7 Days in Heaven

The rain pounded hard against the windshield. The monotonous drone of the engine, the constant whine of the windshield wipers, and the whistling wind gave Rarity a sleepy feeling. She shook her head. She had to stay awake. Her friend would be here soon. She had waited a long time to see her. Now was not the time to start napping. Still, she couldn't really help herself. White noise always made her drift off. When she had been a little girl, nothing had put her to sleep faster then a drive at night. It was getting dark out now. She closed her eyes, and thought back to when she was small. The world had seemed so much bigger then.

There was a tap against the window. The world snapped back into focus, and Rarity jumped up. She turned to look outside. The figure was obscured in the rain, but even so it was easy to see who it was. The bright yellow dress. The pink hair. Rarity felt a smile form on her face as she unlocked the car door. The door swung open, and the yellow and pink girl stepped inside. She was soaked and shivering. "Oh you poor thing," Rarity said. "You must be freezing."

"I am a little cold," Fluttershy said. Rarity turned on the heater, and Fluttershy sighed in relief. "Thanks," she said gratefully.

"No problem," said Rarity.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," said Fluttershy. "I hurried as fast as I could."

"Of course you didn't dear," said Rarity. "Besides, I'd have waited forever to see you again." At that, Rarity blushed. She realized before it had even left her mouth how that must have sounded. Fluttershy seemed to have noticed as well. The pink haired girl blushed, and stared down at her lap.

"A little fast, isn't it? We only just met," giggled Fluttershy. Rarity laughed back.

"You know me. I can't help myself," said Rarity. The girls shared another laugh, and settled into the warmth of the puttering car.

"So how are things?" asked Fluttershy.

"To be honest..." Rarity trailed off. She put a finger under her chin, and scrunched up her brow. "A lot different." She leaned back in her seat, and folded her arms across her chest. Fluttershy recognized this gesture. Her friend was deep in thought. "I'm not sure how exactly. But things just seem different. It's subtle, but it's always there."

"Sort of a lonely feeling?" asked Fluttershy. Rarity nodded.

"Exactly. Loneliness, jealousy," said Rarity. "It's not all consuming or anything like that. But when I'm by myself I feel it. When I'm by myself, I turn around and expect to see someone there. When I'm in my bed, I try to snuggle up against something that doesn't exist." Rarity sighed. "It's very strange. I guess I'm just an unusual person."

"If you are, so am I," said Fluttershy. "Because I feel the same thing. I can actually hear him talk sometimes." Fluttershy laughed aloud at this thought, but it was a hollow laugh. She ran her fingers through her pink hair. "And I dream about him. That's the worst. Because I feel like he's actually there. I can hear him talking to me. I can see him. I can..." Fluttershy gulped. "I can feel him touching me. And then I wake up. I realize that it was all a dream. Sometimes I cry." Fluttershy turned to Rarity. "Isn't that silly?"

"Not at all," said Rarity. "I don't dream about him, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard. But I think about him a lot. Sometimes I even get the urge to call him."

"Why don't you?" asked Fluttershy. "I call him all the time."

"Because I'm not as strong as you," said Rarity with a sigh. "Because I know he's happy. And I get horrified when I think of what I might do to him. I run through all the scenarios in my head, and all of them end up in heartbreak for one of us. A few end up in heartbreak for both of us. It's just not a good idea."

"So you're just cutting him and Dash out of your life?" Fluttershy demanded. Rarity stared at Fluttershy. She rarely raised her voice. When she did, it meant business. Fluttershy stared back at Rarity, a grim expression on her face.

"I don't know what other choice I have," said Rarity. "If I was a stronger person, then I could keep them around. But I'm just not."

"You are strong enough Rarity," said Fluttershy. "I know you are. You just..." Fluttershy bit her lip. "Never mind."

"What?" asked Rarity. "If you have something to say, say it!"

"No," said Fluttershy. "It wouldn't do anything but make us both upset." Fluttershy put a hand on Rarity's shoulder. "It is a conversation we should have. But not right now. For now, I just want to enjoy your company." Fluttershy smiled, but Rarity still looked perturbed. The silence grew tense, and Fluttershy's smile began to falter. After a few seconds, Rarity finally hitched a sigh.

