They were on their way—for drinks, for fun, maybe shenanigans? It wasn’t really Rainbow Dash’s goal, but she could put up with some hijinks so long as no one got hurt. That was supposed to be part of the college experience, right? Wild nights? She’d settle for someone getting drunk enough to go streaking or something. She really hoped it wouldn’t be another plan that blew up in her face.

But as she put her arm around Fluttershy and kissed the other girl’s soft hand, she felt good. Optimistic, even.

Maybe Applejack and Sunset Shimmer would show. It could be like old times again, but drunker.

“How’re you feeling?” Rainbow murmured into Fluttershy’s ear, partly to be heard over the chatter and music in the van.

Partly just to kiss her girlfriend on the neck.

Fluttershy shifted next to her, blushing but smiling, too. “A little nervous,” she said. “But I’m happy.” She looked good. Rainbow couldn’t see it before outside of the van, but now up close, she got to appreciate her girlfriend’s outfit. A green hairband pulled back the curtain of hair that Fluttershy ordinarily used to hide behind. She wore a soft green vinyl jacket, a glittery pink V-neck, a dark green mini-skirt, and yellow strapped-heeled shoes. No rainbow medallion today, but she did wear a simple gold butterfly charm necklace and small diamond earrings.

“Yeah?” Rainbow grinned, toying with a lock of Fluttershy’s hair. “Why’s that?”

Fluttershy inhaled a little, looking out the tinted windows before bashfully ducking her head and looking at Rainbow through her thick eyelashes. “Because you’re holding me.” Only the slightest quiver in her voice. She was getting more confident with Rainbow.

The tomboy smiled wider—

“Oh my God, you guys are going to give me cavities!” Sassaflash opined loudly.

Rainbow clenched her jaw as her smile froze. Her eyes cut sideways to see her vice-captain smirking at her over the back of her seat. Twilight had an apologetic grin as she adjusted her glasses and waved at Fluttershy, who did a tiny wave back.

“Sass, I will use your head as a soccer ball,” Rainbow hissed, smacking the back of her friend’s head.

“I guess that’s the only way you’d ever score with me,” Sassflash shot back, swatting at Rainbow’s hand.

Rainbow threw her arms up into the air as Twilight laughed.

Fluttershy shrank, her eyes turning down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Sass…”

Rainbow looked at her in alarm, then shot Sassaflash an accusatory look. She kicked the back of the other girl’s seat. “Look what you did! Take it back, turf muncher!”

Sassaflash looked genuinely chagrined. “Oh, shi—er, I mean—Flutters, I was just kidding! I’ve got a fat mouth—”

“I’ll say,” Rainbow muttered with an eye roll.

“I should just say this for everybody,” Sassaflash said, louder so the others could hear. “Take everything I do and say with a grain of salt! I promise you, I’m totally harmless!”

“Desperately horny, but harmless!” Rainbow added loudly.

Everyone laughed. Sassaflash hung her head. “Alas. It’s true.”

Quietly to Fluttershy, Rainbow murmured, “Sorry about that. She really was just kidding.”

Fluttershy nodded, but she still looked uncertain. “I’ll try to remember that,” she murmured back. “But… This is only the second time we’ve been with our friends as a couple. The question came up for me at Sassaflash’s party, too.”

“And what question was that?”

“What’s acceptable behavior? For us? As a couple, I mean,” Fluttershy said, wringing her hands. “I know displays of affection can be awkward for other people.”

Rainbow shrugged, thinking about it. How had it gone with her other girlfriends? She supposed she only brought half of them around her friends, and even then, usually only once or twice.

“I mean, look, we’re all together, but y’know how some of the girls are. Rarity and Pinks may split off to flirt with boys. Sass mentioned wanting to do the same thing. And Twilight doesn’t mind. Remember her and Timber Spruce? They used to hug, hold hands, whisper in each other’s ears, and always kiss around us! It won’t be a big deal.” Rainbow grinned wolfishly, “Besides if we want to do more, I’m sure Pinkie is cool with us using her van.”

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide, and even in the shadow of the van it was obvious that her face glowed red, but Rainbow didn’t miss the way her lips tugged up once.

“And hey,” Rainbow said, pulling Fluttershy close once more. “You can drink as much or as little as you want, okay? What I said at Sass’ party is still true. I don’t want you to think you’ve gotta get loaded to hang with me.”

Fluttershy smiled at her. “Okay. Thank you, Rainbow.” She toyed with her jacket’s buttons before adding a quiet, “I love you.”

Rainbow returned the smile. “I love you too.” She cupped Fluttershy’s cheek. “Y’know, we got the backseat to ourselves…”

Her girlfriend raised an eyebrow. “M-Meaning…?”

Rainbow smirked as she leaned in and kissed Fluttershy gently on the lips. “Meaning, featherbrain, I missed you, and I want lots and lots of kisses to feel better, or I’ll freaking die.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, glancing toward the front of the van. But the others were preoccupied. Pinkie and Rarity were chatting animatedly in the front, and Twilight and Sassflash had become engaged in what sounded like a super nerdy conversation. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow again, and this time, her eyes were hooded.

She brushed noses with Rainbow and whispered, “Oh dear. I suppose I simply must kiss you, then?”

Rainbow nodded, her smirk fading. “Yes.”

Their lips met. Rainbow’s eyes slipped shut as she lost herself in Fluttershy’s mesmerizing touch. Was it her, or was the other girl getting better at this whole kissing thing? The way she moved her lips, her tongue—she was getting bolder! It literally left Rainbow breathless.

Time slipped by and they lost themselves in each other.

After making her announcement and turning away from the back seat, Sassaflash checked her phone and saw a news notification. Thanks to the overbearing nature of data tracking, she’d been recommended an article by her news app. Sort of useful, she supposed, but the tradeoff for timely information wanted to make her gag. If Rainbow seldom made use of social media because she was busy, Sassaflash did it by choice. She hated the idea of being some walking-talking data farm. Gag her with a spoon, y’know?

The preview headline read, “The Canterlot Museum of History announces a delay—” before the words cut off. Couldn’t these stupid apps show the whole damn thing? What a waste of her time! She had pretty girls to ogle! Grumbling, Sassaflash clicked on the notification and was taken to the article. She read it silently, then shook her head. “Damn!”

“Something the matter?” Twilight Sparkle asked, looking at her with friendly concern.

Sassaflash glanced at her, feeling self-conscious. Being gregarious on the outside didn’t mean she didn’t get nervous trying to make friends. No way! If anything, her social skills were simply the result of deep-seated fears of rejection. Once upon a time, Sass had just been annoying. She hadn’t been the popular girl at school. Hardly a social pariah thanks to her middle class parents and limited success at dance and modeling, but as many highschoolers could tell you, being a normie stuck in the middle of the pecking order was a precarious place to be. Friends came and went quickly, and she’d always been one social disaster away from dropping to the bottom of the food chain.

To her great lamentation, her unattractive qualities had balanced out the good. She’d had a big mouth as a kid. Been brutally honest. Tiringly pedantic. Loud. If anything she’d thought she was lucky that Caramel had asked her out. He’d been a “popular” kid.

Ah, no. Must not think of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Banged.

Sassaflash answered Twilight stiffly, mentally kicking herself for the lapse. “Oh, nothing important. I was just reading about this thing I wanted to see being delayed.”

Twilight adjusted her glasses, her eyes tensing at Sassaflash’s reservation. Her tone was gentle. Coaxing, even. “I’m sorry to hear that. May I ask what it was?

Sassaflash fidgeted in her seat, uncertain how much she should reveal in this conversation. Twilight seemed like she might understand…but appearances could be deceiving. Glasses and an academic outfit did not a nerd make. “This museum exhibit. I’m super into Egyptian stuff—”

“Ah, that’s right! I remember your Cleopatra costume. It was very accurate!”

“Thanks. I—” Sassaflash started, feeling massively relieved. Even with her team, she hadn’t revealed her historical obsession right away. Rainbow teased her, but that had been the worst of it. In the past? Either people thought she was boring or massively weird.

Then a thought occurred to her. Had Twilight said the costume was accurate…? She blinked and looked at the girl next to her. “Hold on, do you know much about ancient Egyptian culture?”

Twilight grinned, bouncing a little in her seat. “I mean, I’m not a history major, but I love ancient cultures! The museum exhibit you’re referring to—could it be the one at the Canterlot Museum of History? The one the university was helping to organize?”

“With Professor A.K. Yearling, you mean?” Sassaflash’s eyes were wide. “Yeah! I’d only just heard about it today after I had a run-in with the professor herself. I, uh, nearly knocked her down a flight of stairs.” She was sort of ashamed of that. Not the accident, but missing the news about the exhibit. Ordinarily, she would have caught wind of this ages ago, but being the vice-captain of the school’s soccer team took up a ton of her attention.

“You did that to the professor?” Twilight asked, mirroring Sassaflash’s big-eyed expression. “And you survived?”

Now Sassaflash blushed, scratching the back of her head. “Er, yes? I kinda bit her head off, actually. She was a massive jerk. She had all these papers fly all over the place, and I got to look at some of them. I think they were documents about the items for the exhibit.”

“No way!” Twilight exclaimed, leaning forward. “I know they’re going to have some pretty famous pieces of jewelry and art on display, but I heard there were going to be recently discovered pieces being shown for the first time, too. Did you see anything like that?”

Sassaflash hesitated, spinning her phone with her hands. “Yeah. One.”

Twilight blinked at her and sat back. “Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? I can get a little over-eager. I’m kind of a massive nerd if you hadn’t already guessed.” She laughed nervously.

Sassaflash shook her head quickly. “No, no! It’s fine. It’s just that thing with Professor Yearling was super weird and I’ve been thinking about it on and off since it happened.”

“You said you nearly knocked her down the stairs? She wasn’t hurt, right?”

“No. Well. Actually, she was the one who nearly knocked me down the stairs. She grabbed me by my shirt, and I shoved her back. Rainbow was there—” she glanced back— “Aaaand they’re making out! Nevermind.” She didn’t bring up the acrobatic flip she’d performed that had saved her. She wasn’t beyond a little bragging, but usually, it was just to get a laugh. She really wanted to make a good impression with Rainbow’s friends, and she didn’t think being overly arrogant would earn her much appreciation. Rainbow Dash probably taxed their daily limit for braggarts.

Twilight’s hands went to her face as her eyebrows lifted. “Holy cow! I’m glad no one was hurt.” She winced a little. “I had to take a history course with Yearling my freshman year. She’s a pretty prickly person—”

Sassaflash scoffed. “That’s putting it generously.”

“She was pretty mad at you, huh?”

“Oh she just insinuated I was a bubble-blowing idiot who was only in university because I was the equivalent of an advanced ape fit for scientific study, that’s all.”

Twilight winced. “Sounds pretty standard. That must’ve been really unpleasant.”

“It sucked. A lot. But I got back at her when I corrected her on one of her notes.”

“No. You did what?!”

Sassaflash laughed a little. Twilight had her hands in her hair, a horrified look on her face. After a quick explanation of the moment in question, the spectacled girl could only shake her head in wonder.

“You are brave. You must really know your stuff, though, if you went toe to toe with Professor Yearling.” She grinned and pushed her glasses up her nose. “You know she worked directly with the Egyptian government to help excavate a four-thousand-year-old tomb eight years ago? It’s half the reason this new exhibit is even happening! She’s a legend in archaeology. They wouldn’t have trusted it to any foreigner.”

Sassaflash nodded. “I think she’s gotten complacent, though. I had a class with her freshman year too, and I wasn’t impressed. I didn’t agree with some of her lessons.”

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Really? Regarding what? I didn’t take her classes on Ancient Cultures. I took History of Science and Technology with her. I thought her lessons were fairly spot-on.”

Sassaflash smirked, her eyes narrowing with a friendly challenge. She could feel her nervousness shrinking. She didn’t get to chat with someone like this often! “How much do you know about the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt?”

“Uh, you mean the coolest dynasty? It’s when Egypt finally got its act together after a century of chaos, thanks to Ahmose the First kicking out the Hyksos. The dynasty was super prosperous and culturally amazing. And, of course, there’s Hatshepsut, the fifth pharaoh, who was so awesome she wore the same outfits as the guys to show she was in charge.”

Sassaflash blinked. Then she beamed. Twilight was cool.

By the time they arrived at the bar, Rainbow’s jaw was tired and her lips swollen, but she was grinning like she was already drunk.

As they piled out of the van, Rarity shrieked in outrage upon laying eyes on Fluttershy. “You couldn’t bloody wait fifteen minutes?” she raged at Rainbow, who smiled like a shark and crossed her arms.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you cranked her hotness up to eleven,” Rainbow said unapologetically.

Rarity tapped a heel foot, her eyes glaring daggers. She was wearing a very shiny silver sequin dress that managed to strike the balance between elegant and provocative. “Oh, stow it, you randy beast. You’re lucky I brought Fluttershy’s makeup for touchups.” She grabbed Fluttershy’s hand and pulled her aside. “Come, my dear! We’ll do what we can to salvage your grand entrance. Tsk, honestly, I thought the long-lasting lipstick would be sufficient. I should have switched places with you instead. More the fool I! Hmph!”

Fluttershy, red in the face, pouted a little but complied. During their snogging session, her lipstick and eyeliner had gotten slightly smudged.

Rainbow winked and waved as the two girls retreated back into the van to redo Fluttershy’s makeup. She wiped at her mouth just in case there was any lipstick transfer, then looked at Twilight. “Have I got any…?” she pointed at her mouth.

Twilight scoffed but paused to look anyway. “You’re fine, stud.” Rainbow knew her friend hadn’t meant it, but she tugged on her blazer, feeling herself grow an inch or two from pride alone.

She was slaying this look. Did Fluttershy like it? Surely she did, the way her hands had slipped into her shirt—

Rainbow, pink-cheeked, coughed and checked her phone. Still no texts from Applejack or Sunset. She frowned but put her device away. They ordinarily didn’t take so long to respond. Well, not Sunset, anyway. She hadn’t run off again, had she?

Wait, didn’t she say she wanted to do something with Applejack this week? When was that, anyway? It was something about music at a bar…?

“All right, we’re here! Ready, ladies?” Pinkie asked, rubbing her hands.

“Sure am!” Rainbow said. She looked at them all, even craning her head to look inside the van. Rarity was carefully doing Fluttershy’s eyeliner. “Look, I already told Fluttershy, but I don’t have any expectations aside from people being safe and having fun.” She thumbed at herself. “But I’m starting the night off with a shot of whiskey and a tall drink.”

Sassaflash nodded. “Sure. And I will get your tabs.”

