Author's Note

Set after the events of the Rules series but before the epilogues.

When You Knelt By My Mattress

Shimmer & Blaze

Something was wrong with Aria.

Okay, so, that might be an understatement, or at least a misleading one. There are a variety of things wrong with Aria but when it comes down to it I’m pretty much okay with all of them since they’re either entirely manageable…

...or kind of sexy.

But no, this has been a far more recent development.

Like, a ‘today’ kind of development.

“You… you what?” I felt a small, unsettling ice-cube of disbelief slip into my stomach as I stared at Aria who was shifting a little sheepishly under my gaze.

Sheepish wasn’t a look that suited Aria in any kind of natural manner. She did bellicose pretty well, choleric came naturally, and she was the bar by which any reasonable person could measure ‘fighty’. Right now, though, the best way to say it was that she looked ‘uncomfortable’, and after a full year and loose change of being together I feel like I’ve gotten a pretty accurate feeling for her moods.

“What? I just can’t go, I’m busy, okay?” Aria said with a dismissive shrug, tugging on her badged-up jacket nervously. “Look, it’s no big deal, Red, I’ve just got something to do today.”

Call me the needy girlfriend all you want but I wasn’t used to Aria turning me down when I asked her to come do something with me. Especially in this case since I was actively offering to go and see the newest installment of one of her favorite slasher movies with her despite not really being a huge fan of horror myself.

“Is everything alright?” I asked quietly, feeling wrong footed as I reached out for her.

It was a small relief when she almost lunged out to grab my hand and pull me closer.

“Everything’s fine, Red, I swear,” Aria assured me with a smirk. “‘Big Sister’ just asked me to do something. Any other day and I’d be down.”

“O-Okay,” I nodded, then smiled and leaned down.

As our lips pressed together with that easy, lovely familiarity of time, I reflected on how there would probably never come a day when I didn’t love kissing Aria Blaze. That perfect cupid’s bow is my favorite flavor even if I can’t put a finger on what that flavor is other than ‘Aria’. She leaned into me, pressing against me as she looped her arms around my neck and draped herself against me as I put my arms around her slender waist.

“I love you,” I said with a small smile as I nuzzled my nose to hers, and Aria wrinkled her nose adorable in response.

“Love you too, nerd,” Aria quipped back, kissing the tip of my nose once before stepping back.

“So what’s ‘Dagi having you do?” I asked as I pulled back, and Aria’s face fell.

My chest grew a little tight as she turned her eyes away and gave me another vague shrug. “It’s… just something she wanted me to do, that’s all.”

“Okay,” I said in a smaller voice. “I-It’s no big, we can go see the movie another time.”

I could feel the tension boiling off of Aria. “Yeah, for sure.”

Shoving her hands into her pockets, she leaned in for another kiss, and then scooted out of the room we were sharing. I watched her go with a slightly fragile smile, waving awkwardly until she left before collapsing back onto the bed and staring off into the distance for several minutes.

“It’s… it’s fine,” I said quietly to myself. “Aria loves you, and everything is fine.”

Yeah, my anxiety wasn’t buying it. It felt like my spine was fucking vibrating and my stomach was starting the first few warmups for a real showstopper of a triple-backflip routine. In the year-plus that we’d been together Aria and I had rarely spent more than a couple of days out of each other’s company, even if it was just waking up next to each other and going to sleep beside each other.

We both had our lives, we both got busy sometimes, but… if either of us had a choice in the matter between being side-by-side and doing anything else, you can bet we’d choose each other.

Aria wasn’t just my girlfriend anymore, she was literally my best friend.

We had a ton in common, shared all kinds of interests, played most of the same games and liked a lot of the same movies. Even after a year we could still sit and talk for hours about whatever we wanted.

Except for today.

I rocked back and forth on the bed for a few minutes as I tried to get the jitters out of my system but it wasn’t doing any good. Blowing out a breath, I stood up and started pacing for another couple of minutes before pulling out my phone and stared down at my contacts list until my thumb was hovering over Adagio’s name.

She was in Tokyo with Octavia this week for some meeting with a big Neighpon tech company who was buying into the bulk contract for the Lounge. Plenty of their business partners passed through the city of Canterlot and word of the Lounge’s popularity had reached even to the far east.

“Don’t do it,” I muttered angrily. “Aria is just busy, that’s all… you trust Aria, you love Aria… and everything is going to be fine.”

I stuck my phone back in the pocket of my jeans before pressing both hands to my face and letting out of an angry groan.

“Do not do this again, Shimmer,” I hissed as I pulled my hands back and forced myself to breathe normally.

Turning on my heel I grabbed my jacket off the coat rack and slung it over my shoulders before storming out the door, slamming it behind me a little too hard as I did. I winced as the noise echoed down the empty halls, and felt a touch thankful that it was relatively early by the Lounge’s standards, so it was unlikely that anyone heard that.

