Behind the Bleeding Veil

by IamI

Rating: mature
Tags: Sex, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Gore, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Human, Fluttershy (EqG), Rainbow Dash (EqG), Adagio Dazzle, Horror, Equestria Girls, Violence
Length: 83391

The aftermath of their battle with Morgorith plays out in horrifying ways for the girls. A sequal to Everything Dies; part of the Goddess saga.

*WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ANY OF MY OTHER STORIES, THIS WILL MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO YOU.It's been years since their battle with Morgorith. The girls have grown up and moved on. Each finding her own way in the world. Some wrestle with the divine power within them, some struggle with everyday life, and one succumbs to her worst inner demons. As the fallen one goes on a journey of nightmarish proportions it will up to the rest of the gang to stop her. *PLEASE NOTE, THIS STORY, WHILE SET IN THE EQUESTRIA GIRLS UNIVERSE, DOES NOT HAVE SCI-TWI IN IT. THE TWILIGHT SPARKLE IN THIS STORY IS FROM EQUESTRIA AND IS NOT SCI-TWI.

Published 2018-03-16 14:30:07 UTC
Last updated 2019-04-05 10:25:32 UTC

Chapter 3: Cracks In The Armor Part 1

When the girls graduated, they made a promise that from here on out, each year they would meet at the Cantorlot High statue. It was a way of staying unified. Sure they had all the social media sites a young person in 2016 would ever want; but being together, physically, carried a weight and emotional resonance that no online interaction could ever match. And today was their very first, reunion.

Change is a strange thing. Everything does it yet none do it equally. Some change very little over the course of a lifetime. Physically they might change a great deal - baby to youth to adult to elder to senior to corpse; but personality wise, mentally, almost no difference from their teen years (and some worse still, from their toddler years). Others seem to change in whole fashion nearly every time you meet them. Personalities are like fashion to these people; a new one is dawned with each season. The girls were no different.

Adagio, while still retaining her ascorbic whit and cynical view of life; had calmed down quite a bit, becoming more thoughtful and dare I say tolerant of other peoples existence. Sunset had continued her maturity. She acted every bit her actual age of 33. She was friendly, caring, funny, and helped all she could. Twilight had settled into her new life quite well, relishing just being an average person but still harboring conflicting emotions about her powers and what to do with them. For the most part though she was able to bury those under her domestic life of school and being the Flash's fiancée. Flash was quiet, still had nightmares occasionally about his experience of being kidnaped, tortured, and possessed by Queen Chrysalis. Apple Jack became even more serious as first she became a single mother and then when Big Mac signed most of the farm over to her as he decided to pursue a career in acting. Rainbow Dash became less boisterous, stopped dying her hair, and developed a quiet maturity about her. Pinky Pie and Sonata were still a couple of light hearted, goof balls; but had also gotten quite involved in LGBT rights issues. They even started a campus support group for LGBT students. Rarity, well, she was Rarity. Out of all of them, she appeared to be the least affected and changed.

Then there was Fluttershy.

Fluttershy had been a quiet, mousey girl afraid of just about everything, never speaking up, beaten down by abuse. At first, after she had gotten away from her abusive mother and went to live with Rarity's family as well as getting a boyfriend; she had come out of her shell. She was confident, fun, owning herself and her life. After Morgorith however; she began to go quiet again. This was not a fearful quiet though. This was a dark quiet. A quiet of a mind pushed to it's limit by what was done to it and what it had done to others. It was a quiet of one who has not given up on living but has given up on life. It was the quiet of profound sadness which invariably leads to bitterness. She started dying her hair black, dressed in black, and started listening to the heaviest, doomiest metal out there. She was quick to anger and quick to fight. So far was she from her former self that the two scarcely seemed like they could be the same person. Still her friends kept her tethered to what remained of her former self. Although even that link would eventually snap. Rarity's death a year later might have been the final tug, but the initial fraying of the line began on this night,

After they had all met at the statue, the group went back to Apple's house to have a proper party. Everyone talked, laughed and joked. Their was a real, genuine humor which hung in the air as when old friends come together. No serious talk, just light hearted banter about school, slight weight gain for Pinky and Sonata, reminiscing about days gone by. Adagio and Sonata sharing stories from their long lives. All was good.

As they talked, Adagio couldn't help notice that Flash was a little off. He appeared ok yet there was something about him that made him seem not quite there. After a while he got up and started taking dishes to the kitchen. Apple Jack thanked him and thought nothing more of it. Adagio thought better and said she would help as well. Once in the kitchen she decided to talk to him and find out what was going on.

"Nice seeing everyone together again, isn't it?" It was couched question. One that could be taken at it's face value of merely asking about the happiness of the reunion or it could also be understood as a façade for the real question underneath - are you ok?

Flash shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. I mean most of us see each other all the time. You, me, Twilight, Sunset, Pinkie, Sonata, we all go out and hang at each others places. Apple Jack as well when she's not busy. Really it's only Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy we don't see anymore. But, yeah, it's cool." Flash's voice was non committal to any emotion. It was sincere but not convincing. It was the tone of a man who was bored but had no where better to be.

"True," Adagio replied, sounding more like a question than a statement. "But just having those three makes it special don't you agree?"

Flash looked at Adagio with an expression that said both; I'm annoyed that you're asking me this and I live you for asking me this. "It's, it's complicated. I love everyone out there, don't get me wrong; but, it brings a lot of weird feelings." He turned away from her and just looked at the far wall.

" I understand. She was in my head too. She tortured me as well. It's a very bitter pill to swallow; losing control of yourself. We've never really talked about it. I'm here to listen, compare notes as it were." Adagio ended with an uncomfortable laugh to show she was both joking yet deadly serious.

Flash shook his head and continued to look at the wall. "Nah, it's not that, not just that, that is. Twilight is a goddess. I mean a literal goddess. You know. I'm not just saying that in a lovey-dovey, boyfriend way. You all, out there, are magical creatures or had magical powers at one point. I'm a nobody. Just a simple human. What am I to all you out there? No powers and the lone male. I'm the outsider, the fifth wheel." Flash then turned to Adagio. "Self indulgent self pity huh?"

Adagio gave him a small, sympathetic smile, walked over, and gave him a hug. "I know what that's like as well. You're not the only one dating a goddess."

Flash laughed a small laugh. "But you also have magical powers. I saw you change as well. But, it's more than that. I see Twilight struggling sometimes with who she is and what she should do in this world, what her responsibilities are. And there's nothing I can do to help her. I'm so far out of that loop, that world. How can I even hope to relate?"

"In some ways you can't. I know I can't, not to all of it. I had or possibly still do have powers. I don't know and frankly, I don't want to find out. That's still not the same as having the powers to reshape or remold reality and being the protector of all that it is, was, or ever will be. The one thing you can do, the most important thing you can do, far greater than any magical powers out there; is to love her. Just love her. Hug her when she needs, let her cry on your shoulder when she needs that as well. Laugh with her, cry with her, just love her. That's what I do with Sunset and that seems to working so far."

Flash smiled and nodded. "What is a mortal in the company of gods?" he asked contemplatively.

"Very special I'd say if he was chosen to be among the divine hosts." Adagio put an arm around Flash and then patted him on the back.

Flask smiled at her and nodded. "Thanks Adagio. You know, you and I should hang out more. If nothing else, then to compare notes as to what it's like to date a deity."

"I'd like that. As for now, we should get back out there before people start to talk."

As they entered in to the main room they saw Rainbow and Fluttershy starting to leave.

"Where are you two going?" Adagio asked curios but not concerned.

"There's this band that's playing down town that Fluttershy wants me to go see so I'm off with her," Rainbow said with a smile.

"Yeah, they fucking kick ass," Fluttershy added enthusiastically. And with that, they left.

****************************************************************************

Chapter 5: An Unbeknownst Final Goodbye

"And then there were eight," Adagio said amusedly as Rainbow and Fluttershy left. She had her left arm crossed over her chest with her right elbow resting on her left hand. In her right she had a small, half drunk, glass of bourbon.

"Yeah, the same ones who are always together," Pinkie added somewhat disappointedly. She had been looking forward to all of them being together for so long that she couldn't help but feel a little abandoned by Rainbow and Fluttershy going off on their own.

"Well I'm still here darlings," Rarity piped up both as a means to cheer the others up but also because she wanted to remind them she mattered too. "And I'm not going anywhere."

"Sorry Rarity," Twilight said both happily and yet apologetically. "We didn't mean to cut you out. Besides, we do talk all the time even if it's not in the same room or even country. Rainbow and Fluttershy have been friends the longest so it's only natural they'd want some alone time. We still have all week to do stuff together."

"And I guess you'll be seeing Fluttershy at least when you get home?" Sunset added. Fluttershy had eventually been adopted by Rarity's parents and as far as she knew, both ladies would staying at their parents house.

Rarity blushed slightly. "Well, tomorrow, yes, but I'm staying here tonight."

At this Pinkie and Sonata exchanged glances; each with a twisted, mischievous, yet knowing smile. They then turned back to Rarity. "Eeeeewwwww, do tell," Pinkie teased.

"Whaaat," Rarity answered back defensively. "Apple Jack is the one who picked me up, I knew it was going to be late by the time we were done here, I don't want to make her drive all the way to my parents' house late at night, and there is nooooo way I'm getting on the back of Fluttershy's motorcycle, Staying here is the only reasonable option."

"Sssuuurrrrrre it is," Pinkie said, her smile even broader now.

"Twilight and Flash live in a tiny apartment. You, Sunset, you all live in dorms. None of you would have the room I need to stay with. Apple Jack has this big house with multiple bedrooms. I see no reason as to why you feel the need to insinuate there is something more going on?" Rarity was now more than a little irritated. The teasing and insinuations of Pinkie were downright getting under her skin. It was fine if Pinkie was a lesbian but she didn't have to project that onto everyone else.

"Oh please Rarity," Pinkie responded dismissively, "Fluttershy spilled the beans years ago about you telling her you had a crush on Apple Jack.

"And no offense Rarity," Sunset added with a slight laugh, "our senior year, you two did act more like a couple than two friends."

"For realzies," Sonata chimed in as well. "That whole year, you like practically lived here."

"Uh!" Rarity groaned in sheer frustration. "Oh for goodness sake; we're friends, best friends. I don't see the reason for you all to constantly insist there's more to it than that. Now I know how Rainbow Dash must have felt all those years."

"Yeah and I said the same thing about Sonnie and I before I came out," Pinkie replied in her dismissive, teasing tone.

"Apple Jack, will you set them straight?" Rarity pretty much begged.

Apple looked down at her lap where she had her hands folded. She looked sullen and defeated. Finally she looked up and said, "Rarity and I had been kinda going out our senior year. She told me about, I don' know, a year later about havin' a crush on me back when was kids because she thought I was a boy an at first I just laughed it off. Then I didn't.

"Y'all see, I never got over losing Chip. Not now, certainly not then. I think about him all the time. I look at little Chippy an I see his face, looking back at me. My son, my greatest joy, is also my greatest heart break because I see so much of his dad in him. And I'm lonely, so, so lonely. But the idea of being with another man, romantically, physically, it feels like I'm killing Chip again. I know that aint right and the last thing he said to me before his spirit disappeared was to go on, live, be happy, but I can't. It feels too wrong.

"I guess I saw Rarity as a way to be less lonely yet still not disrespect the memory of Chip. Fer one, she's a girl, and, well I'm not really into girls so I didn't see any real chance of an actual relationship developing; but at the same time, having that extra closeness did fill some of that void. We made a couple times, I mean we never went full rodeo but we sure as hell got the saddles out a few times. After words, we just kinda kept it going and, well she's spendin' the night here just to see what happens.

"I aint proud of what I'm doing. I feel like I'm using Rarity. I'm confused about what I actually do want. I just know I don't want to be alone anymore but I can't bring myself to be with another man. It's the real reason I cut my hair so short. Guys like girls with long hair, I don't want guys to like me. I stopped shaving my legs and arm pits as well for the same reason. This morning was the first time I shaved in over a year. So, that's it." Apple Jack looked around the room to see what everyone's reaction was. Rarity looked shocked, some looked confused, others sad. She bared her soul and felt both relieved and naked all at the same.

Sunset came up behind Apple and gave her a hug. "I understand. I had similar emotions when I was first getting with Adagio. I loved Val. I did. I do, still. I broke up with him thinking I was saving him, you know, removing him as a target. I also knew Dag liked me as well. I wondered for a long time if breaking up with him was as easy as it was because I had a spare so to speak. So, yeah, I understand what you're going through and I'm here for you."

"You know," Adagio started speaking, "we never really talked about what happened, not really, not in depth. We've kept everything bottled up inside for all these years. Maybe it's time we all laid our very damaged cards out on the table." She knew everyone was hurt, broken. She also knew from her long centuries of experience that humans couldn't be forced to speak. They had to wait until the time was right for them. Tonight, after talking to Flash in the kitchen and now seeing Apple and Sunset open up, she thought that maybe they were all ready.

Rarity looked down and sighed then looked back at everyone. "Well, I guess I shall go next. During that whole time, I felt scared of course; but I also felt useless. I was The Healer. I stayed off to the side and healed you all while you did all the fighting. I knew intellectually I had a very important job and was helping out as much as anyone yet it didn't feel like that. I saw what you were going through, I literally felt your wounds. I was also glad in a way as well. I could sit back and go, 'well I'M not killing anybody'. Which, of course, made me feel guiltier.

"Now as for Apple Jack and I, well, that's a lot of things. It is true I did have a crush on her when we first met. At first it was because I thought she was a boy, then because I knew she wasn't. Men scare me. I flirt and act confident and all that and say I only want to focus on my career, WHICH IS TRUE, bye the way; but honestly, deep down, I've always been afraid of the male of the species. Then after seeing the pain and torment you had all gone through losing your significant others, I became doubly afraid of not just men but even being in a relationship. Apple Jack posed a half way point I supposed. She's still very boyish, although more so now than back then, yet being a girl I wasn't afraid of her nor was I afraid of becoming too committed it. We were already the best of friends so I would feel that pain regardless but not being a lesbian, the relationship could never progress to the level that your's had. I guess in that sense we used each other so we could both be in a relationship and not at the same time."

"Schrodinger's relation," Twilight piped in happily. She was pleased with her joke, but by everyone's else's expression, she was the only. She quickly shrunk down in her seat.

Yes, well, I guess that would be an apt metaphor," Rarity replied briskly. "As it were, things eventually got complicated far beyond what either of us had originally envisioned. I found the fact that I was now questioning my own sexuality to be rather disturbing."

"I know the feeling," Sunset added trying to help.

"As Apple Jack said, we, we, experimented. No full on intercourse, but, well, as she said in her own colloquial way, we tried everything else but. Some I liked, some I didn't but I always wanted to try for her. So, that is where we're at. We were hoping if I stayed, maybe it would help us figure things out."

"I feel like a fake, a fraud, a poser, worst yet, a Parasite," Flash said in a voice that was both weak and strong at the same time. "I told Adagio in the kitchen earlier that you all are so powerful. You either possessed magical abilities or in Twilight's and Sunset's case, still do. Heck, those two are literal goddesses. And here I am; just me. No magic, no nothing. Heck I'm even the only guy now. I couldn't protect Twilight, I couldn't even protect myself. Not then, not even now as the gas station experience today taught me. I couldn't even protect my own mind. Sometimes I think I can still feel her in there, waiting, laughing."

Twilight grabbed Flash's head with both hands and turned him toward her with such force and speed as to almost break his neck. Tears welled up in her eyes. "How, how could you have never told that to me before? I let you in to the most secret, sacred places of my being; I've laid before you all that I am, told you everything; and you keep this away from me? Couldn't you have done something less betraying like have an affair?"

"Twilight, I'm sorry. You shoulder so much, have so much responsibility, it seemed arrogant and selfish to trouble you with my problems."

"You let me be the judge of that! It was selfish of you to suppose how I would feel or think. You listen here - I'll tell you about your magical abilities. I gave up everything for you: my home, friends, family, status and never thought twice. You bring out in me the best which I am. You always have a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. When I'm with you, I feel like I'm the only person in the world. I feel like I'm a hundred times better just by being in your company. I would sacrifice all that again and my life for you. And now, here, I find out you've been suffering all this time and never thought to let me help? - it breaks me in two."

Tears now rolled down Flash's face. Seeing Twilight so sad, knowing he was the cause, crushed him inside. "I'm sorry, I truly am. I just feel so unworthy of you at times."

"And when you say that you're basically saying I have no judgement."

Flash tried to look down in shame. "I know, I know," was he could say.

Slowly Twilight lifted his head until their eyes met. "I love you. I am going to be your wife and the mother of your children. You want to talk about magical abilities? Ok, sure. I might be a goddess but you're the one who got me so how much more does that say about you?"

The two touched foreheads and Flash quietly said, "I love."

"I like killing people," Pinkie said in her usual bubbly manner.

Every head immediately snapped around and looked at her. "WHAT?!" they all said in unison.

"The battle, after I saw all those dead bodies after they had turned back to people, yeah, I got off on it."

"It's true," Sonata added matter of factly. "We had the best sex ever that night."

"Wait, that night you stayed at my . . . aw. ew," Sunset said as she came to the full realization of what Sonata was saying.

"What? Like you and Dagi here didn't bow-chici-bow-wow that night?" Sonata responded defensively.

"No, no we didn't. We never even thought about it!" Sunset replied angrily.

"Honestly we didn't do that until last month," Adagio added dryly with just a hint of bitterness.

"Wait, what," Pinkie exclaimed in shock. "You're telling me you guys didn't take the bus to tuna town until last MONTH! Holy crap! That means Apple Jack and Rarity have more lezzie experience than you two."

"Well more than Sunset at least," Adagio quipped again, her tongue fully loosened by drink at this point.

"Pinkie! I had never been with a woman before, never even attracted to one. Dag was my first. That sort of thing takes a little while to get over," Sunset retorted.

"Amen sister," Rarity said under her breath.

"Hold on here," Apple now spoke up, shaking her head, "we're gettin' off point here. Pinkie Pie just said she liked killing people. Can we please focus on that?"

"I don't know," Pinkie shrugged. "Maud told me once she saw a darkness in me and she was right. I'm not saying I want to kill anybody, I'm just saying if I did, I'd have fun doing it."

"Sonata?" Sunset said, hoping Sonata might be able to shed some more light on the subject.

"I'm fine with," she said with a disinterested shrug. "Especially if I get another night like that one."

"Hey, wait," Rarity said in dawning horror. "We all spent the night at Sunset's that night. So that means you two were . . . ,"

"Fucking?" Pinkie said happily.

"Uh, well, um, yes; while we were there? How? You didn't do it while we were all sleeping on the floor - did you?"

"Nah, we fucked in the bathroom," Sonata added cheerfully.

"Makes sense," Adagio said.

"Dag!" Sunset reprimanded her lover.

"What? So she likes to kill people? So did I at one point. Never directly. I just used to ruin their lives until they killed themselves. More time consuming but far less incriminating." Adagio stopped at saw the shocked looks she was getting from Sunset, Apple Jack, Rarity, Twilight, and Flash. "Listen, I was a cunt. You knew that. I can't change the past so shrink away from it. For me it all worked out. I stopped being an evil cow, met the love of my life, and made some great friends. And considering I helped save the entire multiverse, I think my slate is fully wiped clean now.

"As for the ghoul sisters over there, eh. They haven't killed anyone since so that's a good sign. In fact their campus LGBT club helps a lot of people. And if the urges become overwhelming, they can just go the full Dexter." Adagio took another drink from her glass. "Aw baby this is the good shit. Sunset, take me home and fuck before I pass out."

Sunset's face turned an almost supernatural red with equal parts anger and embarrassment.

"I think it's best if all y'all went home," Apple said, trying to put the awkwardness to an end. "It's late, Rainbow and Fluttershy ain't here, and we've said a whole mess of something that I think it's best if we get some sleep on."

"Or fuck. I wanna fuck. Sunset, can we please fuck?" Adagio said fully drunk.

"I think you're right Apple Jack," Sunset said in a cold, restrained fury. She got up hurried over to Adagio, grabbed her arm and said through clenched teeth, "C'mon!"

"Whoops, gotta go everyone. See ya tomorrow after we fuck," Adagio waved with a big, drunken grin on her face.

Sunset cursed the whole way to the front door.

"Actually Adagio had a good idea there. You wanna go home and get it on?" Pinkie asked Sonata.

"I thought we were doing that regardless, but ok. See ya everyone." With that the two got up and left.

"Well that got weird quick," Flash said not knowing how to process the last part of the evening. "Dali paintings aren't as surreal as that was."

"But the idea is sound," Twilight said softly. "Come on. We should go too. We got a lot to talk about." Flash nodded, they both said there good-byes, and left.

"Well, so now what?" Rarity asked sounding and feeling really confused.

"I, I think, I think we should just do what we was planning on doing before the crazy started," Apple Jack said in a state somewhere between fear and anticipation.

Rarity nodded with an expression of fear coming across her face as well. "Ok. I'll put my teddy on in the bathroom and join you in bed."

The night would turn out great for the couples, miserable for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Regardless, it was the last all them would ever see each other again as a group.

Chapter 6: A Night of Romance - Sunset and Adagio

Sunset fumed as she drove back to campus. Adagio had been a complete embarrassment tonight. Sure she could excuse her behavior as the adverse side effects of too much drink; but Adagio was a practiced drinker with over a millennia of practice. No; she chose to get drunk. Maybe she chose to simply so she would have the excuse to write off the things she said. Whatever the reason; Sunset was furious and planed to let her have as soon as she sobered up the next morning.

Adagio just leaned back in her seat with a drunken smile on her face, gayfully looking around, oblivious to the growing storm sitting beside her. "Good party tonight, huh? Well good booze at least. That cider, wow. I haven't had anything like that since . . . since . . . huh, when was the last time I had it? London, no, BIRMINGHAM! That's it. Birmingham, seventeen forty one. Or was it two? Eh, whatever. Hey, you're driving really fast. You must really want to fuck. Hey, you wanna fuck now? You can pull over and we can hop in the back."

At that Sunset slammed on her breaks. The car screeched a hellish wail as it came to an abrupt stop. The force was so great that despite having a seat belt on; Adagio still was thrown forward with such force she almost hit the dash with her head.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sunset shouted, her eyes burning red with rage.

"Me? You're the one who almost caused me to flying out of the windshield by slamming on your breaks so hard. Jesus! I know you want to fuck me, but at least find some place to pull over first," Adagio replied annoyed, not understanding what Sunset was getting at.

"No, I don't want to fuck you. Hell it's taking all I got not to punch you in god damn face right now!" Sunset wasn't lying either. Her rage at both being embarrassed by Adagio and her lack of comprehension about it had come to full froth and was about to boil over it a spectacular display of violence.

"Ok, go for it. Seriously. I'm so drunk now I won't feel a thing," Adagio replied dismissively.

Sunset reached out and touched Adagio's left shoulder. "There, you're sober now. You forget that I'm a goddess."

A newly sober Adagio looked at Sunset in shock and then annoyance. "Goddamnit you're such a buzz kill."

"Now tell me what all that was back there at Apple Jack's for! You embarrassed the hell out me tonight."

"Oh, I embarrassed you huh? Well I guess that stands to reason since you've always been embarrassed of us. Three years Sunset! Three mother fucking years before you and I made love for the first time and even then I thought we were going to break up before we had it. Hell, we didn't even sleep in the same bed together when we moved into the dorms. At least we did that back at your apartment. Going to school was a step backward! And then I get to hear tonight that A Rarity and Apple Jack, the two straightest girls on the planet were dyking it out before we were, but then to hear you say that you actually still loved Val! Jesus! Do you know how that made me feel? I felt like pure fucking shit. That's how I felt. I gave up everything for you! I gave up my dream of returning to Equestria for you! And here you are still pinning over your dear, dead boyfriend!"

"I DO STILL LOVE HIM!" Sunset screamed, throwing her arms out at her side and bumping the windshield with her left hand. She then turned around and sank into the driver's seat and closed her eyes. "And I'll always love him. And I'll always blame myself for his death. I knew I was going back to Equestria after we had defeated Chrysalis. I had no business starting a relationship with him; but I did. I put him in the line of fire, broke his heart, and he got killed anyways and I live with that shit every god damn day.

"And do you know what's worse? The thing that I actually almost hate him for? With his dying breath, he forgave me. He fucking forgave me. JESUS FUCK!" Sunset screamed and slapped the steering wheel. "If he had cursed me, yelled at, said he'd wished it was me, I could have handled that. Hell I deserved it. But no, he forgave me. He paid the ultimate price and I paid nothing. I lived, I got accepted to a great school, I have amazing friends who all survived, and I have you, my other great love."

Sunset slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Adagio. The anger was gone, over taken by a deep sadness. She reached out and took Adagio's hand. "I love you Dag, more than life itself. I do, I really do," she spoke softly, quietly, slowly; somewhere between a mother comforting a child and a person giving their death bed confession. "You fill my life with so much joy; I can't imagine not being around you, not having you in my life. And I hate myself for it because I don't deserve it, I don't deserve you.

"If Val would have survived, I would be with him. He was handsome, funny, smart, could fuck like a freight train," at that, Sunset gave a quick laugh, "he was everything I could have ever wanted. But I love you as well. As much although I have to say I still prefer men overall. I love him and wish he was still here but I love you and wouldn't give you up. It's not just guilt I feel, but torn. What do you do when you love two people equally? What do you do when you love two people equally and the only reason you're with one over the other is because of a mistake you made that ended up getting the other killed? Yes, part of the reason I resisted having sex with you for so long was because there was a part of me that was still like, ew, girly parts, yuck; but the other reason is because I didn't feel like I deserved it. I don't deserve to be happy." As she finished, tears gently rolled down her cheek and dripped on to her seat.

Adagio took Sunset's hand and kissed it. "He loved you as well. I know he did. I never wanted you to feel like you had to choose. I was fine with being just friends. I was also opened to sharing. I told you that. And, hey, Val was super cute. Who knows, maybe the three of us could have made something happen. We could have been the Valhalens; one big happy family. I am bisexual you know." Adagio then gave a quick laugh.

Sunset smiled, shook her head, and looked up at the roof. "I know Dag, I know. As tempting as that idea is, it's not for me. As I said; I have nothing against polyamory, for some people it works out great; but for me, being in a relationship with someone, it means being exclusive to them, giving them all of you - emotionally, physically, mentally, sexually. I wouldn't feel right. I'd feel like I was giving both of you less than who I am and probably would have bowed out eventually and let you two be happy.

"Not that that matters anyhow. He's dead. And he's dead because of me."

"He didn't feel that way. If he was here right now, he would tell that because of you, he was able to ascend to the angelic realm. He also would tell you he wanted you to be happy. In fact, he did. I was there remember? He also told me to look after you, which I said I would. Now, you wouldn't want me to break a promise to him would you?" Adagio's tone was light and comforting. In all this time, she never thought to have this talk with Sunset. She never thought how all this was affecting her. They had talked so much, about so many things, but never about their own private pain.

"The night before the battle, I talked to Twilight about how I felt. I've talked to her a few times since about it. It helps, but the pain, the guilt, always comes back. It never goes away for long. I feel guilty then I feel guilty about feeling guilty." Sunset sighed in frustration.

"If it means anything, you were never planning on going back to Equestria. Not really. That became clear to me afterwards. You're human now. Not just in form but soul. Hell, maybe I am too. If Val would have lived, you would have stayed to be with him. You weren't leading him on. You were following your heart and so was he. Yes, you did break his heart but he understood why. Even if you didn't break up with him, he still would have been kidnapped; except then he would have been tied up and tortured like the rest and never would have been able to fight back and become an angel."

Sunset looked back to Adagio. "I love you Adagio. With all my heart, all my life; I love you." She sat up, leaned over, gently took Adagio's head in her hands and began to kiss. First on the lips, then the side of her mouth, down her cheek, then to her neck.

As she Sunset kissed and nibbled on her neck, Adagio leaned her head back with her eyes closed and said, "I love you to. As much if not more. You are the only person I've ever loved besides myself and that's what scares so much. That all my love isn't enough."

Sunset kissed her way back up to Adagio's mouth and put her finger on it. "Sssshhhh. It's more than enough and I'll never, ever leave you. Heck, I already got our wedding planned out."

Adagio gently removed Sunset's finger. "Oh really," she said in faux annoyance. "And when were you going to tell me that?"

Sunset smiled a wicked, sexy smile. "Right after I make you cum," she said in her most sultry voice.

"Well then, I think we should find a better place than the middle of the road. I don't want anything to disrupt you in that noble pursuit."

Sunset put the car in drive and started back toward their dorm. "Undo you jeans," she simply said.

Without a word, Adagio unbuttoned her jeans and pulled the zipper. Sunset's hand slipped down inside Adagio's panties and slowly began to rub Adagio's clit. Adagio moaned in delight. She grabbed her own breast and began to squeeze them. Sunset began to rub as fast as she could with her non dominant hand and being constricted by Adagio's clothes. As if by psychic mind reading, Adagio lifted her bottom and slid down her pants, giving Sunset full and unfettered access to her nether regions. Sunset drastically picked up the pace now that she was unencumbered, moving her index and pointer fingers lightly, side to side over Adagio's clit, the way she liked it. Adagio squeezed her breast harder, her hips moved and ungulated with a force and will all their own. Finally she screamed out, grabbing the head rest of her seat, arching her back as far as she could. She then plummeted back into her seat.

Sunset smiled as her eyes remained focused on the road. "And that was just a," she started to say and then sucked on the fingers she used to masturbate Adagio with, "taste of what's to cum when we get home."

"Whew-hoo," Adagio shouted in joy. "I am so eating your pussy first though."

"You bet you are," Sunset teased. She then paused. "White dresses for both of us, white rosses, ceremony held at the statue at Cantorlot high, where we met. That's what I was thinking. Twilight and Sonata as the maids of honor."

Adagio smiled as she pulled up her pants. "I'm not sure about the white dresses deal, but I'm fine with everything."

"We can talk about it."

"Yes we will!"

Chapter 7: A Night of Romance - Twilight and Flash

Twilight drove on the way back to her and Flash's apartment. He had driven here and she was driving back. That was their relationship. No one was in charge, no one had final say, each was equal to the other. At least that's what she had always assumed. After tonight, she wasn't so sure. She had told him everything; shared her deepest thoughts and fears, all her struggles and he had been holding back his. It had stirred in her a swirling mixture of emotions.

Part of her felt betrayed. This feeling took two directions. One was the sense that he assumed to know what she could or should handle; that he had supplanted his judgement for hers. The second was that he might not have trusted her with his fears and problems or maybe was holding back as so he could use her fears and worries against her but she couldn't use his against him. But then why would he think she would even do that in the first place?

Another part was the feeling she let him down. That maybe she had gone on so much about her problems that he thought she didn't want to hear about his. Maybe he had tried but she just didn't see it? He should have spoken up, yes, but she should have asked as well. Didn't she assume his thoughts and emotions just as he had assumed hers?

Anger, sadness, disappointment, guilt; all swirled around inside. No, not swirl, but bubbled. The revelations were like a fire and her mind was the pot of water - boiling; each emotion a bubble created by the heat, coming up from the bottom to the surface and bursting just in time to be replaced by another. If she was going to gain any insight or come to a resolution she would have to find a way to turn down the heat and let her mind cool.

She willed herself to think back to when they first met. How she had fallen down and he had offered his hand to help her up. She remembered looking into his eyes; how she immediately became locked on them. There was a kindness, spirit in those eyes, a quiet nobility that she was drawn to. He was like a creature she had never seen on Equestria, none of these humans were, yet she was so taken and thought he was so handsome. When he took her hand it had felt like an electrical circuit being closed. It was as if they had always been meant to be together.

When she returned home with her crown she found that the only stallion she could find attraction to was Flash's Equestrian self. She felt lost and lonely in all the quiet moments. Luckily she didn't have many of those. It seemed like there was a new threat almost every week to be dealt with. Some were big, some were little, all took her mind off how lonely she was without him. Leaving the second time was even worse but those darn threats and problems kept popping up so she could always distract herself.

On her third and final visit; she couldn't bring herself to leave anymore. In her heart and soul she knew that this world, this man, was where she was meant to be. Luckily this world's Twilight wanted to take her place in Equestria so they swapped and not once, not one day, one hour, one second did she ever regret it. He had proven to be all she could have hoped for or wanted. He wasn't perfect, no one is; but he came as close as anyone could get.

These thoughts, those memories brought her back down to a more manageable simmer. She was still upset, with him, with herself; but the intensity was gone. She could now think clearly again (or as clear as possible). She knew what she wanted to do and what she was going to do.

Flash didn't have all those bubbling emotions that Twilight had. He felt two: a deep sense of guilt and overwhelming sadness. He had pulled the classic guy thing of bottling his emotions up because he thought that was more noble and presupposing what was best for Twilight with ever asking her. She was the best thing to ever happen to him. He knew she loved him with all her heart (as he did her), and that she would do anything for him (as well as all she had given up to be with him already); yet he still played the macho, he-man role. It was a betrayal of all their relationship was built on. He only hoped she would have mercy on him when they got home.

Twilight pulled up in front of their apartment building. It had originally been built as a single family home seventy years ago. It had changed hands a few times. it had been nice but most didn't like living so near a college (especially on the weekends). Eventually a local slum lord bought it and converted into apartment units for college kids who were desperate to get out of the dorms (even though most dorm rooms were bigger than the units he was renting).

Twilight put the car in park but didn't turn it off. She turn to Flash and said flatly, "I'm going up, I want you to go out and get some milk. We're low and we're going to need some for tomorrow."

Flash looked at Twilight confused. "Why don't we just go out and get some now, together?" he asked.

"Consider this your penance for not telling me how you've been feeling. Now go before I come up with something harsher."

Flash nodded. He was still confused but he knew a deal when he heard one. They both got out, Twilight went in to the building, Flash got in the driver's seat and took off.

***********************************************************************************************

Flash walked up the steps to the apartment with a half gallon of two percent he had gotten at 7/11. He was apprehensive as to what might happen when he stepped through the door but there was no avoiding it so best to get it over with, whatever it might be. He unlocked the door and walked in. What he saw made him almost drop the milk he was carrying.

Inside all the lights were off. Around the apartment were all the candles they owned were lit, bathing everything in a soft, honey yellow light. On their bed laid Twilight. She had on a purple, satin baby doll with black lace trim. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail and she looked to be reading a book even though the light seemed way too poor for that. Her legs were crossed as not to give a peek of what she might have on beside her baby doll.

"Welcome back," she said in a sweet yet seductive voice. She placed the book on the night stand beside the bed. She then rose on her knees without giving even the slightest glimpse of what was underneath. She pulled her hair band off and her hair fell down around her face. She then pulled out the remote to their stereo and turned it on. Nijiro Chouchou by Wagakki Band started playing. "Put the milk down and come here," she said sweetly but firmly.

Flash placed the milk on the counter and walked over to Twilight who had moved to the edge of the bed. She put her arms around the back of his neck and he responded by placing his hands on her hips. She gave him a deep, passionate kiss. She then pulled back and said softly, almost a whisper, "Dance with me". Flash picked her up and the two began to dance to the music.

"So," he asked surprised but grateful, "what did I do to deserve this?"

"Nothing," she said with a smile and rubbed her nose against his. "In love, it's not about who deserves what but about what we feel we owe. Neither of us is perfect. We make mistakes, get caught up in our own stuff, head trips, and drama and forget about those around us. You should have told me how you were feeling but I should have asked as well. In love, we give the other everything we are and ever will be. I give myself to you, freely. All ask is for you to do the same in return."

Flash pulled back a little and looked down before summoning the strength to look her in the eyes. "I feel weak. I couldn't stop Chrysalis' henchmen from taking me, torturing me, killing the others, I couldn't keep her out of my mind, out of my body. Even earlier today, on our way to the reunion, I couldn't stand up to those jerks at the gas station. I can't protect you. I know you don't need it but I still feel so weak and small. I'm just a guy, a dude. I have nothing to offer you. You and your friends are so far above me, I don't know, I feel like the appendix to your life. I'm beneath you. I don't deserve you."

Flash waited for the backlash. He waited for Twilight to yell at him, to tell him he was being foolish, to say if he felt that way then to just get out but she didn't. She just looked at him and nodded sympathetically.

"As I said, it's not about deserve. Does anyone truly deserve anybody? To hold another's heart in their hands? I will say you do protect me. You protect my heart, my mind, my soul from myself and the world out there. When I'm with you, the world stops. When you look at me, that's when I truly feel like a goddess. You are my world Flash Sentry just as I hope I am yours."

"You are, without doubt or question," Flash responded on the verge of tears.

"And I didn't stop them either. Seeing that video of what happened to you and the others - yeah, I know exactly how you feel because I felt weak and helpless then as well. Eventually we will die. The greatest threat, death, we can not ourselves against; let alone each other. Until then I will hold you sacred and do all that I can to make sure that day is as far off as possible."

The two started kissing passionately, their hands incapable of covering the others body fast enough. Twilight stepped back just far enough to undo Flash's pants and pull out his fully erect member. She dropped to her knees and quickly took it in her mouth. Flash looked down as she moved her head front and back at an amazing pace, throaty moans of lust and delight coming from her as she did so. He gently stroked her and she pulled all the way back until it was out of her mouth, went down to the base and licked back up all the way to the head. Flash pulled her head back and she looked up at him with a pouty expression like she was mad because he stopped her.

He picked her up and sat her on the bed. He took two steps back and removed his clothes. As he did he could now see that Twilight wore nothing, no panties, no G - string, or thong under her lingerie. She slid the straps down her arms until they were completely free, allowing the top to fall down, exposing her breasts. She slid back as Flash climbed on top of her. They began to kiss again. Twilight could feel the head of Flash's penis moving around her vaginal lips, like a dog gently pawing at the door to be let in. It made her whole body burn with desire.

Flash worked his way down to her Venus mound. Not shaven but perfectly timed, the hair felt soft against his face ( the parts that weren't covered by his beard at least), as he began to lick her dripping wet slit. Twilight grabbed his hair and moaned loudly in delight. She allowed him to eat her out for a little while before she pulled his back in much the same he had down to her earlier. "I want you inside me," she said in breathless excitement. Flash began to get up and Twilight rolled over onto her stomach. "My ass. I want you in my ass."

Flash went to the night stand, pulled the drawer opened and pulled out the lube. He applied it to Twilights anus. First just on the outside then slowly hehe used his fingers to penetrate her and get it on the inside. She continued to moan and coo in shear animalistic pleasure. Then he got up on her, squared up, and plunged himself in.

Twilight screamed in pleasure. While she preferred vaginal sex over all, there was a special pleasure in anal. It was partly due to the taboo nature of it but it was also that when Flash was in her ass it felt like her whole body was full of his cock which made her lust shoot up a thousand percent. Flash also preferred vaginal sex as well but the ass felt so tight, it was like every millimeter of his penis was being stimulated simultaneously. As he thrust in and out, Twilights right hand worked her clit. The two locked in perfect rhythm as each tried to not only reach their climax but to have the other reach theirs as well. Flash reached around and cupped Twilights breast and pinched her nipples like she liked. Faster and fast they went, bumping and grinding their hips together, Flash working Twilight's nipples while she masturbated. Soon he began to feel that familiar pressure build up.

"Baby, I'm going to cum," he said in a hushed, breathless voice.

"Do it. Please. Cum in me," she begged in full heat.

No sooner than she said it, he lost it. He thrust on last time, going balls deep and let lose. As soon as she felt him cum, she came as well. They both just shook on the bed for a while in orgasmic bliss before collapsing on the bed. Flash slowly pulled out and Twilight rolled over on her back. The kissed and cuddled for half an hour, just lost in the enjoyment of each other.

Twilight stopped and rubbed Flashes cheek, smiling at him. "Promise me you'll never hide any of your feelings from me again."

"I do. I never want to lose you Twilight. Your my life, my world, my everything."

"You won't for you are mine as well."

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG5lCJmnKWw

Chapter 8: A Night of Romance - Apple Jack and Rarity

Rarity waited in the hall, right outside of Apple Jack's bedroom. The old farm house didn't have any true master bedrooms with a en suite. The bedrooms were just that, places to go to bed and sleep, and it had never been updated in the century plus it has been standing. So instead of changing in the master bath and making her way in, back lit for dramatic effect by the bathroom light; she had to change in one of the other bedrooms and make her way down the hall to Apple's room like a porn star coming on to set. She felt cheap, she felt wrong. She felt like she was going to cry or vomit or shit herself or runaway screaming, or possibly all the above. Still she was determined. Curiosity as to where she and Apple Jack really stood compelled her forward and she knew that whatever might happen afterwards; she had to see this through.

Timidly she knocked on the bedroom door. She didn't know what she wanted next. Did she want Apple to just open the door, say come in, or tell her she changed her mind? All three seemed equally appealing and disappointing at the same time. She waited a bit and thought about maybe announcing herself but then realized how stupid that was. She was the only one in the house and certainly the only one she was expecting to come to her bedroom. Maybe she should just open the door and go right on in?

"It's unlocked," Apple Jack's voice came from the other side. It held all the fears and doubts that Rarity was feeling yet a sheen of confidence and quite possibly annoyance rested over it making it sound not quite as bad.

Rarity took one deep breath, closed her eyes, opened the door, and walked in. She opened her eyes to see Apple sitting on her bed; her back against the head board and her legs stretched out, crossed at the heals. She had on a red flannel shirt that was partially unbuttoned and a pair of regular, beige panties. Even though the light wasn't that great and blonde body hair was naturally hard to see in the best of light, Rarity could still make out that what Apple had indeed stopped shaving her legs.

"Hi," Apple said clumsily, not knowing what she should say.

"Hi," Rarity replied back somehow even more clumsily than Apple as she actually waved as she had said it.

"You look good," was the best Apple could say in return.

Rarity had on a pair of satin, lace lined, high leg, hipster panties and a see through, white mesh top, lined in fake, white fur, held together at the breast by a red bow. "Thanks," Rarity replied awkwardly back.

Apple looked down at her feet for a second and then looked back at Rarity, her face awash in agony it seemed. "Listen Rar, we ain't gotta do this ya know. I mean, we're straight right? Maybe we're just a little confused by what's all happened in the past and all that but we can just walk away now; no hard fillins. I'm scared, you're scared, it might not be worth it." The way Apple spoke, she almost seemed to be pleading with Rarity to not go through with it.

Rarity just looked at Apple. This was her out, her clean break. If she argued against it and they went through with it; it was all on her. There was so much on the line, so much to be lost. Apple had been her best friend for years, about a decade in fact (which meant over half her life). Could she, should she, risk it all now? For what? Apple was right, both of them were straight. Apple had one great love in Chip and Rarity, while not having any true love, still found men attractive and had even had three sexual encounters with them. Her and Apple on the other hand, the most they had ever done was lie next to each other and kissed while they masturbated and even that had felt weird.

Still.

As Rarity continued to look at Apple, she saw how letting her eyebrows grow back in and cutting her hair short gave her a masculine look. Just as Apple Jack could breathtakingly beautiful when done up, untouched and natural, she looked equally as handsome. Her legs were muscular and the hair made them look masculine. Her shoulders and arms both were larger than average yet not overly so; not body builder so. In fact she looked to be the perfect blend of the masculine and feminine. A universal beauty that all genders and sexual orientations could look at and lust after. And then the memories started, the emotional memories of all they had gone through, good and bad, big and little, how strong their bond was and it was then she all doubt was removed.

Rarity slowly started to walk toward the bed, a sly sexy smile on her lips. She moved with a feline grace, appearing to almost sway as she walked. Apple jack got up on her knees; still apprehensive but quickly overcoming it as she saw Rarity come towards. And for the first time since Chip had died, she felt desire. Rarity crawled on to the bed and kissed Apple Jack lightly on the lips. Apple grabbed Rarity's head in both hands and started kissing her back in unbridled passion. Rarity got her self up from all fours to her knees and took Apple's head in hers as well, her whole body tingling with electric joy. Their breasts pressed together until their stomachs touched, their hips slowly starting to come together in small, thrusting motions.

Apple Jack used her body weight to get Rarity to lie down on the bed with her on top. Rarity wrapped her legs around Apple's. The hair was like little, electric needles that delivered little jolts of pleasure as she moved her legs up and down Apple's. The continued to kiss, on the lips, each others cheeks, nibble on each other's ears, holding onto each other with unbreakable force, while grinding their pelvises together in a synchronized, circular motion.

Finally, Apple stopped, breathless and pushed herself up to her knees. She looked down at Rarity who simply smiled and said, "Aren't you going to open your gift now darling?"

Apple pulled on the one side of the bow and it quickly untied. The two halves of Rarity's top fell open. You couldn't really say that it exposed her breasts since it was see through to begin with, but now there was no barrier between them and her. Apple slowly took both her hands and ran them over Rarity's breast, starting at the bottom then stopping at the nipples. She then started running the tips of her first two fingers over them in a circle, committing each line, each bump to memory. To watch, it looked like a blind person reading brail. With each circle, Rarity's breath became heavier, shorter as waves of pleasure rippled through her body.

Apple Jack then shifted to the right side of Rarity and took her right breast in her mouth and began to suck while gently massaging the left. Rarity left out a deep, throaty moan, hugged Apple's head and kissed the top of it. Apple then let her right hand gently drift down Rarity's stomach to between her legs but still over her panties and slowly started to run her hand up and down which caused Rarity to start to shake and go into mini convulsions. Apple then brought her hand up and slid it underneath Rarity's panties and continued to rub, up and down, up and down.

"Please, take them off," Rarity breathlessly whispered to Apple.

Apple got up and pulled Rarity's panties off. Like always, Rarity was completely shaven down there, her perfect slit on full display. Apple got off the bed and fully undressed. Rarity saw that unlike herself, Apple Jack had a full, thick bush which covered just about everything. Apple got back on the bed and back on top of Rarity. The two started kissing again, Rarity's legs wrapped around Apple, Apple thrusting her bush up against Rarity's pussy. The feeling of the hair just adding that much more stimulation and pleasure.

