Two days later, Sunset and Arianna waited outside the Rainbooms’ music store, awaiting the arrival of Doc and Diane. After some more monitoring, Doc had left Sunset a voicemail that Diane was ready to be released, and Sunset wanted Diane to feel like she was coming home to a party.

“Bet ya can’t guess who Rarity’s been seeing lately,” Arianna said.

“If it’s not someone from the Rainbooms or the Melodias,” Sunset responded, “I’m not sure I care.”

Arianna ignored the comment. “Some hipster named Trevor. I guess he’s some kind of influencer.”

Sunset sighed. “Who isn’t an influencer these days?” she lamented. “The media considers having a few hundred followers makes you popular enough to change enough of the overall public opinion of something. It’s just way cheaper than getting someone who’s actually important enough to make a difference.”

Arianna looked at Sunset. “Hell, we’re more influential than most social media influencers. We just don’t shout it from the fucking rooftops like dumbasses.”

Soon a car pulled up, and Arianna and Sunset saw Diane’s distinctive curly hair through the car’s window. Doc stepped out and made his way around the car, opening the passenger door to let Diane out.

“Welcome home, Pinkie,” Sunset said, helping her out of the car.

“Thanks,” Diane said, standing on the curb. There was a moment of silence.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Diane said. “I feel more like myself, but also not at all like myself.”

“That’s a common side effect of new medication,” Doc said. He reached into the car and pulled out a bag. “Here’s her medication. Instructions are on the bottle. Text me if anything changes.”

“We will,” Sunset said, and ushered Diane through the store to the back offices. “Are you hungry?” Diane shook her head. “Thirsty?” Diane nodded. Sunset called out to some associates to bring some water to the conference room, and brought Diane there. “We’ll update you in here with what happened since you’ve been gone.” Arianna tapped Sunset on her shoulder and nodded her head to the side. “We’ll be out here.” Sunset closed the door and turned to Arianna.

“She’s so different than what she was like a few weeks ago,” Arianna said. “How is this going to change things?”

“In theory, it won’t change things than what the last couple weeks have been,” Sunset answered. “Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ve gotten too complacent with relying on her luckiness, and what Pinkie did was the kick in the ass I needed to get back on track.”

“Sunset, she’s our friend!” Arianna said, lowering her voice so she could use her real name. “We’ve still got to support her no matter what!”

“Dash, she went through a traumatic experience. Supporting her means being more delicate now so she doesn’t snap again. The hell of going through what she went through is only made worse by not being allowed to heal from it in the first place.”

“Sofia, the Rainbooms have been responsible for a ton of murders, some just as gruesome as what Pinkie did.”

“I’m speaking from personal experience,” Sunset retorted. “Well, sort of. It’s the personal experiences of my former mentor. She went through a lot of traumatic experiences before I was even born.”

Arianna sighed. “Fuck. Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

“Arianna, I’m thinking of the future of our gang.” Sunset pointed a finger to Arianna’s heart. “Your gang. I’ve been thinking a lot about where I came from recently, and to be honest, I’m not sure if I’ll decide to go back when I get the chance, but until then I want to make sure the Rainbooms are successful without me, and I also think you’ve gotten better at running things.”

“You really mean that?”

“I do. If there’s anyone here I trust to take over for me, it’s you.”

Arianna smiled. “Thanks, Sofia.”

An associate arrived with a pitcher of water and some glasses on a tray.

“Now come on. Pinkie’s waiting for us.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Applejack had just spent the day supervising the Rainboom associates and delegating tasks, and was looking forward to a short break in her office. She closed the door behind her and sat in her chair, resting her feet on her desk as she leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes.

There was a knock on her door, and she opened her eyes. She groaned and got up to open the door, seeing Felicity there.

“Howdy, Felicity,” she said. “What can I do ya fer?”

“I’ve never heard you speak like that,” Felicity said softly. “Is that your natural accent?”