I moved silently, instinctively trying to keep the noise of my footsteps to a minimum as I passed numerous doors. I didn’t want to wake anyone up and while a year ago that would have pretty much included just me, Aria, her sisters, Octavia, and Twilight, after the renovations that was no longer the case.

The expansions to the Lounge had included a few dozen two-bed, studio apartments not unlike college dorms that Adagio provided to some of her staff as part of their benefits. Pay-rate at the Lounge was surprisingly modest, at least it looked that way from a certain standpoint. None of that factored in tips or the fact that the majority of the dancers lived on-site rent-free.

Mostly it was thanks to some antiquated city ordinance that Adagio had taken advantage of regarding employee housing that made it almost criminally cheap to house in the confines of the Lounge as long as they were full-time employees of the business. So long as the Lounge adhered to safety rules and regs, with semi-regular inspections, she got away with skipping past a lot of residential fees.

Thanks to that, there were almost fifty staff members permanently residing on-site, not counting the Sirens and their significant others.

It left the place feeling a little crowded, if I’m being honest, and Aria and I had talked more than once about getting our own place sometime soon.

My stomach did another uncomfortable backflip as my mind strayed back onto Aria, and I grimaced as I pushed the door to the back halls open and slipped into the VIP room.

It was the tail end of January, so the air was still chilly upstairs, and I shivered as I pulled my jacket a little tighter around my shoulders and made my way into the kitchens. Another benefit to the expansions is that Adagio had a full gourmet kitchen installed, and while there were plenty of healthy options for cooking myself a decent breakfast I opted instead to exercise my privilege as a grown-ass woman and eat a bowl of cereal with little marshmallow bits instead.

As I moved each spoonful mechanically from the bowl to my mouth, I couldn’t help but glance up at the empty seat across from me. Usually Aria and I would eat breakfast together if we could manage it.

“Don’t think about it,” I mumbled as I swallowed another mouthful of milk and carbs. “Just… just don’t think about.”

I finished off the bowl and took it over to the sink to wash it out before setting it on the drying rack.

My whole body felt like a livewire. I was just a conduit of nervous, restless energy, and if I didn’t do something with it I was going to go out of my fucking mind.

Blowing out a breath, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and hit the speed-dial.

//What up, Shimmer?// Rainbow friendly rasp came across the line.

“Hey, Dash, not… not much,” I tried to force some cheer into my voice. “Wanna hang out? I’m kinda free all day.”

//Guess Aria must be busy then, huh?// Rainbow said with a laugh, and I felt my stomach clench, but I pushed past it.

“Y-Yeah, she is,” I replied quickly. “So… whadya say?”

The other line was silent for a moment before Rainbow’s voice came across with a touch of suspicion and concern.

//Hey, Sunset… you okay?//

Damn it, for being our group’s resident dense jock Rainbow could be annoyingly perceptive about her friends.

“I’m fine, why?” I lied and almost winced at how badly it came out.

There was no way Rainbow was buying that.

//Bullshit.// Fuck, I knew it. //Spill, Shimmer, what’s up?//

“I just need a distraction, okay?” I said a little more quietly. “Can… can we just hang out? Please?”

Rainbow sighed over the phone, but I could hear her giving in. With the best will in the world, Rainbow always was pretty bad at saying no to me. It was, unfortunately, one of the things that tore us apart back when we were dating. Neither of us were very good for each other romantically, and it showed pretty clearly now that I look back on it with the benefit of hindsight.

C’est l’amour, as Rarity would say.

//Yeah alright, I’ll be there in fifteen,// Rainbow replied after a moment. //But we’re talking about whatever this is, okay?//

“Dash, it’s nothing, seriously,” I pushed as I stood up and starting walking back into the main Lounge. “I promise, it’s just my head doing that thing where it fills up with tar and starts… ugh, it’s just my anxiety, okay?”

//Still talking about it,// Rainbow replied, and I could hear her getting ready in the background. //No gettin’ out of it, Shimmer.//

“Damn it, Dash, I’m fine,” I repeated, but she’d already hung up.

Stupid Rainbow Dash and her stupid ‘worrying about me’ thing. I loved her to death, but ever since our relationship melted down Rainbow has been way more intent on trying to look after me. Admittedly, she’s better than half the reason I met Aria so I probably owed it to her to open up a little, but still…

I hated talking about this stuff. It’s pointless, it’s literally just my stupid brain telling me things that I know are lies. They’re just products of me being a neurotic, obsessive mess with a bakers dozen of abandonment issues and an inferiority complex that makes the Canterhorn look like an anthill.

Ugh, maybe Rarity was right, maybe I do need therapy.

‘Couples therapy,’ my traitorous brain whispered, and I stamped down on that thought hard enough I felt the phantom echo of the pressure in my bootsole.

Aria and I were fine. We were doing just fine and there was nothing wrong. I just had to keep repeating that and eventually it might drown out the nasty little voice telling me that I wasn’t enough.