It was then Rarity was briefly taken back to her one past lover. It was the second guy she had ever been with (thankfully for if he had been her first she might have sworn off sex entirely). He was cute, well spoken, rich, all the things she looked for in a man. They had talked, flirted, then one night, coming back from a party, they had made out. Or more accurately, he thrust his dick in her pussy until he came and then rolled over and went to sleep. There was no fore play, no after play, nothing but him getting on top of her and pumping away until he nutted. At first she hadn't mind it. Raw lust was a turn on, but after a while it just got boring. She offered to suck his dick just to break up the monotony but he simply said, "It's good love, I'm almost there". He then closed his eyes and started thrusting harder and it was then she realized this asshole was actually fantasizing about her sucking his dick as opposed to just letting her do it. He was effectively masturbating and all she was, was a glorified hand.

Now, her she was, with Apple Jack who moved with an almost supernatural awareness of what Rarity liked and wanted. She could feel that every move Apple did was did bring Rarity pleasure. It almost made Rarity cry but the first lick of her clit by Apple Jack brought her quickly out of that mindset.

Apple had debated briefly if she was going, hell, if she was even capable of going down on Rarity, bat as she looked at Rarity's sex, she knew she was all in. She parted the vaginal lips to expose the clit and gave a quick lick up. Then another, followed by three more quick licks followed by one long, slow lick. She then put her mouth over it and began to suck on it as though it were a nipple. Rarity gasped and became rigid, grasping the sheets in a death grip. Slowly she let got and felt Apple take her hands and hold them. Apple continued to work Rarity's clit While Rarity looked down in shocked amazement at how good Apple was. Eventually she began to lose herself. Her body heaved and jerked; her back arched up and down until she came harder than she had ever before.

Apple kissed her way back up to Rarity's head. She held her and kissed her cheek. Rarity just quivered, unable to move or speak for several minutes. As soon as she, she immediately got on top of Apple Jack. She hurriedly kissed her way don from Apple's lips to her now ample breasts ( motherhood given Apple many things, the least of which was an enormous set of breasts), her stomach, then her pussy. Apple's had a slight urine sent which Rarity chopped up to the hair (which was another reason she kept fully shaved). Undeterred, she dove straight in. The taste was hard to describe. A bit bitter, a touch salty, with a sweet after taste. No matter, she licked and sucked until Apple screamed in orgasmic ecstasy. It was Rarity then who laid beside Apple Jack and just held her and kissed until she could move again.

The two continued to make love for the next two hours. They never really stopped, the just kind of passed out from exhaustion. Still, in their sleep, they held each other tight, continuing to please one another in their dreams, and vowing never to let go.

Chapter 9: A Night of Romance - Pinkie and Sonata

Pinkie drove as Sonata sat and sang along to the radio. Sonata had her license but preferred to be the passenger because she could sing and bop along to the music. Pinkie loved to do the same but relented most times because seeing Sonata happy made her happy. Besides; Sonata did the majority of the house work so it more than even out. Also after all these years, Sonata's voice had improved drastically. Not as good as it had been when she possessed the magical gem stone but close enough. And honestly, could anyone sing naturally as well as they could with a magic gem stone?

Both girls still had their dyed hair: Pinkie - pink and Sonata - two toned blue. Each was as carefree and fun loving as always. The biggest change was in their weight. Since starting college Sonata had put on about fifteen pounds while Pinkie had amassed a little more than twenty-five in extra weight. While neither was the whip thin girl she had been but it made no difference to them. In fact the extra weight gave each an extra softness that made cuddling all that much more enjoyable.

The music stopped for a commercial break and Sonata took a deep, contented sigh. Despite everyone breaking apart at the party and things getting pretty heavy, being with Pinkie, singing made her feel happy and alive. She turned to Pinkie and asked wistfully, "So do you really want to go home and have sex?"

Pinkie shrugged. "I mean we do that twice a day regardless. Once in the morning when we wake up and then when we go to sleep so, I mean it's gonna happen anyways. No need to rush it. Why? You wanna do something else?"

Sonata looked out the passenger side window and thought for a second. She then turned to Pinkie, full of excitement, grinning almost maniacally. "The beach!"

"What?" Pinkie asked confused. It was 9:30 at night; the beach would be closed by now (not to mention they didn't have their swim suits).

"The beach, the one where I first realized I loved you. Let's go there! We can pull up, turn the radio up, and dance in the headlights. What else do we have to do? Eat ice cream while watching a movie? Play board games? Video games? Crafts? We do that all the time. C'mon. It'll be fun! And I know you love to dance."

Pinkie thought for only a second before enthusiastically saying, "Yes! Why not. Especially after that downer of a party. Sheesh. I told Apple Jack to let me plan it; but NOOOOOOOOOOOO! - she had to do it herself. Yeah, have a party but don't let the queen of parties plan it. Hmph."

"Well their loss is our gain."

Pinkie turned back and drove down to the beach. Every mile closer the more excited they became. This was the beach where Sonata took Pinkie to try and cheer her up after Pinkie had become aware of her dark side. They fought, they laughed, and they fell in love even if neither could admit that day. This was their sacred place; their holy place.

It was about ten when the pulled up as far as they could. Pinkie put the high beams on and cranked the radio as loud as it would go and the two got out and started dancing. It was the dance of two people in love, still young and full of energy, as yet not dulled by time. No apprehension, no worries about consequences, no aches or pains which time inevitably brought. Not just the dance of love but of youth; a youth that even now was quickly running out. Time was no one's friend but if viewed properly; time could be a great motivator. A friendly reminder that eventually all things end so it's best to enjoy things while you can; enjoy each other while you can.

The two danced for hours, danced until their legs ached, danced `til they were covered in sweat and their clothes clung to their bodies. They faced danced, slow danced, talked, joked, and laughed during the commercials. At last the perfect song came on to end the evening - The Book of Love by Peter Gabriel. They took each other into their arms and swayed in the car lights; not noticing anything put each other's eyes which they gazed in as if the secrets of eternity were held within (and to those who have ever been truly in love that, indeed the secrets of eternity are always in your lover's eyes).

As the last strains of the song played out, the two just stood there, looking at each other, unable to move, in able to even think, tears streaming down their cheeks. Finally Pinkie was able to speak.

"I love you Sonnapie," she said softly.

"I love you too Pinata," Sonata replied just as softly.

They then got back in their car, this time with Sonata behind the wheel, drove back home and made love.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nZGv8VTBVE&index=5&list=PLB3B05560A5BC496A

Chapter 10 The Next Morning - Rainbow Dash

Rainbow Dash stood at the foot of Soarin's grave. He, with the other boys - Micro Chip, Sandal Wood, and Valhalen had been killed by Queen Chrysalis and the servants of Morgorith. Val had been simply stabbed through the heart so there was still something to bury; the others had been hacked to pieces with an ax so their coffins laid empty. Not that it mattered she guessed. Once the person was gone - the soul, the mind, the spirit, whatever you wanted to call it; it really didn't matter is a sack of rotting meat really lay at the bottom of the hole or not. Graves, urns, mausoleums, these were things to comfort the living; the dead didn't care.

It was a day much like it was when they had gotten the video which showed the boys being butchered; bright, sunny, warm. But then tragedies often happen on beautiful days. Nine - eleven happened on a gorgeous September morning. From what she could tell; the bombing of Pearl Harbor looked like it happened on an otherwise pleasant day. And when the US had finally collected it's pound of flesh in the shape of two mushroom clouds; those too had been likewise pleasant days. Dark and stormy nights might be the weather of choice for children's horror stories but real horror, true horror, always seems to happen on bright, beautiful days.

On the headstone was his name, his real name. They had exchanged their true names after a stolen night of intimacy. It was their secret, their code for each other. To the world, they were Soarin and Rainbow Dash; to each other they were Santiago and Rachael. Once his headstone was erected and his true, real name was engraved for all the world to see; she had felt violated, like a part of her had ripped from her again. So she started to go by Rachael to everyone. If the world was going to take their code for each other away, then she would reclaim their nick names once more. He was her Soarin and she was his Rainbow Dash.

"I thought I might find you here," a voice said from behind her. It was deeper, a bit raspier, but still undeniably feminine. It was a voice she had heard as they both had grown up. It was the voice of "little sister" Scootaloo.

Rainbow startled a little when she first heard her but she knew exactly who it was instantly and didn't even bother to look around. There was no need. Even though they were not of the same blood (one look would have told anyone that with Rainbow being black and Scootaloo being white), still the girls had formed a relationship as deep as any biological siblings could ever hope for.

"Hey sis," Rainbow replied. It was quiet with tones of sadness and distraction.

Scootaloo walked over, put her arm around Rainbows waist, and laid her head on her shoulder. Rainbow just stood there, arms folded across her chest. She did appreciate Scootaloo being there though.

"It never stops hurting; does it? I mean you have your good days, days where if you're lucky you forget for a little bit; then - BOOM, it's all right back. Right back in your face as if no time has passed at all," Scootaloo said as much to herself as Rainbow. The same group who killed Soarin and the other boys had also killed Apple Bloom, Apple Jacks little sister and one of Scootaloo's best friends. She had known Soarin, liked Soarin, and had mourned his passing as well; but it was Apple Bloom who was her true heart ache.

"Yeah," Rainbow just replied weakly, gathering her thoughts and feelings. "I've thought that what makes it worse is we were still in the early stage of our relationship. That part where it's all googlely eyes and rainbows and unicorns and flowers. My emotions for him are forever locked in that phase. If he would have lived - who knows. We might have broken up by now. I don't know. I can never know. For now and forever he will be locked as my one true and perfect love."

Rainbows voice carried the weight of one that has known and experienced the full magnitude of the injustice of existence. The resigned sense of loss, the acceptance of injustice, it was the song of pain sung only by the truly broken.

Scootaloo looked over at her sister in concern (both for Rainbow and herself because of all the unwanted emotions Rainbows words might elicit in her); and with as much false levity as she could muster said, "Wow. All that fancy book learning your getting at college is almost making you sound smart".

Rainbow smiled a small smile, gave a quick chuckle, and gently pushed Scootaloo away. "Shut the fuck up," she gently teased. She stopped and then added, "Love the pink Mohawk there."

Scoot gave her hawk (which stood just under thirty centimeters high) a quick flick with her right middle finger and joked back, "Thanks. Still ain't nuthin' compared to that techno-colored dream coat of a hair do you used to have though. Lovin' the dreads by the way. Makes you look like Michone from The Walking Dead."

"That's kind of the look I was going for. Although I might just shave it all off. I've seen pictures of what Dani looks like in next years Black Panther and I have to say; I'm feeling that buzz cut look."

"Well, you are 'The Warrior' so go for it."

The two young women looked at each other and smiled for a bit then grabbed each other in a tight embrace and began crying uncontrollably. Pain is like a contagion, spreading rapidly one to another. Unlike actual viruses or bacteria, when shared between two hurting hearts, each grows stronger as it passes through. The cries become sobs, the sobs sniffles. Soon the sisters step back a bit but never fully break their embrace.

"Did it help," Scootaloo asks, looking Rainbow dead in the eyes, voice still breaking a bit. "Did it help, killing them? You never told me. I so wanted to be there, to fight along side you, to make them bleed, to make them suffer, and watch them die. So, did it help?"

Rainbow thought deeply on that question. There was too much to say, to many conflicting emotions, too much nuance to ever fully convey. "Finally she just gave the answer that she felt was closest to the truth as she could ever get. "No. No it didn't. It didn't make it worse, but it didn't make it better."

Scoot just gave a quick nod and said, "Fair enough".

"So," Rainbow said as she shifted to Scoot's side and put an arm around her shoulders, "how's Sweetie Belle?"

Scoot shook her head. "Three years, not one word. Her parents have taken her to I don't know how therapists, councilors, shrinks; nothing. I see her in school and it's like watching a ghost. I say hi every now and then but she never responds except for a quick to, I guess, acknowledge she heard me then she moves on."

"Yeah, friends have a tendency to do that," Rainbow said quietly thinking back to her and Fluttershy's fight from last night. "Hey, I got to get going. I promised the girls I'd meet them for brunch. But, tonight, I want to hang out if you're not busy."

Scoot turned and smiled. "I'm never too busy for my big sister."

The two hugged one last time and went their separate ways not knowing that this would be the last time they would ever see each other (but that comes later).

Chapter 11 The Next Morning Twilight and Flash

Setting the alarm was a fall back. Twilight was an early riser, usually getting up half an hour before the alarm was set. Still, even she had her days when the pull (or need) for sleep was too great so an alarm was needed. This was not one of those days however. She had awoken at her customary half hour before she had to but decided to lie in bed anyways until the alarm went off. It simply felt too nice to get out of bed. Flash laid beside her, spooned up against her, his arm around her middle. Both were naked so she could feel the full of his skin and body heat. With the cover over them she felt safe, protected, and warm. The universe felt right and just. It was a feeling she seldom had so cherished every time she did.

As the time ticked down to when she would have to get up and leave her own private paradise; she felt Flash starting to stir behind her. Slowly moving one leg, then the other; stretching and turning to loosen cramped muscles, then slowly rubbing her stomach with his hand. She heard him give a slight grunt of approval at finding her wrapped in his arm, then he gave her a kiss on the back of her head. She replied by putting her arm over his and snuggling as close as she could without forcing him off the bed.

"Morning beautiful," he said sleepily into her ear. "How's your butt?" he said as a joke.

Twilight giggled a bit. It wasn't what he said that she found funny but the fact he said it at all. Flash didn't normally make sexual jokes. "It's ok. Why? You want to have another go at it?" she teased back.

"Nah, I'm good. Anal is like cake - a little here and there equals a great treat. All the time and it makes you sick."

Twilight rolled over in fake outrage. "Oh really now? You think you could get sick of my ass?"

"Um, well no, I mean, I'll always like looking at it and touching it, but, you know, just not sticking my dick in it. I mean, not when you have such a great pussy and mouth." Flash stumbled a bit with his words and gave an awkward smile not knowing how serious Twilight was.

"Oooohhhh. I get it now. I'm just a collection of holes for you to put your dick in to huh?" Twilight did her best to sound cold and offended. She knew Flash felt uncomfortable and decided she would carry this joke on for as long as she could.

"No, no! I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying, you know, that I love all of you. Physically and, uh, emotionally, spiritually, your insides. You know. I like your outsides and insides. But not like just being inside you. I mean I do like being inside you, when you let, always your choice, no means no . . . "

Twilight busted out laughing. She couldn't take it anymore. Flash was so clearly in pain at this point; she had to put him out of his misery. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you," she said, still laughing.

Flash was so happy that Twilight wasn't really mad he didn't even think to try and tease her back. He just smiled and asked, "So, you want to get up now? The alarm's about to go off and we promised we'd meet everyone for brunch."

Twilight's face grew super serious all of a sudden as a new thought entered her brain. Something she had never considered before but now it felt almost imperative she do. "Turn the alarm off." Her voice was serious and direct. It wasn't a request but a demand.

Flash looked at Twilight in confusion. He didn't know if she was playing with him again or not but decided it was best to do what she said. He rolled over and switched the alarm off. When he looked back, Twilight was already out of bed and standing up. She wasn't getting dressed but just sort of looking out at something.

She turned to him, with her arm outstretched. "Take my hand. I want to show you something."

Flash slid out on Twilight's side and stood up. He didn't bothered putting any clothes on. Why should he? Twilight was still nude so he knew they weren't going out and she's already seen him naked; so, really, he saw no point in getting dressed.

He walked over and took her hand. Instantly their apartment was gone and they were standing on what looked like a rocky beach. The sky was a multitude of greys. Light, almost light grey, pure grey, dark grey, bluish grey, purplish grey. Fog and mist intertwined with clouds to create an almost seamless envelope of grey. Flash could still see patches though. He could the ground, a mixture of grey, black, and tan rocks and sand. Her heard water violently hitting and washing up on the shore. He was shocked and stunned by what he was seeing. Was this real? It looked real. Yet he realized the only thing he could feel was Twilight's hand.

"I call this planet Esaux Ballauo. It's three the size of Earth and ninety-nine percent water. It spins three times faster than Earth as well due to the fact it has no moon and it's location from it's star. The winds here blow at hurricane strength on calm days. It never developed intelligent life, but it does have life." Twilight pointed to their left. "Look over there."

Flash saw a dark shadow. He couldn't make it out, only that it had a shape resembling a suspension bridge, like The Golden Gate Bridge. He then saw it was actually moving (very, VERY, slowly; but still moving). All he could do was gasp in awe and horror.

"I call that a Sleensludge. Believe it or not; it's actually about ten miles away from us. The life forms on here are mostly giants. The smallest dwarf even the largest of Earth's prehistoric beasts. It's horrible to look at but harmless. It feeds of the seaweed and grasses in the shallow waters."

"H-how?" Flash barely muttered out.

"How could it get so big? It's bone and cellular stricter is different from that of Earth creatures. Different planet, different evolutionary rules. How can you stand here and feel nothing? I have us phased out. We're here, but not here. Our atomic structure is out of phase with that of what's around us. It's hard to explain, but just think of it like a protective bubble that's around us. How we got? I brought us here. How did I know about this place? I found it when I went exploring.

"About a year after we defeated Morgorith, I realized that this dimension wasn't just Earth. Earth was just one planet within it. So I decided to explore it, and it was also a great way of testing and trying out my powers here. I asked Sunset if she wanted to come along but she didn't want to. She was happy just being an average teenage girl for a change. I respected her decision. Heck, that's all I wanted. To just be a normal girl. Graduate high school, go to college, marry you, have kids, one at least. But the world is so crazy, so messed up, and I don't know what to do about it. Exploring makes me feel like I'm doing something, even though I'm doing nothing.

"I used to bring Spike with me until he passed away. Since he could talk, he was the one who requested he get put down. I cried, I begged, but he said the pain was too much. He lived a full life and was ready to rest. I offered to heal him, to give him a human life span, but he refused. He said death was the natural order of things and it was his time. If anyone could die happy, well, content at least, he did.

"It was shortly after I found this place. I come here whenever I'm sad or need to do some serious thinking. I come whenever I have free time, well, go exploring. I not only can travel in space but time as well although I never stay out longer than the actual free time I have. It would be hard to explain how when you left in the morning I was in my early twenties but now in my late forties when you got home. Here."

Flash suddenly saw them lifting above the ground. They moved forward and then plunged into black water. He gasped but no water filled his lungs. He looked around and around. On all sides, total blackness enveloped them yet just like on land, he could feel nothing but Twilight's hand. Then , all of a sudden, the blackness disappeared and he could impossibly huge creatures float around and sometimes through them. He turned to Twilight you just smiled.

"I told you we're out of phase. The water only looks to be gone but it's still there. I just removed the appearance of it so you could see the aquatic life." Twilight then pointed down bellow them. "Like that. I call that a colliquugullia. It's over twice the size of a Sperm Whale."

The creature had bluish black scales outlined in a reddish purple. Two boney spines ran down either side of it's body with a dorsal fin in the middle. Between were rows and rows of tentacles with electric blue lights at the tips. All over the front of it's head were red eyes, resembling that of a spider and a mouth that looked like the sucker of a leech.

"It's eyes aren't for seeing prey. It's almost always black as pitch in these waters. The clouds which cover the planet almost never part enough to let light in. The eyes are for spotting the top predator here, the engulfala."

"Wha, wait! There's something that eats THAT thing?" Flash said in astonishment.

Twilight nodded her head. "Earth never had a creature like it. Imagine a plesiosaur, a mosasaur, and a megalodon all put together and then quadruple it - three times. It's mouth glows with a light blue energy that attracts prey inside it's mouth and it eats them."

"This is Hell," Flash said quietly. "I feel like I'm going through literal Hell."

Just as suddenly as they had come here, they were gone. A new scene opened up before Flash's eyes. They were on a grassy hill. The sky was a bright, neon blue. The grass was a neon green. The sun was an almost cartoonish yellow. The type of yellow that three year olds pick out when they make a picture of Earth's sun. In fact, everything was impossibly bright here. The flowers, the insects he saw, all glowed with bright, vibrant colors.

"I call this planet, Empaxia. I like to come here when I'm feeling happy and just want to relax. Once again, there's no higher life forms here above simple animal life. There are some predator species here but none large enough to hurt us. It's slightly smaller than Earth which means less gravity. Once I phase us in, you'll find you'll have an extra spring in your step because of it. It's not drastic but it does take a second or two to get used to."

Once Twilight was done talking, Flash felt the grass beneath his feet, the breeze against his body. The air smelled incredibly clean. Cleaner than anywhere he had ever been on Earth. It made him feel slightly light headed. The air was warm but not hot. All in all, it was the closest to an actual paradise he had ever seen.

Twilight let go of his hand and started walking down the hill. In this environment, her naked form seemed perfect. It wasn't sexual perfection. It was the perfection of being. She, they, had to be naked here. This place was pure, unspoiled. To come here, dressed, would have been like bringing a lie in to truth itself. If anything, it was the fact that Twilight was shaved that was unnatural. He found himself suddenly wishing she was unshaven like he was.

"Why . . ." he started to ask but Twilight cut him off again. She never turned around, she just simply stopped walking when she started talking to him.

"Why didn't I share this with you? Partly because I wanted to work things out on my own, partly because I didn't want you to worry, partly because I didn't know how you'd react. Given what you said last night, I'm sure I made the right decision."

She then turned to look at Flash. "Why am I showing you now? Because you deserve to see this. Because I don't want any secrets between us. Because I want to share every aspect of my life with you. Because I also think you're finally ready. I don't know if my powers are a gift or a curse; I just know I don't want them to be a roadblock between us. My soul mate should be by my side where ever I go."

Flash walked down to Twilight, embraced, and kissed her. "I hope to prove myself worthy," he said in awe of the goddess that stood before him.

"You already have," she said sweetly and suddenly they were back in their apartment.

"There are rules and limits to how I use my powers," Twilight as she slowly pulled away from Flash. "I can't use them for personal gain. That's one big one. I can't use them to reward or punish someone simply based on how they treat me. Nothing like, 'Hey thanks for holding the door for me, let me make you immortal' sort of thing. There's a lot I've found out and a lot I need to learn, all of which I'll share with you; just not now, we're running late," she said as she pointed to the clock beside their bed.

Chapter 12 The Next Morning - Applejack and Rarity

Rarity awoke from a dreamless slumber; the alarm clock buzzing and beeping beside her like an angry child demanding attention. And much as an abusive parent might do, she slammed her fist down hard on it to get it to stop. Her body ached, her mind swam in a foggy sludge; barely comprehending it's own consciousness, let alone figure out what was causing such an unholy noise and why. The only thought that surfaced was that she needed to return to sleep.

However; her abuse of the hateful alarm clock failed to produce the silence it was intended to, she soon found herself coming more and more to the fore. Images from last night surfaced and knitted themselves into crude memories which then fattened out and came in to focus revealing why she was so tired and sore. She and Apple Jack had spent almost the entire night contorting themselves into all manner of shapes to try to bring the other to the ultimate climax, ceasing only when exhaustion had overtaken both.

Rarity waited some more, waiting for Apple Jack to turn off this vile, caterwauling, machine who's sole purpose was to destroy the only state of natural bliss any human would ever know. Still nothing. Rarity groaned in annoyance. Nothing. Slowly and with much remorse; she opened her eyes and rolled over to nudge Apple but Apple wasn't there.

She lifted herself up to her elbows and looked around - nothing. She was alone. Rarity laid there confused for a while until her brain finally registered a second noise. It was the sound of running water. Apple Jack must have gotten up early and went to get a shower. Rarity back rolled over and turned the alarm off proper this time. She pulled the covers off, got up, and headed to the bathroom. She was nude but so what? Apple had so thoroughly explored every inch, every crevasse, of her body that she probably knew it better than Rarity's gynecologist. Also they were the only ones in the house so there was no chance of any inadvertent peep show. So there was no sense in getting dressed.

When Rarity got to the bathroom the water had stopped. Apple Jack must be out now. Should she just open the door and go in? Once again, why not? Rarity had likewise been over every square inch of Apple Jack with her eyes, hands, and tongue; so what was left to be embarrassed of. Still; she might be on the toilet or maybe she just wanted privacy. A sexual encounter never gave the partner carte blanche to invade the other's personal space whenever the felt like it (something men never seemed to understand).

Gently she tapped on the door and said, "Darling?"

"C'mon in," Apple Jack replied back; her voice full of happiness and good cheer.

Rarity smiled and opened the door but was soon taken aback in absolute shock. Apple was naked (which was to be expected) but she was also clean shaven. The leg hair, genital hair was all gone. More than that, her eyebrows had been trimmed back. Her hair was still short of course, her body more muscular than the average woman's, and her jaw still strong and proud; but there was no denying that there was an absolute femininity about her now. Her breasts were large and full, her hips wide, she was the classic hour glass shape. Apple Jack was a woman.

Rarity struggled for a second with the absurdity of and how visceral her reaction was. Of course Apple was a woman. She's known that for years. Hell, just last night, Rarity had her tongue, her fingers all over and in Apple's genitals. If nothing else, licking her clit should have informed her in no uncertain terms that Apple was indeed a woman. Still. Still. Last night Apple had had a masculine quality about her, the hairy legs and arm pits, the full eyebrows, that combined with the short hair, muscles, and jawline that made her seem "man enough". It was an idiotic thought. A few extra muscles and some body hair could override someone's genitalia, but it did. Now those were gone and Rarity was left with the fact she had fucked another woman.

"You . . . shaved," Rarity stammered out; trying not to sound as rattled as she felt.

"Yeppers. It's like I told ya last night. I didn't want any man comin' near me because I thought that would be disrespectin' Chip. I wanted to keep every man away from me. After last night, I knew that wasn't a problem no more. I'm ready to fall in love again. I need to fall in love again. I've fallen in love again. I don't need to hide or have a suit of hair armor anymore. I got you. So I decided it was time to embrace me again, the girlie me. It's time to be a woman again."

Apple then started to walk over to Rarity. She moved with the grace and sleekness of a predator on the prowl; the look on her face supplementing that appearance. Her eyes burned with fiery desire and were focused squarely on Rarity. He mouth had a small, half smile, almost a smirk. Rarity looked her over as she came closer with a mixture of horror and desire. Half of her wanted to run screaming from the room, the house, clothes be damned. The other half wanted to feel Apple's skin against hers again, to see what she would do to her now. She backed up against the wall but made no effort to run out the door.

Apple Jack put her hands on Rarity's shoulders, pinning her. She then leaned in and started kissing her, her tongue slipping straight into Rarity's mouth which had been slightly agape. Rarity shuddered in both delight and revulsion. She wanted Apple to stop and yet continue simultaneously.

Apple Jack then kissed Rarity's cheek, nibbled on her ear and said in a whispered, hot, breathless voice, "I love you Rarity. I love you with all my heart, my mind and my body. All I want to do is please you for now and forever."

Rarity clamped her eyes closed so hard that they watered. A million conflicting emotions ran through her brain. I can't do this! I'm not a lesbian! I love men, I love dick. But, oh God this feels so good! No man ever touched me like this. No man ever made me feel like this. Oh God what if she wants me to down on her again? How could I ever? But I did. I did it last night. It was easy. Too easy. I enjoyed it. Didn't I? Oh God, I did, didn't I? Please don't make me go through this. Please stop. Stop. Don't stop. but stop. Jesus fuck I she makes me feel so good.

Apple was nibbling and sucking on Rarity's neck as her left hand slipped down between her legs and started rubbing her swollen clit. Rarity's arms flew up and held Apple Jack as close and as tight as she could. She moaned and whimpered in ecstasy. Her hips started to move in rhythm to Apple Jack's hand.

"I want to please you, forever. Please let me please you," Apple Jack said into Rarity's ear. It was sexual begging.

"Yes, yes, please," Rarity said in a quiet, small, voice. She was all in now. Any reservations had been buried beneath waves of pleasure. All she wanted was to come for her lover.

Apple Jack's pace quickened to a feverish pace as she started kissing Rarity again (whose right hand was now between Apple Jack's legs, returning the favor). The two worked each other until they found themselves shuddering, quaking in orgasmic joy; screaming into each other's mouths.

Apple broke the kiss, caressed Rarity's cheek, touched her forehead to Rarity's and said, "I love you Rare. I love you with all my heart."

Rarity didn't make eye contact but said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper, "I love you too."

Apple Jack kissed her once again. "Well, I'ma going to get dressed and put my make-up on the bed room. I guess you want to get a shower as well now."

Rarity just looked down but nodded in agreement. Apple smiled, kissed Rarity's forehead, and left. Rarity went into the shower, turned it on, and broke down crying.

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Apple Jack wore a pretty floral sundress in full face (foundation, eye shadow, eye liner, blush, lip stick). She was absolutely beautiful; Rarity thought as she would occasionally glance over while Apple talked. And she talked a lot. She talked about their future together. How she would sell the farm and move to England with Chip Jr. . How she wanted to get a nice farm house outside of the city that way she could still have her country life but Rarity would still be close to all the action of London. She talked about growing old together, raising "their" son. Talk, talk, and more talk. It washed over Rarity like a never ending wave. Rarity felt like she was drowning in Apple Jack's words.

Rarity only uttered the minimal responses she felt were necessary as not to cause Apple Jack to inquire into her actual thoughts. I said I loved you Apple Jack. I meant that. If you were a man, I would have already asked you to marry me. Well, I would have strongly hinted at you asking me to marry you. You're not a man though. It shouldn't matter. Sunset got over it. She's better than I. I love you Apple Jack and I'll never forgive myself for it. I could easily spend the rest of my life with you and hate myself everyday for it. I could lie next to you every night and beg you to make love to me and then cry myself to sleep because you did. I love you Apple Jack; but by God do I hate you for it.

"Alright, here we are," Apple said cheerfully.

Rarity jumped slightly at being pulled from her thoughts. She looked and they were in front of Rarity's parent's mansion.

"You all right there Sugar Cube?" Apple asked concerned.

Rarity gave a big, fake smile, kissed Apple Jack really fast on the cheek, and replied, "Just thinking about how much I love you Darling," truthfully.

Apple Jack smiled back. "Ok, well I'ma go pick Chippy up and then I'll see you at brunch then."

"Absolutely."

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"Ma ma, Pa pa, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle," Rarity called out as she walked through the front door. Being here, with her family, helped quiet her mind and ease her soul. For now at least she didn't have to debate her own sexuality.

"We're in here," Mr. Geisel called out from the living room.

Rarity walked in but saw only her father and mother. Confused but not concerned, she asked where Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle were. Mr. Geisel responded by saying Sweetie Belle was in her room as always now when she didn't have school and that Fluttershy had texted him last night and said she didn't want to be there anymore while the other girls were and went back to college.

"WHAT? But why? Did she say what happened?" Rarity asked, shocked.

"Nope. Just said she was done with everybody and she was going back," Mr. Geisel responded in disappointment.

Rarity grabbed her bags and started to the front door. "We still have that van you bought me in high school right? I am taking it and going after her."

"What? Sweetie, no. Stay here," her mother protested.

"No. She's my sister and she needs me. Something obviously happened and I need to know what and to try my best to help," and to avoid Apple Jack , she finished in her head. "Don't worry Ma ma. It'll be ok," she reassured them. But it wouldn't be ok. It would never be ok again.

Chapter 13 The Swerve

The swerve. The swerve is when a story has been going in one direction suddenly takes a turn to another. This is different than a plot twist which recasts everything that has happened prior in a brand new light. Up until now our fair ladies (and one gentleman) have retained a friendship despite suffering PTSD from their previous encounter with evil. Now, however, things take a turn for the worse. This is the swerve. The point where everything changes, goes bad, and sets up the horrible events to come. No, this isn't Rarity's death. That's still to come. What this is, is what allows that death to have the effect that it does. So let us . . .

Huh? Oh; who am I? I am the narrator of course. A bit more prominent in the first couple chapters, I decided to step a bit for the last few. Oh, you know I'm the narrator, but who am I? Patience dear ones. All will be revealed at the end. I promise. You won't like the answer but that's not for right now. Now let us begin with Twilight, Flash, Sunset, Adagio, Pinkie, and Sonata already at brunch. They're sitting outside a little bistro; talking, laughing, joking, awaiting the arrival of the others; the first of which is Apple Jack.

The bright, mid morning sun glistened off Apple Jack as she approached the table where the others sat. Her blonde hair radiated with the reflected sun light, her dress beamed bright, causing it to look as if it were almost glowing. She had a bright, bold smile on her face. It was the smile of one who had been imprisoned unjustly for years but who was set free. Little chip walked beside her, holding her left hand. His smile was almost as big as hers. He smiled because she smiled. Children always smile when their mother smiles.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Pinkie said cheerfully. She could how deeply happy Apple was and had come to one conclusion as to why. "So, are you part of 'the family' now?" she asked with heavy innuendo in her voice. She wanted to ask more but with Chippy present, she knew her inquires had to be couched as much as possible.

"Well, let's just say I have far more in common with you, Sonata, Sunset, and Adagio than I do with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash," Apple responded with good humor; enjoying the hints and word play.

"EEEEEEEEEE!" squealed Pinkie

"Welcome to the sisterhood!" exclaimed Sonata, and she and Pinkie ran up and hugged Apple Jack.

Twilight turned to Sunset and gave her a look that said - Is this a lesbian thing? Sunset turned her head and put up both her palms in front of her to say - Hey, this ain't my thing. This is strictly a Pinkie and Sonata thing.

"I'm happy for you Apple Jack," Flash said with genuine warmth. "For you and Rarity both."

"Yeah and now you don't look like a cow dyke either," Sonata added gleefully.

Adagio spit the orange juice she was drinking out in shock. "SONATA!" she exclaimed in a shocked, scolding voice.

"Well she did and I can say dyke because I'm a lesbian. Just like a black person can say . . . "

"SONATA!" Adagio shouted before she could have a chance to finish what surely would have been a self destructive sentence.

"Oh right," Sonata replied, suddenly understanding the mistake she was about to make. "Good save."

"Good save from what?" Rainbow Dash asked as she had just come into ear shot. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, only Sonata looked embarrassed, Adagio looked mad, and both Pinkie and Sonata were hugging Apple Jack.

"RAINBOW DASH!" Pinkie shouted and ran over and hugged her. Sonata followed suit. After they were done Rainbow went up and hugged Apple Jack.

"From getting punched by you if I would have let her finish," Adagio replied a soft smirk.

Everyone gave a little chuckle and Rainbow looked at them all; confused. She then shrugged and figured it wasn't important and moved on.

"So how is everyone this morning?" Rainbow asked.

"Apple Jack and Rarity are a couple now!" Pinkie blurted out, unable to control herself.

Rainbow looked at Apple who turned away, blushing.

"About da - darn time," she said; correcting herself when she saw Chippy standing beside his mother. "Congratulations AJ. You two were made for each other."

"Thanks Rainbow. So how was that show last night?"

Rainbow suddenly crossed her arms over her chest. She looked down and began to grind her right foot into the sidewalk. She moved her head as though she dropped something extremely important on the ground and was looking for it.

"Rainbow?" Sunset asked gently but with great concern. "Is everything ok?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah it is. We just had a little argument. She went back to her parent's place. It's nothing. I was planning on apologizing today. You know how it is. Friends fight sometimes; that's all." She tried to play it off but her voice carried to much concern.

"Oh we get it. Last night was a train wreck after you guys left," Pinkie said in a voice that was way to happy sounding for the words she said.

Rainbow looked at the others in fresh confusion but also relief. If their night was as bad as hers and Fluttershy's then maybe she could avoid explaining it. "Well, glad it sucked for everyone then. Well, maybe not for Apple Jack and Rarity from the sounds of it."

"I'm sure there was plenty of sucking going on for them," Sonata said straight forwardly; with no hint of trying to make a joke from her innuendo.

Apple Jack gave her a light smack to the back of the head. When Sonata turned around to ask why; Apple nodded to where Chippy stood and Sonata realized she had crossed a line. "Sorry," she said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, she should be on her way with Rarity," Apple said to Rainbow. "You'll be able to apologize shortly."

Rainbow nodded and sat down. Apple Jack sat as well with Chippy on her lap. Everyone began to fill Rainbow in on what she had missed; how the had gotten really heated and dark, and how everyone finally confessed to how they were really feeling and dealing with the aftermath of their battle with Morgorith. And as much as they could with a two year old present, how each couple made up when they went home. It sounded bad but cathartic. Rainbow had just gone home and wallowed in guilt. It wasn't until she had talked to Scootaloo that she had felt better.

After about an hour, though, they realized neither Rarity or Fluttershy had shown up yet. Confused and a bit concerned, Apple decided to give Rarity a call to see what was going on. She didn't think it was anything major, but wanted to check just to see. Rarity's phone rang and rang, eventually going to voice mail. Really concerned now, Apple Jack called again. Her call was just about to go to voice mail again when she finally heard Rarity issue a quiet and fearful hello.

"Uh, hey Sugar Cube. Um, we's was all wonderin' when y'all was going to get here." Apple Jack was scared now. Something wasn't right but she tried her best to sound cool and calm.

"Oh, yes, that. I, um, I won't be coming. Um, Fluttershy left this morning before I got back. Apparently something bad happened last night and she didn't want to stay here any longer so I decided to go up after her to make sure she's ok."

"What, wait," Apple said gripped in a sudden panic. She quickly put her phone on speaker so everyone else could hear. "Fluttershy left because Rainbow Dash?"

Everyone gasped and Rainbow began to panic internally.

"E, yes. So I'm going after her," Rarity nervously responded.

"Well, why don't we all go then? Rainbow here said she wanted to apologize," Apple replied back in full panic mode. Something was going that was far bigger than Rarity was letting on.

"NO!" Rarity shouted as though she were a parent who's finally had enough of an unruly child's behavior. She then took a moment and continued in a more normal voice. "I just think it's best if I go alone. You know, it's a sister thing." Rarity immediately regretted saying that as she could almost hear Apple Jack tense up over the phone.

"Yeah, Rarity, but it's also a friendship thing too. Fluttershy is our friend, Rainbow has known longer than any of us, she deserves a chance to apologize in person. And," Apple Jack's voice got really quiet, "I want to be with you."

There was a long pause before Rarity spoke again. "I know but I don't want to be with you," she replied softly, full of sadness and regret.

Everyone gasped again and Apple stammered, "But, but, last night, this mornin' . . . "

"Were a mistake Apple Jack. Oh, god damn it; I love you Apple Jack and it makes me want to throw up. I can't, I just can't. I'm not a lesbian."

It was then that Pinkie grabbed Apple Jack's phone from her and let lose with a level of anger that almost no one thought Pinkie could possess. "Listen here you tight assed, little cunt; what the fuck is wrong with being a lesbian? Huh? What is being a lesbian beneath you? Are me and Sonata beneath you? Sunset, Adagio? I'm sick of people thinking that somehow being gay is a curse. I'm fucking proud of who I am. I'm fucking proud of Sonata! I love her with all my heart and wouldn't give up what we have for anybody. Not for my religious freak parents, and certainly not for a stuck up bitch like you who cares more about her fucking image than the fact she's found somebody she loves and who loves her. And being with Apple Jack wouldn't even make you a lesbian! We know you like dick. You're bisexual, get over it!"

Another pause then Rarity yelled, "Apple Jack! Did you put me on speaker?"

Apple grabbed her phone back from Pinkie. "I'm sorry Rarity! I just thought the others should hear about . . ."

"About what Apple Jack? About us? About that perfect life you had all planned out for us without even asking me what I wanted or how I felt?"

"Uh, no! Fluttershy. So they all could hear about Fluttershy."

"Well you got Rainbow there; ask her! I'm done with you. I'm not a lesbian, I'm not bisexual. I'm heterosexual. Got that. Thinking about what we did makes me want to vomit! You hear that? You want to go gay because no man could live up to your dead boyfriend? - FINE! But leave me alone! I never want to see or hear from you again!" With that she turned her phone off.

Apple Jack looked stunned and then burst out crying which caused Chippy to start crying. Children also cry when mommy cries. Sonata, Twilight, and Flash all tried to comfort her. Pinkie scowled and thought of how she would hunt Rarity down and gut her like a fish.

Sunset turned to Rainbow who just sat frozen. "Rainbow, what happened last night?"

Rainbow slowly turned to Sunset, her eyes wide in fear. "What?" she simply said.

"What happened? Last night. That couldn't've been a normal argument. What happened?"

Rainbow just looked at Sunset with that same expression on her face for a bit and then suddenly stood up and slammed her chair in. "I don't need this fucking shit! OK? I don't need you butting in to my fucking personal life! You know what? I'm fucking done with this. I'm out. Fuck you all!" With that, she stormed off and rode away.

"What the hell is happening?" Twilight asked in deep confusion.

"I don't know," Adagio said coolly. "But that whole outburst was fake. I've seen enough human flip outs to spot a real one from a fake one. That, that was all for show and a reason to get out of here."

"What should we do?" asked Sunset. "Call Fluttershy?"

"No," answered Twilight. "The way things are going; she probably wouldn't talk to us anyways. Apple Jack needs us now. We'll work things out with the others later, once everyone has had a chance to cool down."

They never did.

Chapter 14 A Talk Amongst Adopted Sisters

Fluttershy sat on her bed in her dorm and fumed. The long drive back had done nothing soothe her down nor did the nap she took when she had gotten back. Inside her was still a smoldering anger that threatened to ignite into a raging fire at the slightest coaxing. And if she were to be completely honest, she wished someone would come along and give that ever so slight breath needed to bring forth her full fury upon the world. She felt like she needed to unload, to spew out her venom (to change metaphors), on. Someone to be her release valve. Preferably a stranger so she wouldn't have to apologize later to.

It was in this frame of mind that she looked up and over to the door when she heard the knocking. Furious at having her solitude intruded upon but grateful for the potential to unleash on to some one. The knocks were weak. Whoever was knocking was using just enough force to be heard but not enough to seem urgent or demanding. It was quite thoughtful knocking (if knocking on a door could be thoughtful). Maybe it was a friend. If so, she began to think about how wise it would be to go full psycho on them (no matter how much she felt like she needed to).

"Fluttershy, darling, it's me, Rarity. Are you in there?"

Rarity's voice was weak and small; almost apologetic. It struck Fluttershy as curious. Maybe Rarity was unsure as to whether she should be here? She was here though. She had driven here all the way from California to here. Looking at the time, she must have headed out early in the morning. Possibly as soon as she got home and found out Fluttershy had left. Why? Sisterly love perhaps? Fluttershy was now more curious than angry (but she still was that).

"Why are you here?" she asked back in a voice that said that Rarity's company was definitely not welcomed.

"I am concerned about you darling, worried in fact. Father said you came home last night and took off in a huff. I'm your sister, more importantly, I'm your friend. Please, just open the door?"

Fluttershy got and walked to the door at a pace that would allow her curiosity and anger reach some sort of mutual arrangement by which they could both coexist and not cancel each other out.

She got to the door, opened it quickly, and said, "There, door's opened, you've seen me, now leave". She went to close the door fast but Rarity put her hand up, not to block the door but just in the "stop" position. Fluttershy did just that; she stopped shutting the door. She looked at Rarity and saw that something was wrong, deeply wrong. Her face was lined with regret and sadness. Her eyes pleaded to be let; that she needed to talk beyond just finding out what was wrong with Fluttershy. Even if she had really wanted to; Fluttershy couldn't turn Rarity away like this.

"Come on in," she said briskly and started walking back to her bed.

Rarity tentatively walked in and closed the door behind her. She turned to Fluttershy who was already sitting on her bed. "I just want to know what happened between you and Rainbow Dash; that's all." Once again, her voice sounded weak and pleading. She appeared broken and small.

"You could have asked her yourself," Fluttershy responded in the same short, annoyed manner she had before.

"But then I would have only gotten her side of the story; not yours."

She was lying. Maybe not completely; but it was in large part a lie. Fluttershy knew it. Still, she was more curious than angry now and decided it was now best to just talk and let them both put everything out on the table.

"Last night, at the show I took Rainbow to, while we were waiting; this guy, creep,thing , shows up from no where, across the street and just starts giving us the evil eye. Rainbow tells me to stay where we were at and she goes over to him. They disappear in to an alley, suddenly, thunder, lightning, and then Rainbow comes out but the thing doesn't. I asked her what was going on but she refused to tell me." Fluttershy spoke in a flat, almost news anchor type voice with just a hint of the anger that was simmering beneath.

"That's . . . odd ," Rarity said searching for the right words to say while trying to sort out here own feelings.

"YOU'RE GODDAMN RIGHT IT'S FUCKING ODD," Fluttershy shouted, finally venting some of her pent up anger.

Rarity winced. She had seen Fluttershy in all types of states but never like this. What happened last night had been strange but that did not account for the sheer extremity of emotion that was now on full display.

Fluttershy seemed to also recognize the power of her outburst. She breathed a quick, deep breath and continued. "We fought together. Side by side. We fought demons, monsters, ghosts, crazed cultists. Everything she and I, we have been through together; and there she was, keeping something secret from me, protecting me. It was then I realized, I'm always going to be the little shy girl to her, to all of them. That nothing we've gone through matters. I'm still just little old Fluttershy." Fluttershy lowered her head and closed her eyes. She had to block everything else out now in order to continue.

"I'm thinking of and planning on changing my name. You know why? Because I hate Fluttershy. Not just as a name, but also because of who she represents. Fluttershy is a weak, cowardly, little girl. She was forged by an alcoholic and abusive mother. She never stood up for herself, cried herself to sleep almost every night, and tried to keep as many people away as possible because she didn't want anyone to find out she was being abused. Oh, not because she was afraid of what her mother might do to her, oh no; but because they might take her mother away from her." Fluttershy gave a quick, bitter laugh.