“Yup. I get taken more seriously when I hide it from most of our associates.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Yup. Anyway, how can I help you?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk in the park or something. I've barely left this building since I arrived, and I miss seeing nature.”

“You know what? That sounds like a great idea. I was about to take a break anyway.”

Applejack stepped outside her office and locked it behind her. Felicity followed her toward the music store until they stopped at Sofia’s door, which Applejack knocked on. Sofia looked up.

“I’m escorting Felicity to the park. She’s been cooped up in here for a while and hasn’t seen the outside world.”

“Oh, damn,” Sofia said and covered her mouth. “I can’t believe I forgot about that. Definitely, go ahead.”

Felicity thanked her and followed Applejack out onto the street. Felicity took a deep breath and smiled. They walked in silence for a minute before Applejack started talking.

“You don’t need to worry, Felicity,” she said. “Though I didn’t bring a weapon this time, I’m still able to help defend you if anyone were to attack us. Not that they would, if they knew who I was.”

“What if they don’t know who you are?”

“Then they’d better learn quick once they try to start somethin’.” They approached a park close to the high school. Applejack’s mind wandered as they began walking down a path. Felicity stopped at every tree, looking into the branches to look at the birds and critters living among the branches. When they came to a bridge, Applejack stopped in the middle and leaned against the railing, looking out at the pond. Felicity nearly passed her but joined her on the bridge.

They stood looking at the animals in and around the pond for some time before Felicity broke the silence.

“Do you have any family?”

Applejack looked at her, then back at the pond. She’d been so busy the last couple years with her work, she hadn’t had much opportunity to think about her family. “Yup. Granny, older brother, and younger sister, plus dozens of relatives all across the country.”

“Do they know what you do for a living?”

Applejack shook her head. “Nope. Mack might’ve figured it out at some point, but has never said anything to me. He always was smarter than he seems. My little sister April has no idea, though. She’d run her mouth if she did.”

“And your grandmother?”

“I can’t bring myself to say anything to her, nor to lie to her about it, so I always find a way to avoid the topic.”

“What about your parents?”

“They died not long after April was born.”

“Gang violence?” Felicity asked.

“Nope,” Applejack simply stated. “Car accident during the winter before I joined the Rainbooms, so it couldn’t have been. Their car slipped on some ice and they died of hypothermia after they were pulled from the wreck. Sometimes, bad things just happen.”

“Why did you join the Rainbooms?”

Applejack looked at her, an eyebrow raised. “Why all the questions?” she asked, making Felicity shy away. “Shoot. Didn’t mean it like I was mad at you.”

“It’s okay,” Felicity replied.

“I was friends with Arianna for a while before joining, and after a while I guess it just seemed the natural thing to do. I suppose that might not make sense to you, seeing that being in a gang was how your brother died, and why it took fifteen years to come back.” Felicity thought for a moment. “Why did you come back to Canterlot if you left because of what happened to him?”

Felicity pulled her arms into her body and looked away.

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Shoot, now I’m the one pryin’,” Applejack realized. “I’m sorry about that. It’s not my place to know, and I shouldn’t have asked.” Felicity thanked her. “Anyway, shall we keep walking?”

Felicity looked out at the pond again, then looked around the rest of the park. “It’s okay,” she replied. “We can go back to the music store now.”

Applejack nodded and led Felicity back to the music store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diane sat at her kitchen table, a bowl of cereal sitting in front of her. The jug of milk was also sitting beside her. She stared at the cereal getting soggier as it steeped in the milk.

“Oh yeah, a spoon.”

She leaned over and pulled a drawer open beside her, pulling out a spoon as she began to eat her cereal. She finished eating and drank the rest of the milk out of the bowl.

Doc had told her that short bouts of forgetfulness were a known side effect of the medication she was taking, but Pinkie was no stranger to forgetting some things. She’d forgotten things many times since she was a little girl, but she had to admit that the medication seemed to make them longer and more frequent. She put the dishes in the sink and walked to her bedroom.

