Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were speechless. Absolutely speechless.

Earlier that day they witnessed the guards bringing back Rainbow Dash, the aggressive mare bound tightly but still trying to buck the guards whenever she had an opening. Moments later Cloudchaser was brought back into Ponyville, and the two pegasi were locked in the small jail the guards had in town. Thankfully the guards were able to place both mares in separate cells, though to prevent them yelling obscenities at each other all night long they also gagged them.

And now Twilight returned with Spike, Luna, and Flitter. The ashen, depressed look on Spike's face was enough to even cause Pinkie Pie to lose the poofiness in her mane, but once they saw the condition Flitter was in they were stunned. All three tried to approach Twilight but the guards in town kept any pony who tried approaching them at bay. They tried calling out to her but Twilight just glared at them, refusing to answer them. Only Princess Luna stopped to talk to them, and as the three mares bombarded the princess with questions she held up her hoof to silence them.

"I understand you're concerned and confused, but I do not have time to answer everything." she said to them. "I will answer one question from each of you, but then must resume my work."

"Ooh, ooh! Me first. Are they okay? What happened? What are Rainbow Dash and Cloudchaser in jail? What did they do? How come..." Pinkie began babbling.

Applejack roughly nudged the pink pony. "She said ONE question."

"Oh, whoopsie. Sorry. What happened?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I cannot go into much detail yet, but Spike managed to find Flitter and free her from the Diamond Dogs, but he was... too late to stop them from..." Luna trailed off, but all three mares knew what the last unsaid part was.

Applejack spoke up next. "What about Rainbow Dash an' Cloudchaser, what's goin' on with them?"

"They had to be detained mostly due to them hindering the search for Flitter and Rarity." Luna said, noticing Applejack's worried expression. "Do not worry, they are only being held in the prison for a day or two so they can calm down."

Luna looked to Fluttershy who was looking like she didn't want to ask what was on her mind. Applejack sensed her hesitance and nodded to her. "Go ahead, sugarcube. We all now have that question on our minds."

Fluttershy mustered up all the courage she had and faced Luna. "W-who did all this? What pony could do... that to Flitter?"

All three mares held their breath as Luna looked at them in sadness. "Rarity." was all she said.

After dropping Spike off at the hospital to have him checked out and to let him rest, Twilight made her way to the Ponyville jail to pay Rainbow Dash and Cloudchaser a visit. She decided to speak privately with Cloudchaser first, the guards letting her in to Cloudchaser's cell with no problem.

Cloudchaser had been crying ever since she was locked up in her cell, not because she was upset about being arrested, but because she was now useless in aiding the search for her sister. As soon as Twilight entered her cell she almost tackled her visitor, desperate to hear if Twilight had upheld her promise to find Flitter. The guard escorting Twilight mistook Cloudchaser's movements as an attack and lowered his spear, ready to impale the captive pegasus. Luckily for Cloudchaser, Twilight saw the disaster unfolding just in time and used her magic to disarm the guard.

"Don't! It's okay, stand down." she said. Cloudchaser came to a skidding halt, realizing how close she had just come to death. Twilight motioned for the guard to leave them. "I'll be fine, I promise." she insisted. The guard shrugged, saluting the princess before leaving the two mares to talk in peace.

Cloudchaser approached Twilight again, this time with more caution. "Did you find her? Is she okay? Please tell me she's alive."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, she's alive. We found her and she's back in the hospital." she said.

Cloudchaser was relieved beyond belief, but she saw that Twilight was hiding something. "There's something else, isn't there?" she asked. When Twilight looked away from her Cloudchaser grimaced. "Twilight, tell me... what else happened."

"She... she was being raped by Diamond Dogs when Spike found her." Twilight said after a long pause.

Cloudchaser felt like she had just been bucked in the stomach by Rainbow Dash... a feeling she still remembered all too well. Tears sprang up in her eyes and she slammed a hoof into the concrete wall in anger. "No! NO! Fucking... AAGGHHHHH!" she screamed as her emotions overtook her.

Twilight could only stand helplessly and watch as Cloudchaser let out her anger. The guards reappeared as they heard her anguished wails but Twilight dismissed them again, insisting that she was fine. It took a while for Cloudchaser to calm down enough to speak again to Twilight. "He... they didn't, you know... is she... she won't have to..." Cloudchaser stammered, unable to say what was on her mind.