"You know, when they told me she had died last year; I actually cried?" she asked as fresh tears began to run down her cheeks. Tears of bitter self hatred for actually feeling sorrow at the passing of one who had tortured her so. "Huh, can you believe that? I cried. I felt sorrow, and even felt fucking guilty. Fucking bullshit.

"So, yeah, I hate who I was, who 'Fluttershy' has come to stand for. I have done everything in my power to move away from being that girl, that person. I mean, look at me for Christ's sake. Listen to the music I Iisten to now. Do I look like that weak, little girl? No. More importantly, I'm not that person inside anymore. I'm confident, I take no shit from anybody. I've dropped guys twice my size before, without the benefit of supernatural powers by the way.

"And yet it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I look like, what I sound like, what I've been through; to Rainbow Dash, to all of them, I am for now and ever Fluttershy. I can't grow, I can't change, I can't be anything other than what I was and I hated who I was. I left because I felt like I was being chained to an anchor I no longer wished to carry. More importantly; I left because I felt it was my friends who were the ones who were trying to do the chaining."

Fluttershy looked up and into Rarity's eyes. "So, what's your story. I know you have one. It's written all over your face."

Rarity bowed her head, walked over, and sat beside Fluttershy. "I had sex with Apple Jack." Her voice was so small that it sounded like a whisper.

"Ok, and? We all figured you two were going to. What? - Did it suck?" Fluttershy was now annoyed at how lame Rarity's confession was.

Rarity turned to Fluttershy with an expression that was equal parts hurt and enraged. "How dare you! I am a straight woman. I am attracted to men. That is who I am! Alright? I am a heterosexual woman who just had sex with another woman. Don't you realize how, how wrong that is?"

"You're a woman who had sex with some one she's been having an off on thing with since she was a kid. Rarity, no offense but, you and Apple Jack make a great couple. You balance each other out in a way I've never seen before. I mean if Apple Jack was a man you'd . . ."

"We'd be married by now. I know. But she is not a man and I can't. I love her, I want to be with her, even the sex was amazing, but I can't. Before I didn't know. I didn't know what I would be losing; now I do. I slept with some one and realized I love them more than anyone else and I can't be with them ever again because I just can't bring myself to be a lesbian."

Fluttershy was surprised by the sheer anguish in Rarity's voice. How could she possibly be that tormented? "Being a little over dramatic don't you think there?" she asked.

"And like you're not! 'Oh, my best friend since forever is keeping a secret from me so instead of talking to her; I'm just going to runaway from everybody because oh boo-hoo me'!"

"Hey! It's more than that! I just told you why I got offended and left!"

"Exactly! It's always more than that because it's you that's having to deal with it." Rarity stopped and breathed; allowing herself to calm down. "Listen, we all have our own head trips and drama; and to us, it's always different than what anyone else's is because we are the ones dealing with it. I can't totally understand where you're coming from, but I understand that it's major to you. What I'm dealing with is major to me. So even if you don't think it is; at least know it is to me."

Fluttershy nodded. She actually did know what Rarity meant. "I'm sorry Rarity. Listen, I appreciate you being here. I needed to talk. I still do. Thanks for being here."

"It's ok darling. I needed this as much as you did. We can go back if you want. Talk it out with the others."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No. Maybe next year, but not now. I got to figure myself out. Maybe it's time to relinquish the power of friendship. At least with them. Let the past die. Kill it if you have to."

"That's a great line there Flutterhsy. That should be a line in a movie."

Fluttershy smiled. "It's not that good. But, hey, who knows. Hollywood has written worse crap than that before."

They both laughed. It felt good to laugh.

Chapter 15 The Disappearance of Rainbow Dash

It's easy to tell when someone disappears when they have to be some where. Whether it be school, work, a date, a party, a reunion; it doesn't matter, you don't show, people will know it. The more important or routine the place you have to be is, the more noticeable your absence is. But, when you don't have to be anywhere, like, say summer break from college, it takes a while for people to notice. Because you don't have to be any where, everyone thinks you're somewhere else. This was the case with Rainbow Dash.

When she stormed off the morning of the swerve, her friends assumed she had gone back to her college like Fluttershy had. Her parents assumed she was staying with her friends while she was back. Only Scootaloo noticed something was wrong. She had tried to get a hold of Rainbow later that day but only got her voice mail. She tried several times as well as email, but still nothing. Her parents soon began to grow worried when they tried to contact her the next day but got nothing. Her friends (the ones she still had left that was), figured she needed some cooling off time so they didn't even try. By the third day Scootaloo and Rainbow's parents were becoming extremely worried. More so when they talked to each other and found out neither of them had been able to contact her. It was then they reached out to the others. Fluttershy refused to take their calls, as did Rarity. Twilight and the others all said they hadn't heard from Rainbow and then each tried to contact her and failed. It was then they all started to talk amongst each other about what might have happened.

Rainbow's parents filed a Missing Persons report while the girls started to do their own research. They checked Rainbow's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest accounts; all which lead no where except to show she hadn't been on or posted anything since they day she left. They posted on her wall that she was missing and anyone with any information should contact the police or her parents. Messages of hope, thoughts, prayers, and affirmations of will do quickly filled her pages but that was it.

Eventually Rarity saw their post (she hadn't defriended Rainbow like Fluttershy had), and she called Fluttershy to let her know. Fluttershy was heart broken. In her anger, her haste, her assumption of the worst in Rainbow's intentions that night, she might have inadvertently lead to her oldest friends disappearance. Still, there was a part of her that almost was glad to hear the news. In spite of her better angels; there was a growing darkness within her that saw Rainbow's disappearance as some sort of karmic justice. She did reach out to Rainbow's parents however, and offered her support which was real for the most part.

So, as it was, days turned to weeks, weeks to months. The police stopped looking, the college held a small service and then dropped her from their rolls, and for most that was the end of it. For Twilight and the others, they had one last trick up their sleeve which Twilight called a meeting to tell the others about.

It was a Tuesday night when she called them over to her and Flash's place. It was small, Apple Jack's place would have been better, but being at Twilight's gave it more meaning and power somehow. They all arrived at about the same time: Pinkie and Sonata rode with Sunset and Adagio while Apple was just punctual. Flash answered the door and greeted each as they walked in with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Twilight was standing by the bar which separated the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. She look worn but not depressed. She nodded to all of them and they squeezed together on the couch in front of her, Flash went behind the bar and just looked at Twilight.

"Thank you all for coming," she started in a shaky voice. She spoke like some one looking for the right words to say but not really wanting to say them in the first place. "I'll cut to the chase, Rainbow is missing, that's why we're all here. I've been thinking about how to find her. I know I can't use my powers selfishly, so I've been holding off. I mean, would using you powers to help find a friend be selfish? I would be helping someone else out but it would also make me feel better. I wasn't sure so I waited. I've waited long enough.

"I thought about trying to pick up her brain waves to pin point her location or read everyone on Earth's mind to see if they had seen here, but I decided against that because it would a violation of other people's sovereignty and if, if . . ., I don't want to find out if. So I decided to go back in time. I could go back to when she first left, warn her about what's going to happen, and bring her forward to our time. I wouldn't be changing time since for that time jump, it would be as if she was missing, but I would be assuring her safety. What do you all think?"

"Twilight," Sunset spoke up softly. "The night before we fought Chrysalis and Morgorith; I told you I was going to go back in time if we were losing and stop Chrysalis from ever coming over. You talked me out of it by saying we didn't know what the ensuing temporal paradox would do. What makes you think that still doesn't apply?"

"Because, as I said, I wouldn't actually be changing time. We don't know what happened to Rainbow Dash. We just know she has gone missing. The very reason she went missing could be because I went back and brought her forward. The time line would be unaffected. There would be no paradox."

"As far as you know." Sunset replied, highly skeptical. It was dangerous. Sure, since they didn't know what happened to Rainbow, it wouldn't technically be changing time but someone did. Something happened to her and if it wasn't Twilight bringing her forward in time, then it would be a paradox none the less. "Shouldn't you at least try to see if she's still here?"

"If I do that, then I'll know what happened and I won't be able to go back and prevent it," Twilight replied bluntly but with also a great deal of regret and sadness.

"Let me do it then," Sunset said as a mother trying to comfort a child who had spilled it's drink.

"You haven't been training your powers the way I have," Twilight rebutted. She was concerned about Sunset's lack of ability but also because she really didn't want to know. To know would be to break the wave function so to speak. It would snap what happened to Rainbow out of the quantum foam of possibility into absolute reality and bar her from changing it if it was the worst case scenario.

"Like you? No, but I have used them from time to time. I don't want to be rusty if all hell breaks lose. I can do this. Hell, I thought about doing this when we first found out she was missing but didn't because I didn't want to look in another person's mind, and, quite frankly; I also didn't want to know if it was as bad as I feared. However, if you're going to risk causing a temporal paradox that could wipe out all of creation; I'm ready to run the risk."

Twilight reluctantly nodded. She knew Rainbow was right. Her logic was flawless. "Go ahead," she said, almost in tears.

Sunset closed her eyes and let her consciousness reach outside of her body and expand across the globe. It searched and teased for any sign of Rainbow's mind but found nothing. She opened her eyes and shook her head. "I couldn't find her and I decided I didn't want to see if anyone out there knew why her consciousness was gone."

Twilight nodded. "I'm going then."

****************************************************************************************

Rainbow sped along a back road, through the desert, at a speed that was no where near safe. She didn't care. The speed helped her forget about what had happened. She should have told Fluttershy what that was, she should have told her everything. She deserved it and had earned that right. They all had. She took a vow of secrecy though and her word was her bond and that she would not break for anything.

She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and pulled over to answer it. Maybe it was one of the girls, maybe even Fluttershy. It wasn't. It was Drake. She was disappointed it wasn't Fluttershy but grateful she pulled over. If Drake was calling, it was major. She answered and he told her what was up. She told him she was already on her way back and ended the call. She got on her bike again and started heading off again.

She drove on for a bit at a slightly less suicidal speed when she suddenly came to a stop. A dead stop. A stop that defied and broke all the laws of physics. Her bike simply stopped moving and all forward momentum was gone. She took her helmet off and looked up. All the clouds had stopped, the birds as well. Time had froze for everything but herself. This was magic of the highest order.

She got off her bike and put her helmet on the seat. It was then a small black dot appeared in the sky. It grew larger and larger, like an ink blot in water. It shimmered and waved. Black tendrils snaked out from the main body. Soon it began to froth and foam and took on the appearance of a thick, black, smoke cloud. Rainbow immediately powered up to Warrior mode. She drew her sword and waited to see what would happen next.

Two glowing, white orbs appeared in the cloud. Around them the fog bubbled and congealed in to the form of a face. The face then grew color and hair appeared out of it. Then shoulders, arms, torso, legs, and wings. They eyes glowed, the hair moves as it were a bunch of living snakes, the wings were out stretched and midnight purple. The person was clad in shiny, black armor' still Rainbow new immediately who it was - Twilight.

"I am Nocturia, the goddess of night, the goddess of darkness, ice, and water, logic and reason," she said in a loud, booming voice.

Rainbow knelt down and bowed her head. "Forgive me my Lord. I am but your humble servant."

Twilight's eyes stopped glowing but she retained everything else. She looked down at Rainbow and was shocked. "You still The Warrior powers!"

"Uh, hey Twilight. Uh, looks like you've been practicing your powers," Rainbow said awkwardly, not knowing what to really say, hoping to change the subject.

"How? Everyone else lost theirs, how can you still have yours?" Twilight knew this wasn't right and had something to do with her disappearance.

"Long story," Rainbow tried to joke.

"I've stopped time. You got all eternity if that's what you need," Twilight said flatly. Her curiosity was giving way to irritation.

"Yeah, why did you do that? Isn't that against the rules or something?" Now Rainbow was curious and a bit irritated. Stopping time seemed a bit excessive to talk down a friend who had stormed off.

"Rainbow, you disappear. Vanish. You disappeared on this day and know one has heard from you in two months. We couldn't even find your consciousness. So I came back to save you. Come with me. I'll bring you forward in time to when I am. You'll have to do a lot of explaining but you'll be with us and everyone will be relieved to see you again." Twilight tried to smile but saw a grave sadness come over Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight, I can't," she said flatly.

"What? Why? Are you worried about creating a paradox? It's fine. Heck, I'm probably the reason you went missing in the first place." Twilight tried to sound like she was joking but she saw it was having no effect on Rainbow.

"No, you're not Twilight," Rainbow responded sadly.

"How do you know that? Rainbow, what's going on? Tell me now. Please, I don't want to have to read your mind. That's a violation I do not wish to make."

"Twilight, I wish I could. I do. I really, really do. But I can't. I'm sorry."

The next thing Rainbow knew she was in a place of blackness. There was nothing beneath, above or beside her. She was floating in a void. In the void were infinite, spinning, portals of light, yet they did not shine. Twilight floated before her.

"This is the Nexus. The center of everything. Each one of those portals is a different dimension, a different universe. That is what I'm responsible for. That is what I protect. So, once again, please tell me what's going on or violation or not, friend or not, I will read your mind." Twilight's voice was firm and resolute.

"You protect against the First Ones Twilight, but that's it. We protect against everything else." Rainbow said in blunt frustration.

"Explain yourself!"

"The temple that Morgorith had made; he didn't build it, he had it built. Some of the workmen got spooked by it, they looked into what it was for, they saw him take on the Goddesses the first time, in the shadows. It was then they formed a secret group to find and eradicate supernatural threats. They also decided to keep as working class as possible. The wealthy and privileged were often too corrupt to be trusted. This unfortunately meant they were highly under resourced. Still, they survived.

"When we left that message for the remaining cultist in Visoko, 'Morgorith is dead'; they saw that and started to look for who made it. They found me. One of my profs was a member. They slowly let academics in around a century ago. Anyway. He saw me get attacked by a winged demon one night and saw me transform into this. Kinda surprised me too when it happened. I thought I lost the power as well. After I was done, he came up to me and recruited me. I've been going on secret missions ever since."

"Why didn't you tell us, tell me?" asked Twilight, hurt.

"I took a vow of secrecy, we all do. I wanted to, I really did, but I couldn't." Rainbow replied regretfully.

"Then why didn't you tell them about us? We could have helped."

"How Twilight? Sure you got the power but can you use it? You're here to guard against them,' she pointed into the void to signify the Black Gods of Death, "but other than that, can you interfere? If Earth was invaded by aliens or by creatures from another dimension, could you do anything?"

"I already have, remember? That's how we met." Twilight responded bitterly.

"Yeah, but that was before you had the full goddess title. Would you be able to do it again? Look at Earth now. Look at what's happening in Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Mexico, Somalia, heck, just look at Chicago. People are suffering, dying, being murdered. Yet you do nothing to help because that would be 'interfering'. Instead of one nation state or one terrorist group attacking another, would extra-terrestrial or extra-dimensional forces attacking Earth be that much bigger of a threat?

"What you do is important. I'm not saying it's not. You protect us against the end of everything. I just help protect against all the threats that are less than."

Rainbow floated over to Twilight and took her hands. "Twilight, I got called on a mission. If I went missing, it's because I didn't make it. That's ok. I was ready to die when I shielded you from the blast from Sunset Shimmer and I was ready to die when we fought Morgorith. We all die sometime. If I can go out trying to save people, well, I can't ask for any better exist than that. Please, send me back."

In an instant they were back in the desert by Rainbow's bike. Rainbow looked at it and back to Twilight. "Thank you," Rainbow said and powered back down to her normal form.

"I'll have to tell Sunset but no one else, I promise." Twilight said in tears, knowing her friend was going to die.

"Thank you again. And please, . . . "

Twilight gave Rainbow a hug and kiss on the cheek. "No. I gave all I can. I'll miss you my friend."

With that, time started again and Twilight disappeared.

**********************************************************************************

"Well, where is she?" Apple Jack asked as Twilight reappeared.

Twilight shook her head, her eyes closed, tears streaming down her face. She opened and looked at Sunset. The two shared a telepathic conversation and Sunset nodded in agreement. She stood up and took Adagio's hand.

"Time . . . time to go babe," she said as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Wha . . . what's going on? Twilight, TWILIGHT?" Apple Jack screamed as fear and sadness over took her.

"It was too late. She was already gone by the time I got there. It's over, she's gone. I can't do anything about it now." It wasn't a total lie Twilight told herself. Besides, it was the best she could do.

Pinkie and Sonata started crying. Apple looked around and started pleading for twilight to do something, but Twilight said she couldn't and Sunset agreed. Apple became enraged and stormed out. A week later, Rainbow's bike was found in a forest not far from where she went to school. It had been covered up and looked a bit dinged up.

Chapter 16 Crisis of Faith - Twilight Part 1

They were gone. They were all gone now. Sunset had taken Pinkie and Sonata back with her and Adagio. That was good since both Pinkie and Sonata were crying messes. Apple Jack had stormed out on her own. Twilight had guessed she was too angry to cry. Made sense she supposed. Most more than likely their friendship was over. Once again, it made sense. She had the power of a god yet refused to resurrect their friend or even say exactly how she died. Of course Twilight couldn't tell Apple that, she had promised Rainbow she wouldn't.

They were gone. They were all gone. Twilight reflected. Their circle had originally been her and the five human versions of her pony friends. Then came Flash and Sunset (or Sunset and Flash depending on how you wanted to count them). Eventually it would be the seven of them plus the three little sisters (Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo), the older siblings (Big Mac and Maud Pie), Adagio, Sonata, Soarin, Sandal Wood, Micro Chip, and Valhalen. Now Apple Bloom, Soarin, Sandal, Chip, and Val were all dead. Rainbow Dash could be added to that list she supposed. Sweetie was completely withdrawn inside her own head, Scoot was living her own life, Rarity and Fluttershy no longer talked to them, Maud and Big Mac had moved away, and now Apple Jack looked to be gone as well. From a peak group of nineteen, only six remained. In three years, thirteen had been killed or separated from the group. So much for the power of friendship. It would seam as though not even that could stand up to the power of time.

They were gone. They were all gone. Yet that was not what weighed so heavily on Twilight's mind. No, it was what Rainbow Dash had told her. She didn't protect people. She did, but only against the First Ones. Other than that, she didn't do anything to help. And you know what? - she was absolutely right. The world was burning all around her and yet she did nothing. She had the power but not the permission. She could, if she wanted, entirely remake the universe yet she was forbidden by the source of her power. It was a cruel joke.

"Hey, you ok?" Flash looked at his beloved and put his hand on her shoulder. His heart was breaking thinking of the pain she was probably going through. He wanted to take it all away, to make her feel better but had no idea how to do it. It made him feel weak and impotent, but he had to try something; he couldn't just allow her to fester.

Twilight turned to him and gave a weak smile. "I'll be ok," she said trying to sound light and airy but sounded all the heavier and more depressed for the effort. She took his hand from her shoulder and kissed it.

Flash nodded. "Tell me when you can, if you can. I'm here to listen. If not listen then at least offer a shoulder to cry on."

"I know baby, I know," Twilight said and hugged him.

****************************************************************************************************

"Twilight. Twilight."

Twilight was deep in sleep, beyond the reach of any outside noise. She had drifted into the slumber of the dead once she had gone to bed. Her mind had completely shut itself off as if to protect itself from any unwanted thoughts it might have. This voice didn't seem to becoming from outside, in the world, but inside her own head.

"Twilight. Twilight." The voice was soft, feminine; yet beneath it, almost undetectable, there was an under current of sheer hate. It was the voice of a butcher softly calling a lamb to the slaughter.

Twilight was surrounded by utter and complete darkness. She could also feel herself floating. This wasn't the darkness caused by her eyes being closed, this was the darkness of her own mind. She knew that she must be having her first dream. She hoped it would be pleasant but given the ever so slight hint of hatred in the otherwise cooing voice, she doubted it. Soon a shape began to form in front of her. It gave off the impression that one has when slowly opening ones eyes after a long sleep. It was blurry, a bit liquid, familiar, yet strange and foreign. Her dream eyes soon grew accustomed to where she was and the image became clear.

"YOU!" Twilight just gasped in horror and disbelief.

"Hello sweetie; did you miss me?" It was Queen Chrysalis. Her hair was white with black streaks through it. Her skin was greenish blue and rotted. Pus dripped from some sores, maggots could be seen crawling through others. Chunks of skin had fallen leaving whole sections of exposed muscle tissue. Her eyes burned with a bright green fire, and black lips pulled back to expose yellow fangs. It was a form Twilight had never seen but she knew exactly who it was.

"You're dead. You're dead! I saw you die. You killed yourself to free Morgarith. You can't be alive." She tried to tell herself over and over that this was just a dream; a very vivid dream, but a dream none the less. If Chrysalis was still alive, everything they had gone through had been in vain.

"Oh, so that's what happened to me? Well, it appears I was a bit off in my target then." It was then she let out a high pitched, sickening laugh. "Oh dear me. Well, you are right in some respects. I did die. Well, at least the majority of me did. However, I occupied your young mans mind for quite a bit; so a part of me still remained, hidden in his mind, from you, even from him."

"Wait," Twilight gasped with a growing sense of horror, "you were inside Flash's mind this whole time? For three years?"

"I'm afraid so," Chrysalis answered back in devilish glee. "Oh, you might want to lay off the butt stuff for a while. You don't want to have to start wearing Depends at your age."

Twilight felt like vomiting. If this wasn't inside her head she probably would have. For three years, arguably her greatest enemy (a piece of her at least) had lived inside her greatest love's head; hearing, seeing, feeling all. It was a violation beyond rape for it recast every loving moment, every intimate moment between her and Flash as something else.

Twilight summoned all her strength and asked with a hateful intensity, "So why now? Why reveal yourself now?"

"Because my dear, dumb Twilight, you were finally vulnerable enough. Your psychic walls had weakened enough to allow me to jump ship from his brain; oh and you'll be please to know that when he masturbates he thinks of you. Such a loyal boy. Never even rubbed one off to the idea of a threesome. I'd say he's a keeper."

Twilight couldn't hold back her anger anymore. She lunged and grabbed Chrysalis by the throat and started choking her. In response she just laughed. The more she laughed, the harder Twilight squeezed. The harder Twilight squeezed, the more she laughed. Twilight was determined to strangle the life out of her. That is, until she heard the choking beneath the laughter. It was hard, masculine. In sheer, mind numbing panic; she realized what was going on. She suddenly opened her real eyes to see she was actually choking Flash.

She let go and jumped out of bed immediately; screaming and crying. Flash rolled onto the floor, clutching his neck with his right hand. His face was already a pale blue. He struggled for breathes that refused to come. Twilight couldn't watch. She struck out her hand and instantly Flash was healed.

Twilight stood where she was, crying, shaking, begging for forgiveness. Flash got up as quickly as he could and ran over to her and grabbed her. He didn't shake or even yell at her. He just hugged her as tight as he could and said it was ok, over and over. When Twilight calmed down enough to talk, he lead her to the bed and they both sat down. He asked what had happened and she told him everything: the voice, Chrysalis, attacking her in the dream and realizing it was him in real life. They both sat quiet for several minutes; Twilight in shame and Flash just trying to process everything.

Eventually Flash turned to Twilight and asked, "So, she's been in my head the whole time, for three years?"

At first Twilight just barely nodded, her face turned down to the ground. Then she slowly looked up, in tears. "And now she's in mine."

"It, it'll be ok. You can defeat her. I know you can because you did before. Multiple times from what you told me. Also it's not even really her. Just some left over bit that was able to stowaway in the back of my brain."

"So you're not mad at me?" Twilight asked with a sad, disbelief.

"Are you mad at me for not knowing she was there in my head?"

"No, never."

"There's your answer then," Flash replied with a smile.

Twilight hugged him in tears and he returned hers. In her mind she thought, Look, look at this you fucking whore! He loves me, and I love him. Nothing you can do will ever change that. I'm safe with him. I'll burn you out of me one way or the other.

*******************************************************************************************

It had been a weak since Chrysalis' reemergence and so far no further signs of her. Twilight at first kept her physical distance from Flash. The idea that Chrysalis was inside her, watching, made her feel sick and exposed. Then she thought maybe that's what Chrysalis wanted. So she forced herself to make a move on Flash. At first he refused but then gave in. During, Twilight took an almost perverse pleasure in knowing Chrysalis was watching somewhere, possibly even feeling as well. It was like a giant middle finger, it was her saying, See, you won't, you can't break me or shame me.

Still.

Still she wanted her gone but had no idea how to do it. Could she just wish her away? She didn't see why not but it also seemed way too easy. Did she need Sunset? Did she or both of them have to go inside her mind? She wasn't sure. What she did know was that as long as Chrysalis was in her head, she was trapped. If Twilight did something wrong while trying to get rid of her and accidently let her lose onto the world, that would be a horror she couldn't take.

Well all that would have to wait. It was Friday morning, neither she nor Flash had any classes so they were going to the city to spend the weekend with their parents. One night at Twilight's, one night at Flash's. It would be a nice getaway after everything. Flash was getting a shower and Twilight had TV on while finishing up packing. Nice and normal.

Then a news cast came on and changed all that. Twin reports; one about another supposed barrel bomb attack in Syria and then on the starvation levels in Yemen due to the civil war there. Twilight looked on in horror as pictures of bloody, dirty, maimed men, women, and children crossed the screen. Children, babies, emaciated; their eyes dead and empty as their stomachs. Taught flesh wrapped around bone, the muscles long since atrophied. Twilight started to weep.

Tears Twilight? Crocodile tears more like it. You're a goddess you know. With but a snap of your finger you could end all this. Their pain, their suffering; that's all on you Twilight.

Twilight knew exactly who it was. Chrysalis had finally decided to speak. Twilight closed her eyes and lashed back, So now you speak? Where have been this whole time? You're a coward Chrysalis.

In her mind now she saw Chrysalis standing before, as decayed as ever. Chrysalis just laughed. "I'm a coward? Oh Twilight, you know better than that. I'm also disappointed in the strength of your come back. I expected better."

"Ok, fine. Here's one, the truth. I can't. I'm not allowed to. I protect . . . "

"You protect against the First Ones and can not interfere with multiverse," Chrysalis replied, yawning. "Tell me, what does it feel like, to have all that power and not be able to use it? I would say emasculating, but that infers that masculinity is superior to femininity and we both know that's not true. Just don't tell your boyfriend that. Men, such fragile egos you know."

"Not him and I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make me angry and lash out again. It won't work."

"Actually sweetie, I'm trying to show you how useless you are. You stopped me from unleashing the Black Gods of Death. Ok, so what. You saved the multiverse! Hallelugah and praise Jesus! What did you save them from? What did you save them for? Look at their suffering. Look at how they kill each other; for what? Who's sect of who's made up religion is right? Over which squiggly lines on a piece of paper are correct? For pieces of printed paper and stamped metal? Take those atrocities off the table, what do you have? Famine, plague, earthquakes, tornados. If they aren't trying to kill themselves, the very universe is trying to do it for them.

"You saved no one. All you did was kill me and my men which makes you no better than I. You could. Oh yes you could. You saved your boyfriend last week and almost saved your friend as well. Nothing happened to you. You're power is still yours. But you don't because you won't. You won't because you're scared and weak. You're righteousness is an illusion. Only the will, the will to act, to be your own person, is true."

With that, Twilight suddenly found herself in her apartment again - cold and shaking.

****************************************************************************************

On the way to Twilight's parents, Twilight said next to nothing. The images of the dead and dying from the news and Chrysalis' words running on loop inside her brain. It was only when Flash screamed was she fully released from her trance. A bus blew a tire and was careening off the side of the bridge they were on. Twilight saw this as her time to act. Waving her right hand up, she levitated the bus back up and onto the bridge.

As traffic came to a halt, Flash looked over at Twilight in shock. "What did you do?" he asked in fear. Not fear of her power but the consequences there of.

Twilight turned to him grimly and said, "What I always do, I saved people."

Traffic would be backed up for a couple hours but eventually got moving again. The rest of the journey was spent in silence. Flash thought Twilight might have gone too far but said nothing for fear of distressing her before she had time to clear her head. Twilight loved the feeling that she had just saved a bus load of people but still felt like it was little comfort given the magnitude of pain and suffering in this world.

When they got to Twilight's parents' house, things seemed better. They all hugged and laughed and joked. Mrs. Sparkle had dinner waiting for them. They ate, talked about school, Twilight's parents asked how she was dealing with Rainbow Dash's disappearance and she replied as best as possible. Over all things went well until the TV was turned on later where they saw that one of the passengers on the miracle bus this morning had gone into the maternity ward of the hospital where his estranged wife was delivering their child and shoot the place up; killing the doctors, nurses his wife and new born son, and finally himself.

I told you, you save no one!

Chapter 17Crisis of Faith - Twilight Part 2

Twilight ran up to her old bedroom, crying hysterically. She couldn't take it anymore. The entire universe seemed to be closing in on her; determined to cause her as much pain and suffering as possible. She wanted to shut everything out, everyone out. She wanted to be absolutely alone. She even considered going to the Nexus; still the comforting nostalgia of her bedroom would suffice for now. She ran in, shut and locked the door, and collapsed on to her old bed.

Oh poor baby. You weren't expecting that, were you? Little Miss Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, the incarnate form of the goddess Nocturia; you thought you were so good, you thought you had done something so right. You saved all those people but, OOPSIES, it turned out the one was a psychopath and now, how many people are dead that would have been alive if you had just let that bus sink?

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Twilight cried out loud into her pillow. Chrysalis' mocking words were tearing her soul apart.

"Twilight? Twilight? It's me. May I please come in?" Flashes voice was soft, gentle, but concerned. He gently rapt on her door, asking permission to come in.

"Go away! I can't right now, I just can't! I need to be alone," she cried back, not just to Flash, but to the universe.

"You and I both know that even if I leave, you won't be alone and right now I think you need to hear from me more than you do from her."

Flash just waited. At first he heard nothing. Then her heard the bed creak and footsteps. Finally, the door opened. Twilight didn't even bother to look at him; she just turned around and went straight back to her bed where she sat down. Flash sat down beside her. He didn't put his arm around her shoulder or try to embrace her. He just sat beside her and started to look around.

"Wow," he said in some genuine awe, some fake, "it feels like forever since we've been here in this room. It's been what? - only a year? It feels like ten. I remember my dad telling me during my senior year to be careful. He said when you're young time passes slower. Seconds feel like hours, hours like weeks, weeks like decades. Sometimes it feels like whole continents switch and shift around from one birthday to the next. Then you graduate and time disappears before you. He said it feels like you go to bed an eighteen year old, full of napalm and TNT, ready to conquer the world; and wake a forty year old man with chronic back pain, bad knees, and arthritis in your hands. I didn't know exactly what he meant until now."

Flash then looked over at Twilight. She was staring down at the floor, tears silently streaming down her face, her hands clasped together between her knees. "Remember when your parents first let us come up here?" he asked somewhat playfully. "Remember what the rules were?"

Twilight nodded. "One of them had to be up here with us, no closed door, no loud music or TV." Twilight's voice was empty, sullen. She spoke barely above a muffle.

"Then it was one of them didn't have to be up here but the door had to be open and no loud music. After that that, the door could be closed but no music. Eventually there were no restrictions." Flash spoke in a light, airy tone of one remembering good times (which he was), but he kept looking at Twilight with concern.

"When I told my mom that we were moving in together," Twilight started speaking, small hints of actual happiness peaking through her words, "she said, 'well, you haven't gotten pregnant yet so I guess you guys know what you're doing'. I went, 'MOM!', but she told me they knew we had been having sex. Heck, they did when they were our age. She told me she thought the church was going to explode when she showed up in a white dress on her wedding day. She told me that no parent had ever stopped one of their kids from having sex ever. She told that wasn't the point. The point was to make us think. To think about whether this was important or not. She told me she was proud of me, proud of us, and that she loved me."

Twilight sat silent for a moment and Flash reached out and put his left hand on her right knee. "Remember how we met?" he asked softly.

Twilight spun her head around to look at him with an expression that looked as if she just caught him pissing in a baptismal pool. She gave him a soft punch on his left, upper arm, and said with a slight laugh, "Of course I do you dork. It's kind of hard to forget something like that since it involved coming her from another dimension."

She then looked back down at her lap. "I hardly ever think about them you know? My old home, my old friends. They meant the world to me and I haven't talked to them in three years. I don't know how they are doing, how Sparkle and Shimmer are doing, how Equestria is doing. If it weren't for all of you confirming what we went through, I'd think it was all just a dream, a fantasy I made up. I don't even consider my parents to be my parents anymore. I think of Sparkle's parents as mine.

"There were times when they'd bring out photo albums and show me pictures of Sparkle growing up. At first I played along and pretended I remembered. After a while though, I'd look at those pictures and I would actually believe I remembered them. I'm a thirty year old alicorn but I'm also a nineteen year old human." Twilight paused for a moment then added, "I'm also the incarnation of a goddess older than time."

She paused a little longer.

"Those people who got shot today are dead because of me" Twilight's voice began to crack again with fresh despair.

"No they're not sweetie," Flash said, trying to reassure Twilight, his voice almost breaking with the tears that were forming at seeing his beloved hurt so. "One crazy, evil man did that."

"A man I saved. If I had let that bus hit the water, go under, he would be dead and those people alive."

"And so would everyone else on that bus. Think of all the people who went home today because of you. How many people still have mothers, fathers, children, friends, all sorts of loved ones because you saved that bus."

"And how many of those fathers and mothers are abusive? How many people would be better off if they had died?"

"Twilight," Flash pleaded; trying to do whatever he could to keep her from going down this death spiral she was in. "You couldn't have possibly known who was doing or going to do what."

"I could have. I could have froze time, read everyone's mind, let the good ones alone and then changed the brains of the bad ones so they wouldn't hurt anyone again. I have that power but I don't use it. I either use it partially or not at all. I save people from one specific threat and do nothing as the bad ones I save do horrible things. How am I not complicit in that?"

"So what would you do? Change the hearts and minds of every human on Earth? Rewrite the laws of physics so no one or animal or plant for that manner had to eat another living thing? You know, rewrite the entire laws of the universe so everything stayed the same way for ever. Eternal youth, no death, no anger, just everyone being nice to one another?"

"Why not? If one can eliminate evil from the universe, eliminate hate, greed, hurt; why not? If one has the power, the real power to stop evil, but doesn't, how are they not just as guilty? How am I not guilty?"

"Because sometimes pain is good. When Sunset and I split, it broke my heart. Then I found you. I never would have done that if she and I had not broken up. There needs to be a balance. . ."

Twilight gave a bitter laugh, cutting Flash off before he could finish. "A balance? Every time I hear some one say there needs to be a balance between good and evil, what I really hear is 'I want to do shady shit and get away with it so I'm just gonna say there needs to be a balance to justify my shitty behavior'. Tell me, what evil would you be willing to endure, any one willing to endure so there could be 'balance'?"

Twilight got up and started storming off. Her sadness replaced by anger. "I gotta go. I need to be alone and think."

"Twilight, please, stay. There are rules, you told me that. You're hurt, you might do something you regret," Flash said as a plea for her to stay.

"She gave him one quick and said, "I already have," and walked out.

*****************************************************************************

It was dark now. The air was cool but not cold. Twilight liked that. She considered going to another planet but decided to just go to the city park. She wanted to be by herself but she didn't want to be alone. Here, she was surrounded by people but no one would bother her. Also, she had a lot of fond memories of this place. She needed all those memories now. Anger had given back to sadness. She felt crushing guilt at what had happened at the hospital. A man she had saved had taken the lives of others (including a new born baby). How could she ever live with herself after this? How could she accept this?

Oh dear Miss Twilight. How you fret so? Don't you realize that bus thing was only a microcosm of what you and your friends did three years ago? Of course you do. That's the real source of your guilt. So high and mighty, yet so unfulfilled. This is why. This is what you've always known; that despite everything you've done, you saved no one.

Twilight winced in pain at Chrysalis' fresh attack. Shut up, she said inside of her mind. What is it that you want from me? What are you trying to do? Just torture me?

I want you to see how futile your morality really is. You know why I stole love? It's what me and my kind feed off us. I was simply feeding my children. I never killed anyone. At least not before. Subjugate, terrorize, yes, but I didn't kill until I got here. Well, at least not kill outside of self defense. Can you say the say? You eat plants and animals, both are living things you kill or at least eat after someone else has killed them. Aren't your hands as dirty, if not dirtier than mine? Even if you were vegan, you'd still be killing plants, which are alive. We even know some plant species are sentient. So how was what I was doing any worse than what you do to feed?

You try to impose a moral order on an amoral universe and look at where it has gotten you? Tell me, when you fought my men, did you even think to banish them to another dimension? What about changing their minds so they no longer wanted to follow me? No. You simply fought and killed them. Of course if you would have done either of those, then each would have possessed their own moral short comings. Send them to another planet or dimension, how would they survive? What would they eat? How could they protect themselves? Rewrite their brains and how are you different than any despot alive or in the past except you could actually do what the only dreamt about? Oh, and then there's the question of what about their past sins, all the people they abused and killed in the past. You see, the more you try to find a "moral" way of doing something or living, the more rabbit holes you go down.

I said I wanted to unleash the First Ones because it would make me the most important person in history. I, Queen Chrysalis, the destroyer of everything. And that is true, in part; but, also because there was a purity behind it. No right, no wrong, no good or evil, I don't even believe in those things. Good, evil, empty words people pour whatever ideas and biases they have into. With unleashing the First Ones, it would have been only death for death's sake. No politics or crap like that. Not even for the First Ones themselves. They don't think of things like that, they can't think. They are incapable of it. The just do, react, out of instinct. Pure instinct. Free from all our intellectual and moral messiness.

Look at you now. You're a mess. Conflicted, guilt ridden, alone with your own misery, and me, so not that bad I guess. Tell me, is this what being good, being moral is all about? What will you do now? Huh? Stand by and watch this world tear itself apart, knowing you could save it but don't and therefor become complicit in it? Do you rewrite reality to make everything all sunshine and lollipops? Would your partner Sunset allow that? If she didn't, what would you do then? Fight her, kill her? Oh and let's not ignore that by doing so, you'd corrupt the goddess force, weaken the gates to the Abyss, and thus allowing for the First Ones to escape, devour the multiverse, and completely negate what you fought me for? Or maybe you half ass it like today. Save some, let others die. But how do you chose then? At random? On a whim. Or do you actively seek out who to save? You alone as judge, jury, and executioner if needs be. Whatever you decide it'll be the wrong choice because there is no right choice. By trying to find one you'll only drive yourself insane. You might have stopped me from my goal, but you didn't defeat me because I can't be defeated. I am the real truth of existence and you can never defeat that.

Twilight stood stone still, crying. Even though she was out in the open, it felt as though everything was closing in around her. She could offer no real rebuttal to Chrysalis' words. Everything felt hopeless, meaningless. She was empty, alone. She was a doll made of tissue paper in the middle of a storm.

"Ma'am, miss."

Twilight heard a small voice. It sounded young, maybe ten. It was curious but also afraid. She also felt a small hand tugging on her shirt. She looked down and saw it was a little, African-American girl. She had on a nice white dress with yellow flowers on it and a pink hoodie that was unzipped and the hood down. She had sky blue dress shoes on with white socks and her hair was in corn rows.

"Are you ok? You're crying?" she asked more curious than concerned.

Twilight wiped her eyes fast and put on a big, fake smile. "Oh, I'm fine honey. How are you? I'm Twilight by the way."

The little girl smiled and stuck out her hand. "I'm Stef-I-Nee." Stephanie was proud of her name. She was named after her father's grandmother. She always over pronounced it when she met people so they wouldn't get it wrong. Not that it was a hard name to say, but you never know.

Twilight smiled and took the girls hand, returning her smile with one of her own (although Steph's was real and Twilight's was mostly fake). "Well it's very nice to meet you Stef-I-Nee."

The little girl withdrew her hand but continued to smile. "I like your name, it's very pretty."

"I like yours as well. Want to know my last name?" Talking to this girl made Twilight genuinely feel better. She was gals they had met no matter for how short a time.

"Sure," Steph replied, her smile even bigger.

"It's Sparkle," Twilight thought the girl would like that even more but instead she screwed her face up as if she was smelling rancid milk.

"Twilight Sparkle? That's a weird name." Steph was beginning to question if she could trust this strange woman. There was no way Twilight Sparkle could be a real name.

Twilight just smiled and shrugged. "Weird names kind of run in my circle of friends." Twilight then looked at the girl a little more and was now starting to wonder where her mother was at. Steph was clearly not old enough to be on her own, was she? "Well, I guess you should go back to your mommy before you get in trouble for talking to a stranger."

It was at that the girl suddenly looked sad. "I lost my mommy. I was looking for her but I can't find her. I saw you crying and I thought if I helped you, you would help me."

"Absolutely sweetie. Here, I'll walk with you and you tell me where the last place you saw her was." Twilight was worried for the girl but relieved as well. She had a mission to concentrate on; something to divert her attention from her own pain. Twilight took Steph's hand and they started walking. "So how did you lose her?" she asked trying to get a better sense as to where to look.

Steph looked down, clearly ashamed. "I, I didn't lose her actually. I, I ran off."

"Oh honey, why did you do that?" Twilight was now worried. Was Steph being abused? Was that why she ran off? Was finding her mother the right thing to do?

In a low voice that was even more ashamed, Steph said, "She was being too clingy. Ever since the miracle this morning, she's been all over me. I love my mommy but it was a little much."

"Miracle?" Twilight asked confused.

Steph looked up in surprise that Twilight didn't know what she was talking about. "The bus this morning. The one that went off the bridge but floated back on. It was a miracle."

Twilight stopped dead and just looked at the girl, trying to hide her emotions. "Oh, did that touch your mommy somehow?" she asked trying to sound nonchalant.

"We were on it," Steph replied not believing Twilight hadn't heard about it. "It was take you daughter to work day where mommy works. We were riding there on the bus. We screamed and cried and then we were safe. Mommy said God was really looking out for us."

"Yes She was," Twilight said absently. She couldn't believe what was happening. This girl, Stef-I-Nee, had been on the bus she saved. The same bus as that psychopath. What were the odds of her running into this girl, or any survivor? One in a million, a billion, a trillion? She could do the math but didn't need to; for she already knew that it would be statistically impossible; yet her she was.

"God's not a girl," Steph responded in awe of little this woman with the strange knew.

Twilight gave a mischievous smile, the smile of a prankster who just told a joke only they knew. "You'd be surprised." Her face then got more serious and she asked, "So where does your mommy work?"

"The hospital. The big one. Saint something," Steph replied with pride.

"Oh, doctor? Nurse?"

"No cleaning lady. But that's ok. 'A dirty hospital is a deadly one, she always tells me."

"Very true. Very true."

"I'm gonna be a doctor though," Steph said, her face covered by the world's biggest smile, pride beaming out from her.

"I'm sure you will. May I ask what field, what type of doctor?"

"Uh-huh. Plastic surgeon. But not for actors or celebrities. There's too many of those already, and those people really don't need them anyhow. I want to help people like my daddy. His face got real messed up in the war. It made him real sad. I guess it also made him so he couldn't sleep. He ended up taking too many sleeping pills so he could get some rest. I want to help people like that."

Twilight just looked at the girl. She was an impossible child. Her father had gone off to war, came back disfigured, killed himself, and now she wanted to be a doctor to help people like him. She was a light in the darkness of this world. A light which was almost extinguished today. She saved a monster, but she also had saved an angel. Here was the grace, the comfort she had been looking for without even knowing it.

Twilight looked up at the sky and said, "I love the park. I like that it's lighted as well. Safety and all. I do miss seeing the stars though."

Steph looked up at the sky as well, although a bit confused by what this lady was getting at. "Yeah, I miss the stars too."

Twilight then smiled as big as she could. "So, let's see them shall we?"

Twilight lifted her left hand up to the sky, fingers spread. At once a million dots of light shone in the sky, breaking through the haze of the lamps that were scattered throughout the park. The twinkled brilliant blue, gleaming white, radiant red, orange, and yellow. They then started to move and dance. They came closer but never increased in size. They flew down and spiraled around the Twilight and Steph.

Steph looked on in amazement as the small points of light transformed before her into translucent, glowing butterflies. All the colors as before plus green and purple. As they swirled around them they formed a rainbow pattern. Stephanie dropped Twilight's hand and reached out to touch them. Her hands went right through them and she felt a nice, warm sensation as they did. She laughed and looked over to where Twilight had been but she was gone.

"Up here," Stephanie heard Twilight say, so she looked up. Twilight was now floating in the sky with two large wings stretched out from her back. Her hair was being blown back and Stephanie thought she was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Care to fly with me?" Twilight asked and stretched out her right hand.

Stephanie nodded in awe. She suddenly felt her floating up to where Twilight was and took her hand again. They were then off, flying up, higher and higher; the light butterflies continued to swirl around them as the ascended. Soon they were in space. Stephanie knew that this should be impossible but was too excited to care.

The light butterflies or start bugs or star flies (she couldn't decide which was a better name for them), started to swirl around them faster, creating a solid, rainbow wall. The wall then began to break apart into a million fractal images. Those images then bean to fold back in on themselves forming a kaleidoscopic effect. Then those kaleidoscopes fold and twisted back forming a kaleidoscope of kaleidoscopes. It was beautiful and strange.

"What is this?" Stephanie asked in joyous wonder.

"The underlying math of the universe," Twilight answered with equal joy as the flew through the twisting, pulsating, ever changing patterns of color.

"I don't understand," Stephanie replied honestly but too in awe to care.

"Few people do," Twilight responded with a laugh.

It was then Stephanie heard the music. It was layered, dense, yet simplistic. It was strange yet familiar. Beautiful beyond compare; even more than the lights that surrounded them.

"And that?" she asked, over come by emotion.

