Shredded Fabric

by Mist

Rating: mature
Tags: Other, Equestria Girls, Profanity, Violence, Slice of Life, Dark, Death, Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy (EqG), Rarity (EqG), Drama, Gore
Length: 31817

Secrets can be painful to hold in, and Rarity knows that better than anyone. How much longer can she keep this secret? Set in the ShadowsVerse

The truth can often be too painful to face. Sometimes it’s better to keep secrets than to come forward with the truth, and Rarity knows that better than anyone.

Can she keep this secret forever? She has to, and she knows that. If only that weren’t so hard...

Set in the ShadowsVerse (No knowledge of other stories required but it helps.)

Published 2020-09-21 06:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-09-21 06:50:00 UTC

Shredded Fabric

Shredded Fabric

By Mist

Eighth Grade - Age 13

With her eyes focused on the bell, Rarity found herself getting restless. The clock was ticking, and Rarity needed to get home, she couldn’t stay in detention any longer. Why had she listened to Cherry Baton and been fooled into skipping history class? It was just too tempting of an offer to go and buy a soda from the vending machine and then hide under the stairs to drink it, and of course, Cherry Baton always knew how to make it sound even better.

Curse my weak willpower! She thought as she looked over at Cherry Baton who was scribbling in her notebook as if she’d done nothing wrong and the two of them weren’t sitting in detention because of her stupid idea.

Rarity wanted to blame her, but she knew it wasn’t practical. She hated history class, and as a result, any excuse to get out of it would have been sufficient to con her into skipping. Why did she have to do it today of all days, though? What was she thinking? She would be cutting it awfully close, and she needed to be out as soon as that bell rang.

Doing the math in her head, Rarity calculated that if she walked home rather than take the bus she would still be in the clear. She just needed to switch into her gym clothes before she left, which she kept in her locker.

The clock’s second hand seemed to move in slow-motion as Rarity sat tapping a pencil on the desk, hoping that somehow time would just move faster for her, and then kindly slow down after she was out of detention. It was a foolish and selfish thought, but she would think anything to keep her mind off of the worst-case scenario if she had to. Everyone had their own coping mechanism, after all.

Rarity grumbled as she glanced over at Cherry who looked up for only a brief second to acknowledge Rarity with a nod. She scoffed and looked away, which didn’t seem to bother Cherry at all. Clearly the girl bounced back easily, and probably assumed that Rarity would be mad at her anyway. Cherry wasn’t the type to let anything bother her anyway. Once she had to get all of her hair cut off because someone got gum in it, but it didn’t seem to phase her at all. Rarity couldn’t even imagine cutting all of her own hair off (and she’d rather she didn’t imagine it).

Looking down at her notebook, Rarity flipped it open to see the names of some of her closest friends written on the inside of the cover with little notes to her which she looked over to pass the time.

Rarity,

You’re always the best dressed among us. I learn so much about fashion just by being around you. You’re always my go-to person for advice on what to wear!

Sincerely,

Fluttershy

Fluttershy was always the kind of friend who wasn’t shy (ironically) about giving compliments. She frequently told Rarity how stylish she was and always asked for pointers.

Her eyes flicked over another note, this one from Pinkie Pie.

Rarity,

Your outfits are sooooo cute! I wish I was half as cute as you! You rock so much!

Pinkie Pie

Rarity note how her friend still dotted her I’s with little hearts and had to stifle a chuckle. At 13, Pinkie Pie was about as mature as a 6 year old. The girl still laughed to the point where she snorted at fart jokes. It was crude, but that was Pinkie Pie’s style after all. She was immature and naive, but that was her charm.

The girl lacked much in the way of manners, but she made up for it in genuine care for her friends.

Then of course there was Applejack.

Rares,

Y’all are one of the most hard-working people I know. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember, and you’ve always been there for me. I don’t think I’ve ever realized how blessed I am to have someone who cares about me as much as you. You’re the best.

Applejack

It was amusing because Rarity could never read her friend’s notes without imagining her southern drawl as they played out in her mind.

Looking up at the clock, Rarity noted how the bell was about to ring, dismissing her, and not a moment too soon. She reminded herself to never do something that would get her detention ever again, as the risk was too high.

Once the bell rang, Rarity was already stuffing her things into her designer bag and making a beeline for the doorway, only to be stopped by Pinkie Pie on the way out. She silently cursed to herself and then composed herself to talk to the pink ball of energy who opened the conversation.

“Hey Rarity, wanna hang out now that detention is over?” Pinkie beamed at her.

Rarity blinked a few times and shook her head to decline the offer. “No, sorry, Pinkie. I have plans that I can’t cancel.”

Pinkie had gotten herself detention for her usual stunt: not paying attention in class, which was par the norm for her. Often times she would constantly interrupt lectures with her uncontainable excitement whenever the two shared class. Home Ec seemed to be the one class where her input was welcomed though.

“Awww, that’s poop. Well, message me when you’re free, okay?” Pinkie smiled brightly at her.

Rarity nodded as she walked past the young teen who had chosen to wear an oddly vibrant tracksuit to school that day. Pinkie’s wardrobe often drew the attention of other students, but not for good reasons. Oddly enough though, Rarity found her sense of uniqueness refreshing.

“I promise that I’ll message you when I am free,” Rarity assured as she gave a gentle nod of approval.

“You better.” Pinkie winked.

With that, she allowed the fashionista to pass her into the hallway where she made her way to the front door but was stopped at the lockers by her closest friend.

The girl was sporting a simple pair of denim shorts and a low cut t-shirt that showed off her fairly early developed breasts along with her signature stetson. “Howdy, Rarity. Crazy that you of all people got detention.”

Rarity bowed her head in respect before running a hand through her locks. “Oh, well that’s what I get for listening to the terrible ideas of Cherry Baton, isn’t it?” She faked a laugh to try and make light of the situation, but in actuality, she was in a hurry.

“Can’t believe she actually got y’all in trouble. Want me to show her some respect?” Applejack asked as she cracked her knuckles, making it clear what she was truly implying. While Rarity was flattered, she declined the offer, though.

“That’s quite alright, darling. I made the choice on my own, so I can’t really complain, now can I?” Rarity chuckled.

“Yeah, but ‘Ah seen her, she’s a sweet talker, that one.” Applejack gestured toward the classroom where Cherry had just exited. It was true too, Cherry Baton had a way with words.

“That she is. She’ll make an excellent lawyer one day.” Rarity giggled.

Applejack rolled her eyes at the thought. “Bunch o’ crooks, all of ‘em.”

“It won’t hurt to know her if I’m ever in trouble though,” Rarity pointed out.

Letting out a hearty laugh, Applejack puffed her chest out and pulled her sleeve up to show off her bicep, which admittedly was fairly impressive for her age. All that work on the farm really paid off with muscle tone and physique. Applejack was an athlete that could compete with the best of them.

“If’n anyone gives y’all trouble, they gotta answer to me.” Applejack grinned.

Admiring her muscles, Rarity nodded as a blush came to her face. “Ah yes, the patented Applejack method...”

“Guaranteed not to rust, bust, collect dust, or break down in the wintertime.” Applejack winked at her.

Rarity found herself giggling. Applejack’s crush on her had been public knowledge for years now, but Rarity didn’t really know how to feel about it for the longest time. Applejack was protective, honest, and loyal, all the things Rarity wanted in a partner, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about being with a woman. It had definitely caused ups and downs with their relationship, but as loyal as she was, Applejack would always come running back.

In a way, Applejack was Rarity’s knight. When Rarity went in deep, Applejack was sure to dive in right after her. There wasn’t any challenge great enough to make Applejack hesitate when it came to helping Rarity. Her willpower was remarkable.

“You’re too much, Applejack.” Rarity managed to get out between laughs.

“Ya’ know it. So, y’all wanna hang out now that you’re out of detention?” Applejack asked.

“Su-“ Rarity paused as she was about to answer when she recalled where she had to be, and how much of a hurry she was in.

“I’m sorry, Applejack, but I can’t. I have somewhere I need to be tonight, and I’m already running late.” Rarity frowned.

Applejack looked so defeated from those words that Rarity wanted to hug her and apologize again, but she knew it would just drag out their meeting. “Oh, alright. See y’all tomorrow then?”

“Definitely, darling.” Rarity nodded with a sugary smile that she was known for.

That smile was enough to perk Applejack back up. “Alright, then it’s a date.” Applejack paused and her eyes widened as she realized how what she said sounded. “Not like a date-date! Nothin’ like that!”

Rarity shook her head and smiled once more. “I know what you meant, darling. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure thing, Rares.” Applejack stuffed her hands into her pockets as she looked away blushing. She was so obvious that it was absolutely adorable.

Rarity waved to the girl as she made her way past her and out the school door. She bypassed the bus, opting to walk to her destination. It wasn’t too far away, and she had already alerted the person she was meeting that she had detention and to wait up for her.

A good ten-minute walk and she saw an old truck parked on the side of the road that she recognized. Sighing, the preteen straightened herself up before brushing off her miniskirt and making her way to the passenger side. When the door opened, the driver looked at Rarity with bored grey eyes. His hair was an absolute mess, but long for a boy, it draped down his back, and his bangs were almost always in the way of his face. It was a shining silver in color but it shined in the streetlights.

He had on a black and grey plaid shirt and some torn up jeans, no doubt coming from his job as a mechanic that his younger brother who was sitting next to him studied under. His name was Gear Turn, and he was twenty years old. Rarity and he had known each other for at least two years at this point.

His little brother, however, had only been along with them for about six months. He had messy dark brown hair, and a serious face with vibrant red eyes. He had the kind of stare that could kill a man. Unlike his older brother, he was all business, all the time.

He had on a black tank top and cargo shorts as he smirked at Rarity. “So, your dumbass got detention, huh? I didn’t picture you as a trouble maker, Rarity.”

Rarity rolled her eyes and brushed off the seat before sitting down as lady-like as she could while she rested her bag on her lap. “It’s nice to see you too, Axel...”

Axel Turn was nothing like Gear Turn, it was amazing that the two were related. Gear was a very quiet type who never showed much emotion, anger, or otherwise, while his thirteen-year-old brother was a loudmouth who always voiced his opinion on everything.

Leaning in, Axel placed an arm around Rarity’s shoulder and smirked, showing off his pearly whites. “So, are you turning into a bad girl now?”

She lifted his arm off of her and scooted away from him. “I’m hanging around you, so I suppose I’ve already sunk to the bottom.”

“Pffft, you love hanging out with us, and you know it! We should do it more often!” Axel laughed.

“I barely want to do it as much as I do...” Rarity rolled her eyes.

Axel chuckled some more and nudged his brother who was now driving them to their destination. “Can you believe this girl, man?”

Gear didn’t say anything, instead, he just gave a gentle “hmm”, while keeping his expressionless eyes on the road. Rarity always somehow found his stoic demeanor to be charming. She imagined that Gear had a way with the ladies, but if he did, he’d never say.

“You know Axel, it’s rude to make fun of a lady.” Rarity lifted a finger.

“Excuseeeee me, princess.” He faked remorse as he rolled his eyes.

Gear was a person that Rarity found genuine enjoyment being around, but Axel was an insufferable annoyance that she merely tolerated. His immature sense of humor and grating laughter was enough to make Rarity thankful she didn’t have to see him every day, though he would sometimes call her to see how she was doing.

“Let’s just try and not make this trip anymore annoying than it already is.” Rarity sighed.

***

Coming home the next day was a familiar song and dance for Rarity. She nodded to her mother who just smiled back at her. Her father lifting his head from his newspaper to greet his daughter before returning to what he was doing.

Rarity sighed and made her way upstairs where her bedroom awaited. The night out with Axel, Gear, and the others exhausted her, and it was evident on her face when she came home late afternoon the next day after school. She was certain she had dozed off in a few classes, but she couldn’t remember much of the day.

Axel had gotten some booze by stealing it from a shop and brought it with him. He had spent the entire night trying to get everyone to drink it, while his brother did nothing to reprimand him. Rarity surmised that it was simply more trouble than it was worth to put the rambunctious teen in time out than it was worth.

As a result, Axel took a good four or five swigs of the vile-smelling vodka and spent the entire evening drunk. Rarity admittedly took a sip or two, but she kept herself composed, knowing that a thirteen-year-old girl drunk with a handful of rowdy boys was just asking for trouble.

They all must have stayed out until four in the morning, and as a result, she couldn’t stay awake as she had to be at school at eight the same day.

Most of her day she spent avoiding Applejack whom she knew was going to quiz her about where she had been, and she wasn’t in the mood to lie to the girl. It hurt every time she had to make up a story to her longtime friend, but it had to be done.

Yawning, Rarity made her way to her bedroom and tossed her bag aside before flopping onto her back on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling lazily and started to think to herself.

Am I really going to have to keep doing this forever? I don’t even know if I can put up with Axel that long. She shifted in her bed and turned to her side as she continued to think. His brother is pretty cute though, a shame he’s so much older than me.

Rarity wondered if she would have to end up marrying one of the guys from the group. She started contemplating which one would make the best mate. All of them seemed kind of immature and scrappy, and the ones that weren’t were far too old for her.

Why is this my life? Rarity pondered to herself. She had so much going for her, yet she allowed this one aspect of her life to drag her down so much.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of flats tapping on the floor out in the hallway just outside her door. Wandering in through the doorframe a small girl in a t-shirt that was at least a size too big and a dark pink skirt.

Rarity glanced at the girl but ignored her as she turned on her bed to face the wall. She just wanted to go to sleep.

“How was Tea’s house?” Her younger sister asked.

Tea Leaf was a latch-key kid, and one of Rarity’s distant friends. Her parents were seldom around and that meant she was the perfect cover for when Rarity needed to explain where she was without anyone questioning it. Tea was homeschooled, so there wasn’t much of a concern of her blabbing to the kids at school and she could keep a secret.

Whenever Rarity needed an excuse to be away for a night she would throw Tea’s name out there knowing that she didn’t even need to warn the girl as she would cover for her without a second thought. Tea was loyal to a fault, even if she wasn’t always the best company, due to her crass mouth.

Rarity just grunted to answer her sister who didn’t seem to take the hint and allowed herself into the room where she pulled up a chair that sat in front of Rarity’s vanity mirror and turned it around to sit in it backward. Her curly hair bounced as she sat down and stared at her tired sister.

“How late did you stay up?” Sweetie Belle asked.

The fashionista wasn’t in the mood for twenty questions, but her good manners betrayed her. “Far too late.”

“Sounds like you guys had fun! Can I come next time?” Sweetie grinned.

Rarity turned to face her sister and shook her head as she laid there on her bed. “You’re much too young, Sweetie.”

“You always say that...” Sweetie grumbled.

“And it’s always true.” Rarity yawned.

The reality though was that her little sister would never be old enough to go out with her to where she went.

***

Rarity was on her way to school when a familiar truck pulled up beside her. She sighed as she saw the window roll down and Axel’s head poked out and grinned as he tossed an empty McDonald’s cup at her. She tried to ignore him, but he called out to her. “Hey, Rarity, come on!”

Sighing, Rarity shook her head. “You know there are nicer ways to address a lady, Axel.”

“Fuck that, come on! We’re going to the campsite early so we can party! You should come with us!” He said.

Rarity looked at her watch and then back up at him with a squared brow. “You realize it’s 7:30 AM, right?”

“And?” He shrugged.

“I have school, which you should too,” she pointed out. She knew that he skipped school all the time though.

“Fuck school, come on, Rarity! Come hang out with your buds! We’re like family aren’t we?” He pleaded as they continued to drive slowly next to them.

“If you’re family, you’re a distant relative that I only see at reunions and thank the lord every time when I get to leave.” Rarity smirked at him.

“Ouch, that’s cold. Come on, we have good times too, don’t we Rarity?” He frowned, and for a second she thought she may have actually offended him.

Axel was annoying, immature, and vulgar, but there were moments she enjoyed with him. Despite his strange behavior and the constant harassing of her, Axel was one of the first to defend her to others in the group.

She sighed and nodded. “Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry, perhaps I was a little too harsh there.”

The truck stopped and he swung the door open, patting the seat next to him. “You can make it up to me by skipping school and coming with us.”

Rarity bit her lip, unsure of what to do, but ultimately guilt won over common sense. “How will I explain it to my parents? The school will report me not coming in.”

Gear leaned toward the two talking and spoke with his deep voice. “I’ll take care of it, Rarity.”

The man’s soothing deep voice calmed her. Somehow, Gear was always able to keep his promises even if no one knew how he did. If he said he’d cover for her, he would find a way to do it. She assumed that Gear knew people that helped him out when he needed favors done because he always seemed able to pull strings.

His dull grey eyes along with his shining silver hair gave him a strangely calming look. Just seeing his bored face made her feel at ease and that meant she was more willing to bend or break the rules. “Oh... Alright...”

She stepped forward and got into the truck shutting the door as she did. Axel grinned and scooted closer to her, nudging her with his elbow. “I heard Perch got his hands on some pot. That should be fun!”

Rarity scoffed at the thought. “As if I need my clothes to smell like that.”

“So stuck up, you should live a little, Rare. Why so prissy?” He laughed.

“If not wanting to roll in the dirt with you makes one prissy, then I suppose I am.” Rarity smirked, glad to get a good burn on him every now and then.

Instead of being offended, Axel took her comment as banter like he always did and chuckled. “The dirt can feel good on you, you know? You should try it sometime, loosen up a little.”

“I think I’ll pass.” Rarity looked away and out the window as the group approached the campgrounds. Watching as they passed tree after tree, Rarity began to see they were nearly there. She recognized a bright red oak with the names of some coupe etched into it. That meant they were less than a minute from their destination.

Axel laughed as Rarity felt a vibration in her bag. Blinking, she reached inside to retrieve her phone, noting a message from Applejack.

Hey, where are you? Class is about to start.

Rarity bit her lip and thought up a reply.

I won’t be there today. Something came up. I won’t be home until tomorrow night. I know I said we’d work on that project we have together, promise tomorrow you have my full undivided attention, darling.

Rarity could see her friend writing back quickly, and she could already feel the disappointment in Applejack’s reply.

Oh, okay. Well try and make the best of whatever’s going on and I’ll see you soon!

Feeling guilt overtake her, Rarity wrote back before stashing her phone away.

Thank you.

Being deceitful to Applejack just felt dirty.

Her mind was taken off of it though when she looked up through the window of the truck to see that they had arrived at the campsite. When the truck came to a complete stop and turned off, Gear stepped out along with Axel, Rarity following shortly after to see the entire group there.

