung back a bit, just going in enough to get their feet wet.

“Come on in, the water’s nice!” Sunset said.

Twilight grinned, but Fluttershy looked off down the beach. “Uhm, maybe we could just walk along the shore for a little bit?”

Twilight turned to her and cocked her head to the side. “You normally love the water, Shy.”

“What are you two talking about over there?” Sunset called. “Come on! I can show you how to swim!”

“You’re not nervous, are you, Shy?” Twilight asked.

“Uhm, maybe a little…” Fluttershy smiled at Twilight. “I think I just want to stay along the shore for now.”

“Well, okay, I’ll go with –”

Twilight was cut off by Spike running right past her and barrelling into the water, splashing both mares.

“That’s more like it,” Sunset said. She leaped at Spike and they both tumbled into the water, coming up a second later laughing.

“You two have fun,” Twilight called to them while waving. “Fluttershy and I are just going to go on a little walk.”

“Everything okay?” Sunset asked.

“We’re fine,” Fluttershy insisted. “I just wanted to walk around with my feet in the water for a little bit.”

“Alright, but if you two aren’t back soon, I’m gonna come and get you,” Sunset said with a grin.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Spike said, then pounced on Sunset. They went back down into the water laughing.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy and smiled. Rather than say anything, she reached her hand out, which Fluttershy took hold of with a smile of her own. They walked along the beach hand in hand, with the water washing over their feet.

“The water feels nice,” Twilight said as they walked.

“It does,” Fluttershy agreed. “I’ll go in soon, I just…”

“It’s okay.” Twilight grinned sheepishly. “I’m a little nervous about swimming too.”

“Really?”

“Well, sure.” Twilight shrugged. “I’m… not the most graceful person at the best of times. I’ll probably look pretty silly.”

Of course, that was the worst thing they reasonably had to worry about – looking a little silly. Thankfully, Fluttershy didn’t mind that in the slightest. “At least we’ll look silly together.”

“Yeah.” Twilight glanced back at the others. “Looks like Spike’s enjoying himself. Sunset was right, he knows just what to do in that body.”

“Hopefully it’ll be that easy for us.”

“Hopefully.” Twilight squeezed her hand. “And you know, it looked like Sunset could still stand where she was. We can always go in a little deeper but not go in too deep.”

“That’s true. But this is nice for now.”

The two of them walked with each other for a few minutes, keeping a slow and leisurely pace. It wasn’t like they had anywhere to get to, Fluttershy just needed the time to get past her anxiety about swimming.

It worked well, proving to be just what she needed to work up to feeling like she could go deeper in the water. She was thinking of suggesting they go back when she noticed something.

“Hmm, what’s this?” She bent down to pick up something that looked a bit like a shell, but couldn’t possibly be one. It was circular with no opening, and hard to the touch.

“Oh, it’s a sand bit,” Twilight said. “I’ve never actually seen one, but I’ve read about them.”

“A sand bit?” It did look sort of like a bit, come to think of it.

“Yeah. Here, turn it over.”

Fluttershy did, and Twilight pointed out a hole in the middle of it. “It’s actually an animal, and that’s its mouth right there.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy’s mouth fell open. “Is it alive?”

“No, this one isn’t. When they’re alive, the underside is covered with bristles that they use to catch and eat plankton. I don’t think they turn white until after they die, also.”

As much as Fluttershy loved animals, she didn’t know quite as much about ocean life as she did about land animals. She knew about sharks and dolphins and some kinds of fish, of course, but she rarely had the chance to visit the ocean in Equestria. Sure, she had been to the beach while visiting Manehattan, but for the most part, her experience with water was the lake right in Ponyville.

“Poor thing, I wonder if it died because it washed too close to the shore.”

“Probably. I read you can find them in the sand on beaches sometimes, which is how they got their name.”

Fluttershy nodded. Maybe it was a little morbid to show off what was essentially an animal’s corpse, but she wanted to show Spike and Sunset what she found. “Let’s head back.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They turned back, Fluttershy keeping her sand bit in one hand and putting the other around Twilight’s waist. Twilight did likewise, and they watched Sunset and Spike as they walked.

Sunset pointed out a bunch of seagulls to Spike, and he swam out of the water and bolted after them, making them all scatter. At least he wasn’t really a dog, so they didn’t need to worry about him hurting the poor birds.

Spike saw them and forgot about the seagulls, instead running up to the two mares. He didn’t say anything until he was right by them, following their instructions to limit his talking in places where others might hear him, but he did speak when he reached them. “Are you two finally gonna get in the water?”

“I think so,” Twilight said.

Spike grinned for a moment, then shook violently, spraying them with water. Twilight shielded herself as best she could “Aah, Spike!”

Fluttershy only giggled. “Okay okay, we get it, Spike. We’ll go in the water.”

Spike snickered, then ran back into the water. He swam towards Sunset from where they were, though Fluttershy and Twilight opted to wait until they were a little closer before getting into the water.

Sunset was floating on her back, but she heard Spike’s splashing and looked up. When she saw Twilight and Fluttershy had almost reached her, she called out to them. “Finally decided to come in, huh?”

“I think we’re ready now,” Twilight called back. “But come take a look at what Fluttershy found.”

Sunset and Spike swam to the two girls, with Sunset quickly getting to where she could stand and wading over instead.

Fluttershy held up her find. “It’s a sand bit.”

“A sand bit?” Sunset asked. She smiled as she got closer. “Oh, we call them sand dollars here.”

“Sand dollars?” Fluttershy looked to Twilight.

“Dollars are the unit of currency used here. Come to think of it, it would be pretty silly for humans to call it a sand bit.”

“What is it?” Spike asked, so Fluttershy bent down to show him.

“It’s actually an animal, but this one isn’t alive anymore.”

Spike reared back. “And you’re just holding it!?”

Sunset laughed. “It’s kind of like a shell. It’s the exoskeleton without any of the gross parts of a body being left behind. People keep them as souvenirs.”

“Really? Can we keep this one?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not. Why don’t you go put it on the towel?”

Fluttershy nodded, then walked over to the towel and placed the sand bit – or dollar, whatever it was – down next to her flip flops.

Fluttershy smiled on her way back to the others. “I, uhm, I think I’m ready to go in the water now.”

Sunset gestured for them to follow her and waded back into the water. Fluttershy and Twilight followed suit, with Spike gleefully running after them. He had to start swimming much sooner than any of the mares did, but he seemed to have no problems with that.

“So swimming isn’t too hard,” Sunset said, then she explained the basics of how to swim in their new bodies. They weren’t very far into the water and could stand if they needed to, but it was deep enough that they could practice swimming around.

Very quickly, Fluttershy found she had been worried over nothing. Swimming was a little different, sure, but it came to her easily enough. And once it did, Fluttershy was gleefully swimming around.

She had always liked the water. It was relaxing to float or swim around, and it seemed that held true for humans as well as ponies. She let the others play their little games, splashing each other and roughhousing, while she simply swam around peacefully.

It was even kind of fun working her muscles in new ways. She found she could swim like a pony if she wanted to, though it was more effective to swim other ways. Twilight seemed to be intent on learning the best ways to swim as a human, but Fluttershy just kept drifting along contently.

When she’d swam enough, she lay on her back and floated in the water. It was relaxing, and she listened to the sound of the ocean with her ears under the water. She liked the way it sounded, sort of echoey with noises dulled. She closed her eyes and just floated for some time.

This was a good trip. It was important to Sunset, that was the main thing. But there was something appealing to all of them about being able to be out and about and not have anyone recognize them. They could go out to eat without having someone clamour about serving royalty in their restaurant. They could walk around hand in hand with hardly anyone batting an eyelash.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and smiled. This was the most perfect vacation she could imagine.

Even with her ears submerged, Fluttershy heard splashing. She knew it had to be Spike, so she righted herself before he could reach her. Immediately she saw why he was coming for her.

Fluttershy had drifted. She was still drifting. While she’d been peacefully floating on her back, she must’ve gotten caught in a current, and she’d gotten really far. “Spike!”

“Hold on, I’m coming!” Spike called out for her.

She could still make out Twilight and Sunset, but only barely. She was so far from the shore, and she couldn’t touch the bottom. She tried swimming towards Spike and the others, but the current was too strong.

Spike got closer, at least, although that meant he was just as stuck in the current as she was. Still, he swam into it, closing the gap with Fluttershy quickly.

“Sunset said to swim to that island!” Spike panted in between strokes. 

Fluttershy turned around and realized that they were right next to the tiny island she had seen from the beach, except it wasn’t as tiny now that they were right up close to it. Fluttershy swam towards it, which proved to be much easier than swimming against the current.

Even once she could stand, Fluttershy couldn’t shake the feeling of doom that had taken hold of her. How were they going to get her back now? How could she be so stupid? All she had to do was stick with the others, or even just watch where she was going. Now she was stranded, and even worse, she’d gotten Spike stranded with her…

Spike reached the shore first, although by the time he did, Fluttershy wading up rather than swimming. He smiled up at her. “I’m glad I caught up to you!”

“I’m not…” Fluttershy kneeled down to hug Spike. “Now we’re both stuck here.”

 “Aww, that’s okay. Sunset and Twilight are going to get help.”

“They are?” Fluttershy felt silly as soon as she said it. Of course they were going to get help, they weren’t just going to leave them stranded there.

“Yeah, Sunset sent me after you to tell you to swim to the island. They’re going to get help then they’ll come to find us here.”

Fluttershy finally smiled a little and stood up. All they had to do was sit tight.

Just the two of them. Alone on this island.

Fluttershy crossed her arms and, for the first time, wished she had more clothes to hide in.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked. “You know they’ll come through.”

“I know.” Fluttershy looked out across the water. She could just barely make out Twilight and Sunset reaching the shore. “It’s just a little nerve-wracking to be all alone out here.”

“You’re not alone, though, you have me.”

Fluttershy smiled. She had Spike, and even more importantly, she had to be strong for him. “You’re right. Thank you for coming after me.”

“Of course!” Spike paused to shake vigorously, spraying Fluttershy with water once again. “I wasn’t just going to leave you.”

Fluttershy took a seat in the sand and held her legs close to her. At times like this she hated being a human. Being in this body made her feel even more alone, like she was even a stranger to herself.

“You okay?” Spike asked.

This was dumb. Sunset and Twilight were coming to get them, and Fluttershy’s job right now was to be strong for Spike. “Of course I am, I just –” Fluttershy’s words caught in her throat, and she grabbed hold of Spike again. “I just wish I was a pony again…”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Spike smiled at her. “I have an idea. Let’s play a game while we wait for the others.”

“A game?”

“Yeah! Like an O&O game, but in real life.”

Fluttershy was intrigued. “How do we play?”

“Well…”






“Captains log, day twenty-six. We’ve reached th’ island, and th’ booty be here, I can feel it in me bones. It’s been a long journey, but it’s high time fer us t’ claim the booty we seek.”

Captain Bones’ habit of dictating his captain logs out loud was an odd one, but it helped his crew feel included. Granted, his crew consisted of exactly one mare, but Pinkmane did feel included. “I think you may be right, Captain. Uhm, Arr.”

“Onwards, first mate Pinkmane! Adventure ho!”

“Yay!”

“What say the map?” Captain Bones asked.

Pinkmane pulled out their map and unrolled it. “The map says to head due west, Captain sir.”

“Arr, then off we go!” Captain Bones started walking, so Pinkmane followed. “If only we had a noble hound wit’ us t’ track this here loot down…”

“Aye, Captain. But the sea is no place for a dog. Arr.”

“Right ya are, lass.” The Captain stopped to consider the way ahead of them. “Looks like it be through this here brush. ‘Tis like to be filled with all manner of nasty booby traps.”

“Uhm, maybe we could go around?” Pinkmane suggested

But Captain Bones just shook his head. “A pirate’s life ain’t an easy one, matey. In we go.”

Although Pinkmane wasn’t convinced it was wise, she bravely followed her captain into the hazardous path. As they walked, Pinkmane fell.

“Arr, ya okay, matey?”

She looked back and saw it just in the nick of time. She hadn’t tripped on nothing, there was a tripwire where she stepped. “Look out!” Pinkmane lunged forward and pulled Captain Bones out of the way just as a cage fell from the treetops, nearly capturing the outlaws.

“Arr, this here be the work of bounty hunters, t’ be sure.”

“Bounty hunters?” Pinkmane asked. “You think they’re after us, Captain?”

“I’d bet my one good eye on it!” Captain Bones said. “Keep yer wits about ye, this tain’t the last we be seein’ of them.”

Pinkmane nodded. “Aye aye, Captain.”

They proceeded through the brush more carefully than before, stopping when they reached the edge. They crawled closer to it to scout the area.

“Spyglass,” Captain Bones said, so Pinkmane handed the tool over to him. He stretched it out and surveyed the land. “We be in trouble.”

“What is it, Captain?”

Instead of answering, Captain Bones handed over the spyglass and pointed. “There.”

Pinkmane looked where he indicated, and saw what he meant. The trees were full of innocuous looking birds, but she knew better. “Those are scatter birds,” she informed the captain. “They’ll pick your bones clean then scatter them along the shoreline.”

“Yer the animal expert,” Captain Bones said. “What course of action do ye recommend?”

Pinkmane looked for an opening, but she didn’t see one. She pointed in the opposite direction. “The only thing to do is go the other way. We’ll go around them, then we can double back and return to hunting for the treasure.”

“Aye, wise call. Let’s go.”

They stepped out as quietly as they could, creeping along the shoreline.

But it was no good; within moments, they heard the call of the scatter bird, alerting others of nearby prey.

“Run for it!” Captain Bones yelled.

At the sound of his voice, two things happened. One was that the scatter birds took to the skies. The other was that two pirates began running for their lives.

They didn’t look back as they ran. They couldn’t. A single moment’s hesitation could mean certain doom for both of them. It was all they could do to keep moving, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and move forward.