"That? That is the song of creation. The song of the multiverse. The harmony of the strings. All this, the lights, the music, is what underpins everything. It's reality itself." Twilights voice was soft, soothing, motherly.

"You're God," Stephanie said not knowing if it was a question or a statement she was making.

"I told you you'd be surprised. I was the one that saved you this morning. Unfortunately, I saved the bad man as well," Twilight said with remorse.

"That's ok. I never believed you were perfect anyhow," Stephanie replied back, grinning from ear to ear.

"No, I'm not. That's why I need people like you Stef-I-Nee."

"Anytime!" Stephanie exclaimed. Here she was in the presence of God (who was a girl like her) and She said She needed her help.

"Thank you. Now let's get you back to your mommy."

With that, they rapidly descended back down. It was like going through a tunnel only in negative. They tunnel was made up of brilliant colors at the end was just a small speck of darkness. The speck grew and grew as they went further dawn. Soon it formed a picture. It was Stephanie's mother; calling out for her.

"MOMMY!" she yelled.

"See, I found her. Just like I said," Twilight said in an almost rapturous joy.

They kept getting closer and closer and Stephanie was afraid they might even crash but in a flash of white light, they were standing on the ground behind Steph's mother.

"MOMMY, MOMMY," Steph cried out and went running over to her mother.

"BABY!" Steph's mother cried in joyful tears. She knelt down and scooped Steph up in her arms in a big hug. "Where have you been child? I thought I lost you!"

"It's ok Mommy. I was with . . ."

"Hi. I'm Yuyami Kagayaku." Twilight said and stuck out her hand. Twilight saw Stephanie give her an odd look so she decided to clarify things. "Twilight Sparkle. That's what my name means in English." Twilight looked at Stephanie and both shared a secret smile.

"Oh, well thank you Ms. Ka . . ." Stephanie's mother tried to pronounce her Japanese last name but Twilight mercifully cut her off.

"Twilight's fine."

"Thank you Miss. Twilight," Stephanie's mother said, somewhat embarrassed.

Twilight turned to Stephanie one last time. "I expect great things out of you Stef-I-Nee; don't let me down."

"I won't Twilight. I like your other name better."

Twilight laughed and waved good-bye to both of them and walked off.

What? Do you think this changes anything? Do you think this negates anything I said earlier?

Twilight suddenly found herself in the throne room of the Crystal Castle. On the throne sat Chrysalis; still in her rotting human form.

"Well Twilight, do you?" she asked in a cool, taunting manner. "One cutesy exchange with a little whelp and suddenly everything is ok?"

Twilight smiled and shook her head. "No. No it doesn't. BUT; neither does what that man did make it worse. Life is imperfect. As you said, it's an amoral universe. However that doesn't make things hopeless. It just means that we all just have to try our best. Help those we can, forgive ourselves when we can't, and remember that we do not know all the answers.

"The humans have an expression; two actually - 'the road to hell is littered with nice guys with good intentions' and 'never does the devil tempt so fully than at the foot of the alter'. Both, in their way acknowledges an ironic truth; that the greatest atrocities aren't carried out by people like you, not mustache twirling Dirk Dasterdlies, but by people like me. People who are convinced they are right and know what's best."

"But you have the power to remake the universe in your image with no bloodshed, no torture. The others didn't have that," Chrysalis retorted.

"The power, yes, but the wisdom?" Twilight stopped and thought for a moment before continuing. "I, my actions, allowed for those people to be murdered today. I have to live with that. They also allowed that little girl to live and to go on and do great things."

"If she follows through that is," Chrysalis brushed off Twilight's answer.

Twilight shrugged. "Maybe she will, maybe she won't. At least now she has a chance. They all do. Maybe that's just what they all need - a chance. What will be, will be and I will continue to try to make things better in a way that doesn't compromise my own morality; just like everyone else."

"But you're not like everyone else," Chrysalis said accusingly.

"Yes I am. The day I stop believing that, the day I start to believe that I'm better than everyone else, that I alone can fix everything, is the day I become the villain."

"You're a fool Twilight," Chrysalis hissed.

"Maybe. But your dead. It's time for you to rest now Chrysalis. Good-bye."

Chrysalis slowly faded away like a column of smoke, then the throne room itself vanished and she was back in the park.

************************************************************************************************

"So she's gone, for good?" Flash asked as he crawled in bed beside Twilight.

"Yeah, I honestly think so. Who knows? Maybe she was never real in the first place. She could have been just a manifestation of my own guilt that I felt after talking to Rainbow Dash for the last time. Anything is possible I suppose." Twilight wrapped her arms around Flash and cuddled up next to him.

"Well, I'm glad you're ok now." Flash gave Twilight a kiss on top of her head.

"Great power may bring great responsibility; but you can only wield it properly with even greater humility. Night babe, love you."

"Love you too sweetie," Flash said and then turned off the light.

Chapter 18 The Second Death: Part 1

Twilight had her final epiphany in September of 2017 and as stated previous, Rarity died on February 18, 2018. In the intervening months the group continued to move and change. Rarity and Fluttershy had quartan themselves off into their own little group. They completely abandoned the others. Apple Jack, likewise, pulled away from Twilight and Sunset but remained friends with Pinkie and Sonata, (who after Apple Jack's micro relationship with Rarity; they incessantly tried to hook up with single ladies from their LGBT support group). Twilight and Sunset remained extremely close, bonded forever by their powers and responsibilities, as well as their significant others. They, as well, also remained friends with Pinkie and Sonata.

Sunset started working with Twilight to develop her powers a little bit more. She never felt the need to try and change the world since she knew she wasn't allowed to (also, considering how power hungry she had been in her earlier years, she decided it was best not to focus on what she was or could do now); but after learning their were still other secret societies groups, and threats out there, it might be a good idea to at least get some practice in. One of the best things was when she and Twilight went exploring other planets together. It was a vast universe, teaming with all sorts of life. Some of it was basic, unintelligent life, some was highly advanced with many different and rich cultures. Coming back after one of those trips always made college life seem a bit boring and pointless (that all disappeared though, as soon as they were back in the arms of their beloveds).

Twilight and Flash's relationship was like a typical young adult relationship. There was some parties, some double and triple dates, going out to amusement parks and such when time and cash allowed; but Twilight being in her early thirties mellowed that out so most times it was just them watching TV, listening to music, or just talking at home. Sunset and Adagio's was far more subdued. Sunset being in her mid thirties and Adagio being over fourteen hundred years old, were fully adult in their thoughts and actions and lived the quiet life of two adults in love. They hardly went out but would occasionally have friends over. Pinkie and Sonata were still the party girls and social butterflies. They also were becoming more outspoken and political in their demands for LGBTQIA+ rights.

Apple Jack continued on her farm, raising her son. At first she rejected the idea of dating anyone, especially another woman. She was convinced that Rarity had been the only woman she ever could have loved. But after growing increasingly annoyed by Pinkie and Sonata's constant nagging and attempts at match making, she decided to give it a try. If she had found love in one woman, she might as well see if she could another.

The first one was a disaster. She was a militant lesbian with a shaved head who turned around and walked off as soon as she found out Apple had a son. She hated anything which either has or had had a penis. The next day Apple called up Pinkie and Sonata and asked what they had been thinking. They apologized but date number two wasn't much better. She was a high class snob. All the character defaults of Rarity but none of the charm. Date three was a quiet girl who put Apple in mind of Fluttershy (or at least who Fluttershy had been). The date had been going well until the girl asked if she liked to be beat or preferred to do the beating. Turns out little miss shy pants was an S&M freak and that killed that. Date four was a hippy and militant vegan. Finally, at the point when Apple was about to tell Pinkie and Sonata to give up, they introduced her Sandra.

Sandra was nineteen year old, African-American girl from Georgia. She had grown up on a farm like Apple Jack. She hadn't minded it but wanted more out of life. Also the fact she was lesbian and transgender was another big reason she wanted to leave the farm. As soon as she had been accepted to college, she moved out, changed her name to Sandra and started transitioning. To look at her, you never would have guesses she used to be male bodied. Apple found that she and Sandra hit it off extremely well and eventually started dating with Sandra moving in with Apple in late January.

Rarity, upon returning to London became a bit of a slut; fucking any man who was willing to stuff his dick inside her. It was like she was trying to purge her lesbian experience from her by a cock-ercism. After a couple months she finally decided that her current behavior was ultimately self destructive and she calmed down. By Christmas she was in a steady relationship with a male model she had met at a fashion show.

Fluttershy had no interest in dating. She wanted to figure herself out more, find out who she really was. No matter what, she always felt uncomfortable in her own skin. She hated who she had been but still missed it a little. Who she was (or at least who she pretended to be), felt wrong but also right at the same time. She was lost and confused and had decided she needed to find herself before she found anyone else.

Scootaloo changed dramatically after Rainbow disappeared. She grew her hair out, let the dye wash out, started dressing more conservatively, and eventually ended up dating a clean cut, conservative, Christian boy named Ryan. Losing Rainbow caused her to lose her wild and adventurous side. Now she just wanted stability and safety. She would check in on Sweetie Belle, but she never really changed. She would just stare while she was being talked to. Every so often Scoot thought she would see a smile almost form on Sweetie's face but then it would go. It was progress she supposed and she vowed never to give up on her friend.

And that's how things were. The group had separated into sub factions, each living their life as they saw best, each finding their groove in life until an ordinary, everyday, car crash destroyed everything and unleashed a nightmare upon all of them.

Chapter 19 The Second Death Part 2

The car crash happened at 3:35am London time. Rarity was pronounced dead on the scene at 4am. Her parents got the phone call at 8:30pm their time. It's funny how time zones work. Later, Ms. Geisel would tell a friend that when she heard what time Rarity died, she immediately felt like calling her and telling her not to go out because it was only 8:30 here so the accident wouldn't take place for another seven hours. Anguished minds do not work very well.

It was Mr. Geisel who answered the phone. The police officer was formal and to the point. As soon as she had established that it was Rarity's dad whom she was speaking to, she simply stated the facts - car crash, dead daughter, and then what did they want to do with the body. It wasn't that she was purposefully trying to be mean; only she had a job to do and a bunch of blubbering and crying wouldn't accomplish anything. The parents would have time to grieve later and by the time they had collected the remains, she would have already made another ten of these type calls.

Mr. Geisel for his part, kept saying "Rarity's dead," over and over. Sometimes it sounded like a question, sometimes a statement, sometimes a curse, and sometimes like a religious mantra. Mrs. Geisel covered her mouth to silence the scream that was rocketing out of her soul, through her throat when she had heard her husband say those damnable words the first time. It did help, but not enough. Sweetie Belle heard the cry from upstairs.

Sweetie had been living in a near catatonic state since Apple Blooms murder (as previously mentioned). The muffled sound of her mother's cry had drawn her out of her room and to the stairs. As she descended she could hear her parents crying, wailing more like it. It was enough to make her utter her first words in nearly four years, "Mother, what's wrong?"

Mrs. Geisel cried out in anguish and went to the couch and collapsed. Mr. Geisel slowly made his way over to the grand staircase where Sweetie stood. It was a cruel twist of the knife that what would have been a joyous occasion any other time was linked to such a great tragedy. He hugged Sweetie as tight as he could and held her for a bit. He then stepped back a bit and put his hands on her upper arms.

"Honey, there . . . there was a c-c-c-car accident tonight. Rarity, she was in, it involved, um, ah, she was hurt. She . . . she . . . she was; honey, your sister was killed in a car accident." As he spoke, his mind felt like it was tearing itself in two. Here he was, explaining to his youngest that her sister, his daughter was dead when he himself couldn't even comprehend it. It seemed wrong, all wrong, too wrong.

Sweetie looked at him blankly. Her face was utterly devoid of emotion (so much so it looked artificial, like a mannequins face). She nodded once, but said nothing.

"Honey?" Mr. Geisel said, searching his daughter's blank visage for signs of any emotional distress. Maybe she would go back to not speaking. Maybe she would shut down completely. He didn't know but looked for any clues or hints.

Her face never changed as she replied, "Everyone dies Papa. It's just a matter of when." Her voice was emotionless as her face. Mr. Geisel tried to hug her again but she pulled away and started back up stairs. Mr. Geisel watched with a deep unease as she made her way up. Something was wrong, very wrong.

As soon as she got to the top of the stair case, she went to the railing and shouted down, "See Papa, everyone dies," and rolled over the top railing. Both Mr. and Mrs. Geisel screamed in horror as Sweetie fell like a rag doll down to the ground. She hit at the base of her shoulders with a dull thud and a sharp crack. She didn't die but she would be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of her life (which wouldn't be that long, but more on that later as well).

It would be two days before Mr. Geisel would be able to start making the phone calls. Even then it wasn't because he was ready but because Fluttershy had called him and asked if he had heard from Rarity because she couldn't get through to her. He broke the news to her about Rarity's death and Sweetie Belle's failed suicide attempt and how his wife, Fluttershy's adopted mother was currently in a mental asylum. Once he had broken the news to her, he felt compelled to finally call everyone else.

Most broke down when they heard the news. Adagio shed a few tears but was mainly composed which was a good thing for Sunset, who was absolutely broken. Quick phone calls were made between everyone, each agreeing that it was time to come together again and bury the hatchet; only Fluttershy could not be reached.

The funeral was at 8am on Saturday, February 24, 2018; almost a week after the accident. Because of injuries sustained during the crash, it would have been closed casket regardless, but after a week (nearly), biology had made a closed casket necessary even without the fact half her face had been ripped off. Mr. Geisel greeted everyone as they came in. He was the only one there. Mrs. Geisel and Sweetie Belle were still in their respective hospitals. All the original group and Scootaloo sat together, talked, cried and reminisced - all save Fluttershy who sat alone and refused to see anyone. The girls and Flash decided not to push things before the service but would try and talk to her after.

As the services started, they kept looking over at Fluttershy. She sat stone still with a black veil covering her face so none could see it. There was something off about her. Twilight and Sunset picked it up immediately but all the others (with the exception of Scoot) could feel it too. Looking at her felt like standing next to an opened refrigerator; a slight chill, barely noticeable but still there. More than that, there was a unease, like a strange wave length, radiating from her. Twilight and Sunset kept exchanging worried glances at each other.

After the funeral home services, after the casket had been removed and everyone else had left for the grave sight, Fluttershy remained, standing beside and looking down at where the casket had been. The girls had remained behind as well to talk to her. Flash, Adagio, and Apple Jacks girlfriend all left. Sandra was a bit confused as to why everyone was staying behind but Flash and Adagio made up an excuse and walked her out so the others could be alone. With great care, the girls made their way up to Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy," Twilight began to speak with great care and trepidation but was cut off before she could finish.

Fluttershy's voice was as hard as stone and cold as ice. "I'll say this once and one time only; fix this."

Once again Twilight and Sunset exchanged troubling glances. It was Sunset who spoke next.

"Honey, we . . . ," but like with Twilight, she was cut off.

"This is not a discussion. I'm not asking. I am telling. You're gods - fix this!" Her voice was even but a boiling, seething rage bubbled and stewed beneath.

"We can't," Twilight said sadly but bluntly. "It's against the rules."

Fluttershy gave out a high pitched laugh that rode the line between hysterical and maniacal. "Against the rules? What rules? The rules you made?"

"Fluttershy," Sunset said as she tried to put her hand on Fluttershy's arm but she pulled away, "we're not the actual goddesses. We have their powers, we're their avatars, but we aren't actually them. It's hard to explain but it's true. We don't set the rules. Honestly, I don't even know if they do. Not all of them at least."

"Well how fucking convenient. Well, who does then huh? Can you tell me that? I'm not the Mystic anymore so you got to tell me. And tell me really well too, because I want an explanation. I want an explanation for all this. For Rarity, for Sandal, for all of it. Death, pain, suffering, I want to know why; why we all have to suffer and die, why there's so much injustice and nothing makes sense. So, if it's not you who can tell me, tell who can." Fluttershy's voice crackled with an energy that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"We don't know," Twilight said with genuine regret. "You know as much as we do. First came the Black Gods of Death, then the Goddesses, then finally the multiverse. They all just appeared out of nothing. There might not be anything else."

"Nnnnoooo," Fluttershy softly yet defiantly drew out. "That answer's not good enough. No. I will find who ever or what ever is out there. I will find my answers, with or without you and you can't stop."

Before anyone could say anything more, Fluttershy stormed out of the funeral home. The girls all turned and looked at each other. Something bad was about to happen.

Chapter 20 The New Girl

Regina walked through the field. She didn't know where this field was or how she got here only that she was walking forward. Her body picked up no sensory data, no feeling of temperature, no feeling of grass or dirt beneath her feet, no feeling of wind or moisture, not even sound. The only external stimuli she had was visual.

And what visuals they were.

The grass was too green. The patches of dirt were too brown. The rocks scattered here and there were too grey. In fact all the greens were the same green, all the browns, the same brown. It was like a child's drawing of a field done with only a base set of crayons. The only exception was the sky. The sky phased from a dark maroon to a blood orange with steel grey and purple clouds in the sky. There was no sun as she could see so she assumed it was behind her. No matter, she kept moving forward, emotionless. She wasn't scared or curious or frightened or anything; she just simply moved forward.

Out of no where a hill appeared. Thus far the terrain had been relatively flat, giving her a fairly long range and unobstructed view of everything before her. At no time before had she seen this hill, it was just there all of a sudden. Still she felt nothing at seeing this impossible hill now before her. She simply started walking up it.

At the top was both an image she was quite familiar with but was also quite bizarre. It was Christ on the cross but instead of a cross of wood, it was made out of two intersecting penises. Now she had never seen a penis before, not in real life or in pictures, yet she knew that's what they were. The vertical one stuck out of the earth like a proud erection. The horizontal one had a head at each end. The nails holding Christ to this cock-cross were also penises and the wounds on his hands and feet were bleeding vaginas. Christ was looking to the side but he turned to look down at her. He opened his mouth and out flowed a river of shit and maggots. Regina Turned to brace herself from the oncoming flood and that's when she woke up.

Regina was in the passengers seat of her mother's car. She had fallen asleep during the drive to the college she would be attending. Regina was homeschooled by her hyper religious mother. By the age of five, she could recite the Bible from memory. Anything remotely worldly or of the flesh was kept from her. She had no interactions with anyone else but her mother for the first twelve years of her life. Her father (or at least the man she assumed was her father), would show up about once a week with food and other groceries, exchange pleasantries, ask her mother how she was doing, and then leave.

When Regina turned seventeen, her mother told her it would soon be her time to enter the world. That she was to go out as a sheep amongst wolves and bring the light of Christ to all she would meet. Her mother went into great detail as to how vile and deranged the world of man was. It was sick, violent, lustful; full of murders, rapists, and Devil worshippers. Regina asked why she had to go out in such a horrid place then. Her mother responded simply that it was their Christian duty. The first place she would go would be a particularly hedonistic place called college.

And, so here she was, in her mother's car, being driven to a place full of drunkards and sodomites to spread the Word. She quickly repented and asked for forgiveness for her most blasphemous dream and prayed she would not have it again. Most of her dreams had always been of Heaven or Jesus. Just her and him, flying around the clouds and laughing. Since being told she would be going to college she had been having new dreams. Most benign, (her as a fisherman on a boat with Christ bringing souls in), but, occasionally, there were others. Not as graphic as the one she just had, but still disquieting.

The main one was a shadow. Like this dream, it was in a field, but this field was more natural, beautiful, with a bright, blue sky. In the distance was a shadow. A pure black shadow in the shape of a woman. It just stood there. It never moved, never said anything. Regina could tell it was looking at her, waiting for her. In each dream, the shadow was a little bit closer. In the final dream, she stood within arms reach of it. Out of the blackness of the form, a pale, milky white breast emerged, blood dripping from the nipple. Regina knew it wanted her to drink from it. She went to scream but woke up and never had the shadow dream again.

Regina told her mother about her dreams and who she thought was her father was called in. He assured her that it was only the Devil trying to scare her off from her mission and that she was protected by God and had nothing to worry about. After that, the dreams had stopped until today, until just now. It was scary but she wouldn't allow them to make her back down. She was eighteen now and on a mission from God and nothing would stop her.

Regina was dropped off in front of the building where orientation for the new students was being held. Her mother was never a sentimental person, so she simply said bye to Regina as she got out of the car and told her to remember to always put God first. As soon as Regina had gotten her suitcase out of the trunk, her mother drove off. She was alone now, for the first time in her life. No, she corrected herself, not alone, she still had God; she was just without her mother for the first time.

She walked into the building and saw the registration table. Two girls dressed in what she would consider harlot clothes sat behind a desk, chattering away. She slowly walked up to them and shyly asked if this was where she was to sign in at. The two looked up at her with some slight annoyance at being interrupted, but were friendly enough overall.

"Depends," said the one girl with golden blonde hair that was cut shoulder length and olive eyes. Her skin was tanned a few shades darker than seemed healthy. She had on a white t-shirt that was so thin, Regina could see the blue bra the girl had on underneath. "What's you're last name?"

"Maxwell. Regina Maxwell," Regina replied timidly.

"Ok, cool; you're at the right table then," the other girl said in much friendlier manner. This girl had long, straight, brown hair which she wore in a pony tail, green eyes, and freckles. She had on a sleeveless, button up, black shirt which the top three buttons were undone, exposing a little bit of the girl's cleavage. Regina blushed at having noticed it.

"I'm Patty and this is Nat," the brown haired girl continued. "Here, find your name on this paper and sign in. Once you do that, we have a welcome package for you. It's a map of the school, a history, um, class schedule, dorm assignment, and all that. Once you get that, you can go inside. The dean has a speech he gives all the freshmen, then everyone breaks into groups for a tour of the campus. No biggie. We all went through it."

"Thank you," Regina said and nodded her head. She then walked inside the auditorium and took a seat.

Regina looked around and was shocked by how everyone was dressed. It was all so lose and disgusting. Even the most modestly dressed girl looked like a prostitute while the boys looked like slobs. She had to fight back tears as she thought about how lost everyone was. These people were in true need of the Light.

The lights went down soon and a rather large man in a suit that was half a size too small waddled on stage, He was the dean and gave the standard welcome speech. So glad you're here, we're lucky to have you, you're lucky to be here, history of the school, expectations, and all that. After what seemed like hours, he wrapped up and the auditorium was split up into groups based on alphabetical order and were shown around campus just as Patty had said.

Finally the students were allowed to go to their new dorms. Regina looked at her paper and saw the name of the building with her dorm number. She walked in, showed her ID and was allowed in. Her dorm was on the second floor, room 214. She saw that she would be sharing the room with a junior named Fluttershy. What a strange name, Regina thought to herself. She must be from California.

Regina lightly knocked on the door and a voice that sounded like it had just been interrupted from the most important thing ever shouted back, "It's open!"

Regina took a deep breath. This Fluttershy sounded absolutely fearsome. Still, she had God on her side, so she recited one of the Psalms to herself, opened the door, and walked in.

Chapter 21 Roommate

Regina was surprised when she saw the owner of the quarrelsome voice that first bade her a reluctant entrance. The girl, Fluttershy, was hardly quarrelsome looking. In fact she was quite pleasant to look at. She was sitting on her bed, slightly reclined on a stack of pillows. Her legs were crossed in what used to be called Indian style, a book, which she had been reading, laid in her lap, opened, both hands still holding onto it. Even in this position though. Regina could see this girl had an athletic build to her. Her hair was long, parted on the left hand side, and swept over. It was a strawberry blonde with the final six inches dyed black. Her face was delicately proportioned, yet conveyed a strength and severity that one would trifle with at their own risk. Every feature appeared to be almost supernaturally symmetrical. Her mouth and nose were perfectly sized to one another and her surrounding face. Neither too big or too small, Her cheek bones were high and striking but not harsh or aristocratic looking. Her eyes were a piercing, vibrant turquoise that both compelled you to look at them while simultaneously looking through you. Her make-up was equally flawless. It did as make-up should, high light her features, not cover them up or compete with them. Her brows here perfectly shaped, the black eye liner made those mesmerizing eyes stand out even more. Her skin had a hint of yellow to it, which on a lesser being would have made them seem sick but on her, it made her appear as if she was almost glowing. The rest of her body (from what Regina could make out from the position Fluttershy was in) was as equally well proportioned as her face was. As with her make-up, her clothes complimented and showed off her frame. The black, lace up vest she had on hugged her body showing how thin she was, it's low cut, V-neck exposed her cleavage to be ample but not grotesquely large. It stopped slightly above the waste, showing off a nice six pack. Her bottoms were a pair of faded, cut off jeans which showed off her thin, but muscular legs. She was bare foot with red painted toenails. Regina was shocked to the point of almost breathlessness at how perfect she looked. That a creature this beautiful could exist anywhere outside of the angelic realms seemed impossible and a minor miracle. She thought that God must have wept when her created her.

Fluttershy sat on her bed looking at the person who had so rudely invaded her private space. She looked to be about five foot seven. She wore no make-up with full, bushy eyebrows. She wore a covering over her head, revealing only a little bit of brown hair that looked like it was in a tightly wound bun underneath the white cloth which covered the rest of it. She had a long, overly busy, floral pattern dress on. The business of the pattern combined with the sheer size of it, obscured any form which might be hiding underneath. Not only did this girl not conform to any ideas of modern femininity, it looked as though she was actively at war with them. Despite that, there was still a soft prettiness underneath that no attempt of obscuring could hide. With the right make over, this intruder might even become drop dead gorgeous.

Still. All that aside, this person was intruding in her personal time and space. More than that, the way she looked at Fluttershy annoyed the hell out of her. She just kind of gaped at her like a fan might at their favorite star. She just stood there, mouth slightly parted, eyes wide. One might even wonder if the girl was about to have a heart attack or seizure.

"Can I help you?" Flutter asked without even trying to disguise her irritation or disdain.

Regina snapped back at the sound of Fluttershy's voice (but not before noting how even when cross, it held an almost musical tone to it). She stammered a bit before saying, "I'm Regina Maxwell. This is my first year here, I mean I just started, here, well college in general. This is the dorm I was assigned. You must be Fluttershy." Regina stuck out her hand as she had been instructed to by her father. He had told her this was the proper greeting in the fallen world.

Fluttershy just looked at Regina with a mixture of bewilderment and disdain. "Uh-huh," she flatly out loud and oh fucking hell to herself on the inside. She collected herself quickly though and responded somewhat more welcomingly, "Ok. First off, I don't go by 'Fluttershy' anymore. I officially changed it this summer. It's Faustine now. Faustine Geisel."

Regina turned a deep red and began to apologize profusely. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. It just said here on my assignment page . . ."

Fluttershy raised her hand and mercifully cut the poor girl off. "It's ok. It hasn't been fully updated in the system yet."

Fluttershy smiled and was now able to take a better measure of Regina. There was something in her aspect that drew a mild fondness from her. In some ways she reminded Fluttershy of her former self - shy, sweet, wanting to, if not please, then be liked by others. Maybe she was reading too much into this new girl, but the mind does and goes where it wants. Besides, while she would prefer to be alone to better pursue her studies (both official and personal); she also knew that by staying in the dorms she would be forced to have a roommate, and better some one like this than an obnoxious, party girl.

Regina smiled back. Her earlier fears about Fluttershy were disappearing now. In fact she was already growing quite fond of her new roommate. "If you don't mind, may I ask why you changed it? Fluttershy is an unusual name, but it is pretty. Kind of like butterfly."

Fluttershy's face grew a bit sadder with a touch of anger, and Regina thought she had inadvertently committed some great personal sin against her. Then Fluttershy's face softened again and she answered in a way that was both thoughtful but yet also holding something back.

"Yes, that's what it was actually supposed to stand for. I was my father's little butterfly. My original last name was Shy. So technically, the way my name is supposed to be said is Flutter Shy. But everyone, even me, always said it as one word." She paused for a second as if thinking about what she wanted to say and how to say it.

"It wasn't me anymore; I guess is the best answer. I, I was adopted by another family. I took their last name - Geisel, and decided to take another first name as well. I decided I still wanted it to start with F. I considered Florence, Felicia for a time in honor of . . ." Fluttershy stopped for a moment to regain her composure. It had been Rarity who had half jokingly suggested Felicia as a possible new first name and after she had died, Fluttershy had considered it in honor of Rarity's memory but decided against it. Remembering Rarity always brought Fluttershy to the point of tears; so she had to take a moment before she continued. "In honor of my sister. My adoptive sister. In the end, Faustine just fit me more."

Regina looked at Fluttershy quizzically. It was obvious something was weighing on the girl's soul, making her sad, but she didn't know what and she didn't want to push (not this early in their relationship). She would still make it a point to pray for the girl none the less.

"So, what's your deal?" Fluttershy asked in a forced, upbeat tone of voice. "You look like a parody of an Amish girl; which since you're here, I take it you're not."

"Oh no. The Amish are a false religion, deceived of the Devil," Regina replied in a cheerfully, matter of fact manner that was both weird yet comical at the same time. "The one thing they do get right is the modest dress for women."

Holy fucking shit Fluttershy though to herself. This girl can't be for real. It was with a sudden dread that Fluttershy came to the understanding that her new roommate was some sort of radical Christian. FUCK! this is going to suck!

Fluttershy forced a smile and said, "So you're a Christian I take it?"

"I am a servant of Christ. Christian is a slur of the fallen world. I was originally homeschooled as to give me proper instruction in the ways and meaning of Christ and to keep me from the sin and temptation of the fallen world." Regina's words were spoken in such a cheerful, yet normal voice it made them seem all the more strange and bizarre. It was like hearing a madman cheerfully explain his invisible friend to you.

"Oooooooooooooookay. And you're here now why? I mean, if your parents kept you from the 'fallen world' for so long, dropping you in college now seems a bit, well, odd. Kind of like never allowing your kid to learn how to ride a bike because you're afraid they'll get hurt and then on their sixteenth birthday, putting them behind the wheel of a race car. Doesn't really make sense."

Regina smiled a big, broad, almost maniacal, smile. This was her opportunity to explain her mission. "My father had a prophesy. When he came to visit my mother and I this past May, he said the Lord God had told him in a vision that the End Times were upon us and it was to be my mission to go forth and lead the fallen, all who would listen, to the righteous path. 'I send you out as sheep among wolves' Jesus told his disciples before he ascended back into Heaven, and it was my turn to go out. So, my mother and I applied to various schools and I was accepted to this one. Well, I guess I should say this is the on God wanted me at."

There was a whole lot of messed up in that statement Fluttershy thought. So much that her mind reeled just trying to pick it all apart. First, Regina said her father had visited her and her mother. Didn't he live with them? Even if he traveled a lot for ministerial purposes, "visit" seemed like the wrong word. "Came home" or "took a break from traveling to say", all things would have sounded better. "Visit" made it seem like he didn't live with them, which was decidedly un-Christian in her eyes. Also, with Fluttershy knowing the real truth about the cosmic order, she knew that Regina's father's vision was the delusion of a madman. Yet, there was something about it that intrigued her, considering her extracurricular studies of late.

While Fluttershy thought over everything Regina had said; Regina took notice to the necklace Fluttershy was wearing. It was a black, rope like string from which hung a charm that looked to be made of an antique brass and was a layer of different symbols, one imposed over the other. The bottom most looked to be a "W" with the top turned 35 degrees to the east. Over that appeared to be a "C" turned so the opened mouth was inline with the peaks of the "W". Over those were a series of lines, dots, and stars. There were so many symbols and lines that the longer she stared at it, the harder it was to fully make out what everything was. It was so busy in fact that it gave the illusion of movement.

Regina knew this was impossible and that it was only an optical illusion. While she knew magic existed, her Father on one of his weekly visits had explained to her about optical illusions so she would not be taken in by false prophets once she was out in the fallen world. The example he had shown her was of a bunch of zig zagged lines, all running parallel to each other vertically. He told her to look at it and the lines appeared to move and dance. Then he put a pencil in the middle of it. One the thick, reference line of the pencil had been established, the illusion of movement ceased immediately. It was one of the most fascinating things she had ever seen. Looking at the necklace Fluutershy had on now, she knew all she had to do was put something down to act a reference and the magic movement would stop dead just as it had for the zig zag lines.

"Are you staring at my tits?" Fluttershy asked in a voice that was one part confused, one part angry, and one part amused.

Regina snapped out of the daze she had been lulled into by the necklace. Her face grew a bright, beet red. "No! No! I mean, I'm a girl. Why would a girl look at another girls, you know. No. I was just looking at your necklace there." She even pointed to it for emphasis. "It's very interesting. Does it mean anything?"

Regina saw Fluttershy almost gasp. She had an expression on her face of shock, like she couldn't believe something. She took and picked up the charm from her chest, looked at it, laid it back down, and looked back Regina with the same shocked and confused look on her face.

"Oh, you noticed. Oh, um, yeah. Most people do not. Uh, I had it custom made over the summer. Yeah. Thanks for noticing. Um, it does have meaning, but it's private. Maybe if we become close friends, I'll explain it to you."

Regina's face suddenly grew alarmed. "Wait, you're not a Devil worshiper are you?" she asked in fear.

Fluttershy let out a giant, genuine laugh. "No, no. Trust me, I do not worship the Devil," if for no other reason than because my ex-friends and I killed him about four years ago , Fluttershy thought to herself with great amusement.

Regina breathed a sigh of relief. Then she scolded herself for being afraid. God would not put her somewhere she couldn't handle. "So what are you? Are you at least some form of believer?" she asked with her good cheer returning.

"Oh, I believe lots of things. I believe chocolate cookie dough is the best ice cream flavor ever. I believe A Map of All Our Failures is one of My Dying Bride's best albums, I believe South Park is one of the most over rated TV shows ever and should have been canceled years ago along with The Simpson's, but, no, I do not believe in any of man's religions. Sorry." It was kind of a snarky answer but Fluttershy delivered it with empathy and real compassion for this little, deluded girl.

Regina's smile broadened again. "Well then, I know why I'm with you then," she said happily.

Fluttershy looked down at her necklace again and thought, You're here for a reason alright; just not the one you're thinking of.

Chapter 22 Moving In

The dorm room was pretty basic but well kept. It had two windows (30cm wide by 130cm tall) side by side with about 90cm in between, trimmed in dark stained oak. The walls were an off white and it had a drop ceiling. A radiator ran beneath the windows. The furnishings were two beds, set diagonally across from one another with a night stand to one side and a wardrobe to the other; each arranged as a mirror to the other. On each side of the door was a study table with a work light on each. Towards the back, on the left hand side as you entered the room (the side which would be Regina's) was a white, frame and panel door with the same trim as that which encased the windows. Behind that was a small bathroom consisting of a toilet and sink (it would be a bit much to call it a vanity) with a mirror behind it. All in all it gave the air of a discount motel room - small, no frills, a bit dated (although, oddly enough, not to any single era), yet clean and comfortable enough.

Fluttershy watched as her new roommate brought two suitcases in, placed them on her bed, open them up, and begin to unpack. The larger of the two contained six dresses, all white. All looked to be of the same make as the floral monstrosity she had on now, just completely devoid of all color. These she hung up in her wardrobe. At the bottom of the wardrobe were three drawers. In the bottom she put in two white night gowns. Each made exactly the same with heavy, course fabric which looked to be almost like a thick felt, the type you would by in sheets at a craft store. In the middle she put six pairs of socks.

After she had finished with that, she turned to Fluttershy with an embarrassed smile on her face and asked, "Uh, Faustine, would you mind looking away or closing your eyes? I have to unpack my, um, well, you know, under garments," in a tight, somewhat, squeaky voice.

"You're kidding right?" Fluttershy asked in deadpan voice.

Regina blushed even more and turned her head so she could look down at her bed. "No. No I'm not. Those things shouldn't be seen by other people. It's, you know, private."

Fluttershy laughed in a way that was both mocking yet still sincere. "You know I'm a girl too right? I wear the same things you do. It's no big deal."

The laughing made Regina feel small, stupid, and defensive. She snapped back as much as her temperament would allow her. "Why do you want to see that stuff anyway?"

"Um, I don't. If I thought you had anything cute, I might want to buy for myself, sure; but judging from what you just unpacked, I kind of doubt you do. I just refuse to close my eyes or leave my room because you got your bloomers to unpack." Fluttershy's tone was mocking yet still light. She wanted to tease the girl but didn't want to really insult her.

She stopped and looked at Regina and thought she looked like she was on the verge of tears. She quickly felt sympathy for the girl. More than that, she felt empathy. In a much quieter and softer voice she said, "Listen, it really isn't a big deal. We have a laundromat in the basement and you see people doing their laundry all the time. It's no big thing to see someone else putting in, taking out, our folding their underwear. Not only that, this dorm has communal showers, so you're going to see more than just bras and panties. I have my book here. I'll be reading it, I won't see anything. I promise."

Regina quickly turned to look at Fluttershy in horror. "Y-y-y-ou really have group showers here?"

"Well, yeah. You go in, pick a locker, put your stuff in there, go in to the shower room, and shower. They're all individual stalls with locking doors. It's not like you'll be in one big room surrounded by a bunch of other naked girls. And you don't have to worry about anything happening. It's not like those cheap grade D prison movies were a bunch of bull dykes are just waiting to jump you." Fluttershy finished with a laugh to show she was joking (although she could tell by Regina's blank expression she didn't get it).

Regina slowly looked back down again and gave a mournful sigh. "Oh my, this is a far different world. It will take much to get used to I suppose. A lot of getting used to."

Fluttershy picked up her book and put it in front of her face. "Ok, you're safe," she said in a nice, friendly way. She could hear Regina undo her other suitcase. In just sheer curiosity she dropped her book a little to see what Regina actually had. Both her bras and underpants (there was no way you could refer to them as panties) looked like a puritans idea of what women's underwear should look like. The bras were big and bulky looking. It reminded Fluttershy of something out of the fifties, but even less sexy. As for the underpants, to call them granny panties would have been kind to them and insulting to actual granny panties. She quickly brought the book back up in when she thought Regina was about to look over again.

"Ok, I'm done," she said in a voice both relieved to be done yet still embarrassed from earlier.

Fluttershy put down her book and just looked at Regina. She felt extremely sorry for this girl. Whatever her parents might have been thinking in sending her here, they surely never planned on the impact it would have.

"I know you looked by the way," Regina said in a voice that was hard to tell if she was disappointed or annoyed or fully mad. It was possible it was all three. "It's, it's ok. I know I'm in the fallen world now and there are somethings I just can't avoid no matter how much I want to. I just got to learn to accept those."

"I'm sorry I looked. I was just curious based on what I saw of your previous fashion choices." Fluttershy offered apologetically.

"Well, were they what you thought they'd be?" Regina asked, trying to make it sound like a joke,

"More so," answered Fluttershy with a laugh.

Regina smiled a little bit. She could tell that Fluttershy wasn't being mean (well not intentionally). She had been warned that those in the fallen world would make fun of and ridicule each other, especially if they liked one another for some bizarre reason. She felt Fluttershy was, in her mind, being friendly. It made her feel accepted.

"Hey," Fluttershy said in an upbeat, peppy way, "if you want, I can show you some of mine. Fair's fair."

Regina laughed at the obvious joke. "No, I'm good. As you said, I'll probably see them as soon as we do our laundry."

Fluttershy smiled. She was really starting to like this strange girl (beside the fact that she had seen her amulet). This was a part of her that Fluttershy could see that reminded her of herself. She wanted to take this girl under her wing, teach her, guide her.

"I know you had the official campus tour already, but do you want me to give you the real tour?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure, I would like that," Regina smiled and nodded.

It was getting to be late afternoon, the sun was setting low in the sky but it was still early enough in the post summer solstice that it wasn't too dark yet and could still be considered day. The weather was warm with a nice, soft breeze gently blowing every now and again. All of it combined with the excitement of freshmen starting their college experience and the joy of everyone else knowing that they had one extra week yet before classes officially resumed to give a relaxed, comfortable air to the grounds. It felt more like a low key holiday than anything else.

Fluttershy started her "real tour" with the practical stuff first. She showed her where the showers were and where the laundromat was and what were the best times for going to each. Outside the dorm, she showed her where the co-ed dorms were and the frat houses (and which houses she should avoid like the plague). Next were the sorority houses and what she thought of each one (mostly bad but she also said which ones will give you the most clout on campus). Then it was on to the main hang out where all the food venders were and small study rooms.

"The thing to remember is the food has half the taste at twice the cost," Fluttershy said somewhat jokingly but was also half serious.

As they walked and talked, Fluttershy stopped and pointed to a boy that Regina was immediately struck by. It wasn't that he was overly handsome or ugly (he was attractive but not in a jaw drop type of way), nor was it because of some handicap. It was the fact that Regina couldn't tell what he was. He had light brown skin, his eyes were more almond shaped than the average person of European descent but not as much as someone who was of Asiatic ancestry. His eyes appeared to blue at the distance she was from him, his hair was thick and black with some slight curl to it. In all things his features seemed to be a mixture of all things but never leaning to one specific genealogy.

"That's Ryan. Ryan Armine O'Brian Sanchez to be exact. He's a sophomore and my boyfriend. He doesn't know that yet, but he will soon. Ryan is literally every race there is. I mean perfectly. He traced his family tree back as far as it would go and he found out he's a perfect amalgamation of everyone. He's what we would look like if we just get past all this racism BS and just start making babies with each other."

Regina looked at Fluttershy with some degree of bewilderment. Her tone, the look on her face was not that of someone in love; it didn't even appear to be those of someone in lust (although she couldn't say for sure as she had never seen a lustful look before). No, it struck her as the tone and look of a predator, sizing up it's pry, about ready to pounce. Something within her shuddered but she didn't know why. Maybe it was just her reacting to the open lust and sexuality she had never been exposed to before.

"Well I guess as long as you let him know eventually," Regina replied with a nervous laugh and wished they would just move on (which they did immediately to Regina's relief).

After the tour of campus, Fluttershy walked her to an off campus Pizzeria where she bought them a pepperoni pizza and a two liter of Pepsi to take back for supper.

"I don't get this too often," Fluttershy said somewhere between apologetic and defensive. "I work hard to get and keep my body looking the way it does. Usually I'm at the gym at this time, but I wanted to give you a proper college welcome, sans the alcohol and ruffies that is."

"Well, thank you very much," Regina replied with genuine gratitude but not understanding what the last part of what Fluttershy had said meant. "I've never had pizza or soda before. I look forward to tasting both."

Fluttershy stopped dead and looked at Regina in stunned silence. "Well then girl; you are in for a flavor explosion then." With that said, Fluttershy hurried to get back to their dorm.

When the got back to the dorm, Fluttershy poured some Pepsi out in to two paper cups and they ate the pizza out of the box. Regina was amazed at what she was tasting. At first the pizza had tasted too spicy and burned her tongue, while the soda tasted sickeningly sweet. She didn't know how she was going to get any of this down. Eventually, as she ate and drank more she became pleasantly intrigued then enraptured by what she was ingesting. The flavors were so good, she almost wondered if they were sinful. She decided it was best to ask for forgiveness and guidance in her prayers tonight.

"So, you never had pizza before, really?" Fluttershy asked as she finished chewing.

"No, never," replied Regina after swallowing a mouthful of what she now considered to be mankind's greatest achievement. "Mother cooked all our meals at home."

"Yeah, but, you can make pizza at home," Fluttershy answered back confused.

"Father would stop by once a week with groceries and we ate what he brought," Regina said with a shrug.

"Yeah, about that. Your dad only came by once a week. He didn't stay there - with you and your mom?"

"No, but then, why would he? A man only lies with his wife to produce children. They did, so there was no reason to further sully himself with carnal interactions. I mean, he did what a God fearing father would do; he took care of us. We had a house and clothes and food and the rest." Regina thought it was odd that Fluttershy seemed so confused by how she was raised. Then again, the ways of the Lord often seem strange to the fallen.

"So what; did you grow up in some religious compound or something?" Fluttershy was equally amazed at the sheer lack of awareness to how strange her life had been Regina was.

"No. We had a small house out in the woods. It was a nice place. It had a small stream that ran behind it. I used to love to go down and feed the ducks during the day." Regina smiled at the memories that came to the fore after recounting her love of feeding the ducks. At noon of everyday, she was allowed outside for one hour. It was her time to herself. Her time to play. She remembered how on sunny days she would just lie back with her eyes closed, face toward the sun, and how her eyelids would appear light up orange and she would take in the warmth of the sun.

"So you grew up all alone, your dad only stopping by once a week, homeschooled, and now you're alone and in college because your dad said the apocalypse was nigh and you had to save souls? I did get all that right, right? That is what you're saying?" If it wasn't for all the other worldly and extra-dimensional stuff Fluttershy had dealt with in the past, she might not have believed what she had been hearing.

"Yes. That's exactly it," Regina answered matter of factly with no hint of irony or defensiveness.

"So, how do you know anything about the outside world? What do you even think of it?"

"Well, I had to learn history. Homeschooled or not, that's still a requirement. For the past two years, when Father came to drop off supplies, he would tell me everything going on in the fallen world and what to expect.

"As for what I think, it breaks my heart. I look out there and see girls dressing like harlots, debasing themselves. You're awash in sex and violence. You worship it. You through tons of food out and let houses rot and collapse while people are starving and homeless for pieces of stamped metal and paper. You're all so lost that you don't even know you are lost." Regina was almost in tears as she finished. She was completely broken hearted at recounting all she had learned and saw of the fallen world.

"Well," Fluttershy responded slowly; not knowing what she was actually going to say' "Some of what you said I agree with, some I don't. My sister and I," Fluttershy stopped for a moment to keep from crying at bringing up Rarity. "My adoptive sister and I would have long conversations about how things were and why. She was a fashion designer; or at least wanted to be one eventually. She designed the most beautiful clothes. She always said I was her top model." Fluttershy stopped again. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. After fighting back the bitter, raging sadness of the loss of Rarity, she continued.