"I guess you're right. No sense ruining the nigh before it's even gotten started," Rarity said.

"Right," said Fluttershy.

"All right, let's get out of here," said Rarity. She put the car in gear, and pushed on the accelerator. The car moved slowly forward, tentatively moving into the street. The two friends did not talk. The only noise was the continual swish of the windshield wipers, and the patter of the rain. Rarity did her best not to sigh. She hated this. Ever since the cabin, things had always gone like this. No matter where they started, they always ended up here. They were swallowed up by it. When it had first ended, Rarity thought it would be a blessing. There was a sort of relief at first. The continual tension that had permeated the six girls' friendship had dissipated. Sort of like a backed up pipe getting cleared, and flowing freely. But as the weeks went by it became clear that the tension had not been resolved at all. Questions still hung in the air. The pain had not faded. The injuries had not been tended. Old wounds festered, and new wounds bled freely. The pipe had not been cleared, it had burst. And now things had gone from tense to awkward. As she had said to Fluttershy, she couldn't even talk to Dash (or Rainbow, as she was going by these days.) Applejack was constantly working. Pinkie was always out clubbing. Twilight had thrown herself into research. Rarity knew it was normal for friends to drift, but not like this. The girls always tried to get together, but most of the time they found excuses not to see each other. And when they did get together, it was like this. Sitting in silence. Going to some restaurant to reminisce about high school, or going shopping or something inane like that. It was fun, but it had no real substance. Sometimes the topic of the cabin would be tentatively broached, but it would inevitably dissipate. Once it did, it would not be brought up for the rest of the night. The cabin had been an attempt to repair damaged relationships. It had the opposite effect. It didn't repair anything. It created a new relationship, and damaged the rest. Rarity turned to look at Fluttershy. The pink haired was lost in thought, staring out the window. As she did, she absentmindedly twirled her hair and chewed on her lip. Rarity wondered what she might be thinking about. Likely the same thing she was. The one thing that consumed her. The one thing that kept her awake at night. It was at that moment that something clicked. Something had to be done. Rarity pulled off the main road, onto a smaller side street. Fluttershy awoke from her absentminded wanderings. She looked around, clearly confused.

"Um, Rarity, I think you're going the wrong way," Fluttershy said. Rarity pulled the car over, and put it in park. She turned off the windshield wipers, and turned to face Fluttershy.

"We need to talk about this now," Rarity insisted. "No more fucking around." Fluttershy suppressed a gasp of surprise. She had never heard Rarity curse before. "We need to talk about what happened at the cabin. And not just us two. All of us. Applejack, Pinkie, Twilight. We even need to get Dash in on it."

"What about-"

"No, not him," said Rarity. "He's the cause of all this. If he's there, we'll never fix this."

"Fix what?" Fluttershy asked.

"Us." Rarity reached over Fluttershy's lap, and pulled open the glove compartment. She pulled out a manilla envelope, and reached inside. She pulled out a picture. Her and Fluttershy stared down at it. It was a picture of the six girls. Fluttershy. Rarity. Pinkie Pie. Applejack. Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash. Both girls remembered that day vividly. The six of them had all gone shopping. On a whim, Pinkie had pulled out her camera. She set it to automatically take a picture, and the girls had scrambled into position. The goofy look on the girls faces filled Fluttershy with fondness. She looked at Rarity, and was shocked to see her expression had hardened. "He brought us together. I can't deny that. But he did not keep us together. We still stayed with each other after he left. We stayed because we cared about each other. It started with him, but it shouldn't end with him." Rarity looked up at Fluttershy. "It shouldn't end at all. But look at me. I can't even call Dash. And I see the way you look when you talk about her. You don't notice, but I do."

"I guess... I guess I am a little jealous," Fluttershy admitted.

"I know. What did he see in her that he didn't see in me?" Rarity asked.

"Or me," Fluttershy said.

"I hate him a little, to be honest," Rarity said. Fluttershy looked affronted. "Don't give me that look. Don't you wish sometimes that you had never met him? That you could just live your life?" Fluttershy's expression softened, and Rarity knew she understood. "I've gotten over every other man I've felt something for. Every other man that I've... I've been with. But I can't get over him. And I wasn't even with him."