They only stopped when Pinkmane could run no more; she didn’t know where the captain got his boundless energy, but she didn’t have his stamina. Thankfully, a look back revealed they had thrown their pursuers.

And a look forward showed that they had a new problem. “Are those tracks?” Pinkmane asked.

“Oh no…” Captain Bones walked over to examine them. “The bounty hunters. They be gettin’ closer. They may be around any corner, jus’ waitin’ fer us to slip up.”

“What do we do, Captain? Should we turn back?”

“Nay. I not be leavn’ without that treasure.”

Pinkmane frowned. “You’re mad. Would you risk your very life for this treasure?”

“Aye, I would! So it may be that I am mad, but my madness has steered us right time and again! Surely ye not be thinkin’ o’ mutiny now?”

Pinkmane sighed. “No, never! I’ll follow you to the ends of the world, Captain.”

“Arr, then we be headin’ this way.”

The two pirates began their trek once more. “Do we return to the brush, Captain?”

“Nay, it be this way.” The captain walked along the shoreline. “I can feel it…”

Pinkmane had never doubted her captain, but she doubted him now. He hadn’t even consulted the map, and he was clearly becoming too obsessed with finding this treasure. Pinkmane had seen what happened when good pirates became consumed by greed.

There was only one thing she could do right now though, and that was follow her captain loyally. 

Pinkmane didn’t know how long they walked. A part of her was just glad that they didn’t meet with any bounty hunters or scatter birds, but she wondered if Captain Bones even knew where they were. She was about to ask when he stopped her.

“In there…” He pointed into a cave.

“But… but it looks so dark.”

“The perfect place to hide treasure. Let’s go.”

“But, but… the map doesn’t say –”

“I know this be the place!” Captan Bones turned to her with a wild look in his eyes. “It’s here… I can feel it…”

Pinkmane gulped and followed her captain. To the ends of the world, she had promised…

“Do you hear that?” Pinkmane asked. 

“I hear the sound of treasure ahead!”

“No, listen.” Pinkmane grabbed hold of Captain Bones and they both listened. Someone was docking a boat on the beach. “The bounty hunters…”

“Not now! We’re so close!”

“Captain, wait!”

But he was gone, running ahead on a wild chase for treasure that might not even exist. Pinkmane ran after him, but she tripped.

The next thing she knew, someone was behind her, pulling her up. “There you are!”

Pinkmane turned to find herself face to face with one of the bounty hunters, whom she promptly broke character to hug because Fluttershy was really very happy to see Sunset. “I’m so sorry, I…”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Sunset smiled at her. “You’re not hurt, are you? You look kind of scratched up.”

“I fell in some bushes when we were… never mind, I’m fine.”

“O… kay. So where’s Spike?”

“Hew’re ah ahm!” Spike said through a mouthful of something. “And ah fouwn eh tweasuh!”

Fluttershy turned around to see Spike had a piece of driftwood in his mouth. The water had eroded it into a really interesting shape.

“You really found it!” Fluttershy said excitedly.

“Uh, found what?” Sunset asked.

Fluttershy just giggled and kneeled down to whisper in Spike’s ear. “These foolish bounty hunters think we’re just castaways. They have no idea who we really are.”

Spike chuckled and winked.

“Uh, right well, get rid of that thing and let’s go. Twilight’s worried sick for you.”

“Wha? Ah’m no –” Fluttershy took the driftwood from Spike. “I’m not getting rid of it! That’s our treasure!”

Sunset quirked an eyebrow. “That’s a hunk of wood.”

Fluttershy giggled and walked over to her wife, kissing her on the cheek. “It’s another souvenir.”

“We’re hauling around a piece of wood?” Sunset deadpanned. “We’re on a motorcycle, you know…”

“Spike and I will keep it in the sidecar with us. Right, Spike?”

“Yeah!”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine. Let’s just go before we give Twilight an aneurysm.”

Fluttershy smiled as she followed Sunset, who led them to the beach where there was a rowboat waiting, and Twilight waiting with it.

“Fluttershy! Spike! Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine,” Fluttershy said. “Where’d the boat come from?”

“I rented it,” Sunset said.

“Oh…” Fluttershy felt guilty; that meant they’d spent more of Rarity’s money.

“We got a good deal on it, though,” Twilight said. “And we have it for an hour, so we can row around a little bit.”

Fluttershy nodded and climbed in, Spike jumping in after her. “Look what Spike found.”

Twilight smiled and took the driftwood to look at it better. “Oh hey, this is really cool!”

“Don’t encourage them…” Sunset muttered as she pushed the boat off the beach. Once it was floating, she climbed in it.

“Where to?” Twilight asked.

“Adventure ho!” Spike said from the front of the boat, causing Fluttershy to giggle.

“What’s gotten into you two?” Sunset asked.

Fluttershy just winked at Spike as Sunset and Twilight started rowing, and Pinkmane and Captain Bones were on the high seas once again.






“What a day,” Sunset said as they finally made it into their hotel room. It was a simple room with a single bed and a couch that Spike could sleep on. The bed was a little too small for three full-grown human mares, but they would make do.

“I’m ready for a shower,” Twilight said. She was already pulling off her clothes. “My skin still feels all salty.”

“Yeah, same here,” Sunset said. “Wanna rinse off together?”

“Sure,” Twilight said.

“Uh oh. I know what that means…” Spike said with a frown.

“Uh, what?” Twilight cast him a confused look. Fluttershy wasn’t sure if she genuinely didn’t know what Spike was implying would happen or if her confusion was that Spike was comfortable enough about sex to make the implication. “It means we’re both going to get rinsed off.”

“How about we go for a walk,” Fluttershy said to Spike, figuring if they were going to do anything, this would give them the chance to do it without worrying about being too quiet.

“Sounds good to me,” Spike said.

Lacking the human sense of modesty, Twilight was already naked by the time she went into the bathroom. Sunset wasn’t comfortable going without clothes around Spike even if he couldn’t care less, so she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door before stripping.

Fluttershy grabbed one of the hotel keys and held the door open for Spike. She stepped outside, and picked a direction and started walking.

“Thanks for today,” Fluttershy said. “I can’t believe how upset I got when we first reached that island… I feel pretty silly now.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Spike looked up at her and smiled. “After all, what are little brothers for, right?”

Fluttershy smiled. Twilight’s family had welcomed her as one of them immediately, but none of them felt as much like family as Spike did. “Yeah.”

They walked for a little while, Fluttershy looking up at the stars. There were fewer than there were in Equestria, making the sky feel more than a little barren. She always thought it was a good thing Luna couldn’t see the sky like this, it would probably make her sad.

“Hey, Shy?”

“Yeah?”

Spike looked away. “You used to have a thing for Rarity, right?”

Fluttershy hadn’t expected that question and wasn’t sure where Spike was going with it. She had always thought Spike didn’t know about that. “I did once, yes.”

“For a long time?”

“For many years.”

“When does it… I don’t know, go away?”

In an instant, Fluttershy understood. This wasn’t about Rarity. She bent down to stroke Spike along his head. “Do you want to know a secret?”

“Sure.”

“I still have a thing for Rarity.”

“Oh.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. “I’m not in love with her. I… I did used to be. I tried to tell myself, you know, I didn’t know what love was. I loved Twilight, I wasn’t supposed to love anyone else.”

“But then Sunset came along.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Realizing it’s okay to love more than one pony made me realize what I felt for Rarity back then, it was real, it was just different from how I felt about Twilight.”

“But… you said you don’t love her anymore.”

Fluttershy laughed a little. “Oh, I still love her. Not the same way, not exactly. But she’s very special to me. All my friends are special to me, but Rarity… she’s a little different. Now I think… those feelings, they don’t just go away. When you love someone, when you really love them, you don’t just stop. It can change a little bit, but you’ll always love them.”

“I… I don’t think I ever loved Rarity,” Spike said. “I thought I did, but then…”

“But then you loved Scootaloo,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah. And I know it’s okay to love more than one pony, but I realized the things I thought I loved Rarity for, those were all in my head. I mean, she’s great! But… I don’t know, I’m not making sense.”

“You were in love with the idea of her,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, I think that was it. And maybe I don’t really know enough about love to know if I really loved Scoots, but… those feelings were real.”

“Oh, Spike… it does get easier.”

“I know. It’s a little easier all the time, but now we’re here and I just keep wondering, you know, what’s he up to?”

Fluttershy nodded. She didn’t know if it would be the right thing to say, but she was pretty sure what Spike felt was really love. Maybe it was young love, and it was certainly not the deepest love he’d feel in his life, but like he said, those feelings were real.

“You’re still sure you can’t be with him?” Fluttershy asked, knowing the answer.

“No, I knew that the day he came back in that suit. And even if I could, I know I’d really want him to be a mare, and he deserves someone who wants him exactly the way he is.”

“I think that’s really mature of you.” It always surprised Fluttershy how mature Spike had grown these days. He almost seemed to have skipped over being a teenager and shot straight to being an adult sometimes.

“That’s me, always the mature one…”

Fluttershy kneeled down and ruffled Spike’s fur. “Spike, you are a teenager. Go out and do dumb stuff sometimes. Find a girl you like and ask her out, don’t worry what she’ll say because you know there are always other girls.”

“Yeah, that’s easier said than done.”

“I know. Maybe Sunset would be better at this sort of thing, you know I never dated anyone until I met Twilight, but…”

“I know. And I want to, but… I’m a dragon. Nopony wants to date me.”

“Scootaloo did,” Fluttershy reminded him. “He saw someone really amazing, and so will other ponies. And in the meantime, you know you’ll always have us. We all love you very much.”

“I know, and I love you too.” Spike put his paws on Fluttershy’s shoulders, and she hugged him back. “Thanks, Shy.”

“Of course, Spike.” She smiled as they pulled apart. “What are big sisters for?”

Spike laughed. “Well if Twilight’s any indication, they’re for making me do all sorts of chores and stuff.”

Fluttershy ruffled his fur and rolled her eyes. “And for loving you to pieces.”

“Yeah,” Spike said with a smile. “I guess they’re for that too.”
> 3 – Heavy Lies the Crown
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Three
Heavy Lies the Crown
⠀




⠀
The day was not off to a good start. This trip was supposed to be a relaxing break from how hectic their lives had become in Equestria, and to an extent, it was. Things were certainly simpler, although Twilight was learning that was not always a good thing.

Oh sure, they had a lot of fun, but that wasn’t exactly the same thing. Every day brought new reasons to be glad to make the trip, but Twilight was getting increasingly tired. The fact that it was almost impossible to sleep on beds made for a maximum of two people certainly had something to do with that. Once in a while they stayed at a hotel with two beds and Twilight shared one with Spike, which was the only time she didn’t wake up sore from cramped sleeping arrangements.

Today was not one of those days. Today was also not a ‘get a nice meal to start things off’ kind of day. Most of them weren’t. The novelty of eating cheap to save Rarity’s budget wore off extremely quickly when it meant yet another complimentary bagel with cream cheese from the hotel breakfast. It didn’t help that humans offered little in the way of cheap vegetarian options for their food.

It wasn’t that Twilight didn’t understand the need to travel cheap, but it did grow tiresome after a while. Usually right in the mornings, when she was waking up sore and had to compromise on her breakfast, then the day would get better.

Well, sort of. She frowned at the motorcycle as they left the hotel, knowing what was going to come next all too well. “How far of a drive is it today?” she asked, dreading the answer.

“Not too bad,” Sunset said. “Maybe three hours or so.”

“Great…” Three hours felt a lot longer to Twilight than to the others, she thought. Sunset was distracted with driving, and Fluttershy and Spike got to sit in the sidecar. Only Twilight was holding on for dear life the entire time.

“Everything okay, Twi?” Spike asked.

Twilight glanced around to make sure no one heard him. He was bad about making sure the coast was clear before talking. Thankfully, there was no one, so Twilight just sighed and forced a smile. “I’m fine, just didn’t sleep so well last night.”

“You said that yesterday,” Sunset pointed out. “Everything okay? You’re not sick or anything, are you?”

Fluttershy placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “I know what it is. I have a hard time sleeping as a human too sometimes.”

“Really? Sleeping as a dog is easy!” Spike grinned and chased his tail to show how much energy he had.

“At least one of us is happy…” Twilight grumbled.

“Cheer up, Twi, maybe we can find something you’ll like today.” Sunset grinned. “We could finally hit up a history museum or something.”

Twilight had wanted to go to a human history museum for years, and it didn’t make sense to complain when her family were all going through the same things as she was. “That’d be nice.”

So Twilight put on her helmet and got onto the motorcycle behind Sunset. At least none of the others could see her sigh as they drove off.

It wasn’t like Twilight hated the motorcycle. She’d always loved riding around on it with Sunset in the past, but that was back when they rode it for maybe half an hour at a time. For it to be their only method of travelling was another thing entirely.

But humans didn’t have the speed nor the stamina of ponies, so running places was always out of the question. Besides, America was bigger than Equestria, and not as well connected with trains. They needed to drive around themselves, and the motorcycle was what they had to do that with.

So it made sense. Twilight understood why things had to be the way they were, she just… wished they didn’t have to be that way. She longed for their big bed back home, real food to start her day with, methods of travel that were easier on her body.

Twilight longed for the comforts that came with being in Equestria, and, much as she hated to admit it, that came with being a princess.

Instead, she got the roar of a motorcycle engine, dulled a bit through the protective foam of her helmet. She got the wind cutting through her jacket combining with the summer heat that made her both cold and hot at the same time. She got the subtle bouncing on her backside from the motorcycle running, which would leave her sore all day.

There was no point in looking forward, where she would just see Sunset’s back, and looking to the right just showed Spike living it up, which didn’t help Twilight’s mood. So instead, she kept her head turned to the left and watched as the cityscape turned into countryside. It was a nice view, even Twilight had to admit that. But it was rapidly losing some of its novelty given the rest of their travel conditions.

And she had three hours to look forward to it until they got to the next city they were stopping at. That history museum better be bucking worth it.