Rainbow hesitated. “Aw, dude, you don’t have to—”

“Shhhh,” Pinkie said, holding a finger to Rainbow’s mouth, smooshing her lips. “Hush, silly. You’re not gonna pay a dime tonight, because me and the girls got it. Just have fun, m’kay?”

Sassaflash shoved Rainbow lightly. “Yeah, dork. Enjoy it. Or else!” She mockingly shook a fist.

Rainbow held up her hands and laughed. “Okay, okay! Geez.” Her expression sobered a little. “Thanks, guys. It means a lot that you guys came out tonight—”

“Aaaah,” Sassaflash waved her hands and covered her ears, giving Rainbow a scandalized look. “It’s too early to get all sappy! You’re not even drunk yet, sheesh!”

Now Rainbow blushed hard and rubbed the back of her neck. “Sorry. Let’s head inside.”

The street was busier than Rainbow expected it to be, given the day of the week. Cars were jockeying for parking spots, and a decent number of people were walking on the sidewalk and crossing the street. They had parked a little down the road from the first bar they were visiting. The bar itself was called Rose & Thorn. Upon entering, they found the place busy but not packed. The interior was reminiscent of a UK pub, which suited the modest and intimate setting.

Before Rainbow could react, Sassaflash cut ahead for the bar. “I’ll get the drinks! Find a table, maybe? I wanna get an appetizer.”

“Sure thing,” Twilight said, waving.

“I want hard cider! The stuff from Sweet Apple Acres, if they got it!” Rainbow called after her. She saw her friend throw up a thumbs-up. The remaining girls looked around. Most of the tables were taken, but there were a few near the back wall that were free. Rainbow gestured at it, and the others nodded, following her.

She sat down with a sigh, leaning back in her chair.

Pinkie and Twilight sat down at her other side, muttering about needing to steal chairs from the nearby table. When they were settled, Rainbow spotted Fluttershy and Rarity enter. Without even thinking, Rainbow grinned and waved eagerly for their attention.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you light up like that for someone, Rainbow,” Twilight said, smiling.

Rainbow faltered. “Yeah?”

Twilight flapped a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not teasing you. I’m really happy for you two.”

Rainbow shrugged, but her face relaxed with some relief. “Thanks. Fluttershy is pretty awesome. I wish I’d seen it sooner.”

“I say it was perfect timing,” Pinkie chimed in with glittering eyes. “Sometimes ya just gotta figure stuff out, y’know?”

Twilight nodded. “One could argue this was meant to be.”

Rainbow frowned at her. “Why? Don’t tell me you believe in stuff like ‘fate,’ Twi.”

“I mean, I don’t believe in fate. There are just too many possibilities out there for us to be on one set track. But given where you and Fluttershy were, this might’ve been the best way for it to start.” She pointed at Rainbow. “You had to grow for it to work,” she pointed next at Fluttershy as she and Rarity neared the table. “And so did she.”

“What’s all this now?” Rarity asked as she and Fluttershy sat down. Rainbow pulled Fluttershy’s seat over so that she could put an arm around her, making her squeak.

“I was just explaining to Rainbow that this was the most ideal time for her and Fluttershy’s relationship to have begun,” Twilight explained.

Rarity nodded, smiling at the couple as she set her matching clutch on the table and produced a compact mirror. “Oh, I heartily agree. I for one am quite relieved to finally see it happen. You both had us all on pins and needles!”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked with a tilt of her head.

“Yep! Our betting pool got huuuge!” Pinkie said, thrusting her arms out to the sides. She nearly smacked Rarity in the face, but the fashionista ducked it flawlessly even as she admired herself in her mirror.

Rainbow paused as she felt Fluttershy tense under her arm. “You guys…bet on us?” Her eyes narrowed. “So that’s what you were carrying on about at the family practice. I’m surprised at you all!"

This made Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie peer at her with some concern.

Rarity snapped her compact mirror closed and laughed, though the sound had a tight, nervous quality to it. “Fluttershy, you misunderstand. We weren’t betting against you two! Au contraire, darling, we were simply betting on how your romance would begin!”

Fluttershy, whose Mothershy mode had been gearing up, faltered now as she looked at her friends. “Oh.” She frowned. “And… You said Sunset had won, right? What did she bet, if I may ask?”

“She bet that either you or Rainbow would confess your feelings through song,” Twilight said with a chagrined sigh.

Fluttershy’s eyebrows lifted and she smiled. “Good heavens, that was a good guess!”

“Yes, yes, we lost,” Rarity said with a flippant twirl of her hand. “Anyway, please allow me to compensate for our uncouth behavior through drinks and appetizers since someone insisted on repaying me for a gift.” She sniffed haughtily.

Reminded of the snafu with the expensive clothing, Fluttershy tucked in her chin and ceased pouting. Rainbow glowered at Rarity, but she just hugged Fluttershy to her side.

“Forget it, Shy,” she murmured to her girl. “You know if you want anything to drink?”

Fluttershy looked like she was considering this question hard. Then she lifted her head and asked, “Did Applejack bet too?”

Rainbow froze, her eyes widening. “AJ?”

“Yes.”

“No,” Rainbow said with a tight shake of her head. “I don’t know if she even knew about the bet, and if she did, she probably didn’t think it was very funny either.” Her mouth was dry as she said this. She held Fluttershy’s blue eyes.

Fluttershy frowned a little but nodded. “Okay. I suppose she wouldn’t have had time for such things. She’s always so busy.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow slowly let out the breath she’d been holding.

She looked around the bar, noting the older crowd, some with gray hair, mingling around them. This place was such a tame spot to start at, but that’d probably be better in the long run. She saw Sassaflash step away from the counter, holding several drinks and looking utterly concentrated.

“There’s Sass,” Rainbow said, shifting to wave.

Pinkie beat her to it. “Sassaflash! Hey, over here!” she yelled.

Sass looked up with a jerk, then winced as the drinks spilled a little.

Twilight grabbed Pinkie’s arm and pulled it down as half the bar turned to stare. “I think she sees you,” Twilight said through a tense smile.

Sassaflash came to the table and sat down. She had two bottles and two shot glasses. “Phew. Sorry about that. We got a double order of deep-fried mushrooms coming in if you guys are hungry. Here ya go, Dashie. A shot and a cider. They didn’t have the kind you wanted, though.” She looked at Fluttershy. “Dang, I’m sorry! What did you want to drink, Fluttershy? I can get it for you quick.”

Twilight pushed her chair back, waving her hand. “No, I’ve got it. I wanted to get a drink too. I’m assuming you want a soda, right Pinkie?” Pinkie nodded eagerly. Twilight turned to Rarity. “What about you, Rares?”

“How kind of you, Twilight Sparkle! I’ll take a glass of Red Zinfandel.” She waved a card. “Use my card, dear, and don’t you dare argue!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Thanks.”

Fluttershy raised a meek hand. “Um, I’d like the same drink Rainbow has. Without the shot. Please and thank you?”

Twilight clapped her hands. “Got it! Back in a sec.” As she went, she could be heard muttering, “ID, don’t fail me now…”

Rainbow winced but watched her friend go without too much concern. Twilight may have been a goody-two-shoes when they met her, but like any teenager, she was open to some rebellion, too. In small doses, at least.

There was a burst of noise through the wall. It sounded like cheering and clapping. Rainbow turned and stared. “What was that?”

Sassaflash grinned. “They’re doing karaoke night next door.”

“And we didn’t go there first?!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“I figured we could warm up with some drinks and chat before all the noise,” Sass answered with a shrug. Her grin turned bashful. “At least I do. There’s a gay bar down the street too. I dunno what they’re doing, but that place is always entertaining, and they’re pretty welcoming so long as you’re not an ass—asinine butthole. Ah, God, that was close!” She clutched at the stitch in her chest.

Pinkie patted her shoulder kindly. “Daww, you’re doing good Sassy!” She shimmied her shoulders with a squeal. “And oooh, a gay bar sounds uber fun! I’ve never been to one!”

“Really?” Sass asked with a surprised look. “It’s great! I’ve seen a few drag shows there. I don’t think they’re doing one tonight, but I bet they’re doing something for hump day.” She waggled her eyebrows, looking around with a cheesy grin. “Just like me, right Dashie?” She leaned across the table toward Rainbow and held up a hand for a high five while she wagged her eyebrows lewdly.

The tomboy edged away from her with a grimace. “I am not high-fiving that.”

“May I ask why you seem reluctant to sing karaoke? Pardon my saying so, but you don’t strike me as someone who’d get stage fright,” Fluttershy said with wondering eyes.

Sassaflash winced. Ah, there was the misconception. To introverts like Flutters, extroverts like Sass seemed to have all the confidence in the world. It was always a little embarrassing to correct the assumption.

But in her usual fashion, Sass decided to deflect from her discomfort with a little humor. To Pinkie and Rarity she said with the gravity of one revealing a tragic truth, “So Flutters may have the unfortunate perception that I’m super amazing—”

Rainbow snorted, “Amazing at sucking?” She chuckled when Fluttershy nudged her with alarm. Sassaflash wasn’t fazed. It was par for the course with their banter. She simply flipped Dash off without looking at her or even slowing down her words.

“—But I’ve dipped my toes in a lot of activities,” she continued. “I did decently at most of them… But one thing I learned early on?” Sassaflash made a face. “I’m awful at singing.” She blew her bangs out of her eyes and gained a faraway look. “I once tried singing I Want It That Way during a sleepover, and my friend’s mom burst into the room because she thought someone was seriously injured.”

Pinkie and Rainbow laughed. Loudly. Fluttershy looked at Sassaflash sympathetically while Rarity shook her head in pity. Sassaflash soaked it in with a placid smile, relieved that she could bring some levity.

“Well, hey. If you sing, chances are people will be too drunk to care how bad you sound,” Rainbow said, still chuckling.

Sassaflash gave her a sarcastic smile. “Thanks, Dashie. You’re such a pal.”

Pinkie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. She was still chuckling from Sass’ story. “But we are going to go to karaoke next, right?”

“Sure, Pinks. Let’s just relax for a second. I feel like I’ve been running around like crazy all day,” Rainbow groaned.

Fluttershy sat up, her eyes shining. “Ah! Rainbow, pardon me, but I just remembered something exciting?”

Rainbow looked at her fondly, clearly appreciating the sweet way her girlfriend glowed with such sincere joy. “Yeah? What’s that, babe?” Sassaflash felt a flare of envy, then looked away, taking a big gulp of her drink.

Once upon a time, Caramel had looked at her that way. Towards the end—no, long before that—he’d always seem distracted. Even outright disinterested.

God, she wish she could stop thinking about that jerk!

Fluttershy clapped her hands softly, and Sassaflash made herself tune into the shy girl’s words. “I figured out how to contribute to Pinkie and Rarity’s sorority event—!”

For a moment, the conversation revolved around catching up on all the easy things: school woes, family triumphs, the silly stuff they watched on this streaming service or that one, and the latest on social media.

It was almost thirty minutes when the alcohol started to set in, and everyone grew more at ease with the setting, that the conversation started to get more energetic.

“She tried to jump out of the van while we were going sixty-five miles an hour!” Pinkie yelled, gesticulating wildly at Rainbow.

Rainbow pointed an accusatory finger. “You dared me!”

“Applejack was so fast, she actually put Rainbow in a headlock and yanked her back in by her neck. It was almost like a cartoon,” Twilight said with a short chuckle. At least she could laugh about it now. Two years ago, she’d nearly lost her voice from shouting at Rainbow.

“Sunset managed to get the van door closed,” Fluttershy chimed in, glad to have a chance to speak. She faltered, though, smiling ruefully. “But the highway patrol already saw what happened and pulled us over.”

Sassaflash stared at them with a delighted smile. “What happened?”

Pinkie waved it off. “Meh. The cops checked to see if we were drinking, realized we ran on pure goofiness and sugar, then they let us off with a warning.”

“And that is why, we don’t let Pinkie and Rainbow have energy drinks,” Rarity said with all the grace and aplomb of a wildlife expert describing the bewildering nature of beasts.

“I would have been fine,” Rainbow said with an eye roll.

“Sure you would, Dash,” Twilight said with a shake of her head.

“Seriously! You think with my abilities, I’d—mmph!” Rainbow broke off as Twilight kicked her hard underneath the table. She glared at the spectacled girl. “Geez, what was that for?”

“Just wanted to keep you from bragging about things you don’t need to be.” Twilight gave her a pointed look.

Rainbow blushed. She wouldn’t have said anything about her powers! Not…explicitly, anyway.

“Okay, so Pinkie, question—what if I wanted to curse via old sound recordings of myself?” Sassaflash asked, whipping out her phone. She waggled her eyebrows as Pinkie crossed her arms.

“You keep audio recordings of yourself cursing?” Fluttershy asked with a scrunched nose. Rainbow just put her head in her hands and chortled.

“I’d say you were bending over backward to do something that’s gross,” Pinkie answered Sass with a definite note of warning.

Sassaflash grinned devilishly. “Pfft, that’s hardly the grossest thing I’ve bent over backward for.”

Rarity choked on her drink as Pinkie laughed heartily.

“Look man, just let it go. Short of some celebrity lawyer, we’re never breaking free of this promise!” Rainbow told her teammate.

Sass pouted. “Aw, c’mon! If I get laid tonight, I want to have all the dirty talk available to me! And anyway, if I get so much as a buzz, it’ll be waaay harder to keep my potty mouth in line. Do you know how much freaking brainpower I have to devote to censoring myself?!”

“If you curse, you know the consequences…” Pinkie said with narrowed eyes.

“In this outfit?? Pinkie, can’t we negotiate some other kind of punishment?”

Twilight snorted. “Like what? Public spanking?”

Sassaflash froze. “Is Pinkie the one doing it?”

“Yes…?”

Sass nodded emphatically, her cheeks pink. “Yep, mmhmm, that! That works!”

Rarity frowned. She was leaning on her chair’s armrest with an air of drunkenness already, the wine glass resting against her temple. “Pah. And then? A simple spanking wouldn’t do darling. I’ve been to enough fraternity events to know that your idea lacks any kind of panache, let alone structure.” Her lip curled as she arched an eyebrow. “Make it interesting, hmm? Pinkie loudly declares your sin, puts you over the knee, and we all count three strikes. Repeat offenses adds another three strikes per offense!”

Sassaflash, Rainbow, and Fluttershy stared at Rarity agog. Surprisingly, Twilight was the one who adjusted her glasses and seemed to consider the idea carefully. Pinkie Pie only rubbed her hands together with perverse delight.

“What about… We all take turns the more she does it?” Twilight suggested, shrugging. “That way we all get to participate.”

