Zephyr and the Real Girl

Chapters

1: Beach Fun
2: Bedroom Action
3: Girl-on-Girl
4: Hot and Heavy
5: The Morning After

1: Beach Fun

Sunset Shimmer splashed through the shallows near the beach, laughing and kicking up a fine spray of surf as she fled her pursuer. A hasty glance backward showed him first running, then diving to tackle her. She whooped and dodged to the side, letting his momentum carry him face-first into the cool water. New waves rippled outward from his point of impact—strong enough, for a few moments, to overpower those sweeping in from the ocean.

Seeing a chance to put some distance between them, Sunset giggled as she backpedaled through the thigh-deep water toward the shore. But she’d only made it a few steps before a telltale shock of straw-colored hair emerged from the surface. She playfully shrieked again and turned away, pumping her legs as quickly as she could, given the water below and the practical limitations imposed by her black halter-top bikini. But behind her, she heard still more splashing. And a quick glance back revealed—

“Gotcha!”

The touch was just a brief brush of her left hip, and it was followed by another big splash from another overly-theatrical dive. But the momentary contact was enough to make Sunset feel much more aware of that hip, and of the sun’s warmth on her exposed skin. She blushed, covering the moment of sensation with a disarming laugh.

Turning back, she watched as her pursuer pushed himself up slowly from the water. It cascaded off his tall, slim pale-green frame, and dripped in long streams off the blond bun tied at the back of his head. It clung here and there to his perpetual five-o’clock shadow, and it added to the shine of his vivid cerise eyes. Sunset felt a smile overtake her, matching the one she saw on his face as he rose fully to his feet. She shook her head while studying him, taking in the full sight of his bare chest and orange trunks.

“I got you, babe,” he said, winking and giving her a finger-guns gesture.

Sunset shook her head, but maintained her smile. “I guess you do.” Then she dropped down and splashed him with more water, sending him recoiling backward and laughing.

“Hey, no fair! You better watch it, or The Zephyr ain’t gonna want to bring you back out to the sweetest beach in all of Canterlot county.”

She grinned at his fake threat. “Y’know, it’s funny; I’ve lived here in Canterville for years, but I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually been out to the beach.”

He shrugged, and took a nonchalant look at his manicured fingers. “Maybe you just never had a reason?”

“Oh, definitely.” She shook her head again. “Zeph, thank you. This is just what I needed. This so beats fighting monsters, or sealing dimensional rifts, or any of the crazy stuff that happens in what passes for a ‘normal’ day anymore.”

His eyebrows climbed. His nonchalance melted. And Sunset winced. “Sorry. I know that side of me can be a lot to take in sometimes.”

“No, it’s all right, babe,” he said, affecting a smile—but his eyebrows were still a little too high, and the corners of his lips a little too tight. “Ol’ Zephyr is always a cool customer, no matter what dimension he’s shopping in.” He paused, and his eyes briefly flicked downward from Sunset’s own before returning. “But hey, good lookin’, if you’re having a cool time, how’s about a picture to remember it by?”

Sunset felt heat rise in her cheeks. “Sure. Why not?” She raised a hand toward him… then hesitated, remembering the reason why she shouldn’t… but after a moment’s reflection on his slim frame and cocky grin, she held it out fully. “Help me back to shore?”

Her fingers tingled as they intertwined with his, and she drew a sharp breath as—in the back of her head—Sunset felt the crawling, shivering, near-desperate urge to reach out with her power and look into Zephyr’s mind.

NO! she thought with all her might, hoping to suppress both the power and the urge to use it.

If Zephyr noticed her internal struggle, he didn’t show it, instead returning the smile that Sunset hastily applied to try to cover her sudden gasp and shiver. Instead, he simply turned and started leading her through the surf.

Sunset took another few deep breaths as the urge battled back, and sought something—anything—to force it back down. She let her mind wander through feelings of gladness that her adopted hometown of Canterville was in easy driving distance of North Amareica’s west coast. She reflected on the cool ocean breeze that kept the waters a bit chilly for much of the year, and how there were a few days during midsummer when warmth penetrated the cool coastal waters, bringing crowds of people of all ages out to frolic by the water’s edge.

She broke contact as they reached the dry, sandy beach, and focused on the soft heat that went shooting through her toes as she and Zephyr made their way up to the towels and tote bags that they’d left. The crowd was thicker here, with people of every color in the rainbow either laying out, or walking somewhere else, or playing.

As Zephyr bent down to root around in his bag for his phone, Sunset took the opportunity to do the same. There was one text message, from Fluttershy, which she’d sent just a few minutes before:

At the bathrooms. Need to talk. Don’t tell Z. Important, please.

Sunset’s brows furrowed, and she looked further up the beach, back toward the set of concrete-block buildings next to a large playground and the massive parking lot beyond. She squinted, looking from face to face—

And there, sure enough, she saw a familiar downturned expression on a butter-yellow visage, framed with locks of pink, and accentuated by a timid hand-wave.

“Hey, you ready?”

“Uh… yeah!” Sunset said, pinning on a smile and turning back to Zephyr.

His brow furrowed over his smile, and he fidgeted with the phone in his hand. “Something wrong, babe?”

“No, of course not. Where do you want to take it?”

He shrugged, looking disaffected. “I dunno… I thought you looked pretty cool out there in the water, coming right up out of it like a modern-day Venus de Miloat.”

“Got it.” Sunset padded down the beach quickly, and not just because of the baking sand that threatened unprepared feet. Shy wouldn’t be out here looking for me without a good reason. So much for a day off with my guy…

“That’s good, babe!”

Sunset sighed, but then put on her best sultry smile before whipping back around and winking at him. The smile widened as he blinked and almost dropped his phone. She started walking back toward him slowly, sometimes touching her hair, sometimes giving her swimsuit slight adjustments, all while acutely aware of the contrast between the rising temperature of her skin, the cool water against her legs, and the wet sand beneath her feet.

By the time she reached him, he was chuckling slightly. “Oh wow. I don’t even… good golly, I am at a loss for words at the sight of your beauty!”

She gave him one final wink. “Hey, are you good for a minute? Gotta hit the little fillies’ room.” A blink and a short pause later, she corrected: “Little girls’ room. Sorry.”

His chuckle turned a shade toward nervousness. “Heh. Yeah, horse world thing? No biggie. Fear not: The Zephyr will be right here waiting, maxing and relaxing for his lady’s pleasure when she returns.”

With a playful eye-roll, Sunset turned away and headed back up to retrieve her flip-flops, then made her way up through the crowd toward the building with the bathrooms. Fluttershy was indeed still waiting, shuffling her weight back and forth between the heavy-looking sandals beneath her long green sundress. As their eyes met, Fluttershy nodded once, then retreated behind the corner of the building.

Sunset frowned and picked up the pace a little. In moments, she also rounded the building. And what she found was not only Fluttershy standing there looking meek in the shade of the overhead awning, but Rainbow Dash as well, pacing back and forth in a trim blue tracksuit.

“Finally!” Dash blurted, approaching her. “Sunset, you need to listen and listen good: that loser you’re dating is a no-good cheat. You gotta ditch his butt, like yesterday.”