“So?” Rainbow said nonchalantly as I settled into the passenger seat and she took off from the Lounge parking lot.

“So what?” I said evenly, pointedly not looking at her.

Rainbow blew out a small breath and shot a sideways glare at me that I didn’t acknowledge. She kept it up, rotating between keeping her eyes on the road and side-eyeing me, until Rainbow finally sighed and shook her head.

“C’mon, Shimmer, I know you better than most,” Rainbow said evenly. “We dated long enough that I got the business end of that silent treatment of yours more than once, I know when you’re pissed off.”

“I’m not pissed off,” I said a little peevishly. “I’m… I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Rainbow snapped, turning to glare at me as we stopped at a red light. “Seriously, Sunset, look at yourself! You look like someone shot your dog!”

“I do not!” I snarled. “I’m just… I’m having a shitty day, okay? I don’t need you making it worse!”

“I’m not trying to make it worse!” Rainbow bit the words out, but I could hear her trying to pull her temper back.

That was something a little new, she never did that back when we were dating and I think our brutal breakup was probably the catalyst for her trying to get a handle on both her temper and her drinking.

“You always do this,” Rainbow said angrily. “You bottle everything up, pretend like it’s all okay, and then have a freaking meltdown the moment it hits a boil!”

“I-!” I was about to deny it but, frankly, Rainbow would know better than anyone how true her statement was.

Between Rainbow constantly going out to bars, flirting with other girls and guys, and just generally being Rainbow Dash, and my insecurities and anxieties driving me to push back at her by basically doing the same thing only out of petty spite and jealousy we’d ended up in a screaming match that devolved into a knock-down, drag out fight with a lot of nasty accusations shouted in both directions.

“It’s not that bad,” I amended a little lamely. “I’m just having a freakout, okay?”

“What’s going on?” Rainbow asked in a gentler voice.

I sighed.

“I wanted to take Aria out to see the new Halloween movie that came out a while back, it’s playing at that cushy second-run theater with all the couches and easy chairs,” I explained, and Rainbow grinned and nodded along. “Except… she turned me down.”

Rainbow blinked in surprise.

“What? Seriously?” Rainbow asked, looking skeptical. “That’s like, Aria’s favorite slasher flick, and you freakin’ hate those movies.”

“I do not!” I said defensively. “You just think I do because you scared the piss out of me that one time with the mask.”

Rainbow Dash rubbed at her face instinctively at the memory of that.

“Right, yeah, I didn’t really think that one through,” Rainbow admitted.

“Do you ever?” I asked with a small laugh, and Dash chuckled alongside me. The humor lasted for a few moments before I settled down and continued. “A-anyway, she acted all cagey when I asked her what her plans for the day were, just something about Adagio asking her to do something.”

“Siren business?” Rainbow asked suspiciously, and I shrugged. “Look, Shimmer, normally I’d be all, ‘don’t even worry about it’, but those three’ve been around since rocks were soft… I have no clue what kinda wild crap they’ve gotten up to over the centuries.”

“You think that’s all it is?” I asked quietly, I genuinely hadn’t considered that, but I supposed it was true enough. “You think she’s just wrapping up some of ‘Dagi’s loose ends?”

“I mean, that sounds like Adagio asked’er to whack somebody,” Rainbow said with a grimace. “You don’t… you don’t think that’s what it was, do you? Was that why you were so worried?”

“N-No…” I shifted uncomfortably in the seat as she parked at one of the coffee shops in the Commons, a little place called Cuppa’s.

Rainbow Dash gave me an odd look as she got out of the car and stared at me searchingly over the top of her Mustang for several seconds before her eyebrows shot up into her hairline.

“No shit, you… you think Aria’s messing around on you, don’t you?” Rainbow asked in shock, and I flinched.

“No!” I replied hurriedly, “I promise I… I don’t… it’s just my stupid brain, okay? I know Aria would never do that to me.”

“Damn right,” Rainbow said, shaking her head and laughing in disbelief. “Seriously, Aria is freaking nuts for you, Shimmer, and I mean that literally.”

“I know,” I said, hanging my head a little. “It’s completely unfair to Aria, and I feel like such a bitch for even having the thought.”

“Hey, in your defense…” Rainbow looked apologetic as she came around the car and slung an arm over my shoulders, “that reflex is probably like, half my fault.”

“You never actually cheated on me, Dash,” I said with a shrug.

“I didn’t exactly make it easy to believe that, though,” Rainbow said quietly. “Like, I know how I acted, okay? I know how I can get, and I get why you got all jealous… I shoulda been a better girlfriend.”

“C’mon, Dashie, we’ve been over this,” I said with a wan smile. “We both could’ve been a lot better about a lot of things, okay? It’s behind us now.”

“I still feel like a heel,” she said with a grimace as we walked into the shop and took a seat.