"She often said that women were in a no win situation with their looks because they didn't own their own sexuality. Men did. Men owned their sexuality whole sale. I man could where a three piece suit of a Speedo; it didn't matter. He was in charge of how he looked and the world reacted accordingly. They could like what they saw, dislike, ridicule; but he always owned it, no one challenged him on that.

"We don't own our sexuality though. Our sexuality is corporate. Men own it, hell, other women own it. Everything we wear is up for scrutiny and debate and reflects not only on the individual woman, but womankind in total. Also, since clothing makers only give us two options of clothing to choose from - house frau or street walker, there's not much middle ground we can cover. Although, the very fact that I even think in those terms shows how conditioned I am to the same old sexist stereotypes.

"When I go out, looking like this; invariably someone, heck, usually another woman will come up and say that I'm either owning my feminine power or look like a slut. Well not the hardcore feminist. They usually say I'm sexualizing myself to appease the male gaze. If I go out. If I go out, completely covered, baggy clothes; I get called a slob or that I'm denying my true femininity to appease some outdated morality. Frankly I just want to dress how I like and not be judged one way or the other for it. All the other stuff I actually agree with you on."

There was much Regina wanted to say in reply but decided to save it for another time. She wanted to Save Fluttershy's soul but felt if she pushed too hard at first, she would simply tune her out. She decided it was best to ask about her family instead. "You're adopted?"

Fluttershy nodded. "My mother was an abusive alcoholic. She constantly berated me, my father and older brother. Eventually dad left and he got custody of my brother but not me. After he left, the abuse got worse until I couldn't hide the bruises anymore. She went to jail and went to stay with my best friend's family who later adopted me. Later I asked why, my father that is, why he didn't take me as well. He said he couldn't. The judge said he could take my brother only or neither of us. I got years of emotional and physical abuse and my brother got raped by a pastor unbeknownst to my father and developed a drug problem because of it." It was now Fluttershy who spoke in a matter of fact voice but hers was undergirded with sadness.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. It's false sheppards like the monster who violated your brother that hurt the true servants of Christ. At least everything eventually worked out for you," Regina offered sympathetically.

Fluttershy gave Regina a curious yet emotionless look. "No, no it didn't. In high school my boyfriend and several other friends were murdered, I've lost almost all of my friends, including my oldest, my one sister, the one I told you about, died in a car accident earlier this year. She was also the one who suggested I change my name to Felicia. My little sister is paralyzed and catatonic. She needs constant care and my adoptive mother spent two months in a psyche ward because of it. So, no, it didn't work out at all."

Regina bowed her head, in tears herself. "Please forgive me. I didn't know."

Fluttershy reached out and gently touched Regina on the knee. "I know, you couldn't have." Regina looked up and Fluttershy smiled.

"My father, my real father, my biological father; however you want to say it," Fluttershy started talking but it wasn't actually to Regina. It really wasn't to anyone, save maybe the universe itself. She just looked past Regina, off to some horizon only she could see. "He told me how he would visit his grandparents when he was a boy. Country folk. They had dogs that they kept chained up all the time outside; as was the custom for people of that age. He said how when a dog was put on a chain, it would move slowly at first, not even realizing it was chained, still thinking it was free. Eventually id would reach the limit of it's chain and would start to struggle and fight. Eventually it would give up. For the rest of it's life, unless pushed by something, it would never go to the limits of it's chain again. He said he thought it was because that by not pulling it's chain to it's limit, the dog could keep up the illusion it was free.

"The past is like that. We're chained to it. We can run and fight and try to break free, but it's always there, we can never escape it. The harder we try, the harder it snaps us back." She paused for what seemed like minutes but was really only seconds. Then she jumped up, got under her bed, pulled out a small suitcase, said, "Hold on," and went to the bathroom.

Regina sat on the bed in silence. She had no idea what to do. Was She in there hurting herself? Crying? Should she do something? Say something? Regina felt lost, confused, sad, and most importantly, useless. She was paralyzed by indecision and just sat on Fluttershy's bed, waiting to see what would happen next.

Eventually Fluttershy came out, but she had on a different outfit. It was a white tank top with pale, like green skirt with pink stitching with a butterfly on it, and matching pale, light green, knee high, kitten heeled boots.

"This is my chain. I call pedo chic. It's sexy yet juvenile at the same time. It's the only half way girly or sexy thing my mother would ever allow me to wear. Honestly I don't even know why she allowed me to wear this, but she did, so I did, often. It was the only thing I had that made me feel like a girl. Not just a girl, but a sexy girl. It was a costume and a suit of armor at the same time.

"I hate it. I do. I hate it because it reminds of who I was when I was wearing it. I was a small, shy, introverted girl who barely spoke above a whisper. I shunned other people because part of feared them because of what they might do to me and partly because of what they might to my momma. She treated my like shit, yet I still loved and protected her. The only friends I had were animals. I loved animals so much. I originally wanted to be a veterinarian or run an animal shelter.

"Everything I do now, everything I am now is in direct rebellion against this chain, against who I was. And, because of that, I know I am never free. I will never break this chain, but I will die trying."

The two girls just looked at each other not knowing what to say next. The room was heavy and thick with bared, raw emotions. So heavy they thought they might be crushed by them. Regina thought and decided to take a chance. She smile and said with a fake laugh, "I can't ever imagine you being shy or whispering". Fluttershy smiled back. Regina's gamble paid off.

"Oh my, yes," Fluttershy's voice changed dramatically to the point it didn't even seem to be coming from her. It was hushed, a borderline whisper, yet it had a musical quality to it somehow. "And when I got really nervous I would get quieter and quieter while voice became higher and higher pitched to a sounded like a little mouse," as she explained her former speaking patterns, she demonstrated them as she spoke, her last words coming across as little than a bunch of squeaks.

"You really sounded like that?" Regina replied, shocked and amazed.

"Absolutely," Fluttershy responded in her new, natural voice which was deeper, stronger.

"No matter what you may think, you aren't that person anymore. I'm sorry you went through all that that, but you're so much stronger today. If you want, you can change back now. I don't want my roommate to be in chains." Regina's voice was happy and admiring.

Fluttershy walked over to her bed and pulled some clothes out from underneath the covers. "I'm just going to get dressed for bed," she said happily. She went in to the bathroom once more and came out in a grey t-shirt, boxer shorts, no make-up, and her hair tied back in a pony tail.

Regina looked at her and thought even in this state, she's still the most beautiful people I've ever seen. Regina then said she was going to do the same. She went in and changed into her night gown and came back out. The girls continued to talk, eat, and drink for the next four hours before going to bed where Regina had another nightmare. It was in the same field, on the same hill, with the same sky as before, but the cock cross was gone. In it's place was a giant, bleeding vagina. A long, black arm came out of it and beckoned her forward. In a voice that sounded eerily like Fluttersy's, someone said, "This is my blood which is shed for you. Fulfill your destiny and drink".

Chapter 23 Morning Jog

It was a sound Regina had never heard before - piercing, screeching, like the sound of a million demons crying out together, ripping her out of her slumber. Her body jerked, her heart pounded; she started screaming before she even opened her eyes. Her eyes opened and she saw she was not in her room. This was a different room, a new room, a different house. Where was she? What was making that noise? She started calling out to God to help her.

"REGINA! CALM DOWN!" a foreign voice yelled at her. It wasn't her mother but it sounded familiar none the less. Her brain reached for why it sounded familiar and foreign at the same time. Then she realized who it was.

"FAUSTINE?" she called out in confusion and terror. She knew where she was now; in her dorm, with her new roommate Faustine Geisel. So while her location and the owner of the voice were now understood; it still left the mystery of the hateful noise which had so violently pulled her out of her sleep.

Regina looked over to Faustine's bed and saw her touch the top of the clock that was beside her. The wretched sound immediately stopped. Regina was even more confused. Obviously the clock had been the cause of the sound but she had no idea as to why. Was it broken? It had to be. Yet the clock looked to be working just fine. Did that mean it was supposed to make that noise? If so, why?

"What's wrong with you?" asked Fluttershy in a mixture of anger, confusion and concern. Out of all the different roommates she had had; none of them had ever reacted to her alarm clock like that. Was this going to be a daily thing? Her amulet told her she needed this girl but if this was the way she was going to react every time the alarm went off; her sanity would never take it.

"Is your clock supposed to make that sound?" Regina asked timidly, knowing that she had somehow upset Faustine.

"Well, yeah. That's the alarm. That's how that works. That's what gets you up at the time you want to get up," Fluttershy said in an overly condescending manner. She couldn't believe this girl was that dumb. Then, with a slowly dawning epiphany, she realized that maybe she really didn't know what an alarm clock was.

"Wait, you don't know what an alarm clock, do you?"

Regina shook her head shamefully. She had never heard of such a device but from Faustine's reaction, they must be common in this world.

"No. We never had one. My mother always woke me up when it was time. I never thought about how she woke up. I just always assumed she woke up naturally. I was never allowed in her room so I would have never seen it if she did." The softness and timidity of Regina's voice seemed to be saying I'm sorry under every word she said.

Fluttershy gave a small, warm, forgiving smile. "Ok. Well, so this is an alarm clock. It has a buzzer that goes off when it reaches a preset time. It's what wakes us lowly sinners," Fluttershy said with an overly goofy smile and voice to let Regina know she was just kidding, "up in the morning. I have mine set for five thirty. I like to jog in the morning before the rest of the campus wakes up. Since I missed last night's workout, I might stop by the gym as well. You know, work off some of that pizza. You can come along if you want. I have some sweats you can borrow. Although, I can't help you out in the sneaker department."

Regina smiled. She was relived that not only was Faustine not angry with her, but wanted her to come along with her on her morning routine. She like Faustine a lot already. There was an innate goodness about her, a warmth that made you feel at home and at ease just in her presence If she could lead only one person to the Lord; Regina was bound and determined it would Faustine.

"All right. I would like that very much. I've never worn someone else's clothes before, so this will be a new experience. Yes. I look forward to this. I'll make do with my shoes until I can buy some proper athletic foot ware."

"Alright indeed," Fluttershy returned with happy enthusiasm. She got out of bed quickly, opened up the bottom drawer and pulled out a sweater and pair of sweat pants. She tossed both onto Regina's bed. "Here. These should hopefully fit. You can get dressed in the bathroom, I'll get dresses out here. It'll save time that way. We'll just do a short, easy one today; save your feet," Fluttershy finished with a laugh.

Regina nodded happily, grabbed the clothes Faustine had given her, got her own underwear, and headed to the bathroom.

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"It feels weird," Regina said in a confused, somewhat annoyed voice as she came out of the bathroom.

Fluttershy looked up at her to see what she was referring to. She had gone back to reading her book while waiting for Regina to get changed. The way in which Regina walked was hard to comprehend, let alone explain if asked. It was a cross between a waddle and a sort of throwing one leg in front of the other. Put some tinkly cartoon music behind it and it would have been the funniest thing ever. But put some dark, atmospheric music behind it and it would have been one of the scariest sights imaginable. Flutter shy just looked at her perplexed and bewildered.

"Uh, haven't you ever worn pants before?" she asked somewhat sincerely, somewhat sarcastically.

"No," Regina responded somewhat flatly. "Men and women are to wear the same clothes. It is forbidden in scripture. Pants are for boys, dresses are for girls."

Fluttershy was taken aback by Regina's answer. How could this person actually exist? Everything this girl had said about herself bordered on the factious. If she were reading a novel and came across a character like this, she would have thrown the book in the trash.

"Oh, well, are you sure you're ok wearing them?" Flutershy asked; searching for and stumbling over her words.

Regina's face grew slightly contemplative. "I did think about it. On one hand, I am crossdressing. I'm wearing pants and pants are for men. However; these were designed to fit a woman's body which means they aren't for men. So I figured it would be ok, but that is where grace comes in at. Also the pants and sweater are lose on me. Maybe not as lose around the waist as I'd like; they do cut in a bit, but they do hide my shape fairly well and allow me to retain a modest appearance so I think that also helps."

Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was hearing at first. The idea that Regina would put that much thought and effort on whether or not wear a sweat suit was unbelievable. Then she thought about how much effort every woman puts into her appearance and finally about some of the in depth debates she used to have with herself back when she lived with her biological mother and wondered if the three were really so different.

"Well I'm sorry they're so tight around the waist for you." It was the only thing Fluttershy could think to say.

"Oh, it's ok," Regina replied with a big smile. "I'm not a round tummy girl, but I'm also not as, um, flat as you are."

"Well, thank you. Anyway, You can have the track suit; I'm just sorry I don't have the shoes to go with it." Fluttershy said with true sincerity.

"It's all right. I'll do my best and stop when I must," Regina replied with the same big smile and good cheer.

"Alright then, let's go."

**********************************************************************************************************

The early morning was damp and chilly. A light fog hung around the campus. It's faint mists making it feel as though they were in a very fine shower. Regina shivered, her teeth chattering slightly as Fluttershy went over the game plan for this morning. They would do three short laps around the interior of the campus, sprint to the gym, do a quick workout (if Regina didn't mind), come back, get their clothes and toiletries, and hit the showers. Out of all that; the only thing that gave Regina pause was the showers. The idea of getting naked around anyone filled her full of dread. She knew she didn't have a choice but she still didn't like it.

The jog didn't feel bad at first. Regina's feet didn't protest too much from having to run in footwear that was wholly inappropriate for the task they were being required to do. The wind being generated by the run at first made her feel colder but the heat generated by the increased muscle movement soon warmed her up to the point of a mild sweat. Even the once unnatural feeling of having her legs individually encased in some sort of soft cocoon dissipated as she got caught up in the act of the moment.

As the jog went on, however; her body began to protest. Her feet started to protest loudly. Leg muscles that had not been trained for such rigorous activity began to burn. Her breath became short, her side and shoulders began to hurt. B y the end of the first lap Regina was already praying for God to give her the strength to continue because she didn't want to quit on Faustine. In fact the idea of having to quit on her was more horrible than the idea of having to complete another two laps.

It had only been a day (not even really) since she initially met Faustine but already she had a deep seeded fondness for her. Aside from being physically perfect, Faustine had a good soul and humane heart. Even though she was lost in the Devil's darkness; there was a light within Faustine the shown as bright as the sun. She was so glad that God had lead her to her. She would do whatever it took (outside of abandoning her faith) to make Faustine proud. Try at least. If her body kept screaming at her like it was; it would be hard to imagine how she could continue. In an act of Divine mercy, Faustine saw Ryan and said she was going to stop a while and talk to him. Regina praised God and Followed her over to where Ryan was walking.

Ryan was going wrapping up a night walk. He took these from time to time to clear his head and try to sort things out. Walking alone in the quiet of night helped him think and work through his problems. He first started the habit back when he was 16. He would sneak out his bedroom and walk the disserted streets until just a sliver of light lined the horizon. He would then walk back home and sneak back in to his bedroom. He kept these outings restricted to summer vacations and holidays as to not interfere with his schooling.

This night's (or should he say last night's) walk was inspired by the person whom he now saw jogging up next to him - Fluttershy (or as she went by now, Faustine). Faustine was a year above him and absolutely gorgeous. She was the type of girl every straight man on campus lusted after. Besides that, she had an amazing personality to match. In so much as a perfect girl could exist, she was it. On top of all that; she was clearly into him. This should be a no brainer, but there was something off about her. All he could really put his finger on was that she was too close to perfect for comfort. He thought about ignoring her but decided that would be rude (and since a good portion of him really liked her and wanted to be with her; counterproductive).

"Hey Ryan, what's up?" Fluttershy called out cheerfully as she came up to him with Regina in tow.

"Not much, ya know. Juz' out here walkin' a bit. You know the deal. Clearing the head that's all. So how you doin'?" He tried to sound as relaxed as he could around her.

"Just jogging like usual. Oh, Ryan; this is Regina, my new roommate." Fluttershy motioned to Regina who was on her left.

Ryan held out his hand, Regina first went to curtsy, realized she didn't have a dress on, so limply took his hand instead. Ryan thought this was odd but amusing.

"I still can't believe you still live in them dorms though," Ryan said in good humor but genuine curiosity.

Fluttershy shrugged. "It's like I said; I don't see the point in moving into a dilapidated house some scum lord haphazardly sectioned off into 'apartments' that are twice as much and often no more room than what I have now. Plus I only have one roommate to deal with in the dorms not three or five like in the apartments around here. OR have to worry about transportation from the ones in the city. It's good for what I need now." Fluttershy's voice and tone were light and airy but there was a subtle hint of back the fuck off underneath it.

"Right on, right on, I hear ya. Yeah, me and my roommates don't always see eye to eye as it were ya know. Still, I like off campus life better than on campus. Less privacy, but more freedom." Ryan then turned to Regina. "What about you? First year, first year here?"

"Um, first year. Freshman as we're called." Regina felt awkward around Ryan. She wasn't used to talking to men or males of any sort. The only man she'd ever met before applying to college was her father. Knowing how lustful men could be and how easily they fell prey to that lust; being around them felt like (what she assumed) being around a hungry lion at feeding time. He seems nice enough to be sure but he was still an man first and foremost. Still, as a preacher of the Gospel, she would have to get over that fear lest she forsakes the entire male population out of fear.

Ryan smiled. Regina wasn't attractive. Not superficially attractive, that is; but she had both a cuteness of face and spirit that Ryan liked. "Nothing wrong with that. I'm only one year out from that myself."

The three continued to talk for about half an hour before Ryan said he had to go. He gave Fluttershy a hug and mentioned how he still thought her necklace was one of the best he'd ever seen. Regina agreed with him and shook his hand; this time with a much firmer, more purposeful grip. Even though they hadn't talked much, she had gotten a little bit warmer to him. After he left, Fluttershy said they should just jog to the gym for a quick workout and then back home instead of doing another two laps. Regina agreed enthusiastically.

After they were jogging again; Fluttershy gave a quick look down to her amulet. Soon. It's all about to come together now .

Chapter 25 Oblitus Libro Sequutur Somnia

"This book here is the second book in a trilogy written Herbert Randolph West," Fluttershy said holding up the book she had been reading. It had a greyish tan, cloth cover with a grey green leather spine and corner covers. There was no writing on the cover or spine. "Mr. West was a teacher with a zeal for language. The history, evolution, symbolism of it. He was convinced that by studying all the known languages today, tracing them back, studying ancient and dead languages, he could and reconstruct the very first language ever spoken. That became the basis for his first book - Mother Tongue. I've read it. It's alright, a bit dry, boring and overly written; but what do you expect from a book written in 1822?" Fluttershy ended with the hands up shrug and a quirky little smile.

"It didn't sell well, but well enough for his publisher to allow him to do a follow up. This book here Mother Culture. With this he tried to find what the first human society was like; it's beliefs and practices. Now that he felt he had their language down, he could then tease out all the secrets he believed they held. Back then, heck, like a lot of people now, most believed that the ancients possessed great and powerful knowledge that was lost or perverted through time. This is a much more interesting read. Still overly written, but this time, you can almost feel like there's a mania creeping into his writing, like something was pushing him to write faster than he was able to. It still tries to be a straight history; but it defiantly dips more than one toe into the realm of the occult.

"This sold even less well than the first. While the first one had a scholarly appeal to and was added to some college and university libraries; this smacked of pseudo science quackery. Which considering this came out in 1835 is saying something. He was going to be dropped by his publisher but convinced him that his next book would do far better. That he felt he was on to something big, Earth shattering. Well, maybe not in quite those terms. I was able to find a copy of his publisher's journal entry for that day. It's the typical, over the top, early to mid nineteenth century verbiage; but you get the drift.

"Mother Tongue is fairly easy to find for a somewhat obscure book on language. This one, Mother Culture is much harder to find, but if you do enough digging in the right places, you can still find a half decent copy. The third and final book in the series is impossible to find. Only one copy was ever made, and that is the original manuscript. Seems Mr. West went a bit nutty during the writing. Originally he decided to write with only quill feathers on parchment even though the fountain pen had been around for almost twelve years by the time he started writing. That was only at first though. Eventually he moved on from writing in ink to his own blood. At least I assume it was his own blood. Finally he was writing using his own excrement; if you know what that means."

Regina scrunched up her face in disgust. "Yes, I know what that word means. And I would also hope that he was using his own as well to write."

A twisted smile flashed across Fluttershy's face. It was a smile that was not of one enjoying a joke (like the one Regina had attempted), but of one enjoying the discomfort and suffering of another.

"I assumed as much as well," she said as she fought to repress her smile.

"Anyway, he brought it to his publisher, a Mr. Gunther Fitzgerald, on July second 1845. I read the journal entry for that day too. Mr. West had to be helped into Mr. Fitzgerald's office since he had gouged out his own eyes and, well, couldn't see anymore. There was a note attached to the sealed envelope with the manuscript explaining what it was about. He had to attach the note because he had also cut his own tongue out. As soon as it had been delivered, he pulled a pistol out and shot himself. His new book, which was also his last, was called Oblitus Libro Sequutur Somnia or in English, The Book of Forgotten Nightmares.

"Old Gunther, being a bit shaken after seeing Mr. West blow his brains out in front of him, gave the book to one of his editors to look at. Four would try to read it in all before Gunther would eventually look at it. Each one killed themselves in a highly grotesque manner. The worst was the last one who cut open his own stomach and started eating his own intestines. Mr. Fitzgerald read about a quarter of it, walked out, buried in some unmarked spot, deep in the woods somewhere, and then jumped to his death off of one of Maine's majestic cliffs. Apparently whatever Mr. West had written about so horrifying, so terrible, that it drove all who read it to madness. Luckily, I suppose, Mr. Fitzgerald was just sane enough to bury it so none could ever find it. Of course I'd think burning it would have been better, but, hey, the guy was out of his mind so I cut him some slack in the logic department."

Fluttershy looked at Regina with a much friendlier and congenial smile on her face than she had before. She could see that Regina had gone ashen white, giving her an almost corpse like appearance. Her eyes were wide and mouth agape in horror. She sat, still as stone, unable to move as if frozen in an invisible block of ice. It was then Fluttershy left out a giant laugh.

"It's total bull but a great ghost story," she said once she was able to calm herself down. "I actually found both his books at a local thrift shop. I was shopping for some clothes, you know, cheap, retro chic and all. I'm interested in history and anthropology, so I snagged them both for like a dollar fifty a piece. After I read the first one, I became interested in the author, looked him up and came across all this urban legend mumbo - jumbo. The guy did go blind, but from diabetes not from gouging them out. Also his third book was never published because the first tanked in sales. Gunther did fall off a cliff but he was a drunk and it was ruled an accident. The truth is tragic, the myth is spooky fun. For me it is at least. Sorry if I scared you." Fluttershy.

"No, no, it's fine. But if you excuse me, I'm going to lock myself in the bathroom now with my Bible," Regina replied with a nervous, not too sincere laugh. Something in that story struck her to her very soul. There was an almost tangible demonic presence that seemed to emanate from her very words. Truth be told, she was actually quite terrified (especially given the almost sadistic look that came over Faustine's face as she recounted the story.

Fluttershy laughed her own fake laugh. "Here, let me make it up to you. It's a beautiful day out, why don't I take you for a ride on my motorcycle. I have a spare helmet you can use."

Regina smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds great.

******************************************************************************************************

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stood at the perimeter of the where the mansion had fell. Each stood still and silent, emotionally numb yet exploding in unimaginable torrents as well. It had been two days since they've been back, one day since the battle with Chrysalis and the cult (time travel was such a weird thing to get your mind around). After the adrenaline of battle had worn off and they had talked things over with the others about how they felt and how they could possibly move on, both Fluttershy and Rainbow realized they still hadn't had closure yet. So they had decided to come here, in hopes of seeing the mangled remains of the house Sandal and Soarin had been murdered in would help.

"Anything?" Rainbow asked stoically.

"No. Nothing I haven't already been feeling - rage, sadness, depression, emptiness. It's only really hit me now, the full impact of everything."

"Yeah," Rainbow simply said in an emotionally dead voice. "The house is destroyed, Chrysalis, the cultist, Morgorith, Lucifer, Yahweh, whatever you want to call him; all dead. We killed them. We killed them and saved the multiverse; and it doesn't help a goddamn thing." Rainbow nearly spat out that last sentence. "They're dead and we have to live with the pain."

"I guess so," Fluttershy agreed mournfully.

Rainbow waited a little while longer then said, "Fuck it, I'm out," and walked off.

Fluttershy started to leave as well but felt something strange, like a physic pull towards the wreckage. She looked around, but saw no one. Carefully she crawled under the police tape and made her way up to the rubble. With great care but not much reason she started shifting through the piles of broken wood, stone, and plaster until she came across a safe which had it's door broken open. Inside was an envelope. In the envelope was a bunch of papers. She looked at them and saw they were a list of forbidden books. The front page listed all the books with a brief rating as to how dangerous they were. At the bottom was The Necronomicon. Beside it, it simply said, "You can buy at Barnes & Noble, enough said". Above that was De Vermis Mysteriis , which was regarded with equal derision. As the names went up, the danger warnings became more severe. The second most dangerous book was The Revelations of Morgorith, which was the cult's own sacred tome. Above that, the only one above that, was Oblitus Libro Sequutur Somnia which carried only one word beside it - "DON'T". The following pages contained histories on each of the damnable tomes. Fluttershy looked around quickly in fear before running off with the papers in hand.

Chapter 26 The Thinking Place

Regina cycled between screaming in terror and delight as she clung to Fluttershy. The speed, the feeling of being out in the open, exposed to any and all dangers; the whirling and whizzing along the back roads they took once they got out of town, the blur of green and brown that once they slowed down would suddenly snap into shape and become the trees and bushes that they really were; it all made Regina's head spin. Every time they would take a sharp turn, her faith in both Fluttershy and God would be severely tested; and as soon as they straightened back out, she would squeal with joy and vow never to doubt either again.

Eventually they got to a small little patch of gravel by what looked like a former dirt road with a yellow barricade across it and grass slowly covering over the ground. Fluttershy pulled over on to the gravel and parked her bike. Regina was curious as to what Faustine was up to. She saw no reason to pull over but while she was slightly uneasy, she wasn't alarmed. She trusted Faustine and had faith that God wouldn't allow her to be harmed.

Fluttershy took her helmet off and said, "Follow me." She didn't say like a command or like a breezy invitation, just a regular old sentence.

They walked to where the barricade was and crawled over it. Regina stopped, now having a moment of actual uncertainty. "Faustine, it's blocked off. Do you think we should really go back there?" She asked with more than a little fear.

Fluttershy smiled in that wicked, teasing way of hers. "It's mostly to keep the motor bikes and ATVs out. We're good. Trust me." She then turned around and started to walk off again.

Regina decided to reluctantly follow her. She did her best to climb over but her dress proved to be more of a hinderance than she thought it would be and she fell flat on her back on the other with a pretty good thud. Fluttershy turned around and ran back to her.

"Are you ok?" she asked with real concern.

"Yeah," Regina replied, still trying to catch her breath from having the air knocked out of her. "I think I might want to invest in some pants if were going to be doing much more of that," she said as she stood up and vaguely pointed towards the barricade.

"It would be a good idea," Fluttershy added, not entirely joking.

The two walked down the path, the trees growing denser as the went. Still around the noon day time, the increased foliage made it appear far later than it was. The growing darkness was causing Regina some concern when she saw, just in the distance, what looked to be a clearing. It was hard to tell. The trees had grown in such a way over the path that it gave the impression of a doorway that had lost it's door. Fluttershy quickened her pace towards it and Regina followed suit. As they cleared the natural doorway, Regina gasped in awe. They were now in a wide open, grassy area with one, huge waterfall off towards it's back. A stream ran from it, gently slopping down. Beyond that was a breath taking view of the crystal clear, blue sky and a panoramic view of the forest bellow.

"This was an old logging sight," Flutter started to explain as she just looked at the view. "They would cut the trees down and send them down stream. At one point, around 1911; almost all of this was gone, clear cut. The loggers moved out and the forest moved back in. Some fires slowed it's progress, but it still came back. What we took back there was an road the loggers used to take to get here. The ground was so tore up, about the only thing that would grow is grass."

Fluttershy turned to Regina and continued. "This is my thinking place. I've done a lot of serious thinking up here about life, it's meaning, it's purpose. It's a good place to get your head cleared." Fluttershy once again turned away to look out at the view.

"I lost my virginity in a place not too dissimilar to this. He was the love of my life. He had long dreadlocks that he dyed green. Heh. Rastafarian, hippy, punk I used to call. I just melded with him on so many levels. He was everything I could have asked for." You could that there was so much she had to say but couldn't. Her mind drifted away while gazing out on to the view, the past, eternity, at this point they were all one and the same.

"This is like where I lived as well. I guess I still live there. Grew up is a much better word. That stream reminds of the one where I used to chase the ducks at." Regina was surprised by how much this place actually did remind her of her home. Put a small, modest, but well kept house right about there and it would be almost exactly like home , she thought to herself.

"Strange how life often repeats itself: action, locations," Fluttershy said absently, still not entirely out of her own head yet.

"Not strange Faustine, a sign. A sign from God that this is where we're supposed to be. I said it once, I'll say it again; I was meant to find you." Regina spoke softly as she walked over to Faustine and placed her right hand gently on Faustine's right shoulder.

"Not your god," Fluttershy mumbled beneath her breath before then she turned around to face Regina. "Were you serious about getting pants?" Her tone of voice was back to it's normal tone. She was fully present and aware; her self cast spell broken.

"I, uh, I mean, running shoes and sweat pants I guess would be good. I would like to continue to workout with you; but for everyday dress, I don't know. I don't see how I can justify that."

"Fashion changes," Fluttershy said with a cool, almost salesman like charm. "That dress you have doesn't look like it came from first century Judea. As you said yourself, The Bible calls for modest dress. A pair of lose fitting pants, a baggy shirt would be modest by today's standards. Oh, and, like the jogging pants you had on this morning, they would be tailored to a woman's body so by that definition they couldn't be boys clothes. Yes, be separate from this world in deed, thought, and spirit; but if your style of dress so puts people off they have no desire to talk to you, well you can't very well save souls that way. If nothing else, it'll keep you from falling over as much when you climb over things. Something to think about at least." Fluttershy then started walking back towards her bike.

There was something in Faustine's words which greatly troubled Regina. She did make some good points, but still, something was off. Once you start falling prey to the ways of the world, you become part of it. It seemed like a very slippery slope. Regina started after Faustine, running until she was beside her.

"I don't Faustine. It doesn't feel right."

"You know, I used to have a friend who's family were strict Christians. The strictest ones I had ever known until I met you. Yeah."

"So what happened to them," Regina asked curiously.

"Well she came out as a lesbian and her older sister got pregnant before wedlock. They never spoke to them again." Fluttershy spoke with an almost comical level of nonchalance.

"I don't get what you're trying to tell me with that story?" Regina asked not just confused but annoyed as well.

"Nothing. Just saying," she replied dismissively; finishing just as they had gotten back to the bike.

They went back to the college. The rest of the week pasted, Regina and Faustine grew even closer, and after two weeks, Regina started wearing pants.

Chapter 27 Changes

From the diary of Regina Maxwell:

Today was an interesting day. I wore pants for the first time. It was an interesting experience. As you know I struggled and prayed about this. Pants are for boys, girls shouldn't wear boys clothes. I don't want to sin (although I know I am a sinner who is unworthy of God's grace but am redeemed through the blood of Christ). The pants are made to fit a woman's frame and sold as women's pants (although how could something that is intrinsically male ever be made for a female?). I don't know but I decided it was ok to wear them and ask forgiveness if I had erred.

We went jogging and to the gym. Faustine said she took it easy for me and I believe her. She barely broke a seat. I'm not fat but I am out of shape. I was surprised by how tired I got. I never did have much physical activity though. I'm thin but not, I don't know, healthy, athletic? What would be the right word? Oh well; I guess it doesn't matter. I'm the only one who's ever going to read this. I'm still pretty sore from it, even though that was at the beginning of the day. I still plan on working out (two words?) with her.

We then went riding on her motorcycle. She got one with one of her former friends years ago. They used to enjoy riding together. She keeps saying former friends. I wonder why? She's had such a tragic life. I understand here in the fallen world, Satan rules. I still think it might be a bit much though (although who am I am to question The Lord's judgements which are perfect in all things please forgive me). Anyways it was scary and fun and the most exciting thing I've ever done. I loved it and hope to do it again as soon as possible.

Faustine is she about perfect. She's almost everything I could have hoped for in a room mate. She's so beautiful and fun and smart (I know I wrote all this before but it's true). I'm glad she is my best friend (abeit she also my only friend). And when we were riding she took me to this spot that looked almost exactly like where I grew up did and she said it looked like a place which had been special to her. I knew it was a sign from God telling me that I was meant to be here, to guide her to his path, save her soul. Praise be unto the Lord of Hosts.

One thing that has me troubled, Faustine said I should start wearing pants. Like not just for work outs, (workouts? I should look that up.) but just all the time. Her reasons made sense but they're still boys clothes and I would be wearing them only to conform to the fashion of the fallen world. I don't think this is right. It bothers my soul. Yet I can't deny that pants are more practical than dresses for some situations. Even more modest to be honest as they do not allow for open access to your sacred regions. I just remember on the tour, seeing the campus Christian club and they all looked like the same fallen they were trying to witness to. The girls especially looked like harlots with their low cut tops and tight pants. False witnesses are worse than none.I really must pray on this and seek The Lord's guidance on this.

Speaking of which, she told me about the books she was reading. She talked about how they were written by a madman and how anyone who read the third one went crazy and killed themselves. She said it was a joke but something in the way she had told it frightened me. I could almost feel a demonic presence in her words as she spoke. I must definitely pray on this.

So the rest of the week passed. Fluttershy continued to show Regina around campus and the town. They continued to workout together and Regina found that she was actually getting comfortable with the group showers. By the second and start of class they had become second nature to her. She even wondered why in her journal she had been so afraid and taught it had been so wrong to be naked around others (in the context of just getting a shower at least). Although, she still thought it was weird that the school didn't just spend the money to give the dorms private showers.

Classes were all Gen Ed her first semester as to the fact she hadn't declared a major yet (evangelism wasn't a major that was offered). She found the history class infuriating because it promoted the lie of evolution. She wanted to stand up and scream at the professor but knew if she did, she would get kicked out and her mission would end; so she bit her tongue and would later write about how nothing had been as black and white as it seemed before she started and how she was making moral compromises to accomplish a greater good. That some how seemed odd to her since she was always told to stand for Truth no matter what.

Between classes, when she could, she tried to reach out to people about The Lord but as Faustine had told her, most avoided her (some she even caught mocking her for her style of dress). It was then she made the decision to try and blend in more. You can't reach out to someone who refuses to even acknowledge your existence she supposed. So she went with Faustine to get what would be modest, modern clothing.She had to be careful, she was on a monthly allowance from home so she couldn't spend too much. The pants turned out to be the easy part. Finding shirts that weren't cut down to kingdom come was another. But she eventually succeeded.

As soon as she started back to class, she noticed that her fellow students were friendlier to her. Some she even started to look at as quasi friends. Her only true friend continued to be Faustine though. She followed her around like a puppy. Sometimes she even felt like crying when she wasn't around her, but Regina still kept her mind focused on what she needed to do. Which, when she learned she could make pamphlets to hand out, got her in trouble because one of them was an anti-LGBTQIA+ one. She got called in front of the dean for that one and almost got expelled. So, she decided to make another moral compromise and not pass anymore out.

August became September, became October. Halloween was an extremely painful holiday for Regina to watch people celebrate. The open embrace and celebration of evil made her cry herself to sleep some nights. In a world this lost, brining souls to Christ seemed impossible. Even her beloved Faustine, who would comfort her on those nights, was still no closer to accepting Christ when they first met. If anything, she had changed more than Faustine had. Not only had she gone to wearing the clothes of the fallen world but she had even started shaving her legs, arm pits, and shaping her brows (although shaving or shaping her pubic hair was still a no go). She wondered what was next - would she start wearing make-up? She felt so lost and confused. Two incidents would soon take care of her confusion for good.

Chapter 28 The First Incident

Regina sat at her desk working on her reading assignment. Part of her Gen Ed classes was one on creative writing. For this assignment she had five poems to read on a related subject and write an essay on how each poet approached the subject and how they used style as substance. It was boring, overly complicated, and she hated it. She hated most things now. Maybe not hated, but was greatly displeased.

She was sent out into to the world to witness and bring souls to Christ yet she had completely failed. The actual work she needed to do for school ate up most of her time; leaving her next to none to engage in her mission. Then there was the push back. Frequently her evangelizing brought her in to conflict with the other students, administrators, even the other so-called Christian clubs (whom she dubbed the false apostles). Finally there was her, herself.

She took her right hand and moved some hair behind her right ear to get it away from her face. She wore her hair down now. She shaved now. She shaped her eyebrows now. She wore pants and shirts and sweaters. The only thing she didn't do was wear make-up. Each decision, each step, was a small one. Ok, maybe "a small one" is an understatement since each one involved intensive prayer; but once made, it didn't feel like a life changing decision. Now here she was; almost unrecognizable from who she was when she started. It would seem she didn't change the world, the world changed her.

She turned her head and looked out the window. It was night, the lights from the various buildings she could formed what she had come to call urban stars. The light from the real stars had been crowed out and the light from the windows and street lights had taken their place. There weren't that many though, not enough to completely chase away the darkness of night, so the window still took on a mirror like quality. She stared at her own ghostly image reflected in it. She felt the way it looked - ephemeral, incomplete, a distortion of who or what she was.

She turned back to her computer screen. It was an old laptop that Faustine had given her to use. She looked at it but didn't see it. She was still lost in her own thoughts. Why had she been chosen? Clearly she was no good at what she was doing. God didn't make mistakes though. He had sent her so she must be the right person for the job. Maybe all the changes she had made was what was keeping her from doing what she was meant to. Yet she was never told or shown a sign that she was wrong. Then again, maybe that was because God didn't feel he had to. She knew what was right and what was wrong. Maybe His silence was His way of saying, you know better. Maybe she should change back. Then again, that didn't really work out so well the first time.

Everything she had done seemed logical at the time. She had made moral compromises but all those were to accomplish the greater good. Maybe that was it though. Maybe because she was acting out of reason and not faith, that was why God had been so silent. Your ways are not our ways. Your thoughts are so far above ours, she thought to herself. Maybe that's all true but a little sign wouldn't hurt.

"Hey Reggie, what's going on?" Fluttershy asked as she walked into their dorm. She had been out at the library working on a research paper. She could tell that something was wrong with Regina by how still she sat.

"Oh, hey Faustine," Regina replied on autopilot. It was hard to tell if she had actually acknowledged Fluttershy was there or if the greeting was so ingrained that her conscious mind didn't actually know she was there.

Fluttershy walked over, sat on the edge of the desk, and lifted Regina's head up so that their eyes met. "What's up Reg? You ok?" she asked concerned.

Regina turned away, back to her screen, and shook her head. "Just thinking; trying to figure some things out," she replied despondently.

Fluttershy nodded. "Listen, we've both been really good with our diet and exercise; how `bout we go out for some PP - pizza and Pepsi? "

Regina smiled slightly at Faustine's crude joke. "Ok. That sounds good," she answered; still depressed and confused but with a slight bit of happiness.

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What Fluttershy said had been true. Both of them had watched what they were eating and exercised almost everyday. For Fluttershy, it was all about maintaining what she had; for Regina, it was just about hanging out with Fluttershy but the results were still amazing. She had lost ten pounds total put had drastically toned up to the point where she was just starting to get a six pack. She already had to replace all the new clothes she had bought as well as buying new underwear.

That had been an experience. She had never seen so many different (and often down right slutty) choices. Had not Faustine been there with her, she probably would have broke down and ran out of the store. Luckily Faustine was able to keep her cool and eventually she began to enjoy the experience. She picked some nice things, not all were white, she got some pink, light blue, and purple high leg panties and matching t-shirt bras. In the end, she had a lot of fun.

This is what Regina thought about as the two sat down at the booth in the pizzeria. It just made her wonder if she had completely lost track of what she was supposed to be doing again. Faustine whom she spent the most time with, talked the most to, was still as lost as she had ever been. There had to be something that she was missing, something she was doing wrong.

"Hey. Reg, I'm here to help even if that help is only listening. Something is obviously bothering you. If you don't want to talk now, that's fine, but my ears are open any time you need." Fluttershy reached out and took Regina's right hand.

Regina nodded; still looking away. She appreciated what Faustine was doing but doubted if she could really help.

"Well, Ryan wants to know if we want to come to a Halloween party with him this weekend. He invited me at the library today. It's not a frat thing so that's good." Fluttershy tried to sound upbeat to see if that would lighten Regina's mood.

"I can't be involved in anything that celebrates the Devil,: Regina said without much conviction. "What am I doing here Faustine? I was sent to win souls, change hearts and minds and the only thing I've changed is me. I feel like I'm failing God."

It was then Fluttershy understood the full depth of what Regina was going through.

"Honey, sweetie; the only thing you've changed is your appearance. You're still the same sweet girl I first met almost three months ago. You still read your Bible every night. You're not failing. You're living."

"Living for who though? Me? The fallen world? God? I just don't know anymore. I don't even know if I know who I am any more."

Fluttershy could hear the clear anguish in Regina's voice. She was breaking. "I'm not a Bible expert but if I remember correctly; isn't there a verse that says you shall know a tree by it's fruit? You feel your god is love right? Then show love. Show compassion. Help those who need it. If your actions shine, people will come to you."

"I tried that Faustine. And it's gotten me no where."

"You changed your appearance. That's all you've done. That's not exactly helping anyone. Also, handing out pamphlets out side of where the LGBTQIA support group meets saying they're all perverts going to Hell wasn't helping either."

"Yes it was. I was trying to warn them so they wouldn't go to Hell," Regina protested.

"Ok and what would you think if someone was handing out flyers as you were leaving church saying all Christians were dumb and stupid? Especially if you never saw them before."

"That's different!"

"Why? Because you're right and they would be wrong? Even if you don't consider that, you still wouldn't feel so good about that person would you? Maybe you wouldn't even want to talk to them. It wouldn't matter if they were a good person or how well they treated other people outside of that incident; you still wouldn't want to engage with them - am I right?"

"I see your point," Regina said reluctantly.

Fluttershy leaned in over the table. "Reggie, you're an amazing person. I love you to death. You have a real purpose to you and everyone is going to know it. Don't beat yourself up, don't second guess yourself. You're on the right path; trust me."

Regina squeezed Fluttershy's hand as she looked deep into her eyes. Being around Faustine always made her feel better, special, loved. The feelings she had, the ones she was having now, she couldn't explain them, she couldn't even fully comprehend them except to know that she enjoyed being around Faustine. More than that, she felt a peace, a deep peace whenever she was around her and that she felt a minor anger or resentment whenever she talked or went out with Ryan. This connection, this bond, made her feel at both warm and scared at the same time.

"I do trust you Faustine. I trust you completely."

"Then come with me Saturday night to the party. You don't have to dress up, you don't have to drink or anything. Just come, come there to be with me. Who knows, maybe you'll win a soul over or, even better, maybe you'll have some fun."

Regina reluctantly nodded but still had a smile on her face. "Ok, I will for you."

****************************************************************************************************

The two returned to their dorm with Regina in much better spirits than when they had left. It wasn't so much as she had solved her issues but that rather Faustine had caused her to forget them. That was always her way. Faustine never really addressed, talked about, or discussed what Regina was actually feeling with respects to her religious calling, she just slowly (or sometimes quickly) changed the subject. Regina figured it out right away but went along because onw - Faustine always made her feel better; and two - because Regina knew that since Faustine was a nonbeliever; she was holding back her actual thoughts as to not upset Regina. It was something Regina admired and respected about her.

As soon as Regina had closed their door behind, Faustine, still giggling from the conversation that had been having on the way up, stopped, turned around, and said, "Hey, I wanna show you something; see what you think." Fluttershy went over to her bed and pulled a box out from underneath it. It was thin, rectangular in shape, and plain white.

"I got this a couple days," Fluttershy said as she went in to the bathroom and closed the door.

"Alright," called out Regina in a slightly confused voice. She figured it must be an outfit of some sort. Faustine would sometimes ask Regina's opinion on clothes she bought when they went out shopping together. It was nice, Regina enjoyed being asked, but Faustine had such impeccable taste in clothing, she really didn't need Regina's advice. She wondered if she should sit down but decided to just keep standing. After fifteen minutes, Regina began to rethink her decision when the bathroom door opened and Faustine walked out.

Fluttershy slowly, gracefully made her entrance. What she was wearing was no outfit, at least none you'd ever wear out somewhere. It was a light blue, sheer robe lined in fake white fur. It buttoned together at the breast with one button. The sleeves came to just bellow the elbow with the total length falling just bellow her hips. She had no bra on underneath with allowed full view of her breasts. She had a pair of pale blue thong panties on. they were a see through lace to just about where her slit began; there they were solid.

Fluttershy did a few sultry poses in the doorway before stepping out seductively and saying in a deep, sexy voice, "What do you think?"

Regina stumbled backward, unable to breathe. Her brain had completely fried. She was incapable of coherent thought. All she could do was stand there, mouth agape, shaking.

"Well, I take it that you think I either look really good or really bad," Fluttershy said with a laugh. "My ego suggests I take it as the former."

"You . . . you . . . you look . . . amazing," Regina struggled to get out.

"Thanks," Fluttershy responded with a giggle. She then did a quick turn to give a full 360 degree view. "I'm thinking about asking Ryan if I can spend the night with him next weekend and I wanted to get something with a little 'wow' factor behind it. I know you don't approve of that type of thing, and I'm sorry if this makes you feel uncomfortable; but you are my friend, one of my best really, and you're honest, so that's why I thought I'd ask."

Regina still struggled to think, let alone speak. Seeing Faustine, like this, it was doing something to her that she couldn't comprehend. She couldn't take her eyes off her, they just roamed up and down her body, trying to take in all that she could see and burn it permanently to her memory. A desire to reach and touch the fabric, run her hands over it, started to take over.