Twilight knew what she was trying to say, but didn't even know the answer herself. "I don't know, I really don't. The doctor's said they didn't see any traces of semen inside of her, but they couldn't say that for certain."

Cloudchaser felt nauseous at the thought of the dogs filling her sister's body with their seed. "They... can they get a pony pregnant?" she asked fearfully.

Twilight again didn't know the answer to Cloudchaser's question. "I'm not sure. There's never been any documented cases of a pony mating with a Diamond Dog and having an offspring from the mating."

A trio of guards walked up to the cell, one of them tapping on the bars of the cell. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, the paperwork is all set." he said, opening the cell door.

"Paperwork?" Cloudchaser asked, unsure if she should be happy that more paperwork was done.

Twilight turned back to Cloudchaser and offered a weak smile. "Yes. You're free to go right now, but you'll be summoned back for a hearing with the Mayor in a few weeks once everything settles. You'll only have to do a day or so of community service as punishment." Twilight said. "But for now, these guards are going to escort you over to the hospital to see Flitter. Just promise me you won't go looking for Rarity."

Cloudchaser couldn't believe her ears; she was fully expecting to have to serve at least a few months in prison for her fight with Rainbow Dash, not to mention when she slapped Twilight in front of Princess Luna and the guards. "Thank you, Twilight." she said, genuinely touched by Twilight's help. "I promise, I won't go looking for Rarity. I have my sister back, I won't be putting her in any more danger."

Twilight nodded in satisfaction and watched as Cloudchaser walked off with the guards, headed to see her sister finally. With one task down, she moved on to the other side of the building where Rainbow Dash was being held. Twilight knew that convincing her that Rarity was indeed responsible for everything that happened to Flitter and that she had to be dealt with would be no easy task, and that her strong sense of loyalty, while her greatest asset, may also be her greatest weakness.

Spike found himself alone in the deserted waiting room in the hospital, feeling just as alone as he actually was right now. He had gone through a very quick exam by the nurses and they found nothing wrong with him, nor did they expect him to go into his Dragon Rage state again. He asked if he could see Flitter, but Nurse Redheart shook her head, saying that the first one to see Flitter had to be Cloudchaser. She said that she had word that the pegasus was on her way over and Spike could wait for her in the waiting room.

Nopony else was in the hospital that day, and even the nurses kept their distance from the little dragon once he was done being examined. Maybe it was because they were afraid of his new-found temper. Maybe it was out of concern for his privacy of what he had just gone through. Or maybe they felt that he was responsible for Flitter's rape, and that had he been just a little faster... if he had found the right way sooner... if he had asked Twilight to help him search the tunnels...

The thoughts of 'WHAT IF' bombarded Spike's head more and more... what if, always what if...

"Spike?" a voice called out, snapping Spike out his spiraling guilt. He looked up and saw his lover's sister standing in the doorway. She looked relieved, almost happy to see him, and her expression only further confused his mixed, confused feelings. He started bawling from the sight of her smile and buried his face in his arms, unable to look at Cloudchaser any more.

Cloudchaser raced over to Spike and jumped into the seat next to him, gently embracing him in her hooves and holding him against her as he cried. "Spike... Spike, it's okay. Shh, it's okay..." she said softly, trying her best to console him.

Spike only cried harder at her kindness. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save her! I was too late! It's my fault, it's my fault. I should be dead, I let them hurt Flitter..." Spike sobbed, guilt building up to critical levels.

Cloudchaser couldn't believe that Spike was blaming himself for everything. "No, Spike... why would you say that? You didn't hurt her at all. You saved her. You saved her from something that would have ruined her life forever. You're her hero, Spike."

Spike shook his head stubbornly. "I'm no hero. I was too slow to stop them. The blood... she lost..." Spike started to say.

Cloudchaser cut him off. "It wasn't your fault, Spike. I know it, Twilight knows it, and Flitter knows it. You found her, YOU did. All the guards that Princess Celestia sent couldn't find her, I couldn't find her... heck, even Princess Luna couldn't find her. But you did. You did what nopony else could do. If you hadn't done that you did, we may never have."

Cloudchaser's words calmed Spike down, especially since they were coming from his love's sister. Spike wiped his eyes and finally looked up at her. "Do... do you think she hates me? Do you think she'll ever forgive me for being too late to save her?"

