Rose of the Desert

by La Samu-El

Rating: teen
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Comedy, Rarity, Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Slice of Life, Human
Length: 5807

Rarity and Rainbow Dash are trying to find out what Sunset Shimmer is up to in the desert.

Why is Sunset Shimmer avoiding her friends? What is she planning that takes her in the desert? Rarity and Rainbow Dash are finding out.

Published 2015-06-19 18:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-06-19 18:10:02 UTC

Chapter 1

The multiple loud intolerable clangs of the school bell rang and instantly the growing chatter of students were echoed throughout the many halls of Canterlot High School. Students were walking by the dozens with wide smiles as they made their way to the single cafeteria. The cafeteria was noisy and bustled with everyone either lined up for their mid-morning lunches, or searching for an empty table or a table with their friends to sit alongside. Among the commotion was a young girl with pink puffy hair and an overhyped energy who appeared to be narrating a tale to the other five who sat with her as they listening attentively while leaning on the table towards her.

“And then when I took the first bite it was so hot that steam was coming out of my ears and fire flew out of my mouth when I took a deep breath out,” the pink girl demonstrated her exhaling breath before she continued, “it was as it was trying to burn me to death so I said, “Oatmeal, are you crazy?!”.”

This was followed by intense laughter from the other five girls.

“Oh Pinkie darling,” a girl with blue, curly hair giggled while trying to swallow a forkful from her plate of salad, “you should have placed the bowl of oatmeal next to a fan to cool it.”

“Yeah but I don’t have a fan, Rarity.”

“You could have placed it next to the AC vent,” another girl with a multicolored hairdo was twirling a soccer ball with her index finger while eating a sandwich and drinking a bottle of Apple Cider, “that would have made it at least twenty percent cooler.”

“Hmm,” Pinkie shifted into her thinking pose, her eyes were squinted as her head rested on her palm. She then burst a smile. “I guess I should have thought of that. Thanks Rainbow Dash!”

“No prob,” Rainbow Dash began to take another sip from her bottle of cider but none poured out. She peered into the bottle, then turned it upside down but not a drop poured out. “Hey Applejack, do you have any extra Cider on you?”

“No ah don’t,” another girl with a southern accent, and a combination of blonde and sandy brown hair, who wore a stetson folded her arms as she narrowed her eyes toward Rainbow Dash. “That was the fifth bottle you drank. The rest of us haven’t even finished our first one.”

“But they’re so good,” Rainbow Dash stared with glassy eyes at the empty bottle on the table. “Don’t you have any extra? It’s you and the rest of your Apple family that makes those stuff. You should have a couple of stashed in your bag.”

Applejack hesitated, then sighed as her hand reached deep into her sandy yellow bag which lay beside her chair and pulled out another bottle. With a swift motion she threw it to Rainbow Dash who, with wide open arms, eagerly caught it. with care, as if it was presented to her by a divine deity, she twisted the cover, brought the rim to her lips, and as the liquid poured she savored every single drop.

“That was Sunset’s share,” Applejack leaned back, having finished her lunch. “But she’s not here, so, have at it.”

“Where is Sunset anyway?” Pinkie asked, “I haven’t seen her today. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since Monday. And today’s Wednesday.”

“Ah don’t know where that girl is,” Applejack frowned as she responded, “since Monday Sunset’s been acting weird. This morning during class she kept writing on a small piece of paper. Ah couldn’t get a full view when I tried to peak but it kinda looked like some kind of list. When ah asked her about it she just quickly shoved it in her pocket and said that it was nothing important.”

“Well I’m sure that Sunset will tell us in her own time,” Rarity paused, “although it does sound a mighty bit suspicious.”

“Um,” another girl with long, pink hair who kept slowly sneaking bits of her salad into her slightly open bag, which in turn was collected by a puffy white rabbit. “Maybe the list has something to do with Sunset Shimmer not being here.”

“Maybe Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash casually responded as she placed her bottle of Cider on the table, “but what’s she hiding that she won’t even tell us? Or eat with us?”

“Ooh ooh maybe she’s planning something for all of us,” Pinky jumped up and down as she shared her idea, “maybe a fun party.”

