Rainbow Dash awoke, pain throbbing in her head, darkness consuming her vision. A weight on her back pinned her to the floor, a wooden beam trapping her legs. She tried to remove the piece of the ceiling by pushing her entire body upwards, but couldn't get the right leverage. Rainbow gave up, her arms slumping into uncomfortable positions.

Footsteps came pounding from somewhere nearby, muffled by the wreckage covering the pegasus.

"Rainbow! Rainbow, where are you!?" a familiar voice shouted. Rainbow recognized it as her sister, Fluttershy.

"In here," Rainbow called out weakly, her vision beginning to clear up as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Fluttershy's footsteps thundered as her feet came into Rainbow's view through the wreckage. "Under here," she said, struggling to move again and shifting the debris in the process.

"Hold still," Fluttershy told her sister. Rainbow felt the debris moving and the weight on her back was lifted enough for her to crawl out from under it. Once Rainbow was clear Fluttershy let go of the collapsed ceiling, dust and splinters scattering as it crashed to the floor. Fluttershy turned to her sister and helped her sit up on the floor.

Rainbow grunted as she was helped up. "I got it, I got it," she assured her sister, resting her back against another pile of debris. It wasn't exactly a comfortable seat, but it was better than being under the roof.

Rainbow took a moment to survey the destruction. Most of the walls were either partially collapsed, charred or gone completely. "Think we used a little too much C4?" Rainbow asked, chuckling and wincing as the pain returned. Fluttershy glanced around at the destruction, her eyes widening as though she hadn't noticed it until now.

"Are you all right?" Fluttershy asked, concern in her voice. Rainbow didn't seem to have any serious injuries, but there could be something internal.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit sore. Maybe a cracked rib or two," she confirmed, assuming what the pain in her abdomen was.

Fluttershy twiddled her thumbs for a moment. "Umm... the others wanted to talk to us," she said, starting to choke up.

Rainbow looked at her sister with worry. "Fluttershy, what's wrong?" she asked as a tear fell from her sister's face.

"I couldn't find you," Fluttershy sobbed, moving closer to Rainbow. "I thought I'd lost you," she explained, trying to calm down.

Rainbow wrapped her arms around her sister to comfort her. "I'm not going anywhere," she said with certainty. "We aren't gonna lose anyone else," she continued, stroking Fluttershy's mane, comfortingly. "Just breath with me," Rainbow said, the yellow pegasus visibly calming as they both took a deep breath and let it out. "Just breath."

/////4 Years Earlier/////

"Just breath," Storm Dash said, watching his eldest daughter aim the rifle at a series of empty tin cans sitting on a wooden fence. He'd taken Rainbow out to one of the more remote areas of the White Tail woods near their home.

Rainbow was lying prone on the ground, trying to ignore the dew seeping through her clothes from the mossy ground beneath her. The area her father had picked for target practice was about a mile from their home. The tree canopy above let enough sunlight through to illuminate the forest floor, but still kept the sun out of Rainbow's eyes, making the cans on the fence easy to see. The fence marked the edge of the Dash family's property.

Rainbow took a breath and held it, taking aim at the first can. She squeezed the trigger with her index finger, firing twice before she knocked the can off the fence, immediately moving her aim to the next target. Her accuracy got steadily worse the further down the row of cans she got. By the time she was out of ammo there were still three cans left.

Rainbow smiled at her improved marksmanship. The last time she'd shot a rifle she could only hit five out of ten targets. "Two more than last time. Broke my record," she said looking up at her dad hopefully.

The stallion gave her a hard look for a moment. However, he was unable to stop the smirk from playing on his lips at his daughter's improvement. "You've been at college for six months. How are you getting better?" he asked curiously.

Rainbow rose from the ground, brushing the dirt off of her clothes as she stood up. "Guess I'm just that awesome," she said confidently. Storm gave her an unbelieving look. "I also may have been visiting the shooting range in Cloudsdale," Rainbow explained. She had gotten into Cloudsdale university on a sports scholarship for her skill in flight racing. She'd even been told by her coach that she had a shot to go pro if she stayed in shape.

Storm's smile grew wider. "Good. Gotta keep on your toes," he said looking at the watch on his wrist. "Whoops. We need to get back to the house. Don't wanna miss your birthday breakfast," he said as he took the rifle from his daughter and slung the strap over his shoulder. "Your mother would kill me," he joked, pretending to look frightened.

"Race ya back," Rainbow challenged , flexing her wings.

"You're on," Storm replied, spreading his own wings and taking off.

"Cheater!" Rainbow shouted, chasing after her father.

/////////////////////////////////

Fluttershy finished setting the table just as Rainbow and her father entered the dining room, sweating and breathing heavily.

"Ha! Won by a mile old man!" Rainbow cheered.

Storm rolled his eyes. "Careful with the old jokes. Someday you're gonna be my age and your daughter’s gonna kick your ass in a race," he said smiling as he set his rifle down in the corner. Fluttershy's eyes became glued to the gun, a frown on her face. Storm noticed this and looked away. He had at one point tried to teach Fluttershy to shoot, but she had been so frightened of the sound it made she had made a habit of avoiding guns ever since.