There was no history museum. Twilight should’ve known better than to expect something like that on a day like this. They made it to town without issue – unless one were to count Twilight’s growing discomfort and moodiness as an issue – but once they were there and stopped somewhere for lunch, they learned that there were no history museums in town.

“We could still go to an art museum,” Sunset suggested. “It’s not like you’re familiar with the art of this world.”

“You say that like she’s familiar with the art back home,” Spike said with a snicker.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s a nice thought, but it’s not really the same. Maybe if there’s an art history museum…?”

Sunset scrolled around on the cheap phone Applejack gave her. Apparently it had limited use of the internet, but the sandwich shop they were sitting outside of allowed it to use the internet freely. Twilight was curious about the nature of how that worked, but Sunset didn’t fully know herself and Twilight wasn’t in the mood to puzzle it out.

So instead, Twilight just sighed and plopped her head onto the table. She’d already taken off her hot biker jacket, so she was using that as a sort of pillow.

“Uhm, is everything okay, Twily?” Fluttershy asked.

“Just lovely,” Twilight deadpanned.

“What’s got you all moody?” Spike asked.

“Is it the museum thing?” Sunset asked. “I promise we’ll go to one by the end of the trip. I’ll look into it at the hotel tonight, we can plan a stop around it instead of just hoping to find one once we’re in town.”

“It’s not that,” Twilight said, then corrected herself. “It’s not just that. I’m just tired.”

“You did say you haven’t been sleeping well,” Spike pointed out. “And I think we all know how cranky Twilight gets when she’s tired.”

“I’m not cranky!” Twilight snapped.

Spike laughed, but none of the others seemed amused. “Is that it then?” Sunset asked. “You’re just not sleeping so good?”

“That’s… part of it, yeah. It’s just, I don’t know, how are you two so cheerful? Every day, we wake up cramped together on beds that are too small for us, then we have some pitiful breakfast, then we drive around for hours on – no offense – but on something that’s not meant for long trips like this.”

Sunset smiled softly. “Careful, Twi, your Rarity’s showing.”

“That’s uncalled for,” Twilight said sharply, not sure if she was offended for her own sake or for Rarity’s.

“Twi, I get it, you’re not used to this,” Sunset said. “But we’re all doing the best with what we’ve got.”

“It’s kind of nice to be extra cuddly,” Fluttershy said. “And we can make the rooms colder, so it’s not even that hot.”

“Says the one who isn’t afraid of falling off all the time,” Twilight grumbled.

“Fluttershy has a point though,” Sunset said. “There are a lot of things you’re taking for granted here. We have climate control in our rooms every night, hot water, a bigger food budget than I used to have when I lived alone. Things really aren’t that bad.”

Fluttershy nodded apprehensively. “I guess, I, uhm… Well, it was worse for me when I first moved to Ponyville, before I got my job from the mayor. My cottage was run down and I didn’t ever know where I was going to get food… Plus I was all alone back then.”

The reminder that her problems were insignificant didn’t do anything to help Twilight’s mood. “I get it, I shouldn’t complain about my petty problems.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” Fluttershy said. “I just meant that I think that’s why this isn’t so bad for me.”

Twilight stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

She walked off without waiting for the others to respond, going back inside the building and making her way to the bathroom in the back. She went through the doors, but didn’t bother going to a stall. Instead, she just walked up to the sink and turned it on.

She sighed as she waited for the water to heat up, wondering if the others were right. She’d always had basic amenities taken care of for her. No, she had a lot more than that. Fluttershy and Sunset had both been poor, Fluttershy had practically been homeless when she stumbled across an abandoned cottage.

And on the other hoof, Twilight was born to well off parents. No, they were rich, she might as well own up to herself how privileged she was. Her parents weren’t as wealthy as Sunset’s, but they made way more money than they’d ever need and their kids had benefited from that. 

And then as if that wasn’t enough, she went on to become the Solar Princess’s personal student. Then when she was an adult and her friends were working to earn a living, Twilight was given a house to live in and was tasked to learn about friendship – a position that mainly meant she was being paid to spend time with her friends.

Twilight had never known financial hardships, and this was just the tiniest slice of what it was like to make do with what they had.

She splashed the water into her face and steeled herself to take the day more gracefully. True, she wasn’t in private train carts and gorging herself at the best restaurants, but she could still make do and have a good time.

By the time Twilight left the bathroom, she was feeling a little better and much more able to tackle the day. She joined the others back outside, and she was met with a smile from Fluttershy.

It was Sunset that spoke, however. “We think we found something you might like more than an art museum. What about a wax figure museum? Instead of pictures of historical figures, you could actually see them.”

Twilight smiled. “That sounds like it could be a lot of fun! And, uhm, I’m sorry for being such a downer before.”

“It’s okay,” Spike said. “That’s just what we come to expect from you!”

“Spike,” Sunset said sharply, then to Twilight she said, “It’s okay, Twi. We just hope we can make the rest of the day good for you.”

“As long as I’m with you three, I’m sure it’ll be a great day.”

They had finished eating already, so Sunset threw out their trash and then it was back to the motorcycle. Twilight’s first inclination was to go back to being upset, but she reminded herself to take the day with more poise. This was just a short drive through town, then they were going to stop somewhere fun and educational!

Having a better outlook definitely helped. The trip seemed to go by quickly, and Twilight was feeling pretty good about the day as they pulled up to the building. It wasn’t much to look at, but Twilight knew better than to rely on looks.

“Have any of you ever been to a wax museum?” Sunset asked as they dismounted.

“Spike and I haven’t,” Twilight said as she got Spike’s service dog jacket on him. That had been a loan from the other Twilight, who had actually registered her Spike as a service dog to get him into places dogs usually weren’t allowed to go.

“Me either,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, I haven’t either.” Sunset got the bike locked up, stowing the helmets in the sidecar and draping a cheap blanket over them. It didn’t offer much for security, but it was all they could do. The important things – Rarity’s credit card and the phone Applejack had given them – Sunset kept in her pockets. The odds of the locked-up motorcycle being stolen were small, and the few loose possessions they were forced to keep unlocked in it could be replaced if they needed to be.

Once everything was secured, the group walked into the building. There didn’t seem to be many other people around, so they were able to go right up to the ticket counter. As usual, Sunset took point. “Three tickets, please.”

The guy behind the counter eyed Spike, who was following Twilight’s instructions of being right by her side taking up very little space. That was what the other Twilight said was expected of him – he was allowed in places dogs couldn’t go, but he still had to play the part of a service dog.

The ticket seller didn’t comment on him though, just tapped on his console and told Sunset the total. He did take the chance as she was paying to remind them, “No touching the wax figures,” with a pointed look at Spike.

“You got it,” Sunset said as she took the ticket stubs he offered. She put all three into her pocket along with the credit card.

The group walked further into the building, coming to a sort of lobby that had split paths and several figures which provided photo opportunities.

“Hound Dog,” Fluttershy read off a plaque near one of them, a guy with a pompadour hairstyle and extravagant white suit. “I think Rarity would like this guy.”

“He’s a musician,” Sunset explained since the plaque didn’t have a lot of information. “Kinda a huge deal, so I guess that’s why they have him right up front.”

“It’s too bad they don’t say much about him,” Twilight said, looking at the plaque before examining the figure closer.

“Yeah, well, like I said, he’s a huge deal. They probably assume everyone knows who he is, you know?”

“I guess that makes sense,” Twilight said, though she couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.

One of the paths was labelled ‘movie monsters’ and another ‘stars, past and present’. Neither sounded like much of a history lesson, but they chose to go down the path with the stars.

“Oh hey, it’s The Junebugs!” Sunset grinned as she approached a display of four men with matching mop-top haircuts. “Oh, and that’s them over there too!”

“They’re here twice?” Twilight asked, perplexed at how differently styled the second iteration of them was. In the first one they all had matching black suits and hair cuts, in the second they were dressed in colorful clothes and had grown out their hair.

“Well, yeah. But I mean, come on, it’s The Junebugs!”

“Uhm, who?” Fluttershy asked.

“What? Equestria seriously doesn’t have their own version of The Junebugs? Man, these guys did so much for modern music, you have no idea.”

“No, I really don’t,” Twilight said, a little annoyed. “I wish they’d give us some information about them. There’s just this weird dotted thingy on the plaque.”

“Oh, that’s a QR code.” Sunset pulled out the phone. “You scan them and it tells you about the band. Here, let’s check out what they have to say.”

Sunset held the phone up to the code, and a video started playing. She shut it off before it got very far in. “Shit, that’d eat up our data… and there’s no Wi-Fi here either…”

“So we can’t even learn about the band?” Twilight asked.

“Not without buying extra data for the phone. And I dunno how much we would go through if we were checking everything.”

Twilight sighed. “It’s fine. Even if I would like to understand why they have this same band twice. Just… why?”

Sunset smirked and gestured towards another band. “No, The Why are over there.”

“The who?” Spike asked.

Sunset snickered. “No, The Why. Sorry, it’s a dumb joke, but that’s what that band over there is called.”

“Human bands have weird names,” Fluttershy said.

“Because ‘The Ponytones’ is such a normal name?” Sunset asked.

“Human and pony bands have weird names,” Spike said impatiently. “Now come on, let’s check out some of their other figures.”

The group made their way farther into the exhibit, but most of what they found was the same. Actors, musicians, athletes, television personalities… it was all a bunch of pop culture figures from a culture that Twilight knew almost nothing about.

And worse, there was no good way to learn more about them. Sunset did her best to fill them in on the figures she knew – usually musicians; her knowledge on the other subjects was sorely lacking – but it wasn’t the same since she only had a general knowledge of the subjects.

The only historical figures they came across were actually quite interesting. The Founding Fathers of America, whom Twilight would love to learn more about. Unfortunately, Sunset didn’t seem to know much about them either.

“I always hated history,” she said with a shrug. “I do know that they didn’t look like that though. That guy there, Shot Taker, they made a musical about him, and these are modelled after the actors.”

“Oh.” Twilight couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. The most interesting figures in the whole exhibit, and they were still modelled after actors.

“Yeah, Apple Bloom is obsessed with it. She said we should try to see it while we’re here, but apparently tickets are pretty much impossible to get.”

“Too bad,” Fluttershy said, turning towards Twilight. “A historical musical sounds like something Twilight would like.”

“It could be fun,” Twilight said. At the very least, she would probably enjoy it more than this museum.

“Hey, what’s that over there?” Spike asked, and the others walked off. Not Twilight though, not right away. She stared at the founding fathers, reading their names and making a mental note to look more into them if she ever got the chance.

She couldn’t even blame humans for the way they seemed to prize pop culture over history. Most ponies thought the Hearth’s Warming play was historical fact, and Twilight could never quite manage to convince ponies how important figures like Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever really were.

So what, if Twilight wanted to maintain her legacy, she’d have to make a musical of her life?

‘Where did that thought come from?’ Twilight frowned. Since when did she care about her legacy of all things? Twilight wasn’t that full of herself… Right?

Twilight shook her head. What was going on with her? First she spent the day being miserable because it wasn’t living up to her pampered lifestyle, now she was worrying about what ponies would think of her when she was gone. She finally got away from being a princess, and this was how she acted?

Feeling slightly disgusted with herself, Twilight walked after the others. What would they think of her if they knew she had let being a princess go to her head so much? Twilight wasn’t better than anypony, and she needed to remember that.

“What are we looking at?” Twilight asked as she walked up to a figure of a woman covered in tattoos wearing ripped clothes.

“Eternal Cowgirl,” Sunset said. “She’s the frontwoman of a punk band I like.”

“That’s some name,” Twilight said, smirking. It didn’t seem to fit her at all.

“Yeah, I know. They’re kind of a folk-punk thing though, so I guess it fits. Sort of.”

Twilight took Sunset’s hand in her own. “Thank you for trying to fill us in on what everything is.”

“Of course.” Sunset smiled sheepishly. “I just wish I knew more. I mean, I know all the words to like every one of Eternal Cowgirl’s songs, but that doesn’t mean I could tell you much about her.”

“That’s okay. And, uhm, I’m not sure she’d be my kind of music, anyway.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Yeah, I don’t think punk really suits Twilight all that – is that Rainbow Dash?”

“What? No way.” Sunset turned toward where Fluttershy was looking, and sure enough, there was a figure of Rainbow Dash. She was also dressed in punk attire and was frozen in place playing her guitar.

“I didn’t realize they were popular enough to get here,” Twilight said.

Sunset walked over to the figure. “No fucking way.”

Twilight walked over with Sunset. It was bizarre to see Rainbow immortalized in a wax figure, but she was more interested in figuring out what Sunset was feeling. She and Rainbow hadn’t exactly gotten along when she moved to Equestria, and they hadn’t spoken once since then.

“Sunset?” Fluttershy prompted.

Sunset shook her head. “Sorry, it’s just… like wow, you know? I didn’t even know they were big enough for something like this.”

“It is tucked away pretty far in the back,” Spike pointed out. “I guess she barely made it in?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sunset said. Just when Twilight was afraid she was upset to have found a reminder of her past, Sunset cracked a smile. “Geez, wonder what she would think of me running into her wax figure like this?”

“Glad you’re taking it well,” Twilight said.

Sunset chuckled. “They didn’t get her quite right, though. I can’t remember the last time she looked this happy with me around.”

Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged glances.

“I’m happy,” Sunset said, sounding like she was very much trying to be happy but also like she wasn’t really quite there. “This is good for her. It’s good that she’s this successful. You don’t think it would hurt to watch one of those QR videos, do you?”

“Uh, you’re kind of the one who knows about that stuff…” Spike said.

“And do you really think that’s a good idea?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset was already pulling out the phone. “I just gotta know what they say about her.” She scanned the code and a video started playing. They all gathered around to watch.

Rainbow Dash – the real Rainbow Dash – was standing beside the wax figure of herself. Although she didn’t have a guitar with her, she struck the same pose. “I dunno, I think I still look way cooler in person.”