"It, uh, it looks, you look very nice," she stumbled to say.

Fluttershy picked up the bottom of the robe and pulled it forward a little. "Here, feel. It's super soft."

Regina walked over, in an almost trance like state, took the fabric in her and, and rubbed it between her fingers. It was extremely soft and silky to the touch, no doubt. Regina's gaze moved from the fabric she was holding to Faustine's breasts to her face. She felt a heavy pressure on her chest and found it difficult to breathe again.

"I, I might not approve, but he will be grateful," Regina said with all her strength. Then she dropped the robe in a feeling somewhere between anger and sadness. She assumed it was because Faustine was planning on engaging in sinful relations with a boy, yet there was something else there she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Oh, thanks Reggie. That means a lot," Fluttershy responded happily and gave Regina a hug.

Regina's eyes bulged out of her head as her body turned ramrod stiff. Her brain once again shut itself down.

Fluttershy pulled back and smiled. "Well, I'm just going to go to bed now. Since I already have this on, I'm just going to wear it to bed. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," Regina answered back awkwardly.

**************************************************************************************************

Regina woke from a light, troubled sleep. She could hear soft, gentle, moaning coming from across the room. They didn't sound like moans of pain or even those cartoony moans ghosts make in movies and TV shows. These sounded almost joyful, happy. She slowly opened her eyes and looked to where the sounds were coming from.

Faustine, bathed in the pale. white light coming in from the window, sat on her bed, her legs spread. The robe she had on was opened and pulled to the side to fully expose her breasts. She gently slid her left hand over them, occasionally pinching or twisting a nipple. Her right hand softly moved up and down on the outside of her panties. Sometimes her hand would move the crotch of the panty over to reveal a little of her labia.

Regina watched, transfixed, as Faustine continued. She took her left hand and pulling the crotch of her panties fully away, exposing all of her pussy. the finger tips of her right hand glided up and down her slit; then she brought her fingers to her mouth, sucked on them, then went back to their previous work.

As she watched, Regina realized her own right hand had pulled up her nightgown, slid beneath her panties, and was rubbing herself in the same way as Faustine. She didn't try to fight (she doubted if she could have anyways). Her hand perfectly syncopated with Faustines, matching speed, rhythm, and motion perfectly. Little sparks of electricity began to flash and spark from her genitals. She also felt a wetness down there as if she had peed herself. Millions of little bubble seemed to form and pop all over her skin. Her conscious self disappeared, evaporated a little into her brain as instinct took over and she became awash in pleasure.

See could see Faustines hips start to gyrate and pulse as her hand moved quicker, concentrating on one area right above her vaginal opening, her left hand occasionally sticking a finger inside. Regina assumed it was the bump she now felt above her own. What was that called, the clitoris? It didn't matter. It commanded her full attention. A brief thought of sticking a finger inside her own self prang up but quickly vanished as to the fact her clitoris was providing such wonderful sensations.

Soon Regina's own hips began to buck and writhe on their own, still in time with Faustine's. A burning pressure began to build in her vagina as she felt it began to contract wildly. Every nerve cell in her body began to fire and became fire. Her muscles began to convulse in ways she had never imagined before and from the look on Faustine's face and the way her own body was twitching; she was feeling the same. Suddenly it felt like there was an explosion between her legs. She almost screamed out but had enough of herself left to stop herself. Her body stiffened, relaxed, stiffened, relaxed, in multiple cycles before falling limp. All Regina could do was stare at Faustine, as an ocean of pleasure she had never experienced came over her. Faustine sighed, licked and sucked her fingers one last time, got underneath her covers, and rolled over.

Regina laid in her bed, in a state of pure bliss until her thinking mind came back to her and she realized what she had done. She had improperly touched herself. More than that, she did it while watching another person, another GIRL do it as well. She began to quietly cry to herself as she slapped her legs. She felt sick and disgusting. She had betrayed God most of all. She repented with all her heart and just wanted to jump up and shower the sin off her but was afraid of Faustine seeing her and asking what she was doing. So she stayed put and cried herself to sleep.

Chapter 29 The Second Incident

Regina ceased to be a Christian in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 28, 2018. She gloriously, rapturously, ceased to be a Christian. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start on the day after she learned the joys of masturbation shall we? Let's.

The alarm clock went off as it did every morning to announce it was time for their run. Regina could hear Faustine get up and move about. Same as always, get sweat suit, get dressed in the bathroom. Regina usually got up immediately with her but this time she laid in bed, not wanting to move.

She felt disgusting, unclean; like she had betrayed God and now His full wrath was about to come down upon her. She was afraid to move her legs because she might still feel the wetness down there. She wanted to burn her underwear and nightgown and sheets, and anything else that might have touched her body last night. She didn't want to look at herself or Faustine. How could she ever look at her again? Just trying to think of her just brought images of her last night, sitting on her, spread eagled, playing with herself. She didn't know what she was going to do; how she could ever look at Faustine again (let alone live with her).

She heard the bathroom door open and Faustine merrily say, "Hey sleepy head. You planning on getting up or what?"

How could she talk and act like everything is normal Regina thought to herself. How could she even respond back? Finally she forced herself to say, "I'm not really feeling the best today."

Fluttershy could hear a brokenness in Regina's voice. It was more than just a physical sickness, it was a soul sickness. She walked over to Regina's bed side, concerned and asked, "Are you ok? You need to go to the hospital? Anything I can do to help."

"No. I'll be ok," she replied weakly.

"Alright. I'll just stay here then with you. In case you need anything," Fluttershy said sympathetically as she started to sit down on the edge of Regina's bed.

Regina quickly threw her covers off and got out of bed. "No, let's go," she said in an mistakenly angry and irritated voice.

***************************************************************************************************

The whole run, Regina did not talk to Fluttershy. No matter how many times she tried, Regina remained silent. She wouldn't even look at her whenever Fluttershy tried to talk with her. She figured out she was angry with her; now she needed to find out why. Fluttershy reached and grabbed Regina's shoulder, bringing them both to a stop, and turned her towards her.

"Hey, what's going on? Did I do something to you?" she asked concerned but also annoyed.

"No," Regina answered back in a short, flat voice which contained just a hint of irritation.

"Really, `cuz you're sure acting like I did. I mean, we usually laugh and joke the whole time on our jogs, but today you can't be bothered to say word one to me; so it's gotta be something."

"One. There. Are you happy now?"

The two stood off facing each other looking like two fighters getting ready to go a couple rounds. Fluttershy kept her arms to her sides while Regina crossed hers over her chest. Each was unsure what they should do next or what they even wanted the other person to do next.

Finally it was Fluttershy who took a step closer to Regina and said with as much control as she could muster, "Listen; I don't know what crawled up your fucking ass last night but lose the fucking attitude before I lose it for you. Alright? I don't fucking need this shit, you got it? You fucking tell me what the fuck I did or get the hell out of my face."

To Fluttershy's surprise, not only didn't Regina back down, she took a step towards her. Their faces only about ten inches apart.

"I tried that remember? I wanted to stay home - alone. You wouldn't let though. And do you want to know something? I'm sick of your vulgarity. I'm sick of you throwing your hedonistic lifestyle in my face. I am trying to do the Lord's work here and all you've done is drawn me away from my path."

"I, I, I drew you away? All I've ever done was be your friend. You changed on your own. Oh, and 'doing the Lord's' work almost got you kicked out of here remember?"

Fluttershy took another step closer, her face now only about three inches from Regina's. Her face was burning red, her hands shook as she continued, "You ever think I hold back? You ever think out of respect for you, for our friendship, I keep my mouth shut on all your God stuff? I was mentally and physically abused by my mother. My brother was raped by a teacher who he later told me was his church's youth pastor. He became a drug addict because of it. My boyfriend was murdered in front of me," well on video, Fluttershy added in her head. " My one adoptive sister is dead, another is comatose and paraplegic because she tried to kill herself. I have gone through more fucking shit than just about anyone. I have more than earned the right to be vulgar. I have also earned the right to fuck; to want to fuck. If nothing else so I can actually do something to earn that ass whooping I got for the first part of fucking life!"

Fluttershy was boiling over with rage now. Part of her wanted Regina to say something that would fully push her over and cause her to beat her down. Regina didn't step back but her face did change a bit. The anger was still there, but there was sadness as well. Fluttershy couldn't tell if the sadness was for her or Regina feeling sorry for herself.

"I . . . I saw what you did last night," Regina said quietly and looked away in shame.

"What? What are you talking about? What did I do last night?" Fluttershy asked confused.

Regina kept looking off to her right side, down at the ground. She couldn't bring herself to look at Faustine. "On your bed, last night. Your moans woke me up and I saw you . . . you touching yourself, down there. I didn't know what to say or do, I just laid there, watching . . . " she trailed away and burst into tears.

"Oh my god," Fluttershy said gently. She went over and hugged Regina. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought you were asleep. I should have used the bathroom."

She went quiet for a bit then started talking again. "I understand now. Reggie, you should be angry with me. That was sexual assault. I might not have touched you, but that's what it was. I can't say how sorry I am. I'd understand if you wanted to move out and report me."

Regina looked at Faustine. Her face was sincere and repentant. She could see haw sorry she was. Regina thought about telling her the even bigger reason she was upset; that she had touched herself as well when she had been watching Faustine masturbate, but she couldn't. That felt like it would open up doors she wasn't even ready to admit were there.

Regina hugged Fluttershy back and buried her head into her shoulder. What Faustine had done was wrong, but so was what she had done. You can never blame another for your sins. She also thought about how contrite Faustine had looked, how genuinely sorry she was. How could she still be angry with her? And that made her think if she couldn't angry with Faustine, how could God be angry with her when she was equally repentant? It was then she thought she realized what God was trying to teach her - the world didn't need judgement, but grace.

Regina pulled back and shook her head. "No. I forgive you just as my Lord forgives me. You're my best friend and I don't want to leave your side yet."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said and gave Regina a quick kiss on the forehead. They then finished their run.

***********************************************************************************************************

Saturday, October 27th, 2018, 7:00 PM, Fluttershy and Regina's dorm. Regina had a black, knit sweater on, dark blue jeans, and sneakers. She sat on the chair by her desk. Behind her stood Fluttershy in a skin tight, French maid's costume on. She was brushing Regina's hair.

"Ponytail or braided?" Fluttershy asked as she ran the brush through Regina's hair.

"Ponytail is good enough for me," Regina said happily. She was perfectly capable of doing her own hair but she was highly nervous about going to the party tonight so having Faustine do it was a real help.

"You're the boss," Fluttershy said almost as happily and grabbed a hair tie off Regina's desk. "So, feeling any better?" she asked as she started tying Regina's hair back.

"Eh, a little. Still nervous, but excited. This is my first party, ever. I wish it wasn't for Halloween, but you got to start somewhere right?"

"You'll do fine," Fluttershy assured her. "Just remember the rules. Never accept a drink from a guy. If a guy asks you to go someplace with him; even just another room in the house, politely say no. Try to find at least three girls you trust and keep in visual contact with them at all times; or at least as much as possible. Anything starts to go down, unwanted touching, someone trying to lead you away, raise hell. Scream if you got. Come get me as soon as possible. Never leave your drink unattended. We arrive together, we leave together. It's sad that we have to do all this; we shouldn't have to, but you live in the world as it is, not as you want it to be. Got all that?"

"Yes I do. I'm even bringing my own water bottle just to be on the safe side," Regina responded with a big smile.

Flutterhsy bent down and gave Regina a quick kiss on the cheek. "That's my girl." She then stood up and said, "Well you're all done. Let's go."

7:53 PM - The Girls arrive at the party.

Most "apartments" that surround college campuses are just dilapidated, old, single family homes that some slum lord bought on the cheap, threw up some interior walls to section it off inside, and called it good. The drywall, or in some cases plaster, was almost always cracked with holes in it. The paint was usually chipped and peeling. They were cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and usually only a fraction of the size of one of the dorms. They were drab, dingy affairs.

Still, most students didn't care. For them it was just the next step up on the road to true adulthood and freedom. Besides, most students were only looking for a place to party and pass out in. That was the whole symbiotic relationship between the landlords and students. The landlords never said anything about the students partying because they knew the apartments were crap to begin with, and the students never complained about the apartments being crap because they knew they were only going to mess them up anyways. So each looked the other way and pretended not to notice. As long as the cops, fire department, or building inspector wasn't called in, each was happy.

By that standard, Ryan's apartment was quite luxurious. The landlord had bought an old duplex, but instead of sectioning it off into eight micro apartments as most would have done; he only made it into four. The basement was one, The attic was two, and the first and second floor of each half was three and four. Ryan and his friends rented the first and second floor of the left hand hide. It still wasn't anything to write home about, but it was way better than most.

Regina, lacking this comparative knowledge, thought the place looked and smelled like a dump. Smells that she had never encountered before but other would have recognized as pot, cigarettes, and beer, made her stomach churn, eyes water, and her nose and throat burn. The regular lights had been replaced by colored ones - red, blue, green. They bleed and intermixed with each other causing everything to look darker and slightly off. There were far too many people than could safely fit in this place, causing everyone to unintentionally bump and grind against each other. Meanwhile the music pulsed and throbbed at ear splitting levels. The boys all wore costumes that ranged from the barely counts to the elaborate while all the girls looked like they were getting ready to take the main stage at a strip club.

"SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?" yelled Fluttershy to Regina.

"THAT I SHOULD BE PERFORMING AN EXORCISM." Regina shouted back.

Fluttershy gave her a quick shoulder bump and they both smiled at each other. They then slowly tried to make there way through the mass of bodies to get deeper in. Fluttershy kept looking for Ryan while Regina stayed focused on Fluttershy.

"ARE PARTIES ALWAYS THIS LOUD?" Regina shouted.

"ONLY THE REALLY GOOD ONES," Fluttershy shouted back.

Suddenly Fluttershy felt an arm go around her waist. She turned to deck whoever it was and squealed in delight when she saw it was Ryan. She jumped into his arms and gave him a long, passionate kiss.

Regina turned away both embarrassed and something else. It was that tinge of anger. She didn't know why she felt it. But she did every time Faustine talked about or was with Ryan. As she looked away, she saw a woman coming down the steps. She was the only other person she saw who wasn't wearing a costume. She had on a white, grey, and black flannel shirt that was left open, a tank top that she would later discover was olive drab but she couldn't make it out in this lighting. The Tank top was tucked into a pair of faded jeans with no belt, and (another thing she would learn later on) a pair of black work boots. Her hair was black in a slightly boyish cut; just long enough to come down past her ears and flair up at the ends. She made eye contact with Regina and gave her a weird, almost smirking, grin. It exuded confidence and strength.

Regina was immediately fascinated by this woman. She turned to Faustine and yelled, "WHO'S THAT GIRL?"

Fluttershy looked to where Regina was pointing and scowled. "THAT'S BETH. OR BETTER KNOWN AS E-LEZ-ABETH. SHE'S THE CAMPUS DYKE. IT'S SAID THERE'S ONLY TWO TYPES OF GIRLS THAT GO HERE - ONE'S SHE HAS SLEPTED WITH AND THE ONES SHE WILL SLEEP WITH. BE CAREFUL AROUND HER. SHE CAN BE PUSHIER THAN SOME GUYS HERE."

Regina looked at Faustine with great interest. "WELL, WHICH CATAGORY ARE YOU IN?" she asked.

"TECHNICALLY IN THE LATER, ALTHOUGH NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING. MY FRESHMAN YEAR SHE TRIED TO PUT THE MOVES ON ME. IT DIDN'T WORK."

"THE EXCEPTION THAT PROVES THE RULE," Ryan added cheerfully. "HERE, LET ME SHOW YOU AROUND AND INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME PEOPLE," he added.

Ryan lead the two around, showing them where the downstairs bathroom was and talked about how nice he place was and how much room they had. He introduced Regina to some of his guy friends as well as some girls. The boys were nice enough, Regina thought, but she was still uncomfortable around. After a bit, Regina saw Faustine whisper something in Ryan's ear and him nod in agreement.

Faustine took Regina's hand and leaned in next to her ear. "Ryan and I are going to go upstairs for a bit. Don't worry, I won't be gone long, come get me if you need me. You should be fine her with the others. If Ryan likes them, they're good people," she said as softly as she could while still trying to be heard.

Regina grew frightened. She didn't know what she would do or how she would cope without Faustine there. Still she decided to put on a brave face and try. She gave a quick prayer for strength and said ok. Faustine and Ryan then made their way upstairs. She watched mournfully as the two disappeared. She just kept watching when a voice from behind startled her.

"FRIENDS DITCH YA?"

Regina turned around in fright and saw it was the woman she saw earlier.

"HUH? UH . . . NO. THEY JUST HAD SOMETHING THEY HAD TO DO," Regina shouted somewhat still scared and somewhat defensively.

"I BET THEY," Beth replied with that same smile on her face. "I'M BETH BY THE WAY."

"I KNOW, FAUSTINE TOLD ME." Regina was still scared but hid it behind a hint of anger.

"OH, I BET SHE DID. LITTLE MIS FLUSTINE AND I HAVE HISTORY TOGETHER," Beth said mockingly.

"IT'S FAUSTINE; AND YES SHE DID." This time, Regina was legitimately angry.

"EASY THERE GIRL. I MEAN NOTHING BY IT. I AINT TRYING TO TAKE A DUMP ON YOUR GIRLFRIEND THERE." Beth's tone was easy, joking. It was like a parent trying to calm a child who was about to act up over something small and stupid.

"SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND; NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Regina snapped back.

"HEY, IT'S COOL. IT IS. I DIDN'T COME OVER HERE TO START TROUBLE; I JUST WANTED TO SAY HI. I"VE SEEN YOU AROUND AND YOU LOOK LIKE A COOL PERSON. WE CAN TALK OR I CAN WALK. IT'S ALL THE SAME TO ME. YOU'RE CHOICE."

******************************************************************************************************

As soon as Fluttershy got Ryan in his bedroom, she was all over him. Her mouth, her hands, all rushing to grab, to explore some new part of his body. Ryan, while aflame with passion, pushed her back and panted out, "You, you uh, huh, huh, you sure you want to do this. We ah, we don't have to if you don't want to."

Fluttershy scowled at him as she undid his pants. "Just shut the fuck up so I can start sucking your dick," she said impatiently. As soon as his pants were open at the front, she dropped down to her knees, took his dick out, wrapped her mouth around it, and started sucking it, moaning in delight.

************************************************************************************************************

The more Regina talked to Beth, the more she liked her. She was witty, with a dry, sarcastic humor. She was really smart with a lot of keen observations on college life, the relationship between boys and girls and how those power dynamics shaped life on campus. She had a ton of great story to tell; like when her parents kicked her out of the house when she was fourteen because they found out she was gay; how she lived on the streets for a year before a kindly, middle aged, black trans woman took her in and raised her like her own. Regina couldn't believe how fascinating this woman was.

As they talked, a slow song came on and Regina saw everyone start to couple up and sway to the music. Some kissed, some groped each other, others just held each other as tight as possible. A tinge of sadness hit Regina when she saw this.

"Hey, you wanna dance?" Beth said into Regina's ear.

Regina turned and looked at Beth, stunned. She shook her head no. "I know what you are, but that's not me," she seemed to say almost apologetically.

Beth just laughed. "Hey, it's like David Bowie said, we're only dancing."

Regina then said something that shocked herself, "Ok."

*********************************************************************************************************

Fluttershy had her knees over Ryan's shoulders. His hands were on hers as he thrust and pounded away.

"That's right, fuck me, fuck me! Split my fucking pussy in two! Ram it! Ram it deep! Come on and fuck me!" Fluttershy barked in unbridled, lustful passion.

*********************************************************************************************************

At first, they stood about two feet apart, but as the music kept going, they slowly came closer and closer together. There was something about being here, with Beth, dancing, that was almost trance like. She would just look at her face as she could feel the heat from her body get closer. At first; their hands were locked together, but as they grew closer, their hands separated and slid down the others arms and to their waists.

"You know, I saw you on your first. I was there when and Faustine first went to the gym together. I saw they way you looked at her; the way you followed her around. I almost died trying to hide who I was. I have the scars to prove it," Beth said as softly and as soothingly as the music would allow her.

Regina couldn't understand what she was saying. She was just lost, in Beth's eyes, the mere sound of her voice, the growing, warm sensation she felt as their bodies finally touched.

"I know who you are. You don't have to hide anymore. I can free you. Be free," Beth said as she slowly stroked the side of Regina's face.

Now Regina was completely in the sensations of the moment. All higher level, conscious thought was gone. She took no notice of Beth moving in, all she felt was her lips touching her own. Once, twice, then a long kiss, curious tongues slowly coming out to explore the strange territory of a foreign mouth. Beth's hands moved around Regina's waist again, then clasping her buttocks, forcing her hips to grind against hers. Beth in return could feel Regina's hands moving up her back, gently.

Beth kissed her way from Regina's mouth to her ear and whispered, "I know who you are because you're like me. You are me."

It was then Regina came to her senses, screamed, and pushed Beth away as hard as she could.

"NO! NO! I AM NOT LIKE YOU!" Regina screamed at the top of her lungs. "I AM NOT A SODOMITE! I AM NOT A QUEER!" She turned around, tears streaming down her face as she pushed her way through the staring onlookers to the door and out into the night.

********************************************************************************************

Fluttershy was now on top of Ryan, grinding away, matching her vaginal contractions to his penile ones as he came. The sensation was like one of having his dick "milked". She was about to say something particularly vulgar when she heard a scream. She stopped and listened. It was Regina.

Fluttershy quickly jumped off of Ryan and got dressed. She rushed downstairs to see what was going on only to find Regina was already gone. She looked around and saw Beth. She stormed over to her.

"What did you fucking do to her?" Fluttershy angrily demanded.

"Cool your tits bitch. I didn't do anything but let that pyscho girlfriend of yours know what she truly is," Beth responded dismissively.

"You have no clue who she truly is," Fluttershy responded ominously and stormed off after Regina.

***************************************************************************************************

When Fluttershy got back to their dorm, Regina was busily putting her head covering on. She had already gotten her one white dress on. She was loudly sobbing, crying. She turned to Fluttershy and before she could say a word, Regina screamed a primal, guttural scream, "GET OUT! I'M LEAVING! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! I"M DONE!"

Fluttershy looked at her sorrowfully and shut the door. "Reggie," she said softly.

"NO! I said no!" Regina shouted back and then she collapsed on her bed; sitting, bent over, crying into her hands.

"What did she do to you?" Fluttershy asked softly as she slowly made her way over to Regina's bed.

Regina kept her face buried in her hands as she shook her head. She then raised her head, dropped her left hand on her lap and put her right hand on the side of her face. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, she finally was able to say, "She kissed me".

"Fluttershy sat down beside her and tried to put her hand on Regina's shoulder but she batted it away. "Reggie, you have to go to the campus police and tell them you've been assaulted. She . . . " before Fluttershy could finish Regina cut her off.

"She didn't assault me, I wanted it. I wanted her to kiss me. I enjoyed her kissing me." Her voice was cracking, mournful, full of sorrow and woe.

Fluttershy looked down at her lap in some surprise and sadness of her own. "Oh, I see," she said quietly.

"No you don't," Regina said, still sad but now angry. "When you touched yourself last night, I didn't just see you, I watched you. I touched myself while watching you. I . . . I have feelings for you. I am possessed by a demon of homosexuality and it's driving me to have unnatural desires for someone I can't, I shouldn't have." Regina broke down crying again.

"Reggie, I have feelings for you to," Fluttershy said softly, quietly.

Regina jumped off the bed and screamed at Fluttershy, "DON'T SAY THAT! YOU DON'T GET TO SAY THAT!" She started pacing up and down, parallel to her bed; stomping almost. Fluttershy could see a million and one thoughts cross Regina's face, do battle, fade away and attack anew. Finally she stopped, turned back to Fluttershy and asked, "When? When did you have feelings for me?"

Fluttershy looked thoughtfully at her and said, "In some ways it was when I first saw you. In a lot of ways you reminded me of me when I was younger. You were so sweet and caring and you made me laugh and I just started seeing you in a different light. I kept it to myself because what would be the point in telling you other than to freak you out?"

Regina slowly sat down beside Fluttershy. "I failed God, I failed Christ, my family, I'm going to Hell." Her voice was soft, quiet, steady. All the emotion had drained out of it. She sounded like a death row inmate who finally realized their fate and resigned themselves to it.

Fluttershy new it was time. She put her hand on Regina's knee. When she turned to look at her, Fluttershy asked, "Why did He make the tree?"

"Huh?" Regina asked, confused, not knowing what Faustine was talking about.

"God, why did he make the tree? The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? There was no reason for him to. As the supreme being, no one forced him. So why create a tree and then forbid his creations to eat of it. Especially if he already knew everything that would happen? Wouldn't it have been easier never to have created it, or uncreated it once he did?

"Also," she continued, softly but forcibly, "if he knew that Satan was going to tempt Adam and Eve, why would he allow it? Why would he even allow Satan to rebel? How could Satan rebel? I mean if God's will is supreme and all things worketh towards His will, then Satan rebelling was part of God's plan and if it was part of his plan, how can you call that rebelling?

"And when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, they knew they were naked and clothed themselves right? Well for all that time before they were walking around naked but because they didn't know being naked was wrong, they didn't care. So is it being naked that's actually wrong or just the knowledge that you are naked that's wrong? And if it is being naked that's the sin, then why would a perfect, holy god, create his creatures in a state of sin? - allow them to live in sin? And if it's the knowledge that's the sin, is that true of all other sins? Is murder ok as long as you don't murder is wrong?

"And why would an all knowing, all seeing god need to send messengers to check things out, like in Sodom and Gomorrah? He should have known what was going. And when he destroyed the Earth in the flood, why the whole Earth? What sins did the animals commit? And it wasn't all life. I mean the aquatic life would have unaffected. So that's a really inefficient way to eliminate life on Earth. And why the rainbow reminder. You know, the rainbow is to remind God of His promise not to flood the Earth again. Why would he need a reminder? Does God forget? How can an all knowing being forget anything?

"Also, if Adam and Eve were the only two people and the parents of all of us, that means their children had sex with each other, bred with each other. So is incest ok in God's eyes? I mean it would have to since by the very logic, we're all inbred.

"Reggie, in order for your religion to be true, you have to believe that an all knowing, all seeing, benevolent god would purposefully create angels in order for a third to breakaway from him; create humans just so they would be corrupted by the former head angel, thus causing them, the humans to be cast out of paradise; have them suffer for thousands of years before impregnating a young girl so his child could grow up, be tortures, crucified, die, and be resurrected so that whoever believes in him can live forever in another paradise until the same loving and benevolent god destroys the world in fire and sends all the people who didn't believe in Him, regardless of how good they were, to be burned and tortured forever because that is His will.

"Do you see how ridiculous that is? How many logic holes and contradictions there are in that? I'm not talking about science and faith. I'm not talking about or bringing up the big bang or evolution. I'm only talking about what is in the texts themselves. I'm showing how, when measured against it's own rules, your faith is found wanting and full of holes.

"I never brought this up, never talked to you about it because I cared about you and knew how important your faith was to you. But now, because I care you so much, I have to bring this up, I have to say it. Because whether you and I go somewhere or not; I don't want you to beat yourself up anymore, to literally kill yourself on the inside because of it. You deserve better."

Regina had sat quietly, taking it all in. Never had she thought to ask such questions, consider such ideas. She now felt like there was a thousand pound weight sitting on her and all her energy had left her.

"Faustine, I just want to go to bed," she said exhausted.

********************************************************************************************************

Regina was being wheeled down a hospital hallway. She was strapped down to the gurney, her legs spread. She could feel the air rush up underneath her hospital gown and she knew she had no panties on. She started to scream in terror. She looked up and saw her father, dressed in a surgeon's gown, pushing her. Beside her was her mother in an old time nurse's outfit; trying to comfort her.

They got to an operating room where her mother disappeared into another to get something. He father tilted her head back, held her mouth open, and vomited shit into her mouth. She coughed and spit out the foulness as best she could. It was then she saw her mother was back in the room. In her arms she had a large maggot the size of a toddler. At it's one end was the face of Jesus. At the other end was a giant penis head. She screamed in horror and revulsion at the monstrosity.

Her mother walked over and held the thing on top of her and she could feel the maggot Christ force the penis head inside her. She felt like she was being torn in multiple directions. She could feel it thrusting and pumping. It snorted an huffed obscenely. Her father started to lead an unseen audience in a chant of "Let Jesus come in you! Let Jesus come in you!"

She tried her best to break free, to escape, to just throw this thing off but the straps held tight and her mother made sure the maggot god would stay put. It then let out a giant gasp as it felt like some giant water balloon burst inside of her vagina. It's eyes rolled back and died. Her mother let it fall to the floor. Her stomach then started to swell bigger and bigger; finally it exploded open and everyone cheered. Giant, black tentacles shot out of the new gapping wound.

"THE HOLY SPIRIT!" everyone cried.

The one tentacle shot around her neck and started to squeeze. Good, Regina thought, I want to die.

"That is enough!" a booming, feminine voice came from out of nowhere but was everywhere.

She then in a field. The same sunny, grassy field she had been before, naked. In front of her was the black shadow that had accompanied her all these years. Slowly the blackness started to fade away; like it was being blown off. Underneath she saw exactly who she thought she would - Faustine. She smiled a warm, loving smile at Regina.

"I'm ready now," Regina said in a state of peace she had never known before.

Faustine kept smiling as blood began to drip from her left nipple. Regina knelt down and took the breast in her hand and then took the nipple in to her mouth and began to suckle.

*******************************************************************************************************

Regina woke in the same state of bliss as she had in her dream. It had all became so clear to her now. She got out of her bed, undressed, walked over to Fluttershy's bed and woke her up.

"I'm ready now," she said. "I'm a lesbian, always have been and that's ok. I love you and that's ok. And now I want to lay with you and touch you like you touched yourself if you'll have me."

Fluttershy got up on her knees and removed her shirt. She opened her arms and Regina knelt down and started sucking on Fluttershy's left breast. Fluttershy put her left hand on the back of Regina's head and put her right hand between Regina's legs and started rubbing her clit.

"Of course I will have you my love. For now and forever," she said.

And that is how in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 28, 2018; Regina Maxwell gloriously, rapturously ceased to be a Christian.

Chapter 30 Poly

Regina awoke in a state of bliss she had never known before. On one hand she felt completely at ease, at one with everything. At the same time her body also felt more alive than it ever had. Every nerve cell seemed to twitch and tingle. She was both a torrent of feelings and completely Zen at the same time. Most importantly, she was happy.

She was happy being in Faustine's arms, feeling her warmth, the softness of her skin against hers, the sound of her gentle breathing and slow, rise and fall of her chest as she did so. She was happy in a way beyond words and their narrow definitions. She was whole now. Aware and in possession of her true self; lying in her lover's arms, safe and warm. The sex had been amazing, Faustine had made her feel waves of pleasure she would have thought impossible but more than that she loved the fact she was able to return the favor and pleasure Faustine as well. All was right and just in this new world.

She slowly got up and looked down at Faustine. Even in sleep with no make-up, closed eyes, messed up hair, she was beautiful beyond words. Regina slowly reached to touch her cheek, approaching it as though she were about to touch the face of God Himself, and gently stroked it. Tears began to form and fall from her eyes as she looked and thought of how much she loved her; how perfect she was.

"I love you; more than anything, more than life itself," she gently whispered (she thought) under her breath but Faustine must have heard as she opened her eyes.

Fluttershy looked at Regina in an expression that Regina thought of as minorly disquieting. It was blank yet sad, with a touch of confusion and a just a hint of anger. Fluttershy blinked a few times and Regina saw one tear roll down the side of Faustine's face. She thought it was for her but it was for one long dead. A boy with green dreadlocks, hacked to death by a cult as a warning for her and her friends to not to try and stop them from unleashing a bunch of insane ancient gods. A boy whom she had also said I love you more than anything to after they had finished making love one night.

Faustine's face softened and she touched Regina's left cheek. "I love you too my precious key."

Regina leaned down and the two began to kiss. She then laid her head back down on Faustine's breast and cuddled up next to her. "Let's not go out today. We can just lay here, together. How about that? You, me, this bed, all day. Sound good?"

Fluttershy laughed and hugged Regina. "That does sound enticing but we both have things we need to do today."

"Aww," Regina said sadly. "Do we really?"

"Yes, we do," Fluttershy responded somewhat regrettably. "BUUUUUUT, we don't have to go now. I mean, I still have to eat breakfast."

"Oh?" Regina asked coyly. "And what did you have in mind to eat?"

"Spread your legs and you'll find out."

"MMMM, just what I wanted too."

******************************************************************************************************

As Regina walked back home from the library. She had gone to do research for a paper she was writing. While she had been gone, she couldn't help but feel that time had slowed down to an almost intolerable degree. All day, all she could think about was getting back to Faustine. Her absence, her not being by her side, let alone not in her arms; was a torture she could barely sustain. Her face, her voice, her touch; being without all of those was excruciating and she longed to beside her once again.

While she walked, she went back over her life. So many things made sense now. When her mother first showed her pictures of what people from the fallen world dressed like; she had been fascinated and fixated on the girls. She just looked at the pictures and wasn't able to take her eyes off them. At the time she thought it was due to her being in shock at how sinful they looked. Now she knew she was really just attracted to them. She was free. Free to look at the other women and admire them, lust after them, and it was all ok. She was a lesbian and she was proud.

"Hey," came a voice off to her left. She turned and saw it was Beth. She had on an old style military jacket, white shirt, jeans, and black Converse Chuck Taylor's.

Regina was almost giddy with excitement. She bounded up to Beth with a big smile on her face. "Oh, hey, I'm glad you called over. Hey, listen, I just wanted to say sorry for how I acted at the party last night. It was inexcusable and, well, you were right about who I am. I'm gay; a lesbian. I was just too ashamed and afraid to admit it. You don't have to forgive me; I understand if you don't, but I really am sorry."

Beth smiled and shrugged. "Eh, it's all good there sugar tits. Hell, I should have known better. I was too worried about adding another notch to my lipstick case, I never thought about how you might be feeling. Religion fucks you up. It fucks straight people up, and it really fucks people like us up. I should have gone slower. I am glad you finally got your shit straight. Welcome to the sisterhood."

Beth opened her arms and Regina came in for a hug. Regina could only think that had she not already belonged to Faustine, Beth would make a terrific girlfriend.

*****************************************************************************************************

Regina finally walked in to her dorm and was surprised to see Ryan standing there. Faustine was sitting on her bed, Indian style. He looked confused and she looked slightly scared.

"Oh, hey," Regina said awkwardly as she walked in.

"Hey," Ryan replied back in a friendly but confused manner.

"Listen, I'm glad you're both here," Fluttershy started to say but was cut off by Ryan.

"Um, you asked me to come over here," he said.

"Well, yes I did. I have to talk to you, both of you. Ryan, I love you. I was attracted to you the very first time I saw you and was grateful that you turned out to be such a wonderful guy as well. I really do love you." Fluttershy spoke in an apologetic voice.

"But? Where's the but? After an opener like that, I know there's a but comin'; so just say it," he said annoyed and growing hurt and angry.

"You're right, and here it is - I love someone else as well. I love Regina."

Ryan looked in stunned silence from Fluttershy to Regina and back again. "Oh this is some bullshit! Really? Fucking really? You all gonna play me like that huh? You be on me like a mother fucking rash; I finally give in and give some dick and now it's all abroad the tuna express? Fuck y'all; I'm out!"

Regina went to move out of his way as fast as possible when Faustine called out, "I'm not dumping you!"

Ryan spun around and looked at Fluttershy in absolute confusion as did Regina.

"I love you both, equally. I'm not choosing one over the other. I want to be with both of you or neither of you. You each mean too much too me. I know this is weird. We're taught monogamy is the only way and that polyamory is wrong but it just is how it is. You two complete me and fill me up in such different ways but each is as valid as the other. I can't imagine and don't want to be without you both.

"Also, since I'll be with the both of you, it would be wrong for me to demand monogamy from either of you. You'd both be free to see other people if you wished. I'm fine with that; but I'm not dating one without the other. I get you both or I leave both you. I can't choose, I won't choose. That's just how it is. I'm sorry. It's up to you two now. I'll respect any decision you make."

Regina looked terrified. She spoke in an almost hysterical tone at first. "I . . . I, no, no. I love you Faustine! You're my first girlfriend, I gave my virginity to you!"

"Whoa, back the fuck up," Ryan butted in. "Really? When was all this?"

"Last night," Regina turned to Ryan, still in a minor panic.

"WHAT? Yo, seriously? You fucked me and come here and fuck her as well? Are you that god damn horny? Jesus fuck!"

Regina turned back to Faustine, not even acknowledging what Ryan had said. Her face and her voice were full of sadness but calm as well. "I want to be your one and only. I want to be your everything because you are mine. However, if having in my life means sharing you, well, I'd rather have fifty percent than nothing. I'm ok with it." She bowed her head and sat on her bed.

"Ryan?" Fluttershy asked with sympathy but also with a touch of impatience.

"I can't believe this. I literally can't believe this." He turned his back towards her, looked up at the ceiling, and shook his head. He then turned around again and looked at both of them.

"I loved you, dig? I knew I was making a mistake but I loved you. Now you gonna play me like this huh? You don't deserve either of us! We should both just get up and walk the fuck out!"

"But?" Fluttershy said with a growing sense of impatience.

"But goddamnmit if I don't love you too. Fine, fuck it. I'll try to make it work." Ryan sounded broken down and defeated.

Inside, Fluttershy smiled. All the pieces were in place now. A few final moves and she would rip through the veil.

Chapter 31 Meanwhile

Twilight and Sunset sat on one of the ice bluffs that rimmed the east side of great snow plains of the ice planet M' gada E Samoth. The sun was setting low in the horizon, it's fading light hitting the icy atmosphere at just the right angle to cause a prism effect. The sky rippled with every perceivable color of the rainbow. Reds, oranges, and yellows danced together in perfect harmony. Streaks of green flashed through the sky as if on a mission to somewhere. Blues, indigos, and purples stood as blotches quiet sentries over the din of the others; like regal guards to ensure the merriment of all but to never partake.

"I'm so glad you showed me this place," Sunset said in a quiet, satisfied voice. The lights at sunset were so spectacular, so mesmerizing, hypnotizing, they immediately filled her with a deep peace.

"You say that every time," Twilight laughed.

"And I mean it every time as well," Sunset replied with her own laugh.

After Rainbow's disappearance, Sunset had gone to Twilight so she could teach her more on how to use her powers. Sunset had been more than willing to let them remain dormant until she realized that she might be called to use them at any moment. Knowing that Twilight had been actively using hers, she went to her for guidance and practice. At first it was only about once a week; then after Rarity's death, it was almost everyday.

Through the months they worked on the transmutation of matter, teleportation of objects, the creation of matter out of nothing, and minor time manipulation. It wasn't much, a few stoppages here, a minor speed up there, nothing to alter the existing timeline. Levitation, flying without transforming (what they used to call ponying up in high school); any and all things that might be of use later on. Their favorite thing of all though was going to other planets.

The universe was infinite in size and billions of years old. It teamed with countless worlds, unimaginable variations of life. Each planet the visited was jaw dropping and amazing. The dinge and doom of Esaux Ballauo, the techno colored joy of Empaxia, The volcano fields of T'Pirea Ungoth, the endless oceans of Hedragocarn, the impossibly cute Fugwosie of Cananphar, hundreds of worlds, millions of species, they had seen. Each new planet, each new life form opened up ever deeper senses of wonder, joy, and curiosity in Sunset. She loved them all, but this was her favorite. Her favorite planet at her favorite time of day.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's always the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Sunset said quiet reverence.

"Just never say that around Adagio then," Twilight teased.

Sunset laughed and gave Twilight a gentle push. "She'll get over it," she joked, then grew serious. "I was actually thinking of bringing her here for our fourth anniversary."

"It'd be nice. I've taken Flash along with me before. He's always enjoyed it so Adagio would too I believe." Twilight was matter of fact in her tone. She saw no harm or reason not to bring their loved ones along.

"I think she would as well," Sunset said as she looked at the horizon. Then she turned to Twilight and said, "You know what I still find amazing? - that the temperatures are so low here, our bodies would immediately freeze and shatter if we were just dropped here. Yet here we are, completely safe and warm in our own little bubbles. In nature but separated from it at the same time."

"One of the benefits to being a goddess," Twilight replied with a grin.

Sunset once again turned to the horizon and looked out, taking in the last lights of the setting sun. She smiled but as the lights faded with the sun, she slowly began to look sad. "You know it's going to end, eventually," she said in sullen contemplation.

"I know," Twilight said matter of factly.

"Eventually the goddesses will lose. They'll face an enemy they can't beat and it will all end. Probably not in our lifetime. A hundred more incarnates could come and go in the meantime, but, eventually, it will all end."

"Eventually, but not today," Twilight said. Her voice was still fairly flat but there was a bit of happiness beneath. "We have now, we have this moment, and that's all we ever have really. So it's best just to enjoy what you have while you have it. That's the biggest thing I've learned."

"Ever think of what will happen to us after we die?" Sunset was now in the midst of a deep, contemplative state. She had questions she always wondered about but now she felt like she had to unload them, talk about them with the only other person who could truly understand her.

"Yeah, of course. I think everyone does. Valhallen went on to be an angel but the others, when they were freed from the cult's spell just seemed to disappear. So who knows. Maybe we'll live on, maybe we'll just cease to exist."

"I don't want to die Twilight. I don't want Dag to die or you or anyone else."

"Very few do, but that's not up to us to change. Of course, I might change my mind once I have kids."

"So you and Flash are planning on it? I didn't know if you guys wanted to or not."

"Eventually, after we're married and that won't happen until after I graduate; but, yes, at least one. What about you and Adagio? Any plans to adopt, invitro?"

"I want to but she doesn't. There is a way, well two ways, we could have a child that's biologically both ours. I could use my powers to either give myself or her a penis and testicals and make a baby that way. Unfortunately that means I would be using my powers for personal gain which means I would lose them except in an emergency so I couldn't change who ever it was back again. And while the idea of Dag with a dick is fine by me, I doubt if she'd be ok with it and I know I certainly don't want to be stuck with one."

"It'd make peeing easier," Twilight joked.

Sunset laughed. "Um, still not worth it." She then got serious again. "The other way is to use my power directly to cause Dag to become pregnant. That would still mean I would access to them except in an emergency though. So no more of this."

"It's a lot to give up and if Adagio doesn't want to do it, it's a fairly moot point but if she would ever change her mind - it's something you'd definitely have to think long and hard about. I know I really want kids eventually. So does Flash. And being happy little heterosexuals, we can. I just feel for you though."

"I want kids too," Sunset said in a mournful voice. "Oh well, even hetros have this problem sometimes as well. One wants kids, the other doesn't, one's sterile - it's a hassle but I love Dag and she loves me so we'll work this out eventually."

"Definitely. I know you guys will."

The two sat in silence for a bit longer until the sun had completely set and the night lit up with a million twinkling stars.

"You ever think about Fluttershy?" Twilight asked with a little trepidation.

"Yes. I've thought of reaching out to her but I think she'll have to be the one who makes the first move. I worry about her. I still care about her and want to be her friend. I just don't think I can push her into talking."

"No, you can't. I tried to message her a couple times but she blocked me. I wish she would let us back in."

"Yeah."

The two sat for just a few more minutes and then Twilight got up and said, "Well, it's time to go."

Chapter 32 The End - Part:1

It was February, 2019. The holidays were over and with that came the inevitable changes that arrive from the new year. Ryan's roommates had moved out in January, leaving Ryan in a panic about what he would do for housing. He didn't want to move into the dorms again but couldn't afford rent on his own. Fluttershy convinced Ryan and Regina that they should move in together. Each would have their own bedroom but Fluttershy would spend three nights a week with Ryan in his bed and three nights with Regina in hers. And so for the past month, that's how they lived.

Regina also began seeing Beth. A few times a week she would stop over at Beth's apartment and they would hang out, eat, have sex, whatever they felt like in the moment. Ryan remained monogamous to Fluttershy. So this is where our story begins. Well ends, well begins to end. For when the end comes, it comes fast.

Regina laid on top of Beth. It was afternoon, classes for both were over for the day. The two kissed while Regina gently rubbed Beth's pussy. The sex was over, both had gleefully orgasmed, this was just the post coital rubbing. Neither had the urge to go on yet neither wanted to stop either. Regina finally stopped, laid her head on Beth's chest, and Beth wrapped her arms around her.

"I don't want to go," sighed Regina sweetly. She knew it was getting late and she would have to be back at the apartment soon. She always liked getting there before Faustine got there so she could have a little alone time with her before Ryan showed up.

"Then don't," Beth said quietly but firmly.

Regina rolled off Beth and stood up. She picked her panties and pants and started putting them on. "You know I can't do that," she playfully chided back.

Beth sat up on her bed and looked at Regina with an expression somewhere between regret and sadness. "You know I graduate this summer right?" she asked with a voice that was much closer to sadness.

"I know sweetie," Regina replied with fake happiness as she buttoned up her jeans.

"I'm not staying here. I've decided to move to Detroit." Beth's tone was now approaching apologetic.

Regina bent down, picked up her bra, and started putting it on. She never looked over to see Beth's face. Her heart was already starting to break; seeing Beth's face would just finish the job. "Detroit? That's not really a place to be moving to nowadays." She tried to sound chipper but the sadness was too much to hide.

"No, but it does have an emerging artist hub. Plus the rent's cheaper there than New York." She gave a sad laugh at the end to signal the last line was a joke and maybe lighten both their moods.

Regina finished putting on her shirt and sat down on the edge of the bed to put her socks and shoes on. She was still refusing to look at Beth.