Males and females of varying ages all sat around the benches and tables of the camp. “Axel, Gear, good to see you both.” A female with short messy blonde hair spoke. Her blue eyes seeming almost unreal, as they were fairly large for her head, but she had a strange beauty to her. She was sporting her usual alternative attire with a torn-up tank top and shredded jeans covered by combat boots.

Her name was Dragonfly, and she was sixteen as far as Rarity recalled. She went to a school on the other side of town near the slums, as she came from a relatively poor family. Still, she was consistent in showing up to every one of their get-togethers since she was six years old. She always caught a ride with other members until she turned old enough to get a license and then she would always bring the fifteen-year-old that accompanied her.

Sure enough, he was at her side with a smirk on his face as he nodded to Rarity, Gear, and Axel. He was short for his age, maybe only just barely five feet tall, but his most prominent feature was his toothy grin and his curly red hair. He was a fairly agreeable guy who often just did what he was told, but that was part of his charm. His odd speech impediment made him stand out even more than his red hair, however.

He went by the name Clover, Rarity wasn’t certain of his surname as she never was particularly interested in him or what he brought to the proceedings (which wasn’t much as he was often just another yes man).

The leader of their little group though was a man about thirty named Cutter. He was a chef by trade, but he was a natural-born leader and all of the other members looked up to him as he was the oldest, and they came to call him “boss” or “old man”. Some of the younger members such as Axel though referred to him as “gramps”. He didn’t seem to mind the nickname as his short dark green hair was actually starting to gain a few grey strands.

Cutter was a tough but fair leader, whose face was somewhere in between serious and soothing. If there was a scale of one to ten for how serious someone looked at all times, Cutter was probably a seven; he had his moments.

His light blue eyes scanned the group as he sat atop a picnic table in the middle of the circle they had seemed to form without thinking. “Who else isn’t here?” He asked.

“I think Peach is running late,” Dragonfly answered.

“Here I am.” Peach’s voice called out from the distance, causing all heads to turn.

They would all see an orange-haired maiden approaching, her hair curly and messy as she skipped to the group, waving like she was at some kind of party among old friends. Peach was easily the most whimsical and care-free of the group, and it showed. She was naive and often found herself at the butt of the other’s jokes.

She reminded Rarity somewhat of her friend, Pinkie Pie, with her peppiness and her love of trying to get along with everyone.

Peach spun around in her light red and white dress as she grinned upon seeing Rarity. “Oh, it’s good to see you again, Rarity!”

Rarity nodded at the girl. “You as well, darling.”

Rarity and Peach were only a year apart in age, with Peach being a year older than Rarity.

It was a bit of a relief to have someone else close to her age that wasn’t Axel, but Rarity wouldn’t consider Peach her first option in that regard. Her demeanor often made her annoying to be around for extended periods of time, and while Rarity had much in the way of patience, even she found herself running low with Peach at times.

The newest member of their group came out from behind some trees, zipping his pants up, implying he had just gone off to relieve himself. His leather jacket looked old and battered, but it matched the rest of him which was covered in cuts and scrapes from no doubt, numerous fights.

He had opted to not wear a shirt under his jacket, leaving his chest exposed while he ran a hand through his neck length messy blonde hair. His green eyes spotted Rarity and gave a fierce smirk before he sat next to Cutter with his leg on the picnic table while his arm rested lazily to the side.

His muscles were impressive, and he was fairly tall, passing six feet with ease, something that attracted Rarity.

Cutter cleared his throat as he introduced the new male to the group. “This is Fang. He’s a newcomer, but he is already up to speed on all we have going on around here, so no need to waste time on pleasantries, though I doubt anyone here was going to do that anyway...”

Fang nodded at the group, where most of which nodded back at him except Rarity who found herself just staring at him with curious eyes. She blinked a few times and noticed that he stared back at her and shot a half-cocked grin her way. It was safe to say that there was an attraction between the two from the day they first met. She blushed as he gave a gentle kissing gesture at her.

After the introductions, Fang hopped off of his seat and approached Rarity directly, causing her heart to race as the eighteen-year-old came within inches of her body. “What’s your name, pretty thing?”

Rarity found herself unusually lacking in confidence and stammering. “R-Rarity, and you’re Fang, right?”

He nodded with a smirk. “That’s right, and your name is fitting as I think a girl as cute as you is very much a rarity.”

“I pride myself on my appearance,” Rarity admitted.

He reached forward and brushed her hair back affectionately which drove the young teen wild. “I'll have to make sure you’re holding yourself to a good standard then.”

***

Within the next month, Rarity found herself dating Fang. It was an odd arrangement, but the two of them seemed to enjoy it. While he was a few years her senior, she didn’t seem to mind, though she knew that others among the group likely had a few choice words to say about it, but they clearly held their tongue. It wasn’t common for them to criticize the dating of their own kind.

Fang lacked much in the way of manners but made up for it with loyalty and excitement (and muscles). He also had his own car which was a bonus and it made dating far easier as Rarity could just meet him somewhere to be picked up.

Her parents didn’t need to know, and that was how she preferred it, but she knew others would find out eventually.

After her fourteenth birthday, she had a small scare. Her bedroom had its own bathroom par her request. Her father made considerable money in the stock trading business, so he could afford his family all kinds of accommodations to suit their wants and needs. They were far from rich, but they were certainly upper-middle class. Outside of that, he was a sportscaster, so their income was stable.

As a result, Rarity often got nice things, and her own bathroom was one of those things. When she had told her father she didn’t wish to share the bathroom with Sweetie Belle anymore, he hired a construction crew to install one for her right away. Rarity hated to admit it, but she was a daddy’s girl and had him wrapped around her pinkie finger.

Sweetie on the other hand was a mommy’s girl and clung to their mother for dear life whenever she got in trouble, which was frequently. Rarity was always stunned how one little girl managed to get in trouble so often, though it was likely because she got bad ideas into her head from Scootaloo and Applebloom, her two closest friends who also seemed to get in trouble their fair share.

Applebloom came from a good home, Rarity knew that, but she wasn’t much like her older sister. Scootaloo on the other hand was definitely a latch-key kid who had little in the way of boundaries. It was part of why Rarity’s mother seldom allowed Sweetie to spend the night there unless she was assured that Scootaloo’s aunts were home.

Rarity recalled the one-time Sweetie had gone over there and Scootaloo was home alone and the little girl came back with nightmares over some video game that they had played. Rarity didn’t recall the name of it, but it was something about a man who had nightmares because he cheated on his girlfriend and in the nightmares were very grotesque monsters and something else about sheep. Rarity wasn’t exactly into video games.

Standing in her own shower, Rarity hummed a tune to herself as she turned it off and wrapped a towel around herself. With her wet hair dripping on the magnificent floor, she gazed at herself in the mirror, turning slightly to get a better look. It was truly astounding how fast puberty took action. Rarity had started blooming when she was eleven, but in the past two months, she had really started to fill out. Even covered in a tower, she could see her breasts had grown considerably, and her legs were starting to gain the curves of a woman and look less like sticks.

Her face had even begun to look more mature as she admired it. She smiled at herself in the mirror until a deep voice spoke the exact words she was thinking. “Hey, sexy.”

She yelped and turned to the window where the voice came from. Placing a hand upon her heart she let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding in. “Fang, you scared me half to death!”

He chuckled as he stepped into the bathroom through the window which Rarity had forgotten to close the drapes to. “You can’t just be here! My parents are home!” Rarity protested as his dirty boots touched her clean floor. She wanted to scream at him just for that but restrained herself.

“Relax, no one saw me.” He laughed before snaking an arm around the crook in her back and pulled her close.

Rarity found her temper subsiding just a bit when she was held this close, but then remembered that a towel was all she had on. “You know it’s not polite to peep on a lady.”

He grinned and placed a finger upon her chin, making her look up at him. “I didn’t see anything, but I’d be more than glad to if you want to show me...”

A part of her actually wanted to step back and drop her towel for him to observe her, but common sense screamed louder. “You pig.” She rolled her eyes.

He didn’t seem too offended by the comment as he planted a kiss upon her forehead. As he released her, he grabbed another towel from the rack and offered it to her. She took it graciously and wrapped her hair up as she smiled at him. “I must admit, it’s a bit exhilarating to have you in my bathroom though.”

“And I ain’t even naked.” He winked as he sat down on the side of the tub watching her.

“Sex is always on a man’s mind, isn’t it?” She rolled her eyes as she opened the bathroom door.

“When he’s dating you? Definitely. What else could he possibly be thinking about?” Fang nodded as he stood up to follow her.

The two entered Rarity’s bedroom, which she was thankful was shut at that moment. Fang glanced around the room decorated in white with purple trimmings. He laughed and sat down on the bed. “So, this is where you live, huh? It’s like a mansion in here...”

Rarity stepped toward her closet and behind her vanity screen where she quickly dropped her towel away from Fang’s prying eyes and slipped on a black bra and lacy panties to match. Fingering through her wares, she selected a white dress with blue trims and slipped it on over her head and moved her arms freely in the short sleeves.

She dropped the towel onto the floor and poked her head out to see what Fang was doing, and he was just sitting there staring at the scenery. “It’s not that lavish is it?” Rarity asked.

He nodded. “Better than the dump I live in...”

Fang was orphaned at age thirteen and lived in foster homes until he turned eighteen when he got an apartment with some help from the state. He finished school sometime around seventeen where he got his GED by finishing some classes in his free time. He was far smarter than he usually let on, that was for sure.

“I just come from a decent family, that’s all...” Rarity shrugged.

“This place is almost as big as that big mansion on the other side of town,” he stated.

He was exaggerating of course. Rarity was familiar with the mansion, but she couldn’t recall who owned it.

“You know, my parents would have a fit if they knew you were here...” Rarity smirked as she leaned in and pecked his lips with her own briefly.

He leaned back and shrugged. “Who cares?”

Rarity was about to retort but she noticed her doorknob begin to rattle and turn. She blinked and glanced over to see the door open and her younger sister standing there. She cursed herself for not locking it but was thankful that she at least was dressed as it looked a lot less worse.

“Who’s this guy?” Sweetie Belle pointed.

“Shut the door!” Rarity commanded.

Without hesitating, Sweetie did as she was told and abruptly closed the door behind her. She turned back to her sister with a panicked look, assuming something was wrong.

“What’s going on!?” Sweetie asked.

“Nothing, but haven’t you heard of knocking?” Rarity grumbled.

Sweetie frowned. “S-sorry...”

“I swear you have no manners, Sweetie Belle!” Rarity scolded.

Fang chuckled as he came to a stand. He walked over to the little girl who looked up to see him in awe. “Who’s the kid?”

“That would be my sister, Sweetie Belle...” Rarity sighed.

He reached down with one of his powerful hands and rubbed her head. “Heh, she’s cute. Don’t be too hard on her, she’s just curious that’s all.”

“Who are you?” Sweetie Belle asked, her mouth hanging open while she clutched a teddy bear she had in her grasp.

“He’s-“ Rarity began to answer but he cut her off.

“I’m her boyfriend.”

“B-boyfriend!? But dad says we’re not supposed to have boys in the house!” Sweetie gasped, covering her mouth.

Rarity stormed over and leaned down to be at eye level with the little girl. “That’s why you aren’t going to tell him.”

“B-but!”

“Keep a secret kid, and I’ll make it worth your while.” Fang grinned before reaching into his pocket. He quickly retrieved a crumpled up five-dollar bill and passed it to the little girl with a wink.

Sweetie nodded and took the money happily. “Thanks! Consider your secret safe!”

He laughed and rubbed her head once more before opening the door for her. “Now run along, little one.”

Racing out the door with glee, Sweetie ran to her room down the hall, as Rarity sighed while the door was shut once more, this time locked. He looked over his shoulder at her and grinned. “Not so good with kids, are you Rarity?”

“Not when they’re your younger sibling. You wouldn’t understand...” Rarity crossed her arms.

He laughed and shook his head. “Guess I can’t understand, I don’t have any siblings, still it’s pretty clear she admires you, just as I do.”

“How do you figure?” Rarity raised a brow.

“She came to check up on you, didn’t she? No one comes to check up on me except you.” He smirked.

He had a point, it was merely one she hadn’t considered until that moment. Sweetie Belle really did care about her, she looked up to Rarity. All of that only made Rarity feel rotten for lying to her for so long.

***

Applejack watched as Rarity arrived at school by way of foot travel. She had noticed her friend had started walking to school more often, and she had been paying mind to it.

This time, however, she noticed something different this time around though. Only seconds before her arrival, a taller male approached the girl. His messy blonde hair flowed in the light breeze as he snuck up behind Rarity and placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in.

Applejack’s eyes widened as she wanted to make an advance to stop the man, but she paused and felt her heart race as she saw Rarity turn around and peck him on the lips. The two shared a brief conversation that Applejack couldn’t hear, but after it was over, he petted the girl’s cheek and took his leave.

Rarity turned to enter the school and her eyes locked on Applejack, and a frown grew upon her face. It was clear that Applejack had seen her and her male suitor, and it bothered her.

Applejack gave a faint smile to her friend as Rarity waved and came within a short distance of the young farm girl. Rarity noted that Applejack was wearing jeans and a form-fitting T-shirt today, which accented her full breasts. Applejack had hit puberty relatively quickly, and she had grown into a very busty girl in a short period of time.

Rarity was a tad jealous at how quickly Applejack had bloomed into a woman, as she was still going through that awkward in-between phase, but she would never say anything, as she knew Applejack was a bit self-conscious about the size of her bust and her feminine curves.

Rubbing her neck, Applejack asked the question that Rarity knew was to come. “So uh... Who was that?”

Looking away slightly, Rarity spoke in a hushed tone. “Oh... You saw that?”

“Y-yeah... So, who is he?” Applejack glanced over at her friend.

“He’s my boyfriend... Sorry, I didn’t intend for him to show up here, he doesn’t like to listen...” Rarity could sense how hurt her friend was, knowing that she was pining for her for so long.

Applejack shook her head and smiled. “Well, ‘Ah’d love to meet him sometime!”

Rarity blinked and looked up in confusion. It was perhaps the most dishonest thing Applejack had ever said.

***

The time for Rarity to gather with the others was upon her once more. This time she had made up an excuse that her friend, Tea wanted to bring her along for a trip over the weekend. In actuality, she was going to spend the remainder of her time at Fang’s apartment, despite having her reservations about that.

It was clear that Fang wanted to get sexual with her, but she insisted that they sleep in two different rooms. Rarity simply wasn’t ready for such a thing at age fourteen. She would kiss, and she would even allow a little groping when she was feeling so inclined, but she never allowed it to progress further.

Fang had agreed to take Rarity this time, so she wouldn’t have to sit in the truck with Axel again and listen to him go on about immature nonsense.

Glancing over at his girlfriend, Fang gave a light smile to the young lady before returning his eyes to the road. “You know, I’m actually kind of glad I joined you guys.”

“Really? I kind of consider most of our little family to be somewhat annoying and immature...” Rarity shrugged, her eyes looking out the window at the trees they continued to pass.

“Yeah, but it’s better than flying solo.” He laughed.

She wanted to disagree, but in her heart, she knew he was right. It was important to have others whom you could reveal all of yourself too. While the group was a bunch of misfits, and many of them Rarity had nothing in common with, they were at the very least; people she could be open with.

The two were silent until the car reached their destination. Fang parked and came around to Rarity’s door, opening it for her and offering to help her down.

Graciously, she took his hand and stepped out of the car, looking around to see the usual crowd had already gathered.

Axel, upon seeing her waved and made a rapid advance while his suave older brother followed behind lazily with his hands stuffed into his pockets. “Rarity! Missed having you on the ride over. When are you gonna dump Fang and get with me?”

Fang stepped forward and looked down at the young teen with sneering eyes. “Is that a challenge, little man?”

Axel backed up and put his hands in front of himself. “No no, I was just playin’, honest!”

Rolling his eyes, Fang shrugged. “Whatever.”

Strangely, the two of them always seemed to get along. Probably because they had similar views when it came to the group.

“Where’s Cutter at?” Fang asked.

Axel gestured to the woods behind them. “He said to meet him up ahead, I guess he isn’t feeling too social right now. I don’t blame him, I heard he’s been getting the ass at work lately. The guy busts his hump all day.”

Rarity had heard from many of the others that Cutter was a hard worker, but she never realized how hard. He was a good role model, it was just too bad that Axel didn’t seem to take after him, or his brother Gear for that matter.

Running ahead, Axel waved back at the two. “I’m gonna go find him! See you guys soon!”

Gear glanced at Fang and spoke plainly. “Don’t be late, you two.”

With his hands still in his pocket, he made his way toward the woods where the others were all heading. Some of them already stripping off their clothing.

Fang looked at Rarity and grinned. “Want me to give you some privacy to undress?”

“If you wouldn’t mind?” Rarity smiled back at him.

He nodded before walking ahead, leaving her by herself. “I’ll see you down there.”

She nodded back and waited until he was out of sight before wandering back to the car. Once she was certain the others were gone, she began to remove her clothing.

Not wanting to risk anything that was too nice, she had opted to just bring a pair of short shorts, and a plain white T-shirt. Horrendously underdressed by Rarity’s standards, but there wasn’t much point in putting on something nice when it was likely to get dirty or ruined.

Without much effort, she slipped out of her blue bra and underwear, folding them neatly into a pile on her seat in the car. She sighed and stood there naked, the gentle breeze making her feel somewhat cold.

She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the ritual she was forced to endure every month.

When she opened her eyes, she looked up to the sky, and there she could see that beautiful white orb in the sky. That big rock in outer space that shined the sun’s light back at her. That same object that held so much power over her.

Accepting her fate, Rarity stared at the moon and could feel her body begin to crack. Her fingernails grew and took pointed forms as her fingers themselves shortened.

Her back cracked and a pleasurable sensation shot up her spine as she got down on her hands and knees. She could feel the change through her entire body now, as her arms quickly grew white fur, along with the rest of her.

Rarity’s incisors grew to sharper points and the rest of her teeth had morphed into fangs while her nose and mouth merged together into a muzzle. She growled in delight as the feeling ran through her body.

A few more seconds and a tail began to take shape which was quickly covered in fur like the rest of her.

When it was all over, her entire body had changed from that of a fourteen-year-old girl to that of an elegant white wolf with shining blue eyes. She raised her snout into the air and let out a howl, which she could already hear the others doing as well.

For that moment, Rarity was exactly where she needed to be, even if it wasn’t where she wanted to be.

***

When the sun rose and everyone turned back into their human forms, they would all say goodbye and Cutter would, as always, go over things that pertained to their next meeting along with giving instructions of when to be there and such. He ran the pack sort of like a team, where he was the coach.