Fluttershy giggled. Not the Fluttershy who was standing with them watching the video, but it was unmistakably the sound of Fluttershy giggling. And then if there were any doubt, it disappeared as she spoke. “Rainbow, we’re recording.”

“Oh, right. This is Rainbow Dash, standing beside Rainbow Dash, and as you can see I’m way cooler than this hunk of wax.”

“Why don’t you tell them who you are?” Fluttershy said.

“Right. I’m the lead singer and one of the guitarists of the band Bitchette, a little band out of Everton that’s now rocking the nation!”

The video cut to a performance of what Twilight assumed had to be Bitchette performing a song on stage. It was very loud and not really something Twilight could see the appeal of, but the audience seemed to be going crazy. She could make out Rainbow in the front and what looked almost like Gilda playing beside her. There were two other band members, but Twilight didn’t know them.

The video cut to the band backstage, and it was obvious that it was Gilda that Twilight had seen. Fluttershy’s voice talked over the video. “It was late in 2012 when Rainbow Dash formed the band Bitchette with original bassist Lightning Dust. Adding drummer Lemon Zest and guitarist Windfall, the band began playing the local scene and writing their first songs over the next year. In 2014, Bitchette released their self-titled debut album, which contained the hit song ‘Your Impatience’, which carried the band into the radio mainstream.”

The video returned to Rainbow Dash, this time sitting in a hotel room. “It’s been a crazy ride. The truth is that while I act cool and confident all the time, I’m really blown away by the love and support our fans show us. Every day, it just feels like this can’t be real, like this is just a dream and I’m going to wake up from it, you know?”

Next it showed the band on a tour bus, where they were playing a videogame together. “Lightning Dust would later leave the band in 2016 after recording their second studio album to form The Washouts. Her replacement Gilda, a childhood friend of both Rainbow and Windfall, joined as the new bassist and fourth member of Bitchette. This is the lineup that would go on to record their third album, ‘Fight or Flight’, in stores now.”

The scene returned to Rainbow with her wax figure. “I guess if there’s one thing to say it’s ‘thank you’. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of all of our awesome fans, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here. We’re always on the road, so if you can make it out to a show, come say hi! We do this for you all! Keep on rocking, bitches!”

The video cut out, and everyone looked to Sunset. She kept staring at the phone, even though there was nothing on it anymore.

“Sunset?” Twilight asked.

Sunset shook her head and looked up, smiling. “Wow, it’s great how successful they’ve been.”

Fluttershy put her arm around Sunset. “You don’t have to pretend to be okay.”

Sunset bowed her head and sighed. “You know what’s dumb? It still weirds me out that she sounds just like you.”

Twilight leaned against her wife. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sunset shook her head. “No. You were right, watching that video was a mistake.”

“Well…” Spike shifted in place. “That’s what this trip is about, right? Meeting your past and moving on from it.”

Sunset scratched his ears. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“What do you say we get out of here?” Twilight suggested. If they could watch more of those videos, the museum might actually be pretty fun. As it was, though, only Sunset really had any idea whom they were looking at, and she was certainly no longer having fun here.

“I’m fine with that if you all are,” Sunset said. There were murmurs of agreement, then the group left the way they came.

On the way out, Twilight and Fluttershy each held one of Sunset’s hands. It was easy to see that she still had complicated feelings towards her ex-girlfriend, and even towards Rainbow. Although she wouldn’t say anything, possibly afraid to make her wives uncomfortable, that was sort of just it. She wasn’t saying anything, just staring at the floor as she walked in silence.

For her part, Twilight wasn’t really sure what to do or say. She had finally reached a point where she didn’t have a problem with the fact that Sunset clearly had lingering feelings for her ex, but that didn’t make the way to comfort her any clearer. She just hoped surrounding her wife with love would help.

At least Fluttershy wasn’t in the video, even if she did the voiceover. True, she would just look like the Fluttershy holding Sunset’s other hand, but if even her voice left Sunset feeling like this, there was no telling what seeing her would do. All Twilight could do was hope that once this road trip was over Sunset would get the closure that she needed.

Although it did strike Twilight as a little strange that the focus of the video and the display had been so heavily on Rainbow. It brought Twilight’s mind back to where it had been earlier. When they were all gone, would Twilight go down in history – to whatever extent that she went down in history – by herself, or would her friends and wives be remembered along with her?

Between that and Sunset’s situation, Twilight found herself with a lot to think about. Although she hadn’t intended to be, she wound up walking along quietly as well. At least Spike and Fluttershy tried to keep things going.

“So what are we doing next?” Spike asked.

“I think we’ll probably check into the hotel.” Fluttershy cast a look to her wives, although it went unanswered.

“Can we go to the pool?”

“We’ll see. They probably don’t want dogs in there.”

“Yeah…”

“Sorry, Spike.”

Twilight and Sunset continued to stay out of the conversation, and their silence lasted the entire way to the motorcycle.

Once they were there, however, Sunset surprised them by turning to the others and smiling. “Since today hasn’t been all that great, how about we try and turn it around?”

“How?” Fluttershy asked.

“We could go out for ice cream,” Sunset suggested. “I saw an ice cream shop on the way here, and it’s impossible to go wrong there, right?”

“I think that sounds good,” Fluttershy said.

“Uh, I can still eat ice cream, right?” Spike asked.

“Vanilla, yes,” Fluttershy answered. “Or strawberry. No chocolate, though.”

“I can make do with that.”

“Twilight?” Sunset asked.

Twilight blinked, realizing that she was getting too distracted by her thoughts. She smiled. “Ice cream sounds good to me.”

With their next destination settled, they each put on their helmets and jackets, Twilight helping Spike with his, then climbed onto the motorcycle.

Although Twilight wasn’t looking forward to the bumpy ride, she did enjoy getting to hold onto Sunset as they drove. She smiled to herself as she remembered to take more pleasure in the little things.

Keeping that in mind, the trip to the ice cream parlor was much better than the trip to the museum had been. Twilight even opted to watch Spike instead of the scenery, finding amusement in how much he clearly loved driving around. It was also nice to see Fluttershy keep her arm around him as they drove. Seeing their little family get on so well made her wonder why she had even had a problem with this trip in the first place.

The ice cream parlor was nearby, like Sunset had said it would be. They reached it within ten minutes, but the short drive had given Twilight just what she needed to clear her head. And judging from the way Sunset was keeping her head up as they walked into the shop, it seemed to have helped her as well.

They got in line and placed their orders. Since he couldn’t order for himself, Twilight got Spike a caramel sundae. Perhaps not the best thing for a dog or a dragon to eat, but it wouldn’t be harmful to him at least. Twilight herself got a banana split, while Fluttershy got strawberry and Sunset settled on a chocolate milkshake.

There was outdoor seating, so they chose that. It meant that Spike could talk if there was no one around, and they were less likely to get complaints about letting a dog eat ice cream. The day was a bit warm for eating outside, but that just meant they were the only ones out there. Sunset and Spike sat on one side of the table, Twilight and Fluttershy on the other.

“This looks great,” Spike said, licking his ice cream right from the bowl. It wasn’t the cleanest way to eat, but he couldn’t very well work a spoon with paws.

“It sure does,” Fluttershy said, eating hers much more neatly.

“This was a good idea, Sunset,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, it was,” Spike agreed through a mouthful of ice cream.

Sunset nodded and took a sip of her milkshake. “I think we could all use something good about today.”

“As long as I’m with you three, it’s bound to be a good day for me,” Fluttershy said. Twilight mussed her hair.

“So I was thinking,” Twilight said.

“Uh oh,” Spike said with a smirk. “This is gonna get us in trouble.”

Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes. “I was thinking… We should do more to emphasize the importance of the entire Friendship Council.”

“I think everyone knows about us, Twily,” Fluttershy said.

“Yes, but I was thinking… I don’t want to go down in history alone. If there’s any chance I’m going to be remembered when I’m gone, I’m going to want to be remembered with all of you or not at all.”

“Aww.” Sunset smiled. “On the other hand, I’ll go down by myself. Let ponies just try and forget the name Sunset Shimmer!”

Twilight smiled as well. “I’m serious though. I’d rather be remembered as part of the Friendship Council than as a princess.”

“Maybe you can open up a museum, like the one we went to today?” Spike suggested. “Just… maybe not with wax figures. Those were kind of cool, but also kind of creepy…”

Twilight chuckled. “I don’t know if I want to have our own museum, but I’d like to think of something.”

“And we will,” Sunset said. “We’ll all put our heads together when we get home. Maybe write a book or something. But for now, that sounds a little too much like work.”

“Fair enough.” Twilight took a bite of banana and didn’t press the topic anymore. There would be time enough for that later.

As expected, the rest of the ice cream trip was nothing but nice conversation over their frozen desserts. The summer heat melted their ice cream a little faster than they would’ve liked, but that wasn’t a big deal.

They finished up, threw out the disposable bowls and spoons, then leisurely made their way back to the motorcycle. They were just getting their helmets on when two men in uniforms approached them.

“Excuse me, mind if I have a word with you?” one of them asked.

Sunset’s eyes widened and she frowned. “What can I do for you, officer?”

Officer? So this was a police officer in this world. Twilight had never seen one, although she’d seen their cars out on the road.

“We’re investigating a fire that happened nearby last night. Don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, sir. We’re from out of town, just got in earlier.”

He looked at the motorcycle skeptically. “You’re travelling around on a motorcycle.”

“Yeah, on a road trip.”

“We’re from Everton,” Twilight said, hoping to pull some of his attention off Sunset. It wasn’t that Sunset couldn’t handle herself, but she didn’t like the way that the officer seemed exclusively focused on her.

He only cast Twilight a quick glance before returning his focus on Sunset. “Everton, huh? That’s out east of here, right?”

“Yes, sir.” Sunset shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we really don’t know anything that could help your investigation.

“Would you mind coming down to the station with us?” he asked. “I’d like to ask you some more questions.”

“Uh, sorry, but I kind of would mind. I’m the only one of my friends who can drive, and we need to go check into our hotel.”

The two police officers looked at each other, then the one who hadn’t spoken yet said, “Here’s the thing. We got video footage of a woman matching your appearance fleeing the scene of the crime. We know you were there.”

“What?” Sunset was starting to sound agitated. “No, that’s impossible, we weren’t in town until this morning. We drove three fucking hours to get here.”

“Why don’t you come down to the station and we can talk about it? We can show you the video and everything.”

“Are you detaining me?” Sunset asked.

“If we have to.”

Sunset’s jaw fell open. “This is bullshit. You have the wrong person!”

“No one’s saying you’re guilty, we just want to look into this further.”

“And what if I refuse?” Sunset asked defiantly.

“It would be best for you if you didn’t,” the second officer said.

Sunset looked at the others, then back to the officers. Eventually she sighed and pulled off her jacket. “I don’t have a choice. Looks like I’m going with them.”

“But… but you didn’t do anything!” Twilight said.

“Yeah, no shit. But what am I going to do? They’re taking me one way or another.”

“Sunset…” Fluttershy put her hand on Sunset’s shoulder.

Somehow, Sunset managed a smile. “It’ll be okay, Fluttershy.” She tossed her jacket and helmet onto the motorcycle, then turned back to the officers.

“You’re doing the right thing,” the first officer said.

“You’re gonna owe me a hell of an apology,” Sunset muttered.

All Twilight could do was watch as Sunset marched to the cop car and get into the backseat. She called after them, “Call Twilight, she lives around here.”

A dozen questions ran through Twilight’s mind, but she couldn’t voice any of them. Instead, she just watched as they took Sunset away.

Fluttershy fell into Twilight’s arms as soon as they were gone, already crying. “Twily, what… what’s going on?”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“What the buck…” Spike muttered, and Twilight didn’t even bother to chastise him on his language.

Instead, she picked up Sunset’s jacket. As she suspected, the phone was in the pocket. That had to be why Sunset left it behind, so they would have a way to reach out to the other Twilight for help.

“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight tossed the jacket back onto the motorcycle and opened the phone’s contacts. They couldn’t do much of anything, since they didn’t understand this world and its laws. But thankfully, they had friends to rely on.

“What else,” Twilight said as she hit the button to call the other Twilight. She pressed the phone to her ear. “We’re going to get her back.”
> 4 – Staying Grounded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Four
Staying Grounded
⠀




⠀
As usual, Fluttershy was useless at times like this. There were things she could do in their day to day lives, of course, but when something really big happened? It was always Sunset and Twilight that fixed things then.

Of course, Sunset had just gotten arrested, so it was all on Twilight to figure out what to do. All Fluttershy could do to help was kneel down with Spike and hold him to try and keep him calm while Twilight called the other Twilight on the phone.

Twilight hung up the phone and sighed, so Spike left Fluttershy’s side to rub up against Twilight’s leg. She didn’t react to him, so Fluttershy stood up and put her arms around her wife.

“Twilight’s on her way,” Twilight said, putting an arm around Fluttershy. “She’s not sure what she can do exactly, but she’s going to do what she can.”

Fluttershy nodded, holding Twilight closer. “It’ll be okay, right? We’ll get her back?”

“Of course we will,” Twilight said, putting the phone into her pocket. “She’s innocent. Once they realize they have the wrong person, they’ll have to let her go.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Come on. Let’s find somewhere to sit down and wait.”

Somewhere wound up being inside the ice cream parlor. Twilight had to ask for the address so she could tell the other Twilight where they were, then there was nothing to do but wait. It was painful, but there was nothing they could do to speed things up.

They found a seat in the corner and waited for help to arrive. Twilight and Fluttershy sat beside each other, while Spike curled up at their feet. Fluttershy pulled Twilight closer so that she was leaning on her, then stroked her hair while they waited.

“Do you want anything while we wait?” Twilight asked. “Sunset left the credit card too.”

“No, I think I’m going to be sick if I eat anything,” Fluttershy said. Spike huffed, which they took to be an agreement.

And that was all there was to it. There was nothing else to say, not without understanding what was going on better, so they waited in silence. After a while, Fluttershy asked if she knew how long Twilight would be, and she learned she lived an hour away from where they were.

