"Rainbow, Darling; I'm sorry, but I'm simply too busy to help you." Rarity explained from her doorway, looking out at her distressed friend. "Believe me, it's not that I don't want to help, but I have so many orders to get filled out before this week's end."

Rainbow Dash was standing outside as she practically begged for her friend's assistance. "Please, rarity! I don't know who else to go to." She explained pleadingly, "He's just acting so weird. I think that there's something seriously wrong with him and he refuses to even look at me."

Rarity sighed, not wanting to upset Rainbow further, but also not having the time to deal with Ryan's odd behavior. "I'm sure he's fine. You know how he gets in his moods. You'll just have to wait for him to calm down."

"That's just it!" Rainbow went on to add, "He's not mad; He hasn't yelled, screamed, or broken anything. He's barely even moved!" She explained, appearing to be genuinely concerned for the human. "He didn't even have sex with me! Do you have any idea how hard it is to resist me, or any mare for that matter!"

This actually hit Rarity in an odd way. Normally Ryan was the first one to initiate some sort of sexual act. Hearing that he was refusing to do respond to a move made on him was unheard of. "Maybe you should start from the beginning, dear."

"Okay," Rainbow Dash began as she recalled what happened a few nights ago.

So, you know that Heartwarming is pretty much the start of our heat cycles?

"Yes, Rainbow. I am well aware of how our heat cycles work..." Rarity added matter-of-factly.

Yeah, so anyway; I slipped into Ryan's house while he was gone. I did the usual thing, you know? I bought some of those stupid balloons and a box of chocolate. I wanted to make it special and show him that I was ready to start things where they left off...Aside from our little dating mishap. I doubt he would have taken it that way, seeing how he has a marefriend, but there's always a chance-

"Rainbow, I'm supposed to be working. So if you could just get to the point-"

Right, sorry!

I was waiting in there for nearly an hour before he finally showed up. Like I said, I wanted to make it special, so I approached with the gifts in my hands. You know how well I work with that sappy stuff though. I ended up tossing those aside pretty much the moment I was close enough to get my hands on him.

We made out for barely a minute before he shoved me off of him and walked by me like I wasn't even there. "Ryan?" I said, obviously confused. He's never turned down sex with anypony! "Is something wrong?" I went on to ask.

He didn't reply, or even look at me. He just walked over to his fridge and grabbed the beer that's been sitting in there since he moved in.

"I'll admit, I did find it odd how that same six pack was just sitting in there for all this time." Rarity chimed in. "In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him drink beer. He usually goes for the stronger stuff right off the bat.

My point exactly!

He grabs the entire pack and goes to the table. Once he sat down he popped the cap off of one and just started downing the whole thing. I tried to get his attention again by uh...

"Are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked, noticing her friend's change in color. "You're turning a ghastly shade of red."

I'm fine!

Let's just say that I took much more extreme measures to try to get him to help me with my cycle. Now, this is where I knew for sure that something was wrong. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, his body would not respond. His dick was so flaccid it was practically inverting!

I finally got mad enough to give up and tried speaking to him again. Still, no response. He was like a statue; he didn't even blink. The only time he moved was when he went to drink his beer again.

After that I left, but I kept an eye on his place for the next couple of days.

"Dash, dear...No offense, but that's disturbing."

I'm just trying to look out for him!

So I watched the house over for the next few days to see if he would come out. He did the next day, but only to run to the store. I wasn't sure what he bought at first, but then I looked through his window the next day-

"You're not helping your case."

Shut up and let me finish!

I looked through the window to see what he was doing and found no sign of him. All I could really make out was the collection of empty beer bottles on his floor and some kind of music playing from his bedroom. After his trip to the store, which was four days ago, he hasn't left the house. He's like a hermit!

Rarity gave Rainbow Dash a pensive gaze, her arms crossed as she tried to figure out a few things out. "Why come to me?" She asked, finding this to be one of the most difficult questions to answer. "He gets along with you and Applejack better than I, so why seek me out? Doesn't he have a marefriend? Why isn't she helping him?"

"I can't find her anywhere, no pony can. It's like she just vanished off the face of the planet. There was one other pony staying with him for a while, but he left town to go back home." After finishing the first half of her statement, Rainbow Dash started to look uncomfortable, rubbing her left bicep with her hand as she looked for a way to continue. "Also..." She paused, finding herself pained to say this. "Because you and Ryan have a strong connection."

Rarity blinked a few times, taking a moment to absorb all of this information. His marefriend was gone, his other friend was gone, and now Rainbow is saying that she and him have a strong connection? "I'm not sure what you mean."