It was early, but Rarity was exhausted from running around all last night. She must have caught about eight rabbits and didn’t have a break all night. It was difficult to find excuses to sleep during the day so she would have energy at night and as a result, she often just had to power through and then crash once the sun rose.

Stepping into Fang’s apartment, Rarity blinked. It was about as run-down as she expected it to be, but somehow she was still surprised.

The living room sported a television sitting atop of some kind of wooden box, and a couch that likely had seen a few wars. It was likely a donation that Fang got from someone trying to get rid of it, but Rarity could not help but feel that at least a cover over it would make it look less terrible.

“What a... Quaint home you have...” Rarity stated as she moved her head back and forth, taking it all in.

Coming up from behind her, he shut the door to the apartment and shrugged. “It’s home. I don’t really need that much, anyway.”

“Evidently not.” Rarity nodded.

He wandered over to the fridge and retrieved a soda before offering her one. Rarity declined.

“I shouldn’t have caffeine. I’m going to go to bed soon.”

Shrugging, he popped the can open and took a long swig himself before plopping down on the couch, patting next to himself for her to join him.

Sighing, she nodded and obliged, sitting comfortably next to him as he placed his arm around her. “You’re getting pretty good at hunting, I saw.”

“Yes, well, at least those rabbit pelts will get put to use. I can sew something out of them, I’m sure,” Rarity responded as she leaned toward him, resting upon his shoulder.

“You could have just eaten them like the rest of us.” He sipped from his drink after his comment.

“As if I could eat eight rabbits on my own!” Rarity rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, who just nodded in agreement.

“Still, it’s pretty impressive for such a little pup.” Fang winked.

“I’m a woman of many talents.” Rarity gestured to herself proudly.

Fang just laughed as he guzzled more of his soda. “A woman, huh?”

“That’s right, do you think otherwise?” Rarity raised a curious brow.

A smirk grew on his face. “Well if you’re a woman than that means you’re ready for some more... Adult activities...”

His hand snaked around her and cupped the side of her left breast which caused the fashion-minded girl to blush but she swatted him away. “I may be a woman, but I’m also a lady.”

“You’re no fun.” He rolled his eyes.

Rarity rolled hers at him playfully before she stretched and yawned. “So, you were solo before you came to this pack?” Rarity changed the subject.

Fang had finished his soda and crushed the can. He hurled it across the room and it landed in front of a mostly full trash can. He didn’t bother to get up to pick it up and instead just leaned back and placed his hand upon Rarity’s shoulder.

“Nah, I ran with a friend before this but he died... I was solo for a while, but I did miss having my own kind around me so I went looking for a pack. He and I were like brothers...” Fang frowned as he recalled.

Reaching over, Rarity placed a hand atop his hand as she tried to give him her most genuine smile. “It’s alright, darling. Losing people you care about is never easy, after all.”

He nodded and grinned. “So, who’s that blonde girl I saw you hanging out with?”

Rarity blinked and a blush came to her face. “O-oh, that’s just Applejack. We’ve been friends for a long time.”

Applejack’s affection toward Rarity was no mystery, as Rarity had been keen to it for a while now, but Applejack had confessed her feelings a number of times before, only for Rarity to awkwardly dodge them. She didn’t exactly know why, but a part of her insisted that she “belonged” with a strong man, and while Applejack was certainly strong, she didn’t fit Rarity’s image of herself.

“Seems like you two are close...” Fang pointed out.

“Is someone jealous?” Rarity smirked as she leaned in and pecked his nose.

He chuckled and shook his head as he caressed her cheek. “Nah, that girl doesn’t have anything on me. Let’s get some sleep.”

“Sounds like a plan, but keep your hands from wandering, mister.” Rarity tapped his nose playfully as the two laid down on the bed to snuggle. Snuggling was all Rarity was willing to do at that point in her life. She was only fourteen after all.

***

After a few days, Rarity finally made time for her best friend as she stayed the night at Applejack’s home. The two caught up and talked about various subjects, most of which were pertaining to school, but it felt good just to catch up again.

“So, how’s the uh... Boyfriend?” Applejack rubbed her neck.

Rarity already knew that the farm girl didn’t really care, but she was trying to show kindness. It was obvious to anyone that she would have preferred that Fang disappeared so she could swoop in and take Rarity away; Applejack was just far too kind to admit it.

“Fang? He’s doing well. I think we’re an alright couple.” Rarity shrugged, not wanting to give too many details as she knew it would upset Applejack.

Nodding, Applejack put on the best smile she could muster. “Well, ‘Ah’m happy for y’all. Ya’ deserve someone that makes ya’ feel special after all.”

“Thank you, Applejack. That means a lot coming from you, I know this is... Awkward to say the least...” Rarity shot her a smile back.

That was an understatement. Applejack had had her eye on Rarity probably since they were in elementary school, seeing her with someone else was no doubt heartbreaking.

“Nah, y’all gotta do what makes ya’ happy, right?” Applejack affirmed.

Rarity paused and bit her lip before answering. “Yes, I suppose that’s true...”

An awkward silence filled the room before a new question floated up.

“So, where do y’all hang out? ‘Ah ain’t never really seen ya’ in town on dates or nothin’,” Applejack asked.

Rarity had to think quickly. She couldn’t tell Applejack that they often went to the same forest area where the pack met, it would cause her to potentially go there. The last thing the pack would want is for a normal human to go sniffing around their turf.

“Oh, we mostly just go to his apartment, darling.” Rarity smiled.

She instantly regretted saying those words after she realized how that sounded.

Applejack blinked and had a look upon her face like she wanted to comment, but instead chose to leave that statement alone.

Oh heavens, she probably thinks we’re having sex now! Rarity bemoaned in her head.

“‘Ah see. Well, ‘spose your ride’ll be here any minute now, huh? It was a fun weekend, we really outta do it more often.” Applejack smiled.

Relief washed over Rarity. “Yes, we certainly do.”

With those words, Rarity picked up her bag that she had already prepared and headed downstairs out of Applejack’s room. The blonde followed her briefly until she reached the living room, where Rarity bowed gently to her elder brother, Big Mac, and Applejack’s grandmother.

After she had finished bowing, she walked out the door and carefully along the path that leads out the front gate. She had purposefully told Gear to park a considerable distance away so that Applejack wouldn’t see him.

A few minutes of walking brought Rarity far from the property line to a familiar truck. She sighed as she internally wished that Gear would at least buy a nicer vehicle so that she wouldn’t have to potentially be seen riding in such a beat-up pile of trash. She had a reputation to maintain after all.

Gear glanced at her from his rolled-down window and nodded approvingly. His long silver hair danced in the breeze as he sat there. He truly was a handsome specimen even with the uninterested expression that seemed permanently frozen upon his face.

The older male gestured for her to get in.

Nodding at him, Rarity came around the other side of the truck and opened the door only to be greeted by someone whom she had hoped wouldn’t be accompanying Gear.

“Hey, Rares! Pop a squat, hang with us!” Axel patted the space next to himself.

A long exasperated sigh escaped Rarity as she climbed in and set her back upon her lap. She closed the door behind her and adjusted in her seat so that her body language told Axel not to touch her (which was a waste of time as he seldom adhered to that).

“How have you two been?” Rarity asked as Gear started the engine.

“Pretty good, what about you? What’re you doing near this orchard? This doesn’t seem like you. The mall is more your scene, isn’t it?” Axel tilted his head.

“I was visiting my friend Applejack from school,” Rarity flipped the vanity mirror and began checking her makeup.

Axel rolled his eyes and sighed. “She’s a human, right?”

“Of course, why?” Rarity questioned.

Shaking his head, Axel leaned over and placed a hand upon Rarity’s shoulder. “Rares, why are you even wasting your time on humans? You know that our kind can never really get close to them, right?”

She had heard this lecture before, but she knew that resisting it wouldn’t stop it. “Applejack is my friend.”

His head continued to shake as he lectured on. “Friend? How can anyone be your friend if you can’t even tell them one of the most important aspects of yourself?”

“Being a wolf is not the most important aspect of myself, I’ll have you know.” Rarity huffed.

Axel put his hands up and waved them in defense. “Call it whatever you want, but you know that being a wolf is what you are and because of that, you’re one of us. I’m just saying how can you really be friends with someone that you can’t even be honest about what you are to? It’s better to spend your time with your own kind, don’t bother with humans...”

“I’m not going to abandon my friends just because you think that wolves and humans can’t mix.” Rarity crossed her arms.

Axel raised up his index finger. “You know one day you will find that you don’t have a choice.”

“What do you mean?” Rarity squinted.

Gear actually spoke up with his deep voice, eyes still focused on the road. His husky tone caught Rarity’s attention. “You know Rarity, my kid brother is right.”

“Not you too, Gear... I would have thought you weren’t as ignorant as that...” Rarity frowned.

Gear shook his head but kept his attention on his driving. “My kid brother can be an idiot sometimes, but he’s right about this.”

Axel grumbled at the name-calling but said nothing.

“How so?” Rarity asked.

“Eventually it gets harder and harder to keep this secret, Rarity. Think of how difficult it is just to keep it from your family. One slip up and she’ll know what you really are, and when that happens...” Gear’s words trailed on into nothingness, not wanting to finish that sentence, clearly.

Rarity had heard stories of wolves who were discovered. Often times if the person who discovered them tried to report it, the news stations would call them crazy. However, now they lived in an age of camera phones so everyone had the ability to take pictures anywhere they went.

Her kind had to be a lot more protective now as to avoid any photos being taken, and she knew what would be done if someone acquired a photo of their kind mid-change. Cutter had spoken about the subject briefly. The only option was to kill that human then.

Gear had a point. Even if Applejack wouldn’t be afraid of her (which she had no guarantee of), just knowing what she was would put Applejack in danger. She knew that she would have to always play things safe and not get too close.

“What should I do then?” Rarity asked.

“Keep all humans at an arm’s length. Sadly, we all have to interact with them, but we also have to recognize that they’re dangerous if we get too close to them. Even with our healing abilities, humans can kill us easily...” Gear warned.

Axel decided to chime in to bring the point home. “Even regular bullets will kill you if they hit you with enough of them, Rares. Or they get you right in the head... I had a friend once and-“

Rarity cut him off by placing a hand over his mouth as she shivered at the thought. “I get it, alright?”

When she removed her hand, Axel frowned. “We’re just telling you this for your own good, Rares...”

Rarity knew it, but she wished things were different, regardless.

***

Ninth Grade - Age 15

Rarity had just turned fifteen, she was approaching the tail end of her freshman year of high school, and she found herself excited. Fang had picked her up from school and taken her back to his apartment where the two sat in his living room and sipped some sodas.

Fang lazily had an arm around her as he smiled at his girlfriend while she rambled on about what happened at school.

“I can’t believe Cherry actually wore that thing, what was she thinking?” Rarity droned on.

“You got better taste than all of those girls, Rare. Hell, even right now you look... Absolutely delicious...” Fang licked his lips.

Rarity giggled and blushed as she waved her hand at him. “You’re a flatterer.”

“No, I mean it. Hell, a girl as classy as you should be drinking something far more classy...” He mentioned as he reached behind the couch and retrieved a bottle of wine with two glasses. The glasses were cheap looking, which matched the rest of his apartment, but Rarity was still stunned.

“Where did you get that?” She blinked.

He shrugged. “I had someone pick it up for me.”

“We’re not twenty-one yet though!” Rarity pointed out with a finger raised.

“I know, don’t you feel naughty?” He grinned as he began pouring two glasses that he set on the coffee table.

Rarity bit her lip, unsure. “Well... I suppose a little wine won’t hurt, right?” A sheepish smile came to her face.

“No one has to know but us, right?” He winked.

He had a point. No one was going to see them, after all. She had told her parents she was going to a friend’s house so they didn’t expect her back until tomorrow after school, so they wouldn’t notice if she was buzzed.

She had always wanted to try wine but never had the opportunity. Her parents were hawks at home and they would have noticed if she was a little buzzed and they seldom left the wine in a place where she could get it due to Sweetie Belle having a habit of getting herself in trouble. Rarity, however, was a well-behaved child in her parent’s eyes, but due to having a trouble-making sister, she was always subject to extra rules at home.

Fortunately for Rarity, her parents at least trusted her enough to let her get around with her friends and to attend her meetings every month with her pack. She was somewhat amazed she had managed to keep it a secret for this long.

“I suppose a little wine never hurt anyone...” Rarity’s smile started to turn genuine, “besides maybe it’ll bring a little class into you.”

He laughed as he took a glass of the red liquid and handed her the other glass. “Here’s to you then. The most gorgeous girl I’ve ever known who for some reason actually has the desire to hang around a good-for-nothing like me.”

“It’s because you’re adorable.” Rarity giggled as she took the glass to her lips, sipping it gently, her light lipstick smearing on the rim.

He took a long gulp himself and laughed. “That can’t be the only reason.”

“Don’t push your luck.” Rarity laughed before taking another sip.

The wine was quite heavenly, she enjoyed the flavor, and her inner fashionista was glowing with pride that she was able to partake in such an exquisite drink. She glanced out the window of Fang’s apartment and there in the distance she could see a man with a macaw on his shoulder. People were gathering around to see the bird and offering it treats of many kinds.

She stared and smiled as she sipped away at her glass. Before she knew it, half of the liquid was consumed.

Fang looked at what she was watching and spoke quietly with his hand upon her shoulder. “We can’t be like them ever again, huh?”

Rarity was silent.

“When we were human, you know?” He asked.

“We’re still human, Fang...” Rarity replied as she watched.

He shook his head. “Not like them, though. We can never go back to that.”

He was right, but she didn’t like admitting it. “I suppose not... We have to make the best of what we are now, after all.”

“Do you ever miss being human?” He asked.

Rarity paused and thought about it. It felt like another lifetime ago when she was human and as such she could only really focus on what her life was like after she became a wolf. If she thought really hard, she could remember, but most of her energy for the past several years was used keeping her secret so that was all that was fresh in her mind.

“I guess... I wish I could go back to that day, but it’s not possible...” Rarity closed her eyes.

“What about you?” She opened her eyes and glanced at him.

He shook his head. “Nah, I chose to become a wolf.”

He was far from the first that had done such a thing. Usually, the process required you to know someone who was one and they trusted you enough to reveal their secret. Usually though if you were not interested in becoming one after they revealed it though, you had to be killed to prevent the secret from getting out.

“Why? Why would you choose that?” Rarity blinked in astonishment.

He shrugged. “I never fit in with humans before I was a wolf. So I chose to become one when I was thirteen. My friend that I told you about confided his secret in me and the moment I knew what he was, I knew that I wanted it for myself.”

“Do you ever regret it?” Rarity leaned in.

He smiled and lifted her glass to her lips, making her take another sip of her wine. “Not for one second; do you?”

Rarity frowned. She wished she could give a better answer, but she had to tell the truth. “Yes. I didn’t choose this, but I regret that it happened to me almost every day. I have to live a lie all the time, I have to lie to my parents, my friends, my sister... I feel ever so rotten when I do as well...”

Finishing his own glass, Fang set it down and reached over, taking her chin in his powerful hand. Rarity responded by setting her almost finished glass down as she looked up into his smoky eyes. His other hand reached forward and brushed through her long curled hair.

The man admired her for a few seconds before speaking. “Maybe I can make you regret it a little less? You can always be honest with me...”

“Is that so?” Rarity spoke in a hushed tone, her face getting hot. She couldn’t tell if she was buzzed or just aroused, or both.

He nodded as he leaned in and connected his lips to her own. Rarity closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, her hands locking together around his neck as she pulled herself closer to him.

Fang deepened the kiss, letting his tongue explore her mouth. Rarity didn’t resist, she welcomed him as he pushed her down on the couch, leaning over her. Her hands dug into his messy hair, gripping as many strands as she could while he kissed her.

Breaking the kiss, his lips traveled across her cheek and landed on her neck where he grazed her with his teeth.

A soft moan escaped the teenager as she could feel his hand traveling down her body, landing on her left breast. Her face had turned red and hot as she felt the urge to go further. Looking up at him, she panted lightly and gave him cautious eyes. She was unsure, she didn’t know if going further was the right idea, but she looked to him for some kind of reassurance.

He smiled and caressed her cheek. “You can trust me...”

“I’ve never...” Rarity looked away bashfully.

“Then let me be your first...” He grinned.

Rarity bit her lip but nodded gently.

***

“Rarity, you promised to take me to the mall with you!” Sweetie Belle pouted as Rarity finished slipping on her shoes.

Rarity cursed herself silently as she had forgotten her obligation to her sister. She had planned on meeting Applejack there and then getting picked up by Fang afterward.

The two had been intimate for a few weeks now, and Rarity found herself wanting to go back to his place often to renew the ecstasy that she had felt their first time. She had stopped counting how frequently they went to bed together, but she knew it was well over a dozen times already.

She recovered from her disdain of having to take her sister with her and smiled warmly at the girl offering her hand. “Let’s go then.” She grinned.

Sweetie Belle blinked and took her sister’s hand while wearing a very suspicious expression. The young girl stuffed her other hand in her flared jeans’ pocket as she held Rarity’s hand and headed out the door with her. The two walked down to the bus stop with Sweetie Belle squinting at her sister the entire time.

After stepping onto the bus that arrived and sitting down, Sweetie Belle finally spoke up. “Alright, what’s going on?”

Rarity raised a brow in confusion. “Whatever do you mean, darling?”

“You are usually annoyed when I tag along with you... What gives?” Sweetie Belle inquired.

Rarity grimaced but scooted closer to her younger sister so she could speak in a more hushed tone. “Can you keep a secret?”

Sweetie Belle’s face lit up. “Definitely!”

Rarity wagged her finger in front of the girl. “I mean it, Sweetie Belle, this is a big secret. You can not tell mother and father, and especially Applejack.”

“Why Applejack especially?” Sweetie Belle tilted her head in confusion.

“Promise, Sweetie Belle! If you tell anyone this, I won’t tell you another secret ever again!” Rarity scolded.

Sweetie Belle waved her hands in front of her face. “Alright, alright, I promise! What is it?”

Rarity leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes as she spoke quietly. “Fang and I... Well... We got intimate...”

Sweetie Belle looked confused. “What does that mean?”

Rarity let out a sigh. “It means we’ve been having sex...”

“What!?” Sweetie Belle blurted out but then covered her mouth as she leaned in to speak quieter.

“What?”

Rarity grinned. “I don’t really know how it started, but I suppose it’s put me in a very elated mood...”