It was a painful hour. The only thing that compared with how hard it was to wait around and do nothing was when Spike had been taken by Twilight’s parents after they learned about Sunset. At least then there had been a cold comfort in knowing he was with ponies who loved him, even if they were misguided in how they showed it. Sunset was all alone with people she didn’t know being accused of crimes she didn’t commit.

“If it was one of us who got arrested,” Twilight said suddenly, “Sunset would already be on the case to free us.”

“Sunset knows how things work around here,” Fluttershy said, as much to herself as to Twilight. “And we are on the case. It doesn’t feel like it because we’re just waiting for Twilight to get here, but waiting is just the first hill we have to climb.”

Twilight sighed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be so negative.”

“It’s okay. We’re all worried.”

Twilight shifted so she was facing away from Fluttershy, then leaned back so she was lying on the bench and on her wife. Fluttershy in turn wrapped her arms around Twilight, holding her protectively like she wished she could do to Sunset.

“I love you, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, almost to fill the air as much as to remind Twilight they were in this together.

“I love you too, Fluttershy.”

“And you too, Spike. I love you.” Fluttershy couldn’t reach him from where she was, but she knew he had to feel even worse being stuck on the floor. He responded by rubbing against Fluttershy’s leg.

Twilight could reach Spike, so she did, reaching down and stroking his head. “Love you, Spike.”

They resumed waiting in silence, but Fluttershy felt just a little better. Not good, not by any means. But she felt just the tiniest bit calmer.

The waiting was still torturous, however. They had nothing besides each other to take their minds off their situation, and none of them were feeling particularly talkative. And so, the hour stretched on for what felt like far more than an hour, sneaking extra seconds into each minute.

It did, indeed, take longer than an hour for Twilight to show up. Fluttershy could only hope that was because she was busy looking into how to free Sunset, but whatever the reason, it came as a huge relief when she showed up. She was with someone that Fluttershy didn’t recognize, another mare.

“Sorry I’m late,” Twilight said as she walked over to the others, who were getting to their feet. “I had to get Moon Dancer from work.”

“We’re just glad you came,” the pony Twilight – or Twi, as they referred to her when both Twilights were together – said with a smile.

“Neither of us know how to drive a motorcycle, though,” Twilight said. “Will it be okay here?”

“It’ll have to be,” Twi said. “Sunset locked it up, so it should be fine. Maybe we can just take all the loose stuff in your car?”

“Of course,” Twilight held the door open for them, and everyone walked outside. “This is Moon Dancer, by the way. My girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you, Moon Dancer,” Twi said.

Moon Dancer looked between the Twilights. “I don’t know what it says that seeing you two together barely even feels strange to me anymore.”

“I guess once you meet a talking dog, everything else becomes relative,” Twilight said.

“Speaking of Spike, does this one talk too?” Moon Dancer asked as the door closed behind them.

“I sure do!” Spike said, seemingly glad to be able to speak again.

Twi scratched his ears, then gathered things from the motorcycle. “I’m glad we’re all on the same page with Spike. Poor guy wasn’t able to talk while we were waiting for you.

“If he’s anything like our Spike, that’s gotta be a challenge for him,” Twilight said as she helped Twi load their stuff into the trunk of her car.

“It’s not that bad,” Spike said.

“Spike’s a very good boy,” Fluttershy said with a slight smile.

“Hmm…” Twilight studied Spike. “You’re normally a dragon in Equestria, right? I wonder if there’s a difference in your behavior since our Spike was always a dog.”

“Wait, he’s a dragon?” Moon Dancer asked.

Twi shifted in place. “Uhm, does she know about… you know, where we’re from?”

“I know about Equestria,” Moon Dancer said. “We study Equestrian magic together.”

“Which, in this world, mostly means Spike,” Twilight said quickly. “As far as we know, there hasn’t been a new source of Equestrian magic since the Friendship Games.”

“Uhm…” Fluttershy looked around at everyone. “Maybe we can talk about this on the way to get Sunset?”

Twilight facepalmed. “Right, sorry.”

Moon Dancer got into the driver’s seat and Twilight took the seat beside her, so Twi, Fluttershy, and Spike climbed into the back. Spike sat in the middle between the two human mares.

Moon Dancer started the car, but she didn’t pull out. Instead, she waited for Twilight to tap on her phone a few times, then a voice sounded in the car, “Turn left onto Eastside Drive.”

“What was that?” Twi asked.

“GPS,” Twilight answered. “It gives us directions while we drive.”

“Too bad we don’t have something like that,” Spike said. “Sunset has to pull over to check maps, and sometimes we get lost.”

Moon Dancer pulled out of the parking lot, following the instructions of the voice that told them where to go. After every turn, it would tell them the next step on their trip. Fluttershy wondered how it all worked, but she knew better than to ask; she’d never understand the explanation.

Besides, she had more pressing questions. “Do you know how to get Sunset out?”

“You said they had a video of her?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, that’s what the police officer said.” Twi shook her head. “But it’s impossible! She was with us! Besides, Sunset wouldn’t start a fire!”

“It was probably just a mistaken identity,” Twilight said. “Once they have her right there with the video, they’ll be able to see it’s not her, just someone who looks similar. She’s probably already free and just hasn’t gotten a way to get a hold of you.”

“So you think we’ll just have to pick her up?” Fluttershy asked, finally feeling relief that this nightmare may be over soon.

“Probably,” Twilight said. “If they did arrest her, she’ll be free to go if we can make bail. They’ll want her to stay in the area for a trial, but it’s not like they’ll be able to find you back in Equestria.”

Twi sighed. “But then she’d be a fugitive. There are still people in this world that are important to her, like AJ and Pinkie.”

“And Sky,” Fluttershy said. “At least AJ and Pinkie can visit us in Equestria, but she needs to be able to visit Sky too.”

“Well, we’re pretty far from Everton,” Twilight said reassuringly. “It might be best for her to lay low for a while, but it’s not likely anyone will remember her once this all blows over. It’d be a problem if she were to, I don’t know, apply for a loan or try to renew her license, but she could probably still come and go.”

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, but Twi still looked uncomfortable. Fluttershy took her hand. “You can’t expect Sunset to go through a trial like this.”

“I just wish we could prove she’s innocent,” Twi said. “She shouldn’t have to go to a trial!”

Spike rolled his eyes and nudged Twi. “You’re just worried about Sunset actually breaking the law by not showing up to the trial.”

“I don’t like that either,” Twi admitted.

“Let’s worry about one thing at a time,” Fluttershy said. “Like Twilight said, they’ll probably realize it was just a mistaken identity and let her go.”

Twi nodded and smiled. 

“Maybe,” Moon Dancer said. “But I wonder…”

“You can’t think she was guilty,” Twilight said. “Moony, she wasn’t even in town. Besides, I know Sunset. She wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh, I know she’s innocent,” Moon Dancer said. “I just wonder. We’ll see soon enough though.”

Fluttershy wondered what Moon Dancer meant, but she didn’t press for an answer. In truth, she wished Moon Dancer hadn’t said anything at all, given that Twi was looking more worried.

They reached the police station before too long, and Moon Dancer parked and turned around to look at the others. “I don’t think both of you going in is a good idea,” she said to the Twilights.

“You’re probably right,” Twilight said. “I’ll wait in the car.”

“No, I will,” Twi said. “You have a better idea of what to ask then we do.”

“I’ll wait with you,” Spike said. “I’m worried about Sunset, but I don’t think a dog being around is going to help much.”

“Oh, you’re definitely different than our Spike,” Moon Dancer said. “He’d never miss a chance to go somewhere and see new people. Mind if I stay and ask you some questions?”

“Uh, sure, I guess,” Spike said.

“So Twilight and I will go in,” Fluttershy said. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

The two mares left the car and walked up to the building. Immediately, Fluttershy wished either Twi or Spike had come with her, but it wasn’t like Twilight was a stranger. Her trips to Equestria were less frequent because she didn’t live in Everton, but she had visited a number of times over the years.

Besides, Sunset needed her. She couldn’t do much, but she could at least be there for her wife when she was freed. Fluttershy could be brave for that.

The police station opened to a lobby with numerous windows labelled for different purposes. Fluttershy followed Twilight to one labelled ‘Sheriff’s Office’ and stood quietly as Twilight did the talking.

“Hi, my friend was taken here earlier. Her name is Sunset Shimmer?”

“Sunset Shimmer?” the receptionist repeated, then typed on her keyboard as Twilight nodded. “Oh yes. She’s being held on charge of arson, with bail set at seven thousand dollars.”

“Seven thousand!?” Twilight repeated, her mouth hanging open.

The receptionist nodded. “That’s a standard bail for the crime.”

“But she’s innocent!” Fluttershy said, unable to keep to herself. “And we don’t have seven thousand dollars!”

“Can we see her?” Twilight asked.

“Give me just a moment to see if she can get visitors now.” The receptionist picked up a phone and pressed a few buttons. After a few moments, she said, “Hi, I have two women here to see a Sunset Shimmer. Is she available for visitors?”

There was a moment’s pause, then she said, “Okay, I’ll let them know,” then hung up the phone. She smiled at Twilight and Fluttershy. “Have a seat over there and someone will be back to get you.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, then she led them to some seats.

“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked as they sat down. “This is so unfair!”

“I can’t believe they didn’t just release her…” Twilight muttered. “It has to be a different woman on the video…”

“Of course it’s a different woman,” Fluttershy said. “Sunset was with us, and she’d never do that!”

“Maybe we can get a loan for the bail.” Twilight pulled out her phone and started searching.

Fluttershy folded her arms. “This whole world is horrible… This never would’ve happened in Equestria…”

In a few minutes, a police officer came and found the two of them. She wasn’t one of the ones from earlier, which Fluttershy was grateful for. Maybe it wasn’t their fault that Sunset looked like this other person, but Fluttershy was still angry with the two of them for taking Sunset away.

“You two are waiting for Sunset Shimmer, right?”

“Yes,” Twilight answered.

“Then I’ve got some good news for you. You came right in time, because it looks like there’s some new evidence turning up which might prove her innocence. So she’s back in questioning, but she might be released soon.”

“That’s a relief,” Twilight said, bowing her head. “Can we ask what the evidence is?”

“Sorry, right now it’s classified. But if she’s not released, I’ll take you to see her once she’s back in general.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said. Fluttershy said nothing; she wasn’t in the mood to thank the people who had taken Sunset on false pretense.

The police officer left, leaving the two mares alone. Twilight kept doing things on her phone, while Fluttershy just looked around at all the people in the lobby. It wasn’t surprising, but she noticed no one seemed to be happy to be there.

There was a clock on the wall, which Fluttershy kept returning to. That was how she knew they waited for almost half an hour, painfully slow as it was. But then all at once, Fluttershy felt relief flood into her as Sunset walked out with a police officer.

Without even thinking of what she was doing, Fluttershy stood up and ran over to her wife, throwing her arms around Sunset and burying her head into her shoulder.

“Sunset! Is everything over now?”

“Yeah, I’m free to go for now,” Sunset said. “They’ll be in touch with me as the case develops, but while they had me here, there was another sighting of this woman who looks like me.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy wondered if Sunset had any intention of showing up when they wanted to talk to her again, but now wasn’t the time to discuss that.

“I’m glad things are cleared up for now,” Twilight said. “You wouldn’t believe what they wanted to bail you out.”

“Yeah, they told me.” Sunset shook her head. “Forget about it for now. We’re free to leave. Spike and Twi are outside?”

“Yeah, they waited in the car with Moon Dancer,” Twilight said.

Sunset nodded. “Cool, ‘cause I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.”

Fluttershy kept her hold on Sunset as they left, and Sunset kept an arm around her. Twilight led them to the car, where Twi and Spike were waiting. Before they could even walk all the way up to it, however, Twi got out and ran up to Sunset, throwing her arms around her.

Sunset smirked. “Geez, I should get arrested more often if this is how you two are gonna take it.”

“Don’t even joke about that!” Twi softly hit Sunset on the shoulder. “I was so worried about you…”

“I know.” Sunset kissed Twi. “Come on, let’s get in the car and I’ll tell you more.”

Twilight once again took the front passenger seat, so the rest of them climbed into the back. Spike had to sit across the three mares, but no one seemed to mind. Sunset sat in between her wives, who both clung to her tightly.

“So what happened?” Twilight asked.

“They showed me the video.” Sunset shook her head and frowned. “And… it was me. I mean, obviously it wasn’t me, but she looked exactly like me.”

“I thought so.” Moon Dancer looked between the two Twilights. “Sounds like it was the other version of you, the one from this world.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I think too.”

“But… there’s never been another version of you,” Fluttershy said.

“We’ve always thought there must be one somewhere,” Twi said. “Just because we’ve never seen her around Everton doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist.”

“I guess that makes sense…” Fluttershy wasn’t sure why she found it strange, she had met so many doubles including her own. Of course there was another Sunset.

“I guess I can see why they thought it was you,” Twi said with a frown. “It’s a good thing they found her.”

“Well, they didn’t find her, but there was another fire, and guess who was there?”

“Wait, she started another fire?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, so the other me is a serial arsonist. Apparently they’ve been after her for quite a while. Thankfully the video wasn’t that good. Like, it was easy to tell it was me – or rather, my double – but it was hard to be a hundred percent sure.”

“So now what?” Twi asked.

“They want me to show up for court again, but they can suck my –”

“Language!” Twi interrupted.

“– dick,” Sunset finished anyway. “Sorry, Twi, but I’m a convict now. Jail changes people.”

“Like I’ve ever gotten you to stop swearing before…” Twi muttered.

Fluttershy laughed though, leaning against Sunset. “I don’t care how much you swear, I’m glad you’re back.”

“See? Fluttershy gets it.” Sunset and Fluttershy kissed.

“So where are you four heading?” Twilight asked.

“There’s a hotel in town we’re gonna stay in,” Sunset said.