Rainbow ordered us a couple of hot coffees, mine was black per usual while hers was some kind of enormous cross between a caffeinated war crime and a smoothie. We sat at the table for a meandering hour, sipping our drinks and watching the world pass by outside the windows.

“Have you tried calling her?” Rainbow asked after a little while, nodding down to my phone. “Adagio, I mean, just to see what’s goin’ on?”

“No,” I admitted with a frown. “I trust Aria, okay? I don’t want to go snooping around for no reason.”

“It’s not snooping, Shimmer,” Rainbow said firmly. “Look, Aria may not realise it, but she’s causing you some serious issues being all evasive like this, okay? It’s not like she’s doin’ it on purpose but you’ve gotta look out for yourself too… just call Adagio and put this crap to rest.”

“You don’t think I’ll be being too… I dunno, weird?” I said uneasily as I stared down at my phone. Ignoring my own thoughts was one thing, but having them reinforced by Rainbow was an entirely different matter. “I don’t want to be the psycho girlfriend again.”

Rainbow sighed and reached out to put both her hands on either of my shoulders and looked me square in the eyes.

“Sunset, I want you to know before I say this that I love you like a sister, okay?” she said heavily, and I nodded carefully. “Cool, so… Sunny? You are the psycho girlfriend, okay? Like, you go balls to the wall when it comes to being in love.” I grimaced at that and pulled back, but Rainbow held me fast. “BUT! I’m pretty sure Aria is, like, just as fucking nuts as you are, and I’m also pretty sure that’s why this weirdo thing you two have works out.”

“So, what?” I said uncertainly. “Just… lean into it?”

“I mean, e~h…” Rainbow gave a nervous laugh and shrugged. “Maybe don’t lean too hard, y’know? Use your good judgment and all that.”

“That assumes I have good judgment,” I deadpanned, and Rainbow just took in a slow breath through her teeth as she shrugged again.

“Point is…” Rainbow continued, patting me not-so-reassuringly on the shoulder, “I think in this case it’s totally reasonable to give Adagio a call and just, y’know, put all this stuff out there, okay? I’m pretty sure it’s nothing.”

Sighing, I nodded and dialed Adagio’s cell before holding it up to my ear. It rang several times, and I was halfway certain it was going to go to voicemail when the line connected and a grumpy, sleepy voice replied.

“Mmht…”

“Uh… Oh shit, the time difference,” I grimaced, and Rainbow flinched.

Tokyo was something like fourteen hours ahead of Canterlot, so it was likely around three in the morning over there. I’d probably woken Adagio out of a dead sleep.

//Sunset?// Adagio’s tired voice came through. //What’s going on? Is everything okay?//

“Y-yeah, Written’s Quill, ‘Dagi, I’m sorry, I forgot about the time zone thing,” I said with a groan. “Aria’s just been acting cagey about whatever it is you asked her to do today, and I was wondering if you could-”

//What are you talking about?// Adagio grumbled, and I felt my stomach do an uncomfortable flip before clenching hard. //I never asked Aria to do anything today.//

“Y-you didn’t?” I said quietly, and I saw Rainbow’s eyes widen. “But… but she said-”

//Sunset, I’m sorry but I’m exhausted, call me in four or five hours,// Adagio grunted and I heard Octavia let out a quiet murr of annoyance right before the line cut off.

I swallowed thickly as I lowered the phone from my ear and I could feel my vision fuzzing out as I stared straight ahead. My heart was thundering in my chest, and I swear I could tell that Rainbow Dash was saying something but for the life of me I couldn’t make it out. It was like the voices of the parents from that old cartoon where anytime they talked it was the sound of: womp womp womp womp, instead of audible words.

Rainbow raised a hand to me in a sort of calming motion, scooting her chair to my side as she did, and she wrapped her arms around me as she picked up her phone and dialed a number. I was resting against her shoulder as I her voice started to come back into focus.

“Pinks, no time for happy crap, okay?” Rainbow said tersely, “Sunset’s losing her shit, and I need you to find Aria for me.”

I faintly heard Pinkie’s voice through Rainbow’s phone mic, but it wasn’t loud enough for me to tell what it was she said.

“No I don’t- I don’t care how busy it is, find her!” Rainbow hissed. “I know you can do it so… so please, just tell me and I’ll go get her.”

The line was silent for several seconds before the voice replied, but Pinkie was so quiet I barely noticed.

“Yeah… yeah she’s here,” Rainbow said quietly. “Pinkie just… ugh, fine!”

I felt the phone pressed to my ear and I glanced over to find Rainbow holding her phone up and grimacing off into the distance.

//Hey Shimmy, you okay?// Pinkie’s voice was a little tinny and I could hear the worry in her tone. //Shimmy?//

I opened and closed my mouth several times trying to get some kind of response out. Nothing emerged, though… whatever part of my brain was responsible for forming words was being overwhelmed by a single monolithic thought that was hammering away at what fragile sense of security I still had.