“No Pinkie. A party would be the last thing she would plan.”

Pinkie sat down. “Well I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I wonder what she’s doing now?”

Everyone else at the table shrugged their shoulders and glanced at each other.

“I don’t know what she’s doing now,” Rarity responded, “but yesterday when I saw her she was checking her account balance. Those were some six figure digits I saw there, and that was just in the spending account. Who knows how much money she has properly saved up.”

“Um,” Fluttershy spoke quietly, “how did Sunset even get all that money?”

“She writes songs and sells them. She told us all that five months ago. You were in Maine camping. I guess we forgot to tell you, darling,” Rarity let out an awkward giggle. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay.”

The school bell rang which signaled the end of the lunch period. Everyone in the cafeteria rose from their tables as they grumbled, grabbed their backpacks, pushed their chairs forward, and walked out of the cafeteria to their fifth period classes. The five girls also shared a quick yet friendly ’see ya’ as they followed suit and went their separate ways. All except Rainbow Dash who was still seated as she finished her bottle of Apple Cider

“I have Calculus and I didn’t do my homework.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself as she rose from her empty table, grabbed her soccer ball and her blue rainbow-branded backpack, and slowly walked out of the cafeteria. “I’m not going there. I think I’ll go to the soccer field.”

In an empty hallway, one lone figure leaned crosslegged adjacent an open, rusty locker. She wore a black jacket which partially covered a t-shirt with an emblem of a red and yellow yin-yang symbol embedded in a surrounding sun. Not heeding immediately to the school bell, she scribbled in a checkmark motion on a slip of paper.

“I got my luggage all packed up,” she muttered to herself, “I got new sheets, new curtains, I’ve got a new vacuum, I have everything else all loaded up, just need groceries, and then I’m pretty much good to go. Can’t wait.”

She shoved the paper in her pocket and was about to close the locker when someone called out to her.

“Hey Sunset,” Rainbow Dash ran up to her, “What’s up?”

Sunset Shimmer turned her head to see Rainbow Dash stop in front of her. “Nothing Rainbow, everything’s fine.”

“You didn’t eat with us just now, what’cha doing?”

“Uh, I wasn’t doing anything, just getting rid of some junk inside my locker. Yeah.” With a clang and a click Sunset Shimmer closed her locker door shut and locked it. Rainbow Dash could not help but squint her eyes as she looked at Sunset Shimmer’s face as she searched for any hints of deception.

“Well, if you’re not doing anything, how about we head down to that smoothie shop after school?”

“Uh, no thanks, I’m kinda busy. Still have those Finals to study for.”

“Oh, okay,” Rainbow dash was in the process of continuing to the soccer field when she stopped. “Is it because of the finals that you’ve been avoiding us all week? Or is it something else?”

Sunset Shimmer raised her eyebrows as she looked at Rainbow Dash. “What are you talking about?”

“So it is something else. Since Monday you’ve stopped sitting with us at lunch, Applejack told me that you’re busy writing on some silly piece of paper, and Rarity told me that you had a lot of money in your spending account.”

“What’s wrong with writing and checking my account balance, Rainbow Dash?”

“Is your music making and the amount of money that you get more important than us? Your friends?”

“N-no,” Sunset Shimmer slowly backed away as Rainbow Dash grew upset, “Rainbow, stop yelling, you’re scaring me.”

“I am not, Rainbow paused as she realized that she really was yelling. She took a few breaths to compose herself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you, it’s just that you seem distant from us. It looks a bit suspicious. And I’m just also afraid that your music career might be making you forget about us.”

Sunset Shimmer pulled Rainbow Dash into a tight hug. “Rainbow, nothing’s more important than you guys, it’s just that a little space every now and then helps me think better.”

“This is about Pinkie distracting you isn’t it?” Rainbow dash laughed as Sunset let go of the embrace.

Uh, no.”

“I know, just kidding. Well if it’s just a little space you need then I’ll leave you to it. See ya Sunset, I’m heading to the field now.” Rainbow Dash turned the corner of the hall and walked away.

“See ya Rainbow,” Sunset Shimmer began to to walk off in the opposite direction but stopped and turned around. “Wait, don’t you have Calculus now?” She asked Rainbow Dash, or rather the empty space where she stood.