"You and Ryan..." Again she paused, finding each word she spoke to be more painful than the last. "You two had something special for a while when he first came around." She finally spit out, despite how each syllable made it feel as though she had swallowed a razor blade. "He trusted you, he spent time with you, he even heavily considered dating you. For someone like him...You have to hold a very special place in his heart for him to feel that way."

Rarity was at a loss for words. She never really thought about how Ryan might feel about her. Given the mindset he showed off, she always assumed that when he brought up the idea of dating her that it was just a ruse to get into her pants. Granted, it was only days after that when they became intimate, but the idea still came up every now and again.

If that were the case though, why didn't he ever say anything, or show her how he felt? Oddly enough, one specific memory popped up in her head. It was about three months after Ryan moved to Ponyville...

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Ryan were all sitting at the counter in Doughnut Joe's. Ryan was teasing Fluttershy when he caught her looking at him, Being her normal, shy self, she left for a moment to get her thoughts in order.

Rarity moved seats so she would be closer to Ryan. "Why must you tease her so?" She asked curiously, knowing very well that he wanted to hook up with her. "It doesn't seem like a very progressive way to go about achieving your goal."

"Can't help it," He replied, keeping his eyes forward. "it's just in my nature."

Rarity shot him a glance, her expression calling him out on his bullshit. "You and I both know that's not how you would treat her in private." She responded matter-of-factly. "You certainly didn't treat me like that during our little fling either...well, not when other ponies weren't around."

"Exactly!" He said, as if his point had only been proven further. "We were in private all those times, I didn't need to."

She started mulling over a few memories, remembering how differently he acted when he wasn't around other ponies. If it were just him and one other pony, his teasing was toned down immensely, add one more and he went back to being a complete asshole. It just didn't make any sense.
"Can't have ponies thinking I'm picking favorites." Ryan muttered just loud enough for her to hear

Those last words echoed through her head like a voice in the mountains. Recalling this specific moment begged the thought that he possibly did care deeply for her, but kept it hidden so no pony would know. Leave it to him to be so secretive about his feelings. She should have suspected something like this, but never had much of a reason to.

With this newfound information, she felt as if she were obligated to go and check on him now. She pinched the bridge of her muzzle between her thumb and index finger as she let out a breath of defeat. "Just let me grab my purse, I'll be with you shortly."

The walk was uncomfortably silent, neither pony even trying to start a conversation. For Rainbow, she was just so worried about Ryan that talking was the last thing on her mind. She just wanted to get there and find a way to revive him from whatever state he's stuck in. Rarity on the other hand was shuffling through her thoughts and memories. It wasn't hard to tell that Ryan cared at least a little bit about her, but she found it difficult to believe that he saw what they had as something more than just friends with benefits.

When they came upon Ryan's home, Rarity made the first move. Stepping over to the door with both grace and determination, she knocked on the door. "Ryan, darling!" She called out, waiting a few brief seconds for an answer. She knocked again, "Are you home, dear?"

Silence was all they were met with, minus the sound of music being played from within. Rarity tried to open the door only to discover that it was locked. This caused a certain level of frustration to rise in her gut. She was supposed to be at home working, not dealing with Ryan's childish behavior. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small key ring, singling out one specific key with the letters R.D.C engraved into it.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow asked with a confused look as she eyed the key ring.

Rarity turned to face Rainbow Dash, giving her a look as if she had asked the most obvious question. "I'm going to use the key to open the door."

"Since when did you have a key to Ryan's house?' She asked with a hint of venom in her words. The venom wasn't so much directed at her pony friend as it was her human friend.

Now it was Rarity's turn to feel confused. "Since shortly after he moved in." She explained, beginning to put the pieces together in her head. "I thought he gave all of us one." Rainbow Dash nodded, confirming that he did NOT give any of their other friends a key to his house. Rarity was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable; There's no way she was the one Ryan was singling out in their group. "He at least told you about the spare hidden in the shudders right?" There was a growl from the pegasus that answered that question for her. "B-Bu...Not even the window he leaves unlocked just in case?"

There was an odd burning in Rarity's eyes as Rainbow stared at her with enough intensity to shatter stone. This was more than enough for her to close her muzzle and continue what they came here to do. Using the key Ryan had given her, Rarity was able to unlock and open the door. It creaked slightly from the movement, this being the first time it had been used in several days.

Upon opening the music being played in the distance grew louder. As Rainbow had mentioned earlier, there were brown bottles littering the floor. Aside from that, nothing else had changed. There seemed to be a distinct lack of a human presence though, which left both ponies in a rather worrisome state.