Aria had lied to me.

Aria had never lied to me, not like that… she had never looked me straight in the eyes and misled me. It was something that she took pride in, she was who she was and she never apologised for it.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I was aware that I was having a full blown panic attack. I felt like was drowning and dying at the same time, my heart was so loud it was deafening, and my fingers were getting pins and needles as I vaguely realised I was hyperventilating.

“N-n-no,” I gasped the word out, and I came through like a sob.

//It’s okay, Shimmy, Auntie Pinkie’ll take care of it,// Pinkie said in that same sad, gentle tone.

Rainbow pulled the phone back and angrily asked: “Well?!”

I heard a string of words from Pinkie and Rainbow nodded several times throughout, never interrupting, until finally she sighed and gave one more nod.

“Cool, thanks Pinks, I owe ya one,” Rainbow said with a weary smile. “I’ll get’er home.”

Rainbow thumbed the end-call button and tucked her phone away before getting her arm under mine and helping me out the door. Cuppa, a tall, dark-skinned young woman with her hair kept in colorfully beaded plaits, gave us a worried look.

“Don’t sweat it, Cuppa,” Rainbow waved at her as she helped me out, “the coffee was fine!”

“R-Rainbow?” I asked in a brittle voice as I stared straight ahead. “Is… is Aria cheating on me?”

“I dunno, Shimmer,” Rainbow said quietly. “Pretty sure it’s somethin’ else, okay? But if she is… fuck, if she’s messin’ around on you, Sunset, then I don’t care how long she’s spent getting badass, she won’t be getting a day older than this.”

I let out a quiet sob.

“I c-can’t lose her like this, Dashie,” I cried. “Aria’s my whole world.”

“I know,” Rainbow said in a quiet, furious tone as we trudged out into the parking lot. “And she better have one helluva good explanation for all this.”

Rather than going to Rainbow’s car, though, she led us to an empty part of the lot and fished out her keyring, holding it up to glare at the little geode that hung from it.

“Phew… been a minute since I’ve done this,” Rainbow muttered.

She swung the keychain a little and caught the whole thing in her hand before sweeping down and scooping me up in a bridal carry.

“Hang on tight, Shimmer,” Rainbow said as she braced herself, lowered her center of gravity, and then-

The air detonated around us as Rainbow tapped into the power of her geode, and suddenly we were surrounded by a luminous blue aura as the world passed in a blur of color and muted noise. I clung to Rainbow desperately as the sensation of overwhelming speed assaulted my senses. I couldn’t even register everything that was happening around us, so I just clenched my eyes shut and held on.

Then we stopped.

The sorcerous power of Rainbow’s geode absorbed the punishing impact of the g-forces we should have been experiencing as we came to a sudden halt at the front door of the Last Note Lounge.

I got set down on shaky legs, and I had to hold onto Rainbow for a few minutes as my stomach managed to work its way back down from where it had entrenched itself somewhere near my uvula.

“Let’s go inside, Sunny,” Rainbow said quietly, getting an arm over my shoulder and guiding me into the Lounge

We passed by several employees who looked to be just getting to the start of their day. Sonata was just slipping behind her beloved bar to start prepping it and Twilight, hair still messy from sleep, was eating a bowl of cereal at the bar next to her girlfriend.

Both of them caught sight of us at the same time, but before they could say anything I saw Rainbow just give them a shake of the head and before guiding us both past the small crowd of employees and into the VIP room, then back to the back halls.

A part of me couldn’t stand to go back to Aria’s room, to our room, if my panic-stricken fears were correct. Another part of me desperately needed to get back there to be surrounded by Aria’s scent so I could try to convince myself that none of it was true and that Aria loved me and would never, ever hurt me like that.

At some point Rainbow had gotten a hold of my keys and was opening the door, I shuffled in and tossed my coat onto the coat rack, missed, and watched as it fell gracelessly to the floor.

I stared down at the crumpled leather article for several seconds before I started shaking, feeling a weird sense of weight settle onto me as I did.

“I… I’m not going to lose it over a fucking jacket,” I muttered, clenching my eyes shut as I stomped over to it, swept it up, and threw it onto the coat rack properly this time.

“You alright, Sunny?” Rainbow asked as I kicked my shoes off and dropped my ass onto the bed.

“Considering I would rather Aria be out murdering someone on Adagio’s say-so, than think that she might be…” I couldn’t make myself say it, instead I just blew out a breath and shook my head. “No, Rainbow, I’m not alright… my brain is trying to claw its way out of my skull right now, and I’m so wound up I don’t know if I want to scream or just set this entire room on fire.”

“A~lright, well just, uh, hang tight on that,” Rainbow said with a nervous laugh. She should be nervous, I wasn’t joking. “Pinkie’s gonna track down Aria and we’re gonna figure this out, okay?”