“Bet she forgot to do her homework again. Typical Rainbow Dash.” She chuckled to herself as she made her way to a nearby classroom labeled Physics.

After school the group of five met in a nearby smoothie restaurant. They were seated adjacent the panorama window which exposed the outside streets. Each had a tall, frosty glass of a purple-colored grape smoothie. While she drank Rainbow Dash was conversing with the others.

“She said that she had Finals and she wasn’t coming here,” Rainbow Dash said as she gulped her smoothie not bothering to use the straw provided.

“Well, maybe she does,” Applejack said, “a lot of us has.”

“Yeah I know but the way she said it, it was as if she was really hiding something from us, Just like you said Applejack,” Applejack raised her right eyebrow as she listened attentively. “I saw that piece of paper stuck in her pocket. I didn’t see much but I saw a date and time on it. It’s the day after school at eleven o’clock.”

“But what is she planning at that time?”

“Ohh ohh ohh,” Pinkie Pie raised her hand excitedly, “maybe she’s meeting someone, you know, like a date with a special someone she has.”

“If it really was a date,” Rarity said while she occasionally took tiny sips from her smoothie through her straw, “then Sunset would have been smart enough to ask me to make a new dress for her. And she didn’t, so it can’t be that.”

“Then what could it be?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out. On that day after school I’m going to do stakeout. I’ll just need someone to come with me.”

“And who’s that person gonna be?” Applejack placed her hands under her chin as she leaned inches closer to the table. “It can’t be all of us because we’ll get noticed. Plus Pinkie Pie would give us away.”

“Hey!” Pinkie Pie glared at Applejack.

“I was thinking that Rainbow Dash should tag along with me,” Rarity calmly made her choice as she took a sip of her smoothie. Rainbow Dash almost choked on her drink.

“Wait why me?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Because I just said that I wanted you to come with me,” Rarity then asked the others, “didn’t you girls hear me say that?”

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy nodded their heads.

“Rainbow Dash would be the right person to go,” Fluttershy said, “c-cause Applejack has chores at the farm, Pinkie Pie would give the position away, and I have my little critters to take care of. Rainbow dash doesn’t have anything to do, so she is the ideal person. If that’s okay with you guys.”

“See? Even Fluttershy agrees with me. So it’s settled,” Rarity rose from her seat and walked behind Rainbow Rash and she placed her hands on her shoulders. “Rainbow Dash, I’ll pick you up on the day after school at nine, we’ll stop for some takeout, and then we’ll park somewhere near Sunset Shimmer’s house where she won’t see us. And bring that tracking device that you have, it might come in useful.”

Rarity pulled out a black leather purse from her matching handbag and retrieved a five dollar bill. She placed it next to her now empty glass. “I got to go, the waitress can have the remaining three dollars as tip. See you girls.”

A chorus of goodbyes came from the table as Rarity exited the smoothie shop.

“Ah gotta go too,” Applejack stood up, pulled two dollars from her jeans’ pockets and placed it next to her glass in the same manner as Rarity. “Got the evening chores to do.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie also followed Applejack and placed their money next to their glasses.

“Bye Applejack,” they chorused, “Bye Rainbow Dash.”

As the trio left Rainbow Dash was still seated as she casually finished her smoothie, her eyes slowly darted back and forth, left and right as she scanned the background activities inside the shop and the busy streets outside.

“Why do I have to be the one paired with Rarity?” Rainbow Dash sighed as she placed her feet on the opposite seat. “I wanted to spend that whole day at the tennis court in the country club.” Minutes later she left two dollars beside her glass as she left the shop.