It wasn't hard to figure out where he was hiding. Where there was music, there would be that small black device Ryan always carried around with him. They followed the sound to the bathroom, where the sound of rushing water could also be heard.

Rarity wasn't going to press on, it was already bad enough that they had entered the human's home without his permission. Rainbow Dash, however, had no problem kicking the door open. A large gust of humid air hit them as the door flew open, a thick layer of steam flowing from the room and into their lungs. They were now close enough to hear the words of the song being played. It was soft and somewhat sad in a way, but holding an odd almost upbeat tone to it.

~I've gotta know tonight,
If you're alone tonight!
Can't stop this feeling...
Can't stop this fire

They slowly walked over to the closed shower curtain, Rainbow leading the way as they made their way through the thick cloud blanketing the bathroom. Once they were close enough, Rainbow Dash reached out and grabbed the curtain, pulling it open quickly to find Ryan sitting in the tub. He was fully clothed and staring absentmindedly at the wall in front of him. His entire body was soaked from head to toe and a number of empty bottles were resting beside his legs.

His eyelids looked heavy and were surrounded by dark rings and bags that showed an extreme lack of sleep to him. Even more unsettling, the exposed skin of his arms and face were blistered red from the intense heat of the water that was hitting him. It didn't faze him at all though, instead he stared off into a non-existent void, his lips moving to the words of the song with no real words to follow.

~Oh, I get hysterical, hysteria!
Oh, can you feel it,
Do you believe it?

Finding the source of the music beside the sink, Rainbow Dash grabbed Ryan's phone, sliding her thumb across the screen. The song came to a stop and she set the phone down. Going back to Ryan, who replied to her actions by going completely still once again, she grabbed his shoulder and gave it a light shake.

His body moved with her, rocking from side to side in small waves. "Ryan..." She received nothing back, prompting her to shake him more aggressively. "Ryan!" Again, being met with little to nothing in response, Rainbow was becoming fed up. Using her free hand she delivered a hard smack to the side of his face. "Snap out of it!!!"

"Rainbow!" Rarity reprimanded, grabbing the cyan pegasus and pulling her away from the human. "What is with you? Do you really believe that hitting him will solve anything?"

"It's worked before!" Rainbow Dash argued, recalling the many times he had ignored her. A quick swat to the head was usually enough to bring him back to reality for a 'friendly' wrestling match.

Rarity grunted, shoving Rainbow off into a corner. "Stand aside, let me handle this." Making her way back to the tub, she lowered herself onto her knees, making it so she was eye level with her alien friend.

Once in place, she turned off the shower and fished a pack of cigarettes from her purse, as well as a lighter. She removed two cigarettes from the pack before replacing the small box in to her purse. She placed the butt of one cigarette into Ryan's mouth, using the lighter to burn the end of it. Ryan responded by breathing in, taking a deep breath of the cancer stick's numbing toxins into his lungs. She placed the butt of the remaining cigarette into her mouth and went to light it, only for Ryan to reach out and swipe the lighter from her hand.

Rainbow Dash watched in awe as the human finally reacted to something going on in front of him. He wouldn't respond to anything she did to him, so why is he cooperating with Rarity? Yes, her plan to finally get him to react to something worked with her friend, but part of her was hoping it wouldn't. She became filled with dread as the thought of Ryan caring more for Rarity than her entered her mind once again.

Ryan held onto the lighter, striking it with his thumb to ignite the small amount of gas that was flowing from it. Once lit, Rarity used the flame to light her cigarette and took a deep inhale from it. With that bit of business out of the way, she took the lighter from the human's hand and placed it back into her purse.

Rarity placed two fingers on her cigarette, removing it from her lips as she exhaled the smoke from her lungs. "Now, I've shared something with you." She began, taking another hit from her cigarette. "It's time for you to share something with me." Ryan responded once again, this time by sucking on his cigarette and letting the smoke flow from his mouth with a deep sigh. "What's on your mind?"

After a brief period of silence, Ryan finally spoke. "She beat me..."

Both mares raised a brow at him, wondering what exactly he meant by that. "Would you mind elaborating, darling?"

"Fluttershy..." He muttered in a whispering voice, his face completely void of any expression.. "Of all of the ponies here...she was the one that beat me...How?"

"Fluttershy beat you?" Rainbow asked with a confused look.

"She feels nothing for me." Ryan began, sounding as if he were in a state of pure shock. "Every mare I've taken the time to talk to wants me physically; Even ones who I've never spoken to." He continued, his eyes still staring at nothing. "They all want me, but she doesn't...I lost...to Fluttershy..."