“W… what?”

“It’s true,” Fluttershy said in a clear voice despite having wrapped her arms around so she could hold her elbows in a death-grip. “We’ve—all of us—tried to be respectful of your decision to date my brother—”

“Even though he’s a scuzzy, no-good, uncool cheat,” Dash interrupted.

Fluttershy nodded. “But I don’t feel good knowing something like this when you don’t.”

Sunset’s face twisted into an uncertain frown. “Look guys… you’ve already made it pretty clear what you think about Zephyr. But I’m telling you, the guy I’m dating? Yeah, he’s got a sense of humor. And yeah… maybe sometimes he isn’t the most confident, and he fakes it to cover that up. But c’mon, people grow. Why not give him a break?”

Fluttershy and Dash met eyes, before Fluttershy glanced down at the floor.

“You gotta tell her,” Dash urged.

With a nod, Fluttershy said, “I’ve… kinda wondered for a while if he might have…” She blushed. “Maybe someone who he talks to. Y… y’know. On the phone.”

Dash nodded vigorously. “If y’know what I mean,” she said, moving a fist back and forth in front of her belly for emphasis. “Oh, and I wouldn’t put it past him, either. You remember how I told you about Shy finding his ‘stash’ one time?”

“So many tentacles,” Fluttershy whispered, as a shiver wracked her frame. Sunset felt a particularly hot blush rising in her cheeks as well.

“But that’s not the worst of it,” Dash continued. “Go on, Shy, tell her the other thing.”

Fluttershy glanced up for only a split-second. “It wasn’t just him talking, this time. I heard another voice, too.”

“Some floozy,” Dash spat.

Sunset blinked once, twice, three times. She took a tentative step backward, and touched a hand to the side of the building for support. Slowly, she turned away, and took a long look back down the beach. There lay Zephyr on his towel, with both hands raised to help support his phone.

“I mean, you know what he’s gonna use those pics of you for,” Dash said, suddenly at Sunset’s ear.

“Girls…” Sunset glowered at them. “Seriously. Why can't you just leave well enough alone with me and Zephyr?” She paused. “I don't want to think that you’d be lying about this, but you’ve made it crystal clear that you don't think Zephyr’s ‘worthy’ of me, or some garbage like that.”

“Well, duh,” Dash said. “’Cuz he’s a no-good, dirty—”

Sunset snapped a finger right up underneath Dash’s nose, causing her to recoil. Then she turned her gaze on Fluttershy, who shrunk back without moving. “He’s your own brother, Shy! Don’t you know he has a hard enough time struggling with feelings of ‘worthiness’ as it is? Do you really have to drag that same baggage into his love-life as well?”

Both other girls went agog at the mention of the word “love.” Sunset folded her arms. “Yeah, you heard me. And just for the record, even though it’s really not your business, we’re taking it slow. So if you’re worried that your ‘skeezy’ brother’s going to just swoop in and break my heart—”

Dash held up her hands disarmingly. “Look, okay, I get it that we’ve kinda poisoned the well here. But that’s why we wanted to come together. We know you might not trust us on this, but I know you know that we both care about you. And maybe seeing both of us together would remind you of that?”

“He’s just very immature,” Fluttershy said with a quiet intensity. “It’s not that he would have to be a bad guy. It’s just… sometimes I think he doesn’t know what to make of all the things that us and the other girls get mixed-up in. Sometimes he’s not sure of his own place with that and… I guess… sometimes when he gets stressed or worried—”

“Or just horny,” Rainbow broke in.

“—We honestly don't know if he’ll do the right thing and be open about how he’s feeling, instead of just… trying to take care of it himself.”

“If y’know what I mean,” Dash reiterated.

Slowly, Sunset nodded. “All right. Thank you girls for caring enough to remind me that I should take care of my heart, even if it's been nice just taking it easy and keeping things light. Because I know if this keeps working out, it can’t stay ‘light’ forever.”

“Yeah, heh.” Dash actually blushed a little. “We heard about how you and Flash used to get on. Or get it on.”

Distracting thoughts streamed through Sunset’s head; memories of days long past, when touch could simply be enjoyed without worrying about imposing herself into someone’s inmost thoughts. Sunset closed her eyes, and focused on her breathing for a moment, trying not to let those thoughts throw her off-course. “I was pretty immature back then, too, you know. I was literally just using Flash. Tell me that’s not worse than whatever Zephyr’s past looks like! If I get to have a second chance, why can’t he?”

Fluttershy kicked at the ground. “I don’t know. I thought… maybe I didn’t hear what I thought I did. I don’t know. I mean, I guess we shouldn’t worry too much, since you’ve probably read his mind and all.”

Sunset frowned. “I haven’t, Shy.”

Dash and Fluttershy exchanged wide-eyed glances. “Are you kidding?!” Dash blurted. “Why wouldn’t that be the first thing you’d do with him?!”

“Because it isn’t!” A knot of discomfort roiled in Sunset’s gut. “Don’t you realize what a crazy big responsibility I have, being able to read people’s minds just by touching them? What a temptation it is to abuse that power? And for a relationship—” she frowned, watching Dash gag “—what kind of trust foundation would there be if I could always know everything that’s happening on both sides?”

“That’s very admirable of you,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“And mature,” Dash added. “Like if Zephyr there had those powers? I guarantee, give him ten minutes flat to figure ’em out, and he’d be skeezing for any chick who’d lay him under any circumstances—and then he’d just mind-read the circumstances.”

Sunset’s frown deepened. “Guys… Shy… he’s your brother. Yes, I should probably talk to him about his… habits. Or, really, what they might mean for our relationship, if we decide that we want to get more physical at some point. But for right now, if you respect me, please respect my space with this.”

“Pssh, fine. C’mon Shy, we tried.” Dash hooked Fluttershy’s elbow with her own and turned the other girl back toward the parking lot. “Sunset, I get it that you’re trying to be all noble, but think twice if you really wanna waste dat booty on a loser who's cheating on you and using your pics to groom his whack stack. I mean, what you’re saying sounds alright, but what happens if you’re wrong about him?”

Despite struggling to keep up with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy managed to turn her head back and call, “If nothing else, you never know what you might catch from him.”

Sunset turned away, and stalked back toward the beach with deep-furrowed brows. How could they be so… mule-headed?! Her flip-flops kicked up copious amounts of sand as the concrete sidewalks near the bathrooms gave way to the beach proper. Why isn’t it enough that I work side-by-side with them to keep Canterville safe from all the crazy stuff that Equestrian magic throws at it? She shouldered past slower-moving people, whose presence suddenly seemed less festive, and more oppressive, than it had mere minutes before. Why can’t they just trust me to know what my own needs are, and to do what’s right for me to help get them met?!

“Whoa, uh… hey there, Sunshine. Penny for your thoughts?”

She looked down, and blinked, as she registered the concerned-looking smile of Zephyr staring up at her from a nearby sand-sprinkled blanket.