I nodded silently.

We waited for what felt like an interminable amount of time, but might have only been half an hour before I finally couldn’t stand the silence anymore. It was oppressive and I was already feeling like I was about to sink into the earth. Instead, I looked up at Rainbow who was sitting on a chair dinking around on her phone.

“H-Hey, Dash?” I asked in a choked voice, and my tone got her to look up immediately in concern. “What am I gonna do if… if she really…?”

Rainbow grimaced and shook her head. “I dunno, Sunset, but I know I’m gonna be there for you, okay? No matter what.”

“I can’t lose her, Dash,” I said as I started to shake and I wrapped my arms around my own chest in a futile attempt to reassure myself. “I just… I just can’t… I really don’t think I’ll get over it if it’s true, Dashie…”

“C’mon, Shimmer,” Rainbow said encouragingly, “it’s not, like, the end of the world… I mean, heh, we’d know right?”

“It might be the end of mine,” I whispered softly, and I saw Rainbow’s brow furrow worriedly. “I… she’s the one, Dash, I know it… s-so, I can’t lose her like this.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows shot up for the second time that day.

“Woah, Sunny, you… you mean that?” Rainbow asked in a tone of awe. “Like… ‘the one’ the one?”

I nodded. “Yeah, Dashie… I… I want to be with her forever, or for the rest of my life, I really do.”

“Damn,” Rainbow swore softly as her arms hung by her sides. “Shit… Sunset, I… I guess I didn’t realise.”

I just shook my head. I didn’t know what else to say… I didn’t know if there was anything else to say. I loved Aria like I had never loved anyone in my life, and probably like I would never love anyone ever again if I ever lost her. She was my perfect match: my crazy, disastrous, dumpster-fire Siren girlfriend, and… I’ll be honest, as dramatic as it sounds I’m not entirely sure I’d really survive losing Aria.

Not in any way that really mattered.

I was saved from the silence by Rainbow Dash’s phone going off, and she answered it immediately. She gave a couple of short, clipped replies, a nod, and then hung up her phone.

“Found her,” Rainbow said quickly. “I’ll be right back.”

I watched her sprint out of the room, heard her speed down the hallway, and just as the door started to close I heard the tell-tale crack-boom of Rainbow dipping into her power for the second time that day split the air.

Unsure of how long it would take, I pulled my clothes off and put on some more comfortable wear, sweatpants and a loose tee shirt, and crawled up onto the bed.

Then I sat down, hugged my knees to my chest, and waited.

I didn’t need a phone call to tell me that Rainbow had returned with Aria in tow, mostly because I heard the boom echo down through the halls, followed by the sound of skidding on concrete, then the door to the room burst open to the tune of some of the most virulent Sirenic cussing and swearing I’d ever heard, even from Aria.

And that was saying something.

“Get in there!” Rainbow shouted, and Aria’s lithe form tumbled into our room.

“What in the FUCK,” Aria scrambled to her feet and glared at Rainbow who was matching her furious look with a glower that could’ve melted carbon.

“That’s what I should be asking,” Rainbow hissed as she stomped up to Aria and grabbed her by the collar of her denim jacket and jerked her up. “Now explain!”

“Explain what?!” Aria snarled. “You grabbed me off the friggin’ street you maniac! I don’t have to explain a damn thing to you!”

“Not to me!” Rainbow snapped. “To her!”

Rainbow jerked her arm out and pointed at me and I almost jumped in surprise. Aria blinked in confusion, then turned her head to look at me.

“Explain to…” Aria began, and all I can think is that she saw something on my face because she blanched. “R-Red?”

Aria started to kick and jerk until she had shimmied her way out of her own jacket and, by the same token, Rainbow’s grip, and dropped to the floor in a tangle of limbs before half-running-half-crawling to the bed. She was still wearing what she’d gone out in, a thin but warm sweater that hugged her curves nicely, and a pair of thermal jeans that made her butt look really good.

Her hair was falling chaotically over her face as she got up to me and reached out.

“Red? What happened?!” Aria was starting to panic. “W-what’s wrong?!”

I flinched away as she reached out, and I saw a look flash across her face like I’d just cut her. I glanced over at Rainbow who narrowed her eyes, then sighed, shrugged, nodded, and left the room.

She slammed the door on the way out, though.

“R… Red?” Aria’s voice came out brittle and terrified.

“Where did you go?” I asked quietly as I turned back to start at her.

“I… n-nowhere,” Aria said stammered. “A-Adagio-!”

“STOP LYING!” I screamed, and Aria jerked backwards.

I was breathing hard, and my fingers and toes were practically buzzing. I wasn’t quite hyperventilating, I’d pretty much gotten the panic attack out of my system back at Cuppas but I could feel another one really knuckling down and getting ready to fuck some heads if I didn’t get a straight answer.

“Sunset I…” Aria looked terrified again, then swallowed hard. “You uh… you called her, huh?”