Chapter 2

Sunset Shimmer’s two-story olive green brick cottage was a stuck-out thumb in Blacksmith Avenue. The cottage was partially covered with growing ivy. The cobblestone path was covered by tall yet dry decaying trees which were planted on both sides forming a round arched tunnel overhead. The path was wide enough for a vehicle. The gates were a matching green but was rusty and in need of painting but the smaller gate, which by its size was meant for a person to use, showed signs of recent maintenance. The equally rusty windows were closed and covered by curtains inside. The front doorposts were overgrown by vines which bore fresh grapes. The lawn was evenly cut, the trimming pattern were visible from the corners to the center. The center of the lawn held a moss-covered sundial made out of stone atop a shallow dry birdbath. On the birdbath were carved the word ‘Shimmer’ but the carving was partially eroded and chipped. The word ‘Shimmer’ was also carved on the stone gate post. A noticeable trait about the carved word was the dotted i, the dot was not actually a dot, but an emblem of a sun and the yin-yang symbol in the center.

Two houses away and across the road was a dusty side alley. In the alley was a car with Rarity in the driver’s seat and a sloped Rainbow Dash in the passenger’s seat. Inside the car Rarity constantly peered through a pair of camouflage-patterned binoculars while Rainbow Dash observed the graffiti painted on both surrounding walls.

“So why are we here exactly?” Rainbow Dash whispered to Rarity from the passenger seat.

“Rainbow darling,” Rarity replied, “we already agreed that Sunset Shimmer is up to something. So we’re spying to see what’s up.”

“I know why we’re here, I mean why are we here here?” Rainbow Dash pointed to the surroundings. “Don’t get me wrong, your Cadillac is really comfortable, since you got it only a few days Sunset wouldn’t recognize us, and I appreciate the extra Cider you brought me, but why are we parked in a side alley?”

“I told you an hour ago that this is the only place where we can see Sunset’s house but she can’t see us,” Rarity planted her face with the steering wheel in frustration while she thought that Rainbow can be dense at times. “Just shut up, drink your Cider, and leave the spying to me.”

“Ugh, whatever.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she reached towards the back seat and grabbed another bottle of Apple Cider. With a twist she opened the bottle and drank its contents in one gulp. “Now that’s a drink.”

“Shh,” Rarity placed her index finger on her lips as she pointed to Sunset Shimmer’s house where the gates slowly sliding open. As they opened a white van drove out. As Rarity continued to look she saw the figure driving the van.

“That’s Sunset in the Transit van,” Rarity forcefully nudged Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, “where is she going with a van?”

“Since when did Sunset even get a Transit van?”

“I don’t know,” Rarity said as she buckled her seatbelt and placed the car into drive. “Put your seatbelt on.” Rainbow Dash immediately obeyed.

Sunset Shimmer drove onto the street opposite their direction as Rarity steadily pulled out of the alley.

The follow was longer than expected. A lot longer. Rarity thought that Sunset Shimmer was making a delivery nearby, hence the van. She could not have been more inaccurate. Sunset Shimmer drove out the Canterlot district in San Francisco and headed to Downtown where she stopped, parked, and went into a fast food restaurant. Rarity and Rainbow Dash stopped next to her van.

“What did she stop here for?” Rainbow Dash wondered.

“Probably for food since this is a fast food restaurant,” Rarity answered. “Do you have that tracking device I asked you to bring?”

“Got it right here,” from her pocket Rainbow Dash pulled out a tiny roll of tape and two electronic devices; one was rectangular shaped with a metal antenna and a retractable clip and the other was a screen. “These are the transmitter and the receiver. This baby could track someone at an eight mile radius.”

“Excellent!” Rarity grabbed the transmitter and the tape and got out of the car while looking through the window to see if Sunset Shimmer was looking outside. Lucky she was busy placing an order at the counter. Rarity then turned on the transmitter and taped it to the underneath the van right behind the rear bumper. She then hurried back into the car, reversed out of the parking spots and parked next to the curb in another street away from view of Sunset Shimmer. As she did so Rainbow Dash turned on the receiver. within ten seconds the screen showed an overhead view of their location with two points, one red and the other black.

“The black dot is us and the red one is Sunset.” Rainbow Dash explained as she pointed to the screen. “Why did you want this again?”

“If we keep following her close up she is going to notice,” Rarity said, “I wanted your tracking device so we can follow her but stay at a far distance so she won’t notice us.”

“Oh I get it.” Suddenly a high pitched beeping chime was heard from the screen as the red dot blinked and moved.

“Does that mean she’s moving?” Rarity asked as her eyes were glued to the screen as the red dot moved over a particular road. A road which was labeled as the Oakland Bay Bridge.