“I…” She swallowed, trying and failing to dispel the frown that had overtaken much of her face. “I’m sorry. Killer line for the bathrooms.” Seeing Zephyr’s eyebrows raise at this, her tension finally broke, and she chuckled. “No, look, I’m… having a disagreement with a friend. But that’s a problem for another time. Right now, I’m just having a great day with you, and that’s all I want to keep doing.”

Zephyr scratched at his stubble. “I don’t know, babe… I don’t mean to pry, but are you sure that everything’s all right?”

“Yes,” Sunset said quickly. “This right here is perfect.” She walked the few paces to her beach blanket and lowered herself down onto an elbow. “Though I guess… maybe one of these days, when we have time… maybe it’d be good to talk a little more about some things.”

“Things?”

She sighed, and laid down fully on her back. “Look, no pressure, right? I know this is all still pretty new for both of us, and I'm good… I’m really, really good… with just having fun. But I like you Zeph, and… maybe it’d be good to talk a little about where we think it’s going? And… as much as I’m glad we’re taking it slow… maybe we should could talk a bit about physical stuff, too?”

Sunset felt her heart sink as she looked at Zephyr’s eyes. Though they were wide with a smile, it didn’t take a mind-reader to see how much anxiety filled them.

“Sure, babe,” he said, slowly rolling over onto his front—perhaps to keep her from seeing his eyes. “Anytime’s a good time for The Zephyr.”

2: Bedroom Action

The call came just late enough that Sunset had fallen asleep, but not so late that she’d yet made it through a full sleep-dream cycle; 11:45 P.M., according to the digital clock that Sunset spent a few moments smacking ineffectually before realizing it was her phone going off, not her alarm. She rolled over to face the plastic shelves on the other side of her twin bed and groped around in the darkness, disoriented and unable to recall which shelf her phone was on. All the while, the grating sound of an old-school telephone assaulted her ears—

It stopped. A few moments later, it gave the simple *ding* of an incoming text.

At last her fingers felt contact with the cool, smooth glass surface of her phone. Sunset swiped her finger across the message to bring up the app. She squinted as the display lit up with a pink-and-yellow butterfly icon next to the message itself:

Can you come over right away please? Sick bear from the woods, maybe EQ magic, doesn’t speak normal bear. Need a mind read

“One day,” Sunset groaned, turning the phone off. “Can’t I just get one whole day away from it?!” She sighed, and pressed her hands to her face, before swearing loudly and kicking the covers off herself.

Minutes later, Sunset was flying down the city streets on her motorcycle, dressed in jeans, tall boots, an orange T-shirt, and a heavier leather jacket that she liked to save for riding. She gunned the throttle, feeling her hair whip around in the warm night air, and taking shelter in the knowledge that most of the short route between her apartment building and Fluttershy’s house on the edge of town was lightly policed… unless it was the end of the month and the cops were looking to fill their quotas.

Naturally, the sight of a blue blur on the edge of her vision made her curse under her breath and brake hard enough to make her shift forward in her seat.

Sunset looked from side to side as she moved down the way at a leisurely five-MPH over the limit, trying to spot the blur again. But Canterville was still the kind of town that folded itself up at night for the most part, and there was nothing but city around her. The only unexpected lights were from the phantom glows cast by the overhead streetlights that reflected in odd ways across the motorcycle’s chromed body.

“Hey there!” called a voice on Sunset’s other side.

Her heart leapt, and she accidentally veered at a thirty degree angle as she whipped her head around to look at Rainbow Dash, who gave her a manure-eating grin while running at inhuman speed right next to the motorcycle.

“Hey, c’mon, pull over in the empty lot right before you turn onto Shy’s street,” Dash added while Sunset brough the cycle back under control.

“Dash, what the buck is going on here?”

“Just trust me, Sunny. We still gotta move fast, but we gotta be quiet too. The last leg’ll be better on foot.”

Within another couple minutes, Sunset guided the motorcycle off the road and onto a long patch of cracked blacktop away from the streetlights. Dash slowed to a halt next to her, looking tense. As sometimes happened when Dash really got going, a faint smell of burning rubber wafted past Sunset’s nostrils, accompanied by puffs of smoke from Dash’s shoes. She cursed and stamped them out.

Sunset met Dash’s eyes. “How come you didn’t wear your good running shoes?”

As the two girls stared at each other silently, the long non-quiet of a city by night rang in Sunset’s ears. It brought the raggedy noise of cicadas from nearby trees, and the Doppler’d drone of the occasional car going by on the main drag a quarter-mile back, along with other, less distinct sounds. But Dash didn’t say anything; she simply stood there catching her breath, with a hunted look in her eyes.

With a sigh and a quiet curse, Sunset moved her hand back down toward the ignition.

Dash’s hand was on hers in an instant, stopping her from turning the key. “Okay, alright… Shy told me to come as fast as I could, and to watch for you, and to get you to the house all sneaky-like.”

“So this isn’t really about a bear, is it?”

“Look… I’m not as good as Applejack about the whole honesty thing, but I’ll level with you: what Shy told me is something you’re just gonna have to see for yourself. But I promise… it’ll be worth your time.”

“It better be,” Sunset grumbled, putting the kickstand down. “One day, Dash. I try to take one frickin’ day off from dealing with school, or Equestrian magic, or both, and just spend some time with my guy, and even get to bed at a decent hour. And then I get woken up at eleven-motherbucking-forty-five-P.M. to come deal with whatever this is.” She got up off the motorcycle, then narrowed her eyes. “Where are the rest of the girls?”

“Oh.” Dash bit her lip. Great, so she’s making this all up as she goes. “I, uh… Shy’s house is right there, right? You know the way? I’ll go get the others!”

And she was gone, just like that, in a small cloud of dust and smoking rubber.

“One. Day.” Sunset shook her head again, and set off across the open series of backyards between the empty lot and Fluttershy’s house. She stayed close to the small dry creek that wound its way through the decades-old development, which served as a natural border between the town proper and the Everfree woods on the other side. The grass crunched softly underfoot; a sure sign that rain had been light in the last couple weeks.

Soon she found herself crossing through the plain but grassy backyard of Fluttershy’s house. The two-story home was a modest mid-century structure done in brick, though it was hard to make out any details beyond a solitary light in an upper window, as it was otherwise completely dark. But in the dim moonlight, Sunset spotted a hunched shape perched on the back porch. It rose as she approached, and shrugged off a hood, revealing a figure with long hair and a surprisingly hard expression on her face.

“Fluttershy, this better be worth skunking my day off,” Sunset said. Then she looked behind herself, back out into the darkness. “You can come back too, Rainbow,” she projected, albeit quietly. A moment later, a blue blur heralded Dash’s return.

“I’m sorry that I lied in my text,” Fluttershy said. “I’ve actually been doing a lot of lying tonight. I told my folks that I’d be staying over with Rainbow Dash, and I hid under my bed until mom and dad went to sleep downstairs, and Zephyr…”

Dash put an arm around Fluttershy’s shoulder, before frowning at Sunset. “Look, what you said about respect and stuff? I totally get it. And you’re right! We’ve gotta let you… do you.”