“Rarity, mom and dad would kill you if they knew you were doing that!” Sweetie Belle frowned.

Nodding in agreement, Rarity chuckled. “I know, but they don’t need to know. I’m being safe, I promise. I just... I just feel really close to Fang, that’s all. Promise me that you won’t go around doing something like this, though alright?”

Sweetie Belle made a gagging gesture. “Boys are gross, so no worries there!”

Rarity laughed. “Maybe you won’t feel that way someday.”

The little girl shrugged. “Still, that’s crazy that you’re doing that, but why don’t you want Applejack to know? I thought you both were best friends?”

Rarity nodded. “It’s because we’re best friends that I don’t want her to know. Applejack is very protective of me, and I don’t want her to give Fang a hard time, that’s all...”

“I guess that makes sense...” Sweetie Belle shrugged.

***

Their time at the mall was entertaining, more so after Sweetie Belle met up with her friends and promised Rarity that she would meet up with them later to go home.

Knowing that Fang coming to pick her up with her sister present wasn’t the best idea, she had texted him to cancel their plans (much to his disappointment) and asked Applejack if her older brother could pick them all up when they were done. Naturally, Applejack said that such an arrangement would be fine and the two were free to explore the mall without their younger sisters bothering them.

Applejack had her hands stuffed in her denim jean pockets as she walked with Rarity at her side, her eyes occasionally glancing over to Rarity’s pale, feminine hands, desperately wanting to take on in her own and walk with her as such.

Rarity could sense the tension between the two of them, and her excellent nose could smell the sweat coming from Applejack. It was masked with a faint smell of cedarwood chips and a hint of apple cider that was upon her breath. One benefit of being a wolf was that Rarity’s nose was able to discern just about any scent and from a significantly longer distance than a normal human’s.

Applejack had an almost masculine musk to her, but with just the right hint of femininity to her. It was quite alluring, she had to admit. Something about the sweat of a hard worker excited her, probably why she was so attracted to fang. The sweat of being just back from the gym always seemed to linger upon him.

Her friend Applejack could tell used male body spray, which made sense as perfume seldom was enough to cover up the smell of hard work. Men’s products were often designed to be less subtle so that they could cover up the musk of being male. Rarity didn’t mind though.

Applejack smiled at her friend as they walked past a fountain, both stopping as Rarity reached into her decorated purse for a coin. She retrieved two quarters and offered one to Applejack. “Shall we make a wish?”

Taking the coin in her palm, Applejack lingered for a second, brushing her fingers against Rarity’s palm, trying to stay touching her for as long as she was permitted. Once the coin was in her hand, she nodded.

Rarity closed her hand around the coin and closed her eyes. She thought hard about what she wanted.

I just want to live a normal life again.

With that thought, she tossed the coin into the water, a gentle splash signaled that it hit.

Applejack looked down at her palm and closed her fist around the coin. She hurled it into the fountain and then looked back at Rarity. “What did y’all wish for?”

Rarity chuckled. “To live a normal life.”

“Huh?” Applejack blinked, she was confused by such a statement.

“Don’t worry about it, what about you?” Rarity smiled at her friend.

“‘Ah wished for yer’ happiness,” Applejack said plainly.

Rarity paused, she didn’t know what to say. Applejack simply was too good to her. She didn’t understand why she had such a great friend when all she did was try to keep her from getting too close and reject her romantic advances. Applejack was a gluten for punishment though, as she kept coming back for more from the fashionista.

“You’re always thinking about me...” Rarity smiled warmly.

The farm girl nodded. “Of course. ‘Ah care about ya’ a whole lot, Rare.”

She really was too sweet. It pained Rarity to know that the girl was so honest with her when she was far from honest.

“You’re too good to me...” Rarity stated.

Applejack just shook her head. “Ain’t no such thing. Come on though, we better go meet the girls at the entrance so we can get picked up to get outta’ here.”

Rarity looked at her watch, surprised that so much time had already passed. Nodding she offered her hand for Applejack to take. “Lead the way.”

The blonde stared at the hand for a brief second in disbelief before taking it in her own carefully. She walked with her best friend back to the entrance where Sweetie Belle and Applebloom waited. Scootaloo had already dispersed and headed home on her own, but the two younger sisters smiled at their elder siblings as they came into sight.

“Ready to go home, you two?” Rarity asked as she released Applejack’s hand.

Applejack frowned as her hand suddenly felt empty, but she said nothing.

“Darn tootin’!” Applebloom stated.

Applejack and Rarity both giggled at their girl’s eagerness while they headed outside. Big Mac had taken the family van this time to come and gather them all. Rarity found herself in the front seat with Applejack sitting behind her brother on the driver’s side. Their two sisters sitting next to her.

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were both playing on a set of Nintendo DSes while Rarity and Applejack sat quietly. Big Mac finally spoke up. “So, Rarity... ‘Ah hear y’all are datin’ that Fang fella’?”

Rarity blinked and glanced at Applejack who shrugged. “How did you know that?” Rarity asked.

Big Mac kept his uninterested expression as he drove. “Seen him in town. Then ‘Ah saw y’all gettin’ picked up by him.”

“Oh... I see...” Rarity was quiet, unsure of where the conversation would go.

“He treat y’all right?” He asked.

Now Rarity understood. Big Mac was more than privy to his sister’s crush on Rarity, and he was probing to see if the guy that had taken the girl of her dreams away from her was up to snuff.

“Of course. He may not exactly be a gentleman, but he’s very good to me,” Rarity replied.

“That’s good, just make sure y’all are happy. If’n someone don’t make y’all happy, y’all have no reason to be with them, right?” He asked.

She blinked, but she couldn’t agree more. “Yes, I agree.”

***

Axel, Fang, and Rarity found themselves all together once more at the campsite, ready for the full moon that would arise in the next few hours. Axel was tossing a football back and forth with Fang while Rarity sat on a park bench sketching ideas for outfits she wanted to start working on. Her fashion classes were going quite well and she was certain that it was her calling.

Fang tossed the ball as hard as he could, causing Axel to take several steps back and jump to catch it. His low height made it a challenge. Rarity wondered when he would hit his growth spurt, if at all.

With the ball in his hands, he leaned back and tossed it back to Fang who caught it with ease.

“So, what do you wanna hunt tonight?” Axel asked.

Fang shrugged as he tossed the ball back. “Dunno, probably deer or something.”

“Man that’s boring, when are we gonna go hunt some humans?” Axel frowned.

“Axel, you know humans are off-limits unless we absolutely have to kill them...” Gear who was working on the car in the distance spoke with a wrench in his hand, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Axel frowned. “I hate that rule so much. We have the ability to kill humans with ease and some humans deserve to die, so why not use that ability to take out a few scumbags? And of course, have some thrills while we do it.”

“You’re such a child...” Rarity rolled her eyes at Axel’s statement.

“All humans deserve to die...” Fang corrected.

Blinking and looking up from her drawing, Rarity frowned. “Not you too, Fang...”

Fang tossed the football back to Axel as he spoke in a serious tone. “Humans are dangerous, Rarity. If they ever find out what we are... They will kill us instantly. It’d be better if we just turned as many as we could and killed the rest so we could live in peace...”

Rarity sighed. “Yes, and then we’d be the same mass murderers that they are, wouldn’t we?”

Fang shrugged. “History is written by winners, after all.”

“You can’t seriously believe that...” Rarity frowned.

“Of course he does! Fang has the right idea, Rares. Our kind wasn’t meant to co-exist with humans, that’s why humans kill us the moment they discover what we are. We aren’t compatible, and humans know that. All that ever happens to a wolf that mingles with humans for too long is that one of the two ends up dead.” Axel nodded in agreement with Fang’s words.

Rarity had heard that same rhetoric so many times already. Still, killing humans was off-limits unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes one would see them change and they were killed, but it was never recommended to go out looking for the blood of humans. Humans in large groups posed a serious threat to their kind.

In ancient times, entire towns were razed on the suspicion that wolves had taken refuge in them. Somehow their kind had managed to keep secret since then and convince the world that they were not only wiped out but that they never even existed. A myth that was told only in drunken taverns from a man who knew a man.

Many wolves had gotten themselves into high ranks to help hide the secret. A few had even managed to get into politics and use their influence to erase and hide any evidence of them ever existing. To that day wolves walked among humans and hid in plain sight, manipulating humans into thinking that they were not among them.

It was perhaps the biggest kept secret out there, and it had taken centuries to keep it. Whenever a human would go on about werewolves and scream that they were among them, it was up to every local pack to take care of the problem, and if they failed then many of the wolves in higher positions would act immediately to take out any threat to their kind. Government officials would help cover it up discretely and wolves among the news media would keep the stories contained.

While less than half of a percent of the population were wolves, they all could tell their own kind from humans and so they all could silently work together without having to say a word. It was almost like a little community, but more like a secret society.

“You know that Cutter won’t approve killing humans, bro,” Gear spoke up.

“A shame, he should. Honestly, if all wolves teamed up and turned as many as we could, then we could take over and we wouldn’t have to live in fear anymore... I mean we’re better than humans, we heal faster, we are stronger, and we can smell better. If anything we’re the next step of evolution!” Fang exclaimed proudly.

Rarity had heard that theory before. Since the dawn of wolves, their kind has always tried to find out where they came from. One of the biggest theories was that they were merely the next step in evolution, that was why they could turn others into their kind. It made some sense, but it wasn’t founded.

Another major theory was that they were merely the result of a mutated virus, though the evidence was shoddy.

“Maybe we’re a lost link in evolution though?” Rarity suggested as a possible counter-theory.

Axel blinked. “What do you mean? Like that, we’re a link that was supposed to die off and we’re just clinging on instead?”

Rarity nodded. “I mean who is to say that we’re the next step? Maybe we were a misstep that just hasn’t gone away?”

Axel smirked at the thought. “I kind of like that, makes us seem like rebels!”

“I don’t like it.” Fang scoffed.

“Rarity, you can’t possibly believe that humans are better than us, right?” Fang raised a concerned brow.

Rarity opened her mouth to speak but thought better of speaking her true thoughts. Instead, she shook her head. “No, it was just a thought, that’s all. It’s silly though, you’re right.”

Fang nodded. “Glad you’re on board.”

“Sure...” Rarity frowned.

***

Eleventh Grade - Age 17

It had to happen. Rarity knew that it was long past due. In the past year or so, Fang had shown a side of himself that she didn’t care for. His hatred toward humans was unending and it brought out the worst in him. He always got aggressive with them, and Rarity found herself embarrassed to even be seen with him when he’d throw one of his fits toward them.

His aggression would even find its way to her when she would disagree with his treatment of them.

She understood why he hated them so much, his best friend who had turned him into a wolf in the first place was killed by a handful of humans who discovered his true nature. They teamed up and beat him to death before stabbing him with a silver knife, to ensure he wouldn’t come back.

Silver in an open wound was deadly to their kind, and once one was pierced with Silver, their chances of surviving were nearly zero.

He died and Fang had to take out every single human in their group that knew. He had told Rarity about how he had to bury the bodies deep into the earth so that no stray dogs or wolves would dig them up. It had changed him greatly, and while Rarity didn’t know him before that day, she surmised that he was already on the edge before that.

Either way, she still couldn’t bring herself to support his aggressive ways. He talked non-stop of how humans should be eliminated and it was their place to topple over them. He used it as an excuse to behave the way he did, and it was as if his true colors came out.

It was why on the first day of her junior year, she dumped him. Several weeks passed since then, and while he occasionally stalked her by hanging out outside of her school, he kept his distance. Even at their monthly gatherings, he would stay away from her and say nothing. He wouldn’t even talk to Axel or Gear because she was always around them.

Eventually, he had shacked up with Dragonfly, but it was clear she wasn’t his type.

Cutter seemed a bit uneasy about the boy, but he kept quiet so long as peace was maintained.

Rarity felt bad about dumping him, but she knew that she had made the right choice.

Closing her locker, Rarity nearly jumped as she saw Applejack standing there. She blinked and let out a sigh as she smiled at her friend. “You scared me half to death, darling.”

“Oh shucks, sorry. ‘Ah didn’t mean to startle ya’.” Applejack rubbed her neck.

“It’s quite alright, how was your weekend, darling?” Rarity smiled.

Applejack eyed her friend up and down quickly before answering. “Fine, ‘Ah heard that y’all broke up with Fang?”

Rarity nodded. “Yes, turns out he isn’t really into having manners or being a gentleman. I guess he was fairly upset over the break up as well, as he won’t talk to me anymore.”

Frowning, Applejack stuffed her hands into her pockets on her denim skirt. “Shoot, his loss. A girl as pretty as you? ‘Ah’d hold every door open for ya’.”

“You already do that.” Rarity giggled.

“Yeah, but ‘Ah’d also hold yer’ hand through every one.” Applejack blushed.

Rarity chuckled once more at how forward Applejack was being. While she had been broken up for weeks, Applejack didn’t dare make a move on her. Instead, she kept a safe distance and just offered a compliment as such every now and then.

It was clear that Applejack hadn’t given up on her, but she also was being cautious as to not get rejected once more. Rarity hated turning her down, but she always took it so well compared to others.

Rarity was no stranger to being asked on dates, so naturally, she had to learn the delicate art of declining romantic inquiries without offending the asking party. She had grown somewhat proficient at it.

“You’re too sweet, Applejack.” Rarity grinned.

Applejack shook her head as the two walked together. “Ain’t nothin’. So, y’all see what Sunset was up to?”

Sunset Shimmer, a mysterious girl that had come to their school years ago, and for her first few years was the definition of an “invisible girl”. She had gone through a phase where she bullied others and even split up their little group of friends if it were not for Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight had come from another universe, known as Equestria. Using magic, she was able to defeat Sunset who had gone on a power trip and returned to Equestria. It was then that they learned Sunset came from Equestria as well.

That had all happened a good three weeks ago, and now Sunset was on the path to redemption.

“No, what?” Rarity asked.

“I heard she is volunteerin’ at just about every school function now. Girl is even bein’ a fill-in janitor. It’s crazy...” Applejack explained.

“Everyone deserves a second chance, I suppose, Applejack. It sounds like she’s working hard to get hers,” Rarity replied.

Applejack gave a simple “hm”, as the two reached their next class together.

***

Another few months passed and before they knew it, Sunset Shimmer had become an essential part of their friend circle. With her help, they had defeated some sirens from Equestria and saved the city.

After that moment, most of those who were under the siren’s spell didn’t remember what happened, or their encounters with magic. Those that did mostly kept quiet about it. While they knew magic was involved, the only ones who really knew about Equestria were Rarity and her friends along with the Principal and Vice-Principal and a certain Flash Sentry.

Rarity tapped her pen on her lip as she stared at her homework. Across from her, Sunset Shimmer was zipping through math problems with relative ease. Rarity blinked at how skilled she was at mathematics. Sunset was definitely a genius at work, which made Rarity a bit self-conscious.

Looking up from the paper, the girl adjusted her leather jacket and smiled at Rarity with her full lips.

“You doing okay over there?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, of course, darling, I’m just quite terrible at math, that’s all...” Rarity frowned.

Sunset blinked in surprise at the statement. “You’ve always seemed good at measuring stuff, though.”

“Yes, but that’s different; it’s for fashion.” Rarity waved her hand dismissively.

Sunset just shrugged, not knowing what to say.

“Say, Sunset...” Rarity began.

“Hm?” Sunset asked, her eyes focused on her work.

“You know how you’re from Equestria and that we can’t tell people about that?” Rarity asked.

Sighing, Sunset closed her notebook and looked up at Rarity with her vibrant eyes. “Unfortunately, yes. It’s a detail that I try to forget about though...”

Rarity frowned. “Sorry to bring it up, but I was wondering...”

“Hm?” Sunset asked, leaning in with interest.

“Is it... Difficult to keep that kind of secret?” Rarity asked.

The question lingered in the air for only a second before Sunset replied. “I have to resort to fake IDs and avoiding tons of healthcare options, so yeah I think it’s fairly difficult...”

“Do you really think you can keep it all going forever?” Rarity said.

Sunset shrugged. “I don’t know. I try not to think about it, but I do know that as time goes on it’ll become a greater and greater challenge. My kind weren’t meant to live here, after all.”

Her unease also put Rarity on edge. An uncertain future definitely was a frightening one, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that Sunset and she were very much alike. They couldn’t let many get too close or their secrets would get out.

Would Sunset understand? She did come from a universe where mythical creatures were common didn’t she? Would a werewolf really be the most bizarre thing she had heard of?

Then again, it wasn’t so much that which was the problem, but if Rarity could trust Sunset to say absolutely nothing about it. If Sunset were to blab to anyone about what Rarity truly was, then she’d not only be putting her own safety at risk but the entire pack. In the past, people had gotten interested in hunting werewolves, and usually, when they found one, they took out the rest of the pack as well.

Putting herself at risk was one thing, but Rarity knew she had no right to put the others as risk as well.

“It must be hard...” Rarity replied, trying to hide her own inner turmoil.

The redhead seemed lost in her work, too much to notice that Rarity was struggling to keep it “cool”.

Sunset squinted at her and spoke, “Why are you so interested in this subject all of a sudden?”

Rarity paused, unsure of what to say, so she just shrugged. “No reason, I suppose. I guess I was just concerned for you, darling...”

Sunset shrugged. “Not many people are concerned for me, so thanks.”

She was an odd girl, and while Rarity was only beginning to understand her, she knew that Sunset might have been one of the few people in her life that actually understood what it truly meant to be an outsider, to be different from everyone else, and to live in fear of those differences.

She was thankful to have her.

***

The hunt that full moon was lively and everyone was more fired up than usual. Rarity surmised that it had something to do with the fact that many in their growing pack were now entering mating age, so they were on the prowl to impress potential mates, and one of the ways that they did so was by showing off their ability as hunters.

Naturally, as she and Fang had already been in a relationship prior, Rarity had no desire to partake in showboating or shenanigans to impress those of the opposite sex after such an ordeal. Instead, she tried to keep herself focused so that her activities with the pack didn’t interfere with her personal life outside, though when she had started to get older, Rarity assumed that life would get easier, it seemed as though keeping her secret hidden only became more of a challenge the older she got. Lies had to be more elaborate, and stories had to be kept straight.

Deep down, it killed her to lie to her family and friends, but it had to be done, but she couldn’t quite understand why.

Fang, on the other hand, had become somewhat insufferable over the past few weeks. Ever since Rarity and he had become sexually active, he started acting far more “macho” and would go out of his way to act in a manner that Rarity could only describe as “a jackass”, though she wished she could find more elegant words to describe it. Still, she was glad they had split up, but he seemed to act as though they were still an item.