"I want you to come with me," Beth said flatly. "I came here, to this school, looking for conquests. I found them, in spades. You - you mean something to me. I've, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've fallen in love with you. What you have now with Faustine, it's not healthy. I'm not talking about the poly stuff. I'm all for open relationships. If you want to date other people, hey, as long as you know where your home is, I'm cool with that. Heck, I can't promise to be a one woman gal myself; but you mean the world to me and I want you with me."

Regina looked down in silence for about a minute. She then reached out and took Beth's hand, still unable to look over at her. Finally after another minute she turned to face Beth with tears in her eyes. "I can't," she simply replied.

"Why?" Beth started to protest but Regina cut her off.

"I love you too. I do. If I had met you first, I probably would move with you. The thought of not seeing you again is crushing me. But. . . I didn't and Faustine, I love her too. I love her more than anything, and the idea of being without her, that would kill me. I don't want to choose, but if I have to, I choose her."

It was Beth's turn to look away. "I understand. I don't agree, I think you're making a big mistake, but I understand." She withdrew her hand from Regina's. "I, um. I think it's best you go. Anything of yours, I'll pack up and you can come by tomorrow and pick up. I just think it's best if didn't see each other again. You're doing what you have do and I'm doing what I have to."

Regina nodded silently and got up but suddenly doubled over.

"Are you alright?!" Beth asked frightened and alarmed.

Regina nodded but with a painful expression. "Yeah. It's just, well, may I have pad? Mine's coming early and I didn't bring one."

********************************************************************************************

By the time Regina got back home the stomach cramps had stopped. In fact, outside some minor bloating, she felt fine. Really fine in fact. Not only was this her earliest period, it was also her least painful. Maybe this was going to be a short one. She could only hope.

She walked in the back and Faustine was there to great her with a big hug and kiss. "How's my baby girl doing?" she asked sweetly.

Regina shook her head. "Not so good," she replied sadly.

"Why? What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked concerned.

"Beth, she's moving after graduation."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy replied with empathy and gave Regina a hug.

"She asked me to move with her," Regina said flatly in Faustine's ear.

Fluttershy leaned back and looked at Regina in shock. "Oh? And what did you say?" Fluttershy was barely able to conceal her panic.

"I said no. I can't leave you," Regina gave a small, sad smile.

Fluttershy returned with a big, bear hug that seemed way to strong for a person of her size. "Oh baby, I love you!" she said and gave Regina a big kiss.

"Oh, hey," Ryan said awkwardly as he came through the door to see Faustine and Regina kissing.

Faustine broke her embrace with Regina, walked over and hugged and kissed Ryan. She then stepped back, reached out and took both their hands. "Listen, I need to talk to both of you about something special. Let's go to the living room and I'll explain."

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At first they had been both too shocked for words. They couldn't decide on whether the suggestion was insane or selfish. Regardless, the idea was just dumb. Faustine had brought them into the living room, sat them and had explained how she thought they should have a threesome.

Ryan was offended because he was barely coping with sharing Faustine with someone else and Regina had no interest in men at all. The very idea of having sex with one made her cringe and to add to that, seeing one have sex with her girlfriend as well made it even worse. Not to mention the way Faustine told them about the idea, it sounded like she was a business woman making a sales pitch at a meeting.

They both erupted in to protest as soon as they were able to speak. They yelled and scolded and lambasted her. They asked how she could even begin to think that was a doable idea. They cursed and threatened to walk out. Faustine remained calm. She spoke to them as though they where children having a temper tantrum and she was their mother, trying to sooth them. Eventually it started to work. Their protest became weaker. Soon they came to even marginally accept the idea. Faustine said they should do it now but Regina said she couldn't because she had just started her period. Faustine said it was alright and that she didn't have to participate for now, she could only watch. Some more protest came from Ryan and Regina but eventually they agreed.

They followed Fluttershy up to her bedroom. Regina stood by the door as Faustine and Ryan started making out. At first both Regania and Ryan felt weird but Ryan soon got into it. Faustine was an expert love maker and the fact that someone was watching them, quickly left his mind. Regina watched as the two slowly undressed, kissed and touched. She saw Faustine's perfect body move and twist in loves desire, her face contort into the mask of passion she knew so well. Soon her desire was all consuming. She walked over to the bed and started kissing Faustine.

At first it worked liked this, Faustine would do things to please Ryan while Regina pleased Faustine. Then Faustine would please Regina while Ryan would please her. It was at one point, Regina laid on the bed, Fluttershy was sitting on her face and sucking Ryan's cock. Fluttershy then stopped and said, "Stick it in her."

Regina stopped performing oral and Ryan protested but Fluttershy was having none of it. "I'm going to turn around and watch you fuck her while she eats my pussy. The idea of your dick, in her, it makes me almost want to come now. So, Reggie love, just concentrate on licking my pussy while Ryan, you fuck her for all she's worth." Her tone was playful, seductive but notes of malice were carried underneath. This wasn't a request but a command.

Everyone got in their respective position and started. Since Regina was on her period, Ryan didn't even bother to put a condom on. Regina nearly cried in disgust when she felt Ryan put his dick in her. Dicks were disgusting, vile things to her but this was for Faustine. As she concentrated on performing oral on Faustine, she allowed herself to just feel the pleasure of penetration. As they went, both Ryan and Regina started to lose themselves. Pleasure build and build until both could no longer hold back and they came together, bodies convulsing. Seeing her two lovers orgasm, knowing that Ryan had ejaculated inside Regina, made Fluttershy come.

Fluttershy got up and got a cloth from beside her bed and wiped between Regina's legs. She looked at the cloth and saw it contained both seminal fluid and menstrual blood. She smiled.

*****************************************************************************************************

Fluttershy walked through the wooded archway; the one she took Regina through on her first day at the school. But gone was the stream and the mountain views. It was now one small clearing, surrounded by old, intertwining, gnarled trees with one small stump in the middle. She carried with her a candle, a book, a piece of charcoal, and the cloth she used to wipe Regina with. She opened the book and drew various symbols around the circumference of the stump and in the middle. As she did so she recited words in a language older than time itself. She then placed the cloth in the middle of the stump. She shouted one last line in the ancient tongue and then drove the knife into the cloth, pinning it to the stump.

A ball of fire erupted from the stump and consumed Fluttershy. Her clothes burned off, large bat wings sprung from her back, pale, yellow fur sprung out over much of her body, her hands and feet twisted and grew into claws, her teeth turned into fangs, and her eyes become a bright red. It was now her time. She howled in both joy and rage.

*****************************************************************************************

Twilight was sitting on the couch beside Flash. They were eating chicken nuggets and watching TV. Suddenly Twilight became ill. She handed her plate to Flash.

"I don't feel so well all of a sudden," she said, rubbing her stomach and looking like she was about ready to puke. She went to get up to go to the bathroom but fell unconscious before she could fully stand up.

Flash grabbed Twilight and shook her. "TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT!" he screamed. When she was unresponsive, he called 911.

**************************************************************************************************

"So then my asshole history professor started telling me I was wrong about what lead up to the election of Abraham Lincoln. ME! I felt like telling the cocksucker, 'hey, were you there? Because I was'," Adagio told Sunset in frustration as the two ate supper.

Sunset laughed and shook her head. "Well I'm glad you didn't," she said still laughing.

"Know it all prick," Adagio grumbled then she stopped. Sunset looked really confused, like she didn't know where she was. "Sunset? Sweetie," she asked in concerned.

"Sunset looked at Adagio with an expression of confusion and nausea. "I don . . . " she started to say but passed out before she could finish.

Chapter 33 The End - Part:2

Ryan walked in to his bedroom. He felt uneasy, sick. Thinking about what he had done earlier made him uncomfortable. It was everything he had been against. Although, since getting with Faustine, everything he had done seemed to be against what he believed in. There was a hold she seemed to have on him that he couldn't explain.

He remembered back when he first got interested in girls and would do just about anything to date one. All his old hardcore crushes came flooding back to him and how he had made a fool of himself trying to get with them. Yet none seemed to hold a candle to what he'd done since meeting Faustine. Something would have to change and change soon. He couldn't live like this. He sat down on his bed to contemplate what his next move should be. He didn't bother to turn on the lights; setting alone in the darkness helped him focus, clear his head, think.

He was lost in thought when he heard his bedroom door closed.

He looked over and saw a shape in the moonlight. It was undeniably feminine, the curves of the body too pronounced (almost cartoonishly so) to be anything else but; BUT - the form was also covered in hair. Burning red eyes glowed from a face shrouded in impossible shadows. Long, sharp claws glistened and reflected the moonlight. One large, bat like wing, stuck out as if for the sole purpose of making sure it could be seen. Darkness swirled around it in a way no natural shadow would, exposing bits and pieces of it but never the full thing.

Ryan went to gasp but the thing was on him before he could make a sound. It pinned him to the bed. With one hand it held his head back; with the other, it swiped and tore in to his throat. Blood poured and then gushed from the ever increasing wounds on his neck. It backed up in his wind pipe and he began to choke on his own it. Swipe after swipe, more of his neck was torn away until his head was only attached by the spine. The thing then took his head in both hands and jerked it free of that last tether and held it aloft, turning it so that the very last image Ryan would ever see was his own headless corpse.

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Regina sat on her bed, her back against her headboard, legs outstretched. She just sort of looked off into a nowhere point. Beside her on the bed were two pictures: one of her and Faustine and the other of her and Beth. She loved Faustine to an unhealthy degree. She could see that now. Because of her, she allowed a man to have sex with her while she was menstruating and more than that, cum inside her. Just the memory, the idea that she had done so made her ill. Faustine had shown her, taught much but extracted a heavy price in return. Maybe she should go with Beth? Beth loved her in a way that was more pure, more selfless (and she didn't have to share Beth with anyone else). Tomorrow she would see Beth, talk to her, see if maybe she could have a second chance.

The lights suddenly went out in her room.

Regina startled back into the present. Something could started climbing through her body. Her limbs went numb and she found it hard to breathe. Something was definitely wrong, really wrong, extremely wrong. She tried to move but couldn't. All she could was watch as her bedroom door slowly opened and a figure stepped in. It walked to the foot of her bed and the lights suddenly came back on.

Regina gasped as she saw who it was. Even though it was bent, covered in bloody fur with claws, wings, glowing, red eyes, and a sinister smile which revealed sharp, vicious fangs; there was no mistaking that it was in fact - Faustine.

"Hey sweetie, wanna let mommy eat that bloody pussy of yours?" it asked in a voice that was guttural and mocking.

Regina screamed and leapt from her bed in a feeble attempt to escape. Faustine grabbed Regina by her hair and threw her against the wall. A huge chunk of her hair still remaining in her clawed hand. Regina hit the wall so hard both her shoulder and the wall broke on contact. She tried to scream in pain but had no breath to do so. Faustine walked over to her and started removing Regina's pants. Regina kicked as hard as she could. Faustine grabbed Regina's legs and sunk her claws deep into the flesh causing fiery bolts of pain to shoot up through her body. Then with supernatural force, Faustine pulled Regina's legs apart with such power that her leg joints ripped out of the hip socked, muscles, sinew, and skin ripping apart in a sickening, wet sound. Blood poured from the gaping wounds, drenching Regina's lower body.

Regina, in a voice of physical and emotional agony started praying; asking God for forgiveness and apologizing for straying from His path. Fluttershy smiled and laughed as she slowly crawled up Regina's body. Her face came to within an inch of Regina's. She took her right hand and gently, lovingly stroked Regina's cheek.

"Your god is dead. My friends and I killed him a few years ago. He was also the Devil as well. Did you know that? Yahweh was Lucifer. He's the one who had Christ killed because he didn't want the competition. You're praying to a corpse," Fluttershy cooed in a voice that was somewhere between a lover trying to seduce her mate and a mother trying to comfort a scared child.

"YOU LIE!" Regina screamed in anger and fear.

"Yes, I do, but not about this." Fluttershy then held Regina's head in an unbreakable grip and started kissing her. She then let go, undid Regina's jeans, stuck her hand down her pants, and began to rub Regina's vaginal lips. Regina cried in disgust and humiliation, nearly vomiting in her mouth but Fluttershy gently shushed her.

"Shh, shh. No, no, I owe you this. I couldn't have done this without you. You see, I'm on a very important mission here. Unfortunately there are some very powerful people who could easily stop me if they found out what I was doing. Luckily the Oblitus Libro Sequutur Somnia had the perfect spell to stop them; I just needed a few things. The mixture of the life juice of the perfect man; the man who is equal parts of all races; and the menstrual blood of the corrupted innocent, which was yo my darling.

"Of course I couldn't tell who they were just by looking at them but luckily the book had a solution for that. My amulet, the one you and Ryan loved so much, only the two who met the requirements of the spell would be able to see it. As soon as you and he commented on it, I knew you two were the ones."

Regina started to convulse and then she busted out crying. Fluttershy knew immediately she had caused the girl to orgasm and now Regina was filled with self hate and loathing because of it. Fluttershey removed her hand and forced her fingers into Regina's mouth.

"There sweetie, one last taste of pussy before you go," Fluttershy said softly. She then pulled her hand back and thrust it forward, smashing Regina's head against the wall, causing it to explode, sending bits of brain, skull, hair, and blood to fly everywhere.

Fluttershy stood up and licked her hands clean. This was only the beginning. She had much to do yet before the night was over. It was time to fly home, remove the rest of the threats, retrieve one very special ingredient, and finish her quest to go beyond the veil. She slid Regina's bedroom window open and took flight, her heart full of joy.

Chapter 34 The End - Part:3

Flash, Adagio, Pinkie, Sonata, and Applejack sat in the lobby of the Emergency Room. All were solemn and silent. Fear and sadness filled their souls. Flash and Adagio had been the first to arrive with their respective partner. Each was surprised to see the other since neither had contacted anyone else about what had happened. They quickly came to the horrifying realization that Twilight and Sunset were both stricken with the same affliction which seemed both improbable and to denote something major and horrible was going on. Flash called Apple Jack and Adagio called Pinkie and Sonata. All three rushed over as fast as they could.

Initially Flash and Adagio were inundated with questions from the others as to what was going on. The two recounted what had happened, that Twilight and Sunset had just fainted and fell into a coma. They talked, asked doctors and nurses what going on, how they were doing, and then talked among each other again before falling silent and sitting down.

They just sat there for almost an hour. Finally Apple Jack spoke up. "So, I guess we can all assume this a magical attack then? I mean, we've danced around it earlier, but that's what this is right?"

Adagio who had just been looking at the floor, looked up and said flatly, "Yes. I felt it as soon as I saw Flash here. And whoever is behind this, they're dealing with some very powerful magic. They were able to take out the living incarnations of the Goddesses. That's something not even Chrysalis could do. This is next level and the ones who could actually take it on are out of it."

Everyone shivered at the implication of Adagio's words. What force could have enough power to take out the Goddesses and how could they possibly fight back without them?

"Could it be Morgorith?" Sonata asked meekly.

"No, he's dead. We all saw him die. Well I guess we saw the temple collapse when he died," Flash said slowly as he was sorting out his thoughts while he spoke. "And like Adagio said; if he or his cult had this power, they would have used it before." He paused to weigh his next words. "This is war. This is an act of war and they made the first strike the most brutal and strategic. They took out our leaders and heaviest hitters. This isn't 'shock and awe' this is a full on nuclear strike."

"So what do we do?" Pinkie asked scared but somewhat excited.

"We prepare for war," Adagio said without emotion but with total conviction. "We have to. we have no other option. I doubt if we stand a chance but we have to go down fighting. Something this powerful? - we can't let this go."

"So how do we do that?" Apple Jack asked annoyed and depressed. It was easy to say go to war but how do you actually do that given you had no idea who the enemy was?

"For now go home," Adagio replied. "There's nothing we can do now. One thing we have to do is try to see if we can access our former powers. Also someone needs to contact Fluttershy."

"We will," Pinkie offered. "At least we'll try. She's blocked us on all her social media sites."

"Do your best," Adagio answered back.

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Pinkie and Sonata pulled into their parking spot on campus. Neither said a word the whole way back. What could they say? What was there to say? They were at a total loss. Back in high school it would have been easy, simple. They would have gotten the gang together, figured things out, pony up, blast the baddies, and go home for milk and cookies. This was different. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were dead, Fluttershy was not talking to them, and Twilight and Sunset were taken out of commission. The threads that had bound them all had frayed and broken. The power of friendship had failed.

They got out of the car and started to walk to their dorm when they suddenly heard a giant swooshing. Pinkie looked over to where Sonata was and she was gone. Then she heard Sonata screaming in terror. Pinkie looked up and saw Sonata being lifted into the air by some winged creature.

Sonata screamed and hit at the thing that held her in it's talons. She couldn't tell much about it, only that it was a female of some sorts. "LET ME DOWN! LET ME DOWN!" she screamed.

The thing bent itself to look down at her. Even though it's face was mutated; there was no mistaking who it was. It was Fluttershy!

"You want down?" she sneered. "Ok." And with that, she let go and Sonata fell to the hard asphalt bellow. Her body burst like a water balloon upon impact. Blood, guts, and bone splattered everywhere.

Pinkie ran over to the mess that had been Sonata, fell to her knees beside it and began crying and wailing. Fluttershy landed on the other side of the remains, directly in front of Pinkie.

"Hello old friend," she said sweetly.

Pinkie screamed and jumped up. She attacked Fluttershy with all she had but was no match for her in her demonic state. Fluttershy easily beat Pinkie down, held both her wrists behind her back with one hand, and forced Pinkie's mouth to her left nipple. A thick, blood like substance started to ooze from it.

"Drink it, drink it," Fluttershy said calmly but firmly.

Pinkie tried to resist but she couldn't breathe. Her lungs began to burn, she could feel herself begin to black out. She tried to gasp and that's when the fluid got in her mouth. It soundly felt like there were millions of maggots crawling all through her body. At first she was terrified, then a peace came over her and she began to suckle willingly from Fluttershy's breast.

Fluttershy let go of Pinkie's wrists and Pinkie put her hands on Fluttershy's hips. Fluttershy smiled and pulled Pinkie's head back. The irises of Pinkie's eyes were gone. All they were now were white orbs with little black dots in their centers.

"That's enough now," Fluttershy said gently.

Pinkie stood up, wiping her mouth. "So what do you want me to do?" she asked in her normal, happy voice.

"Go back to the hospital, kill Twilight and Sunset. I have them out but not down and I can't risk anyone finding a way to reverse my spell. We've defeated too many villains who got cocky; I have no desire to be one of them. After that, kill Adagio and Flash. Then, kill who ever you want. I've freed you now, so just enjoy yourself after you've accomplished your mission, alright?"

"Okie dookie wookie," Pinkie said cheerfully. She turned around and started back to her car. She stopped halfway there and turned around. "I'm going to kill you next," she said happily.

Fluttershy smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything less," she said and took off in to the sky. She had to make it to Apple Jack's as soon as possible.

Chapter 35 The End - Part: 4

Adagio and Flash sat alone in the emergency room lobby. Apple had just left to get back home to Little Chip and Sandra. So it was them, alone, quiet, lost in their own thoughts and feelings. There was fear as to what would happen to Twilight and Sunset, fear also as to what could have caused this, sadness at having their partners stricken down, and confusion as to what to do next.

Adagio finally looked over at Flash, put her hand on his knee, and said, "It's time to go home. There's nothing more we can do here."

"I'm not going," Flash simply said, leaning forward, looking down at the floor.

"Flash, I understand; but there's nothing left for us to do here. We need to get back home and prepare," Adagio replied sympathetically.

"Prepare for what?" Flash responded with an angry, bitter tone. "What are we preparing for? Who are we preparing for? How do we even prepare? More importantly, how do I prepare? You, Pinkie, Sonata, Apple Jack, all of you had magical powers. Maybe you still do, who knows. I never did. I have nothing to offer; nothing that any other human has to offer. I may not be able to do anything here but there's nothing I can do anywhere else. My place, my only place is here. You can go do what you have to; I'm staying."

Now Adagio was becoming impatient. "Flash we've been over this. You and Twilight have been over this. You are not useless. It doesn't matter if you have magical powers or not. Hell, I don't know if any of us has any more. We have what we have and give what we can give. If nothing else, it beats just sitting here feeling depressed and frightened. This isn't what Twilight would want you to do."

Flash slumped back in his chair and continued to look forward. "Fine, I'll go," he said, defeated.

The two got up, grabbed their jackets, and Adagio grabbed her purse. They walked in silence out the emergency room doors. The night was cool and crisp. The temperature combined with the darkness of night matched their moods perfectly. As they walked, they saw a figure approaching them. At first they were hidden by the night, but as they got closer to one another; they could see who it was.

"Pinkie Pie?" Adagio asked in surprise.

********************************************************************************************************

Apple Jack walked in through her front door and was immediately struck by a feeling that something wasn't right. All the lights were off (which wasn't that big of a red flag), Sandra wasn't down stairs nor had she called out or come down when she Apple had opened the door (once again, not something on it's own that would illicit much concern but given the circumstances seemed to bode unusually ill). The whole house just seemed too quiet, too dead.

She walked upstairs to her and Sandra's bedroom and opened the door. On the bed was Sandra, lying on her back, naked. Her head, arms, and legs were intact but her torso had been ripped open and all her internal organs had been removed and put in a pile beside the bed. Apple Jack wanted to scream but couldn't, there was no time.

She turned around and ran to Chippy's room and opened the door. Inside, he too was lain on his back in his bed; and like Sandra he was also dead. In the moonlight which shown through the window she could see he had a bloody hole in his chest where his heart had once been. Beside the bed stood a twisted, demonic looking Fluttershy, with Chip's heart in her left hand.

"If it makes you feel any better," Fluttershy started saying with genuine sympathy, "he didn't feel a thing. I cast a spell on him to ensure he felt no pain. I was there when he was born, I held him in my arms as a baby. I wasn't going to allow him to suffer. You're girlfriend in there, however, I was not obliged to pay her the same courtesy." The last sentence was mocking and full of menace.

Apple Jack fell back against the door jam, her mind so overloaded with emotion that she became completely numb. It was as if her brain had blown every emotional fuse she had.

Fluttershy laid the heart down on the bed and began to walk over to Apple Jack. "Do you want to know why Apple Jack? Why I did this?"

Apple Jack continued to look at the corpse of her three year old son in stunned silence, barely registering what Fluttershy had said. Then her face went completely dead. She turned to Fluttershy and said emotionlessly, "No."

"No?" Fluttershy hissed angrily. She grabbed Apple Jack and started slamming her against the wall. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?"

Fluttershy stopped and Apple hunched over in pain, barely able to breathe. As soon as she was able, she stood up and looked Fluttershy in the eyes with that same dead face and said, "It doesn't matter."

Fluttershy back handed Apple to the floor with such force, she almost broke Apple's jaw. "DOESN'T MATTER? WHY IS THE ONLY THING THAT DOES MATTER! WHY WAS I ABUSED/ WHY DID MY FATHER CHOOSE MY BROTHER OVER ME? WHY WAS HE RAPED? WHY WAS SANDAL WOOD, CHIP, AND THE OTHERS KILLED? WHY DID RARITY HAVE TO DIE? WHY DOES ANYONE HAVE TO DIE? WHY DO LIVE AND ROT ON THIS GODFORSAKEN ROCK; SUFFERING AND DYING, FOR WHAT?

Fluttershy grabbed Apple by the collar and lifted her up to look at her in the face. "We live, we love, we lose, we die. Children are sold into slavery as miners, farmers, soldiers, prostitutes; parents torture and abuse their own kids. We kill ourselves over printed pieces of paper and stamped pieces of metal. Floods, fires, earthquakes, disease kill saint and sinner alike. Can you honestly tell me that the reason why things are so horrible, so miserable, so unfair doesn't matter?"

Apple just looked at Fluttershy, unmoved, unfeeling. "And would knowing why change anything? Would knowing why you killed Chip bring him back to me? - his father? - my sister? - my granny? - my parents? If knowing why would bring all them back from the dead, then yes, it would matter; but it can't, so it doesn't.

"Tell me something Fluttershy, do you honestly think that any answer you could give would actually make me feel better? - feel it was ok for you to kill my boy? No; there is none so it don't matter. Now go on and do what yer fixin' on doing. I'm tired of hearin' ya and just want this over with."

Fluttershy screamed in rage. She threw Apple Jack down to the flor and proceeded to smash it against it. Blood flowed from Apple's mouth and nose. The floor boards began to snap and break under the force of the repeated blows. The flesh and muscle was worn away. Finally her skull broke open, her brain failing forward and then being smashed with one final blow with what was left of Apple Jack's head.

Fluttershy got up, grabbed the heart, and flew out the window. She had what she came for; now it was time to finish this.

*****************************************************************************************************

"Pinkie, what are you doing here?" Flash asked in dumbfounded confusion.

"Oh, I just came to see Twilight and Sunset," she replied happily.

"I, uh, thank you Pinkie; but nothing's changed. Adagio and I were heading out ourselves now. If anything changes, trust me, we'll let you know."

As Pinkie and Flash spoke, Adagio watched Pinkie with a growing sense of concern. Something was wrong, really wrong.

"Pinkie, dear, where's Sonata?" Adagio asked with careful curiosity.

"Sonata?" Pinkie said as she turned to face Adagio in a voice that was a mixture of confusion and sadness.

In the full light of the overhead parking lights Adagio saw in horror what had happened to Pinkie's eyes. They were a pristine, milky white with small black dots in the center of them. These were cartoon eyes in real life. Adagio gasped and so did Flash when he saw it too.

"Oh, she's dead. Yeah. So are all of you. I was supposed to kill Twilight and Sunset first but I guess I can start with you two."

Pinkie lifted her shirt and pulled out a long butcher knife and was about to come at Adagio and Flash when the wind suddenly started to blow and howl and of no where. The three struggled to stay on their feet as the air crackled and popped with electricity. Suddenly a portal opened up and a figure stepped through. The portal closed behind it and the air died down.

The person who walked through was old, about mid fifties, her face was covered in scars. She wore a militaristic uniform and had a metal hand. Despite all that, there was no denying who it was, especially since the her now short hair had been re-dyed to it's former color pallet. It was Rainbow Dash.

Chapter 36 The End - Part 5

Rainbow Dash stood stoic as the portal closed behind her. Her face was carved gravel with eyes that burned with a low, hot intensity. She didn't say a word, only stared straight ahead at Pinkie. One could feel power radiating off her; years of battle chipping and carving away to make her more than a warrior, but a force of nature.

Pinkie screamed in fury and rushed at her, knife raised in deadly intent. Rainbow had no need to power up. The years of battle had made her more than capable of handling Pinkie without resorting to her Warrior mode. Pinkie lunged and swiped but Rainbow was more than able to side step and avoid all of her attempted blows. Then, with a grace and speed of the words most accomplished dancer, Rainbow grabbed Pinkie, disarmed her, and slit her throat with the very knife Pinkie had sought to kill the others with.

Rainbow let the body drop to the ground and without any emotion said, "Come with me."

Flash and Adagio stood in stunned silence. Everything seemed to be spinning out of control, their brains couldn't keep up. Where had Rainbow been? Why did she look so old? What happened to Pinkie to make her want to kill them?

It was Adagio who came to her senses first. She started to ask, "Rainbow, what . . . "

Rainbow cut her off sharply. "I'll explain once we get there. Just come here now!"

The power, authority, and urgency of her voice left no room for the others to debate. They hurried over to where Rainbow was standing. She told them to grab on to her. After they did, she raised her right arm and started punching buttons on the back of her metal hand. In an instant they were no longer in the hospital parking lot but standing in a forest somewhere.

"Gather wood, we need to build a fire quickly. Just don't go down that path," Rainbow pointed to what looked like an archway formed by some gnarled, dead trees.

"Rainbow," Adagio started to protest angerly but was cut off by Rainbow Dash again.

"WOOD! NOW!"

Flash and Adagio quickly gathered as many sticks and branches as they could and put them in a pile. Rainbow aimed her right arm at it and a laser shot out of her hand causing the wood to ignite instantly.

"One of the things I've learned over the years is at night, you always build a fire," Rainbow said but it was unclear to whom she was actually talking to; Adagio and Flash, or herself.

"Alright Rainbow," Adagio said angerly. "I'm sick and tired of being told what to do and not why. I want to know what's going on, how do you know about it, and where have you been?"

"It's Fluttershy. We're here to stop Fluttershy," Rainbow's voice was calmer, quieter now.

"Fluttershy?" Flash said confused.

Rainbow took a deep breath and started. "I don't know where to start, it's a long and complicated story so I'm just gonna start talking and hopefully you keep up.

"After high school, when I went to college, I was attacked by an Urgioth. It's a demonic looking beast. It attacked me one night coming home from the library. Turns out, I never lost the Warrior mantle. I was able to power up and defeat it. I thought it was weird but awesome. What I didn't know was that I was being watched by a secret society that had formed to fight supernatural and extra-dimensional threats. The next day I was recruited and I joined.

"The last night we all got together, when Fluttershy and I went out to see that band, I saw a Gemantle, don't worry what it is, just know it's bad; they're bad. I left Fluttershy to fight it, I won, came back, and Fluttershy wanted to know what happened. I wanted to tell her but I couldn't because I had taken a vow of secrecy. She felt betrayed and stormed off. I wanted to go after her, explain things as best I could, but I had gotten called off on a mission. I explained most of this to Twilight when she traveled backwards in time to find me. What I, we, none of us knew; was it was a trap.

"Time moves differently in different dimensions. Things get discovered before they happen sometimes. Other times word breaks out about certain things and it reverberates through the different realms. In this case it was discovered that Fluttershy had found a very, very bad book - Oblitus Libro Sequutur Somnia, The Book of Forgotten Nightmares. It's the most damned book ever written. Even in the lowest, most despicable realms, it's name strikes fear and awe. It's full of arcane rituals and stories, it taps into powers beyond what is known."

Rainbow paused for a second, thinking about how to continue. Eventually she just shrugged and started speaking again. "You know how we were told the Black Gods of Death came first? That they were mindless engines of pain and destruction? Well, there is another account of them. In it, they came into being but were fully sentient. They talked, thought, had culture, everything we do now. Then they started to wonder as all sentient beings do, where did they come from. They tried to look back, before their own existence, to find out what was their source, to look behind the bleeding veil. In the story, they found out and once they knew the truth, it drove them mad, twisted them, turning them into the snarling beasts they became.

"The Book, Oblitus, is said to contain a ritual that allows the owner to pierce, to go behind the Veil, to access the source like The First ones did. It's also said that once the Veil is opened again, it'll mean the annihilation of everything. Not eternal pain and suffering, not a horde of ancient gods devouring their way through the multiverse, but the simultaneous destruction of all dimensions, of all universes, all at once. Complete and total death. I can see by your faces, you don't understand why anyone would want that. After seeing the places I've seen, I can completely understand how some would welcome the end.

"Anyways, there were fifteen of us that day. We thought we were stopping an invasion from another dimension. It wasn't. They pulled us in, sealed us off because they knew we, I, might stop Fluttershy from ever going down this road. For over thirty years we battled our way across countless dimensions - facing off with The Sky Dancer of Chaos and Eternal Night while on the Bimeny Road to the city of Yurizon. We did battle with the Tgher of tundra's of Kom Na Pir, fought off the pirates of Yagash, and the unholy hoards of Quta'ar. One by one I watched them all die, all fourteen of them, including my husband, well the man who would become my husband on the way. All dead, just me, I'm the only one left."

It was there that Rainbow's voice trailed off, squeezed out by the weight of unfathomable sadness. Flash and Adagio just looked at each other, not knowing what to say. What could they say? Adagio was about to say something when Rainbow started again.

"They manipulated Fluttershy over the years. They manipulated the events around her to push her to use the book. It was Fluttershy that caused Twilight and Sunset to go into a coma. Even with the book, they're still goddesses and could have stopped. She corrupted Pinkie and sent her after you two and Twilight and Sunset to make sure there were no possible threats."

"What about Apple Jack then?" Flash asked alarmed. "Shouldn't we have gotten her?"

"Most more than likely Apple Jack is already dead. If she had sent Pinkie after you, then she would have already taken care of Apple Jack. Besides, this is where we need to cut her off at, make our stand. That path, over there, the one I told you not to go down; that's her realm. She used to book to create a zone where she can use the magic in the book and keep others out. Inside there, she can manipulate space itself and create any landscape she wants. It's also protected by demons. It's down that path the book resides. You two need to go down that path, find whatever spell she used to put down The Goddesses, and reverse it. I'm going to stay here to keep guard and fight her off once she arrives. If I kill her, great, but that's not a guarantee. We need Twilight and Sunset."

"Whoa, wait," Adagio said, full of fear and concern. "Why do we have to go? What are we going to do against demons?"

"Especially me," Flash added. "At least Adagio had some magical abilities, but I have nothing."

"If that were true, then going down the path or facing Fluttershy, what difference would it make? It'd be certain death either way." She paused for a bit and walked over to both of them. She put a hand on each of their shoulder. "You have the power in you. You always did. It's why you're here in the first place. Concentrate and you'll find it."

Rainbow stepped back and Flash and Adagio closed their eyes. Each thought of their significant other, how much they loved them, how they would do anything to save them. It was then they both started to glow and in a flash of light each was transformed. Flash had on a suit of white armor with large wings coming out of his back and a sword and shield. Adagio had wings and a horn coming out of her head. She two had on armor (midnight blue instead of white), a war hammer, and shield. They opened their eyes and began to laugh with joy.

"I told you, you had it in you," Adagio said to Flash.

"Ha! I guess you were right," he replied back joyously.

"Ok, no go," Rainbow ordered. They both nodded and started down the path when Rainbow called out, "Adagio!"

Adagio turned around and walked over to Rainbow, curious as to what she wanted.

Once Adagio got over to her, Rainbow started, "If we survive, you and I; you've lived through some of the worst periods in human history and done some horrible things, terrible things. If we survive, I need to know, how do you deal with all the things you've done?"

Adagio looked at Rainbows face. The lines, the scars, they all told a story of someone who had seen and done things that were too terrible to recount. It was the face of infinite pain, sadness and regret. Rainbow's question wasn't an insult or and accusation; but a cry for help.

"I can tell you now," Adagio replied softly, full of empathy, "barely. The answer is barely."

Rainbow nodded. "Go and hurry. She's here."

Chapter 37 The End of the End

Fluttershy glided in to her witching ground, her heart full of joy at the idea that soon she would transverse the multiverse, go behind the Veil, and commune with the Source of All Things. Then she saw the fire burning, it's smoke burning her nostrils. Rage erupted in her heart, replacing the joy that had been there. Who would dare come and defile such a perfect moment? No matter, she would destroy any and all who were down there. As she came in for her landing; she saw a form which grew in clarity until there was no mistaking who it was.

"Rainbow Dash," she said, as she landed, with both surprise and a hint of mockery. "I thought you were dead."

"Don't," Rainbow said in short, commanding voice.

"You certainly got old and ugly. Looks like you've been through a ringer made of cheese grinders." Fluttershy tried to continue to sound like she was mocking Rainbow but there was genuine fear in her voice. Did she know what Fluttershy was up to? How could she know? And why did she look so old? And where had she been for the last almost two years?

"Don't. Drop whatever's in your hand, undo the spell you put on Twilight and Sunset, and forget about trying to go behind The Veil." Rainbow said in her firm, commanding voice.

Fluttershy was startled. She had prepared or even conceived of this. "How do you know about that?"

"Word travels, even in the lower dimensions. That day, the day we got back from destroying the pyramid, an Azazal saw us at the ruins of the mansion. It saw you pick the list of forbidden books. It knew with having been the Mystic, you had greater powers to find and enact the rituals in the Oblitus. Pretty soon all the infernal realms knew you had it. They trapped me in one of the dimensions with my comrades. I spent thirty years of my life, fighting from dimension to dimension, slowly piecing together what was going on, what their plans were. It cost me everything, but I made it back here to stop you.

"You've been used Fluttershy. Pushed down this path. They want you to open the Veil so that everything ceases to be so their suffering can end. It was the demons who caused Rarity's car accident."

"STOP!" Fluttershy shouted in pure hatred. "How do you know about that? How dare you speak her name?"

"I told you, I was gone for over thirty years. That's a long time to find things out, to look for answers. Sometimes it was only the looking that kept me from going insane. Slowly, from clue to clue, from interrogation to interrogation, I found out what was going on. Finally, luckily, I found a portal that would bring me back here."

"You won't stop me Rainbow. You can't. I am about to find out the answer to the biggest question ever asked - why. Why do we suffer, why do we die? Why does bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? Why is there even bad? I asked the so called Goddesses and they were useless. So I found a higher source, the ultimate source, I plan to have my answer." Fluttershy's voice was filled with cold determination and, paradoxically, a white hot fury.

"I told you . . ." Rainbow started but was cut off by Fluttershy.

"Yes, I was being manipulated. BUT WHY WAS I EVEN ALLOWED TO BE MANIPULATED?! Why was I allowed to be born to a mother that hated me? To find a love and then watch him die? To lose my sister? To be betrayed by my best friend? I . . . was . . . an . . . INNOCENT! Why was any of that allowed to happen?"

"I don't know," Rainbow replied sadly. "This isn't the way to find out. The first ones couldn't handle what they found; what makes you think you can?"

"Because I had the power of the Mystic. I have read the Oblitus and not gone mad when everyone else who had did."

"Really? Tell me something Fluttershy; what did you have to do to cast that spell over Sunset and Twilight? Where's Apple Jack? Where's Sonata? Why are you covered in blood? And why does that look like a human heart in your hand there? Are those the actions or thoughts of a sane person? From where I stand, you look quite mad to me."

"Ok Rainbow Dash. Maybe I am mad. Do you think you can reason with a crazy person?"

"No," Rainbow said as she shook her head sadly, "but I was hoping there was enough of my oldest friend left that I could get you to stop."

"And what if there was? What if I started crying, repented, undid the spell, all of it? Then what? What would you do with me? Welcome me back with open arms? Would Flash? Adagio? Sunset? Twilight? Would all be forgiven by the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP?" Fluttershy said power of friendship in a grand, pompous, overly dramatic voice.

"No." Rainbow replied again, sullen and depressed. "I have to kill you no matter what. You've read the book, used it's magic. Even if you stopped now, you'd be a walking, human, nuclear warhead, always in danger of going off. I can't allow that."

"Well then, if my fate is sealed no matter what I do, then why should I surrender?" Fluttershy asked mockingly.

"Because it's the right thing to do. I take no pleasure in this Fluttershy, but you made your choice. Manipulated or not, you still chose to go down this road."

"And you made your choice as well when you wouldn't tell me what happened at the concert. We went through everything together. Fought evil, saved the multiverse, and you couldn't tell me what was going on."

Rainbow nodded. "You're right, I did. I had taken a vow of secrecy but I should have trusted you. It was my choice and it was a choice I've payed dearly for; every day for the past thirty years.

"You think you suffered? You have. But so have I. You lost Rarity. I lost fourteen of my closest friends, one of which was my husband. I lost my hand," Rainbow brought up her metal hand to show Fluttershy. "I have been through and experienced pain and suffering that would have killed anyone else. I lost . . . " Rainbow choked up with tears and she looked away as she tried to regain herself. "I lost a son. I had a son. I had a son with my husband while trying to escape from the Hell dimensions; and I lost them both. So, yes, I've payed for my choices. You have to pay for yours. It's just a question do you go out an unrepentant villain or as a remorseful, fallen, hero?"

Fluttershy placed the heart on the ground and stepped away from it. She looked at Rainbow, her eyes wide, a ghosts of sadness danced in them. She held out her hands to the sides of her and they began to glow red.

"I've come too far now to stop." Fluttershy started speaking. Her words sounded like a cross between an apology, an accusation, and a challenge. "I need to know what lies beyond, to know why all of this happens, to see if there's really a point to all this. Whatever happens to me after that, it doesn't matter; but I will not, I can not stop until I've found out the answer."

Rainbow powered up into her full warrior form. "Let's do this then," she simply replied.

***********************************************************************************************

From all around them the tree branches struck out like hands. Adagio and Flash hacked and slashed at each as they tried to ensnare and kill them both. These demonic trees were the guardians of whatever dark magic lay beyond this path and they were doing their utmost to fulfill their job. The two would not be daunted though. The lives of their partners, the lives of everyone, rested on their shoulders and they would not yield in their task as well.

They finally made it through to the clearing. In it, the stump where Fluttershy had pinned the cloth to cast the spell that took out Twilight and Sunset; spewed reddish orange light in a pillar up to the sky. Spirits circled and danced around it, chanting, hissing, singing, "Soon we will be free! Soon we will be free!" .

"How are you feeling?" Adagio asked Flash as he panted, bent over, trying to regain his breath.

Flash stood straight up and took one last deep breath before he answered. "Exhausted but we gotta do this. I don't know what to do when we get there, but I know we got to get to that stump over there."

"We'll figure it out once we get there," Adagio said as she looked at the stump. Then she turned to Flash and placed her arm on his shoulder. "If you don't think you can make; I can try on my own. I have more experience at fighting and magic and fighting then you do."

Flash smiled and patted Adagio's hand. "I can do this. Even if I can't I'm not letting you face those things alone." He then grew quiet and thought for a moment. "Adagio, I just wanted to say, you've been an amazing friend these past years. The whole mind control to feed of negative energy thing not withstanding. I . . . I . . . if this is it . . . ,"

"Oh shut up!" Adagio said with fake scorn. "Save the touchy feely stuff until after we're done or actually dying ok?"

Flash nodded with a smile. "Alright, let's go."

*******************************************************************************************

Rainbow and Fluttershy swooped and soared, dived and climbed in the sky. Their movements looked less like a fight than a dance. It was beautiful, intricate, even somewhat intimate. It was only the blasts of energy and cursing which gave away what it truly was. The two fought with a rage and a viciousness that could only come from the oldest and deepest of friends. This wasn't fighting to win but fighting to completely obliterate your opponent.

Rainbow had decades of practical experience. She had honed her skills fighting against the most dangerous and brutal monsters and demons. She also had the full might of the Warrior power flowing through her. Fluttershy was lacking in experience but had access to powers darker and greater than that of Rainbow. Fluttershy had youth as well and was unhampered by the regrets and scars of a life lived in constant pain and struggle.

The two were evenly matched given their inherent strengths and weaknesses. Where one was strong, the other was weak; and vis versa. They would land blows and defect. One would gain the upper hand for a moment then lose it for an equal moment. Neither could bring the other to heal but neither could be brought to heal as well.

There was no pithy dialog, no jokes or taunts; just grunts, screams, and yells. This wasn't a cinematic fight between good guy and bad guy. This was a legitimate fight to the death. Every move was made to inflict as much damage as possible or to avoid it. It was this economy and purpose of movement that gave it its macabre beauty.

Fluttershy knew her window was closing in which she could perform the ritual. In a desperate act, she dove at Rainbow, head on, blasting away with all she had from her hands. Rainbow guarded herself with her shield. She tried to fly out of the way but Fluttershy matched her and the two collided and fell to the earth. The impact knocked the wind out of both of them and each was sure that they had suffered broken bones. They rolled around, trying to beat the other to their feet. More than the pain from their injuries, they were exhausted. It was only the magic that flowed through them which kept them from collapsing completely.

Fluttershy was slowly getting up to her feet faster than Rainbow. Rainbow raised her metal hand and fired a laser at Fluttershy, hitting her in the side and caused her to fall back down to the ground with a shriek of pain. This gave Rainbow the time she needed to get up first. She walked over to Fluttershy and put her foot on her chest, pinning her to the ground. The locked eyes and just stared at each other, out of breath.

Rainbow aimed her hand at Fluttershy's head. "I'm sorry," she said mournfully. She paused, just for a brief second to see what Fluttershy would say. She felt liked she owed her that much.

"I'm not," Fluttershy responded with a wicked smile.

Before Rainbow could respond she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her throat. She couldn't breath and it felt like she was drowning. She grabbed at her throat and felt a tree branch sticking through it. She fell to the ground in shock, choking on her own blood.

Fluttershy slowly got up and stood over Rainbow. "The trees themselves protect me. This is my land," she said in a triumphant, mocking voice. "You could have defeated Rainbow; you almost did. I didn't win, you lost. You lost because despite everything, you wanted to. All that pain you carry with you, it made you weak, it made you hesitate. My pain focuses me. That and maybe, deep down, you knew your time was up. How could you ever fit back into society? How could you begin to explain how a twenty year old girl turned in to a fifty year old woman."

Fluttershy just looked down at Rainbow, gurgling and gasping for air; her face radiating fear. "Can you comprehend me?" she asked. "Did you hear any of that? Or are you so lost in your own pain, your own futile struggle for life that my words just passed over you?"

Rainbow stopped gasping. She turned as far as she could and met Fluttershy's gaze. with her finger, she wrote in the bloody earth I'm forgive you.

Fluttershy looked at it then she urinated on Rainbow and said, "I don't". She walked over to where she placed the heart, picked it up and limped down the path.

*******************************************************************************************************

Adagio and Flash were almost at the stump. The magic they had allowed them to dispense with the spirits as though they had corporeal form. They could see now that there was a knife sticking up out of the stump and it was pinning something down.

"That must be it," Adagio said as she continued to fight of more spirits.

"Agreed" said Flash as he did the same. "I'm guessing if we pull that out, we can undo the spell."

Fluttershy made her way to the clearing and saw two figures fighting their way to her casting stump. She realized they were going to try to undo her binding spell on the goddesses. Rainbow had back up all along. If she had managed just to keep her occupied a little longer, her accomplices would have freed the goddesses and then she would have been truly defeated.

But she wasn't! She had made it in time. Fortune was now truly favoring her. She raised her hand and blasted the one who looked like a male. He yelled and went down but his armor kept him from being killed. The female looking one turned and shouted, "FLASH", and Fluttershy realized they were Adagio and Flash.