“Or Zephyr, as the case may be,” Fluttershy added, shuddering. “But please, just come inside for a few minutes, and listen, and I promise we'll never talk to you about it again if you don't want us to.”

Though Sunset's jaw was tight and her fists clenched, she nodded. “All right, but I’m holding you to that. And ‘we’ means you too, Rainbow. You bring this up ever again and you're a dead mare.”

“Geez, I’m not a horse, Sunset.”

“Whatever! Are you in or not?”

After a few moments of grumbling, Dash nodded. “All right, fine, whatever. Take a ride on the Z-train all you want. Get a punch card. Join his friggin’ rewards program. I’ll shut up about it.”

“All right then, follow me,” Fluttershy said. “I’ll go first. This isn’t my first time sneaking in; step where I step so the floor doesn’t creak. And don’t let the screen door slam behind you.”

The three girls made their way into the dark kitchen, where the only light came from the digital clock displays on the microwave and stove. Sunset tried not to be distracted by the question of why Fluttershy might have experience sneaking back into the house, and instead took pains to ease the screen door shut slowly behind her. She felt the tension drain from her shoulders as she was rewarded with the sound of a soft *click*.

“C’mon,” Dash whispered from ahead.

Sunset picked her way through the darkness after them, glad she didn’t have to try to remember Fluttershy’s kitchen layout on her own. They made it to the hall without incident, and then crept slowly up a set of carpeted stairs.

Some kind of muffled sound became apparent as they approached the second floor. Sunset couldn’t quite place it, though part of it seemed familiar, and part of it didn’t.

They paused at the top of the stairs, and stood there for a few moments in a tight cluster. Sunset saw that it was a straight shot down the hall from there to a doorway with a bit of yellow light leaking out from beneath it.

“That’s Zephyr’s room,” Fluttershy whispered.

Sunset narrowed her eyes. “What’s that sound?” she whispered.

The look that Fluttershy and Dash exchanged was… tense. Unnerving. “Sunset, follow me into the guest bedroom,” Fluttershy said. “You’ll be able to listen as long as you want to.”

“I can’t believe he’d really do this,” Dash whispered as they picked their way slowly down the hall. “I mean, listen…”

So she did. “—Can I... can I see it?” They were Zephyr’s words, but they were followed by:

“Oh, of course you can.”

Sunset’s jaw clenched. It was a woman’s voice; definitely on the high side, but with a richness of tone that suggested she wasn’t a teen.

Then Sunset’s stomach went hollow as she heard Zephyr gasp.

“Do you like what you see, big boy?” It was the mystery woman again, and… Sunset staggered, stepping on a creaky spot in the floor. She felt a strong grip on her arm, from Fluttershy, who held a finger to her lips and pointed at the door next to Zephyr’s.

But Zephyr must not’ve heard the creak, because his next words came in hushed tones that seemed filled with awe: “I… I’ve never seen anything like it… it looks so smooth…”

“Oh, it is so smooth, Zephy.”

Sunset’s mind… froze. Bluescreened. She felt the strength of her legs go limp. Hard and sudden pressure on her arms suggested that Fluttershy and Dash might be carrying her, or at least guiding her. But the impetus to keep moving… the strength in Sunset’s guts… was gone.

Yet whatever was going on in the room, seemed to continue going on. Even as her other senses failed her, Sunset still could hear: “And I… can I touch it?”

“Oh, I want you touching it alright. I want… want you go go at it with both hands!” The woman moaned. “Oh, what are you waiting for, you tease! I can almost feel your fingers inside it already!”

“Sunset!” Dash hissed, clicking her fingers right up near Sunset’s face. It was then that Sunset realized she was sitting on her butt in what looked like a pleasant little bedroom, with Fluttershy hugging her, and Dash crouching close.

“Oh, I’d like that,” Zephyr’s voice said from nearby. Each word was like a dagger piercing Sunset’s heart. “I’d like that a lot…”

With effort, Sunset met Dash’s gaze. “It might not be what it sounds like,” she whispered, her tone and words mechanical.

A sudden bouncing and creaking of bedsprings from the other room seemed to put the lie to her words.

“I’m so, so sorry to put you through this,” Fluttershy whispered into her shoulder. “But I couldn’t keep quiet. Not where my friends are concerned.”

“Oh yes, that’s fantastic!” came the woman’s voice from the other room.

Sunset felt hot tears welling at the corners of her eyes. She wanted to say how sorry she was for not listening to both of them to start with. She wanted to curse herself for jumping blindly into a relationship that she herself had called “just light and fun” without even realizing for her own sake that “light and fun” wasn’t all she wanted; not if it meant such a huge imbalance between her own inability to touch without being tempted to read a person’s mind, and someone else’s pure pursuit of physical pleasure.

But Sunset said none of those things. Instead, words failed her, leaving her a silent mess that nodded, and hugged both Fluttershy and Dash close, as quiet sobs began to wrack her.

“Whoa! Geez,” Dash said, extricating herself from Sunset’s grasp. “Man, Shy… I believed you, but I guess part of me couldn’t quite believe you. Not without hearing it for myself.”

Fluttershy nodded into Sunset’s shoulder. “He really is the worst.”

“Yeah…” Dash stood, and smacked a fist into her opposite palm. “Y’know, he really is. He’s got all the loyalty of pond scum… him and his little two-bit floozy in there. It’s not the kind of thing a decent person oughtta have to put up with.”

“No,” Sunset croaked. “Dash, please, don’t do anything stupid.”

Dash glowered back at her. “Sunset, everyone involved here’s just been doing stupid stuff since day one. Fluttershy brought him to her party; I got you two talking as a joke; he asked you out; and you didn’t shoot him down like the barrel of fish that he is. And then you wouldn’t listen to us, and we… well, we dragged you in to hear this. Seems like there’s been plenty of stupid to go around.”

“What good would bursting in there do?” Sunset asked through a dry throat.

“Yeah, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said, looking up at her. “You’d wake my parents up for sure.”

Dash shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t care. Let ’em wake up and see what their son’s up to. Let Zephyr sue me for beating his butt down. Let whoever she is do… whatever people like that do. I don’t friggin’ care anymore.” She pointed at Sunset. “That jerk made my Sunnybun cry. And ain’t nobody gets to make my Sunnybun cry.”

“Dash, you—”

But the problem with trying to stop a girl with super-speed from making a rash decision is that she can be gone before you even get the words out. Sunset shot up off her rump once she saw Dash vanish in a blur. Mere heartbeats later, she heard the telltale CRASH of something breaking through wood at high speed.

“Oh my GOSH, Zephyr… what?!”

“Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, now Rainbow, I can explain…”

“Explain what, you creep?! This has to be some new kind of low.”

“Why hello there,” came the woman’s voice, smooth as butter.

“Gaah! Zephyr, what the…”

“Rainbow, like I told you! This isn’t what you think! Are you… wait, hold on a minute. Flutterbutter, where are you? I know you must’ve put her up to this!”

Sunset and Fluttershy held each other closer, each both seeking and offering silent warmth and moral support.

“You… you leave her out of this,” Dash said. “You’re in a relationship now, Zephyr! You can’t just be doing this kind of crap and expecting to get away with it!”