“Do you want to come back to our place instead?” Twilight asked. “It’s not much, but we have a spare bedroom.”

“We’d hate to impose,” Twi said.

“It’s no problem!” Twilight answered with a smile. “And I’ve been your guest at the castle before, so really, this is just a small way to pay you back. But I understand if you have more you wanted to do in this city.”

“No, we were just going to turn in before I got arrested,” Sunset said. “I’m for it if the rest of you are.”

“Sounds good to me,” Fluttershy said.

“Does that mean I don’t have to sleep on a couch?” Spike asked.

“Spike, you’re like half the size of a person,” Twi pointed out. “What does it matter if you sleep on a couch or not?”

“I roll off sometimes…”

Twilight laughed. “Our couch pulls out into a bed, so you can have that.”

“Then let’s do it!” Spike said.

“Sounds like we’re settled,” Twi said. “But we do need to go back for the motorcycle.”

Twilight told her GPS to take them back to the ice cream parlor, and Moon Dancer left the police station behind. Fluttershy was certain that the others were just as relieved to leave it behind as she was.






All things considered, it proved to be a pretty good end to a pretty horrible day. Fluttershy cooked for everyone while the two Spikes played out in the backyard. Meanwhile the Twilights, Sunset, and Moon Dancer all got together to talk about what each of the couples were working on.

As they ate, they watched a movie. They picked a cute animated movie about a rat that could cook since the Equestrians wouldn’t need to know much about the human world to keep up with it, and Fluttershy decided it was her single favorite thing about the human world. According to Sunset, Equestria was very far off from being able to make movies like that, which she said was animated using computers, but she said other forms of animation were around the corner for the technologically developing world.

Since it was already late by the time they started eating and everyone’s day had been exhausting, they decided to turn in once the movie ended. Twilight and Moon Dancer pulled out a bed for Spike, which left their Spike grumbling about having to share since he usually had the couch to himself. The bed was more than big enough for the two boys to have their own space, though.

“So, uhm…” Twilight turned to Moon Dancer. “What do you say we give them our bed and take the guest bed?”

“I guess that makes sense,” Moon Dancer said. “The guest bed is only a full, but our bed is a king. You three would probably be pretty cramped trying to all sleep in the guest room.”

“You have a king for just the two of you?” Sunset asked.

“Well, sometimes Spike sleeps with us,” Twilight said with a shrug.

“We’d hate to take your bed though,” Fluttershy said.

Sunset quirked an eye at her. “Fluttershy, do you know how big a full-sized bed is?”

“Uhm, no?” Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. “It sounds big though.”

“Smaller than the ones we’ve been sharing,” Sunset explained.

“Oh.”

Twi grinned sheepishly. “I, uhm, I think we’ll take you up on that offer.”

Twilight and Moon Dancer shifted pillows and blankets around, making sure the couple and the triad both had plenty of each, then they wished each other good night.

When Sunset shut the door, Twi was quick to fall into her arms. “Uh, everything okay, Twi?”

Twi shook her head. “I was so scared… I don’t know what I would’ve done if anything happened to you.”

Sunset frowned. “I mean, the worst that would’ve happened was you and Fluttershy would stay here for a few days while we sorted things out. They wouldn’t be able to keep me forever, you know.”

Fluttershy joined Twi in holding their wife. “I was worried too. You were gone, and I couldn’t do anything…”

“You did, though,” Twi said with a small smile. “You kept Spike and me grounded.”

“That’s not an easy feat, you know.” Sunset mussed Fluttershy’s hair. “Come on, let’s get comfy.”

Since they had limited ability to store clothes and stuff on the motorcycle, they had all forgone pajamas, so getting ready for bed amounted to taking off their pants and bras. For Fluttershy and Twilight, it was still more than they were used to sleeping in. For Sunset, she was still a little embarrassed to be in her underwear whenever Spike was around, but she adapted well enough.

Sunset and Twi were the first ones in the bed. Before Fluttershy could suggest Sunset take the middle spot, the others were already in bed waiting for her to get into the middle. She just smiled to herself as she took the spot, looking forward to the fact that Twi would be reaching across her for Sunset through the night.

She let out a yawn as she snuggled in between her wives. Fluttershy had never been much of a night owl. “Good night, girls. Love you two.”

“Love you, Shy,” Twi said as she kissed her, then she leaned across her to kiss Sunset. “And you too, Sunset.”

“Love you both.” Sunset kissed each of them in turn as well.

Twi snuggled close to Fluttershy while keeping one hand over her to hold Sunset’s. “I mean it, you know. I really don’t know what I’d do without you, Shy. You do more than you know.”

Fluttershy nuzzled Twi. “If you say so.”

“That goes for me too,” Sunset said. “You keep both of us grounded.”

“Only because you two are there for me, too.” Even though they couldn’t see her in the dark, Fluttershy beamed at each of them. “I guess we just make a great team.”

“Yeah,” Twi said, “we do.”

“Time for this team to get some sleep, though,” Sunset said. “We’ll have to figure out our next move tomorrow.”

“Mmm.” Fluttershy closed her eyes and focused on having both her wives together with her as she drifted off to sleep. She didn’t really care what they decided to do in the morning, she was surrounded by love and that was all that mattered.
> 5 – The Great Outdoors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Five
The Great Outdoors
⠀




⠀
After Sunset’s arrest, things could only get better. Even so, Twilight hadn’t planned on how much better things actually got. To start with, they decided to spend an extra day with the other Twilight and Moon Dancer, which meant a day spent recuperating from being out on the road. Then, rather unexpectedly, their friends offered the use of their car for the rest of the trip. Twilight worked from home and Moon Dancer carpooled to work, so they rarely actually wound up using their car. Travelling the countryside finally became the luxury Twilight had imagined when they first planned the trip.

They wound up remaking some of their plans, most notably adding a camping trip since Twilight and Moon Dancer had some gear they could borrow. It wasn’t much, just a tent, a double sleeping bag that the three of them would have to share, and a dog bed Spike could use. Still, it gave them a chance to experience how the natural human world differed from the natural pony one.

They drove as far into the forest they were camping in as they could, then set up their tent nearby so that they could keep an eye on the car and use it for storage. Sunset and Fluttershy set up the tent while Twilight and Spike set up a fire pit. Which, of course, meant Twilight set it up by herself, but she enjoyed explaining what she was doing to Spike.

“Are you sure that’s right?” Sunset said from over where she and Fluttershy were setting up the tent.

“Not really,” Fluttershy admitted. “How would you do it?”

“I think it goes like this.”

Twilight smiled to herself as she finished the fire pit. Even though she had to gather the stones for it, it hadn’t taken her that long. They weren’t actually building a fire just yet, but when they were ready for one, they’d be able to get to it easier with the pit ready for them.

With her own job done, Twilight stood up and walked over to the others. “Need a hand?”

“I think we got it now,” Sunset said as she and Fluttershy worked to get the tent’s support beams in place.

Spike cocked his head to the side. “I’m not sure that’s how it should look.”

“It’s not done yet!” Sunset said moments before it all collapsed in on Fluttershy.

Twilight giggled. “Here, let me help.”

It was clear Sunset and Fluttershy were getting nowhere, although Twilight and Spike weighing in on how to properly set up the tent only added to the confusion. They did eventually get the tent set up in a way that seemed to be sturdy, but the whole process took them around two hours.

Since they had arrived late in the morning, that meant that they were into the early afternoon by the time they set up the tent. Although they had planned on going out on a nature walk as soon as possible, it seemed silly to go out without eating lunch first by that point.

“How about some sandwiches?” Fluttershy asked.

“Sounds good,” Sunset said. “I’ll help.”

While Sunset and Fluttershy got sandwiches together, Twilight went into the trunk of the car to get some plates, a bag of chips, and their cooler. When she turned around with her arms full, she saw Spike running after a squirrel.

Twilight just shook her head. It wasn’t like he would do anything to it even if he could catch up to it, but she did feel a little bad that Spike was frightening the poor thing. “Come on, Spike. Let’s have some lunch.”

Spike stopped and looked up, panting as he did. He came walking up to Twilight, who was sitting near the unlit campfire. “Great! I’m starving.”

“Terrifying the woodland creatures builds up an appetite, huh?” Twilight asked with a smirk. “What would you even do if you caught up to one of them?”

“I dunno. I don’t really want to catch them, I just want to run around a little.”

“Having a dog’s brain will do that, I guess.” Sunset handed Twilight a sandwich and set down a plate of food for Spike. Given the dietary needs of his current body, he could only seldom eat the same things as the girls, so they prepared a mix of food special for him. He may be a dog, but they weren’t going to force him to eat pre-made dog food, so every few days Fluttershy would prepare a batch of homemade dog food from fresh ingredients. They all tried not to think too much about the fact that there was meat in it, but his body needed that now.

For Twilight’s sake, she missed her daisy sandwiches, but peanut butter and jelly was okay too. She took a bite while Fluttershy and Sunset sat down beside them and wished she had some milk to wash it down with. They did have their cooler for keeping drinks and some food cold, but milk would be a luxury for when they were staying in hotels again. She sipped a bottle of water instead.

Sunset pulled out a can of cola from the cooler, while Fluttershy joined Twilight in drinking water. “You should drink water to stay hydrated for our walk,” Twilight said.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. We’ll bring water with us, so I’ll keep hydrated while we’re out.”

“You should also just drink water more in general,” Fluttershy chided. Sunset had the habit of drinking sugary drinks more often than not.

“I’ll be fine,” Sunset said.

“Wish I could have soda…” Spike grumbled.

“Once we’re back in Equestria,” Twilight said. He’d had little aside from water to drink since they left for the human world – another concession he had to make for his new body.

“Oh! Look!” Fluttershy said, pointing towards some bushes.

Twilight shielded her eyes from the afternoon sun and saw a little face with black rings around its eyes looking back at her. “Oh, a raccoon!”

“I think there’s a few of them,” Sunset said. “Wonder what they’re doing out at this hour. They’re normally nocturnal, aren’t they?”

“They are, but they sometimes keep weird hours,” Fluttershy explained. “Seeing them out in midday isn’t that uncommon.”

“Huh. Well, we haven’t even left camp and we already saw something cool.” Sunset swatted around her face. “Aside from just these mosquitoes. Man, they haven’t left me alone since we got here.”

“I’ll put bug spray on you after we eat,” Twilight said, not taking her eyes off the raccoon. “But I’m glad we came out. They’re so cute!”

“Yeah, they are.” Fluttershy giggled. “I wish we could feed them.”

“They could probably eat some of my food, right?” Spike asked.

“Well, they could,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “And it’s nice of you to offer. But we shouldn’t feed them, or else they’ll get used to getting food from – Sunset!”

While Fluttershy was explaining why it was important to not feed the wild animals, Sunset had ripped off a piece of her sandwich and thrown it over to the raccoons. Two of them tentatively left their bush and sniffed the bread, then one of them picked it up and ate it.

Sunset ripped off another piece.

“Don’t you dare,” Fluttershy said.

“It’s only to make it fair for both of them!” Sunset said with a grin as she tossed the piece to the other one.

“Sunset, you shouldn’t feed wild animals.”

“She’s right,” Twilight said with a frown. “This isn’t Equestria, they should be wary of people.”

Sunset waved off their concerns. “It’ll be fine. And anyway, it got us a closer look.”

“It is kinda neat watching them grab things,” Twilight relented.

Fluttershy just sighed. “You two are hopeless…”

“Make that us three,” Spike said. “I like them too.”

“They are cute, but we’re just here to observe them.” Fluttershy turned her attention instead to the raccoons. “I’m very sorry, but we don’t have anything else for you.”

“You know you can’t talk to animals in this world, right?” Spike said.

“I know, but look at the poor babies. They’re waiting for more.”

“I could give –”

“No!”

Sunset shrugged. “Sorry, raccoons. Wifey’s spoken.”

Eventually the raccoons got the hint and scampered back into the bushes. That was for the best; no matter how cute they were, Sunset should never have fed them.

The group finished their lunch, then stowed their stuff in the tent. It was a pretty light lunch, but that was probably for the best. They’d have energy to go on their hike, but they wouldn’t be sluggish from a big meal.

“So we ready to go?” Spike asked.

“Yup, let’s go.” Twilight led them along the path into the forest. This was a common campsite with a clear path for them to take, so the odds of getting lost were pretty low.

Along the way, Twilight reflected on the human world's nature. It was both familiar and alien, in a way. In Equestria, ponies handled so much of what happened naturally on Earth. Here, everything happened on its own, like the Everfree Forest. But unlike the forest, there was no ominous feeling about them, no magical creatures lurking around the corner waiting to snatch them up.

In fact, it seemed calmer in every way. Maybe it was because they were so big compared to the rest of this world’s fauna, but the animals were quieter around them. Or maybe it was just Sunset’s rhythmic clapping scaring them off.

“What gives with these stupid mosquitoes!?” She groaned after they’d been walking for a while.

“I’m sorry…” Twilight frowned. “I was supposed to spray you down with repellent, but we forgot.”

“It’s fine,” Sunset grumbled. “Are they getting you all at all?”

“They aren’t biting me at all,” Twilight said.

“A little, but it’s not too bad,” Fluttershy said.

“I think my fur helps.” Spike ran ahead, then stopped to scratch his ear. “Although it doesn’t help with this heat…”

“Sorry, Spike.” Twilight kneeled down and held out a water bottle. “Here, drink a little bit before we go any further.”

Spike did as she asked, lapping up the water readily. While they were paused, the others took the chance to drink up as well. It was a hot day out, and they all needed to stay hydrated.

It was Spike that saw it first this time. “Look over there,” he said quietly.

Everyone turned in the direction he was facing to see a small deer looking at them. They all stopped to look back at it, locking eyes with the beautiful creature.

It couldn’t be full-grown, just a fawn. Twilight wanted to run up and pet it, but for obvious reasons she did not.

Instead, she smiled and glanced back at the others to make sure they were seeing the same thing. She was just in time to see Sunset swat at a mosquito, then she heard the deer running off.