He began holding onto her everywhere they went together and given death glares to other males, human or otherwise.

Now he started showing up to her school to pick her up from time to time, which Rarity had warned him about. She was concerned that if any of her friends saw him there, that there was too much of a desire to talk to him. She would occasionally remind him that they were no longer an item, but he would laugh it off.

Fang would refer to her as “his” and even say things about their future children together, which Rarity found somewhat annoying. Fang had this idea that she would get pregnant for him the moment she turned eighteen and then dedicate her life to being a caretaker for their children.

It only got worse from there, as he began to tell her that she was wasting her time studying fashion and design, because as he put it, “why do you need a career when you’ll have your paws full with the kids?”

That night, he had even run off on his own for the hunt, choosing to run with some recently turned kid named Chuck. The two had actually started hanging around each other quite a bit actually. Chuck may have been a recently turned, but he fit in with wolves almost instantly. Prior to becoming a werewolf, he seemed to be a loner type that preferred the company of dogs, now he ironically was one.

For some reason, Fang and he just hit it off instantly and since that moment, they did everything together.

Rarity recalled how long it took her to adjust when she first turned, and she was admittedly a tad jealous over how easily Chuck could adapt to such a different lifestyle, especially since he had only turned a few months ago.

Without Fang to hunt with her, Rarity opted to walk with Axel who had quite a bit of energy about him as he swayed his bushy tail in her direction. “What you been up to, beautiful?”

Rarity tried to avoid his second tail swipe as she answered. “School, mostly. A lady has to keep herself occupied after all.”

Axel laughed and lifted a paw and waved it dismissively. “Who needs school when you’re a wolf, like us?”

“Unfortunately, we still have to live in normal society, so being wolves doesn’t negate the need for school...” Rarity rolled her eyes as her canine acquaintance glanced off into the distance looking for any potential prey to take down.

There was silence until Axel sighed and sniffed the air. “Hey, I think Fang is nearby.”

Rarity blinked and allowed her nose to detect her former boyfriend’s scent and sure enough, the wolf wasn’t too far away. While he was acting quite annoying, she was still curious as to what he and Chuck were up to. Lifting her nose in the air and sucking in his scent, the white wolf could sense his trail. “Shall we go check up on my ex-boyfriend?”

Axel nodded obediently and the two dashed in the direction of the older male’s scent. Rarity kept focused on him, and tried to ignore Chuck’s smell, focusing only on the person she was intimate with. A keen sense of smell meant that sexual moments with their own kind were heightened, something Rarity had already had the joy of experiencing. What Fang lacked in manners he made up for in sexual ability.

As she and Axel ran toward Fang’s location, Rarity found herself reflecting on his behavior as of late. The boy had grown up a little too much, and his rebellious attitude had only gotten worse and worse to where he seemed to reject all authority figures. Even the pack leader caused him ire which he vented to her and a few of the others, mostly Chuck though. It was something that even caused Dragonfly to avoid him for a while, though their romance was on and off anyway, as he held Rarity in his heart.

Chuck was like gasoline on an idiot fire. Any dumb idea that popped into Fang’s head, he was there to reaffirm it. He was perhaps the worse kind of yes man.

Rarity and Axel came just outside the edge of town noticing that Chuck and Fang were hanging around a nature trail.

With annoyed eyes, Rarity walked casually toward the two, shaking her head as her paws kept tense. “What are you two doing? We’re not supposed to be near the trail, humans can come through here.”

Fang lifted a paw and waved it to dismiss her. “No humans are coming this late at night, it’s past midnight for fuck’s sake.”

“That’s not the point, we should be far more careful. Where did Chuck go, by the way?” Rarity glanced about noticing that she had lost sight of him.

Turning around, Fang too noticed that his friend had vanished. He turned back to his made and grinned. “Probably taking a leak.”

“You two really should stick to the hunting grounds that the pack leader approved...” Rarity reminded.

Fang stuck his tongue out. His impressive build made the entire thing look ridiculous. Seeing such a large and powerful wolf with strong shoulders make such a childish face was almost eerie.

“Come on, Rare, leave ‘em be. It’s not that big of a deal...” Axel defended.

Nodding, Fang smirked. “Thank you, Axel. At least someone gets it.”

“Rules are in place for a reason, Fang. A wolf who goes lone doesn’t last long, that’s what the pack leader always says,” Rarity lectured.

“Man, fuck that guy. I think he just wants us all to live in fear of humans, and I’m tired of it...” Fang hissed.

Questioning the pack leader wasn’t something that Rarity had been prepared to hear from him, nor something that she had the energy to even try to refute. He was speaking nonsense, and she couldn’t even find the words that explained how asinine he was being. Instead, she just shook her head.

Chuck’s voice rang in the air with slurred words as the wolf noticed the group of them and approached. His behavior was strange and half asleep. Then Rarity could see his poorly made staggered steps. Even on all fours as a wolf, she could tell he had been drinking.

“Dear Lord, you two have been drinking too?” Rarity demanded to know.

Chuck laughed and giggled as he approached the group, stumbling as he did. Once he was even remotely close.

“Hey, sexy...” Chuck reacted to Rarity’s presence, though his slurred speech made anything he said far more challenging to understand.

“Fang, how could you let him get drunk when you knew we were all going to be out hunting tonight?” Rarity scolded.

Chuck laughed and shook his head. “Hey, I’m a big boy, I can handle myself.”

His breath reeked of schnapps.

“What’s the big deal? Not like anyone is out here, right?” Fang shrugged.

It was as if he had issued a challenge to the cosmos because at that very moment a gasp could be heard and the entire group turned to see a woman with her mouth agape. The gasp turned into a scream before the headphones in her ears fell out and got. Yanked out of her phone as she threw her arms into the air, catching the cable of them by accident.

Her phone continued to play as Rarity could hear the song “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys ring in the air while Chuck leaped onto the girl and mauled her. His massive jaws sinking into her neck, trying to silence her screams.

Rarity gasped at what she was witnessing and sure enough, Fang didn’t seem phased by it at all. As the woman ceased her screaming, the song was louder, filling the air as Fang noticed what they all presumed to be the woman’s boyfriend rushing to catch up to his shrieking mate.

Gesturing with his head toward the boy heading toward them, Fang grinned. “Come on, let’s take care of him together!”

“Are you insane? What are you two even doing?” Rarity questioned.

“We have to kill any witnesses, now if you excuse me, if you’re not going to partake in this, then step out of the way,” Fang growled before pushing past her and Axel.

Everything was happening so fast, that Rarity hadn’t even registered that the woman who was screaming had completely stopped moving as Chuck tore at her throat, ripping out a large piece which made Rarity wince away. “What the-! She’s dead!” Rarity inferred.

The dead woman’s phone continued to blare the song as Fang and Chuck dived at the woman’s boyfriend, the sound of their claws and fangs barely tuning out the music while they worked. Ripping, tearing, slowly they would transform him from a human to a corpse.

Once he stopped moving, Rarity stepped backward and found herself trembling.

“Come on, Rare, we had to take them out, they saw us talking... They knew what we were...” Fang defended.

Not waiting to hear any more, Rarity turned and ran. She would run back and sniff out the pack leader to tell him what her ex-boyfriend had done.

***

The pack leader had grilled Fang and Chuck harshly, and eventually, put them on trial before the rest of their kind. While killing humans wasn’t completely prohibited, it was considered a dangerous action, because killing humans often made them come sniffing their way around the pack, thus putting all of their kind at risk. In the old times, when a human got their first itch to kill werewolves, it often became a career.

Fang and Chuck had acted quickly after killing the two humans and had dragged their bodies to the woods where wild animals picked them clean. They would come back around gather their bones by morning and burn the bones beyond any recognition before anyone saw them.

Because the two acted so quickly to cover up the two deaths and because they did so for “noble” reasons in the first place, they were spared any kind of harsh punishment. The pack leader would still regard them with caution and suspicion though but ultimately saw their actions as logical, though he did remind them that had they not been around where humans could have been, the entire situation could have been avoided.

Fang had decided to visit Rarity after her part-time job with a grin on his face as she wandered toward her car. She looked over at him with disgust and rolled her eyes as he came up to the side of the car and placed his hand on the door, closing it as she attempted to open it. “Hey, sexy.”

Rarity scoffed. “There are better ways to greet a lady, you know?”

He shrugged. “Sexy is a compliment.”

“Well, the compliment isn’t going both ways here, darling...” Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Ouch, feisty today, huh? I like it.” His smirk only grew as she tried to get him to move and allow her into her own car.

Fang continued to block her entrance, causing her to grumble in annoyance. He playfully ran a finger along her cheek which she pulled away from, wanting to avoid all contact with him.

“No love today, huh? What’s wrong? That time of the month?” He asked.

“First of all, you never ask a lady that. Second of all, I just don’t want to be touched by you...” She reached out and physically moved him to the side so she could get into her car.

Fang grabbed the door as she sat down and held it open with his powerful arm while leaning down to meet the girl’s gaze. “What your problem today?”

“You’re my problem... Fang, you killed two people with your idiot friend and you expect me to be okay with that?” Rarity raised a brow in question.

He shrugged. “They were humans though, who cares? Not like anyone will miss them, there’s like 7 billion other humans.”

“You were human once...” Rarity reminded.

He laughed. “Not for a long time, and you either. Face it, you’ve almost been a wolf longer than you have a human. Getting pretty close to it anyway...”

Rarity bit her lip at that thought. He was right, she was getting dangerously close to the age where she would have been a wolf longer than she had been human. How would she feel when she reached that point? Would she see things more like how Fang does? Would killing humans not even bother her? She hoped not.

“Doesn’t matter... I am never going to be like you...” She said bluntly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fang asked.

“It means we’re through. We’ve been through, and I’m not going to be your girlfriend ever again.” Rarity pulled the door and with enough force, he released it as it slammed shut.

Grabbing her sunglasses from a compartment, the fashionista placed the bedazzled specs upon her face and started the car.

Fang shook his head at her. “Maybe you need some time to calm down so we can talk about this when you’re level headed?”

Rarity shook her head as she looked directly at him. “My mind’s already made up. Goodbye, Fang.”

As her window rolled up, Fang had finally registered that he was just dumped. He growled and turned his hand into a claw and scratched at Rarity’s car, only to miss as it pulled away and the girl inside officially ceased being his girlfriend.

***

A few weeks had passed since Rarity had told Fang off, and while he occasionally tried to call her and hit on her, Rarity remained steadfast in her decision not to take him back. Sure he could claim that killing those two people was a matter of survival for the pack, but the situation wouldn’t have even arisen if he had followed the rules set for them.

The fact of the matter was that he had become the kind of wolf who could kill humans without even thinking about it, and that bothered Rarity. All of her kind had it in them to kill humans, but many of them took a conscious stance against it. Strictly speaking, the laws that they followed did not forbid the killing of humans, but they did heavily sanction it.

From the moment she understood what she was, Rarity vowed that she would never kill anything that wasn’t an animal that she was hunting for food.

She sat by herself at lunch with an apple in hand when she could hear a tray clatter on the table next to her. The girl looked over with her finely done eyelashes to see a somewhat gruff farm girl sitting next to her. Her blonde hair was thick and tied back, and a smile was upon her face.

“Howdy, Rare.”

Rarity gave a gentle smile back to her long time friend and nodded. “Hello, Applejack, darling.”

“Haven’t really heard from y’all much. Been spendin’ a lot of time with that boyfriend of yours?” Applejack asked.

Rarity could sense the jealousy in her voice, but Applejack was doing her best to be supportive. It likely relieved her to know that she didn’t have to keep the act up anymore.

The fashion designer shook her head. “No, Fang and I split up a few weeks ago.”

Applejack’s eyes widened. “Really? Why?”

“It turns out that he’s a jerk that doesn’t know how to appreciate a lady.” Rarity frowned.

“Sorry t’ hear, but y’all deserve better.” Applejack smiled.

“Thank you, Applejack, I appreciate it.” Rarity took a bite of her apple and swallowed.

Applejack’s eyes followed Rarity’s actions and landed on her lips. Her lipstick made her mouth much more attractive and Applejack licked her own lips as she envisioned what it must taste like to kiss her.

“If there’s anything that ‘Ah can do for you...” Applejack replied.

***

Some time had passed, and before Rarity and her friends knew it, their group had a new member in Shimmer. A rich girl who was the human counterpart of Sunset Shimmer. They had colloquially just called her “Shimmer” to avoid the confusion.

While it took a little time for her to fit into their group, she had become one of them.

They had all come to know the girl as Sunset’s younger sister.

Shimmer had her issues, but she was a remarkable girl with an excellent fashion sense, something that Rarity appreciated. While she loved her other friends, it was rewarding to have someone to talk about fashion with that truly understood her.

Rarity found herself catching a long whiff of Shimmer’s perfume which had a fragrance that smelled strongly of kiwis. The girl cycled through various scents, but this one was quite exceptional. It was subtle, but inviting, Rarity could admire that.

Shimmer slipped into the hot tub that the two girls had prepared for and Rarity followed shortly after in her deep purple bikini. Shimmer whistled as she saw Rarity enter the tub and nodded in approval. “You’re in great shape, Rarity. I bet all the boys are jumping over each other to get to you.”

Rarity laughed and winked as she caught a glimpse of Shimmer’s body. Like Rarity, Shimmer was in fantastic shape, and her figure was something that Rarity knew was desirable. She had a slightly more impressive bust than Rarity did, and her legs were long and toned.

“I could say the same for yourself.” Rarity chuckled.

Shimmer shrugged. “I mean, if I put the effort in, I seldom have problems meeting them, but my poor social skills often make relationships complicated right out of the gate.”

“Such a beautiful woman is going to waste then...” Rarity frowned.

“I could say the same about you. How is a girl like you still single?” Shimmer asked before reaching over the side of the tub to retrieve a soda. She offered one to Rarity, which she accepted and sipped from.

“I had a boyfriend for a few years, but he ended up showing his true colors after were... Physical...” Rarity frowned at the thought. Just thinking of the times they made love made her shudder in disgust. How could she have loved him?

“I can relate to that. I had a few boyfriends and girlfriends that got weird after the sex part.” Shimmer winked.

“Girlfriends? I didn’t take you for the type...” Rarity blushed.

Shimmer just shrugged at the comment. “A girl can take care of you just as much as a guy can. You’ve never considered it?”

Rarity bit her lip. “I... I guess not... I know that Applejack has a serious crush on me but...”

“But what?” Shimmer raised a brow.

“I can’t see myself like that, I suppose...” Rarity admitted.

“You sure? You never thought about it?” Shimmer asked.

Rarity blinked. She hadn’t actually. Could she see herself with another woman? She didn’t know.

“Not really...” Rarity admitted.

“Well, maybe you wanted to do a little test? You know? See if it feels right?” Shimmer shrugged.

“What did you have in mind?” Rarity asked.

Scooting closer. Shimmer smiled. “Well, you could kiss me, and see if it feels natural?”

Rarity bit her lip. She thought the idea was absurd, but she would be lying to herself if she said that the offer didn’t sound interesting. She had to know for sure, and it was just a kiss, right?

Nodding, Rarity came a little closer. “Alright... How do we do this exactly?”

Shimmer leaned back and gestured Rarity to come forward. “Just come at me and do what feels natural. Don’t worry, it’ll all stay between us, promise.”

Nodding, Rarity took a deep breath and exhaled before making her move. She crawled over the top of Shimmer, pressing her against the edge of the hot tub as their bodies came together. Rarity’s chest pressed against Shimmer’s and a gentle tingle could be felt for both of them.

Looking down at the redhead, Rarity carefully closed her eyes and began to lean in with slightly puckered and parted lips. Shimmer allowed their lips to meet and connect as their soft flesh explored each other.

Rarity opened her mouth and gave Shimmer’s velvety tongue a lick or two, finally leaning more into the kiss as her hand ran down the woman’s shoulder. Eventually, it rested on her breast and gave a gentle squeeze, eliciting a soft moan from the redhead.

Rarity was surprised that just holding that breast, she found herself somewhat excited.

Pulling back, Rarity had realized that she may have taken their experiment too far as she backed as far off of Shimmer she could, covering her mouth in shock. “Sorry, darling!”

Shimmer laughed and shook her head. “Don’t be, I said it was okay. You’re a great kisser, by the way.”

Rarity’s face turned red. “T-thank you...”

“So can you see yourself with a woman now?” Shimmer giggled.

“I suppose... It’s possible...” Rarity nodded slowly.

***

Applejack had been assisting Rarity for days in moving all of her fabrics, dresses, mannequins, and sewing supplies into a new room. Applejack was always eager to help the fashionista and despite not knowing much about fashion, she was always a tremendous asset.

Rarity found herself staring as Applejack flexed her muscles, and her impressive biceps started to form small droplets of sweat, making her T-shirt get a little wet, and overall her arms looked even better with a tight semi-wet shirt over them.

Applejack was such a hard worker, more so than many men that Rarity knew, so she began to wonder if Applejack actually worked out when she wasn’t working. Her taut muscles were definitely something to look at, but Rarity found herself shaking her head to get impure ideas out of her mind.

The farm girl finished unloading all of the fabrics that Rarity had requested to move and wiped the sweat from her forehead, flicking it aside as she smiled at her friend. She placed her signature hat back atop of her head and spoke kindly to Rarity.

“Job fit for a queen such as yourself.”

Rarity giggled and blushed. “Thank you, darling. I appreciate you always helping me out like this...”

Applejack nodded. “Ain’t no trouble, ‘Ah’d do anything for you, Rares.”

Rarity always found Applejack’s shortening of her name to be adorable, but the amount of affection in her voice when she did it only made it sweeter to her.

“You’re too kind,” Rarity replied.

“Girl as wonderful as y’all deserves nothin’ but kindness.” Applejack grinned.

Rarity paused and bit her lip. Her heart fluttered at hearing those words. She wanted to say something equally as sweet back, but in the back of her mind, she couldn’t bring herself to, instead, she stood there just smiling at the pleasant thought.

Applejack stepped closer and continued. “Sorry, ‘Ah just think that you’re mighty special, Rares... That’s all...”

“I think you are as well, Applejack.” Rarity nodded bashfully.

Coming forward, Applejack placed a hand upon Rarity’s cheek, causing it to heat up. The two were silent for a long few seconds until Applejack began to lean in to kiss her, causing Rarity to panic and look away to avoid the kiss.

Applejack’s face as a mixture of hurt and disappointment as she removed her hand and crossed her arms, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Shoot, sorry... ‘Ah know that ya’ ain’t... Well... Y’know...”