Now everyone stared at Twilight. She didn’t wilt under the attention, but frowned at them all. “What? We’re college students out drinking, you didn’t think I could have a crazy idea or two? Besides, I’m half certain Sassaflash would enjoy it.” She said this as if she were answering a question in class.

Sassaflash’s spine curved as she nervously toyed with her necklaces. “Do I look that thirsty? Fuck me!”

Pinkie lunged, “All right, c’mere!”

Sassaflash, like a true athlete, deftly dodged the party girl’s hands with an alarmed squeal, then overturned her chair in her desperate attempt to escape. Pinkie, grinning like a shark, chased after her.

Rainbow laughed and clapped. She stood and craned her head to see around the other patrons, who all turned to watch the spectacle as Pinkie grabbed Sassaflash, threw her over her shoulder in a fireman carry, then marched her back to the table. The bartender shouted a warning at them as they went, and Pinkie waved apologetically before plopping back into her seat and transferring Sassaflash to her lap like she were just a sack of potatoes. Rainbow noted with an eye roll that Sass didn’t look like she was struggling that much anymore.

“For the crime of having a potty mouth, I hereby sentence you to three spanks! Ready, everyone? Count with me!” She brought her hand down on Sassaflash’s bottom. “One! Two! Three!” Everyone at the table, minus Fluttershy, counted along. Surprisingly, a few patrons did too. There was a cheer and scattered applause when the punishment had been completed.

Sassaflash winced as she slid off of Pinkie’s lap, her face red, but she was grinning.

“Ooh, can we use objects? I have a folding fan in my clutch!” Rarity said with a titter as she dug out said item.

Pinkie chuckled. “You want next, Rares? It’s fun. Her butt jiggles when you hit it.”

“It seemed devilishly amusing. Yes, I think we should implement Twilight Sparkle’s idea henceforth.”

“You guys have hung out with fratboys too much,” Rainbow said with a shake of her head.

“Aw, you’re not gonna join us?” Pinkie said with a pout.

“Nah. I’ll count and hold her down though,” Rainbow said with a wink. Then her eyes widened and she looked at Fluttershy. “Er, if that’s okay?”

Fluttershy, pink-faced, hunched her shoulders. “I…suppose. Sassaflash does seem to be enjoying it on some level, at least.”

“I’m not I swear!” Sassaflash protested feebly with a weak grin.

“We’re not even halfway through the night and already the hanky panky has started,” Twilight muttered with a slow shake of her head.

Fluttershy blinked slowly at her. “Er, pardon me, Twilight, but wasn’t part of this your idea?”

Twilight smirked and pulled out her phone and began tapping on it. “I plead the fifth. Anyway, give me a sec. I’m going to send another text to Sunset Shimmer. She didn’t tell me she was busy tonight, but I think she has this thing she occasionally goes to on Wednesday nights.”

A lightbulb went off in Rainbow’s head. “Does it have to do with music?”

Twilight glanced at her as she typed. “Hm? Yeah. Blues, I think.”

Rainbow snapped her fingers and frowned. “Dang. That’s right! So I guess it was tonight. She might be busy with Applejack, then.”

Twilight’s eyes fluttered. “Oh?” She looked up at Rainbow, her face still. “She went with Applejack? She didn’t tell me.” There was a note of…something in her voice.

Rainbow grimaced as she hastily swallowed a drink of cider. She coughed a little bit and wiped at her chin. “Um, yeah. I think she wanted to cheer AJ up.”

Twilight’s eyes tensed. “Hmph. I bet she did.”

Before Rainbow could puzzle out that response, Fluttershy sat forward with a brow tensed with concern. “Er, excuse me, but—did I hear you say that Applejack needed cheering up? Is she okay?”

Now Rainbow Dash stared between Twilight and Fluttershy and felt cornered. Again. “Um…” she looked sidelong at Twilight. “Yes?”

Twilight, picking up on her desperation, nodded quickly. “Yep! Applejack is fine. Mostly. She’s just dealing with…stuff.”

Fluttershy’s lower lip pushed up a little. “Like what sort of stuff? I mean, apart from what maybe happened with Apple Bloom.”

“Yeah, that was terrible what happened with the CMC, wasn’t it, Twilight?” Rainbow said loudly, looking at the bookworm.

“Totally. Terrible. It’s probably just…that,” Twilight said stiffly.

Fluttershy looked between the two of them, smiling uncertainly. Rainbow felt herself sweating bullets. She knew her girlfriend was quick on the uptake, but this time she could really do them all a favor and not put the pieces together.

Please, please, please!

“Is it possible for Sunset and Applejack to join us after they’re done?” Rarity asked with a practiced smile. Her eyes glittered with knowing as she glanced at a still frowning Fluttershy.

Twilight tsked. “It’s hard to say when they’ll be done. The event is basically part of a summer concert series.”

“That’d be wonderful if they could join us,” Fluttershy said with a little sigh.

Disaster averted for now. Rainbow just didn’t know what she’d do if Fluttershy found out Applejack had a crush on her. She wasn’t insecure. She wasn’t! She just…didn’t want to complicate their lives further.

Even so, she was struck with a yearning to mend the rift. She wanted to believe they could move on and get over the things that had come between them.

“Maybe if I text AJ again and just be real with her, she’ll…” Rainbow pulled out her own phone and opened her chat thread with Applejack.

She tuned out as the conversation carried on without her. She was vaguely aware of Sassaflash challenging Pinkie to rock, paper, scissors. Twilight and Fluttershy began to talk about Shining Armor and his work as a new police officer. Rarity started up a conversation with some men who were sitting nearby. Something about designer shoes?

>RD: Hey dude, I kno maybe ur not rly in the mood right now, but I think we could hav fun tonite. Or we could talk sum more over a few beers instead if u prefer. Ur my buddy, y’know? I kno we’ll meet up Sat, but it’d be awesome if we could hang.

She bounced her knee and bit her lip. She didn’t know what else to say. This was as sincere as she could make it without dipping into super difficult territory. She couldn’t very well open with: I’m sry i’m datin’ ur crush, let’s be buds again.

Still, she felt her text was inadequate. What if Applejack didn’t really want to spend time with her? What else could she entice the country girl with? Her eyes lifted and fell on Sassaflash. Then she stood up.

“Hey, Sass?”

Sass had a small fit in her chair as she lost yet another game of rock, paper, scissors to Pinkie Pie. “Fudge! Rainbow, you threw me off!” She held up a finger at Pinkie’s narrow-eyed look. “I said fudge!”

Rainbow blew a raspberry and gestured at her to come over with her. “Whatever, you were doomed against Pinkie Pie anyway. Come here really quick! I wanna take your picture.”

Sassaflash stood up, blinking. “Huh, what for?”

Rainbow hesitated, the truth itching at her tongue. She could tell Sassaflash the whole thing, but outing AJ without permission didn’t feel right. With a sigh, she opted for half the truth instead. “For my friend. Remember the one we chatted about before?”

She brightened up a lot more than Rainbow had expected. Was she really counting on this? “Oooh! Did they send a pic, yet?”

Rainbow faltered. “Er, no. But sometimes she’s hard to get on the phone. Look, just lemme take a quick snap, and I’ll send it to her. Maybe she’ll wanna meet you and join us?”

Sassaflash raised an eyebrow, her posture stiffening. “Orrrr maybe she stiffs us and my confidence is shattered forever?”

The unusual comment didn’t pass Rainbow’s notice, but she was focused on her goal. She clasped her hands together. “Please?”

The other girl covered her eyes. “Oh my God, Rainbow, stop doing that—it’s like you’re flashing me!”

Rainbow looked down in alarm, “Wha—”

Sassaflash quickly flicked her nose. Rainbow stared at her blankly for a minute before shaking a finger. “Keep it up, and it won’t just be Spitfire coming at you for revenge!” But they laughed together. Rainbow took a picture of Sassaflash, and as they returned to their seats, she started another message:

>RD: Also this is the girl I was thinkin of introducing u 2, so hurry up with ur answer already! U mighta met last weekend, but I dunno if u chatted much. That was her house we did the meeting at. Sassaflash, remember?

Rainbow put her phone away, satisfied. If that didn’t work… She didn’t know what would.

“What were you doing?” Fluttershy asked, blinking curiously.

Rainbow, without thinking, started to answer before she choked on her words and stared at her girlfriend in alarm. It was true that Fluttershy was Applejack’s good friend, but like Rainbow only a few days ago, she was still completely unaware that Applejack was a lesbian. She couldn’t tell her that she was trying to set up Sassaflash with AJ for the same reasons it was hard to explain why the cowgirl was even depressed lately!

Smiling nervously, she said instead, “I was just texting Applejack again. I really wanna hang out with her too. I… Y’know, I miss her and stuff.” All true, as awkward as it was to say it.

Fluttershy rubbed her arm. “Even if she doesn’t come, I’m sure it isn’t a reflection on your relationship. She’s usually very busy. Didn’t you say she’s out with Sunset Shimmer?”

Rainbow sighed and nodded. “Yeah…”

When they looked back at the others and listened to their ongoing conversation, it was to find that Rainbow’s matchmaking efforts had sparked a conversation about relationships.

“Guys, it’s been ages since I’ve been single—even kind of single!” Sassaflash bemoaned.

Twilight scrunched her nose and turned her eyes up in thought as she mouthed to herself, Kinda single?

Sassaflash threw her hands up in the air. “It’s weird. I have no idea what I’m doing!”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Existing?” Rarity kicked her under the table, making Rainbow wince. Her shoes were sharp! “Ow! What is this, kick Dashie Day?!”

“Sassaflash, I sympathize with you so, so much, darling. It’s been nearly half a year since I’ve been swept up in the joys of amour!”

“A record,” Twilight muttered. Rainbow tried and failed to hide her laugh.

At Rarity’s glare, Twilight quailed and hid behind her glass of ale. “I only meant since you had a crush! I didn’t mean to insinuate something untoward!”

Rarity flipped her hair back and turned her nose up in the air. “Hmph!” To Sassaflash she said more gently. “What I was trying to say is that it gets easier with time. And I dare say, I’d be quite surprised if you remained single for long!”

Sassaflash made a face. “You think?” She sighed heavily and took a long pull from her beer. “I just suck at initiating anything. Like how do you approach someone? I get so nervous!”

“You could give them a compliment on their outfit,” Rarity offered brightly.

Rainbow lifted her bottle of cider. “Buy ‘em a drink.”

“Ask them to dance!” Pinkie said, shimmying her shoulders.

“Um… Do something nice for them?” Fluttershy offered with an uncertain smile.

There was a pause. Everyone looked at Twilight. She froze and stared around. “What?” she asked.

Rarity turned over a hand. “Do you have any advice for our poor Sassaflash?”

Twilight’s brow creased, and she chewed her lip. “Um. Not really?”

“What, really?” Rainbow asked, blinking.

Twilight held up her hands. “I don’t know!”

“But how did you and Timber Spruce get together?”

“Ah. With, er…geology puns.”

Pinkie snapped her fingers. “Make ‘em laugh!” She looked at Sassaflash. “What kind of tea do soccer players drink?”

Sass shrugged, mid-swallow.

“Penal-tea!”

Sassaflash choked on her drink.

Rainbow groaned and threw a deep fried mushroom at Pinkie. The party girl happily caught it in her mouth. Rarity rolled her eyes with a fond smile.

Twilight grinned weakly before taking a drink.

“Geez, you were a bit slow on the uptake there, Twi.” Rainbow nudged the bookworm. She looked around at the others. “Which is weird because unless I’m wrong, Twilight and Timber have been together for like four years, right? They’ve lasted the longest of all our relationships! She’s practically the expert here.”

Twilight looked at her slowly. She pushed her glasses up her nose, causing the lights from the bar to glare on her lenses, masking her eyes. “Rainbow, I’m afraid you’re wrong.”

Rainbow Dash, who’d been about to sip at her cider, halted. She looked at Twilight. “Sorry, what was that?”

“You’re wrong.” Twilight’s voice was flat now. She crossed her arms and leaned on the table. “I broke up with Timber last night.”

Silence.

Rainbow froze, cider forgotten mid-sip. Oh crap. Nice job, Dash, she thought bitterly. If I’d just listened a bit better…

“Um. Sorry, Twilight.” She reached over and awkwardly patted her friend on the back.

“Why’d you break up, Twi?” Pinkie asked gently.

Twilight sighed heavily. “You guys know Timber is attending a school out of state, right? In California. Well…” She took another drink, grimacing as she set down her glass. It was nearly done. “He wanted me to join him next semester. And not just for a trip. He wanted me to transfer from Everfree State and continue my studies near where he was. He, uh…” She scratched at her eyebrow with her pinkie, then leaned on a fist and shrugged, a bitter smile on her face. “He talked about getting married when we graduated. I told him no. I’m not ready now, and I won’t be ready then. I have too much work to do here. The studies I’m doing with Sunset… It’s all furthering the research I started in high school when I met you girls. We’re going to change the world with it. And also…y’know.” She pursed her lips and frowned. “I didn’t want to leave you guys.”

“Wow. That’s a lot,” Pinkie said, mouth agape.

“Listen, forget it.” Twilight looked around at everyone and grimaced. “I’m actually fine. Long distance relationships are hard, and the truth is, I was…done. For a while now. I guess I just wanted an excuse to end it.” She waved her hands. “Ugh, I’m serious! Stop looking at me like that. I’m all right!”

“Is that what kept you up late yesterday night?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

Twilight glanced at her, then quickly looked away. “Partly.” She drained her glass and then stood up. “Y’know what? I could use a shot myself. S’cuse me, girls.”

Sassaflash sprang to her feet, her chair squealing back. “Ooh! I want one! Can I come with?” At the suspicious look she received, she held up her hands. “I believe you! You’re fine! But it’s smart to stick close together right?” She gestured around. “It’s getting busier, after all.”

The bar had become fuller since they’d entered. The air was thick with a dull roar. Most of the patrons seemed at least ten years older than the girls.

Twilight sighed, then threw up a hand. “Sure! Let’s go.”

Sassaflash grinned and led the other girl toward the now-crowded bar.

Rainbow Dash watched them go and shook her head. “I feel like a jerk. I shouldn’t have assumed everything was fine. I haven’t heard Twilight mention Timber in over a year. She used to bring him up at all our monthly dinners! If I would have just thought about it for a minute…”

“You didn’t mean anything by it, Dashie,” Fluttershy said, rubbing her knee and laying her head on her shoulder.

“My goodness…” Rarity breathed. She was still gazing after Twilight and Sassaflash.

“What is it, Rares?” Pinkie asked.

Rarity looked at her, then Rainbow and Fluttershy. “Think about it, darling. We’ve come out tonight to support Rainbow after all the troubles she’s been through—but look at us. Apart from perhaps dear Fluttershy, we all have some reason to forget our troubles tonight, don’t we? Even poor Sass.”