“Sunset!” Twilight whipped her head back, but the deer was already gone.

“What!?” Sunset cried. “These things are fucking eating me alive over here, Twi!”

Twilight sighed, but Fluttershy just giggled. “Do you want to head back, Sunset?”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s go for a little bit more.”

Aside from the mosquitoes, they did see some other bugs that were far more interesting. Huge dragonflies, colorful butterflies, buzzy bees, and other things they couldn’t identify. Along with the occasional bird or squirrel, insects were just about the only animals they saw after the deer.

But even if it was just bugs and trees, it was a wonderful walk for everyone except Sunset, who complained nonstop. The trees grew so tall, and they were a sight to see all on their own.

At least until Twilight’s foot caught a root and she went down face first. “Aaah!”

“Twilight!” Spike was the first to her side. “Are you okay?”

Twilight groaned and tried to get up, but her leg buckled. “Ow! I think I twisted something…”

“Let me take a look at it,” Sunset said, so Twilight sat on the ground and extended her leg for the others to examine.

“No scrape,” Sunset said. “Is it your leg or your ankle?”

“My ankle.” Twilight moved it gingerly, which hurt but wasn’t unbearable. “I think I’m ready to head back now…”

“Yeah, fair enough. Here.” Sunset held out her hand to help Twilight up.

Twilight stood up, balancing on one foot at first. She put her injured foot down, which didn’t feel too bad until she put weight on it. “Ow, it hurts to walk.”

“Oh, you poor thing…” Fluttershy looked around. “Maybe we can find a stick for you to walk with?”

“I’ll be alright, I just…” Twilight took a step and was able to walk with a limp.

“Uh, no, stop that.” Sunset walked over to Twilight and stood on her injured side, wrapping an arm around her. “At least lean on me while we walk. Spike, can you look around for a good walking stick?”

“I’m on it!” Spike ran off.

“Don’t go too far!” Twilight called back to him.

They made slow progress back to the campsite, Twilight leaning on Sunset for support. Each step still hurt, but it was made far more bearable.

Meanwhile Spike ran around them looking for good sticks, and within around fifteen minutes, he managed to find one. Fluttershy retrieved it and gave it to Twilight, who used it to walk in place of Sunset. She was able to put all her weight on the stick instead of her leg, which helped a lot.

It was still slow going, but that couldn’t be helped. They had been walking for at least an hour already, and the way back took even longer. Before they managed to make it back, the sun was already going down.

“I think the mosquitoes are even worse at night…” Sunset grumbled, slapping her skin yet again to squish another one.

“I’m sorry…” Twilight said for the umpteenth time. “If I had been watching where I was going…”

“It’s not your fault,” Fluttershy said. “And you’re the one having the worst time with your leg like that.”

Sunset sighed. “Yeah, even I have to agree there. At least I can squash the fuckers going after me.”

“Language,” Twilight chided flatly. She didn’t know why she bothered. If Spike was going to pick up Sunset’s bad habits, it was probably already too late for him.

They made their way back steadily at least. Twilight’s ankle did start getting more irritated as they walked, but by the time she would’ve asked to take a break, their camp was in sight.

“Go take a seat, Twi,” Sunset instructed. “I’ll get some ice and we can –”

They all stopped as they made eye contact with the same black ringed eyes they saw earlier. The raccoons were back, and one of them was holding onto their bag of chips. No one made a move at first, then the raccoon began backing up slowly.

“Get back here!” Spike said, running at the raccoon, who also turned and ran.

“Give it up, Spike,” Twilight said, bringing him to a halt. There was a good chance that he could’ve caught up to the raccoon, but with the raccoons’ headstart who knew how far they’d get from the camp before that happened. Not to mention what would happen if the raccoon didn’t give up the snacks peacefully…

Spike was left grumbling, but he took a seat near the campfire.

“Come on, Twily, let’s get you sitting down.” Fluttershy led Twilight to a seat as well and helped her get down while Sunset went to get ice from their cooler.

They could still hear her slapping at mosquitoes, which caused Twilight to smile. “Go help Sunset with the bug spray first. She’s gonna get eaten alive if we don’t do anything.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Alright. Just take it easy.”

“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere.”






Even with her injury, the day wound up being a pretty good one. They ate dinner, then got a fire going. That was an adventure in and of itself, and by the time they got it going, it was almost time for bed. Still, they got to sit around roasting marshmallows, which was the perfect cap to their day.

“The stars are so pretty out here,” Fluttershy said. “They look almost like the ones back in Equestria.”

“It’s because this world has so much light pollution,” Twilight explained. “But out here, there aren’t a bunch of lights so the stars look brighter.”

“It’s nice,” Fluttershy said. “But it does kind of make me homesick.”

“We’ll be back soon,” Sunset said. “Less than a week on this trip to go.”

“I know. It’s just… well, it’s silly.”

“What’s up?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I’m just thinking about Luna. I bet she’d be sad if she saw how dull the stars look in this world.”

“Yeah, let’s not take her here,” Sunset said with a laugh.

“And that got me thinking, I miss our evening chats.” Fluttershy folded her arms and looked down.

“You two have been talking a lot lately,” Twilight said.

“I guess we have.” Fluttershy looked back up at the sky.

“I’m glad you two are so close,” Twilight said with a smile. “You’re really good for each other.”

“Is this the same Twilight who hated Amber for years?” Sunset asked with a smirk.

“I never hated her!” Twilight frowned. “And I’ve said I was wrong and that I’m sorry for that.”

“I know, I’m just teasing.” Sunset passed Twilight a marshmallow.

As Twilight skewered it onto her stick, she thought about what Sunset had said. She had never really thought to compare Fluttershy’s relationship with Luna to her relationship with Amber, but now that she did… Well, it wasn’t that they were similar, just that they might have one thread in common.

“Hey, Shy?” Twilight shifted a little uncomfortably, but not because she was afraid of the question. No, it was just that given her jealous past, she worried Fluttershy wouldn’t want to give her an honest answer. “What does Luna mean to you, anyway?”

“What do you mean? She’s one of my closest friends.”

“I know, it’s just…” Twilight smiled. “I mean, sometimes you two seem like there’s something more. And if there is, then that’s okay, you know? I just… I wanted to say that if you and Luna ever thought you might be more than friends, or well, you and anyone really, then we could talk about that and it would be okay, and –”

“Twi, you’re rambling,” Sunset said. “But she’s right. We’ve all given up the ‘one and only’ thing years ago.”

“I… I don’t know…” Fluttershy stared into the fire. “I guess… I don’t really think about it. Luna and I are… well, we just are what we are.”

Twilight was going to try and reassure Fluttershy some more that it was okay if she did have a crush on Luna, but Sunset spoke first. “And that’s great, you know? We both think you two are great together, no matter what it is you two are together.”

Twilight nodded. She was trying to press for an answer where there wasn’t one, and no good would come of that. “Yeah, Sunset’s right.”

Fluttershy smiled and put an arm around Twilight’s back. “I’m glad it’s something we can talk about, though.”

Really, that was all the answer that Twilight needed – that they would talk about it if anything like that ever came up with any of them.

The conversation was interrupted by a snore, and they all looked over to see Spike was sleeping soundly near Twilight’s feet. She smiled and scratched his ears. “What do you say we get to bed?”

“Sounds… wait, what’s that?” Sunset pointed at a light.

“Is that… a firefly?” Twilight smiled. “I think it is! Look, there’s more!”

“How about we wait out here a little longer,” Fluttershy said.

“I think that sounds fine.”

As they watched, a few more fireflies came out as well, then a few more. Soon there were bunches of them. They tried waking Spike up to see them, but he just said they were neat then went back to sleep.

“We have to protect our world,” Sunset said suddenly. “Being out here has kinda sucked, but it did remind me of that.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, Twilight and me. We’re designing technology for Equestria, but if we’re not careful, we’ll have more than light pollution to worry about.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Twilight had read up a bit about the state of affairs in the human world, and she’d learned about its environmental concerns. “But we can learn from the mistakes of this world. We won’t run into the same problems.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Uhm, girls…”

They both looked to see that while they were talking, fireflies had landed right on Fluttershy. They all laughed, which caused the fireflies to fly away. One landed on Spike’s nose, but he just huffed and sent it on its way.

Eventually they decided to call it a night, fireflies or not, so they all made their way into the tent. It was a snug fit, especially in their double sleeping bag, but they would make do. They all snuggled in together, Fluttershy in the middle as usual.

Spike yawned and lay down on his doggy bed, ignoring the others in favor of getting right back to sleep. Twilight was a little envious, since the tent and sleeping bag didn’t offer much in the way of comfort.

“The ground’s so hard, how are we supposed to sleep out here?” Twilight asked.

“And it’s hot in this sleeping bag. Can I unzip my side?”

“Please,” Fluttershy said. “I’m in the middle, where it’s the warmest.”

“We could just sleep on top of it,” Twilight suggested.

They all agreed, so they got back out and lay down on top of it. Twilight wished she at least had a thin sheet to cover with, but it was a warm night and she had a wife to snuggle up next to.

“That’s better,” Fluttershy said. “Good night, Sunset. Good night, Twily.”

Twilight kissed each of her wife’s in turn, but she wasn’t really ready to say good night yet. “Uhm, Sunset?”

“Yeah?”

“You know it’s okay if you want to talk about things too, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” Twilight frowned. “We noticed how much hearing the other Fluttershy affected you at the wax museum.”

Sunset was quiet for a moment, then she sighed. “Yeah, I guess it’s obvious I’m still a little hung up on her, huh?”

“Maybe a little,” Fluttershy said. “But we don’t mind.”

Twilight propped herself up. “I know I haven’t been the easiest to talk to about that stuff before, but I’m okay with it now. Like you said, we all stopped believing in one and only.”

Sunset chuckled. “It’s not like I’m gonna start dating her again, Twi.”

“Yeah, I’m just saying you can talk about her if you want. Even with this trip, you’re so guarded about what the two of you had. And maybe that’s partly my fault, but I don’t want it to have to be that way.”

“Twily does have a point,” Fluttershy said.

“It’s been years, I shouldn’t be hung up on my ex-girlfriend…”

“You were going to be moms together,” Twilight said. It was a dangerous subject to bring up, but it was important that Sunset knew they understood why it was such a hard thing for her to move on from.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So, uhm…” Fluttershy turned to face Sunset, wrapping herself around her. “Are you ready to see her?”

“Ready or not, it’s coming,” Sunset said. “The concert is in two days.”

“Do you know what you’ll say to her?” Twilight asked.

“I guess just… that I’m sorry. I kind of pushed her away, made her choose between me and her career. And I guess I’ll tell her that I think she made the right choice.”

Twilight curled around Fluttershy and reached her hand over her to place it on Sunset’s. “I think she’ll really like that.”

Sunset smiled a little, but it faded quickly. This whole road trip was planned around this one stop – a Bitchette concert which they had backstage tickets to. Sunset was finally going to get the closure she needed with her ex-girlfriend, and with luck, they would finally be friends again.

But for now, it was just something to be anxious about. “It’ll be okay,” Twilight said.

“I know. No matter what happens, I have you two.” Sunset lifted her head and looked at Spike, who was sleeping soundly. “Well, you three.”

“And not just us,” Fluttershy reminded her. “Pinkie and AJ, and the other Twilight and all our friends in Equestria.”

“Yeah, I’m a pretty lucky woman.”

“And so are we,” Twilight said. “We get to have you, too.”

“You know, Twi, I’m pretty sure in this whole forest, you’re still the sappiest thing around.”

“Hey!”

Everyone laughed, then Sunset turned away from them so Fluttershy was curled around Sunset just like Twilight was curled around Fluttershy. “I’ll keep it in mind… about talking about things more. But for now, let’s get to sleep.”

Twilight settled into place. “Alright. Love you two.”

“Love you both too,” Sunset said.

“Love –” Fluttershy yawned. “Love you.”

Spike snored in response, causing them all to giggle some more before settling in.

It was hard to sleep on the ground, even with the sleeping bag beneath them. But there was nothing to be done about it, so Twilight just tried her best to get comfortable.

Meanwhile, she wondered what would happen at the concert. None of them had talked to this world’s Fluttershy in years. They hoped she was ready to move on as well, but… Well, they would just have to hold onto hope.

And love. They had to hold onto that as well. They all loved each other, and they weren’t the only ones. And as long as they had that, they would make it through everything else okay in the end.
> 6 – The Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Six
The Past
⠀




⠀
The whole experience was surreal in more ways than one. First off, there was the fact that they were at a sold-out show for a band that Sunset had seen form. It had been four years since Sunset had last seen Bitchette, and back then they were just some local band that no one knew about.

Even stranger was that she was watching Rainbow Dash. She wondered what Rainbow would think if she knew Sunset was in the audience. It had been four years, more than enough time to bury the hatchet, but it was still a worrying thought. Of course, Rainbow didn’t know she was there, and she played an energetic show for the enthusiastic audience.

But the most surreal part of the experience was knowing that Fluttershy was backstage. Her ex-girlfriend, the woman she was going to marry and raise a child with, the life that could’ve been. It wasn’t that Sunset still wanted to make things work with her – and even if she did, it wasn’t like there was any chance of that happening. But there was always that lingering feeling of regret that things turned out the way they did.

Well, it was almost time to try to make up for that. The band was already performing their encore, so any minute now they’d be finished and those with backstage passes could go back to meet with them.

“Thanks for coming out!” Rainbow announced. “We have one more for you tonight. Anyone got a request?”

The crowd started cheering out song titles, with one in particular ringing louder than all the others. ‘Your Impatience’, a song Sunset remembered from their early days which the video at the wax museum had said was their breakthrough song.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Rainbow said with a cocky grin. She played the opening chords of the song on her guitar, and the crowd cheered wildly.

Sunset felt a hand find hers and turned to see Fluttershy. No doubt she knew what was on Sunset’s mind, so Sunset showed her a smile to try and portray a confidence she didn’t feel. It was too loud to talk over the music, so Sunset just stepped closer to her wife.