Into women? Rarity thought.

Rubbing her neck, Rarity sighed. “No, it isn’t that, Applejack... I’ve thought about it, sure, and you’re... Well, you’re everything I want in a significant other...”

“But?” Applejack raised a brow.

“I... I can’t, I’m sorry. It has nothing to do with you though, and everything to do with me... You wouldn’t want me as your girlfriend, trust me...” Rarity frowned as she could feel herself sticking needles into Applejack’s heart. It wasn’t the first time that the girl had made a move on her, but now Rarity could actually feel her pain worse than ever, was it because she too held some feelings for her old friend?

“Rares, ‘Ah would do anythin’ for ya’, so don’t tell me what ‘Ah can and can’t handle.” Applejack grunted.

“I’m sorry, Applejack... Please don’t think less of me...” Rarity closed her eyes, trying to fight back tears as she knew that she was stomping on the girl’s feelings.

Sighing, Applejack nodded and stuffed her hands into her pockets. “It’s my fault... ‘Ah shouldn’t of tried to put ya’ on the spot like that. Boundaries an’ all, but ‘Ah lost control and couldn’t help myself.”

“It’s alright, Applejack... It’s not that I didn’t want to kiss you though, it’s just... I can’t...” Rarity looked away with shame.

“‘Ah think ‘Ah understand...” Applejack nodded.

No, you really don’t.

***

Fourth Grade - Age 10

Rarity had been permitted to walk home from school herself for some time now, and she took advantage of the freedom to take the scenic route home frequently. She would stop to window shop at a few stores and occasionally buy a few treats at the candy shop.

This time, however, she had gotten distracted more than usual and had lost track of time. Before she knew it, the sun had gone down and she knew that she would be in trouble if she got home any later. The girl rushed down the street and considered the path home for a few seconds as she took note of the park.

There was a nature trail through the park that let out on the other side, which would be a far quicker path home than going around the park for sure. Looking up at the sky, the full moon illuminated the way for her as she took the turn and quickly dashed into the woods to find her way through and back home.

It wouldn’t take too long before her bravery started to wear off and she could now see the dense woods made it hard for even the bright moon to shine any light upon the area. The trees appeared to be exceptionally thick and dense.

Slowing down, the girl froze in place as she observed something only a few feet from where she stood. In the moonlight, it shined beautifully with its silver coat of fur. Shiny pearly fangs stared back at her as it bore its weapons of choice while it stared the girl down.

She had never seen such a large wolf, not even on television, but Rarity found herself unable to adhere to any safety videos she had seen regarding wild animals; instead, she just stood there frozen, unable to do anything. It’s deep blue eyes had her mesmerized. She was under a spell, unable to move.

The creature took two careful steps toward her and she flinched as its paw touched the ground.

Its mouth opened slightly and something came out of it that Rarity hadn’t expected: words.

“What’s wrong, little girl? Lose your way to grandma’s house?”

Rarity’s heart was pounding in her chest, almost ready to burst out. “W-what are you?”

The wolf chuckled. “The big bad wolf, and you must be little red riding hood.”

“H-how can a wolf talk?” Rarity moved her foot backward to start slowly putting distance between the two of them.

“If you think talking is impressive, you should see how I bite.” The wolf growled.

Taking a few steps back, Rarity gulped. “J-just s-stay away...”

Ignoring her request, the creature lunged at her.

Rarity got down to avoid the attack, but the wolf managed to latch onto her leg just above the ankle. She could feel its teeth sink into her as she screamed in pain, feeling the blood drip from the fresh punctures.

She had to act quickly, so she grabbed the nearest stick and jabbed it at the wolf, getting him directly in the eye.

The creature let go as it howled in agony and staggered back as it attempted to pull the stick out of its bleeding eye socket. It whimpered in pain and stumbled as it pathetically attempted to remove it.

Seizing the opportunity, Rarity quickly scrambled to her feet, limping on the injured one and retrieved as fat of a stick as she could find, wielding it like it were a bat. With her eyes never leaving the wolf, she did her best to look intimidating.

“Don’t come over here unless you want some more!” Rarity threatened.

Managing to get the stick out of its eye, the creature growled and looked over at her. “You fucking bitch...”

“You tried to eat me!” Rarity defended as she kept her stick upright for the attack.

The wolf chuckled. “Well, I left you a little gift...”

“What do you mean?” Rarity blinked as she watched him turn toward the wooded areas.

He laughed back at her as he stood there ready to leap into the wilderness on less than a second’s notice. “Let’s just say you’re in for a horrid surprise!”

Rarity had no clue what he meant, but she focused on cleaning up the fresh new wound on her leg, just above her ankle. The bite was fairly deep and she could feel it pulsing.

The young girl reached into her backpack and retrieved a small roll of fabric she had brought home from her sewing class. Quickly, she wrapped up the wound and forced herself to stand, wincing as she did. It would be a long walk home.

***

The wolf hadn’t lied to her, as the next day, Rarity had fallen deathly ill. She had never been so sick in her entire life. Her parents called a doctor to examine her bite wound to make sure she didn’t have rabies. Once they were sure she was clean, the doctor insisted that the illness must have been from something else. Rarity chose to leave out the part about the wolf talking because with how sick she was, she wasn’t sure if she was actually remembering what really happened, or it was a delusion.

The illness only got worse though, and Rarity found herself vomiting every single day for a solid week. Her parents called the doctor again, but after a thorough examination, he simply prescribed some medicine (which had no effect) and insisted there was nothing medically that he could find wrong with her that he could explain.

By the time the second week came along though, things began to get quite serious. Rarity could feel her heartbeat with pain, and her organs began to work poorly. Another visit from the doctor put her parents in a panic as he explained her entire body was shutting down. She was extremely unwell, and he informed them that she could die if her condition didn’t improve.

Fourteen days trapped at home and feeling like she was at death’s door, a sick Rarity dragged herself across the floor to the toilet in her master bathroom attached to her bedroom.

She weakly pulled her body up to the bowl and let her stomach empty what was more or less just stomach acid into the bowl.

Her younger sister poked her head into the room and frowned as she saw her elder sister in such a state.

Rarity had lost significant weight, she was almost emaciated. Her eyes were sunken and her skin was as pale as a ghost.

The girl collapsed next to the toilet panting lightly, unable to get up or move.

“What’s happening to you, sis...?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Rarity’s bloodshot eyes moved slowly until they landed on her young sibling. She spoke with a hoarse voice that sounded strained. “I’m dying... I can feel myself dying...”

“You can’t die! You’re way too young!” Sweetie Belle protested.

Rarity shook her head slowly. “Help me back to the bed...”

The task was no easy matter for the young Sweetie Belle. Her sister was near twice her size, but fortunately, with her recent weight loss, she was far easier to move.

Groaning in pain and trying to help as much as she could, Rarity forced herself onto the bed with Sweetie’s assistance. Sweetie pulled the comforter over her older sister and frowned. “A-are you really gonna die, sis?”

Rarity sighed. “Probably... I heard the doctor say that if I don’t improve soon, I’m going to die, and that was almost a week ago...”

Sweetie grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. In her weakened state, Rarity could barely feel it, but the gentle pressure was there.

“Let me get some rest, Sweetie, okay?” Rarity forced a smile.

“O-okay...” Sweetie nodded as she exited the room.

Rarity looked down at her leg where she had been bitten. The wound didn’t even start to heal despite being over two weeks old, probably because her body was failing so badly that it couldn’t even muster the energy to heal itself.

It had been wrapped, but she would peak on it now and then and see that it looked just as bad as it did when she got it. There was something abnormal about this wound and she knew it.

As she watched Sweetie exit, her heart told her that it would be the last time she ever saw her. She could feel her body screaming that it was time to give in, and tonight would be her last night on earth.

She closed her eyes as tears ran down her face.

***

When morning came, it brought with it something Rarity had never imagined: her life. She was very much still alive, but what was more amazing was she could see straight and perfectly.

Turning toward the mirror in her room, she noticed that her sunken eyes were gone, and her complexion had returned. She blinked a few times and tried to move her body.

To her shock, her body responded quicker than ever and she was not only out of bed but also on her feet. She bounced up and down a bit as she observed her miraculous recovery. How was any of this possible? Yesterday she felt like death would come for her in her sleep, but today she was full of life and energy.

Looking down at the bandage on her leg, Rarity got curious. She paused for a moment before reaching down and unraveled the bandages. What she saw was truly remarkable. Her leg had completely healed, there wasn’t even a scar, it was as if she had never been bitten at all.

Did she dream it all? Was that possible? She headed to her bathroom to be sure. Sure enough, the room still smelled of vomit and bile, so she was certain that she had been throwing up the night before.

How was it possible? Yesterday her organs were failing, and she was certain she would die, but today she felt healthier and more energetic than ever. It truly was a miracle.

***

“Alright, go!” The gym teacher instructed the class as he blew into his whistle signaling them all to take off for the mile run.

In her comfortable gym clothing, Rarity took off in a sprint, quickly making her way to the head of her group. She had planned to slow down and pace herself, but after a few minutes, she realized that she hadn’t slowed down from a full sprint yet and her legs weren’t getting tired. She was barely panting, while the other students struggled to match her endurance.

Her entire life, Rarity wasn’t much for gym class, but suddenly she was really pumped up and performing insanely well.

Her legs bolted her past the finish line first, giving her a completion time of less than 8 minutes, something she had never accomplished in her entire life. The coach looked her over and then at his stopwatch while he marked her time. “Not bad Rarity... That’s a huge improvement since your last time, and after recovering from being sick for so long... I’m impressed. Have you been training at home?”

Rarity wasn’t sure what to say, or how to explain her sudden improvements, so she just nodded and smiled. She returned herself to the resting area where the next group of students waited to be called up for their turn to run.

Once she saw down, her old friend Applejack smiled at the young girl before speaking. “Y’all sure can run. Ain’t never seen ya’ go so fast before, how’d ya’ do it?”

Rarity shrugged. “I really don’t know, darling. I suppose that I just woke up today feeling extra energized.” It wasn’t a lie either, from the moment she woke up, her entire body felt great. Even after finishing a mile in almost half the time she normally would, she still wasn’t breathing that hard, and her heart seemed to return to normal relatively quickly.

The next part of the fitness test proved just as easy for the freshly energized Rarity. Her strength had increased a great deal since she had been sick; she passed the push-up test with ease, even giving Applejack a run for her money.

By the time lunch had come around, Rarity was certain that something was odd about her body. She could smell the cafeteria from the other side of the school, and she could even discern every single spice in the dish from just the scent alone.

Rarity found herself in the girl’s bathroom alone as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was shinier and healthier than she remembered, and her face somehow felt more youthful despite her already young age. Something was happening to her, but she couldn’t explain it.

“What is going on...” Rarity whispered to herself as she placed a hand upon the mirror.

Could that bite have done something to her? That wolf did warn her about something.

Making her way out of the bathroom, Rarity heard the bell to dismiss school ring and she quickly scurried to her locker and gathered her things, trying to avoid her friend Applejack on the way out. She knew that if she allowed Applejack to pry her for too long that she’d eventually crack and tell Applejack what’s wrong. The last thing she wanted was to get the farm girl involved, though.

Heading out of school, she chose to skip the bus and walk home, her eyes on the sidewalk as she quick-stepped. From the corner of her eye though, she noticed a car following her. It would stop when she was looking in that direction, but she was certain it was tailing her.

To test her theory, she turned down a road that she normally didn’t take to go home, and sure enough, the car would follow, even though it was a dead-end road.

It occurred to Rarity, however, that perhaps going down a dead-end road wasn’t the smartest idea on her part when she was being followed.

As the car parked, a man with short messy dark green hair and a scruffy face stepped out. His eyes were very serious, like two daggers piercing her. He looked the small girl up and down as he approached.

Rarity gulped but held her ground as she looked up to see him. He squatted down to be at the child’s level as he spoke. “What’s your name, kid?”

“I’m not supposed to converse with strangers...” Rarity pointed her nose away from him.

He nodded. “Fine, my name is Cutter. Who are you?”

“What difference does it make? What interest could you have in a child-like myself?” Rarity questioned with a raised brow.

“I wanted to talk with you...” He said.

“You already are...” Rarity rolled her eyes.

He pointed back to the car. “Somewhere more private.”

“I am not getting into the car with a stranger...” Rarity protested.

He reached forward and snagged her wrist in his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Rarity could feel his strength; if he wanted to, he could just break her bones and drag her back to the car, but instead, he continued trying to use reason.

“I insist...”

“I could scream for help right now...” Rarity pointed out.

“You won’t because you want answers, answers that I have...” He replied.

“Answers to what, exactly?” Rarity raised a brow.

“Your entire body is getting faster and stronger than its ever been, right? You can hear and smell better than ever before, am I right?” He questioned.

Rarity blinked a few times in astonishment. “H-how did you know about any of that?”

“I can smell it on you, you’re definitely one of us now...” He said plainly.

“One of you?” She blinked.

He could clearly tell she wasn’t convinced yet, so instead of pressing the matter, he pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled a number on it that he handed to her. “Look, I get that I’m some strange guy talking to a kid, so when you’re ready you can call me and we’ll talk more...”

Rarity didn’t even get a second to protest before he revved his engine and pulled away. She looked down at the paper and burned his name into her memory: Cutter.

***

A few days passed and Rarity could feel her body reaching peak performance. She could run faster than ever, lift more than she ever could, and her hearing and sense of smell were remarkable. The girl could smell a container of pepper from nearly a mile away.

Her appetite had grown substantially as well, and she craved meat and protein more than ever before.

Rarity entered her bedroom after a large dinner and shut the door behind herself before a tremendous pain overtook her body. Her back felt like it was cracking, and her arms became weak, barely able to hold her up when she fell to her knees. The girl clenched her hands tightly and growled in agony.

“The pain... Is... too much...” Rarity admitted as tears ran down her cheeks.

As she opened and closed her hands, she felt them become somewhat stiff as the points where her nails and her skin met began to scream at her causing her to grip her head and growl in agony.

The growl that escaped her throat was abnormal to her, it didn’t sound entirely human.

When she glanced at her nails, she noticed they had become sharper and more pointed. Standing up, the girl looked into her vanity mirror and noticed her canine teeth had grown sharp and into pointed fangs. The girl gasped before they slowly returned to normal right before her very eyes, along with her nails.

Something was happening to her, and she knew it wasn’t something that she could just go to a doctor for.

Rarity ran to her purse and dug out the phone number that Cutter had given her and called him up.

“Cutter?” She asked.

“Who’s this?” He replied on the phone.

“It’s me, Rarity. I was the young girl you ran into the other day?”

“You finally decided to take what I was saying seriously?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“Meet me at midnight at the park. Can you sneak out and get there?” He asked.

Rarity cracked her door open and peeked down the hall, noting that her parents were sounding like they were preparing for bed. “Yes, I’ll meet you there...”

***

Her parents went to bed after about an hour, and Rarity knew it was about a fifteen-minute walk to the park, so she needed to be hasty. She climbed out her window and scaled-down the storm drain and made her way to her destination.

Sure enough, when she arrived at the park, Cutter was sitting there alone on a bench patting next to himself. Rarity took the offered seat and remained silent for a moment. The two sat there without a word until Cutter retrieved a cigarette from his front shirt pocket and lit it.

He was courteous enough to blow his smoke away from her, and that was when Rarity decided to break the silence. “What’s happening to me?”

Cutter took another inhale and then exhale before answering. “Your body is changing, getting stronger. You’ve probably already noticed that you can run faster and longer than before...”

“Yes, and what about the fangs?” Rarity questioned.

“For the first month or so, you’ll struggle to control it, but after the first full change you’ll learn to keep it under control as time goes on...” He explained.

“Full change?” Rarity blinked.

He nodded. “You’re a wolf now, Rarity.”

Rarity blinked. “A what?”

“A wolf. Sometimes humans call us werewolves, but whatever term you prefer...” He shrugged before taking another drag.

“That’s impossible, werewolves...”

“Aren’t real?” He finished her sentence for her with a smirk on his face. “That’s exactly what we want humans to think, we’ve spent centuries convincing them that we’re just a myth and we’d like to keep it that way. Sure every now and then some would-be-hero type gets it into his head to start going around trying to convince people that wolves are among us, but usually, we disappear by then and he’s just seen as a nut job.”

“So... You’re saying all those stories are true then?” Rarity asked.

He shook his head. “Nah. Humans exaggerate or they get details wrong. For starters, in case you didn’t notice it’s not so easy to become one of us...”

Rarity recalled her bite. “I got very sick...”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s normal. You can only turn if you’re bitten on a full moon, and assuming you survive...”

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked.

“Sometimes people’s bodies just reject it.” He smoked as he answered.

“What happens then?” Rarity leaned in with interest.

“You die.” He glanced at the young girl.

“W-what!?” Rarity leaned back.

Cutter took a few puffs and leaned back in his seat as he began to explain the process to the child. “You see, if a wolf bites someone on a full moon, they are injected with the wolf DNA, while your body is undergoing that change, you will get very sick. After a while though, if your body rejects it, the illness doesn’t clear up, and you die. Only those whose bodies are strong enough to withstand the transformation will become wolves...”

Did that mean that Rarity was strong? She never imagined herself as a strong person like Applejack was, but it was somewhat comforting to think such.

“How do you cure it? How can I go back to how I was?” Rarity questioned.

He laughed as he finished his cigarette and stomped it out on the ground. He met her with serious eyes as he spoke. “You can’t. There is no cure. You’re a wolf and that’s it. It’s forever, Rarity. For the rest of your life, you’ll have to keep this secret from others, and you’ll have to contend with it. You’ll be different forever, and that’s the curse we all bare.”

“What will happen to me?” She felt tears stream down her cheeks.

The man reached into his pocket and offered her a tissue that she accepted and wiped her eyes, getting a bit of her mascara on the tissue.

“Well on full moons you won’t be able to stop the change, you have to transform when they come about. Other than that, you will learn to change at will. Silver will sting like a mother fucker if you get it into an open wound, so silver knives you should avoid...” He explained.

“I don’t want any of this...” Rarity sniffed.

“No one does, but that’s how it is now. Life isn’t fair, so it’s time to grow up and learn to deal with it. This is your life now, Rarity. We’ll teach you all you need to know...” Cutter smiled at her.

“We?” She blinked.

He nodded. “I am letting you join our pack.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Rarity protested.