"He was something special," said Fluttershy. "I guess..." she gulped. "I guess I hate him a little as well," she finally whispered.

"We shouldn't though. We shouldn't hate him. And we shouldn't resent Dash," said Rarity.

"But we can't help how we feel," said Fluttershy.

"Maybe not. But I think we can change how we feel." Rarity put the picture back in the envelope, tossed it in the glove compartment, and shut it. "There's no denying something happened up at that cabin. Something powerful. That sort of thing happens when friends get together, I think. Sometimes it's good, but sometimes it's not. No one ever says that though. Everyone wants to pretend every story has a happy ending. That every time friends get together, it's fun and wonderful. But sometimes the demons come out. And that's what happened to us. The demons came out. And now we can all hardly stand each other."

"I don't think it's that bad," said Fluttershy.

"Isn't it? How many times did we put this off?" asked Rarity. Fluttershy scratched the back of her head. "Six. Six times. We haven't seen each other in two months. We used to see each other every day Fluttershy. And now..." The two were again bathed in silence. The rain continued to fall, and the wipers continued to whine.

"So what's the next step?" asked Fluttershy.

"We get back together. This time, without him," answered Rarity.

"And then what?" asked Fluttershy.

"Wing it, I guess," said Rarity. "That's what we did at the cabin. We just kind of went up there, and let what happened happen. That's what we'll do this time."

"Do you think it'll work? That things will get better?" asked Fluttershy.

"I don't know," admitted Rarity. "Maybe. Maybe not. But are you happy living like this? Happy not having friends? Happy having a damn hole in your heart?" Fluttershy shook her head. "Then we have to change things. And we have to do it fast."

"Why? What's the rush?" asked Fluttershy.

"Because friendships fade. If we don't do it now, we'll wake up in ten years and it'll all just be a memory. A sad memory. And I don't want that," said Rarity.

"Neither do I," said Fluttershy.

And so it began again.

~

"Will someone get the phone!" shouted Applejack.

"Hold your horses girl!" yelled Applebloom. The little redhead sprinted over to the phone, and picked up the receiver. "Apple residence, Applebloom speaking." Applejack pounded at a pie crust, smacking it with a rolling pin. She didn't know where Mac got this stuff, but it was hard as a rock. She made a mental note to kick his butt for it later. "It's for you Jack," said Applebloom. Applejack gave the crust a final smack, and set down the pin. She brushed her hands off on her apron, and walked over to her sister.

"Thanks," she said, taking the receiver from her sister. "Applejack here."

"Applejack? It's Rarity." Applejack nearly dropped the phone.

"Rarity! Why, we haven't talked since..." Applejack was shocked. She honestly couldn't remember the last time they had talked.

"It's been a while," said Rarity.

"Yeah, It sure has," said Applejack. "What's up?"

"We're getting the girls back together," said Rarity. Applejack felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Oh, we are, are we? Pulling another cabin?" asked Applejack.

"No. The cabin was about him. This is about the girls," said Rarity.

"Well, I don't know. I'm pretty busy these days-"

"Applejack, please!" Rarity pleaded. The tone in her voice was one of desperation. "We need this. All of us do. We can't just drift apart." Applejack groaned, and rubbed at her temple.

"When is it?" Applejack asked.

"Next weekend, at my parents old place," said Rarity. "Please tell me you'll be there." Applejack looked around at her house. It was getting a little dilapidated. She could spend next weekend fixing it up.

"I'll be there," said Applejack. She did a mental double take. It had been like another person was talking through her.

"Great! I'll e-mail you the address. Don't be late!" said Rarity. Before Applejack could retort, the line clicked off. The dial tone rung in Applejack's ear. She put the phone back in the cradle, and massaged her forehead.

"What was that all about?" asked Applebloom.

"Mind your damn business girl," Applejack muttered. She walked over to the dough, and resumed smacking it.

"A little testy, are we?" asked Applebloom. Her sister didn't answer. The younger Apple rolled her eyes, and plucked her coat off of a nearby rack. "I'll be with Scootaloo if you need me," she said. She sauntered out the door. When Applejack heard the latch click, she stopped pounding at the crust.

"This ain't gonna be fun," Applejack said.

