As one of the favoured hang-out spots of Sunset and her friends, the music room of Canterlot High was no stranger to eventful days. And it just so happened that today was just such a day, though the girls within did not yet know it. Sunset was, at this moment, tweaking the strings on Rainbow's guitar, and as for the instrument's owner, she was sitting idly on the side, looking, as usual, frustrated with the general lack of activity going on. And finally, the two were accompanied by Pinkie Pie, happy sitting nearby, drinking a nice cold can of soda, oblivious to the boredom her rainbow-haired friend was experiencing. After a few more moments of such waiting, Rainbow finally let out a grunt of annoyance.
"Ugh! How much longer, Sunset?"
The former unicorn, keeping her gaze squarely on the guitar strings, narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Just...a few more...yes! Got it!"
Perking up, Rainbow leapt off her chair, looking down as Sunset finally stood up. Holding the guitar in her hands, the Equestrian smiled, looking rather pleased with herself, before finally handing the thing over to her friend.
"That should just about do it. Give it a whirl."
Smirking, Rainbow happily accepted her instrument, slipped the strap over her shoulder and, with an almighty effort, struck a few of the chords. The effect was immediate, as a loud and in-tune sound burst forth from it, causing both Sunset and Pinkie to cover their ears. Rainbow, meanwhile, was looking more than a little happy right now, and gave a brief chuckle to her friend.
"It's perfect! Thanks a bunch, Sunset!"
Lowering her hands, Sunset smiled to her friend, but, sadly, she didn't get the chance to actually reply. For it was at this time that all three girls turned to the sound of knocking upon their door. Briefly, they looked to one another, seeing the expressions on each other's faces that made it clear that none of them were expecting guests right now. After a small pause, Sunset turned to the door once more.
"Um...enter?"
The door swung open, and beyond, the girls saw that it was Sunset's former-ex-now-current boyfriend, Flash. Naturally, Sunset smiled to see him, taking a step closer in readiness to greet the boy. But, she stopped herself, her smile fading, when she actually started to see the look upon his face. There was no smile there, and while he didn't seem unhappy to see Sunset, there was nevertheless an uneasiness to him. It was almost as if looking at her was something he found difficult. As one would expect, this confused the girls greatly, none more so than Sunset herself, who now spoke to him in a concerned manner.
"Flash? Is...is something wrong?"
The boy scratched the back of his head, which gave Sunset cause for further concern. For she knew that he only ever did that when he was nervous or worried about something. And when he finally did speak, his tone of voice reflected this.
"Yeah...um...Sunset? I think...we may have a slight problem."
Understandably, his girlfriend looked worried at such words, casting her friends an unsure glance before finally turning back to face him.
"What kind of problem, exactly?"
A sigh escaped Flash before he answered.
"Well...you know that thing that happened a while back? That really weird thing?"
In spite of the mood of the moment, Sunset cracked a sly smirk here, raising an eyebrow and folding her arms.
"You'll have to be a bit more specific, Flash. Because a lot of weird things have happened to us before."
Raising a fist to his mouth, Flash cleared his throat a little, still avoiding Sunset's gaze, before finally speaking up again.
"I know, but...I mean...that thing that happened...just to the girls?"
At first, Sunset looked to him with confusion over that. But, as time went on, her eyes began to widen. She noted how Flash was standing, awkwardly, even by his standards. The way he continued to avoid looking at her, uncomfortable just being here. Realisation began to cross her face, and she took a single step closer to him.
"Flash...do you mean what I think you mean?"
Another pause followed, and when it finally ended, the boy gave a single, solemn nod. Seeing that, Sunset, at first, seemed shocked and concerned, but then, after a few moments had come and gone, she slumped her shoulders and let out a long sigh.
"I guess...it was only a matter of time."
Pinkie and Rainbow, who had been standing to the side and keeping quiet this whole time, looked to one another with confusion, and when they looked back to their friend, it was the latter who broke the silence.
"Er...you wanna fill us in, Sunset?"
Looking over her shoulders, Sunset frowned slightly.
"It's the time we knew was coming, Rainbow. The boys...have gone into rut."
Now looking shocked, Pinkie let out a loud gasp.
"No! Not rut! Anything but that!"
Then, after a few seconds, she regained her look of confusion.
"Just so we're all on the same page...what is rut, exactly?"
A chuckle escaped Sunset at that, a welcome moment of levity amongst everything else, and she turned to look Pinkie in the eye.
"Remember a few months ago? When you, me and all the other girls went into heat?"
Immediately, a grimace formed on Rainbow and Pinkie's faces, making it very clear that they did, indeed remember that day. Noting this, Sunset gave a brief nod, before continuing.