Cloudchaser almost felt like crying herself as she listened to him. She felt her eyes begin to water but managed to hold back the tears. "Of course she'll forgive you. She really does love you, Spike, and I couldn't think of anypony, or any other dragon, I'd rather have date my sister."

Spike and Cloudchaser stayed huddled together for a while longer, both finding comfort in each other's presence. Finally, Doctor Stable walked into the waiting room and announced that Flitter was finally able to see visitors, though only Cloudchaser could come in first. The pegasus begged the doctor to bend the rules just this once and also let Spike in to see her, but he had to reluctantly refuse.

Spike tugged on Cloudchaser's tail. "It's okay, I can wait. You should go see her." he said.

Cloudchaser smiled at his gesture of sacrifice. "I'll tell her you say hello." she said with a wink, following the doctor down the hallway. They walked to the last room in the hallway, the room chosen to provide the most privacy for her, and the doctor opened the door and let Cloudchaser go in alone.

She walked into the room and saw Flitter sitting up, staring out of the window with a depressed look of sorrow on her face. Cloudchaser silently walked up and tightly hugged her sister, letting out tears of relief, pain, and happiness as her worst nightmare finally ended. They remained holding each other for a while, both sister's finally back together again. Cloudchaser could see something was troubling Flitter's mind and tried to ease the tension by making small talk, asking her if she needed anything, how she was feeling, how long the doctor wanted to keep her in the hospital...

Finally, Cloudchaser couldn't stand it anymore and took the direct approach. "Sis, what's on your mind?" she asked anxiously.

Flitter sighed and looked out the window. "What do you think of Spike?" she asked.

Cloudchaser didn't know what Flitter meant but decided to answer truthfully. "What do you mean? He's a great little dragon. I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous that you found such a great match for you. I'm honestly very happy that you two decided to go out, especially since I don't have to hear any more how badly you wanted to ask him out before." she said, winking as she said the last part.

Flitter nodded as she continued staring out the window. "He is great, isn't he? He's such a good cook, he's tidy, he's the hero of the Crystal Empire..."

"He's also you're hero now, right? You know he did save you, right?" Cloudchaser asked.

Flitter nodded again. "Yeah, I know. I don't remember much about... that moment... but I remember seeing him standing over me and holding my hoof."

Cloudchaser smiled at her sister. "You really love him, don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do." Flitter said, but for some reason showing a pained face. "I really do love him. I owe him my life, and he deserves the best in his life, only the best. Which is... which is why..."

"Twilight, I don't know about this. The doctor did say that only Cloudchaser could go."

Spike and Twilight walked down the hallway towards the room that one of the nurses had confirmed as Flitter's. "Don't worry about it, Spike. We'll just wait outside the room until Cloudchaser's done. Besides, I'm sure that she'll be extremely excited and happy to see you." Twilight insisted. Things were finally looking positive for her; her talk with Rainbow Dash had gone much better than she expected as Rainbow actually sat calmly as she explained everything that had happened after Rainbow had been detained by the guards. Twilight could see that Rainbow Dash was extremely hurt by being betrayed by such a close friend, especially when she had almost killed another pony defending Rarity's name. Twilight couldn't release Dash from jail like she had Cloudchaser, but Rainbow Dash surprisingly wanted to stay behind bars for a while longer as she wanted to be alone for a while to try to sort out the fact that she had been betrayed.

Twilight and Spike finally got to Flitter's room and Twilight peered into the room through the small window in the door and saw the two sister's talking. "Come on, Spike, let's go in." she said.

Spike's face paled. "No! This was a bad idea, we should go back and wait in the waiting room. Better yet, let's go back home and wait until tomorrow. I'm sure they want to be alone."

"Come on, Spike, let's at least go in and tell her that you're happy that she's awake." Twilight said, grabbing Spike with her magic and forcing him to the door. He turned and looked at her, hoping that she would change her mind, but Twilight nodded towards the door. Spike saw she wouldn't take no for an answer and sighed, slowly turning the handle and opening the door. He managed to take one step forward and he heard Flitter speaking to Cloudchaser, her face hanging down as she stared at her hooves.

"...only the best. Which is... which is why... I have to break up with him. I'm dumping Spike."

Author's Note

So... I'm getting quite a few comments or messages to end the story soon/now. You do know that you're free to stop reading this at anytime, right?