~

"Oh man." Pinkie was in near ecstasy. The girl under the bed sheets writhed, and Pinkie gasped with pleasure. "I'm getting close! Oh God, just a little more..." the phone rung. Pinkie huffed angrily, and ignored it. She reached down, and ground her partners head deeper into her nethers. "Come on, just a little more... yeah, right there..." the phone rung again. Pinkie was starting to lose it. Her partner was doing all the right things, touching all the right places, but that damn phone... "Shit! Stop!" said Pinkie. A brown haired head popped up from underneath the covers.

"Wassmatter?" the girl asked.

"It's the damn phone," said Pinkie. "I can't focus."

"Well hurry and answer it," the girl said. "I want to get back to..." she touched Pinkie, and sent a shiver down the pink haired girls spine. Pinkie plucker her cell phone off the end table, and pressed the missed calls button. Without looking at the name she pressed send, and waited.

"Pinkie?" Pinkie recognized the voice, but couldn't put a face to it. "It's Rarity."

"Rarity!" gasped Pinkie. Her lovers brow wrinkled at the mention of another girls name. Pinkie shrugged apologetically. "How have you been?"

"Fine, I suppose. Yourself?" asked Rarity.

"Pretty good," said Pinkie. Her partner was starting to grow frustrated. "Sorry to be rude, but I'm in a little but of a rush here. What's up?"

"We're getting the girls back together. My parents old place, next Saturday. We'll meet up at noon," said Rarity. "Will you be there?" Pinkie thought about it. It had been a while since she had seen the other girls. She wanted to see them, in theory. But she couldn't help feeling a little hesitant. Ever since that week in the cabin, the dynamic between them had changed. Still, she wasn't doing anything that weekend. And she couldn't imagine what the other girls would think of her if she didn't show. Besides, it might be fun. Maybe.

"Sure, I'll be there," said Pinkie.

"Wonderful. See you then," said Rarity. The line went dead, and Pinkie closed her phone. She turned to her partner.

"So, where were we?" Her partner looked at her sourly.

"Who's Rarity?" the girl asked.

"Just a friend," said Pinkie.

"Seems like you have a lot of friends," said the girl.

"I am pretty popular," said Pinkie. The girl frowned, and got up from the bed. She began pulling her clothes up off the floor.

"I think I'm gonna go," the girl said, shimmying her panties over her butt.

"No, wait! That's not what I meant! I mean, I am popular, but-"

"Goodbye Pinkie," said the girl. She stormed out of the room, and slammed the door behind her. Pinkie let out an exasperated groan, and collapsed onto the bed.

"Guess I'll go take a shower," Pinkie said.

~

Twilight had her face buried in a long, monotonous text. Most people would be asleep after three hundred pages on organic chemistry, but Twilight was alert. Her highlighter whooshed over the text at the speed of sound. She read page after page, her hands and eyes moving as fast as they could. She was truly in the zone. At this rate she might kill this book by the end of the night. Then some sleep, and onto some super string theory. Yes, this was going to be a productive few days. The phone rang. Twilight nearly knocked the book she was reading off the table as she jumped in the air. Her highlighter flew out of her hand and fell into a nearby potted plant. Twilight rubbed her eyes, and looked at the clock. Almost one in the morning. Who the heck could be calling? She flipped open her cell phone, and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Twilight? It's Rarity."

"Rarity?" Twilight asked. She tilted her head quizzically. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine," said Rarity.

"Oh, okay," said Twilight. "Because it's a little late."

"Yes, sorry about that," said Rarity. "I tried calling you earlier, but you had your phone off." No surprise there. Twilight had an eight o' clock class that usually went over three hours. She had just gotten home a little while ago.

"It's okay, I was up researching anyway," said Twilight. "What's going on?"

"Well, I was hoping all us girls could meet up," said Rarity. Twilight tapped her chin. A meet up between the girls, huh? It had been a while. School had been consuming Twilight lately. She had just been given the okay to pursue her doctorate, and that was an excruciating experience. It didn't help that Spike kept getting into trouble. Twilight had hoped he'd have straightened himself out by now, but he still kept her on her toes. It might be nice to unwind, and see all her friends again. But did she want that? Whenever she thought about her friends, a strange aura pervaded her feelings. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she had been seeing them less and less. When was the last time her and Rarity had talked? It felt like months.