“Rarity, lone wolves don’t get far. The reality is that you need to be around people who understand you and accept what you are, because if you spend your life trying to deny this part of you... You’ll go crazy, trust me... It’s not so bad, we meet before the full moon and we’re like a big family...” His smile grew as he spoke of his pack. It was evident to Rarity that he did indeed see them as family.

“Y-you think I could be a part of your family?” Rarity asked.

He nodded. “We look after our own kind, Rarity. Anything you need, we will get it for you. You don’t have to bear this curse alone.”

She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream that she was dreaming, but somehow hearing his words, she was somewhat at peace with it all. She hated that her life would be forced to change, but she was thankful that she wouldn’t have to endure it alone.

***

Twelfth Grade - Age 18

“I just can’t believe she’s dead...” Rarity wiped her eyes, trying to control her running mascara as she looked at a drink in front of herself. She had stolen a bottle of wine from her mother’s cabinet and poured herself a few glasses as she drowned her sorrows.

Sunset Shimmer’s human counterpart who had become their group’s close friend and known as “Sunset’s Sister” otherwise just “Shimmer” was someone that Rarity had grown close ties to, someone that Rarity could appreciate because the two shared a common interest in fashion. They had bonded and Rarity almost had come close to telling the girl her secret on a few occasions.

The girl was vibrant if not a bit quick to anger, but she was so full of life. Tragically, she was taken from all of them so abruptly. Only eighteen years old, she was shot and killed by a mysterious gunman who put eight bullets in her. Sunset was a wreck, she had shut herself in after the funeral and refused to answer phone calls.

While she had inherited Shimmer’s lavish fortune, it was evident that nothing would heal her wounds. Shimmer was someone that had become close to many of them and now she was gone.

Rarity swallowed another large mouthful of wine and forced it down, feeling herself get dizzier.

A call on her cellphone startled her. She looked down and forced her eyes to focus so that she could read the caller ID.

Applejack

She cursed herself realizing she was partially drunk, but she tried to compose herself and cleared her throat before answering. “Hello, darling?”

Applejack’s voice was tender and full of concern. “Howdy, was just wonderin’ how y’all are doin’...”

“I’ve been better...” Rarity admitted.

“Yeah, ‘Ah figured. ‘Ah know that y’all and Shimmer were close, so ‘Ah figured y’all were takin’ it hard...” Applejack said.

Rarity felt a tear run down her face. “It was just... So unexpected...”

“Yeah, ‘Ah reckon that Sunset is takin’ it harder. She sounded rough at the funeral...” Applejack admitted.

Sunset!

Rarity suddenly felt awful. Here she was crying and drowning herself in drink, and yet Sunset was probably hurting worse than she was. The girl was all alone. She felt selfish.

“Oh lord... Poor Sunset...” Rarity slurred her words.

“Rare, y’all been drinkin’?” Applejack questioned.

“I suppose... A little...” Rarity admitted between sniffles.

“Rare, drinkin’ ain’t the solution to this. Sunset is hurtin’ and clearly y’all are too, but what we need to do is be strong right now,” Applejack reminded.

You always know what to say. Rarity thought.

“Thank you, darling... You’re always so wise...” Rarity said quietly.

“Don’t know about that, but ‘Ah do know that this is a reminder to cherish what ya’ got,” the farm girl said.

Rarity couldn’t agree more.

“You’re right... We all should live in the moment because we don’t know if the next moment is our last...” Rarity nodded as she spoke.

“Definitely.”

“Applejack, I don’t want to live another moment in doubt... The thought of losing myself or you before embracing the reality we both know we want to be true it’s... It’s too much to bear...” Rarity sniffled.

“What’re ya’ sayin’?” Applejack had a confused tone.

“I’m saying that I want us to be together...” Rarity spoke.

She couldn’t believe she had said that out loud, she thought it was the alcohol speaking, but the more she thought about it, the more natural it sounded. Applejack really was the ideal person for her. Sure she wasn’t a man, but she was just as good if not better; no one had ever cared about her the way that Applejack did.

Rarity would be in denial if she said that she never felt the spark between the two of them, or if she said that she hadn’t considered them together.

“You’re drunk...” Applejack reminded her.

“Only a little, but my point still stands... Applejack, I know you’ve loved me for a long time...” Rarity began.

“Longer than y’all will know...” Applejack admitted. Rarity knew the girl was blushing on the other end of the phone.

“One day you or I might not be here anymore, and I don’t want to go on not knowing the love we could have shared... I want to be with you... No one has treated me as well as you have...” Rarity felt tears come down her cheeks again.

Applejack was quiet.

“Well?” Rarity asked.

“Ask me again when y’all sober up,” Applejack spoke sternly.

Rarity cleared her throat and spoke as clearly as she could. “I’ll pour out this wine, and I won’t have another drop, but I will only ask you again if you do something for me.”

“What’s that?” Applejack asked.

“Come over tonight at midnight, and show me how much you love me.” Rarity glanced at the clock, noting that it was 7 PM.

“Count on it,” Applejack replied before hanging up.

***

That night was more than either of them had ever dreamed of. The moment Applejack had gotten the words “I love you” out of her mouth, Rarity had grabbed her and pulled her into the most passionate kiss that either of them had ever experienced. 10,000 volts of passion shot between the two and continued into a long night of lovemaking. While both were inexperienced when it came to another woman, they found their way about.

The passion was something that Rarity has never experienced before. When she had made love with Fang, it was always fierce and vicious, but Applejack was gentle and loving. It was everything she was missing with Fang, and she was thankful she had taken the plunge.

As the two laid together with Rarity resting her head of messy hair upon Applejack’s chest, the two were content as they panted softly.

“Wow...” Applejack said.

“Wow, indeed.” Rarity nodded as she nuzzled the woman.

Applejack wrapped her around the purple-haired girl and pulled her closer. “So, that was incredible...”

“You’re not bad yourself...” Rarity giggled.

“I love ya’ Rarity...” Applejack smiled.

“I love you too, Applejack...” Rarity smiled back.

Was it wrong for her kind to love humans? Rarity didn’t know. There weren’t many strict rules on it, but she knew that she was taking all kinds of risks. The mere thought of lying to Applejack caused her pain, but she knew that the girl could never find out what she truly was. She loved Applejack, and because of that, she had to keep her secret. There was no alternative.

I’ll protect you, just like you’re protecting me.

***

Her romance with Applejack remained a secret from the pack for some time, but it wasn’t long before Fang caught wind of it. His ego of thinking that the two of them would eventually end up back together was cracked as he saw the girl that he believed to be his own be whisked away not only by someone else but a woman at that.

“Rarity, you know that you can’t stay with that human, right?” Fang asked as he threw a card into a pile.

He and his friend Chuck were playing cards with Dragonfly.

“He’s right you know, Rarity. Far be it for me to take his side, but humans and wolves... We just don’t work out...” Dragonfly added.

“Can no one in this pack mind their own business?” Rarity hissed.

“Why not just accept that your ultimate fate is with me.” Fang grinned.

“Fuck you.” Rarity stuck up her middle finger.

“That’s not very ladylike, you know...” Chuck laughed.

“One needn’t act like a lady to dogs.” Rarity smirked.

Chuck stood up and raised his hand ready to backhand her, but Fang’s words made him think better of it.

“You’re going to look really fucking stupid in a second...” Fang’s words were fierce.

Pausing, Chuck looked back at him. “Why?”

“Because, while you may be my friend, if you hit my woman, I’m going to rip your fucking balls off...” Fang growled.

“She started it!” Chuck protested.

“I’m finishing it. Now sit down.” Fang glanced at the seat that Chuck had risen from.

Gulping, the man sat down and grumbled.

“Rarity, why waste your time with that human?” Fang questioned after he got his friend back in line.

“It would benefit us both if you simply minded your own business, Fang...” She rolled her eyes.

“You are my business...” He glared.

“Not anymore I’m not, and I haven’t been for a long time...” She responded.

“We’ll see about that...”

***

Age 22

Had it really been over twelve years now? Rarity counted them as she checked the date. It was the anniversary of the day that her life changed forever. On this day twelve years ago, she ceased simply being Rarity the fashion designer and human, and started being Rarity the werewolf.

For twelve years she had kept this secret from her family and a good four from Applejack, her now wife. Rarity found herself thankful that her infant son, Jasper, wasn’t like her, but then again she knew that it didn’t work that way.

After some time she had begun to understand how one truly becomes a werewolf like she did. It takes more than a bite, but a bite upon a full moon. Then the person who is bitten must be strong enough to survive the attempt from the werewolf DNA to change them. She knew all of this when Cutter had explained it, but what she didn’t know was that the survival rate was less than five percent. She was lucky to even be alive, yet she didn’t feel lucky, she felt alienated.

Keeping her secret from her wife was a constant challenge. She would use lies upon lies to keep it from getting out, but it only got harder. Applejack would get suspicious eventually, right? She wasn’t dumb. Rarity feared at times she might even think that she was cheating on her, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Fang may have been up to her ass at all times, but she did all she could to keep him away.

Axel on the other hand seemed to agree with a lot of Fang’s views on the world and humans in general which frightened Rarity. Fang was a disease that was spreading slowly, and before she knew it, the entire pack would likely agree with him. He started to see humans as things to kill for sport, and that mentality was dangerous for their kind.

Still, Axel had grown up and had turned into an impressive male with a powerful physique. His muscles had grown and he now sported a short spiked haircut with some stubble lining his face. He had a manly aura to him, but sadly he still dressed quite slovenly, with an undershirt as his primary torso covering and a pair of tattered jeans.

Rarity sat upon a bench at the old campsite where the pack gathered with him sitting on the opposite side playing with a switchblade knife. “So how’re the humans?” He asked.

She knew that his way of phrasing it was intended slightly as a dig at her family, but he also just didn’t know any better. Axel, like her, had been a wolf for most of his life, but the difference between the two of them was that he was raised by his brother who was also a wolf and thus spent the majority of his time around his own kind. As a result, the man was poorly conditioned for dealing with normal humans, so Rarity gave him a lot of passes on his behavior.

“They’re fine...” Rarity replied.

The young man examined the clean blade and glanced at his friend’s reflection in it. “You know that in a way, Fang is right about humans...”

“Not this again...” Rarity sighed.

“Hear me out, Rares...” He spoke.

Turning, she looked over to see that he was looking in her direction as he let the knife down to his side, his eyes were big and full of sincerity. “We’ve been friends for a long time, right?”

“Yeah...” Rarity admitted.

“I wouldn’t steer you wrong, you know that, but Fang has a point. Do you think you can keep this charade up forever? Eventually, that family of yours will find out what you are, and when they do...” He stabbed the knife into the table in front of them to emphasize his point. “They’ll either kill you, or people will kill all of you together. You can’t protect them, Rarity; if anything you’ll end up being the reason they need protection...”

Rarity bit her lip. She hated it when he got like this, but she wanted to say he was wrong. She would die before anything happened to Applejack or her son. While she was against killing humans, she would bear her fangs to any who would harm them. She swore a long time ago that she’d rip out the throat of anyone who hurt Applejack.

“Fang’s an extremist, Axel, surely you can see that...” Rarity frowned.

Axel shook his head. “Maybe so, but sometimes extremism is justified. Humans kill our kind, Rarity, that’s a fact and you know that. There is no way for peace to be between us unless we roll over and let them murder us.”

Sighing, Rarity already could see that he wasn’t going to bend on the matter. Fang had gotten into her head, and she hated it because it meant that only a matter of time would pass before he was an extremist too.

***

Sweetie Belle lifted a young Jasper into the air and made plane sounds as she carried him with his arms and legs outstretched. The child laughed with joy as she played with him before setting him down and ruffling his hair. Applejack scooped the boy up and rubbed his cheek with her index finger. She kissed his forehead before walking past her wife who was sitting on a patio chair watching them all while she sipped lemonade from behind her big sunglasses.

Applejack wandered past the woman and kissed Rarity’s forehead. “‘Ah’m gonna take junior here for a bath.”

“Alright, darling. I love you.” Rarity smiled at her wife.

Applejack gave her a subtle wink and went back inside. Sweetie Belle giggled as she sat down across from Rarity in a vacant seat. “Man, you two really have it all, huh?”

Rarity shrugged. “Applejack worked very hard to get all of this for us.”

“She’s an improvement over that Fang guy you used to date...” Sweetie Belle commented.

Rarity frowned and grew quiet. “Can we please not talk about him?”

“You never want to talk about that guy. How bad was he to you?” Sweetie Belle blinked before grabbing a nearby lemonade pitcher to pour herself a glass.

“I try not to think about him, and I know it bother Applejack to hear about people I’ve been within the past...” Rarity stated.

“Speaking of Applejack, she said you’d let me borrow your car this Friday? Scootaloo and I are trying to go out to see-“ Rarity cut Sweetie Belle off before she could finish.

“I can’t on Friday, sorry.”

Sweetie tilted her head and squinted. “Why?”

Rarity bit her lip. “I have somewhere I have to be, sorry...”

“The movie isn’t until 10 PM, where are you going at that hour?” Sweetie asked.

“I have to meet a client early in the morning, and I’ll need to leave early...” Rarity replied.

Sweetie seemed a bit suspicious but she dropped the subject and nodded. “Alright, I guess I’ll ask Twilight if I can borrow one of their cars...”

Rarity let out a laugh. “You think that Twilight is going to allow you to borrow a Mercedes Benz?”

“They have a Bentley and a few Audis as well...” Sweetie corrected.

It astounded Rarity how wealthy the Shimmer family truly was. After they had caught the killer of Sunset’s younger sister, Shimmer, Sunset had inherited their wealth and then promptly disappeared after, leaving her wife, Twilight to raise their only daughter. As a result, their two families were close as Rarity and Applejack constantly checked up on the poor thing, though Applejack had quite a few colorful words to say about Sunset.

It really was astounding how trouble did seem to follow the Shimmer clan around. Rarity couldn’t help but feel sorry for that poor little girl.

“Just try and not ruin their car...” Rarity remarked.

“You shouldn’t worry about me.” Sweetie waved her hand dismissively.

***

After the movie, Sweetie Belle looked over at Scootaloo after arriving at the teen’s house. She smiled at her friend and hit the button to unlock the doors. Scootaloo grinned back at her and spoke up.

“It’s actually super sweet that you managed to get Twilight to loan you this Audi.”

Sweetie nodded as she brushed some of her hair behind her shoulder. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, I figured it’d make us have some style when we rolled up.”

“Definitely, you’re one badass girl.” Scootaloo chuckled.

There was silence for a moment but then Sweetie coughed and spoke up. “So uh... That’s it?”

Scootaloo rubbed her neck. “Well, uh... I dunno, did you want that to be it?”

Sweetie Belle looked away bashfully. “Well, I went through the effort to get this car and all...”

Scootaloo knew where she was going with this. The two of them had felt the tension for some time. Instead of wasting words, the pink-haired girl scooted closer and placed a hand upon Sweetie Belle’s neck and pulled her closer. Sweetie Belle leaned into it and the two locked lips.

Both of them could feel the passion in the kiss, and it only intensified as time went on, before finally breaking for them to catch some air. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time...” Scootaloo admitted.

“What stopped you?” Sweetie panted lightly.

“I didn’t know if you liked me like that...” Scootaloo admitted.

“I like you more than that...” Sweetie admitted.

Biting her lip slightly, Scootaloo decided to take a chance. “Did you want to come inside?”

Sweetie was about to undo her seatbelt until she remembered her suspicion toward her sister earlier that week. She had promised herself that she would follow up on that suspicion after her night out with Scootaloo, and while the offer to go up to her room and passionately make love was tantalizing, she mustered up all her willpower to decline the offer.

“I’m sorry... I really really want to, but... I have something I have to do...” Sweetie frowned.

Scootaloo pulled away with a crestfallen look. “Oh...”

“It’s not because I don’t want to, trust me. Scootaloo, the next time I bring you home, you’ll have a hard time convincing me not to...” Sweetie smiled sweetly.

Scootaloo’s demeanor changed a bit. “It’s a date then.”

“Text me?” Sweetie fluttered her eyes.

As her lover stepped out of the car, she nodded and winked. “Definitely. Good night, Sweetie.”

“Good night, cutie.” Sweetie Belle winked.

Scootaloo laughed and nodded as she shut the door and approached her house. After she was past the front door, Sweetie looked down at her phone and pulled up an app.

She had placed a tracking device under Rarity’s car that she borrowed from Twilight’s friend Moondancer. It linked up with an app on her phone and was currently pinning Rarity’s car outside of the city limits, but stationary.

“She said she was going to be driving all night...” Sweetie thought out loud before turning the car back on and following the map on her phone.

The closer she got to the location, the more she started to notice was amiss. For starters, she couldn’t find any evidence of a client corresponding with Rarity, and Rarity hadn’t even packed her sketchbooks with her designs in them which was exceptionally odd for her when she met with a client. Something was amiss, and Sweetie Belle could not ignore it.

The effort to follow her took the girl a good forty-five minutes and put her near an old campsite on the other side of the city that led into old woods. Camp Everfree was in the opposite direction, so Rarity couldn’t have been visiting the old campsite for nostalgia’s sake

When Sweetie arrived at the parked car, she stopped her own car and stepped out carefully.

Rarity’s vehicle sat there unattended as Sweetie peaked in the windows. There was no Rarity to be found, but what was more strange is that none of her belongings had been removed from the car, even the girl’s cellphone sat upon the seat.

“That’s weird...” Sweetie commented.

Her sister always had her phone on her, and she would never leave all of her belongings in a car while she went “camping”. The fact that she left her things behind was a red flag to Sweetie Belle.

She checked the door and sure enough, it was even left unlocked, something Rarity rarely did.

Picking up her elder sister’s phone, she tried to check the messages only to find that the phone was unsurprisingly locked behind a passcode. Setting the device down, Sweetie looked for any explanation as to where her sister went, but no clues turned up.

It seemed even odder that she could see the outfit that her sister had worn the last time she saw her inside the car, thrown aside as if it were ripped off in haste. Could Rarity be having an affair? Why would she do it all the way out here? It didn’t make much sense to Sweetie, but she didn’t want to go making accusations unless she was certain.

***

Age 30

It had been over twenty years since Rarity had her entire life changed. More than two-thirds of her life now she had spent as a wolf, and had managed to keep it hidden from her wife, son, and now daughter, Candy.

It was grueling and difficult to keep the truth from her family, but Rarity had to, it was the only way to ensure their safety.

Axel’s brother Gear ran with Rarity and Axel that full moon. He had grown into a powerful wolf, tremendous in size, and his muscular build was growing more and more impressive with age. While Rarity still felt her precious Applejack was far more appealing to look at, she couldn’t deny that Gear could likely present a challenge for the strong woman in an arm-wrestling match.