“Yes!”

“Well I guess it’s time we started moving.” Rarity said as she placed her hand on the gear-lever only to be stopped by Rainbow Dash.

“Wait wait wait!” Rainbow Dash cried out as she retrieved her phone. She plugged it through a usb cord which she attached to the player. “I have the perfect song for an adventure like this.”

After a few swipes and taps from Rainbow Dash’s fingers a song played from the car’s speakers; a song which can be described with a swing beat with the involvement of some brass instruments. The sound of James Bond’s theme song.

Rarity rolled her eyes as she pulled away from the curb and proceeded onto the Oakland Bay Bridge.

Meanwhile the Oakland Bay Bridge was well behind Sunset Shimmer as she drove through chains of highways, interstates and roads at speed. Unknowing to her that Rarity and Rainbow Dash was in tow several miles behind her she continued on as she hummed to her pop album which played loudly. Her destination was fifteen miles from a tiny village in a the blazing heat of the desert. The village was better known as Park Village which is located in Death Valley.

Her destination was an empty wooden cabin isolated in a deserted side road. The cabin was not painted. The driveway was a track carved from the earth. Sunset Shimmer parked her van and took the keys with her as she walked to the front door as she took off her jacket. As Sunset Shimmer opened the door she coughed and covered her nose with the jacket as the light dust hovered from the doorpost and spread around the house. Most of the objects were covered with a white sheet. She opened the windows. The windows were brown and nearly opaque. Behind the cabin was a wooden porch and beyond the porch was the vast desert in its dry, cracked glory.

Sunset Shimmer carefully removed the white sheets from the objects. The first three were a couch, sofa and a faded varnished coffee table. Next were dressers. In the next room under the sheets were more dressers and a bed. Finally the last was a tall grandfather clock which matched the varnish of the table. Since the sheet covered the huge furniture the numbers on the clock and the still pendulum were clearly visible.

“Got to wind this thing later,” she sighed.

There were no sheets covering the third room. The third room consisted of a sink, a counter top and cupboards. In the center of the room was a modern stove that was connected to a petroleum tank. A refrigerator stood in the corner. Sunset Shimmer pulled out a soft haired brush from a cupboard drawer and began dusting the counter top, the sink, the stove and the refrigerator. After dusting the top of the refrigerator she then washed the windows and hung new curtains from the van. She took a vacuum and vacuumed every speck of dust she could find. She gathered clean sheets from the van and fitted it on the bed. She went to the back and swept the porch and dusted the deck chairs. Before long the entire house was spic and span. But she was not finished yet. She placed a pedestal fan in the corner and a vase of flowers on the coffee table. The house looked much more inviting. Sunset wiped her forehead but could not help but smile as she observed the fruits of her labor.

While she observed the interior of the house Rarity and Rainbow Dash was parked further up the road away from noticeable view. The car was switched off. Rarity was one again peering at the house through her binoculars but Rainbow Dash was also doing the same. At first they could not see clearly into the house until Sunset Shimmer washed the windows and then they were able to see the interior.

“Uh Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said when she saw Sunset Shimmer walk out of the cabin, “You do know that we’re gonna have to leave soon, right?”

“Not just yet,” Rarity replied, “I still want to know what she’s doing here.”

“Maybe she just wanted a bit of space, just as she said.”

“But this is way too much space. And if she wanted space she could have stayed at her home.”

“Maybe she just wanted a vacation.”

“A vacation? Here? Of all places? Rainbow Dash, when people take vacations they go to Disney World, take a cruise around the Caribbean, or fly to Paris. They don’t choose to go to the middle of nowhere in Death Valley unless there’s a reason. And I’m pretty sure there’s a reason while she’s here.”

“Yeah, well whatever the reason is will have to wait because if we stay here she will see us eventually.”

“Ugh fine,” Rarity threw her pair of binoculars on the back seat and was about to turn the ignition switch, but her wrist was tightly grabbed by Rainbow Dash’s hand. “Rainbow what-”

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash squeezed Rarity’s wrist tighter as her eyes were glued to her binoculars. “She’s pulling something from the van again. It has to be something big because she’s struggling to get it out.”