“No, no, no, you aren’t listening!” Zephyr shouted. “You girls always get to have all kinds of freaky magic secrets, right? You tell me bits and pieces… or, well, Sunset’s actually told me a lot. Turns out I’m an excellent listener, isn’t that right?”

“Oh, you bet he is,” said the woman.

“Well then, so what if I have a little secret of my own like that for once? Something a little exciting? Something a little out there, on the edge? Feels like I’m barely scratching the surface of what you girls get up to on a regular basis!”

“Do you think that what we deal with is some kind of game?!” Dash shouted. “Do you have any idea what Sunset goes through when she even thinks about touching you?!”

Sunset's heart froze.

“You know what you are?” Dash continued. “You’re just an immature punk, who’s never gonna have a real relationship, and who’s gonna die alone because of—”

“STOP.”

The word made Fluttershy startle and recoil. Silence reigned from the other room as well. Sunset heaved a sigh, then pushed herself forward slowly. Why, Dash?! Why’d you have to drop the bomb about… not touching him now of all times?! She walked around the corner, keeping her eyes low, steeling herself for whatever she might find when she looked up.

“Oh… ohhhh… h-hey, babe,” Zephyr said.

Sunset’s stride faltered. She paused in her steps.

She looked up.

A bed sat in the middle of what she saw. Rainbow Dash stood on the side of the bed closest to her. Zephyr was on the opposite side of the bed… and shirtless, but still wearing sweats. A stab of jealousy held her gaze on him longer than it should’ve done. Because then she looked closer at the edge of the bed where Zephyr stood…

Something on the bedsheets moved. A high, cackling laugh sounded from somewhere she couldn’t see. And then a woman slowly rose from Zephyr’s side of the bed.

Her skin was purple. She wore a skin-tight catsuit of a pinkish-purple. Her hair was green… and there were miles of it. Threading over the bed. Crawling all over the walls. Moving. The whole room was alive with it.

Sunset’s jaw fell as she watched long tendrils of the hair-stuff encircle Zephyr. He screeched for just a moment before still more hair wrapped its way around his mouth. Then she threw her head back, gave another insane cackle…

...and jumped into a comic book that lay open on the bed.

After a moment to process what she’d seen, Sunset’s mind snapped her right into action. “Get the others,” she said, stripping off her leather jacket and pressing it into the waiting arms of a stunned, slack-jawed Rainbow Dash. “Hey, Dash! Shy! Call Twilight. Maybe have her call Princess Twilight, too, in case we need more serious backup.”

“W… what was that?!” blurted Dash.

“I have no bucking clue,” Sunset said, rubbing her palms together, trying to psych herself up. “So I want you girls to bucking stay here and get us some backup while I go in and try to figure that out.”

“I’m… wait, no, I can’t let you do that alone,” Dash said, shaking herself back into some semblance of awareness.

Sunset gripped her arm. “Yes, you can. He’s Fluttershy’s brother. She needs someone right now. And we might need the rest of the girls if we’re gonna do this right.”

“Um,” Fluttershy said, coming out from around the corner. Even though her eyes were wide and tearful, her gaze seemed determined. “Rainbow Dash is right, it could be dangerous to send someone in there alone.”

“Yeah it could be. But he’s my boyfriend.” She looked at them with an expression that brooked no argument. “And after I get done pulling his flank out of there, me and him are going to have a serious chat!”

With that, she dove straight onto the bed—and felt herself shift, twist, contort, yet somehow continue falling, as she hit the surface of the comic.

Rainbow Dash watched Sunset disappear in a flash of black-and-white light. Slowly, she reached down and picked up the comic, then flipped it to its cover, and stared at it.

“Power Ponies?” asked Fluttershy, approaching from behind her.

Dash furrowed her brow. “What the hay are those supposed to be?”

3: Girl-on-Girl

Sunset hit the cold ground of a dark room. She quickly pushed up into a crouch and glanced around. Wherever she was, it resembled some sort of castle dungeon; the floor, walls, and ceiling, were all made of grey stone, and the only window was covered with heavy bars and set up high on a wall. The only concessions to modernity were a toilet, sink, and small vanity with a mirror.

She grunted, seeing that the mirror contained an image of Zephyr’s bedroom, rather than a reflection.

After a moment, Sunset felt a vague prickle on the back of her neck, as if she was being watched. She turned slowly, trying to pin down the source of the feeling. Yet she couldn’t.

“I know you’re in here,” Sunset said aloud. “Just let Zephyr go, and this doesn’t have to get messy.”

Laughter sounded from behind her. Sunset whirled in an instant, suddenly seeing the woman from Zephyr’s room again. Only this time, she wasn’t human; she was clearly an earth pony, and she was bound by some kind of straitjacket into a sturdy metal chair set below the window. Again, which hadn’t been there a minute before. A large, almost turban-like garment atop her head seemed to shift and strain against the bonds as she laughed.

“And why wouldn’t I want things to get ‘messy,’ dearie?” The mare giggled before breaking back into full-on manic laughter.

A sound like disembodied laughter skittering around the walls made Sunset draw back a few steps, and glance around. Her skin prickled at what might’ve been a light breeze, but that felt like very light, almost spidery touches. The sensation was almost enticing, and certainly distracting.

More laughter came from the mare. “And right now you’re wondering, how much of this is real? What can I do to you in here? ‘Am I in danger,’ the poor pony cries…”

Something hard slapped at Sunset’s side. She whipped around to try to face it, but stumbled, suddenly feeling her balance was off. She touched a hoof to her head to—

Sunset gasped.

It was a hoof, not a hand.

“W… what’s going on here?!”

The madmare giggled. “First of all, let me introduce myself: I’m the Mane-Iac. The scourge of Maretropolis; the best-tressed mare this side of the apocalypse. And right now, you’re in something that ol’ Zephy tells me is a ‘solo issue.’ It’s all about getting inside of my head.” She added a theatrical wink, spoiled only by her head’s limited range of motion. “And as I think you’ll find, it’s a madhouse in here!”

“How’d you change me back into a pony?” Sunset croaked, trying to keep a hot wave of disorientation from overpowering her.

More laugher was her first reply. “I guess that you and I have similar problems: are we really a pony, or really something else? Maybe we’re all just figments of somepony else’s imagination. See, that’s why I always struggled with multiple-choice questions… why not all of the above?!”

Sunset felt another crawling sensation of uncertainty press down on her gut. But she kept her mind focused on what she at least thought she knew. “I’m real. This comic is real in the sense of existing, and having a connection to Equestrian magic. But whatever you think you’re doing with Zephyr… it’s not real. It can’t be real.”

Mane-Iac’s expression turned both serious, and hard. “Reality’s in short supply here, dearie. You say what you want about Zephyr, but I know the truth: he finds me real. At first it was just talking through the mirror, but now… why, the more real he finds me, the more I get to come out and play with him. Oh, and believe me, he’s got more than just a passing interest in getting those hot, busy fingers all up in my luxurious, limitless locks.”