Pinkie shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah. I guess.”

Rainbow bounced her knee, feeling the weight of the room shift. They all needed a distraction. “How about karaoke?” she suggested, hoping to lighten the thick air. “We’ll sing a sad ballad or two, and then we’ll feel better.”

Rarity nodded, swishing what was left of her wine in her glass. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”

Pinkie shivered in her seat. “Oooh! I can’t wait!”

Rainbow pointed at the bar. “Let’s wait for Twilight and Sassaflash.”

Fluttershy lifted her head, concerned. “What if they’re getting another drink?”

Rainbow shrugged. “It’s still early. Maybe one of us can go over and sign us up for karaoke before the waitlist gets too long. Worst case scenario? They join us.”

Sassaflash ordered a shot of whiskey, and Twilight requested a shot of rum. Sassaflash insisted it be put on her tab. Twilight protested for a minute before finally acquiescing and lifting her shot. “Thanks. Wanna toast?” she asked.

“Sure. Here’s to new beginnings.”

“And to overdue endings,” Twilight said with a smirk.

Sassaflash laughed and lifted her shot. They clinked their glasses and downed their drinks. They laughed as they beheld their grimacing faces.

“Hey,” Sass said, tapping Twilight on the arm. “Listen, I know you’re probably not as torn up as I am, but I know it still can’t be easy to let go of a big relationship like that.”

Twilight nodded and leaned on the bar. “Sure.” She looked at the television behind the bar, displaying the news on low volume. “Hey. They’re talking about the museum exhibit.”

Sassaflash recognized a purposeful subject change when she saw one, but she looked anyway. “Yeah. I bet they’re talking about how it’s been delayed.”

Twilight nudged her. “You never did say what new items the exhibit would be displaying.” Her eyes took on a hungry gleam. “Come on! Professor Yearling didn’t make you swear to be quiet or anything, right?”

Sass shook her head. “No.” She visibly faltered. “It’s just—”

“What is it?” Twilight asked with a soft frown.

Sassaflash licked her lips and laughed. She took a swig of the beer she’d brought with her. “I did see one thing. It showed up on the news there for a second, but I’m pretty sure it’s never been displayed anywhere before. I have a pretty good memory for this stuff. I used to want to be an archaeologist, so I followed news like this really closely. I even read academic papers for fun! Sad, right?”

“Do you know who you’re talking to?” Twilight said with a crooked grin.

Sassaflash laughed. “Yeah, I’m getting that, trust me! Look, I didn’t mention it before because I wasn’t sure what to make of it. And also because I wasn’t sporting a buzz.” They snickered a little at that.

“All right. Well?” Twilight poked her in the side. “Go on. Hit me with it!”

Sassaflash made a face. “Listen, it’s weird. Like, really weird. And I want you to believe me when I say I’m not some metaphysical person, okay? I don’t believe in Big Foot or ghosts or even aliens. And I’m so not religious.”

Twilight nodded gravely. “Got it. So what is so weird, and what does it have to do with Professor Yearling and the exhibit?”

Sassaflash ran her hand through her hair, her forehead wrinkling. She was gonna regret this, wasn’t she?

“Okay. So listen… For a couple of years now, I’ve been having weird dreams. And in these dreams I’d see… Stuff.” At the other girl’s blank look, Sassaflash hastily said, “I mean literal stuff. Random objects.”

“All right?” Twilight’s brow creased, but she otherwise didn’t exude, You’re nuts! vibes, so Sass took that as a good sign.

“And in my dreams, there’d be all these golden scarab beetles that’d swarm the object. They’d cover it till I couldn’t see it anymore, then they’d glow.”

Twilight lifted her eyebrows. “And then…?”

“And then I’d wake up!” Sassaflash said with a shrug. “That’s it! But see, I’ve had that same kinda dream for all kinds of random stuff. But the weirdest part? Last night, I had a dream about this ornate-looking dagger. Y’know what I saw on Professor Yearling’s documents? The exact same dagger!”

Twilight’s eyes gleamed with sudden hunger. Her fingers twitched as if itching to take notes right then and there. “Wow!”

Sassaflash nodded emphatically. “Right?”

“And you said you have these dreams all the time?”

“Well, not all the time, but more times than I can count. It’s been years.”

“How many? Do you remember?”

Sassaflash turned her eyes up in thought. “Um. Four? It started in high school. Junior year, I think.”

Twilight shifted, one hand tapping quickly on the bar. “Hm! Interesting. You graduated the same year as me and the others, right?”

“Yep! Weird, right? I keep wondering if I could have misremembered the dream I had last night, but every time I think about that dagger, I know it was the same one. But that’s not even the weirdest thing!”

Twilight quirked an eyebrow as if to say, You can top that?

Sassaflash grinned. “Professor Yearling’s notes on the dagger were crazy. I didn’t get to read the whole document, but she seemed to think the dagger was dangerous. Magical even. She was super scared. Or at least she seemed that way.”

“And you’re sure she wasn’t just upset about the incident at the stairs?”

“Nope. Professor Yearling’s energy was totally different when she was scolding me. We helped her with her papers, but she only seemed to care about that one. She asked for it specifically.”

“Very curious!” Twilight leaned forward, her eyes really intent. Sassaflash noted her hand shook a little bit when she pushed her glasses back up her nose. Maybe she just really liked archaeology? “And these other dreams you’ve had? What sort of objects did you dream about?”

Sassaflash shrugged. “Nothing interesting. Really boring stuff.”

“Humor me,” Twilight said, her smile fading.

Sass frowned, bemused over the intent look in the other girl’s eye, but she answered. “Dumb things. A hand mirror. An old-timey radio.”

“Anything else?”

Sassaflash scoffed. “A watercan. You see what I mean? Dumb stuff!”

Twilight sat back. “A watercan.” Her voice was flat.

“Weird, right?” Sassaflash chortled. “All that crap? Like, what’s the point? What’s my subconscious trying to tell me? At least the dagger was kind of interesting.”

Twilight laughed, tugging at her pinstripe jacket. “Maybe it’s a roundabout way of telling you to get rid of the clutter in your life.”

Sassaflash snorted. “Geez, maybe!” She looked over at the others. “Oh, the girls are getting up. I guess they’re ready to sing their hearts out next door. Wanna go?”

Twilight nodded. It wasn’t until much, much later, that Sassaflash recalled the girl looked pale.

Fluttershy already missed the Rose & Thorn. The restaurant next door, Northwoods Tavern, was even more packed than the humble UK-themed bar, and there was quite a lot of noise between the music and all the people shouting and laughing. Rainbow held her close from behind as they shuffled forward. There was nowhere to sit, so the girls crowded around the bar. Pinkie was the one who figured out where the song list and sign-up sheet were and brought it over.

“Okay, so you’re gonna sing with us,” Rainbow said to Sassaflash.

Sassaflash immediately shook her head. “No, not yet, I need more drinks or I can’t go up there!”

“Who cares if you suck? It’s karaoke.”

“I care! I’m competitive, Dashie, that’s why I play in college sports!” Sass snapped back.

Rarity waved a dainty hand to flag down the bartender. “If liquid courage is all you need, then allow me to assist. Monsieur? May I please have a glass of Zinfandel, and a flight of shots, please? Make it a mix of whiskey and rum, thank you, dear.”

Everyone stared at her. Rarity raised an eyebrow as she looked around at them all. “What? You do know I’ve been to college parties before, no?”

“Rarity, I love you,” Rainbow laughed.

“How many shots does the flight come with?” Twilight asked.

“I believe there will be enough for those seriously drinking to partake. I’m assuming Pinkie is abstaining as she’s our designated driver. That said, I must insist that Sassaflash have one in the spirit of performance!” Rarity said, grabbing Sassaflash by the shoulders with both hands and gently shaking her.

The rest ordered drinks as they poured over the song list. The choices were sometimes obvious, sometimes surprising, and other times completely bewildering.

Rarity chose to sing the jazzy classic, Why Don’t You Do Right? Twilight begged off singing, instead shuffling off to try and make a call on her phone. Pinkie and Rainbow nudged each other with mischievous winks as they wrote down Twilight’s name and a song. Fluttershy at first disapproved of their antics until Rainbow showed her the song they chose: Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) by They Might Be Giants. That done, Rainbow chose the grunge hit, Rearviewmirror. Pinkie Pie chose a song no one recognized called Choke.

At first, Fluttershy staved off choosing a song until everyone reminded her she’d performed on stage before, and didn’t she feel silly when faced with that fact? Still, her nerves persisted as she scanned the song list. That’s when Rainbow kissed her cheek and promised to go on stage with her. Emboldened, Fluttershy shakily wrote down her song choice. The 90s R&B hit, Fantasy.

Pinkie and Rarity whistled when they saw it, but Rainbow hugged Fluttershy and said with a broad grin. “You guys have no idea. She’s gonna knock this one out of the park!”

Everyone but Pinkie took a shot. Rainbow took two. Fluttershy grimaced as the rum burned down her throat. She didn’t like liquor but was in the same boat as Sassaflash. She needed something to help her nerves!

When Twilight returned from outside looking disgruntled, Rainbow teased her about not picking a song. Fluttershy chose this moment to sidle over to Sassaflash, who was staring forlornly at the song list. “Having trouble?” she asked.

Sassaflash glanced at her. “Mm, yeah. I have no idea what to pick. I suck at all of these.”

Fluttershy peered at the songs the other girl was looking over. She pointed at one. “Maybe a hard rock song? My brother says that so long as you get the words right, you can sing along to just about anything.”

Sassaflash puckered her lips. “Which one’s that? Walking Disaster? Oh, I think I actually kinda know that one!”

“Emo songs are kind of easy,” Fluttershy said, nodding. “You could sing it in a lower key with flat vocals, and it’d still work!”

“Awesome!” Sassaflash held up a hand for a high five. “Thanks, Shy!”

Fluttershy gave her a high five, and then maybe because she was starting to feel mildly drunk and she felt like it would be really nice, she gave Sassaflash a big hug. “You’re welcome. Please don’t be scared. We’ll all have fun.”

“Oh!” She heard Sassaflash chuckle as she patted Fluttershy’s back awkwardly. “Okay. Hugs are cool. Yep. We’ll have fun. I won’t, uh, be scared. Promise. …Yay, long hugs? I mean, I’m not complaining about the boob contact, but— N-No. No! Do not look at me like that, Rainbow, she started it! I’m innocent!” Sassaflash squirmed out of Fluttershy’s arms in time to dodge Rainbow swatting at her with her shoe.

Time passed as they watched, chatted, and drank. A man crooned a country song. Then a couple did a romantic duet. One young man even rapped/screamed a nu-metal song.

Whilst waiting their turns, Pinkie and Rarity talked with two men on the other side of the restaurant. One was a car salesman with too much hair product but fetching eyes. The other was a landscaper with a great tan and a small scar on his hand. Pinkie wasn’t really interested in them. They were cute, sure, and they seemed like fun, but…

Risk. All she could think of was risk. What if it happened again? What if—?

Gah. Yuck. No. Not now. Heavy thoughts were to be banished to the black box of boo.

Geez Louise. How could she enjoy herself this way? She’d already missed no less than five prime moments to get her friends to laugh! She was completely off her game, man! This was supposed to be her element, right? Fun? Rainbow was depending on this night to let go and relax, erego, she was depending on Pinkie to keep this party poppin’! She couldn’t let her gal pal down. She just…

She just wanted someone to hold her…and maybe razz her stomach. She loved tummy raspberries. But she knew the look in these men’s eyes. They didn’t want to just cuddle they wanted—

Pickled pies, when did she start worrying about risk?

Pinkie’s eyes went glassy as she screamed internally.

You big fluffy foofhead, don’t think about that—

“Yes, I adore your outfit,” Rarity purred, brushing at a broad shoulder in a red jacket. Pinkie jerked, forcing herself to listen as her friend and sorority sister flirted silkily. “Very Rebel Without a Cause. Where do you shop, pray tell?”

The man chuckled, the car salesman, glancing at his envious-looking friend as he answered. Pinkie turned her head, not even bothering to continue following along. Rarity dealt with her problems one way. Pinkie would have ordinarily been right there with her except for the-thing-she-wasn’t-thinking-about happening an’ all, so she decided to look for the others.

Her blue eyes searched. There was Rainbow and Fluttershy being super adorbs. Love it, love it. Twilight was…MIA? Hmm. Probably on her phone again. Geez, she really wanted to call Sunset all of a sudden.

Then, as Pinkie peered across the tavern, she spotted a certain blonde soccer player. She was chatting up a young man at the bar.

Pinkie’s blue eyes fixed on Sassaflash’s face as she awkwardly said something and laughed. It clearly didn’t land. The man gave the blonde a purse-lipped smile before turning and engaging with a woman on his other side. Pinkie winced. Oooh. Ouchies. Her brow furrowed as she watched Sassaflash sag against the bar, blowing her bangs out of her eyes in defeat. Pinkie straightened, her expression solidifying into determination.

Frownies? Not on her watch!

“Rares, I’m gonna check on Sass, m’kay? I’ve got my eyes on you, so just yell if you need anything!” Pinkie pointed at her eyes with two fingers, then pointed them back at Rarity.

Rarity glanced over her shoulder at Pinkie, then her eyes flickered toward the bar. Her red lips curled up and she waved with a very feline smile. “Ah, I understand. Good luck, Miss Pie!”

Pinkie batted her eyes. Good luck? Ha! She didn’t need luck. Making people smile was her biz.

“Hey, Sass,” Pinkie called as she neared Sassaflash.

Sassaflash looked up from nursing a beer, her expression glum. “Hey Pinkie.”

Pinkie’s mouth screwed to the side as she planted an elbow on the bar. She was quite a bit taller than the soccer player, especially in her heels. “You okay?”

“No,” Sass admitted readily as she lifted her glass for a drink. After a quick swallow, she made a face. “Y’know, it’s been over an hour?”

“Huh?” Pinkie scrunched her nose. “What do ya mean? An hour since what?”

“Rainbow was trying to hook me up with a friend of hers. She sent a pic of me, but this friend hasn’t responded. I just asked.” She swept an arm around them. “Just tried my luck a few times chatting up anyone who would give me the time of day. I’m cute enough to get my foot in the door, apparently, but I can’t seal the deal! No one’s interested…” She sighed heavily and took a deep drink. With every swallow, her reality as a backup driver grew more and more remote. No wonder if she was feeling this down!

“Turns out I’m basic,” Sass said with a grimace.

Pinkie stared at her in shock. “No way, nuh-uh! That’s not true! Maybe the person Rainbow sent the picture to is just busy? You’re too cool to pass up, Sassy.”