“Do you see what it is?”

“Not ye… Oh my gosh!”

“What what?” Rarity snatched the binoculars from Rainbow Dash and looked through them. “Oh my.”

“Um, I guess that’s the reason why she’s here.”

“I didn’t expect that.”

From the back of her van Sunset Shimmer pulled out a crate while being careful as she unloaded it by sliding one end out on the ground and unloading the other end from inside the van. With the crate unloaded she unclamped the ends and though the sides forward. The crate was now a two dimensional surface that revealed what Rainbow Dash and Rarity believed was the true reason for her being there. A sand motorcycle.

The motorcycle was painted in a two tone deep red and bright yellow with the words ‘Yamaha TW200’ painted in black on both sides under the black seats. It was brand new, the tires held no sign of any wear. It was noticeable that it had been polished recently. On the seat rested a matching helmet. It was a beauty to look at. Sunset Shimmer smiled as she filled the bike with petrol, got on it, fitted the helmet on her head and started the engine. Once started, only a trail of dust could be seen as she speedily rode behind her cabin, beyond the porch, and into the deadly, unforgiving desert along with the ‘RRRRrrrrrr rrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR’ soundtrack from the engine.

Back at the Cadillac Rarity’s and Rainbow Dash’s eyes were as wide as saucers as their minds comprehended what they saw.

“Sunset Shimmer could ride a motorcycle?” Rainbow Dash gawked as she continued to look through the binoculars.

“Since when did she even buy a motorcycle?” Rarity asked as she retrieved her pair from the rear seat and watched as Sunset shimmer rode towards the horizon. She started the car, drove to the cabin, parked beside the van, rushed out to the back porch with Rainbow Dash in tow. “I need closer look. I wish I could take a picture she’s too far away.”

All Rainbow Dash could do was look at the disappearing Sunset Shimmer as she rode towards the shimmering sunset beyond the horizon while the thought, Sunset could ride a motorcycle? How cool is that?! Wonder if she would let me have a go.”, played in her head as she sat down on the earth floor leaning on the rough wooden back wall of the cabin with Rarity following suit.

Sunset Shimmer was not aware of her visitors but she was having the time of her life. With a grin on her obscured face, a sand bike to die for and a naturally created course she rode faster and faster with every gear change after gear change as she rode on the lengthy desert flats to the sand dunes, as she tumbled down the steep slopes of the dunes, as she conquered the challenge of climbing up the few rocky hills and rolling back down on the other side while trying to not fall off her sand bike, as she crossed a river while almost getting stuck. Sunset was determined to cross without dismounting the bike that she gave the bike full power. She did cross the river but water and bits of mud splashed on her jeans, her t-shirt, and her helmet but she used her sleeve to clean the visor as best as she could and kept on going. On and on she sped on as she viewed the scenery that was laid out before her. She saw the grains of sand blowing lightly with soft wind, the rippling crystal clear water flowing though the river. It was like a scene from a painting. She enjoyed every bit of it. She enjoyed the breeze in her hair, she loved the desert, and she loved her sand bike.

At the top of a sand dune she stopped, dismounted, and removed her helmet as she watched the sun as it begun to hide behind the horizon, first a quarter, then halfway, and eventually the orange ball was gone with only the lighted clouds remaining as it got darker. It was like a scene from a painting. She rode back to the direction of the cabin hoping to get there before complete nightfall.

Rainbow and Rarity were at the cabin as they also took in the setting sun.

“I’m not so sure why Sunset came here for anymore.” Rarity shifted herself to make herself more comfortable, “Was it because the motorcycle? Or that view?”

“Well it’s not a soccer game,” replied Rainbow Dash. Rarity rolled her eyes. “But it really is amazing. You really don’t see stuff like this in the city. Credit where it’s due.”

“We’ve been driving and following Sunset all day,” Rarity covered her mouth as she yawned, “I’m getting a bit sleepy.”

“Shouldn’t we go before Sunset get’s back?”