The song wasn’t a long one, but it felt like it went on forever. The whole time, Sunset’s mind raced with the different ways this meeting could go. It was going to be awkward, there was no doubt there. But it could be a good kind of awkward where neither of them knew exactly what to say, but where they both wanted to start over.

That was the thought Sunset held onto. Starting over wouldn’t be easy, but as long as they both wanted to, they could make it work.

They could make it work. Sunset just had to keep that in mind. Things weren’t so far gone that they couldn’t work out their problems and make up for their past.

The song ended with an explosion of sound as all the band members gave it their all. Sunset was pretty sure this was a new ending over the more toned down ending that the song had once had, possibly something they did since they used it as their show closer. The audience loved it, cheering loudly as the song came to its conclusion.

“Let’s get over to the stage,” Twilight said once the final notes stopped. Sunset nodded and led the way, keeping hold of Fluttershy’s hand so they wouldn’t get separated. Fluttershy did the same with Twilight, who had hold of Spike’s leash. They made their way through the crowd in a chain, keeping together.

It was hard to move through the crowd to get to the stage, but they eventually made it. There was a line of people with backstage passes going in, being checked off by a bouncer as they made it to the door. The group got in place in the line and kept their passes ready.

When they reached the bouncer, he gave Spike an uncertain look. Spike was wearing his service dog vest as well as a pair of dog ear muffs to protect his ears from the loud noises, and he was pressing tightly against Twilight’s legs, taking up as little space as possible just like he was told to do. In the end, the bouncer just checked their passes and let them through without any issues.

Once they were backstage, they immediately looked around for anyone they recognized. All they saw were fans mingling at first, then Sunset noticed there was one place the fans seemed to be congregating. “The band must be over there.”

“Do you want to go up and see them?” Twilight asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Sunset admitted. She was here to see Fluttershy, and while the band could point her in the right direction, there was also a chance that seeing them would go poorly.

“It’ll be okay,” Fluttershy said. “Remember we’re here for you.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Suppose there’s no way around it, let’s see if we can see the band.”

Before they could take a step, however, they heard a voice calling after them. “Twilight! I didn’t know you were coming!”

They turned to see Lemon Zest making her way over towards them, but she stopped short when she saw Sunset. “Wait… aren’t you…?” She furrowed her brow when she saw Fluttershy. “And Shy, your hair… what’s going on here?”

Sunset took a deep breath. “Hey, Lemon Zest. We’re… well, I’m here to see Fluttershy. I wanted to apologize.”

“You’re… you’re not Twilight and Fluttershy are you?” she said to the others. “Or not the ones from this world, anyway.”

“What’s going on?” someone else asked, walking up to them. Sunset didn’t recognize her as anyone other than Bitchette’s bassist, but she was a tall woman with an intimidating aura. “Wait, what the hell? Shy, did you completely change your clothes? And get a wig or something?”

“This isn’t the same Fluttershy, Gilda,” Lemon Zest explained. “This is the one from Equestria.”

Gilda huffed. “Great, we’re back on that.”

“I’m serious.” Lemon Zest nodded towards Sunset. “And this is Sunset Shimmer.”

“What the fuck, like Fluttershy’s ex?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit. Look, what the hell are you doing here?”

It made sense that they were skeptical of her. Sunset would just have to impress on them that she had good intentions. “I’m here to see Fluttershy. I want to make up for the past, start over as friends. Mainly I just want to tell her I’m sorry.”

Gilda’s eyes turned towards Fluttershy, no doubt still trying to piece together that this wasn’t the Fluttershy she knew. She frowned and turned away from them. “Oi, Dash, get over here.”

“What’s up, G?” Rainbow called from somewhere else.

“Just get your ass over here!”

Twilight took a step forward. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle. You might have met my double before, she used to go to school with Lemon Zest?”

Gilda arched an eyebrow and didn’t answer.

“Well anyway, what I wanted to say is that we aren’t trying to cause any trouble. But it’s been four years since your world’s Fluttershy and Sunset broke up, and we thought it would be good for them to talk things over and help each other get a little bit of closure.”

“You couldn’t have, I don’t know, called?” Lemon Zest asked. “Maybe sent an email or some shit?”

“I did think of that, I know Applejack or Pinkie could’ve called her for me.” Sunset scratched at the back of her head. “But… I was afraid she would turn it down without a second thought, and I really think it would be better for both of us to finally get the chance to talk.”

 “Because you always know what’s right for her, don’t you?” Rainbow asked as she walked up. She folded her arms and glared at Sunset. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t have security come kick you out right fucking now.”

“Because… I’m sorry. That’s what I’m here to say, I want to apologize for forcing her to choose between me and her dreams.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Great, I’ll pass along your message and if she wants to see you, she can reach out to you next time we’re in Everton.”

Sunset frowned, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, Twilight stepped in. “But can’t you pass the message along now and that way if she wants to see Sunset she can without having to wait? If she says she doesn’t want to see us, we’ll go.”

“You’re right, Sunset shouldn’t have assumed she knew what was right for her,” Fluttershy said. “But you can’t assume you know what’s right for her either. I know that’s something the Rainbow Dash in my world used to struggle with when I first started dating Twilight, and it only ever caused problems.”

Rainbow glared at them. They never found out what her answer would’ve been, because they were seen by the only person whose opinion on the subject really mattered.

“Sunny?” 

Sunset’s whole body went slack as she saw Fluttershy standing before her, looking as different as possible from the Fluttershy beside her. Her once long beautiful hair was cut short and ragged, and she wore ripped jeans and a black tank top that showed off the tattoos that now covered her arms. One had a sleeve of butterflies going up her arm and surrounding the Bitchette band logo at the top, the other had a sun on her shoulder that represented Sunset and the love they had once shared.

“Shy…” Sunset realized her mouth was hanging open, so she closed it. She scratched at the back of her head, but she couldn’t take her eyes off her ex-girlfriend. “So, uh… long time no see?”

“What…” Fluttershy shook her head. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Despite the swear, Fluttershy’s voice wasn’t angry. Just surprised. That was okay, good even. Surprise was expected, and that was something they could move on from. “I came to see you. I… wanted to say I’m sorry. Is it okay if… can we talk?”

Fluttershy frowned, the first indication of how she felt. “Come on. The dressing room is over here, the two of us can talk there.”

The two of them – Fluttershy wanted to speak with Sunset alone. She turned to her wives, unsure of what to say.

She found them both smiling at her. “Go on, we’ll be fine,” Twilight said.

Fluttershy nodded. “This is what we were hoping for. Go talk to her.”

Sunset swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded, then took a step away from her wives. Gilda and Lemon Zest let her pass, but Rainbow put a hand on her shoulder when she went to walk past her. She didn’t say anything, but she held Sunset’s eyes for a moment and wordlessly made her point clear. ‘Don’t screw this up.’

Rainbow let go of Sunset, who followed after Fluttershy. She led them into a small room, which was empty of any prying eyes or ears, then she turned to Sunset. “Okay, so what the hell do you want?”

Okay, now Fluttershy sounded angry. Sunset shifted nervously in place. While this wasn’t the reaction she wanted, it wasn’t a surprise. “Like I said, I wanted to say I’m sorry. I… wasn’t always fair to you when we were together.”

“You think? You tried to get me to give up on the one thing I managed to do all by myself!”

“I know.” Sunset held up her hands. “And I was wrong, and I’m glad you stuck with it.”

“Of fucking course you’re glad!” Fluttershy threw out her hands. “You got to go off to a magical land where you’re rich and famous and have two supportive wives. Your life turned out fucking perfect once I wasn’t in it anymore!”

“Whoa, hold on.” Sunset shook her head. “It’s not like that! And things aren’t perfect for us. Yeah I know we’re lucky in a lot of ways, but it’s not like it’s been easy.”

“Oh really?” Fluttershy took a step forward and raised her voice some more. “Tell me, Sunny. Tell me all about how difficult it’s been for you, because you wouldn’t fucking believe what my life has turned into since you left me!”

Sunset gritted her teeth, trying not to get angry, but finding that to be impossible. “Okay, I was wrong about a lot of things, but you left first. I offered to stick around and wait for you, and you told me not to because you were already seeing someone.”

“I lied, okay!?” Fluttershy turned and took a step away. “I lied about seeing someone because I wanted you to move on. So yeah, I got exactly what I fucking wanted. Yay me.”

“How was I supposed to know that!?” Sunset stepped forward, reclaiming the distance Fluttershy put between them. “I’m so sorry for believing you!”

“Do you want to know what my life has been like since you left?” Fluttershy turned back towards Sunset and pointed at her hair. “Because this? This is nothing compared to the other ways I’ve changed without you.”

Sunset folded her arms. “I’m listening.”

“I sleep with a different girl pretty much every night because if I don’t, I don’t sleep at all. I’m up for days at a time, I drink nonstop, the only thing stopping me from trying to kill myself again is the pills I have to take every god damn day!”

All of that washed over Sunset, but one word in particular stuck out. “Again?”

Fluttershy laughed. “Yeah, that’s right, Sunny! I tried to kill myself because that’s how much my life just fucking sucks! And half the time even with the antidepressants, I still think back on that day and wish I hadn’t thrown up those damn pills.”

“And it’s all my fault?” Sunset asked, half hoping for a real answer one way or the other. ‘Tell me this isn’t my fault, tell me I don’t have to have this on my conscience. Or tell me it is, let me make it up to you.’

“I don’t know, but you sure as hell aren’t making it better by showing up unannounced like this! For fuck’s sake, Sunset, what did you expect? I’d just fall into your arms and you could have two of me?”

“No!” Sunset shook her head. What did she expect? “I just wanted to try things over again. Not us, not like being together, just you know, as friends this time. Because I still love –”

They both stood in silence as Sunset’s unexpected declaration hung in the air between them.

“You still love me?” Fluttershy asked doubtfully.

“Well… yes,” Sunset admitted. “Look, it’s not like, you know, a burning love like when I thought we’d spend our lives together. But yes, I still love you. I probably always will.”

“I hate you, Sunset.” Fluttershy folded her arms, covering the sun tattoo as she did. “You were once the best thing that ever happened to me, and now the rest of my life has to struggle to live up to that without you. I hate you so much.”

“Shy, it doesn’t have to be like that. I want us to be friends again, I want to be part of your life again.”

Sunset reached out for Fluttershy’s shoulder, but Fluttershy slapped her hand away. “Did you fucking hear me? I said I hate you! I don’t want you back in my life Sunny, I never want to see your stupid face again! If you really love me, you’ll stay in Equestria. Far far away from me.”

“Shy…”

“Don’t fucking ‘Shy’ me! I’m not yours anymore, and I don’t have to put up with what you want! Just go back to your perfect little pony life. You’ve already got a better version of me waiting out there to cheer you up from the bitch I am in this world anyway.”

“It’s not like –”

“Just go!”

Sunset stood and stared for a minute, then she turned and ran. She left the room, then ran straight for the door. She wasn’t thinking of the others, she just had to get out of there.

“Sunset?” Twilight reached out for her as she ran past, but Sunset couldn’t stop to talk to them right now. Not after everything Fluttershy had said to her.

The venue had emptied out a lot, so she was able to run straight through it, out into the night time air. She stopped once she was out of the venue, some distant part of her reminding her not to run into traffic.

Instead, she placed her face in her hands and she screamed. She walked over to their car and sat down in front of it, and although she willed herself to hold it together, she cried.

Was all that stuff really Sunset’s fault? Had she done that to Fluttershy, the woman she had once loved so dearly? Did Sunset really make things so bad without ever even knowing about it?

And what was she supposed to do now? Fluttershy had been pretty clear that she never wanted to see Sunset again, and that showing up had just made everything so much worse. There was no way she could fix this, so what was she supposed to do?

The questions circled her head with no answers. She wiped at the tears that came unbidden, and asked herself one more question: What the hell was she doing out here alone?

Just as she was asking herself that, she felt someone come up from behind her and lean against her back. Judging by the paws on her shoulders, it was pretty easy to tell who it was.

“I really fucked up, Spike.”

Spike leaned his head on Sunset’s shoulders. “What happened?”

“I… I did a lot more damage to Fluttershy than I ever realized.”

“Well… you can make it better, can’t you?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, I don’t think I can.”

“Oh…” Spike didn’t say anything, but he stayed by Sunset’s side while she dried her eyes.

It didn’t take long for Twilight and Fluttershy to catch up with her as well. When they saw Sunset and Spike, they both kneeled on either side of Sunset. Neither of them asked what happened, they just stayed by her side to support her through it.

It took a few minutes for anyone to speak. “She…” Sunset shook her head. “She said she tried to kill herself…”

“Oh no,” Fluttershy frowned. “Did she say why?”

“It sounded like it was because of me…”

Twilight hugged Sunset tightly. “That was uncalled for. You didn’t do anything to make her do something like that…”

Sunset took a deep, shaky breath, then she let out a small laugh. “I guess I should’ve just called after all. I’m so fucking stupid…”

“You’re not,” Spike said. “You’re really great, Sunset.”

“Yeah, no one thinks you’re stupid,” Twilight said.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset shook her head and stood up. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Everyone’s eyes were on her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Sunset smiled at them all. “I’m sure I will be. Let’s… let’s find a restaurant that’s open late or something. We’re still on vacation, right?”

Twilight looked uncertain. “If you’re sure…”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Fluttershy said. “And it’s what Sunset wants to do.”

Sunset opened the car door and got in, and everyone followed. She paused before starting the engine, looking at everyone around her. Things had gone disastrously bad, but at least she had her loved ones close. And inside the building, she could imagine Fluttershy was surrounded with the band, who were no doubt there to support her like they always had been.

Both of them still had their families to help them through hard times, and that was why they’d both make it through this. This was the end of Sunset and Fluttershy’s story once and for all, but it was just a chapter in each of their lives.

Sunset started the engine, backed out of the parking spot, then drove out into the open road.