Sassaflash glanced at her, her whole head unsteadily committing to the action a clear indication that she was now pushing past just buzzed. She arched an eyebrow, a shadow over her gaze. “Oh yeah? And how do you know?”

“Rainbow Dash thinks you’re the bee’s knees, that’s why. And plus, you’re really funny and exciting!” Pinkie thrust a pointed finger into the air. “Aaaand you cook really yummy food! I should know, I stuffed my face at your party.”

A long groan as Sassaflash covered her face with her hand. “Pinkie, I didn’t bring a baked dish, so I doubt that’s gonna help me.”

“Did I mention you’re funny? You’re really good at making people laugh.”

Sassaflash snorted. “I’m funny, huh?” She turned fully to Pinkie and cleared her throat. “Why did the snowman suddenly smile?” When she received a shrug, she said flatly, “He could see a snowblower coming.”

Pinkie blinked as she processed the statement. Then it clicked and she giggled. “See? That’s a really good one.”

Sassaflash dropped her head desolately on the bar. “No, that was bad Pinkie! Really bad! I have no freaking rizz! Just sex jokes and a big dollop of desperation.”

Pinkie shrugged. “But those jokes are fun! And who needs rizz when you can just be yourself?”

“Yeah? And what if I suck?” Sassaflash asked, so quietly, that Pinkie almost didn’t pick it up over a drunk man’s caterwauling of What’s New, Pussycat?

Pinkie drummed her fingers on the counter. Then she grinned wickedly. “What kind of bees produce milk?”

Sassaflash looked at her with the enthusiasm of one who was resigned to a firing squad. “I have no idea.”

Pinkie pushed her breasts up and wagged her eyebrows. “Boo-bees!”

Sassaflash didn’t grin. She actually glared at Pinkie for a moment before a grudging smirk appeared on her face.

“Ah! You’re smiling!”

“No, I’m pitying your attempts at cheering me up. With great disdain.”

Pinkie flapped her hands excitedly. “Ooh, ooh! Hold on, I got another one!” She stepped a little closer and said with a bit of a giggle in her voice, “Two old ladies were sitting on a park bench when a man in a trench coat came up and flashed them. One old lady immediately had a stroke. The other one?” She winked. “She couldn’t quite reach.”

Sassaflash snorted into a laugh and sat up. “Ugh! That’s awful!”

“But it worked!” Pinkie teased, grinning as she poked Sassaflash. “You’re so pretty when you laugh!”

Sass, still chuckling, said, “Ah, and here I thought you preferred me squealing over your knee?” Then the blonde stiffened and held up her hands. “Sorry. Me, fat mouth. Dumb things say. Ignore.”

Pinkie blinked and tilted her head to the side. “Why?” At Sassaflash’s blank stare, she held up her hands. “I mean why ignore something you like? You like it. I like it. Spanking you is fun!” She frowned and looked up at the ceiling in deep thought, totally missing Sassaflash’s stunned expression.

In fact, she’d much rather talk to this spunky girl than chat up a bunch of boys she wasn’t going to do anything with. Sassaflash was nicer to look at anyway. She actually laughed at corny jokes. She wasn’t afraid to say what she was thinking. She lived life loud. And her butt was cute and soft—

Then a lightbulb went off in Pinkie’s head, and like her head was on a swivel, she slowly looked back over her shoulder at Rarity.

“Oh! ‘Good luck,’ huh?” She smiled curlingly. “Hmmm…”

Then her Pinkie Sense went off, an itching on the back of her head, and without even turning her head, she held up a silencing finger to the other girl’s lips. “Sassy, I think it’s fun to spank you, but I’m really not into people breaking their promises. Let’s make this a game instead, huh?” She looked back at a red-faced Sassaflash with a devilish gleam in her eye. “I’ve got an idea…”

More people went up to sing, but no one was especially good. Fluttershy felt better. However, her nerves didn’t leave her. Now she was worried about looking like she was showing off. The song she’d picked required someone with a five-octave range, which was particularly difficult. Would the other singers, like Sassaflash, feel bad?

She gingerly poked Pinkie Pie, who was snickering with Sassaflash, and after apologizing for her interruption, asked if she could change her song pick. Pinkie squinted one eye and blinked at her. “Huh? You wanna change your song? What for?” Sassaflash leaned over to peer at her too.

Fluttershy felt her cheeks warm up as she wrung her hands. “Oh, I… I just wonder if it will seem too arrogant?”

Pinkie burst out laughing, making Fluttershy flinch. “Arrogant? You?” She tutted and shook her head. Fluttershy looked over her shoulder to see Rainbow ordering a beer. She didn’t see Twilight anywhere…?

“Look, Shy,” Pinkie said, gesturing at the small stage and the people in the restaurant. “Don’t sweat it. You can sing whatever you want! Right Sass?”

Sassaflash nodded her head. “Er, right!”

“Really?” Fluttershy said uncertainly.

Pinkie nodded, smiling wide. “Yeah! Even if you did pick an easy song, you’d blow everyone else out of the water!”

Fluttershy stiffened. “Oh, b-but I don’t want to—”

The taller girl slapped her hands on Fluttershy’s shoulders, making Shy squeak. Pinkie leaned down till they were at eye level and said, “Fluttershy, listen. I want you to look out at that crowd right now.” Pinkie transferred her hands to the sides of Fluttershy’s face and turned it to the side. “What do you see, missy?”

Fluttershy tried to speak through her squished lips. “P-Pee-pull?”

“Yes! People! But not just any people! Drunk people! Distracted people! Dazed people! Some other D words I can’t think of!”

Some drunkard nearby shouted, making Sassaflash jump. “Desperate people!”

“Thank you, sir! We’ll workshop that in!” Pinkie hollered back She pulled Fluttershy’s face back toward her, her massive blue eyes boring holes into Fluttershy’s. “The song you picked was Fantasy, right? It was practically made for you, Flutters! In fact, I’ll get the girls to sing the backup vocals for you! Because you’ve been in the background for TOO LONG! You hear me?!”

“Yes? So, um, please stop shouting, maybe? Pretty please?”

Pinkie let her go and put her hands on her hips. “I can’t make any promises!” she yelled happily.

And so, encouraged (and a little intimidated) by her friend, Fluttershy stuck to her song choice. Just as Rarity’s name was called, Fluttershy turned to see Twilight enter from outside. She blinked at her friend even as she clapped for Rarity, who took the stage like a sweeping diva.

“Twilight? Are you okay? You look worried,” Fluttershy said to her friend.

Twilight looked at her and flashed a strained smile. “I was trying to call Sunset Shimmer. She’s still not answering. I had something I wanted to talk to her about.” She let out a rough exhale. “I guess it could wait? I’m not sure what we could do about the issue now, anyway.”

“Is there anything I could do to help?” Fluttershy asked earnestly. “Do you need a hug?”

Twilight blinked. “I mean, I don’t know?” She thought about it seriously for a moment. “Maybe?”

Fluttershy smiled and hugged her just as Rarity began to sing. Rainbow came over with a beer and a glass of water, the latter of which she gave to Fluttershy. “Just in case you didn’t think I was serious earlier,” Rainbow said with a wink. She held hands with Fluttershy, who smiled happily as they both sipped their drinks.

Her eyes jerked over to the bar when Sassaflash shrieked and laughed, clutching at her butt. “What the heck, that shouldn’t have counted!”

Pinkie only wagged a finger in her face. “No, no, I already said ‘go!’” Sassaflash shushed her, pointing to the stage, but she was grinning wildly.

Fluttershy frowned curiously at them. What was that about? But Rarity’s voice demanded her attention.

They listened to their friend perform a respectable rendition of the old jazz song, Why Don’t You Do Right? Rarity, a natural performer, held an air of drama and intrigue as she sang beautifully into the mic. Chatter lessened. More people turned to watch, transfixed by the sparkly young woman and her captivating azure eyes.

When Rarity finished the song, there was a healthy round of applause, along with a few wolf whistles.

Rainbow shook her head. “Watch, we’ll have to drag her out of a mob of guys,” she muttered.

Fluttershy stifled a laugh as, sure enough, Rarity slowed to speak to a group of young men who came to shower her with compliments and offers for drinks. Some turned out to be the guys the fashionista had flirted with in the Rose & Thorn, no doubt following the woman who had dazzled them. Rarity met Fluttershy’s eyes from across the dim space and smiled. She struck a quick pose and laughed.

“You think she’s okay?” Rainbow asked. Fluttershy looked up at her (earlier, she’d pouted to discover that even with heels, Rainbow was still taller than her.) Her girlfriend was watching Rarity intently, clearly trying to assess the situation. She watched as their friend went with her admirers to the other end of the bar.

Fluttershy tensed a little as she thought of the menacing drawing she’d seen in Rarity’s bedroom. The cape and piercing eyes. The diamond sword.

Was the fashionista looking for her assailant now? Or was she just having fun? Fluttershy sighed, feeling her stomach flop unpleasantly over the questions. People were so complicated.

Fluttershy would keep it to herself. For now. This wasn’t the best place for this kind of conversation anyway.

“I think she’s all right for now, Dashie. We’re all watching her.” She touched Rainbow’s arm and pointed at Pinkie Pie who was looking over Sassaflash’s head in Rarity’s direction.

“I’ve got eyes on her, too. Don’t worry, we won’t lose her unless she wants us to,” Twilight added wryly from Rainbow’s other side.

Rainbow took this in, then nodded somewhat unsteadily. Frowning, Fluttershy offered some of her water. Rainbow pouted, but to the shy girl’s relief, she sipped.

Then Twilight’s name was called, along with the song she had “chosen.” The nerdy girl sputtered, holding up her hands. “Wha—me? B-But I didn’t—!”

Rainbow choked on the water as she burst out laughing. Twilight rounded on her, glaring so hard her eyes were practically incandescent. Fluttershy winced but smiled guiltily at their friend.

“You’ll like the song, at least?” Fluttershy squeaked, hiding behind Rainbow.

Pinkie and Sassaflash hooted and cheered for Twilight to go up. Rarity even got her male friends to clap and cheer Twilight’s name. Blushing furiously, Twilight shook her fist at them all before she groaned loudly toward the ceiling, turned and stared at the door, apparently debating on fleeing, then with a grouchy expression she turned on her heel and marched toward the stage. The room erupted into cheers, and Twilight smirked grudgingly as she took the mic.

“For the record,” she said into the microphone. “My friends are smelly buttheads. I hope they freaking learn something from this song, at least.”

“We love you, egghead!” Rainbow yelled with a hearty laugh.

Twilight’s performance didn’t captivate the crowd quite like Rarity had managed to, it being a song about how the sun worked, and also because she was wrestling with the fact that she’d been tricked into performing at all, but she did receive a lively response for her impressive singing skills. The bookworm even looked like she was genuinely having fun toward the end. Fluttershy and the others clapped till their hands stung. Rainbow kept whistling and yelling. Grimacing, Fluttershy took her beer and made the tomboy drink the rest of her water.

Just in time, because it was Rainbow’s turn.

She went up on the stage, took the mic, then looked out at the crowd. Fluttershy tried waving, but the stage lights seemed to make it hard for Rainbow to see much because she didn’t wave back. For a moment, her face looked blank as the music began and the rolling guitars started up.

Twilight, still breathless from her performance, frowned. “Is Rainbow okay? She looks a little dazed.”

Fluttershy’s first inclination was to agree with her friend, but then she saw Rainbow clench her fist and close her eyes.

It wasn’t the performance they had expected. Fluttershy could tell that easily enough as she looked at the other girls and saw the emotions on their faces.

Surprise. Awe. Sadness.

Fluttershy felt tears prick her eyes as Rainbow sang. The tomboy had always had powerful and visceral vocals that made her the ideal choice for leading on the Rainbooms more aggressive songs. But this was a new dimension to her performance that none of the girls had ever seen before.

“I took a drive today
Time to emancipate
I guess it was the beatings... made me wise
But I’m not about to give thanks, or apologize”

The intense emotion drew the restaurant to a standstill. Fluttershy felt her tears overflow. Rainbow wasn’t just singing as one did with a song whose lyrics didn’t touch them. She was coming from somewhere deep and personal. Tears shone in her eyes as she belted out with such force that Fluttershy almost felt like she was being pushed back.

“Saw things, saw things
Clearer, a-clearer
Once you were in my rear-view mirror”

“Oh…” Fluttershy pressed a hand to her aching heart.

She watched as Rainbow gripped the mic in both hands and belted out the last lines of the song with a red face, her body curling as she sang about her life being clearer now that the people who hurt her were behind her.

The song ended, and there was a lull of silence. Twilight, jerking as if coming out of a trance, started clapping softly at first, then louder. The rest of the restaurant joined in. Fluttershy just hurried toward the stage, trying to keep her balance as stepped around the tables in her heeled shoes.

Rainbow spotted her and met her partway.

“Rainbow that was beautiful, that was—” People were still clapping around them.

One man stood up and patted Rainbow on the shoulder. “Hey miss, fuck whoever it was that did it.”

Rainbow stared at him. She still looked a little disoriented. “Sir?”

“Yeah, fuck ‘em!” A drunk lady said, toasting Rainbow. “Hey, you want another drink? I’m buyin’!”

“Um, no thank you? Appreciate it, though.” Rainbow looked at Fluttershy and grimaced. “Sorry, I should’ve gone last. I didn’t mean to make it awkward.”

Fluttershy shook her head and kissed her, wrapping her arms around the other girl’s neck. When she pulled away, she murmured. “No, Dashie. No. I just… Was what you were singing—I mean, when—?”

When did someone hurt you that way?

Pinkie Pie was called to the stage. Rainbow sighed, took Fluttershy’s hand, and gestured toward the bar. Once there, she said, “Listen, there’s a lot of things I still have to tell you. But not here. When we go to the next bar, okay? We’ll go somewhere quiet. Promise. I don’t wanna depress you anymore before we go up together.”

Fluttershy frowned but nodded.

They turned and watched as Pinkie Pie, who was already underway with her performance, demonstrated why you just couldn’t predict anything with her.

Rainbow stared at Pinkie as she sang with a manic energy that usually only ever came out for Halloween and scary movie nights. The party planner was singing an indie pop song, but its catchy upbeat melody belied the edgy lyrics, which made the girl’s smile seem fanged:

“Now shut your dirty mouth
If I could burn this town
I wouldn’t hesitate
To smile while you suffocate and die”

“Should we be worried for our friend?” Rainbow asked with an arched eyebrow.

Fluttershy shivered and hugged Rainbow’s arm with a wide-eyed look. “Maybe?”