"Twilight? Are you there?" asked Rarity.

"Hmm? Oh sorry, I spaced," said Twilight. "Rarity, is there any particular reason you're getting the girls together?" There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

"You always were the smartest Twilight," said Rarity. "Yes. Me and Fluttershy were talking, and we both came to the same conclusion. The cabin did something to us. Sort of messed up our friendship somehow."

"I concur," said Twilight. "In fact, I should have predicted it. I'm a little ashamed that I didn't."

"Predicted it? What do you mean?" asked Rarity.

"Maybe I better explain it at the meet up," said Twilight.

"So you'll go?" asked Rarity.

"When and where?" asked Twilight.

"Saturday, my parents old place. I'll text you the address in case you don't remember. We'll all meet up around noon, and spend the weekend together," said Rarity.

"Sounds like a plan," said Twilight. "I'll see you and the girls there."

"Okay! Bye now Twilight," said Rarity.

"Bye," said Twilight. She hung up the phone, and leaned back in her chair. Twilight felt like kicking herself. She should have seen this coming. She could have stopped it maybe, or at least headed it off. But now it had been six months. Six months since the cabin. She closed her eyes, and remembered the day they had all first met up.

~

"Oh, this is so exciting!" shouted Pinkie Pie. She was bouncing up and down in her chair. The other patrons of the ice cream shop were giving her funny looks. The rest of the girls shied away from the bubbly girl, who beamed so voraciously it was a wonder her jaw didn't break. "I haven't seen him in such a long time!"

"None of us have," Twilight admitted. "I feel a little bad about it."

"So do I," moaned Rarity, putting her hand to her head. "I feel just dreadful. How could we have gone so long without even calling him? The poor thing probably thinks we all hate him."

"Yes, I feel terrible as well," said Fluttershy.

"Well, let's all stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We made a mistake, so now we're gonna fix it," said Applejack.

"Exactly. That's why I got all you girls together," said Dash. "We're gonna give him the best week of his life! We're going to show him what he really means to us."

"Plus, we'll all get to spend some quality time together," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to have some girl time," said Rarity.

"Look, we'll have girl time. But remember, this week is about him," said Dash.

"You know, I was thinking about that," said Pinkie Pie. "I was wondering how we could all get some time in with him. After all, we all want to see him, right?" The other girls nodded. "Well, I was thinking that maybe we could each have a day with him. Instead of all of us crowding him, we each get assigned a day. All the other girls go hang out on that day, and the girl who's turn it is gets him to herself. How's that sound?"

"Sounds fine to me," said Applejack.

"Yeah, that might work," said Twilight.

"I don't know," said Dash. "Isn't that a little, you know, intimate?"

"Well, is anyone planning on sleeping with him?" asked Rarity. The rest of the girls laughed aloud at that. All of them except Dash, who pulled at her collar. "I certainly don't think so. He's just a good friend, nothing more."

"Right," said Fluttershy. The other girls noticed her blush a little. They attributed it to the heat in the room. Dash fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Well, if that's what you all want..." Dash trailed off.

"Yeah, that's what we'll do," confirmed Pinkie. The rest of the girls giggled and talked, but Dashed merely toyed with her ice cream. At the time, Twilight didn't notice. But in retrospect, Dash had seemed different. All of them had. At that moment, something had changed.

~

"I'm an idiot," Twilight said to herself. The pieces were starting to come together. All of it. Why Dash invited them up to the cabin in the first place. Why she became so resentful. Why the girls fell apart after it was all over. It all seemed so simple to her now. She smiled, filled with the same feeling she got when she proved a difficult mathematic proof. But the smile quickly faded when she thought ahead to the weekend. A ball of fear curled up in her belly. She realized that the weekend had only two endings. One: the girls realized what had happened, worked it out, and rekindled their friendships. Two: the girls realized what happened, became more resentful and angry, and they tore each other apart. She felt even worse when she realized there might be collateral damage. She thought of him, of the boy they had invited up to the cabin that fateful week. He had no idea what was going on. Yet his relationship that he had so desperately wished for might hang in the balance. Twilight closed her eyes, and put her head on the table. Thinking of this any more was just going to get her upset. For now, she just decided to sleep. Sleep, and face these problems with a clearer head in the morning.