She paused at her door and listened around her. She thought she’d heard something again, something like a low buzzing sound, but as she listened for it, she couldn’t hear it again. Just like all the other times since she had returned from the hospital.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and speed-dialed Doc.

“Good morning, Pinkie,” Doc said through the phone. “How can I help you?”

“Are hallucinations a side effect of my medication?”

“Not as far as I know,” he replied. “The side effects listed on the label of the medication list all the known side effects, but it may not include very rare side effects that people taking the medication haven’t experienced yet. Have you been seeing things?”

“No, I haven’t been seeing things,” Pinkie replied. “I think I might be hearing things, a buzzing sound sometimes when I’m in my bedroom.”

“Only in your bedroom?”

“Mhm. I haven’t heard it anywhere else.”

“Then perhaps it’s not a hallucination. If the sound is localized to your bedroom, it may be some kind of insect in the walls, or a light bulb. When I was a teenager I discovered I could hear a buzzing from some fluorescent light bulbs. I thought it was the sound of photons hitting the glass of the bulb, but as it turns out it was because they were attached to dimmer switches.”

“I don’t have any dimmer switches in my apartment,” Pinkie said.

“Then the most likely culprit is insects,” Doc replied. “I would recommend calling a pest control company to come check it out.”

“Thanks, Doc,” she said and ended the call. She switched to an internet browser app to look up pest control companies, and called the number for one of them. The phone rang twice before someone picked up.

“Canterlot Pest Control, this is Jessica. How can I help you?”

“Hello, my name is Diane. I’ve been hearing a buzzing sound when I’m in my bedroom, and I think I might have bees or wasps in my walls. Can you send someone out to check?”

“Certainly. What’s your address?”

Pinkie told Jessica her address and set up an appointment for the next day. After ending the call, Pinkie walked around her room with her ear to the wall, listening for where the buzzing was loudest. She heard the most buzzing and crawling of little insect legs near one of the room’s corners by the window, and made a note to tell the exterminator at the apartment the next day.

Pinkie took her purse off the hook by the front door and placed it around her shoulder, stepping outside and walking to the nearest bus stop a block and a half away. She hummed a tune to herself while she waited for the bus to arrive. Eventually it did and she stepped inside, dropped change in the machine, and took her ticket from it. She made her way to the back seat and sat down, putting her earbuds into her ears, and started playing music through her phone.

She looked out the window, closing her eyes and letting her mind wander. She wasn’t aware of how much time had passed before she opened her eyes and saw Canterlot High School through the window. She smiled at the reminder that the medication had not taken away her luckiness after all, and stood up before making her way to the door of the bus.

Pinkie stepped off the bus when the bus door had opened and began walking toward the music store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunset sat in a comfortable chair in the corner of her office before the music store was to open, reading a Xanth novel in the light of a floor lamp. She had just finished a chapter when she heard the staff door open and saw Diane pass in front of her door.

“Morning, Pink.”

“Morning, Sofia.”

“How are you feeling today?” Sofia asked, holding her finger inside the book to keep her place as she closed the cover.

“I’m all right. I heard a noise in my bedroom earlier that might be bees, so I called an exterminator to come check it out tomorrow.”

“Bees?” Sunset asked. “That’s not good.”

“Nope. On the plus side, I think I’m starting to be lucky again. I closed my eyes when I got on the bus and when I opened them again the bus was approaching the stop a couple blocks away.”

Sunset smiled. “That’s good to hear. Ready to help customers?” Since Diane’s return, Sunset had limited her duties to store-related duties such as dealing with customers and making sure each display instrument was properly tuned and dusted.

Diane gave Sunset a sly look. “Is anyone ever ready to deal with customers.”

“Fair point,” Sunset replied. She took out her phone and looked at the time. “I’d better start opening up.”

Sunset placed a bookmark between the pages she had her finger and set the book down to stand up. She went over to the store’s safe and opened it, pulling out the register drawers, and made her way into the store. Setting one drawer by each register, she began counting the change in each, recording the quantities of each value of currency into the point-of-sale system. Once all the money was counted and the drawers were locked, she unlocked the front door.