Twilight touched Rainbow’s shoulder, making the couple turn to look at her. “Hey, I’m gonna try and call Sunset Shimmer again. I’ll be just outside.”

Rainbow waved. “Okay!”

“Twilight, are you sure this isn’t something we can help you with?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.

Twilight was already backing away as she shook her head. “You guys have fun! I’ll try and come back in before you’re done with your song, Shy.”

“But—” Fluttershy tried to catch her friend, but Twilight was already gone.

There was applause as Pinkie Pie completed her song. Rainbow put an arm around Fluttershy and rubbed her shoulder. “Babe, I’m sure Twi’s all right. Let’s head up, it’s your turn!”

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide as her stomach clenched. She could feel the sweat forming as she heard her name called. Thoughts of Twilight’s dilemma and Rainbow’s mysterious pain fled her mind for the moment as her girlfriend took her hand and guided her to the stage. Stiff-legged, Fluttershy walked, her body trembling. At the small stage, which was only two steps up, her knees started to give out.

Rainbow rolling her eyes, but smiling, picked the girl up in her arms and carried her up. Pinkie Pie was still on stage. She whistled and gestured for Rarity to join them. The fashionista pouted but blew her male company a kiss as she stood to her feet and sashayed to the stage. Rainbow set Fluttershy down, and she blinked as the employee running karaoke handed the girls four microphones.

Fluttershy turned and tried to look out into the crowd, but the lights were so bright—

She felt Rainbow’s hand on her shoulder as Pinkie and Rarity appeared at their sides. “Look, Flutters. There’s the monitor. If you forget the lyrics, just look there, okay?”

Pinkie nudged her, and when Fluttershy looked, the other girl breathed, “This song was made for youuuu!”

There was applause as the song began to start. Fluttershy jerked. She stared around, uncertain, her heart pounding.

Oh no, I’m messing this up—!

Then she heard the girls around her begin to vocalize and doo-wop. Rainbow’s hand hadn’t left her shoulder. Joining on the other shoulder, she felt Pinkie Pie’s hand, then Rarity touch her somewhere on her back. Her eyes widened as she felt her friends open their hearts.

It was a special thing, their magic. They could do so much with it, from cast spells, transform their bodies, gain new innate powers… But one of the first things they’d learned together was…

To sing in complete harmony.

Fluttershy felt the magical connection form, and through the link, she felt her friend’s love. Their belief in her. Their joy at being able to perform together again.

And when Fluttershy lifted her head, she sang her heart out.

If you say the words, “soccer, butt, cool,” or “horny” I’ll swat your tushy. ‘Kay?

Sassaflash had still been pinching herself when she saw Pinkie go up on stage. She hadn’t seriously thought she had any kind of chance with any of Rainbow’s friends. None. Zero. Zilch. But now…?

As she watched Pinkie sing, Sassaflash had a sense that the girl she was dealing with had many, many layers. Sure, maybe several of those layers were sugary sweet and candy-colored to heck, but deep down…there was dark chocolate, y’know? Real nuts.

Sassaflash scrunched her nose. She needed to work on her analogies.

The point was that Pinkie Pie was a surprise, and she should probably get a sense for whether or not this was going to go anywhere or not. Maybe ask Rainbow if she was cool with it? That seemed like a good idea—

Ah, dang. She used the word “cool.” This was going to be an eventful night, that was for sure.

Anyway, she’d loved Pinkie’s performance, not as taken aback by it as the other girls. She’d been thoroughly impressed by them all, really! But it was when Sass got to see Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Rarity all up on stage together that she felt herself truly gobsmacked.

Sitting alone at the bar, Sassaflash’s mouth hung open. That was Fluttershy singing?

“But it’s just a sweet sweet fantasy baby
When I close my eyes
You come and you take me
It’s so deep in my daydreams
But it’s just a sweet, sweet fantasy baby”

They were amazing! They’d looked so disorganized at first, then all of a sudden they were just…in sync, like they’d practiced this hundreds of times! Sassaflash fumbled for her phone and hit record. She’d recorded Rainbow Dash’s performance too, but she’d felt a little bad about that. It had been so raw and personal that she’d felt like she’d recorded someone’s private confession and so promptly deleted it. She worried for her friend. Her suspicion that Blaze had abused her grew stronger. She’d ask later. Right now, though—

Sassaflash practically screamed her encouragement as she banged the bar with a stinging palm. At the part where the singer was supposed to be talking about her “boyfriend,” Fluttershy flawlessly changed it to “girlfriend,” and as if on cue, Rainbow held her from behind, swaying her hips in time with her lover as the crowd hooted and hollered, applauding.

For the most part, during these recent performances, the crowd hadn’t been as chatty, too taken with the girls who clearly had stage experience. But in the middle of the song, the doors burst open and a group of boisterous people hollered as they entered.

Sassaflash glanced at them in annoyance, only to whip her head around in horror. “Oh, cork sucker!”

A group of young men towed along a few girls. Her eyes were fixed on the man at the front who was chatting with his poofy-haired friend while his date stood looking bored next to him.

Caramel. He had his arm around a girl with dark blue hair and a purple tube dress. As his eyes swept her way, Sassaflash immediately turned her face, her eyes darting around in her head as she tried to think of a way out.

How could she forget that Caramel also grew up in this area?I mean, what were the odds he’d go out tonight and go to this particular spot, but still—what the heck was he doing here??

And was that another girl he was with? Already? That bastard!

Could she dropkick him in the face and still get out okay? No probably not. Could she flip over the bar and hide back there? No, they’d kick her out. Could she pull the fire alarm? No, she didn’t even know where that was. Could she transform into a tiny worm and inch away?

Oh, if only.

But as she heard Fluttershy’s time on the mic drawing to a close and the crowd applauding energetically, she realized with horror…

Her name was next.

Sassaflash stumbled away from the bar, her face pale and cold with perspiration. She hurried to the stage, waving her hands frantically, trying to catch the DJ’s attention. He looked her way, lifting the mic to his mouth. She wanted to cry out, but if she did, surely Caramel would notice her. The DJ opened his mouth. She had to get the mic before—

“And next up is Sassaflash, with—”

“Wait, wait! Damn it!” The mic picked up her voice amidst screeching feedback.

Sassaflash stood, feeling faint. Not just faint, nauseous. The DJ stared at her, flabbergasted. Rainbow and the others called to her, looking bewildered. The blonde didn’t move.

Her life was over. She needed to find a hole to throw herself into. Could she commit harakiri with a steak knife?

Why was this happening to her?

With a dry mouth, she pushed the mic back into the man’s hands. “I… I don’t think I can do this.”

Rainbow hopped off the stage, “Woah, woah, hold on.” She pulled Sassaflash aside. It was easy to do. Sass floated along like a ghost. She was dead, right? So dead.

“Sassy,” Rainbow said, smacking her face a little. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

Sassaflash looked at her with a haunted look. “Caramel. He’s here.”

“Crap, really??” Rainbow craned her head to look, prompting the others to look out of curiosity. Fluttershy didn’t recognize anyone, but Rarity hissed when she laid eyes on Caramel and his group.

“Party Favor,” she spat the name like a curse.

Fluttershy looked at her with shock. “Wait, you mean—?!”

Behind them, Pinkie Pie stood on the stage and stared. Sassaflash glanced at her, vaguely recalling the name. Party Favor. Party Favor? Wasn’t he the one who—?

“Sass, you can’t dip now. He heard your name!” Rainbow snapped, shaking the vice captain’s shoulder.

Sassaflash pushed her hand away. “Yeah. And? I’m not singing in front of him, Rainbow. He’s brought a date. I’ll look so stupid.” Sassaflash’s voice grew thick. Tears filled her eyes. She was already so embarrassed!

The DJ shrugged and consulted his list. “Okay, looks like we’re gonna have—”

“Hey! No! Just hold on, man. All right? She just needs a new song!” Rainbow snapped at the DJ.

The man shook his head. “Look lady, I got a long list that—”

“Can surely wait a quick moment while we pick a new song, dear sir?” Rarity said sweetly as she put her arm around his shoulders. While he was distracted by the pretty girl demanding his attention, Pinkie hopped off the stage and gingerly removed the mic from his hand with her tongue between her teeth.

Fluttershy hurried over with the song binder, her face pinched with worry. “Rainbow, what are we doing?” She lowered her voice and added. “Party Favor is here as well. I don’t know if Pinkie will want to stay here!”

“I appreciate the thought Flutters, but I’m a-okay,” Pinkie said behind her, making Fluttershy jump with a squeak. The party planner handed the mic to Rainbow Dash. “I just wanna make sure Sassaflash is okay.” She smiled at Sass.

“Lemme see that list Flutters,” Rainbow said, taking the binder and flipping through it quickly.

Sassaflash shook her head adamantly. “Rainbow, guys, I told you, I can’t! I’ll make a fool of myself! I told you all I can’t sing!”

“Yes! They have it!” Rainbow handed Fluttershy the binder and pointed at a song. “Tell the DJ to change it to this one, okay? Pinkie, I want you to grab Rarity. We’re all going back up there.”

“O-Okay?”

“Okey-dokey-lokey!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Sassaflash snapped, feeling her panic and anger rise. “You aren’t listening!”

Rainbow slapped a heavy hand on Sassaflash’s shoulder and looked straight into her eyes. “I am. I know you’re afraid. I know Caramel is here. But you know what? You’ve never sung with me and my friends before. I promise you, you’re not just gonna rock this place, you’re gonna put a big ol’ middle finger in Caramel’s face. Got it?” She cast a dirty look at the back of the restaurant. “And we’ll nail that jerk Party Favor while we’re at it, too.”

Sassaflash’s eyes fluttered. She swooned. A rush of heat suddenly entered into her body. Her skin tingled. “But, but—”

Rainbow stepped closer, her lips pulling up in a smirk. “Dude, chill. We. Got. This.”

And as Sassaflash stared into Rainbow’s rose-red eyes, somehow, against all logic…she believed.

She could do this. She…could do this?

For a split second, Sass wondered if she was having a stroke. Surely she was crazy for agreeing to this, right? Why did she feel so good about this all of a sudden?

“Wh-What song are we singing?” Sassaflash asked as Rainbow pushed her toward the stage. The other girls joined them.

Rainbow winked. “Bye Bye Bye.” She tapped her head. “Go with the flow, okay? I know you know the moves, you nerd. I saw the boy band posters in your bedroom!”

Sassaflash’s eyes went wide. “The moves? As in dance moves? Rainbow—!”

“The song is starting,” Rarity hissed behind her.

“Trust us, Sassy!” Pinkie chimed in on the other side.

Sassaflash looked slowly at Fluttershy, who smiled shakily. “Don’t be afraid, r-remember?”

Why did it sound like the girl was begging her?

Something weird was going on. Her body felt hot. Every part of her felt electric. A part of her still screamed in panic, but it was like the volume on that part of herself was being turned waaaay down, and drowning it out were feelings of…

Reassurance. Confidence. Hope. Vengeance?

They didn’t feel like her feelings. It was like she was getting a signal from somewhere else. Her eyes squinted under the stage lights as she searched desperately for the lyrics monitor.

Then the music started. First, it was the violins. Then Pinkie let out a melodious, “Hey, heeey!”

And then… almost as if it had a mind of its own, Sassaflash’s body began to move.

She tried to stop her limbs. Her bewilderment turned into confused frustration. Why couldn’t she control her arms? Her legs?

Panic bubbled just below the surface, but something else—a strange sense of warmth, even excitement—kept her from completely freaking out.

She wasn’t entirely in control.

But maybe… just maybe… she could ride it out?

At least she could take delight in her ex-boyfriend looking utterly floored. Silver linings, and all that.

Outside, Twilight Sparkle had tried three times to call Sunset Shimmer. This was in addition to the five attempts from earlier that night. She yelled in frustration when the call went straight to voicemail. Again. Ordinarily, she didn’t leave a voice message, but out of aggravation, she recorded this:

“Sunset Shimmer, I’m sorry to interrupt what I’m sure is a night you’ve been waiting for literally years for, but if you could pause your horny conquest for a single freaking minute, I really, really need you to call me back. M’kay? Bye.”

She hung up and squatted on the sidewalk, putting her head on her knees.

She’d lied to Fluttershy. She did. She’d tried to cover her growing alarm by acting like nothing was wrong. She’d carried on with conversation and jokes. She’d even gotten through singing karaoke! She wanted to have fun just as much as anyone! She didn’t want to ruin anyone’s night.

Well. Maybe Sunset’s a little. But who else could she call for this? No one else had Sunset’s intimate knowledge of Equestrian magic! It’s not like anyone else had a magical journal that had the Magical Pony Princess of FREAKING FRIENDSHIP on speed dial!

She’d tried to forget. She’d tried to tell herself it didn’t need their immediate attention.

Until she remembered what Sassaflash had said.

I didn’t get to read the whole document, but she seemed to think the dagger was dangerous. Magical even. She was super scared.

Great! Wonderful! A super scary Egyptian dagger of unknown power that a tenured college professor, a world-famous archaeologist, had figured out was magical? And was afraid of?

And what about Sassaflash and her dreams? Why, why, why was a non-magical human like Sass dreaming about the very magical artifacts that Twilight and her friends had confiscated and depowered? She was their age. She’d graduated high school the same year.

Her dreams had started roughly around the time Sunset Shimmer attempted to tear open the veil between Equus and Earth, bringing magic into their world. All the objects Sassaflash had been dreaming about? It didn’t surprise Twilight that the girl hadn’t worried about it till now. The items she mentioned seemed so unremarkable, she probably didn’t think it was worth telling many people, if she even remembered dreaming about them at all. But the items were not as mundane as Sassaflash believed.

The hand mirror? Twilight and her friends had stopped Juniper Montage from using one during her supernatural rampage in which the mirror had transformed her into a fifty-foot diva. The old-timey radio? During senior year, Applejack had brought a family member’s old radio for depowering. The device had the unfortunate habit of broadcasting the inner thoughts of those standing within a certain radius. And the watering can?

Shortly after transferring to Canterlot High, Princess Celestia had tasked Twilight with caring for her private garden while she went on vacation. The watering can she’d used had turned the plants into giant singing monstrosities that had quarreled with her and each other for another drink from the enchanted vessel. She’d only been able to return the plants back to normal thanks to Applejack rinsing the plants clean of the magical water.

But Sassaflash had never been there for any of these events. Why was she dreaming about them? And what was the significance of the scarab beetles?

Why did stuff like this have to become a massive mess? Why couldn’t Sunset just pick up her phone? Why didn’t she tell Twilight about her date with Applejack?

She was supportive! She was! Maybe she would have advised not sleeping with AJ tonight, but—

Oh, who was she kidding? That was precisely why Sunset had neglected to bring it up.