“Yeah,” I hissed angrily. “I fucking called her.”

“Shit,” Aria was trembling as she sat back and pressed her hands to her face. “Shit, shit, shit! This isn’t how this was supposed to go!”

“How what was supposed to go?!” I snapped. “Why couldn’t you just tell me the truth? Why did you lie to me?! You… you know how I get about this shit, Ari’! You know!”

“I KNOW!” Aria cried before looking up at me and I saw tears in her eyes. “I… I’m sorry! Okay!? I didn’t think it would take that long! They said it was ready and… it woulda been fine except then you wanted to see that movie and I had to pull something out of my ass to… DAMN IT!”

Now Aria was the one full-on crying, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it.

“Just tell me okay?” I said quietly. “Was it… was it someone else?”

Aria’s mouth dropped open with an audible click and she stared blankly at me for several seconds. Her jaw moved weakly a few times, then she let out a ragged sob.

“Never,” Aria whispered as she started to shake violently. “Fuck… fuck… you really thought…” then she swallowed hard and shook her head. “No, s-shit, I really made you think I’d-”

“What was I supposed to think?” I asked bitterly. “You left out of nowhere, acted all cagey, wouldn’t tell me anything, and… and you lied to me, Aria.”

“I’m sorry,” Aria cried the words out softly as she curled up a few feet from me. “I… I panicked, Red… I was trying to do something and… and I really, really fucked it up.”

“What were you trying to do?” I asked in a low, raw voice. I was trying really hard not to cry right along with her, but it was an ordeal. “Just… can you just tell me?”

She nodded silently, got up, and trudged miserably over to her jacket and picked it up. She turned it over this way and that as she tried to figure out which was was right-side up and ended up turning it upside down. As she did, something small, circular, and black tumbled out and struck the carpet, only to bounce and roll along the floor towards the bed.

Aria cursed viciously as she noticed it only after it had made it halfway across the room, and threw her jacket at the coat rack, which it landed on perfectly somehow, and took off after it.

She wasn’t quite fast enough. I leaned down and scooped it up from the carpet as it rolled past the bed, and held it up to examine it.

“H-hey, Red, I…” Aria started, but her words trailed off as I turned it over in my hands.

It was a case that was made from smooth, polished black wood, and it had a seam that divided it in half. It was so small that it fit in the palm of my hand, and as I lifted it up I had the oddest, most awful premonition.

“Aria… is this…?” I glanced back up at her and she looked terrified.

Truly, honestly terrified.

Swallowing hard again, she slipped up onto the bed and sat down, fidgeting idly with the hem of her shirt as she shrugged and looked anywhere but at me.

“It… it wasn’t supposed to be like this, Red,” Aria said tearfully as she wiped at her face. “I was going to… to take you out to dinner, and it was going to… to be just right, y’know?”

I stared down at the case with the oddest feeling in my chest. It was a little like the kind of zero-gravity weightlessness that comes from being lifted in a telekinetic sheathe, a feeling of floating and almost-nausea.

Slowly, I held out the little case to Aria without saying a word, and I watched her stare at it for several moments before nodding, plucking it out of my hand, then got up and turned to face me.

She looked more nervous than I think I’ve ever seen her. I could see the sheen of sweat on her brow as she shook out her hands and took a few slow, shuddering breaths. Aria turned the black case over in her hands a few times, running her slender fingers over the smooth wood like a worry-stone, then looked up at me.

“So uh, I… I didn’t really think this out very well,” Aria started, and I let out a nervous little laugh as I shrugged. “B-but, here goes nothing.”

She blew out a breath and nodded.

“Okay, uhm, I guess I’ll start with the obvious,” Aria began, shifting from foot-to-foot as she rubbed the back of her head anxiously, then forced herself to look me in the eye. “Sunset, I love you like I’ve… like I’ve never loved anyone, alright? You drive me completely insane in the best possible way.”

I nodded along with her, feeling my heart clenching as tears started to roll down my face.

“I’ve lived for thousands of years, Red,” Aria said in a raw voice, “and I’ve done some really awful shit. I’ve watched castles rise and fall, and knocked a few over myself, I’ve watched civilizations burn including my own.” She shook her head slowly as she gripped the little case hard enough to make it creak. “Thousands of years, Red… and I’m gonna be honest, most of them sucked! Better than a thousand years on this miserable planet, thousands on thousands of nights where we went hungry, so hungry we thought we’d die of it,” she was really crying now, and so was I. “I hated this world, and this whole damn dimension, so much, and I hated Equestria just as much for banishing us here, but y’know what?”

Aria’s eyes were red and puffy as she stared at me, and I sniffled as I wiped at my eyes.

“W-What?” I croaked the word out, and Aria scooted a few inches closer and got down on a knee.

“Every one of those miserable fucking years is gonna be worth it,” Aria sobbed as she worked her fingers into the seam of the case, cracked it open, and held it up. “Every single one of them… if it means I get to be with you til the day I die.”