Sunset walked over to the guitars, taking a teal Gibson Flying V off the rack and began strumming as she waited for customers to arrive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pinkie stepped off the bus and started walking toward her house. She stuck her key in the door and turned it, but it turned too easily. Pinkie suddenly became more alert and stepped into the front entryway of her house, quietly closing the door behind her as she pulled a machete out of a nearby hiding spot. She carefully made her way through the living room toward the kitchen, holding the machete in front of her but finding no intruder, and so she made her way up the staircase.

The door to her bedroom was closed, but Pinkie almost never closed her bedroom door when she wasn’t home, so she knew something was amiss. As she approached the door she heard a buzzing noise, much louder than the buzzing she usually heard since she could hear it from the second floor hallway.

“That can’t be good.”

She turned the doorknob to her room and opened it slightly. She touched the tip of the machete against the door and slowly pushed it open, and she gasped and stepped back when she saw what was inside.

In the corner where just that morning she had heard buzzing through the wall, there was now a large hole where someone had pulled off the drywall to reveal a sizeable hornet nest between the studs. Her bedroom had a swarm of hornets flying around, and now that the door was open, she would have to get into harm’s way in order to close it.

“Shit,” Pinkie whispered and stepped into the bathroom, where she got out her phone and called Sofia. “Come on, Sofia, pick up…”

“What’s up, Pinkie?” Sofia asked over the phone. “Did you forget something at the music store.”

“No, there’s a different kind of emergency,” Pinkie replied. “There are hornets in my bedroom.”

There was a pause. “Not that I don’t believe you, Pink, but I have to ask. Could they be hallucinations, like a side effect from the medication Doc gave you?”

“Nope. He said hallucinations weren’t a known symptom of my medication.”

“All right, so we’ll assume the hornets are real. Are they contained?”

“No, I had to open the door to see what was going on.” Pinkie peeked out of the bathroom door toward her bedroom, seeing some hornets exploring the part of the hallway in front of her bedroom. “And they’re escaping into the hallway.”

“Shit,” Sofia said. “You’re allergic, aren’t you?”

“Mhm. If I get too close they’ll attack me, and I don’t have an epinephrine autoinjector to counteract the venom in time.”

“Okay, get out of the house and we’ll send someone over to help.”

Pinkie saw the swarm spreading through the hallway. “Please hurry,” she said, and ended the call. She left the bathroom and hurried down the stairs again. Some hornets noticed her and followed her. She reached the door, turned the knob, and unsuccessfully tried to pull the door open. She pushed her foot against the doorframe and pulled as hard as she could, but again, she was unsuccessful.

“Ouch!” she cried out, feeling one of the hornets sting her and she slapped at it. She looked through a nearby window and saw a tall, muscular man outside holding the door closed. “Fuck, it was a trap!” Pinkie turned around to face the growing swarm, and then took her phone out again. She did her best to ignore the stings as she sent a simple text to Sofia:

IT’S A TRAP!!!

Pinkie dropped her phone and wielded the machete and swung it around, knowing she wouldn’t survive but determined to try to kill as many hornets as she could before her body succumbed to the venom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After seeing Diane’s text, Sunset put on her dual shoulder holster with a Makarov in one holster and a Walther PPK in the other, then jumped into her car and sped toward Pinkie’s house. She didn’t care if it was a trap, she had to go help Diane any way she could.

When she got to Diane’s house, Sunset stepped out of her car and hurried to the door. When she grabbed the door knob, she thought that it felt a little deformed. She put one hand under her jacket, wrapping her hand around one of the pistols, and looked around. She saw nobody.

Sunset looked through a nearby window and saw Diane’s body on the floor, unmoving and covered in a swarm of hornets.

“Shit, Pinkie.” Sunset rested her forehead against the window. “We just got you back.”

Author's Note

The chapter title translates to "Death is near by." It's the second part of an old Calabrian saying that means "by the time you're financially secure, death is near by."