This wasn’t a jealousy thing. Sunset had intimated interest in her a long time ago, and Twilight had kindly intimated back that it would never happen. She valued Sunset as a friend. She just also valued Applejack as a friend too and worried Sunset’s no doubt eager advances was going to lead to someone getting hurt. And who was going to have to be the proverbial shoulder to cry on?

Me! As usual!

Twilight groaned and beat her fists against the sidewalk. She hated being the grownup sometimes!

After a full minute of deep breathing, Twilight stood back up and checked her phone.

Fine. Fine. If Sunset wanted to prioritize bedding her longtime crush, she’d just have to do what she could on her own. She could chew her friend’s ear off later. Sunset always came clean about what she was up to. Usually. Well, not about the Equestrian gold and money laundering stuff, but about most things. They were close friends! Practically sisters!

And Twilight so looked forward to smacking her sister a few times on the head. With a ruler.

She unlocked her phone with angry taps and searched for news articles on the Egyptian exhibit. Then she knocked the heel of her palm to her head when she realized she should have just asked Sassaflash what the name of the dang dagger was! Twilight took another deep breath.

No. No! She could still do this. She just needed to research the exhibit, find a name, maybe even reverse image search a picture, keep an eye on Sassaflash, and—

Twilight went ramrod straight. Her eyes became massive circles.

Just now, she’d felt a stirring of magic in the air. Of them all, she and Sunset had the strongest sense for it. It was an electric feeling. A tickling on the mind, like an unbidden thought. Depending on the magic, the thoughts could be pleasant, terrifying, or anything in between.

Right now? She felt… Good? Like slapping a bully in the face kind of good.

This kind of residual energy wasn’t possible with dormant magic. Artifacts that hadn’t been activated didn’t give off this kind of ambient power. No… Only a spell—

Twilight turned on her heel and burst into the restaurant, her chest heaving like she’d done a marathon. A groan emitted from her gaping mouth as she buried her hands in her hair. “No, no!”

On the stage, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, and Sassaflashwere Harmonizing. That was how Twilight had come to understand the phenomenon when she and her friends suddenly were able to dance and sing flawlessly together. Oftentimes, the effect was accompanied by a phantom soundtrack floating in from somewhere.

Now? The girls were dancing perfectly to a 90s pop song about leaving a lover.

“Don’t want to be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two
You may hate me but it ain’t no lie
Baby bye bye bye!”

Twilight watched, aghast, as the girls followed the dance choreography without missing a step. Magic. It was magic. How else were Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy doing that in heels and skirts? They even did the helicopter stomps!

And Twilight watched as Sassaflash danced. She was smiling and singing with a dulcet voice that seemed straight from the radio. The very same girl who said she couldn’t carry a note if her life depended on it. But Twilight could tell, even from here… If you looked closely at the girl’s eyes? Underneath the layers of magic?

She was terrified.

Twilight’s eyes fixed on Rainbow as her shock and dismay gave way to outrage. Her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms. “Rainbow Dash.”

The song ended, and Sassaflash stood heaving on the stage as the restaurant went wild. It was the biggest applause yet, with some people even shouting for an encore. The noise washed over Sass like water.

She could see Caramel staring at her faintly in the dark. He looked completely and utterly gobsmacked. The girl he was with kept trying to get his attention, but he didn’t look at her at all. Sassaflash felt a vicious streak of satisfaction.

She’d done it!

She’d done it.

She’d…done it?

Rainbow pulled at her, waving at everyone. “Thank you! Thanks!” She leaned in and whispered, “Told you!” Then she winked.

Sassaflash just stared at her, dazed. And then it clicked.

Something had happened.

And Rainbow Dash had somehow caused it.

Sassaflash let herself be dragged off-stage as the girls congratulated each other with high fives and laughed.

No. No, it hadn’t just been Rainbow Dash. They’d all been in on it.

She stared at them all, feeling the sweat trickle down her back.

The dancing wasn’t so hard to believe. She was a good dancer, and she really knew all the moves to the famous song. But how were they all so in sync without any practice?

And how had she sang? Never mind that—how had she sang while dancing?

It was a commonly overlooked fact that pop stars were in shape. Right, sure, so what? She was in shape.

But she wasn’t a pop star. People who made it their livelihood to sing and dance literally trained specifically to be able to hit all those difficult notes, all whilst doing the equivalent of an intense cardio workout in front of a large crowd. It was such an understatement to say that anyone could be a pretty face that sang and danced. As a die-hard pop fan, Sassaflash had argued this fact with naysayers till her face had turned blue. Pop stars had talent and they rehearsed their butts off for those flawless performances! There were advanced breathing techniques involved!

So she knew, absolutely, that she should not have been able to do that without practice. She sucked at singing, so how on earth did she do that whilst dipping and sliding, shimmying and twirling? Ask anyone who was bad at singing to try a song, and they’d hold stock still while they tried hard just to breathe right while they aimed to hit all their notes!

What had happened? What had happened??

As people rushed forward, trying to congratulate them, trying to offer them drinks, trying to give them their numbers—

She saw Twilight Sparkle push through the crowd, her face livid. “I cannot believe you guys!”

Rainbow glared at her. “What? Sass and Pinkie’s exes are here, Twi! We had to—”

“I don’t care! Guys, get your things. We need to leave. Now.”

“You’re not the boss of me, Twilight Sparkle.” Rainbow crossed her arms and lifted her nose defiantly.

Pinkie Pie laughed nervously as she tried to sidle between the two. She was taller than both Rainbow and Twilight, but even she seemed diminutive between their clashing auras.

“Heh, um. Girls? Let’s stay breezy, lemon squeezies. We’re all here to have fun—”

“Are we Pinkie?” Rainbow spat. “Seems to me, Twilight came here to babysit.”

“I wouldn’t need to if some people acted like they had some common sense!” Twilight snapped back.

“We shouldn’t talk about this here,” Fluttershy squeaked, looking around wildly. There was still a small crowd trying to get at them, but…

Sassaflash jerked when she saw that Rarity was somehow singlehandedly distracting the oncoming patrons wishing to speak to them all. And when she focused on the girl…she sensed…radiance.

Pure radiance, such as she’d never seen. Rarity was almost glowing, her laughter like diamonds, pearls, and gold coins falling musically into a crystal bowl.

But underlying the glam and glimmer, Sassaflash saw something. Felt something. It was like when she’d felt those things on stage. The sensations that felt foreign but overtook her own.

Look at me, Rarity’s glamour whispered. I have what you want. Leave the others be.

“Leave the others be,” Sassaflash whispered, feeling nauseous all over again. She saw Twilight Sparkle look at her sharply from the periphery of her vision, then Twilight shouted at Rarity, “Rares, you’re still connected to her!”

Rarity jumped, her eyes first flickering to Twilight, then she craned her head and looked at Sassaflash. Her eyes widened with guilt. “Oh dear. My apologies.”

And then—just like that—the vision was lost. Sassaflash blinked and rubbed at her eyes. She looked again.

The strange sparkling vision was gone. The feelings were gone. It was just Rarity now, speaking to the people around them. The sight was completely mundane.

But Sassaflash remembered. Rarity had been…been stopping the people from getting close. She looked at the others, who had resumed their argument almost without missing a beat. It all looked so practiced. Almost like they had a system in place for such occasions. Almost like they’d done this before.

“There, you see? That’s why what you did was wrong! You guys are jerking her around, and she has no idea what is happening! Sassaflash looks like she’s going to pass out!” Twilight pointed at Sassaflash.

“We should go outside,” Fluttershy said, finally managing to raise her voice. “If only so that Sassaflash can get some fresh air, please?”

Yes. Please.

She said it in her head, but Sassaflash couldn’t really assemble the words quite yet.

Rainbow and her friends were… What the fuck were they?!

She felt a slap on her butt and yelped, jumping away.

Pinkie Pie looked at her with vexation. “You promised! You can’t even do it in your head, missy!”

Sassaflash stared at Pinkie wild-eyed.

…Wait. WAIT. Why didn’t she see it sooner? How had Pinkie done that? Not just the mind-reading, but the sudden teleportation! One second she’d been over there. Now she was right here? And not just now, but all those other times before? Breaking into Sassaflash’s dorm room to pie her. Sneaking up rapidly behind her with a cannon.

“Are you guys aliens?” Sassaflash finally squeaked.

Rainbow looked uncomfortable and wouldn’t meet Twilight’s infuriated stare. Fluttershy gave Pinkie a stern look that made the party planner duck her head before the normally shy girl put an arm around Sassaflash and guided her toward the exit. “Come with me, you poor thing. Let’s find somewhere more peaceful. I’m sure it will all feel better in a moment.”

Sassaflash could feel something envelope her as they went and gathered their things from where they had left them. Not quite a bubble. A haze? It smelled sweet, like flowers, and felt soft on her skin, like cashmere or fluffy cotton. She felt calmer. Safer.

It wasn’t right, but she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into the comfort.

As Sass picked up her purse, she noted it felt a little warm.

She turned a slow eye on Fluttershy. “You’re doing something too, aren’t you?”

Fluttershy faltered a little. She glanced nervously at Sass as they crossed the restaurant. “It’s one of the few things I’m capable of. We’ve all got talents. This is one of mine.”

“Making me feel calm?”

“Yes.”

And that was really all it was. It didn’t take away her questions or make her forget what had happened. It was so strangely merciful. Gentle. Kind.

But was that really okay? She shouldn’t be calm right? She should be freaking out? Running into the street screaming?

But Flutters was so nice, how could she think the girl had any ill will toward her?

“...Thanks. For doing that. I feel better.” Sassaflash shuddered as they neared the exit.

What was happening?

Caramel tried to approach her. “Sassy, hey—”

“Back off, meathead, she’s not interested,” Rainbow snarled, shoving him.

Caramel shoved her back. “Who asked you, bitch?”

“Rainbow, enough!” Rarity snapped, pulling the tomboy’s arm.

Almost as quick was the restaurant’s security for the night, who appeared behind Caramel.

“Are you serious?” Sassaflash heard her ex-boyfriend yell incredulously. But she didn’t feel the unpleasant lurch in her stomach she’d felt upon seeing him.

They entered the night air, and she turned and gazed impassively at Caramel as he stormed out, dragging his date who protested loudly. Trailing behind him were the other guys he’d come with. One with poofy blue hair slowed down to peer uncertainly at Pinkie Pie. He raised an awkward hand.

Pinkie raised a hand to wave at him, but Rarity quietly pushed it back down. At the icy stares from the other girls, the young man grimaced and hurried after Caramel’s group.

Sassaflash watched him go. Without turning her head, she asked quietly, “What are you guys?”

“We’re human, just like you,” Twilight said behind her. Sassaflash turned to look at her. She felt her heart do a small jump.

Their eyes. Their eyes were glowing.

“He just wanted to say hi, Rarity,” Pinkie murmured with a pained expression.

Rarity crossed her arms and curled her lip. “Pinkie Pie, we’ve discussed this. You must stop casting pearls before swine.”

“If you guys are human, then how did you do that?” Sassaflash asked persistently, her eyes flitting to each of their faces.

She could feel her heart stutter, like it was trying to pick up its pace but the weird calm was smothering every jump and twitch of the muscle in her chest. She trembled, despite the supernatural blanket on her mind.

Her purse was feeling warmer. Was her phone overheating somehow?

“Let’s head back to the van. Talk inside there,” Pinkie suggested, jingling her keys.

“We’re not leaving, are we?” Rainbow said with a look of dismay.

“It would be prudent to pause and discuss things,” Rarity said with a somber expression. She gestured at Sassaflash. “Dear Sassy looks like she could use a sit-down, at any rate.”

“I’m fine,” Sassaflash said. It was true, at least for the moment. Whatever Fluttershy was doing was helping. She looked around at them all. “I’m just confused. What’s going on?”

Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose under her glasses and waved wearily down the street. “In the van. Come on.”

They went. Once inside the van, they all turned to Sassaflash. Once again, she found herself sitting in the middle of the vehicle. Before she hadn’t minded. Now? She realized Rainbow and her friends were all surrounding her.

“Guys? Can someone explain? Or did I just have too much to drink?” she asked almost hopefully, blinking around at them all.

“Sounds like an excellent reason for us to employ,” Rarity muttered. Twilight shot her a look.

“Can’t we just tell her?” Rainbow groused. She was slumped in her seat, her arms crossed, her look sour. “She’s my friend.”

“We all have other friends,” Twilight said with a stern look. “That doesn’t mean we share it with everyone we meet.”

“It’s Sassaflash,” Rainbow said, sitting forward angrily. “She’s my buddy. She’s loyal, and she’s brave. I can trust her!”

“Yes, we understand that, darling, but can we trust her?” Rarity asked pointedly. “We’ve only met her a handful of times!”

Pinkie pushed her fingers together, her expression uncomfortable. “Wouldn’t it be kind of smelly to not give Sunset and Applejack a chance to say something, too?” She flinched under Rainbow’s furious look. “Waiting for the others gives us more time to think of another solution, Dashie!”

“I needed them and they didn’t come,” Rainbow hissed. She pointed at Sassaflash. “She did! Guys, she’s genuine. When she says she’s your friend, she means it!”

“I really do. Rainbow Dash is my best friend, ” Sassaflash murmured. Her eyes were gleaming. This was…important. And her friend was sticking up for her. Her friend, no matter how stupid and clumsy she could be, no matter the mistake she made, Sass could see her intentions had been well-meaning, if misguided. But what the heck was going on?

Her trembling worsened for a moment before she felt the unrelenting calm press on her heavier still, like a hug tightening, and her muscles reluctantly relaxed. Quietly she breathed, “You’re my best friend. I didn’t wanna say that to your face because your head is fat enough. But see, that’s why it hurt my feelings that I didn’t know so much about you.” Her eyes tensed as she locked onto Rainbow’s uncomfortable expression. “Is this why? Whatever this secret is? You were just trying to protect something?”

Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. “Sass, I…”

“Not just anything. It’s big, Sass. And… Look. I get it. You’re good friends. I know it seems like I’m being callous Rainbow, but I’m not ignoring that.” Twilight’s voice was pained. “But I have to be practical about this. I can’t afford anything else. Serious things could go wrong if we make the wrong move.”

“We don’t wanna do anything drastic, Dashie,” Pinkie said with downturned eyes. “We like Sassy. But…” It wasn’t resounding support, that was for sure. Support for what? Heck if Sass knew. What were they even arguing about? “Telling her” as opposed to…what, exactly?

“Um, I think it would be okay to tell her, too,” Fluttershy said, her voice rising then falling the moment all eyes turned to her. “I-I’m not just saying that because of Rainbow! I genuinely trust Sass.”