Inside the case was a simple band of polished gold. There was no gem, but the outside of the ring was engraved with flowing script that belonged to no tongue of this world, I was certain. The calligraphy was beautiful, and I’m sure it cost an arm and a leg to have something like this custom made, but… somehow I wasn’t surprised.

“So, uh, I know I really fucked this up today, Red,” Aria choked the words out and I could tell she was barely holding it together, “but uhm, this is all I got, okay? I never, ever want to be with anyone but you, so… whadya say? Marry me?”

I slid forward on the bed, wiped at my eyes, and reached out to put my hands on Aria’s as I nodded.

“Y-Yeah,” I said with a cracked laugh before my face split into an ear-to-ear grin. “I… I mean, yes! YES!”

Aria let out a sob of relief before awkwardly prying the ring out of the little case as I held out my hand, and slowly she worked the small band of precious metal onto my finger. It fit perfectly, and I held it up where the light would catch off of it, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

Then I turned and pulled Aria into my arms, and we collapsed back against the bed as she let out a vulnerable little cry and buried her face against my chest, muttering apology after apology for what had happened today. I just shook my head as I curled up around her, and Aria just clung to me and kissed me softly.

“I’ll never leave you, Red,” Aria swore in a quiet voice. “Never, not in a million years.”

“I know, I know!” I sobbed, holding onto her tightly. “I was so scared, though, I really don’t think I can do this without you anymore… I don’t think I can-”

“Me neither!” Aria hugged me even tighter and we stayed there for several minutes, silent and shaking.

It reminded me of that day a year ago when Aria came back early from the Lounge convention, desperate and tired and shaking, and how she had tackled me to the floor and held on like I was the only thing keeping her alive.

We really were no good without each other anymore.

“S-So… is this like the one ring or something?” I said, and laughed softly as I stroked Aria’s long, soft hair with one hand, and held the other up above us to stare at the ring that now glittered on my finger. “What’s it say?”

“My heart shall beat as the tide with yours

and follow you,

as the sea treads towards the brightest moon,

til that moon is dark beneath the waves,

And the tides shall beat no more.”

I stared for several moments, and Aria flushed.

“It… it sounds better in Sirenic,” she said quietly.

I turned back to her, tangling my fingers into her hair, and pulled her closer to press my lips to hers. I felt that soft, perfect Cupid’s bow mold against my mouth, and she trailed her hands down my sides and up my back. I shivered as I leaned into her touch where I could, and I was so desperate for it, so desperate to feel her that it was drowning out everything else.

When we finally parted, mostly to catch our breath, I started to giggle, then I began laughing as I pressed my forehead to hers and all of a sudden she was laughing right along with me.

“I’m getting married!” I cried through my fit of mirth. “We’re getting married! You’re-! Written’s Quill, you’re gonna be my wife!”

“Never getting rid of me now, Red,” Aria said with a small chuckle.

“I’m buying you a gingham dress,” I remarked in all seriousness, and Aria scowled.

“Not a fucking chance,” she deadpanned.

“Even if I wear it first?” I said with a raised eyebrow, and before Aria could reply I added, “...to bed?”

To my surprise, Aria’s face suddenly flushed scarlet and her eyes went wide, and I could see her imagination suddenly taking a hard left into the gutter. So I pressed my advantage and leaned in close until my lips were by her ear and whispered softly.

“And I won’t be wearing anything else.”

Aria swallowed thickly, then said. “C-can we do that before we’re married?”

“Mm… nah,” I smirked as Aria narrowed her eyes. “But maybe on the honeymoon.”

“Then we’re getting married soon,” she replied heatedly. “No waiting.”

“We’ve gotta give it a little time,” I said with a playful chuckle as I nipped at her ear. “There are rules to this kind of thing.”

“Fuck the rules,” Aria hissed as she got a grip on my shoulders and flipped me over, then clambered up til she was straddling me. “I’m not waiting any longer than I have to to bend you over in a gingham dress, grab you by the hair, and fuck you unconscious.”

"Too bad, “I said with a smirk, “gotta punish you for today somehow.”

“Ugh, I feel like a moron,” Aria hung her head and slumped over on top of me before curling around me and pressing her lips to my neck as she nuzzled against me. “Red… I swear it, okay? On Nodens Oath, I’ll never, ever lie to you again, okay?”

“Nodens Oath?” I asked with a small smile as I hugged her and held up my hand again to stare at the ring.

“It’s a Siren thing,” Aria said with a shrug. “I’m no priestess, but… it’s a big deal for us… so yeah.”

“Okay,” I said with a smile. “I trust you.”

“I love you, Red,” Aria put a hand to my cheek and turned my head so I was facing her, and she had the most deliriously happy smile on her face as she leaned in to kiss me.

“Always,” I said softly. “Always.”