When the moon ended, the group found themselves changing back into humans, right on schedule near Rarity’s vehicle. She quickly opened the door and retrieved her clothing and began to slide her panties back on only for a familiar whistle to be heard behind her. “Damn babe, that ass stays fine all the time doesn’t it?”

Rarity glanced over her shoulder as she finished getting her black panties on and already had her matching bra halfway on when she caught an eye full of Fang and his idiot friend, Chuck, both butt naked. Chuck wasn’t much to look at, but Fang’s physique was definitely what many women would call “desirable”, though his allure failed to work on Rarity anymore.

“It’s rude to stare, far ruder to stare at a married woman...” Rarity rolled her eyes.

He laughed and ignored her annoyance. “You know, I think you look sexier with that black hair...”

He was referring to the fact that she had dyed her hair black some time ago, and it had remained for some time. She had gone through a period where she cut her hair, but it had since grown back and now was longer than ever. Long midnight black hair that cascaded over her body with a few elegant curls decorating it. Applejack said it looked like the beautiful night sky.

Rarity started buttoning up a blouse upon her form and shook her head. “I wasn’t looking for your approval, Fang.”

“Oh right, you’re trying to impress those humans aren’t you?” Chuck questioned with a smirk plastered on his face; a smirk that made Rarity want to smack him.

“I detect jealousy, but I imagine with that little thing you don’t impress anyone, do you, Chuck?” Rarity pointed down toward his loin.

Instead of getting mad, he shook it left and right which made Rarity gag with disgust. “Don’t act like you don’t want it.”

“That’s three inches I could do without...” Rarity averted her eyes.

Fang had wandered over to his car and fetched their clothes, he tossed Chuck’s to him. Chuck caught the ball of clothes and both had begun to slide their jeans on while Rarity managed to get her skirt back on, Axel standing at her side now leaned up against her car, fully clothed.

“Axel, I can’t believe a proud wolf like you hangs around such a self-loathing canine-like her. Seriously, she’s wasting her time being with a human, our own kind could appreciate her far more...” Chuck changed the subject away from his penis.

Axel nodded in agreement. “Yeah, no doubt about it, you’re stupid, Rare.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I question why I bother associating with any of you...”

“Sorry, Rare, but you know I’m not going to pamper your asshole...” Axel shrugged.

“No offense, but I never got the impression that you would in the first place...” Rarity rolled her eyes once more at her longtime friend.

Axel ignited a cigarette and began inhaling and coughing before speaking. “Rare, humans suck, plain and simple. That’s why I turned when I was a kid. Reality is that I never fit in with them from the start, are you sure that you’re not the same?”

It was an odd question.

“You turned voluntarily, I didn’t. No matter how we slice it though, we’re all still partially human...” Rarity reminded.

Axel shook his head as his eyes met Fang’s across from him. It was as if he could read the man’s mind. “Are you sure about that, Rare? Once you’re one of us, humans generally don’t see you as even ‘partially’ one of them.”

She wanted to disagree, but centuries of humans hunting down their kind and shooting them in the head proved his point. Once a human knew what they were, their next plan was almost always to kill. Humans feared things stronger than themselves, or anything they felt was a threat to their way of life.

Instead, Rarity finished dressing and hopped into her car. Fang stepped closer and placed a hand upon her open window. Following his hand to meet his face with her eyes, Rarity could see how serious he seemed.

“Rare, humans are dangerous, you’re playing with fire and you know it...” Fang stated.

Rarity reached forward and removed his hand from her property before she began rolling the window up. Once it was all the way up, Rarity extended her middle finger to the both of them.

As she drove off, another car was parked not too far away, and its driver had hidden in the woods, amazed at what she had just witnessed. Wolves transforming themselves into humans, naked as the day they were born and then they all got dressed as if nothing had happened, and among that group, her own sister.

Sweetie Belle was shocked, to say the least.

***

Despite how strange it seemed, everything seemed to make sense. Rarity had been this way for a long time, that was the only explanation after all. It explained why she went away at least once a month, and why she kept secrets. Her entire life was starting to make sense to Sweetie Belle.

She had to know more, she couldn’t ignore it. When Applejack was out with the children going to see Twilight for a play date, Sweetie Belle made an excuse to go visit her sister, and sure enough, Rarity was seated at home on her porch sipping from a cup of tea. Her long jet black hair cascading her form so elegantly, but Sweetie knew that behind her crystal blue eyes was something else, something she couldn’t understand.

Approaching, the young woman stayed standing as she looked down at her elder sister sitting there. Rarity looked up from her cup and smiled at the younger sister. “Oh Sweetie, how are you, darling?”

“We need to talk...” Sweetie stated.

Sitting up a bit, Rarity blinked a few times before nodding. “Alright, what about?”

“What are you, Rarity?” Sweetie asked.

Rarity felt cold sweat run down her neck. “What do you mean?”

“I saw you the other night, down by that old abandoned campsite. With those other people...” Sweetie explained.

Damn it! How much did she see!? Rarity felt her heart rate grow exponentially.

“Oh?” Rarity feigned ignorance.

“You all were wolves and then... Human again... What are you?” Sweetie asked.

“Are you sure you’re not seeing things?” Rarity asked.

Sweetie shook her head. “I know what I saw. That wasn’t any kind of magic, it was something else altogether... What was it?”

Sighing, Rarity realized she was not in a good spot. The secret was out, and the more she tried to contain it, the more curious Sweetie would get. It made no sense to hide it any longer. Gritting her teeth, Rarity prepared to unload the darkest secret she had kept her entire life.

Rarity waved for the girl to sit down. Sweetie followed the command prompt and took a seat across from her sister and leaned onto the table to listen.

“Colloquially, we’re known as werewolves...” Rarity began.

“How long have you been a werewolf? Were you born one? Are mom and dad werewolves?” Sweetie leaned in.

“I’ve been one since I was ten, and no. Mother and father don’t even know, I’ve kept it a secret for over twenty years...” Rarity admitted.

Sweetie was in awe. “What about Applejack and the kids?”

“No. And I have no plans to tell them either...” Rarity shook her head.

“Don’t they deserve to know?” Sweetie asked.

Rarity banged her palm onto the table as she stood up. “Sweetie, you’re meddling with matters that you don’t understand! I haven’t told a soul because I’m trying to protect them! You have no idea what this is like... Please, do not say a word to anyone, I’m begging you.”

“Why not?” Sweetie asked.

“You’d be putting Applejack, the children, myself, and even yourself in danger. You’re not supposed to know, just forget everything, alright?” Rarity pleaded.

“I don’t understand though...” Sweetie frowned.

“Good! Keep it that way!” Rarity demanded before turning into the house and slamming the door behind her.

Sweetie felt sad at that moment. She had never felt more distant from her sister before.

***

A few weeks had passed and Rarity hadn’t heard from her sister. It was clear that Sweetie Belle didn’t take the recent discovery so well, and decided to stay away. Rarity surmised that perhaps she had managed to scare her into not getting anymore curious. It pained her to drive a wedge between herself and her sister, but it was how it had to be now. Now that Sweetie Belle was privy to her secret, their relationship could never be the same again.

Rarity found herself in an emotional roller coaster, and she hated it. From now on, she would have to worry about Sweetie getting too curious.

That worry was solidified when she got a phone call from Gear. The ordinarily quiet older man found himself somewhat chatty on that particular call.

“Rarity, what’s going on with Fang?” He asked over the phone.

Rarity sighed and adjusted a nail file in her hand and began to work on her toes. “I haven’t a clue, darling. I don’t really concern myself with him anymore, and it’s been that way since we broke up over a decade or so ago...”

“I mean have you been being friendly with him or something?” Gear questioned.

Rarity let out a laugh. “I take it you don’t notice how I speak to him. I haven’t been friendly with him since he killed those humans with his rubbish friend, Chuck. I thought I made my stance on all of that quite clear.”

“I’m asking because I’ve seen him hanging around your sister...” Gear said.

The fashionista felt her heart stop for just a second as she leaned forward and spoke up. “What did you just say?”

“I said that he’s been hanging around Sweetie Belle for the past few days, I thought it was strange so I figured I’d ask you about it,” Gear replied.

Damn it, Sweetie Belle! Rarity cursed internally, Sweetie Belle indeed got too curious.

“Damn it... Gear... She knows my secret...” Rarity stuttered to get out.

“She what!? Fuck, Rarity. That means she’s likely learning more from Fang... This is bad...” Gear said.

Rarity looked over at her calendar and noted the day. “Shit... I think I know what Fang is up to, and it’s far worse than I thought...”

“What?” Gear questioned.

Standing up, Rarity placed a well-manicured finger upon the date. “The full moon is tomorrow night, he’s going to try and turn her...”

“Shit, you have to do something, Rarity. My stupid kid brother is likely going to help him too; lately, those two are starting to think more and more alike,” Gear said.

“Okay, so I’ll try calling her. Give me a moment,” Rarity said before hanging up and dialing her sister’s number.

After a few rings, the call was sent to voice mail, but Rarity could tell it was deliberate. “Fuck!” She cursed out loud before calling Gear back.

“Gear, she’s avoiding me, what do we do?”

“Stay calm, but we have to stop the ritual. Knowing Fang, he is going to lure her somewhere where he can be sure she won’t resist. We’ll sniff him out and stop it before the moon rises. I have a strong feeling he’s going to do it near our hunting grounds,” Gear explained.

Rarity nodded and tried to control her rushed breath. “Right, okay...”

***

Night was approaching and Rarity and Gear both arrived at the old hunting grounds early to try and find Fang and her sister. Once the two stepped out of their cars, they both nodded at each other and set up their attack plan. “I’ll head this way, you go the opposite. Smell until you find them and call me if you find them first.”

Gear nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Wasting no more time, the two bolted in opposite directions with their noses in the air, sniffing for any familiar scents.

It wasn’t long before Rarity was certain that she could smell the perfume that she had gifted Sweetie Belle last Christmas. It had a distinct aroma, that she was certain few others had. As she ran closer toward it, she could smell Fang’s usual scent. It was a scent that at one point excited her, now it just brought her disgust and annoyance.

She drew closer and closer and was certain that Chuck was with them, as she could now smell his odor.

A few more hundred feet of running and she came to a clearing in the forest and sure enough, there near a fire was Fang, Chuck and Sweetie Belle with her sleeve rolled up. She blinked as she saw Rarity approach.

“Let her go, Fang!” Rarity warned.

Fang laughed. “I don’t have her against her will... She wants to do this...”

Rarity blinked and glanced over at Sweetie. “Is that true?”

Sweetie nodded. “I want to be like you, sis...”

Rarity shook her head. “No, you don’t, trust me. No one wants this, Sweetie Belle! Please don’t do this! I won’t let you!”

Sweetie was about to open her mouth to respond when Chuck spoke up. “Why not let the girl decide for herself? She’s a big girl after all.”

“I have had enough of you, Chuck. Why don’t you shut up and stay out of all of this?” Rarity hissed.

Chuck just rolled his eyes. “Whatever, you can’t stop us anyway.”

Rarity retrieved a revolver from her bag before setting her bag on the ground. She pointed it directly at Chuck. “Are you sure about that?”

Chuck laughed. “What’re you gonna do? Kill us? Have you forgotten that we can heal from bullets pretty fast, it’s gonna take a lot more than 6 bullets to kill us both.”

“If you bite her, she only has a tiny chance of living. You and I both know that the change kills most people, so you bite her then you’re killing my sister, and thus you are a dead man walking to me...” Rarity threatened.

Grinning, Chuck took a step closer to Sweetie Belle. “You don’t have the balls...”

With those words, Rarity pulled the trigger and fired. The bullet hit Chuck right below the shoulder, but the damage was far greater than he anticipated. Pain shot through his entire body as he screamed gripping the wound. His face contorted into one of pure agony as he got down on his knees and began hacking up blood.

Fang recognized the type of pain his friend was in immediately and then gave Rarity the evil eye. “Silver bullets? You would be so cowardly to use silver against your own kind...?”

“We’re not the same, you and I,” Rarity said as the gun now pointed at Fang. “You see yourself as this superior creature, but all you really are is a monster. I’m not putting down my own kind, I’m putting down a monster, something I should have done when you killed those humans.”

“The moon is rising, why not take me down with some pride? Tooth and claw at least would make you more of a wolf!” He beckoned.

Nodding, Rarity tossed the gun aside and began to remove her clothing.

He laughed and did the same.

The two began to circle each other as they changed into their wolf forms when the moon rose into the sky. The change was quick but mighty as two impressive wolves circled each other with their fangs bared.

Fang had an obvious size advantage, but Rarity wasn’t backing down as she growled. “I should have ripped your throat out a long time ago... You’re out of control...”

“You’re just weak and soft...” Fang shook his head before pouncing toward her.

Rarity attempted to dodge the attack, but he managed to knock her down and take a few snaps at her neck, which she managed to narrowly avoid. His mighty jaw snapped and grasped for her, but she managed to push him off of her and take a few snaps back at him, nipping his ear as she did.

A small trail of blood flew from the new puncture, and Rarity took advantage of the confusion to snap at him again. Her teeth grabbed onto the side of his thick neck and bite down, but before they could make a complete connection with the skin, he violently jerked his head and flung her off. Swinging his claw, he got her in the shoulder, leaving a series of three scratches.

Rarity growled and barked with her teeth dripping with blood. He laughed as he showed off his pearly whites back at her. “What’re you going to do, Rarity? Kill me?”

“It looks like you’re giving me no choice, Fang... This has been a long time coming...” Rarity replied.

The two clashed once more trying to tackle each other and gain dominance, but something caught Rarity’s eye as Fang pinned her down.

Axel had arrived and she was certain that he would join Fang, but instead, he quickly scooped up the revolver in his maw and tossed it to Sweetie Belle. “Use it!” He shouted.

She hesitated for only a second, but when Sweetie saw her sister in danger, she aimed carefully and pulled the trigger.

The silver bullet flew and pierced Fang’s shoulder causing him to groan in pain and scream. Taking advantage of the moment, Rarity flipped him over and dug her teeth down into his neck and yanked. With a few quick motions, she tore his throat out, blood spurting everywhere as she panted carefully. Blood soaked her brilliant white coat as Fang’s body ceased movement.

The wolf stepped off of him and sat down panting. Fang was dead.

Sweetie Belle lowered the gun and Axel approached the white wolf. Rarity glanced at him and a small grin came to her maw. “I would have guessed you’d side with Fang...”

Axel shook his head. “Even if Fang had good points about humans, my loyalty has always been with you.”

Rarity nodded and tapped her paw against his cheek. “Thank you, Axel... You saved my life.”

“Don’t thank me, Sweetie Belle was the one that made the shot.” Axel smirked.

Looking over at her younger sister, Rarity nodded and gestured for her to follow her. “Axel, can you get the pack and explain what happened? I don’t want Sweetie Belle here when they show up...”

Axel nodded at her. “No worries, Gear, and I will take care of it. Get out of here and get yourself cleaned up.”

Sweetie Belle gulped and nodded as she followed the blood-soaked white wolf. Her hand still gripped the gun tightly as the two wandered away. There was silence for a few moments before Rarity spoke up. “You saved my life.”

“I didn’t want you to get hurt...” Sweetie admitted.

“Well, thank you; but why were you doing this in the first place? What is wrong with you?” Rarity scolded as she turned around and sat down, her tail wagging as she watched her sister.

Sweetie Belle frowned and looked down. “I wanted to be like you... I wanted you to know that someone could understand you...”

Rarity sighed and shook her head. “No one should want to be like me, Sweetie Belle. You don’t want this for yourself, trust me. Not to mention you would be lucky to even survive the turn. Remember how sick I got? I almost died, you could have as well.”

Sweetie Belle nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks. “What will you do now?”

Rarity tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Well now that I know... Are you going to tell Applejack?” Sweetie questioned.

Rarity just shook her head. “No.”

Blinking, Sweetie Belle squatted down to be at eye level with her sister. “But why? They deserve to know the truth!”

“Sweetie Belle, if this taught you anything, it should be that knowing something like this is dangerous. No one else can ever know, I have to carry this secret to the grave. If keeping it from my family is protecting them, then it’s what I must do...” Rarity explained.

“Are you worried that they would turn on you?” Sweetie asked.

Rarity admitted it out loud. “Yes.”

“Applejack wouldn’t do that!” Sweetie protested.

“She’s human, Sweetie Belle. Humans are prone to do dumb things when they don’t understand things. Look at what you did, for example, I would never want Applejack to do something so foolish. Even if she didn’t turn on me, I fear she would try to become like me just as you did... Keeping this from her will protect her from the life that I am forced to live...” Rarity sighed.

“Being a wolf is part of who you are though! She should know!” Sweetie said.

A smile came to Rarity as she chuckled. “Yes, it is a part of who I am, but it is not all of who I am. While Rarity Apple is a wolf, she is also a human, and she’s a human far more than she’s a wolf and that’s what matters. Now let’s go get some rest.”

***

Rarity’s eyes opened as she found herself completely naked but covered with her sister’s jacket as they sat in her car. Her sister was seated up front still sleeping. They had crashed there for the remainder of the night and Rarity placed a hand on her scratched shoulder. It had already begun to heal but was yet another wound she would have to make up a story for.

Sitting up, she began to retrieve her underwear and slide them onto her form. Once she had her panties and bra back on, Rarity retrieved her phone from the pocket on her shorts before sliding them on and slipping her button-up shirt over her form.

Dialing the phone she stepped out of the car and began buttoning up her shirt before returning to the driver’s seat. She would have to drive out to get Sweetie back to her own car for sure, but she could let the girl sleep a little longer.

Speaking quietly on the phone, Rarity spoke to Applejack. “Hey sugar, how was your trip?”

“It was alright, the client had a dog and I got scratched, but I’ll be alright, darling.”

“Shucks, y’all need to be more careful.” Applejack scolded.

“Yes, yes, dear, I know.” Rarity giggled.

“Anythin’ else happen?” Applejack asked.

Rarity looked over at her sleeping sister and considered all that they had just been through. She had already washed the blood off of her body and Axel had explained everything to the pack. The two of them had had quite the adventure, that was for sure.

“No, nothing of interest anyway.” Rarity smiled.

“See ya soon then?”

“Of course, darling.” Rarity nodded before hanging up.

Placing her hand upon the clutch, she started the car, ready to go home.

Author's Note

I'm not AS proud of this as I could be, but it took a long time to finish. I'm glad that you all get a peek into this part of the ShadowsVerse and that I got to explore other characters. :)