Sassaflash frowned. “Don’t I get a say in any of this? It’s not like I asked for whatever happened on stage.”

Now she saw all the girls flinch.

“Dude, I’m sorry,” Rainbow said, slouching once more. “I just hated to see you so upset over Caramel.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “What was the deal with that anyways?”

Sassaflash grimaced and raised a hand. “I think I can explain that.” She sighed and toyed with her necklaces. “In the middle of Fluttershy’s karaoke performance, Caramel, my ex-boyfriend, showed up. We were together for six years. Broke up three days ago. He showed up with his buddies and a new date. And then I realized it would be my turn next up on the mic and—”

“And you can’t sing,” Twilight said, closing her eyes with a look of painful understanding.

Sass nodded rapidly. “Yeah! So I tried to stop the DJ from saying my name, but it was too late. I was gonna back out anyway, but then—”

“Rainbow stepped in with a song to snub your Ex with,” Twilight finished, rubbing her face wearily.

Sassaflash shrugged, still not fully grasping the severity of the situation. Still so confused and unable to respond in the way she knew she should. “Yeah.”

Twilight looked long and hard at Rainbow, who glowered back. With a long and heavy sigh, the bookworm turned her eyes back to Sass. “Look,” she held up her hands. “I think my friends are sorry for dragging you up there. They can be…very convincing.”

She looked around at the others. “But until we can get Applejack and Sunset’s input, we’re kind of in a pickle. We need a short term solution until we can resolve this as a group. So, I think we should…forget about what just happened. Try and enjoy the night. All in favor?”

Twilight raised her hand. With perfect but rigid posture, Rarity raised her hand as well. Pinkie flinched when Twilight looked at her, looking away. Twilight looked at Fluttershy next, who glanced guiltily at Rainbow before slowly raising a quivering hand. Rainbow stared at her, stunned.

“Three out of five. The majority has it,” Twilight said with a sigh.

“Flutters, why?” Rainbow asked, her face slack.

Fluttershy sighed and wrung her hands. With great effort she met Rainbow’s eyes. “Dashie. It’s just temporary. It isn’t right to ignore Sunset and Applejack’s feelings. If we’re going to share our secret…we should all consent.” Her voice quivered, but her eyes, shining with unshed tears, held conviction.

Sassaflash blinked to see it. She knew something important had just been decided, but she still didn’t get what the heck was going on. Why was Rainbow so upset? And Pinkie had been against it too? Did that mean Pinkie trusted her? She liked Pinkie. She was liking her more and more—

Twilight took hold of Sassaflash’s hand and began to trace symbols on her skin. Sassaflash allowed it, staring in confusion and fascination. The blanket of calm kept her emotions from rising, so she took it all in like she was under the best body high. What shapes was Twilight drawing? Rainbow started to say something, her face angry—but Fluttershy put a hand on her girlfriend and gently shook her head. She looked sad. But resigned. Pinkie and Rarity, too.

Twilight didn’t even look up at the interruption. She just kept drawing the symbols and speaking. “Sassaflash, you’re a really good dancer, right? And you like pop bands?”

“She has posters in her bedroom back at her house,” Rainbow said through tight lips.

Sassaflash glanced at her soccer captain, then said haltingly. “Er, yeah? I used to listen to them all the time.”

Twilight nodded. “And you used to take dance lessons, right?”

“Yes? Where are you going with this? And what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to make your life simpler. At least for now. Just focus on my eyes and listen to me, okay?”

Sassaflash frowned, but the strange calm was still over her, like a heavy blanket. “Oookay?”

Twilight gazed into her eyes without blinking. She began to speak,

“Caught surprised, you didn’t know
Swept up in the sudden show
That hidden deep inside there was
A talent for your prideful cause
To show up lovers of the past
With song and dance unsurpassed
You’ve worked hard, you’ve practiced long
Now enjoy this triumph, all nightlong”

Sassaflash made a face. She could feel her thoughts slowing. Something electric was rising up in her chest, almost like it were on an intercept course with whatever was messing with her head. Her purse felt hot under her arm. Sleepily, she started to reach for it. What was—?

And then she froze.

Fluttershy gazed at Sassaflash worriedly. The blonde girl had frozen in her seat, her eyes glazed over as she stared into nothing.

Nervously, Fluttershy leaned over to Twilight and whispered, “Is the spell supposed to do that?”

Twilight frowned, her eyes wide. “No.”

“Did you break my friend?” Rainbow growled.

“No? I don’t know! The spell is just supposed to instantly work! It’s never done this before!” She threw up her hands. “Something is interfering with it!” She rubbed at her forehead. “Could it have something to do with the dreams?”

Fluttershy wrinkled her nose. “Dreams?” What did that mean? Was that what Twilight had been worrying about earlier?

“That rhyme kinda sucked,” Rainbow said with a scowl. “Maybe that has something to do with it?”

Twilight crossed her arms and huffed. “You try coming up with a complex rhyme on the fly, Rainbow!”

“Can I assist you somehow? Is there a way to fix it?” Rarity asked, her trembling hands clasped together under her delicate chin.

Pinkie Pie slowly reached up from the front seat. She gently poked Sassaflash in the head. Twilight swatted at her hand. “Stop that!”

“Stop what?” Sassaflash asked, blinking.

Everyone shouted in surprise, making Sassaflash jerk and look at them all like they were crazy. “What? What? Geez, you guys are gonna give me a heart attack!”

Rainbow grabbed at her friend’s shoulder. “Sass! You’re okay? What do you remember?”

Sassaflash gave Rainbow a weirded-out look. “I’m good, Dashie. Are you good?”

“Yeah, yeah—just what do you remember?”

Everyone leaned in. Sassaflash blinked. “Dude, how much did you drink? We just killed it at karaoke! Did you see Caramel’s face?” She closed her eyes and did a chef’s kiss. “It was so worth it to practice singing and dancing to that song. I told Spitfire it’d come in handy!” She reached over and punched a stunned Rainbow on the shoulder. “And hey, you and the girls did great! Thank you so much for backing me up there. You’re a real one.”

Silence. Sassaflash looked around awkwardly. “Sooo… Are you guys ready to hit the next place? There’s a gay bar just down the street. I think they have a DJ tonight.” Her gaze drifted as her expression softened. “Honestly, though... I hope the night doesn’t fizzle out. Performing like that was kind of hard to top, but I’d hate for things to cap there. I’m really hoping the gay bar has something exciting going on. I don’t know… I just feel like I need a spark, you know? Something different.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Different how?”

Sassaflash shrugged, leaning back into the seat, but there was a distant look in her eyes. “I don’t know. Something that makes me feel…alive? Like I’m not just going through the motions. Maybe I’ll find someone interesting to talk to. Or something. Just...something.” She made a face and shuddered. “Eyech, that was too Eat, Pray, Love for my tastes.”

Rainbow blinked at her. “Uh...” Her eyes slid to Twilight, who stared back in confusion.

Fluttershy didn’t even need to hear them talk, she was pretty sure their unspoken exchange went.

What the heck did you do to my friend?

You mean she doesn’t normally talk like this?

Sassaflash laughed, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Ugh. Sorry. I’m rambling.” She shrugged again, a hint of vulnerability flashing across her face before she quickly covered it with another grin. “But hey, we’ll see, right? Anyway, we good to jet, or what?”

Pinkie was the first to recover. She nodded frantically. “Yep! Mmhmm! Right, girls?”

Everyone jumped in with agreements. Sassaflash grinned and opened the van door. “Let’s go!”

Pinkie followed Sassaflash with a wide-eyed look over her shoulder. The rest hung back and murmured amongst themselves. Fluttershy pulled her calming aura back into herself. Had it been okay to use it like that? But Sassaflash had appeared grateful. She just…didn’t know.

Magic and consent were a weird thing. The supernatural energies often bypassed the will of those targeted to enact whatever affect a spell or ability was meant for. Fluttershy had used her power in the past to help calm frightened bystanders, to more easily gain their compliance when ordering them to flee or hide. She’d debated the morality with Sunset Shimmer. Her friend had asserted that sometimes, during emergencies, it was less about consent and more about consequences. If a person was about to die, did you fret about the consent of forcibly calming them and getting them to safety?

So…if a new friend was frightened and panicked, did you fret about the consent of foricbly calming them to prevent the revelation of your secret powers?

Fluttershy sagged in her seat. She just didn’t know.

“So the spell worked?” Rarity asked with a creased brow.

“Apparently,” Rainbow said. She looked disappointed.

“It’s for the best, Rainbow,” Twilight said softly. “She doesn’t need us complicating her life. When Sunset weighs in, I’m sure she’ll agree.”

“Sass doesn’t even know what she wants for her life,” Rainbow snarled back. “And we just took away her choice!”

Fluttershy flinched. Was it so simple? Would it really have been kinder to leave Sassaflash to her embarrassment and dismay in front of Caramel?

“We were talking earlier today,” Rainbow went on. “Sassaflash has been searching for something for years. Not even soccer satisfies her. She said she was gonna quit after this season.” She looked at her friends, anguish on her face. “After all of us drifted apart, Sass was there. She’s a good friend. I’m afraid if she goes, we’ll drift apart too! So I just thought…what if I could give her something huge? Something that would make her never want to leave? What if she knew I was…special?”

Fluttershy’s heart wrenched. She touched Rainbow’s arm. “Dashie…” Her girlfriend had such deep pain over being abandoned. And there was more to it, if Rainbow’s performance had been any indication. But they hadn’t really talked yet had they? Not about anything serious. Not since coming out here. “I think it’s time we stopped running from what we’re feeling,” Fluttershy said firmly. She looked at Twilight, then at Rarity. “All of us. You can’t just put a bandaid on the wound. You have to flush it clean first. We’ve all just been trying to distract ourselves. Look where that’s gotten us, girls.” Her tone was gentle, but chastising. Mothershy in full effect.

Her friends looked cowed. Even Rainbow, though she pouted.

“You’re right,” Twilight said with a sigh. She gestured out of the van. “Come on. We’ll all talk. Pinkie and Sass are already halfway down the street.”

They piled out of the van.

Fluttershy held Rainbow’s hand as they hurried after their friends, passing closed businesses, cars, and other people on the street. The air was cool. It was overcast overhead, masking the moon from sight. Up ahead, Sassaflash and Pinkie Pie laughed uproariously about something.

“Hmm,” Fluttershy hummed as she gazed after Sass.

Rainbow glanced at her. “What is it, babe?”

“You could tell that I was using my aura, right?”

“Yeah. But it doesn’t work on us.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Because our innate power interferes.” Sunset had described it best. It was like trying to call someone’s cell when they were already in a call. You just got busy tones. Her magic couldn’t affect her friends because they had too much of their own power getting in the way. Fluttershy frowned. “Sassaflash could tell I was using my aura on her too. It worked, but…she still noticed.”

Rainbow’s eyebrows lifted. “Really?”

“Yes. I just thought it was strange. I’ve used my aura in the past on ordinary people and they never seemed to realize it.”

Rainbow squinted her eyes. “So… It’s kind of supposed to make people just accept that they’re suddenly calm?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Exactly. Sort of like ensorcelling them. I don’t like to call it that, but you could argue it’s a form of mild mind control.”

“But… Sass noticed.”

“She even thanked me.”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. “Weird.”

Fluttershy turned and looked at Twilight Sparkle, who was walking side by side with Rarity. “Twilight, you mentioned something about dreams before? What did you mean?”

Twilight adjusted her glasses and glanced around, but no one was near them. “Er, yes. Sassaflash was telling me earlier tonight about some recurring dreams she had.”

“What were they about?”

“Scarab beetles. But also…” She looked around furtively again, then leaned in and hissed. “Our artifacts!”

Fluttershy and Rarity gasped as Rainbow stopped dead on the sidewalk. “Excuse me? Sass dreamed about the magical artifacts we’ve been collecting? My Sassy?”

“Yes, now lower your voice!” Twilight snapped, looking over her shoulder. “Somehow, Sassaflash was having visions related to the adventures we’ve been having over the years.”

“But what could be causing it?” Fluttershy asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said with a frustrated expression. “But maybe if we spend more time with Sassaflash, we can figure it out!”

“I’m sure a bit of liquid encouragement will help,” Rarity said wryly.

“Either way, we’ve all got a keep an eye on her from now on,” Twilight said gravely as she looked ahead. “That’s why I didn’t say we should go home. If we cut the night short, it raises the risk of Sassaflash getting suspicious and the spell deteriorating before it’s absorbed fully into her mind. So…let’s just try and have fun like we originally intended. But we get her talking and look for clues, too. Okay? She’s a chatty person. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

Fluttershy and the others looked ahead. Pinkie and Sassaflash were loitering outside of a bar with a fluorescent purple sign glowing down on them.

Sass waved and yelled. “Hurry up, slow pokes!” Pinkie yanked her into the gay bar.

Rainbow groaned. “I just wanted a normal night out!”

Fluttershy patted her back with a sympathetic look. She mourned it too, sometimes, but she’d long ago accepted the fact that…

Normal just wasn’t in the cards for them. Not anymore. Maybe never again.

A fair exchange for magic, she thought.

Author's Note

I was stuck between Fast in My Car by Paramore or The Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga for an "end chapter song" and I felt like the latter won out, if only just because the girls have careened over the edge of something none of them saw coming. It is a time of change, of discovery, and new challenges. It just felt like the right song pick.

What will happen next? Drama! Lots of delicious drama. And more craziness! The night is still young, and this wasn't even close to the heights of insane I wanted to reach.

The lyrics featured and songs mentioned are not mine. They are from Rearviewmirror by Pearl Jam; Why Don't You Do Right? originally was recorded in 1936 by the Harlem Hamfats as The Weedsmoker's Dream (though I first heard the song from the 90s film Who Framed Roger Rabbit); Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) by They Might Be Giants; Choke by I Dont Know How But They Found Me; Fantasy by Mariah Carey; and Bye Bye Bye by *NSYNC.

Hit me on the head with a request to remove the music, and I will do it with great pain. I'm not beyond retconning stuff in chapters and I could live with that, I guess. If you see typos or other errors, kindly send me a message. I'll try and comb over the chapter a few more times obsessively before I finally free myself of this thing that's been on my mind for weeks now. (You'd think reading it 10 million times before posting would do it, but I always catch a stupid mistake. It's painful.)

Also, you wanna know what's happening with Sunset and AJ? Go read What They Hope to Find! Sheesh!

I know these chapters come slowly. Believe me, I know. But they do come. Have faith guys. At least you have a big chapter to chew on for a while. Is it the biggest chapter so far? I think it is! I'm chugging along and I have fun things planned. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts! I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see ya next time.