"Rut is basically the same thing, but for males. We always suspected that it would manifest, sooner or later, since it typically comes after heat for ponies back home."
"Yeah, that still makes no sense to me," Flash added.
Sunset nodded in agreement to that, but then got back to her explanation.
"If it's anything like the heat, they should work through it after a day. But, for the moment, we should probably deal with it."
Rainbow, for her part, seemed incredulous.
"And you're sure it's this rutty thing?"
Slowly, Sunset looked back to Flash. She observed him for a moment, taking a few steps closer. Raising one hand, she placed it upon his brow.
"Increased body temperature..."
Then she took that same hand and placed two fingers against his neck, with Flash giving full cooperation as she did so.
"...higher heartbeat."
Lowering her hand at last, she looked Flash with a serious expression.
"Flash...look at me and the other girls. What's going through your mind when you do so?"
Naturally, the boy seemed hesitant to perform that particular task. But, in the end, he did exactly that, gradually turning his head in their direction and finally looking at them in earnest. He looked to Sunset, and then to Rainbow and Pinkie shortly afterwards. He said nothing, even though he'd opened his mouth to speak. Instead, he looked away, his expression one of embarrassment and shame. That, it seemed, gave Sunset all the answer she needed. But, to her credit, she never seemed angry with him. Rather, after sighing, she took on an understanding smile, placing her hand upon the side of his face and guiding it so that he was once more looking at her.
"Don't worry, Flash. Trust me when I say that this is a natural thing right now."
A brief laugh escaped her.
"You should have seen me when I first went through my heat."
Hearing that, Flash, while unsure at first, soon started to relax, appreciating his girlfriend's words. Smiling to this, Sunset then turned to her other friends, who bore similar looks to her, Pinkie especially.
"Yeah, don't worry, Flashy. It'd be super mean for us to make fun of you right now."
Flash looked like he was about to respond to that, only to stop when he saw what Pinkie did next. For she raised her hand, making it into a mock-phone shape against her ear, and then mouthed the words "call me", bearing a somewhat sultry look as she did so. Naturally, the boy blushed even harder than before to that, and as for Sunset, she, understandably, seemed irritated at her friend's actions just now. But Pinkie merely giggled to all of this.
"Kidding! Just kidding!"
Eye-rolls were abound after that, and Rainbow, moments later, spoke up to get things back on track.
"So...I hope you've got a plan, Sunset?"
The former unicorn put on a confident smile and nodded.
"Don't worry. I spoke with Principal Celestia some time ago in case this ever happened. I just hope this problem hasn't spread too far by now."
"Hate to break it to ya, Sunset...but it has."
All of them were surprised to hear this new voice speak to them, and they turned in unison to find none other than Aria, now poking her head around the door frame to look in on them.
"There have been a few guys around giving quite a few googly-eyes already. So whatever you're doing, you'd better be quick about it."
Bearing a determined look, Sunset nodded.
"Will do. I don't suppose you'd be willing to help getting some of the guys together?"
A chuckle escaped the Siren at that.
"Yeah...kinda ahead of you on that one."
While Sunset was confused to what she meant by that, she soon understood. For as Aria entered the music room in earnest, all of them now realised her own predicament. For a boy was currently clinging to her arm, hugging it tightly. And the boy in question? Wiz Kid, Aria's own boyfriend, who, at this moment, was looking very happy, just holding onto her. Aria, as one would expect, seemed rather annoyed by this. The other girls took a moment to be greatly amused, and as for Flash, he looked to his classmate and raised an eyebrow.
"Wiz," he said in greeting.
"Flash," Wiz replied.
While travelling to the Principal's office was, on most days, a fairly easy thing to do, today, things were rather less so. Not only was it difficult for Flash, who continued to do his best to avoid looking at any of the girls nearby, but it also didn't help matters that Aria had to contend with a great deal of extra weight on her arm. But, in time, they reached their destination, with Sunset leading the group herself. However, before entering the place, she paused, looking to her companions.
"Let me do the talking, okay?"
Nobody argued with her on that one, and they all gave nods of agreement to it, prompting a smile on her part. Turning to the door again, she placed her hand upon the knob, turned it, and opened. Celestia, thankfully, was on the other side, sitting at her desk and reading through a few forms. She noticed the arrival of the group of youths immediately, and bore a smile at seeing them. However, that smile vanished when she saw the looks of concern upon their faces. As soon as they were all inside, and the door closed behind them, she sat in a professional manner, clasped her hands upon her desk, and spoke.
"Miss Shimmer? I take it there's a matter of some urgency you need to discuss?"