Rainbow Dash started to grow annoyed as the pieces fell into place. "Wait a minute!" She yelled, "You've been locked up in here, moping around for the last few days, just because Fluttershy doesn't want you to rut her!?" She all but screamed at him. "What the hay, Ryan!? I thought something was seriously wrong with you!"

Rarity shot her pony friend a glance, "Rainbow, this is serious! Do not yell at him."

"How is this anywhere near serious?" She snapped at the unicorn, "All of this because he can't fuck one of our friends? Really!? How stupid can you get!"

Doing her best to keep her cool, and avoid having a fight break out, Rarity decided to put it into words that the tomboy pegasus would understand. "Think of it this way; What if it were you in an entirely different situation?" She began, her first words catching Rainbow's attention fully. "What if you went to join the Wonderbolts, passed all of the test both physical and written, and proved yourself to them in every way? Now what if, despite you being perfect for the position and meeting all of the criteria, they turned you down?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide, the thought of meeting every requirement and being turned down being preposterous to her. "Why would they do that? If I met all of the requirements then why wouldn't they accept me?"

"Because one pony in the reserves doesn't like you, nor do they want you to be a part of the wonderbolts." Rarity finished.

Rainbow's left eye twitched at that last part as her aggravation started shooting through the roof. "That's stupid! I worked my flank off to be in the reserves! They can't throw me out because somepony has a problem with me."

"Yes they can." Rarity cut in, " I'm not saying they will, but it could happen. And, if it did, you would feel terrible. If the one thing you are good at had blown up in your face, you would feel the same pain Ryan is feeling."

"Well..." Rainbow tried to remain strong, but her friend was right. At least, she was right about how she would feel if something like that happened to her. "Okay, I would feel like shit! But I don't see how this has anything to do with Ryan acting like a depressed moron over Fluttershy not wanting to bang him."

"It has everything to do with it." Rarity intercepted once again. "You take pride in being a fast flyer, Ryan takes pride in the art of seduction. All your life you grew up wanting to be the fastest and working hard to do so. Growing up, Ryan was able to make human mares desire him and he did this everywhere he went." She explained, "This is something he takes a lot of pride in. For him; Finding a mare that doesn't fall for his charms would be like you not making it into the wonderbolts, or me making the perfect dress and finding out that a pony like Hoity Toity doesn't like it."

Rainbow Dash fell silent, her eyes absentmindedly scanning the room around her as she started to see things from Ryan's perspective. "This is all he knows, Rainbow." She continued, "To him, seducing mares is his calling in life; In a way, this is his special talent."

Her speech came to an end as the look on the pegasus' face confirmed that her point had been proven. With that bit of drama out of the way, Rarity could go back to focusing on Ryan. Taking another hit of her cigarette, which was nearly burned out now, she turned to face the sopping wet human still sitting lifelessly still. The only indication that he was even alive was the burning of his cigarette as he occasionally breathed in on it.

"Come on now, darling." Rarity urged, grabbing onto Ryan's arm and pulling it as she stood upright. Slowly, he complied and started making his way to his feet. "Rainbow, darling; Would you mind grabbing our friend a change of clothes?" Looking over him, she noted how filthy he looked despite where they found him. More specifically, the rats nest he called hair. "And maybe a hat as well."

Looking defeated and sad, Rainbow nodded; Agreeing to do this for her in a weak tone. "Yeah, no problem."

It wasn't hard for Rarity to pick up the rather out of character tone coming from her friend, but by the time she turned around to face her, she was already gone. Only a minute later Rainbow Dash returned carrying a clean set of clothes; Blue jeans, a black shirt, black socks, and a dirty brown hat.

Rarity levitated the clothing from Rainbow's hands, holding them beside her with her magic. She focused herself entirely on getting Ryan undressed and redressed, but this nagging feeling that something was wrong wouldn't leave her alone. Assuming it was Rainbow's behavior earlier that made her feel this way, she turned once again to face her cyan friend, only to see that she was no longer in the bathroom.

Her eyes looked beyond the open door to the bathroom, but still she saw no sign of her. This didn't help the feeling of dread that resided within her. First Ryan goes completely catatonic and now Rainbow takes off to Celestia-knows where for who-knows why. She let out a distressed sigh at her friend's disappearance, being unable to fight the growing feeling in her stomach. "Can this day get any worse..."

Author's Note

I can't say how long it will be before the next chapter is up. I'm still kinda dealing with some mental fuckery so trying to crank this stuff out is nearly impossible.
As always though; Be sure to slap that LIKE button like a bitch if you enjoy this story. Also, feel free to share it with your friends and leave a comment below. Comments make me feel special :P