“I just…” Sunset hesitated, unsure if she should voice her doubts there and then, when the balance of power already seemed to clearly stacked against her. But the notion of reality held deep appeal, given that Sunset’s everyday uncertainties had been dialed up to eleven by suddenly finding herself with hooves again. And so she spoke from her heart, even though the words pained her: “I didn’t know he was so eager to… get physical with somepony. Someone. He seemed so careful with me; so willing to let us go at our own speed.”

“Well, why wouldn’t he, when he can have it both ways?” Sunset looked into the madmare’s unsettling, two-toned green-and-orange eyes, and studied her self-assured grin. “Two realities, dearie; two mares; or two women, if you will. Two potential relationships, each moving independently between the hypothetical and the real. And the more he invests in each, the closer each becomes to being his reality!”

Sunset let her head hang low. “I guess… that’s his decision, in the end. But what you’re trying to do by keeping him here is wrong. I have powers I could use to do terrible things if I wanted, too; I could make all the uncertainty go away with a single touch. But I have to let people choose if I want it to really mean anything. And so I have to let Zephyr choose. Because the reality is…”

She paused, and focused on the sliver of understanding that she felt she’d gained by talking to the Mane-Iac. “The reality… is that you can be real enough for him to choose a fantasy woman over a real one, at least in the short run. But I can’t think that’d be a happy way for anyone to live for the rest of their life. And maybe sometimes, even if you want to be respectful of someone’s choices… maybe they mean enough to you to make it worth going through the pain of giving them a reality check.”

“What are you doing?!” Mane-Iac screeched.

“Focusing on what I know is real,” Sunset said. And indeed, she focused on the question of how she saw herself. A moment later, she stood again—not on four hooves, but on two human feet. And she started walking toward the Mane-Iac. “I know that Zephyr and I have a lot to talk about. I know I’m scared to touch him, or anyone, when I don’t know if I can control my powers. And I’m scared of what other ‘fantasies’ like this he might find more appealing than… just me. Because in some ways, I know I’m a mess.”

“Then go!” Mane-Iac shouted, trying—failing—to push herself and the chair away from Sunset. “Leave Zephy and me to our hirsute happiness!”

In a moment, Sunset stood right in front of the Mane-Iac, close enough to touch her. Yet she hesitated. “What I don’t know is if you’re right; if what he’s really looking for is someone real… or just a crazy fantasy mare, with even crazier hair. But I’m gonna give you just one chance to let me and him go, so we can figure that out together.”

“Or else… what?”

Sunset flexed her fingers. “Or else I’m gonna use my powers to rip open your psyche and take the knowledge of how to get him back. And then I’m gonna have Zephyr’s sister use this comic to line the bottom of a birdcage for a while.”

Mane-Iac swallowed, hard. “You wouldn’t.”

“Lady, I’ve got a power that’s cramping my relationship with a boyfriend who I need to have a serious talk with. And apparently the universe won’t let me take one day off from dealing with crap like this, either. I may like being the ‘good guy,’ but right now, if you really want to push me, I’ve had just about—”

“S… Sunset?”

She turned, seeing the shaggy, wide-eyed face of Zephyr standing behind her. Once again, Sunset felt her stomach churn at the thought of Zephyr having actively been physical with someone else… but before she could stop him, he ran toward her, taking her up into a strong, warm embrace. It was all she could do, then, not to give in and just read his mind.

“Oh, Sunset, I was so scared! I’m…” He pulled back, looking down into Sunset’s eyes with his wide, tear-streaked pools of deep cerise. “I’m so sorry about all of this.”

“You go through the mirror first,” Sunset said, gently pushing herself out of his arms. He hesitated for a moment, but then gingerly approached the vanity, climbed up onto it, and pressed his way through. His image shifted and froze for a moment, before dumping back out into the bedroom beyond.

Then Sunset turned back toward the Mane-Iac, who was actively chewing her lip. “Thank you,” she said.

“This isn’t over,” the Mane-Iac said, her voice quivering. “Even if it’s not me next time, something else’ll get the better of your boy-toy and his freaky disposition. Have fun dealing with whatever that is, dearie.”

Sunset heaved a deep sigh. “I’ll tell my friends to take it easy on your comic. Maybe we can get it one of those collector’s bags, or stick it on a nice shelf, or something. But if you ever try to contact us again, I swear… I’ll use the shredder.”

And then she climbed up onto the vanity as well, and let herself fall through the mirror.

4: Hot and Heavy

Another wave of disorientation wracked Sunset as she fell through the space between worlds. A moment later, though, she landed hard on her butt.

She looked up and smiled at the throng of familiar faces surrounding her.

“Sunset!” It was Twilight—human Twilight—lowering a notebook and a pen.

An orange hand reached down toward her. “Y’all need a lift?”

“Thanks, AJ,” Sunset said, accepting the help up. She looked around Zephyr’s bedroom with a wan smile, taking in the concerned—or disgusted, in Rainbow Dash’s case, as she shuffled through some things on Zephyr’s desk—faces of her six closest friends.

Zephyr himself stood apart from them, and Sunset’s smile faded as she looked across the room at him. His shoulders were hunched, as if he was actively trying to make himself look as small as possible.

“Thanks for coming, girls,” Sunset said. “It means a lot that you’d drop everything and rush over here in case we needed you.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Pinkie said with a smile. “It’s not like every day you get to see a talking comic that’s stealing your friend’s boyfriend, amirite?!”

The room went deathly silent. No one wanted to meet anyone’s eyes.

“Well Pinkie, thank you for ripping that band-aid right off,” Sunset deadpanned. “Twilight, did Shy and Dash give you the rundown on the comic?”

“They did,” she said, looking at her notepad. “I’ve only been able to work up some preliminary hypotheses thus far, but—”

“Sounds great,” Sunset interrupted. She reached down, picked up the comic, and dropped it into Twilight’s arms, directly on top of the notepad. “So do you think you can keep it safe ’til morning?”

Twilight hesitated. “Y… yes, I suppose I’ve got a containment unit I can clean out for the night.”

“Fantastic. So, uh… not that don’t want to seem ungrateful that you all came, but…”

“All right, you heard the lady,” Dash broke in. “Everybody out! Shy, you were supposed to be hangin’ at my place tonight anyway, right?”

“Um, I guess, that’s what I told my parents.”

“Good enough! Rarity, c’mon… you can nod off all you want when you get back home. ¡Vamonos!”

Sunset watched her six friends file quietly out of the room, save for Rainbow Dash, who was still goading the others with a fury.

Then Dash pulled the door closed, leaving Sunset and Zephyr alone.

It took a minute for Sunset’s gaze to turn from the door to Zephyr’s still-shirtless, still-slumping figure on the other side of the room. His eyes were shifting about, and he was clearly breathing, but otherwise he could’ve been frozen in ice for all the movement he made.

“Hey,” she said.

The single word seemed to jolt him back to life. He straightened up, looked at her, looked down at himself, then walked over to a dresser and started digging around. “Uh, sorry, let me get… presentable.”

“Presentable?”