“Go where? I’m not driving all the way back to the city at this time of night and I don’t want to spend my money on a motel room. Wake me up when she gets back.” Rarity rested her head on Rainbow Dash’s lap as she fell into a slumber. At first Rainbow Dash glared at her for not wanting to leave and occupying her lap, but she gave in and stroked Rarity’s twirly hair as she too slowly fell into slumber.

While the two slept Sunset Shimmer was near the cabin as darkness fell fully. She could not wait to get in the house and shower, and bask in the living room with the chill from the air condition as she read a novel and drank a glass of iced tea. But upon arriving at the cabin she caught a glimpse of two figures leaning on the back wall. Because of the lack of light she was unable to identify them.

“Probably some local bums sleeping here.” Sunset Shimmer muttered to herself as she parked next to the van and dismounted. She was about kick the bums out but she spotted the car parked on the other side of the van.

“Why is a Cadillac parked here?” She wondered as she walked over to it. She peered through the tinted glass for any clue. She gave a chuckle.

“Rainbow Dash!” She walked back to the back wall. “She’s the only one who would have that much Cider in her car.”

She pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and turned on the flashlight. Sure enough it was Rainbow Dash along with Rarity snuggled together, their eyes closed, unaware of anyone. Sunset snickered

I need a picture of this, she thought as she snapped four shots at different angles; one wide view, one double closeup, and two individual collect of each. The fourth shot’s sound effect was enough to slowly wake Rainbow Dash from her sleep. Sunset Shimmer quickly put her phone away.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes and looked up. Sure enough Sunset Shimmer was standing before her with a huge grin while trying to hold a snicker. “Where am I”

“Awwwwwwwwww,” Sunset laughed playfully, “Rainbow, I knew that you were close with Rarity but not that close. It’s so ador-a-ble.”

“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash face was a bright red as she shook Rarity awake. “Rarity wake up!”

“What?” Rarity let out a yawn, “Is it time for breakfast?”

“I know I’m supposed to be mad at you for following me here.” Sunset folded her arms. “I know you followed me here, there’s no other way that you’d know that I was here. But see you two sooooooo snuggled up together looks so sweet. You already act like a couple together like all the time, just start dating.”

Rainbow Dash’s face turned a deeper shade of red and Rarity had a glint in her eye and a tight her lips.

“So you think that we should start dating?” Rarity playfully hugged Rainbow Dash and leaned her hair oh her shoulder. “I might take that advice. What do you think Dashie?”

Rainbow Dash was speechless as Rarity stood up pulling Rainbow Dash up with her.

“You’re joking,” Rainbow Dash found her voice and looked at Rarity, “right Rarity?”

“Hmm, maybe.” Rarity said. Then she placed her index finger under Rainbow Dash’s chin which earned her a gulp. “But then again,” Rarity playfully purred, “maybe not.”

Sunset Shimmer held her sides and laughed as she began walking to the front. Rainbow Dash glared daggers at her. Rarity let out a chuckle. But both completely forgot about Sunset Shimmer’s motorcycle.

“Hey guys,” Sunset Shimmer beckoned to the duo, “Let’s get inside. It’s hot out here and you two aren’t making it any better.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled about irritating bacon heads as she followed suit with Rarity’s arm playfully around her.

“Uh Sunset,” Rarity said, as they went inside, “Do you have have enough space for both of us as well?”

“Yeah,” Sunset Shimmer answered as she turned on the air condition unit, “I got enough room.”

“In here’s kinda cozy,” Rainbow Dash muttered. Rarity nodded her head.

“Where’re we going to sleep?” she asked Sunset who had closed the doors and was in the process of shutting the windows.

“Well after some weeks later I was going to take all five of you with me here so we could have some sleepover nights. I came here today to fix up the house to make it more inviting. So I had some spare sleeping bags that I thought that we would all use for tonight. But with the situation with you two, I will sleep on the couch and y’all can use my bed. It’s big enough to fit both of you. It’s huge. Just don’t do anything funny, alright?”

“SUNSET!” Rainbow Dash bellowed.

The bellow from Rainbow Dash and the intense uncontrollable laughter from Sunset Shimmer was clearly audible from the beginning of the side road and possibly beyond. Lucky there was no other house nearby to hear, no neighbors to be awoken. Just the singly cabin with the lights on under the now dotted starry sky.