~

"It looks great honey," Rainbow says to you. You smile.

"Are you sure?" you ask. "I think the coloring could be a little better."

"No, it's great! Really! Professor Kunz is going to love it," Rainbow says. You take another good look at your picture.

"If you say so," you say, shrugging.

"I promise that it is fantastic. Would I lie to you?" asks Rainbow.

"If you did, I might have to punish you," you growl playfully.

"Oh no, whatever am I going to do?" asks Rainbow, putting a hand on her head. She swoons, and then she runs. You jump up and run after her. She ducks behind the couch, and you try to jump over it. But the wayward piece of furniture gets tangled up underneath your feet, and you catapult over the edge. You land on your back. Rainbow looks at you with concern. You feign injury. When she approaches you, you pounce. You pin her to the ground. She stares up at you with a ferocious gaze. But after a few seconds, it melts. You lean down and kiss her. You notice for the millionth time that no matter how many times you kiss her, it still feels wonderful. It still somehow feels new. Everybody always warned you about a relationship getting stale, but you have yet to feel that with her. You let your arms out from underneath you, and you lay on top of her. You keep kissing her, exploring each other as if you were new lovers. You reach down, and undo the first button of her blouse. You feel her getting hot under you. Then, the phone rings. Rainbow looks curiously upward.

"Just let the machine get it," you urge. Rainbow obliges, and you continue to undo her blouse. You expose her chest, and her lacy blue bra. You reach a hand in. The message machine beeps.

"Hello, Dash? Are you there? It's Rarity." Rainbow jumps up fast, and you spin off of her.

"Sorry!" she shouts, sprinting to the phone. She picks up the receiver as you rub a bump on your head. "Rarity? Yes, it's Dash. Oh, I'm doing fine. He's doing great. His professor has showed a real interest in him. Says he has some talent. Uh huh. Yeah, sure! When? Okay, let me just write the address down... okay, what time? Ha, should he wear anything nice?" Rainbow turns to look at you, a strange look on her face. "Just the girls huh? Well, I'm sure he'll understand. Yeah, yeah I'm still in. Okay. I'll see you then. Bye Rarity." Rainbow hangs up the phone. You get up, and walk over to her.

"What did Rarity want?" you ask.

"She invited me out this weekend," Rainbow says.

"Oh, that's cool," you say. "I think I heard that it was a girls only type of deal?"

"Yeah, it was," Rainbow says. "Maybe you could come along though. You're an honorary girl."

"Gee, thanks," you mutter.

"I'm just kidding butt head," Rainbow teases. "But I am a little surprised. It's been a while since you've seen the girls."

"Yes it has," you agree. "And I haven't seem them all together since the cabin."

"Well, while I'm there I'll try to set something up," assures Rainbow.

"That'd be nice. I'd love for all of us to get together again," you say. You notice a shadow fall over Rainbow's face. You're taken aback. She almost never gets like that. You're about to ask her what is wrong, but in an instant she's back to normal.

"Yeah it would," says Rainbow. "Now... where were we?" She begins to kiss you. You return gratefully. But still, something doesn't seem right. You can't put your finger on it, but something about Rainbow... and your thoughts are obliterated when you feel her hand find its way into your pants. Your knees weaken, and Dash laughs. "Men. So easy to please," she says.

~

Rarity lays in her bed, looking up at the ceiling. Everything has been set. In a few days, all the girls will meet. And whatever plays out will play out. She tries to tell herself that it's just a meeting between friends. But in her heart, she knows it's more then that. Something is going to happen here. Something that could change the dynamic of the girls lives. She remembers what she said to Fluttershy. That one day she'll wake up, and be old. That she might look back at the memories of young adulthood and feel not fondness, but sadness and regret. She shivers. That is her greatest fear. Although in some ways she is glad not to see them, in her soul she misses her friends. The idea that they might never see each other again fills her with primordial dread. But, one way or another, this will get resolved. She pulls the blankets over her, and closes her eyes. Her last thought before she fades is that she might hold onto her friendships for a little longer.