He pushed the drawer closed quickly, having failed to retrieve a shirt or anything else. Then he turned toward her again, wincing. “I know, I know… I should’ve told you. Or I should’ve just not done it!”

“Hold on, Zeph. I’m not here to go off on you. I just… I think we should talk about it. Please can we talk about it?”

He slowly made his way over to the bed and sat down on its edge. After a moment’s consideration, Sunset sat down next to him.

“I have…” Zephyr glanced back over at his desk. “That comic was just one of the things I have that I’m not necessarily… proud of. But it was the only one that had a life of its own.”

Sunset’s face contorted with uncertainty. “These… other things. Are they… legal?”

He was up and off the bed again in an instant. “Yes, absolutely. Here… let me show the whole thing to you!”

“No, Zeph, this really isn’t—”

She went quiet as he dropped a thirty-pound stack of magazines, printouts, and pages torn from various things onto her lap. It was all just an ocean of skin. Even a quick look at the top page suggested to Sunset that she didn’t really want to dig deeper.

Yet she did. She opened the first magazine, and did her utmost to let its photographs simply roll off her. She flipped through a few of the individual pages, and felt alternately perplexed and disgusted by turns.

“Geez, Fluttershy wasn’t kidding about the tentacle thing.”

Sunset glanced up at Zephyr, who hadn’t sat back down. His face had gone beet red, but he met her eyes and nodded. “Heh. Truth is, I haven’t been as much into that kinda stuff for a while. I guess I just kept some of it for… old times’ sake.”

They held each other’s gaze for several moments.

“Look, I don’t…” Sunset shifted the stack off her lap and onto the bed. “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be mad at you here, or… I dunno, realistic? I guess I get it, even if it’s… not the way I do things.”

Zephyr’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

Sunset shrugged. “I don’t know, Zeph. I’m not saying it’s great... it just makes me realize more that we’ve got a lot to talk about in our relationship, if we’re gonna really go past ‘light and fun.’ Things like intimacy, or sex… or even where we think this is going long-term, y’know?”

He lowered himself down onto the bed again. “Sunset, I’ll be honest: right now I’m just glad I have a long-term to be worried about. I thought I was gonna die back there, when she pulled me into the comic! And I guess I thought that you might kill me if you ever caught wind of my… shall we say, legendary stash.”

“Yeah, no, seriously, that was one of the first things Dash and Shy beat into my head after I agreed to our first date. I didn’t know how much I should believe about what they told me. But I guess… the truth is, I’ve been hiding some things, too.” She looked down at her hands. “It’s hard for me to touch people anymore, Zephyr. And when I do, I have to try really hard not to let my powers come out.”

“Shy told me you can read minds, sometimes. I guess I wondered… have you read mine?”

She shook her head. “No one person should have the power to just know someone else’s secrets. It takes away the meaning of sharing yourself with someone if they can just… look in your head and know, doesn’t it?”

Zephyr sighed, and cradled his head in his hands. “Maybe you should use it on me, though, to try to figure out what I was thinking messing around with someone like the Mane-Iac, when I’ve got you out here in the real world.”

Rather than engaging the offer, Sunset took a moment to think. “Honestly, I’d rather hear the version that you’re comfortable sharing. Maybe just… why didn’t you think to tell any of us about her? I mean, me and the girls deal with stuff like this all the time.”

“It… it’s embarrassing.” His eyes fixated on the floor near his feet. “At first I just thought it was crazy cool, having a talking comic book. You girls always get the cool stuff; well, here was mine. Then I… got to talking with the Mane-Iac more, and figured out we had something in common.”

“An interest in hair?” Sunset raised an eyebrow, looking askance at Zephyr’s man-bun.

“Well, yeah. She really got a kick out of talking about haircare stuff, and I did too, and… well, if I’m being honest… maybe it got so that it was working for both of us a bit on multiple levels, if y’know what I mean. But she wanted me for it, and her hair was just this crazy versatile canvas where I could create almost anything.”

“But she wasn’t real.”

Zephyr frowned at her. “See, that’s the thing. At first, she wasn't. But the more time I spent with her, the more it seemed like she was. The first time she could send her hair through for me to style… it was amazing.”

Hearing Zephyr talk about the Mane-Iac like this left Sunset feeling deflated, and weary. She recalled the moans and other sounds that had come from his bedroom before Rainbow Dash had broken in. It still unsettled her stomach to hear more of how he’d felt about it.

“I’m glad you’re telling me,” she said at length. “I don’t know what this means, though. I know there’s a sense in which she’s real; she can talk, she can… touch… but all of that’s fueled by her comic’s connection to Equestrian magic. My own…” Sunset squeezed her eyes shut. “My problem is almost the opposite. I am real, Zephyr; Equestrian magic or not, I’m a living, breathing girl. But I’ve got problems that none of the girls in your ‘stash’ are gonna have. Some of those… I wish I didn’t have. Others are just part of me, though.” She looked at him again, and smiled as she saw he’d been looking at her, too. “I wish the magic didn’t make it so difficult for me to touch. I wish I could get away from fighting monsters and saving lives sometimes, too. But I’m also proud of what I can do, and how I can use it to help people. And I’m not gonna stop, even if that makes things hard.”

Zephyr smiled, though it had a tinge of sadness in it. “I think you’re amazing, Sunset. You and all the girls, really; but especially you. You’re heroic, badass, and a lot more selfless than I’ve ever been. I guess… the Mane-Iac made me feel like I was the only person in her world, but that’s probably because I was. And I don’t think that’s all I want the Zephyr’s story to end up as, even if I don’t have everything all figured out right now.”

She gave him a playful smile. “So are you saying you’re ready for me to confiscate your stash?”

He gave her a choking laugh. “I… I don’t know. I guess maybe I can at least stop getting down on myself so much about never finding somebody, since maybe I already did.”

Sunset’s phone buzzed, breaking her out of the shared smile. She fished it out of her pocket and frowned at the rainbow lightning-bolt symbol showing on her messaging app.

Don forget his still an Idiot. Keep your pans on!! Make his but pay!!!!!!

“Thanks for the quality life advice, Rainbow Dad,” Sunset said, rolling her eyes.

“Somethin’ up, babe?”

“Yeah. Us.” Sunset stood, stretching. “It’s late, Zeph. Late enough that I don’t know if I’ve still got much in me for figuring out big stuff.”

“It’s cool, it’s cool.” He shrugged, and casually looked at his fingernails. “I suppose we’ve got time; we can always figure this out later.” But then he glanced at her, and a hairline crack appeared in his disaffected manner. “I figure breakfast might be a bit soon for that at this point, but I don’t suppose you’d be up for talking over lunch?”

Sunset smiled again. “All right, how ’bout late lunch, in the park? And how about you bring the picnic, since… y’know… kinda had to bail you out of a hot mess here.”

“No worries, babe.” And he winked, which made Sunset laugh at the sheer audacity of it.

5: The Morning After

Despite being flanked by five of her friends who she knew and trusted best, Twilight clutched both the Mane-Iac’s comic and her notebook close to her chest as she pushed through the door into the dingy little shop. All around were dusty shelves of bric-a-brac, in varieties ranging from used sports equipment, to small stones, claws, or other effects with more occult appearances. Cobwebs filled in the gaps where visible dust and dirt didn’t, creating an overall appearance of not merely neglect, but overt standoffishness toward the customer.