Sunset nodded. As the Principal nodded back, she got up off her chair and turned around. Walking over to a nearby filing cabinet, Celestia opened one of the drawers, after which she began to rummage around with a few files within.
"Let's see...your Equestrian magic is going haywire again?"
Looking over her shoulder, the older woman noted Sunset shaking her head, causing her to continue looking. through the drawer.
"Hmmm...some creature from Equestria coming from the portal?"
Another shake of Sunset's head.
"Dare I ask what is is the problem, then?"
Sunset sighed.
"It's...the rut."
For a moment, Celestia seemed just as worried as the rest of them. But, ever the Principal, she kept herself composed, letting out a sigh and brushing down her jacket, before facing the group fully.
"I see. In that case, I'll make the arrangements."
Sunset gave an appreciative smile, before then making her way over to the door yet again. The others followed her, and once outside, Aria spoke next.
"So...you just made all these plans with Celestia on what to do if all this weird stuff happens?"
Looking pleased with herself, Sunset nodded.
"Sure. Given how often that kind of thing happens...it pays to have a few contingencies."
The Siren looked to her and nodded, almost impressd with her at this point. But, Sunset then looked over to Flash, who had once more willed himself to look at her before adding his own voice to the mix.
"So what is the plan?"
A slightly guilty expression crossed Sunset's face.
"Well..."
The clicking sound on the lock was loud, and it echoed all around the place. Holding it tightly, Sunset made doubly sure that it was secure enough for her liking. When she was certain that it was, she smiled, looking up to the small window section near the top of the door before her. On the other side was Flash, and beyond, pretty much every male student in the school. While most would expect those boys to be unhappy at the situation, most were, for lack of a better word, simply bored. As for Flash, he actually seemed happy to be in there, prompting a confused look on Sunset's part.
"You gonna be okay in there, Flash?"
A chuckle escaped the boy, and while muffled, his voice could still be heard when he replied.
"Trust me, Sunset. I'm far happier knowing I'm in here, rather than out there, where there's a risk of...well..."
Sunset nodded, a look of understanding upon her face.
"I'll be back for you and the rest of them tomorrow."
Flash nodded to that, and as Sunset turned, she looked upon Pinkie and Rainbow, who had accompanied her down here. Of the two of them, Rainbow was the one to break the silence between them.
"So...this is the whole plan? Just lock em all up in the basement for a day?"
Placing her hands upon her hips, Sunset sighed.
"Afraid so. Things got dangerously close when you, me and the other girls went into heat a few months back. Having all the guys in one place like this at least means we don't have to worry about having people in their condition wandering about unsupervised."
Rainbow nodded, but still seemed unconvinced.
"And you're sure things will be okay by tomorrow?"
Again, Sunset nodded.
"It should be. Remember, our heat only lasted a day, so I think it's safe to assume that the same should go for the boys too."
Glancing over to the nearby door, Rainbow frowned.
"It sucks that we're all gonna have to go through this every year now."
To that, Sunset actually smiled.
"Actually...we don't."
Naturally, both Pinkie and Rainbow looked to her with confusion.
"What are you talking about?" the latter asked.
Briefly, Sunset's smile became a smirk as she began to explain.
"Well...me and Twilight, er, the Twilight from this world that is, she and I did some research after we went through our heat. Basically, because magic like that of Equestria is like a foreign contagion, many of the body's natural biological..."
But, she was interrupted by a grimace on Rainbow's face.
"Ugh! I didn't want a science lecture, Sunset! Use smaller words!"
Sunset frowned, but nevertheless did as asked.
"Alright then. Think of it like chicken pox. Our bodies go through this outside and unnatural influence, and then, build an immunity to it. After this..."
Raising her hand, she gestured to the door.
"...we'll never be bothered by these Equestrian urges again."
Rainbow looked to her, her face almost hopeful.
"You...you mean it? This is it? We don't have to worry about heat and stuff again?"
Sunset smiled, giving a nod in response to that. Naturally, Rainbow punched the air with glee.
"Yes!"
The former unicorn chuckled to that, shaking her head as she began to make her way away from the door behind her.
"Glad I could give you some good news today."
Pinkie, smiling to all of this, jumped up in a giddy manner.
"Hooray for tying up loose plot threads!"
As one would expect, none of her companions really understood her words, but, for the moment, said nothing, instead joining up to get themselves out of the basement. Meanwhile, Flash, who had been looking through the door during that exchange, let out a long sigh, before finally turning to the rest of the boys within. Many of them were, understandably, giving him rather irritated looks, but Flash, as ever, kept up that smile of his. Clasping his hands together, he addressed them all.
"So...charades?"