"Well, it looks like Pinkie failed me then," Fluttershy said to Adagio as she turned to face her.

"Pinkie's dead," Adagio said angrily. The remaining spirits all fled at the sight of Fluttershy. It was only Adagio and Fluttershy now. "Rainbow Dash killed her and since you're hear, I'm taking it you killed Rainbow Dash."

Fluttershy smiled and shrugged. "It does seem to be the night for it. Ryan, Regina - don't worry, you don't know them but in their own way, they made all this possible; Sonata, Apple Jack, Chippy, Apple's girl boy friend, so Rainbow fit right in."

"And it doesn't bother you? Not even little Chip's?" Adagio asked genuinely curious.

"It's for a higher purpose," Fluttershy responded flatly. "As if you're one to talk there missy. You have way more blood on your hands than I do."

"From what Rainbow said that might all change after tonight," Adagio replied equally as flat.

"Life's a gamble Adagio. You still got to take your chances though." She turned and looked at Flash who had gotten back up to his feet; rage and hatred burned in his eyes.

"I must admit," Fluttershy started again, "I am impressed with you two. Especially you Flash. I guess all that goddess pussy finally rubbed off on you huh? Just look at those wings and shiny armor you have on. You're all powered up now like everyone else. Good for you. Unfortunately I have to kill you now. I have a Veil to get behind and I can't allow you to stop me."

"Bring it sister," Adagio said and raised her sword and shield.

Fluttershy went to blast Adagio but before she could Flash rushed over to her with superhuman speed and knocked to the ground; the heart flying out of her hand. She hissed and went to blast him but she saw him about to bring his sword down and she had to roll away as fast as she could to avoid a killing blow. The strike did manage to catch her one wing, severing it off.

Black blood spurted from the where the wing had been amputated. Fluttershy howled in pain. Flash went to strike again but she was able to get a short blast off from her left hand. Flash twisted to get out of the way and fell down. Fluttershy summoned all of the power she had and regrew her lost wing. She was tired, in pain and her magic was fading. It mattered not. She would not give up.

Flash and Fluttershy both got to their feet. She let lose with a bunch of energy blasts which he blocked with his shield. Her ran at her and tried to strike her again. She turned and avoided his sword and landed a sharp elbow to the side of his helmet. The blow was so powerful, it dented it and caused him to go unconscious. Fluttershy turned to Adagio and saw she was at the stump, getting ready to remove the knife. Fluttershy screamed and ran over to stop her.

Adagio could feel the power of the light coming from the stump. It felt like fire. She breathed deep and grabbed the knife. Immediately her skin started to blister and burn. She felt pain like she hadn't since Chrysalis had possessed her. She was being burnt alive but she kept pulling and pulling. She had to remove the knife, she had revive Sunset and Twilight.

Adagio felt two claws grab her sides and she suddenly felt herself being thrown through the air. She landed with a thud and felt her left shoulder break.

"I told you, I can't, I won't allow you to stop me," Fluttershy said full of smoldering anger.

Adagio rolled on her back and started laughing. "I don't have," she raised her right arm to reveal the knife. she had held on to it when Fluttershy grabbed her and threw her. It was Fluttershy's force which had caused the knife to come free.

**************************************************************************************

A nurse had come in to see how Twilight was doing. She thought how pretty Twilight was and how sad it was that she had been struck down so young. All of a sudden the nurse saw Twilight convulse, gasp for air, and her eyes spring open. What was even more shocking (and terrifying), all of the monitors and tubes which had been hooked up to Twilight suddenly dissolved into thin air as if they were smoke. The nurse screamed and ran out of the room.

"I have to find Sunset," she out loud to herself. She closed her eyes and searched for Sunset's presence and found it on the floor above hers.

*********************************************************************************************

Sunset snapped awake. She didn't recognize where she was and could feel things on and in her. Soon she realized she was in a hospital room. She sat up and made everything she was attached to disappear. She was getting out of bed when Twilight appeared before her in a medical gown.

"Twilight, what happened?" she asked frantically.

"I don't know. We got hit with something, something big, something magical," Twilight responded equally as frantic.

"This is bad, this is really bad. We gotta find out what's going on. Like, now!"

Twilight nodded. The two closed their eyes and took each others hands. They scanned the planet and found where the magic was coming from. It was a place in the woods near Fluttershy's school. They could see a fire and a body laying on the ground. There was a thick, intertwined mass of dead trees that kept them from seeing what was underneath them but they knew that's where the magic was.

"Let's go," Sunset said and they teleported to the spot.

***********************************************************************************************

Fluttershy ran over to where the heart had fallen, grabbed it, and ran back to the stump. As she got there, Twilight and Sunset appeared at the entrance way, in full armor.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight called out confused.

Fluttershy quickly put the heart on the stump as she recited the incantation. She spun around and yelled, "TOO LATE". A gigantic ball of fire erupted from the stump and Fluttershy was suddenly gone. Twilight and Sunset looked at each other confused and then around the clearing. Each saw their partner and ran to them.

Twilight knelt beside Flash and cried, "FLASH, FLASH," while she shook him. He slowly came too and she hugged him.

Sunset dropped to her knees beside Adagio. "Babe," she said, tears pouring down her cheeks when she saw how burned and scared Adagio was.

Adagio shook her head and looked mournfully at Sunset. "It'll heal," she said. "It's a magical burn."

"So what happened?" Sunset asked, still crying.

"We lost," Adagio replied flatly.

Chapter 38 Behind the Bleeding Veil

Fluttershy was surrounded by blackness. Absolute nothingness. In some ways it reminded her of The Nexus but without the infinite points of light representing each universe in the multiverse. This was complete and utter emptiness. She wondered if this was The Abyss but since she was alone and there were no signs of The First Ones, she doubted that. So where was she?

Hello Fluttershy. a voice called out. It was big and powerful yet also androgynous. There was no hint of it being male or female yet it easily have been either. I'm glad to see you've finally made it.

"Where? Where am I? Where is here?" she asked suddenly fearing she had made a major mistake.

You are behind the bleeding veil of course You are in my home although everything is my home technically. The voice seemed almost jovial, like it was happy and amused that she was there.

"Are you The Source of All Things?" she asked both fearfully and full of wonder at the same time. She quietly followed it up with, "Are you God?"

The voice laughed. It was a laugh of humor with an undercurrent of malice. I am but not as you understand it. I am not the Abrahamic god although it was, shall we say, inspired by me. I am the creator. I created the first ones, the goddesses, the multiverse, and you Fluttershy.

Fluttershy nodded not sure if she was nodding to the right place or not. The voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere. It was coming outside of her yet in her head as well. It didn't matter. She had come here on a mission and she was going to complete it.

"Why? Why do allow so much pain, suffering, and misery to happen. Why do you allow people die? Why do you allow evil and sometimes even award it. WHY?" With each question her voice got stronger, more powerful, and angrier.

For entertainment. the voice said simply.

Fluttershy floated (?) in stunned silence for she knew not how long only it seemed like it was an eternity more than what it actually was. "What did you say?" she asked in a soft, cold, fury.

For entertainment. I am immortal as far as I know. I am all there is, was, or ever shall be. If I merely just spent all my days contemplating myself as Plato thought I did, well, that might drive even me to madness out of boredom; so I create and recreate, over and over again to entertain myself.

"How, how dare you! HOW COULD YOU? DON'T ANY OF US MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU?" Fluttershy's anger was now beyond all scope, all limits.

Yes and no. I do care about you as characters. I care about your journeys, what you call character arches; but you have to remember, you, your friends, everyone, are nothing more than figments of my imagination. Nothing you say, do, experience actually mean anything other than as a means to stave off my celestial boredom.

You see Flutter Shy, when I say you are my creations, I mean that literally. I imagined you, created you out of thin air, I control what you and all the others think and say and do. "All things worketh to the will of God" is true. It's one hundred percent true. You're here now because I wanted you to be. You're angry because I want you to be angry. Everything you did in this story, you did because I wanted it to happen that way because that's what I thought would be the most entertaining this time. The former quiet, goody two shoes because the deranged, murdering witch. Quite the turn I'd say. Maybe not wholly original, I've done face/heal turns before. Also the whole forbidden book thing is a bit old, but when used right can be a quite handy plot device.

"It can't be," Fluttershy said quietly with a dawning sense of dread and despair.

Oh but it is. If I exist, and I'm truly all powerful and in control of everything, and all things work to my will, how could life be anything but? I even gave a hint of my self earlier in the story. A portal suddenly opened up and Fluttershy could it was Sparkle and Shimmer. It looked like they were in their pod from the night before they fought the forces of Morgorith, talking somewhat excitedly.

"So what do you think of your double?"

"I don't know. We're definitely alike in many ways but so different in others. I know she's older than me so that could be a factor in things. I would go with the Fun House mirror analogy but that feels too clichéd and easy. I respect her, look up to her, find her fascinating, yet find her a bit off putting. I don't know. You?"

"Pretty much the same. I look at her and think she's so smart and strong. She has a nobility about her but she's also really down to Earth and approachable. She gives me hope for me when I'm that age."

"The thing is, we're still only two versions of Twilight Sparkle. Out there, there are an infinite amount of other me's. I wonder what they are like, what bodies they have. Are the insectoid, fish, amphibian, maybe bird like, or even silicone based. Knowing for certain that other universes, other dimensions exist, I feel trapped being in just this one."

"Eum," Shimmer grunted, "I agree. We've touched the veil of reality and pulled it back to glimpse eternity."

"Wow! That's deep," Sparkle said surprised.

"I'm not all sarcasm and tasteless jokes all the time. Most; but not all."
Sparkle smiled. Then she remembered something Shimmer had said back at the mansion. "Hey, are you really a genius?"

"Yep. Tested and verified. I'm guessing you are too."

"Affirmative. So, let me run this past you. Remember all the possible options I ran down that might happen if one were to try and change time?"

"Sure. All were distinct possibilities."

"Well, I just thought of another. I call it the God Author theory. It kind of goes like this - the reason a paradox is created when someone tries to change time is because they would be erasing the very reason that made them go back in the first place right?"

"Sure. If the reason never happened, they'd never would have gone back therefore never changing time and etcetera, etcetera."

"Exactly. We are finite beings who only know what we can experience. But an omnipotent being, a god, who has knowledge of all things, all possibilities, could change time since the time line they changed was only ever one possible outcome, no more real than any other. Sort of like an author going back and changing a story she's writing. Hopefully I explained that well enough."

"No, I get it. Yeah. The author is real, the novel is a complete work of fiction, a figment of her imagination. She could go back and change whatever aspects of the story she wanted to because the story isn't real to begin with."

"Um, yes and no. Just to an omnipotent being, no one probability or outcome would be any more real than any other."

"No, I'm get that. So potentially, since we are gods incarnate, if we could access the full Goddess Force, we could change time because we would know every possible outcome to begin with therefore there would be no, could be no, paradox."

"Yes! Exactly!" Sparkle squealed in excitement.

You see? There I was just giving a hint of myself, of what the true nature of reality is there. Foreshadowing as you would call it. Also it played of a scene earlier where they had a big argument as to why you couldn't ravel back in time to change the future yet Sunset, Twilight, and Celestia did that at the very end of the first story.

"Story? What are you talking about?" Fluttershy demanded to know in frustration.

Oh, sorry. In this run, you're a character in a story based off a children's TV show. Fan Fiction as it were. You're life, all the events that you remember are actually just words displayed on a computer screen on a website called FIM fiction. See dear reader, I told you I'd reveal who I was later.

"NO, WAIT, I'M ALIVE! I'M REAL! I think and dream and breathe and eat. I'm real. I'm a real person!" Fluttershy was now in full existential meltdown.

My dear, even if you were actually "alive" and not a character in a fan fic, which you have not been in many other instances, you still wouldn't be real. The people reading this aren't real. Everything and everyone is a figment of my imagination. So really don't feel bad.

Fluttershy suddenly felt overwhelmed with joy and started praising me. Then she felt complete indifference, shrugged, and said, "Whatever man. I don't care", before returning to her previous emotional state.

You see? Everything you felt there was real to you and you felt it because I wanted you to. Sometimes you all have perfect lives and nothing goes wrong. Sometimes your lives are even worse than they are now. I have written you, cast you and everyone else infinite times over. You've been a saint, a sinner, a whore, a murderer, and a regular woman.

When it has pleased me, I've brought others before me. Not in the same way of course. The scene in "The Matrix", where Neo meets the controller, that was another hint I gave about myself and about all who've stood before me. Sometimes I'm a benevolent, caring god who soothes their soul and heals their heart. Other times I am the voice in the storm that says how dare you question me. It all depends on what character I wish to play at the time. Just like this place changes as well. Sometimes it pure, white light, sometimes a field, sometimes a cave with burning lakes. Sometimes I let people die and they see a specific Heaven or afterlife. Sometimes they see nothing. Sometimes I have them remember past lives. I do it all to keep everyone confused and questioning. I give just enough evidence of everything but no evidence of what the actual truth is. Just my way of keeping things interesting.

Fluttershy was suddenly and painfully struck by a new thought. "All the things I did, the people I hurt, I killed, I didn't have to. You cold have talked to me at any time."

Yep, pretty much, but where would be the fun in that? And if it makes you feel better, and it will if I want it to, you didn't actually kill anyone. I controlled all your actions on one hand so you have no copiability in that respect and, two, since none of you actually exist, no one really died. I can also rewrite everything and start anew and everyone would alive and well again. So don't worry, unless I want you to and then you will.

I started off this story by saying all good horror stories begin with a death. What I didn't say is that they all end with a twist. And for this one, the twist is you don't exist. You, just like the characters in this story are mere fictions, my imaginings, my way to stave off boredom. More than that, however you react, is how I want you to react. Love it, hate it, love me, hate me, you can't escape me. A god centered universe couldn't be anything but. Calvanism was also me giving a brief hint of myself.

Fluttershy looked down at her bloody claws, dejected. All emotion had drained from her body. She was emotionally and mentally numb. She was - dead inside.

"So what happens now?" she asked listlessly.

It's time for you to go home.

************************************************************************************

Twilight and Sunset were helping their partners up when another ball of fire erupted from the stump and Fluttershy stepped forward; naked but no longer mutated. The four of the exchanged fearful glances at each other and then turned to look at Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy?" asked Sunset this time with fear and curiosity.

"Oh, hey guys," Fluttershy responded listlessly.

Once again, Sunset and Twilight exchanged nervous glances.

"So what happens now?" Twilight asked, getting herself ready emotionally and mentally for a fight.

Fluttershy just looked at them as if they had just asked the dumbest question in the history of forever. "Nothing," she said simply, "the story's over."

The End

Author's Note

If this was a movie, this is the song that would play over the credits.

Chapter 1 All Good Horror Stories

All good horror stories begin with a death and this is no exception. Although in some ways it begins with two. The first begins in an alternate timeline. A poor girl by the name of Fluttershy was born to an abusive mother. The years of constant physical and psychological battering had made the poor thing into a shy, waifish creature who's best friends were animals. As she grew and eventually reached out and made friends; she became stronger, more self assured, and eventually ended up leaving her mother. In a novel, this would have been the end. Good girl escapes bad situation and lives happily ever after. Unfortunately; life isn't like that and Fluttershy is eventually killed by her mother.

Sad, yes I know. Such is life I'm afraid. Except it's not that simple. You see Fluttershy was a very special girl indeed with even more special friends - namely Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer who happened to be the latest inheritors of The Goddess Forces (more on that later). They, along with one of the previous Force holders would go and rewrite the timeline after a particularly brutal battle with a dimensional fusion ( a dimensional fusion is where two versions of the same person but from different dimensions fuse together into one; in this case it was one Trixie Lula Moon). Fluttershy lived and would go on to help battle and defeat an ancient evil set on unleashing The Black Gods of Death (also known as The First Ones).

Timelines are like stains or cracks - you can cover them up, but they're still there. Once something happens; it can never un-happen. It just gets folded within the larger timeline. Just one more pocket dimension of what was or could have been. These little pockets, if powerful enough, can still reach out and effect the main timeline. Such was the case with our dear Fluttershy. Her death in the alternate timeline left such a psychic scar that when it came to the time it would have happened in the new timeline, she actually fainted and went into a mini coma.

Now before I go on, I just want to say that like life, each person experiences death differently. Some pass into nothingness. Some are reborn. Some go to Heaven, while others go to Hell. There are some rules as to who goes where and why but most are incomprehensible to mortals. Most simply just cease to be. This was Fluttershy's case (originally). It was this that allowed for her eventual corruption.

I also feel that now is a fine time to fill you in on a few things. First -The Black Gods of Death (or First Ones); were the first beings ever to exist. Powerful and vicious, they are like rapid animals; no intellect just pure, seething hate. The warred with each other for time untold until the Second Born came into being. This was the Goddess. She did battle with first ones and eventually splitting herself in two to become The Goddess. Unlike The First Ones, The Goddess were intelligent, self aware, and moved with purpose. Once again, for time untold, they did battle with The First Ones. Neither could achieve victory over the other so The Goddess created what would later be known as The Elder Gods. Finally, with The Elder Gods' help, they sealed The First ones away in The Abyss. This allowed for the Third to come into being, The Multiverse.

From their home, The Nexus, The Goddess kept watch to make sure no other would arise to threaten the multiverse. But while The Goddesses kept watch outward, trouble breed from within. The Elder Gods had grown corrupt, decadent, and narcissistic. They waged war on each other with one, Yahweh, killing all the others (including his wife, Asherah) to be the only one left. The Goddesses found out and cast Yahweh out and renamed him Lucifer.

It was after that The Goddesses felt they needed to not only look out but in as well. The split their essence across the multiverse and gave it two representatives in every dimension. Each would hold it for a while and then it would be passed on to two others; so on and so forth for all eternity. They also created forces, or powers to help their incarnates. These were: The Warrior - the perfect soldier. Strong, agile, and cunning, The Earth Mother - loving, nurturing, with the power to control plants, The Healer - can cure anyone of any physical or emotional damage, The Mystic - empathic, can see the far distant past, commune directly with The Goddesses in The Nexus, can also talk to and control animals, and The Trickster - can change shape, become invisible, can be one person or two. And unlike the incarnates who held onto The Goddess Force their whole lives, the other forces could be bestowed on whoever was around the incarnates at the time and wasn't linked to just one person.

The Goddesses didn't know how they or the others existed nor did they care. As far as they were concerned, they all just simply happened. As long as nothing came along to challenge them, destroy the multiverse, or unleash The First Ones, they were fine.

As mentioned before, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer were the holders of the Goddess Force. Fluttershy was granted the power of The Mystic. The rest of the squad consisted of their friends Rainbow Dash (The Warrior), Applejack (The Earth Mother), Rarity (The Healer), and Pinkie Pie and Sonata Dusk as The Trickster. Together they fought the evil wizard Morgorith who wanted to unleash The First Ones who would have devoured the multiverse. And, as previously stated, they won. That was 2014.

As the years went by, each girl dealt with what had happen as best she could. Most put it out of their minds as best they could. Twilight struggled with what her responsibilities were in this world with her powers. Rainbow sought to find a higher meaning in life. Fluttershy started going down a dark road. She became moodier, quicker to anger, slower to forgive. Still she was still herself at heart. That was until the second death - Rarity's.

Chapter 2 Exposition

Rarity Jeanette Geisel was born June 1, 1998 and died in the early morning hours of February 18, 2018. It was a car crash. A most unremarkable car crash. The kind that happens everyday where cars are being driven. Rarity had been going back to her London flat after a party, tired but awake, and fully sober. The person who hit her head on was neither of those things. Death was instantaneous for both.

Rarity was the elder child born to a Jewish father and Christian mother in Wisconsin. By Jewish law, that meant Rarity was considered Christian as the religion of the mother takes precedents over the fathers. Unfortunately to the racists she was forced to go to school with, this bit of religious legalese didn't mater; to them she was a Jew and abused as much. It wasn't just her perceived Jewishness that brought the ire of her classmates upon her; it was also her poverty.

The Geisels were the proverbial "dirt poor". Having been disowned by both sides of their family and dealing with the prejudices of their neighbors; they lived an extremely harsh life. The house they rented was literally falling down around them. Sometimes they had running water, sometimes they didn't. Sometimes there was food in the house, sometimes there wasn't. Their clothes were second hand and worn threadbare. From that, some of Rarity's classmates called her "Rag girl". Things got even more desperate when Rarity's little sister, Sweetie Belle, was born. All that changed when Rarity's father won the Lottery when she was in the fourth grade.

He bought the card on whim while getting coffee before work one day. His wife scolded him for wasting money but as the numbers were announced that night and she suddenly realized that all their money concerns were going to be a thing of the past; she hugged him and praised him with tears in her eyes. As soon as they had collected the money; Mr. Geisel moved the family to California to start a new life.

It was their that Rarity reinvented herself. She replaced her thick, Midwestern accent with a north eastern, upper class one. She made sure all her clothes were the most fashionable there was. She was never going to be "Rag girl" again. She also made a vow to treat others with respect. Having experienced the worst bullying you could imagine; she would never allow herself to treat others or allow others to be treated like that in presence ever.

Fifth grade was when she first started in her new school. It was also when she met a fellow new transplant by the name of Apple Jack. Apple's family were farmers and had moved to California from South Carolina. At first Rarity thought Apple was a boy. A pretty boy, but a boy none the less. Apple had short, blonde hair, a strong, defined jaw. Apple's clothes were extremely boyish - lose flannel shirt, baggy, faded, blue jeans. Rarity thought Apple was rather cute in a rustic, country way and made it a point to introduce herself to this other new student. It was then she realized that Apple Jack wasn't a boy but a girl.

Rarity had been shocked but decided it didn't really matter. People looked how they wanted to look. She would just accept this girl as she was and the two became fast friends. Inseparable in fact. Each was like a mirror of the other. Identical yet opposite. Rarity got rid of her accent while Apple Jack played hers' up. Rarity went to great lengths to look as wealthy as she was while Apple Jack went to equal lengths to down any money her family had. Rarity reveled in her femininity while Apple Jack did all she could to hide hers'. They complimented and completed one another in a way that seemed almost mystical; each bringing out the best in the other. Rarity even ended up developing a crush on Apple Jack (at least until Apple grew her hair out and actually looked like the beautiful girl she actually was).

The next year they met two new students - Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Much like Rarity and Apple Jack, the two appeared like polar opposites. Rainbow was loud, brash, over the top African-American girl who dyed her hair to look like a rainbow; while Fluttershy was a quiet, unsure of herself white girl with strawberry blonde hair. Rarity thought that if it were possible; Fluttershy would quite gladly hide in her own shadow. But, like Rarity and Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy seemed to complete each other in a way that was impossible to explain but immediately understood. And just as Rarity and Apple had immediately bonded, so too did they with Rainbow and Fluttershy. Apple Jack found a tom boy bestie in Rainbow and Rarity found a fellow girlie-girl in Fluttershy.

It was through Rainbow Dash that they met the final member of their group - a pink haired girl with a personality that was the living embodiment of a sugar rush named Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was sweet, naïve, yet had an almost super natural intuitiveness about people that allowed her to instantly bond with anyone and figure out even the most intimate details of their lives. When Pinkie was around, everyone felt happy and most importantly - accepted. The five were inseparable. At least they were until Sunset Shimmer showed up.

Sunset came in to their school and their lives in seventh grade. Sunset was an impossible beautiful girl with fiery, red hair. At first she was kind and sweet. Slowly though, she began to manipulate people, split up friendships and romances until no one trusted each other and she reigned as queen bee. At first the Rarity and her friends ignored it and then succumbed to it. The five of them might have been at each others' throats for the rest of their lives if it hadn't been for Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight was a pretty Japanese girl who hid her pet dog Spike in her back pack. She had black hair with a purple stripe going through it, and Betty Page bangs. It was Twilight who got the girls to reconcile and eventually revealed that she and Sunset were beings from another dimension. Her Twilight's dimension she was a princess and a pastel purple pony. Sunset had came back through a magical portal and stolen Twilight's crown for some evil purpose. The six of them decided to team up and take Sunset out.

At The Fall Formal ( a dance held by the school near the start of each year), the six of them engaged Sunset in a magical battle where Sunset turned the school into zombies and planed to use them to invade and conquer Equestria. Twilight, Rarity, and all were able to defeat Sunset who repented afterward. Sunset was made to stay in the human realm until she learned how to truly be a better person. Sunset, with the help of Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Apple Jack, slowly redeemed herself; at least enough to take on the next big challenge - The Sirens.

The Sirens were a group of three former ponies (Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk), who had been transformed into monsters by some magical gems they had found. They used to their power to sow discord across Equestria and were banished by Star Swirl the Bearded a thousand years previous. For all those years they plotted their revenge and looked for a way to get back home. As they were sitting in a diner, they saw the battle between Sunset and the other girls. Their leader, Adagio, recognized the Equestrian magic and sought to use it to regain full strength and get back home. Another battle ensued and with the help of Sunset, the Sirens were defeated. And this is where the split in the time line occurs.

In the first one, Adagio and Aria leave and convince Trixie into going with them to Equestria. Sonata stays behind, becomes friends with Sunset and crew, falls in love with Pinkie Pie, and gets adopted by Vice Principle Luna. Twilight comes back to see her boyfriend, Flash Sentry, and gets locked in the human world when Adagio, Aria, And Trixie discover the portal and go through it. Normal life happens on Earth. The girls have their ups and downs, they date, Fluttershy gets killed (as mentioned in the previous chapter), and so on. In Equestria, Trixie meets her pony self, fuses with her, Kills Adagio and Aria, comes back to the human world where she is defeated by Twilight and Sunset who merge with their human selves. After this, they and Princess Celestia reset the time and that's where time line two picks up.

In this one, all three Sirens leave, Twilight goes back home, the girls go with their lives, and Fluttershy remains alive, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Apple Jack find boyfriends, and then come The Friendship Games. Cantorlot High faces it's arch rival; Crystal Prep Academy. It's that school that human Twilight attends. She had been tracking the strange energies coming from Cantorlot High and builds a device to trap it. Under pressure from her principle and classmates, she unleashes the magic and is transformed into a winged demon who punctures holes in the fabric of reality between the human dimension and Equestria. Human Twilight is eventually defeated by Sunset and redeemed but during the battle an evil entity known as Queen Chrysalis escapes from Equestria into the human realm.

While here, Chrysalis learns about Morgorith and The First Ones and tries to free them. To help her, she enlists The Sirens to help. Adagio and Sonata end up turning and siding with the other girls. Then girls, all of them including human and pony Sunset and Twilight, Adagio, and Sonata fight and ultimately defeat her but not before Apple Jack's grandmother, little sister, boyfriend, Rainbow's boyfriend, Fluttershy's boyfriend, Princess Luna, and Vice Principle all get killed. After the battle, human Twilight and Sunset decide to go back to Equestria while Pony Twilight and Sunset decide to remain on Earth and live as normal humans.

The girls graduated high school in 2016. Rarity moved to London to study fashion design and kick start her career as famous designer. Instead it lead to her death, the second death, the one that started Fluttershy down her journey into nightmares and madness. But all that comes later. First, let's rewind to one year previous, 2017; the last time all the girls would see each other alive.

Chapter 4: Cracks In The Armor Part 2

By the time Rainbow and Fluttershy arrived at the club it was fully night. The sky was clear but the stars were blotted out by the competition of the countless terrestrial lights. Street lights, headlights, light streaming from windows and off of signs; all blurred out the celestial lights. No matter. The loss was purely the human's. Those splendid, heavenly bodies had been conducting their universal dance long before humans arrived to behold it and would so long after the last mortal vanished from existence. The minute part they blinded themselves to while alive made no difference to them.

As with most things in 2017 America, cities were either thriving or dying, there was no middle ground (or at least very little middle ground) anymore. Unfortunately, this city, once a nice, prosperous small city, had fallen into the later category. The wealthy moved out to more desirable locales like San Francisco while those who could no longer afford to live in the rarified air of such cities, came streaming in to cities like this one. Property values plummeted, crime shot up. No where near the bad old days of say New York during the early 90s or Chicago circa it's entire existence. But still, far more than it had ever experienced before. The whole city now had a dirty, crumbling feel to it.

The two pulled their bikes into a dingy parking lot outside the club they were going to. It was a former gas station that had gotten torn down and some slum lord bought the land, put a cheap fence around it, and charged people five dollars a hour to park there. The asphalt was cracked and full of pot holes, but parking was parking and his rates were actually on the cheap side compared to other places (as well as right across from the venue which was another plus). The two women parked, packed their helmets in the saddle bags, and made their way over to the club.

"You're gonna love these guys," Fluttershy reiterated excitedly. "I'm not really a punk fan but I saw them last month and they blew me away. I know you're going to love them."

"I'm sure I will," Rainbow Dash laughed. Rainbow loved all her friends but there was something special about being with Fluttershy. Flutter was her oldest and dearest friend. Being with her felt like being wrapped up in the entire concept of home.

Rainbow stopped, reached out, and gently took Fluttershy's arm. Flutter turned around to look at Rainbow. She was confused as to what Rainbow was doing. She looked at Rainbow's face and saw an odd mixture of happiness, sadness, and peace.

"Hey. Fluttershy, I . . . I just wanted to say how happy I am to be back with you again. You've, we've come a long way since we first met. You more than me. But I just wanted to say, thank you. Even without all the magical stuff and universe saving; you'd still be my best friend."

Fluttershy looked shocked at first then took up a defensive stance and said, "Ok, who are you and what have you done with Rainbow Dash?" She then resumed her normal posture and laughed.

Rainbow laughed as well. "It's me; I promise. It's just, well, since graduation and moving away to go to schoooollll, . . . , things have happened. Like I said, I've changed as well. I was an arrogant jerk back in the day. I always had to be the loudest, fastest, best, the constant center of attention. I was dealing with stuff, badly. I was a black girl being raised by white parents. I played it off but I came to realize that I never really got over the idea that my biological mom gave me up for adoption. I was trying to fill a void, of getting over the idea that the person who gave birth to me just gave me away. I wanted love and acceptance but went about in the entirely wrong way. It took a while, but I think I finally got my shit together. Well, almost.

"Anyway, you were there longer and stronger than anyone else. You put up with me when I could barely put up with myself. So thank you."

Fluttershy just looked at Rainbow in complete astonishment. This was something, a side to Rainbow she had never seen, never even knew existed. Even though it had been Rainbow who opened herself up, it was Fluttershy who felt raw and exposed as if by in opening herself up; Rainbow had inadvertently stripped her of all her skin. Fluttershy looked down at the ground, crossing her body with her left arm and holding her upper right arm with it. In that moment she was classic Fluttershy, the painfully shy, scared girl that Rainbow had first met.

"I, I, I, I don't know . . ., uh, thank you Rainbow Dash. Truth is, I don't have my shit together. Not since I lost Sandal. I thought I did. But I don't. I keep asking why, why, why, and I can't answer that. I can but none of those answers are good. It just seems like I'm either angry or depressed all the time. Sometimes I don't even know how I'm still standing."

Rainbow embraced her friend, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I know, I know. Hatred, rage, vengeance, were all I could think about for years afterwards. I blamed Twilight, Sunset, Adagio, Sonata, all the Equestrians, the goddesses, everyone and thing. You and to some degree Scootaloo kept me sane enough `till I was able to figure things out and so will you."

Rainbow pulled back, putting both hands on Fluttershy's shoulders. She smiled as she was still crying. "And remember, if nothing else, you'll always have me."

Fluttershy smiled back weakly. "I know. Thank you again Rainbow."

Rainbow dropped one arm and put the other around Fluttershy's shoulders. "I'm actually going by my real name now, Rachael," she said in a half joking, half serious manner.

"What? No way! You hated that name!" Fluttershy responded in joking shock.

"Hey, like I said, I've changed too."

"Well, you know, I'm kinda over being called Fluttershy. I was thinking of maybe changing my name to Florence."

Rainbow scruntched her face up at that. "Florence ? Ugh. You don't look like a Florence. If you want a new name that starts with F, how about Felicia?"

"Nah; `cause whenever someone would say bye to me I'd think they were just being insulting."

They both laughed at that as they started walking to the club again. Then Rainbow stopped. Fluttershy thought she was about to say something heartfelt again until she saw her face. It was a mix of dread, anger, surprise, and determination. Fluttershy turned to see what Rainbow was looking at.

Standing by the entrance to an alley that ran behind the club; their was what looked to be an extremely elderly man. While this would be a bit strange on it's own, there were further details that made it all the more unsettling. The man wore a business suit that seemed at least over a hundred years out of date. Even though he wore a Bowler hat, it was clear he was bald on top; his hair having receded far past what the hat could cover. What hair was left hung down to his shoulders, straight and limp. It was very white yet appeared darker next to his almost albino like complexion. His face was emotionless as he just stared at them. And it was that stare, his eyes most notably which gave him such a feeling of dread. His eyes were wide open. Imagine opening your eyes as wide as possible, wide to the point of pain, as wide as any human physically could; now imagine them ten percent wider still and that is how wide his eyes were. And it was those eyes, those unblinking eyes, that stared at Rainbow and Fluttershy.

"Rainbow, do you know . . . ," Fluttershy started to whisper with a touch of fear into Rainbows ear.

Rainbow put up her hand to silence her. "It's ok, I got this," she said and started to walk off.

Fluttershy grabbed Rainbows arm. "Rainbow, if this guy's trouble, we should handle him together. I've fought," Fluttershy took a deep breath before she continued, "I've killed before. We're in this together remember?"

Rainbow gently removed Fluttershy's hand and sadly shook her head. "Not this time Fluttershy. This has to be all me." With that she walked over to where the man stood. She stood off to his side, her back toward Fluttershy. She could tell that Rainbow was talking to him but neither turned to look at the other. She looked straight ahead into the blackness of the alley and he just kept staring at Fluttershy. Slowly Rainbow dashed turned her head to look at the stranger who then finally turned to look at her (although he kept staring at Fluttershy for as long as he possibly could. With a brief look they disappeared into the alley.

Fluttershy waited, wondering what was going on. She was fighting every urge she had not to run over there and help her friend (if indeed she needed help). She waited and waited for how long she could not say as time seemed to pass in increasingly slower increments. Then in what had been a cloudless sky; a dark, greyish purple thunder cloud formed. It lit up a bright indigo (although it's light never seemed to illuminate anything on the ground beneath it. It was then a loud burst of thunder roared out from the cloud and was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Very soon afterward Rainbow Dash came walking out.

Fluttershy went running up to Rainbow. "Rainbow, Rainbow, what was that? What the fuck just happened? Where's the creepy old guy?"

Rainbow just shook her head. "It's ok. He's been dealt with. Let's get in here to see this band ok?" Rainbow tried to smile as if nothing had happened.

It was then Fluttershy lost it. "The fuck? You're jus' gonna play that shit off like it was fucking nothing? Not even tell me one goddamn word about what that shit was all about? We stood together, shoulder to shoulder, fought against demons, monsters, ancient gods. All your words, everything you just told before this happened, it was all fucking bullshit!"

"Fluttershy, wait! It's . . ." Rainbow tried to explain but was cut off by an enraged Fluttershy that would not be stopped.

"No! Fuck you! You said I've changed - you're goddamn right I've changed. But you can't except that, can you. All we've done, all we've went through, and still you just want me as sweet, shy little Fluttershy. You don't want me to grow, to change, you want to lock me in a box forever and tell who I am and how I'll always be. Well I'm not that scared little girl anymore. I've grown. I am a woman now. I've faced things that no one else would even have half the courage to face and I won't be that little fucking girl anymore. Not for you, not for anybody.

She then took a deep breath and gave a bitter, ironic laugh. "And you know what? You were there, with me. It's not like some asshole I knew briefly in school and lost touched with. You, YOU, were right there with me the whole time. But even you can't see, can't accept I'm not the same person anymore." She then turned around and started back toward the parking lot.

Rainbow ran after her and grabbed her. "Fluttershy, please! C'mon. Let's just go see the band huh? We can work this out later."

"See them your fucking self Rachael . I'm outta here." Fluttershy broke free and stormed off. She got on her bike and drove away. As she passed Rainbow she held up her middle finger.

Rainbow just kept turning around, punching her right thigh and cursing. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Chapter 24 Hitting The Showers

Sore didn't begin to describe how Regina felt. Being consumed in the fires of Hell couldn't be any worse than this. She was pretty sure that this was EXACTLY what being engulfed in Hell fire felt like. Faustine had assured her that this was only going to be a short, light workout. Which, while she believed Faustine had been honest, the fact that her body hurt this much afterwards made her grimace in sheer terror at what one of her full on workouts must be like.

As they walked back, Fluttershy noticed with some grim amusement how stiffly and slow Regina was moving. She did try to take it as light as possible on the girl, but it was more than apparent that she was woefully out off shape. The way she shuffled and hobbled beside Fluttershy made her look like some grade z movie zombie or someone who was leaving the scene of a really bad accident they were in. She chuckled to herself and smiled a bit. This new girl might be strange, but she was also highly entertaining.

Then again, who was she to call anyone strange?

The walk back was much warmer and sunnier than it had been that morning. Even though she was still a bit hot from her workout; Fluttershy enjoyed the warmth of the newly exposed sun beating down on her. She new evolutionarily she was programmed to respond favorably to sunny days, but, also, she liked the fact that it helped disguise the eternal, infinite, darkness which surrounded and would eventually consume all.

Going up the steps was a bit more of a chore for Regina. Each step allected it's own prayer for strength to overcome. While the journey up the steps took twice as long as normal, Regina was more than satisfied with her progress and gave a prayer of thanksgiving once she made it to their floor. A small, deep breath before opening the door to the hallway; she made the final leg of the journey in a somewhat reasonable time. As soon as she got inside, she collapsed on to her bed.

"You alright?" Fluttershy asked with thinly veiled humor.

"In Christ, all things are possible," Regina replied in a tired, yet happy voice.

Fluttershy laughed out loud. Her delivery was too perfect to try and fight off any laughter. She sat down on her bed and said, "Hey, listen - you don't have to come with me anymore to the gym," with great humor and sympathy.

"No, no. It's fine. The body is a temple unto the Lord and apparently I haven't been taking good care of mine," Regina responded in the same tone as before.

"Well, just don't kill yourself preacher girl; you got sinners to save," Fluttershy said back in a manner which she hoped didn't sound to mocking. She then said in a much more sympathetic and compassionate tone, "Hey, if it helps, we've all been there. Throughout grade and high school, I was naturally thin. My first semester here I put on five pounds. Not a lot by any stretch of the imagination, but enough to scare me. So I dieted and started working out. The first couple weeks I felt exactly the way you do now. You'll be fine. Besides, a nice, warm shower will do wonders to take the soreness out."

It was at that Regina sat straight up with a fear awash all over her face. This was the moment she had dreading. The moment she went out of her way to forget. Now here it was. No one had ever seen her naked except her mother and that was when she was a baby and she had never seen another person naked. The idea of being naked around a bunch of other naked girls made her feel sick and disgusting.

"So there really aren't any private showers are there?" she asked quietly.

"Not in this dorm. Some of the newer ones have them but all the old ones like this don't. It's no big deal," Fluttershy tried to reassure her.

"It is! I mean, maybe not to you since you're fallen; but I know better. Being unclothed, exposing your body to others, is just plain wrong. It's a sin," Regina answered back in a state of frustrated panic.

While Fluttershy just wanted to go over to Regina and punch her in the face for being stupid; she held her temper. Getting angry (let alone violent) would solve nothing. So she quietly, patiently, and with all the sympathy she could muster explained, "Listen, I get it. I understand where you're coming from. I remember how scared I was when I first had to take a shower after gym class when I was in high school. It's not fun. Eventually, though, I learned it wasn't really that big of a deal. No one is going to assault you. Trust me. I've used the shower with out lesbians before and was perfectly safe. No one is there to check anybody out or do them harm. Yes, you will see other people naked, but, honestly, it's just visual white noise - like wallpaper. By the second or third time, you don't even notice them. Just go in, pick a locker, put your stuff in, wrap a towel around you, go to a stall, pull the curtain, do what you need to, shut the water off, you can dry off in the stall if you want, wrap yourself back up, go to your locker, get dressed, come back here, and it's all over with. Simple as that." As she spoke, Fluttershy gently took Regina's hands in hers.

Regina looked down and debated with herself. Being nude, in public was a sin. Still, she needed to be clean physically. Maybe God would intervene and divinely clean her as to keep her from sinning. This could be a test as well to see how devoted she was. It really wasn't public, public though (not the way Faustine described it at least). And she knew going in that somethings were going to be unavoidable in the fallen world.

She looked back up to Faustine and asked, "Well what do you do when you have your monthly blood?"

"Mon . . . what? You're really calling it that? Wow that's old school. Um, pretty much the same except you bring your underwear with you and a pad or tampon, whatever you use, and make a quick stop at the toilet first. I mean, that's how I do it. Wait, are you . . ." Fluttershy started to ask but was cut off almost immediately.

"No, no, no, no. I was just asking for later. I've never done this before, so I don't know what is proper to do."

Regina was red with embarrassment while Fluttershy just looked at her in stunned silence. This girl was beyond sheltered, Fluttershy thought to herself and wondered if she was even worth it but quickly remembered she was.

"Well, we, um, we better get going now," was all Fluttershy could say.

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Regina was trembling with fear as she entered the shower room. Luckily there were only a few girls there and not as crowded as it could have been. All were in various states of undress, a couple talked to each other as they disrobed. Regina quickly turned around to face the lockers, Faustine standing right beside her. She removed her towel, soap, and shampoo from the bag Faustine had given her to use into the one locker. She placed them neatly on the bench, sat down, removed her shoes and socks and placed them in the locker as well. She looked over to Faustine for strength. Fluttershy nodded sympathetically, turned to face the lockers and began to take her sweater off.

Regina quickly looked away, prayed for guidance and forgiveness, stood up, and slowly removed the sweater she was wearing. She quickly placed it in the locker, sighed, removed her bra, and put it inside with the same speed as she had done with the sweater. With one final prayer, she stuck her thumbs inside the waist of her underwear, grabbed both the sweat pants and underwear and pulled them down as quickly as she could. As she stood back up to step out of the pants, she heard Faustine gasp. She quickly spun to see why and gasped herself as soon as she did.

Fluttershy had glanced over just to see how Regina was doing and gasped. Regina was completely unshaven. She had seen some gender queer, gender non conforming, girls on campus who didn't shave, but most of them were really masculine looking. Regina, while not girly or femmie by any stretch of the imagination, still presented as female so even though she didn't wear make-up or shaper eyebrows, she still assumed she shaved her legs and arm pits at least.

For Regina, her gasp was two fold. One, seeing Faustine naked, the perfection that was only hinted at through her clothes was now made fully manifest. She was literally a living statue. The second part was that while Regina knew women in the fallen world shaved their legs and arm pits, she had no idea the did anything to their genital hair. Yet there was Faustine with a small, well defined, triangle of pubic fuzz that could be no way natural. Removing leg and armpit hair seemed ridiculous to her; but down there as well? It was too much.

Both girls turned away quickly.

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said first, full of real regret and embarrassment. "I just looked over to see how you were doing and, well I just assumed you shaved."

"No, it's ok," Regina replied with equal embarrassment. "If God put hair on our bodies, then He had a reason to so it's a sin to remove it. I was just surprised as well. I knew that girls shaved their legs and arm pits, but I didn't realize they did anything other than that." Regina stopped for a second before quickly adding, "Not that I was intentionally looking down there!"

Fluttershy was now calming down a bit. It wasn't that she had been appalled by Regina's body, just taken by surprise plus she was embarrassed by her own reaction to it.

"Yeah. Well, I used to be completely clean shaven down there but decided I'd go with a little love triangle as I call it." Fluttershy said feeling even better and less embarrassed.

"Why?" Regina asked. Her mind was completely blown. The concept of anyone doing anything down there just seemed beyond ridiculous; it was almost perverse.

"What can I say. Hair styles come and go - for both ends." Fluttershy ended with a slight laugh, hoping it would lighten the mood.

Regina shook her head. "I don't get it. I just don't."

Fluttershy went to respond but stopped. She was struck by a sudden sense of deja-vu. It was like this conversation had happened twice before but yet not with Regina; or even her for that matter. It was like having someone else's memories. She shook her head to try and get rid of the feeling.

"Well, you wear long dresses so you don't really have to worry about it," Fluttershy tersely said.

Regina knew something was wrong with Faustine. Maybe she overreacted or just spoke up too soon. She didn't know but she decided it was best to let the subject drop for now.

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As soon as they got back to their room, the put the dirty clothes in the basket, Regina sat on her bed and read the Bible while Fluttershy went to the bathroom and put her make-up on. As soon as she came out; Regina got up and said, "Faustine, I am truly sorry if I said anything to offend you awhile ago. I thought I knew what to expect but I didn't know everything. I have my mission and message but I also believe there is a time and place, and that was neither. I really like you and want to be your friend as much as anything. Will you please forgive me."

Fluttershy gave a sweet smile and hugged Regina. She was taken aback by Faustine's action. One because she didn't expect it and two, because there was a strange feeling when she did. She couldn't explain it, but having Faustine hug her, feeling her body next to hers, it made her feel calm, happy, safe even. There was a peace and comfort there that when she pulled away; made Regina almost empty.

"It's ok. I was out of line as well. Truth be told, I really like you too. You're weird as . . . flick; but you're still a good person and I enjoy being around you."

Once again, Regina felt something she had never felt before and couldn't explain, other than calling it some new type of happiness.

"Well," Fluttershy started, "it looked like you were reading, so I'll let you get back to it. I want to read some more of my book as well. Maybe we can get something to eat then?"

"Sure, I'd like that." Regina replied in a somewhat goofy voice, her face feeling flush for some reason. She then asked, "You know what I'm reading, but what are you reading?"

A strange, wicked smile came across Fluttershy's face. "That is a very interesting story. Slightly disturbing as well. Wanna hear it?"