“Eugh,” Rarity said from behind. “Are you sure this is the right place, darling?”

“Smells like a hog crawled in here and made a deposit, then died,” Applejack contributed.

Twilight frowned and glanced back at the other girls. “This is the closest place I could find to Zephyr’s and Mane-Iac’s descriptions. I’m still not sure why it’s here and not on the other side of town, but—”

“Maybe they moved?” suggested Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash scoffed at her. “C’mon, Pinkie; how the heck is a whole shop supposed to just pick up and move? I mean… one that looks like it’s never been cleaned since the turn of the century, anyway.”

“Maybe the turn of the last century,” Fluttershy said, poking a finger at what looked like a pile of small bones on one of the shelves.

“I dunno,” Pinkie said, shrugging. “Maybe it’s got magic too, and it can just move when the owner wants it to?”

The girls’ banter died there, though, as their attention was drawn to heavy footsteps coming from the back of the store. Twilight watched between the shelves as a very tall, very muscular man with dark grey-blue skin, bushy white sideburns, and an equally bushy goatee, made his way up to the front counter.

“Well good afternoon, girls! Welcome to Storm King Comics and Collectibles. You can call me the Storm King, or whatever else works… just don’t call me late to dinner!” He added a chuckle that was… fake. Ingratiating, maybe, but definitely fake.

“Hello, sir,” Twilight said, walking up to the counter. “My friends and I are looking for some information about a comic book that we think might’ve been sold by your shop.”

“All right, well, let’s have a look,” he said, holding out his large hands. Twilight failed utterly to avoid staring at his long fingernails, and at the curly white hair on his knuckles and arms, as she proffered it to him. “Hold on now,” he said, keeping the comic held in his hands. “Do you have your receipt for this?”

Twilight blinked. She looked back at the other girls, who gave her a diversity of shrugs and frowns.

“Oh, girls, I’m sorry,” he said, giving a clearly fake smile. “Unless you have your receipt, all sales are final here at Storm King Comics and Collectibles.”

“N… no, we don’t want to return it,” Twilight said. “We just want to know if this is something you might’ve sold.”

The Storm King shrugged and held his hands out wide—including the one still clutching the comic. “You know what? I’ll tell ya, I get all kinds of things moving in and out of here all the time. This might’ve been one of ’em; it might not’ve been. It’s just really hard to say without that receipt.”

Twilight raised her hand. “Um, yes, but I think you might remember this specific comic—”

“Like I said, girls; all sales are final.” He finally set the comic back down on the counter. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to pricing some new merchandise that just came in.”

“Hold on,” Dash said, shouldering past Twilight. “Quit blowing us off and just gimme a straight answer: did you sell this or not?”

He laughed a little. “Like I said, I’m sorry, you’d have to jog my memory somehow!”

Dash frowned at him. “Oh yeah? Well, how ’bout this?” She reached out and flipped the comic open.

A bound figure with a manic grin stared out from it. “Kingy! Why, it’s so nice to see you again!”

Quick as lightning, the Storm King flipped the comic back closed. Then he sat down slowly onto the stool behind the counter, not making eye contact with Twilight, Dash, or any of the others. Just as slowly, he picked up a large plastic cup of soda that was sitting on the counter, and he took a long pull from its straw.

He swallowed, then exhaled.

“Well, crap.”

And with his free hand, he raised a long, crackling staff up into view from behind the counter. A strong breeze kicked up almost immediately, sending showers of dust and detritus scattering throughout the shop.

“I ain’t goin’ back, girls!” he declared, taking the staff in both hands. It glowed bright-white as he drew it up over his head. “I was lucky enough to get out of Equestria once, even if it wasn’t quite in one piece!” Then he swung the staff back down, and the six of them only just managed to avoid the lightning bolt it discharged.

“Rarity, shields!” Twight shouted, hitting the deck. “Pinkie, Dash, keep him busy! AJ, try to flank—”

Her words were drowned out by a huge peal of thunder.

“I’ll tear this whole world apart before I get sent back!”

And as her friends leapt into action, Twilight fished her cell phone out, and started texting…

Sunset Shimmer’s phone buzzed for at least the third time since she’d laid down on the picnic blanket, letting her head rest on Zephyr’s lap. The sensation of his fingers running through her hair was… overwhelming. Intoxicating. Even if it didn’t bring the same warmth and connection as skin would on skin, it was at least something she didn’t have to worry about. And the absence of worry left room for plenty of enjoyment.

A small moan loosed from her throat.

Her eyes shot open, taking in the sight of a small, satisfied grin on Zephyr’s face. “Magic fingers, babe?”

Sunset closed her eyes again and adjusted her head slightly, letting the feeling just soak right back in. “Y’know, I think I get what the Mane-Iac was on about with this. This isn’t just haircare. This is… oh.”

He chuckled. “Well, don’t get yourself too worked-up, all right? Even though I know The Zephyr certainly can have that effect on all kinds of women.”

She laughed at that, and failed to avoid snorting.

“I just can’t believe I was so stupid about all this,” he said, sighing. “I mean, your hair’s pretty amazing too, Sunny. Who knew, I could’ve just asked if you’d be willing to risk me styling it all along?”

“Absolutely,” she said, close to breathless as his fingers kept working close to—yet tantalizingly far from—her scalp. “Hair grows back.” Her phone buzzed again, but it was almost as forgotten as the PB&J sandwiches that they were ostensibly supposed to be eating.

“Huh,” Zephyr said after a few moments. “Well that’s funny.”

“What’s funny?”

“Well, see, my weather app told me we were gonna have clear, sunny skies all day today. But now look out over at downtown; there’s a big ol’ storm brewing there.”

Sunset’s eyes fluttered open again. She raised herself slightly, craning for a look in the direction Zephyr was pointing.

A massive swirl of dark, menacing clouds roiled over just one very limited portion of downtown. Lightning danced about in the melee, with huge spears of it shooting down at irregular intervals.

“One day,” Sunset said, digging out her phone, and finding she had no fewer than 10 new text messages, three missed calls, and two voicemails—all from the girls, of course. “Why can't I just have one day?”

“Uh oh,” Zephyr said, catching a glimpse of the phone. “What’s shakin’, bacon-hair?”

“You and your cheesy jokes,” she said, rising fully and dusting herself off. “Well, this has been really nice, but I’m afraid the universe still has it in for me.”

He smiled and started reaching to pick up the unclaimed picnic food. “Well honey, don’t you worry; The Zephyr will be right here waiting when you get done saving the world again.”

She smirked, then set off for the parking lot, and her waiting motorcycle.

“Y’know, you look pretty hot when you head out to kick monster butt,” Zephyr called after her.

She turned back, and gave him a blown-kiss and a wink. “You better believe it.”

Soon enough, she was gone in a streak of blazing light and burning rubber, leaving Zephyr to stare in disbelief.

“So not messing this one up,” he said to himself.