Rainbow eyed the table with a smile. Five plates were set around the edge with a large plate of pancakes stacked in the middle next to a bowl of fruit and a tub of syrup. Two jugs sat on the other side of the table, one containing orange juice and the other milk.

"This looks awesome. Great job Flutters," Rainbow said, rubbing her hands together at the sight of the meal.

Fluttershy smiled at the praise tearing her gaze away from the gun. "Oh, you're welcome. Happy birthday Rainbow," the yellow mare said happily.

"Yeah and it looks like your mom and Fluttershy worked hard on this, so why don't you go get cleaned up," Storm told Rainbow, pushing her towards the hallway and the stairs.

"Dibs on the first shower!" Rainbow shouted as she ran out of the room bumping into an older pink pegasus mare on her way out. "Sorry mom," she apologized without stopping.

Firefly huffed as Rainbow hurried upstairs. "Is it just me or does she forget more manners the older she gets," she said entering the dining room, immediately taking notice of the rifle in the corner. "Storm, I've told you to keep that in the shed," she said sternly.

"Sorry. I'll take it out now," he said picking the weapon up and walking towards the back door.

"Hang on a second, I'll walk with you. We need to talk," Firefly said joining him by the door. She turned to Fluttershy. "Can you get Scootaloo up? I don't want her sleeping in too late," she instructed.

"Okay," Fluttershy replied quietly, exiting the room as her parents went out the back door.

//////////////////////////

Fluttershy softly knocked on the door of the youngest of the Dash children, her sister Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo, are you awake yet?" she called trying not to be too loud, even though she was supposed to be getting the filly out of bed. When she recieved no answer Fluttershy pushed the door open and peeked inside.

The room was decorated with several posters of the Wonderbolts, most of the images seemed to focus on Soarin, the Vice Captain of the team. Under a poster of the blue pegasus smiling at the camera, was a desk that had several pieces of what looked like broken electronics. Scootaloo had always been fascinated by technology, the more complex the better.

Fluttershy entered the room and made her way to the bed where she could make out a lump under the Wonder Bolt covers. She quietly approached the bed and stopped, trying to figure out how to rouse the filly without making her angry.

"Umm... Scootaloo. It's time to wake up," she said, lightly shaking her sister as she spoke.

"Mmmm.... I don't wanna wake up," the lump said tiredly as it shifted further away from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy thought for a moment before an idea came to her. "Mom made pancakes for Rainbow's birthday breakfast," she informed, smiling softly. Scootaloo's head slowly rose from the mess of blankets, her eyes betraying her desire for her mother's pancakes.

"Did she make any chocalate chip ones?" the orange filly mumbled, keeping her face mostly concealed with the covers.

Fluttershy frowned. "I don't think so," she said, making Scootaloo's ears droop in dissapointment. "But I'm sure I could make you some before everypony else is ready to eat," she continued, the filly's mood instantly brightening.

"Really?" she asked excitedly. Fluttershy nodded in affirmation and Scootaloo jumped out of her bed. "Let's go then," she said, grabbing her sister's hand and dragging her out of the room.

//////////////////////////

Rainbow walked down the stairs about ten minutes later, her mane still dripping a little from her shower. She walked through the empty living room on her way to the dining room. She looked around confused when she found that room as empty as the last.

"Hello?" she called out as she started walking towards the back of the house. "Sure let's leave the birthday girl all by herself," she grumbled.

Once she reached the kitchen she spotted her younger sisters peeking out the back door, a stack of chocolate chip pancakes sitting on a plate on the counter nearby. Rainbow quietly approached them and peeked over their shoulders. She saw her parents in the back yard near the shed talking about something. Her father looked angry while her mother only seemed concerned and fearful.

"Eavesdropping isn't very nice," Rainbow said, making both of her sisters jump. Neither had noticed her and Rainbow laughed at their flustered faces.

"We aren't eavesdropping," Scootaloo defended. "We can't even hear them."

"Whatever you say squirt, but let's leave them be. Besides, we have a hungry birthday girl in the house, so let's get some food in her," Rainbow replied, pushing the six year old towards the dining room. "Go with her, make sure she stays," Rainbow told Fluttershy. The quiet teenager nodded and followed her sister out, giving their parents one last nervous glance before leaving.

Rainbow was about to follow, but looked back at her parents still arguing. She quietly cracked the door open and listened.

"Maybe they just want money," Firefly suggested hopefully.

Storm shook his head. "It's never that simple with these people. Listen, I'll take care of this," he replied, clearly frustrated. "Calling my cell is one thing, but the house? No. I need to make the boundaries clear," he told his wife. "In the mean time though, I'd feel better with the gun in the house," he suggested. Firefly simply nodded in agreement, clearly shaken by something.

Rainbow, having heard enough, opened the door the rest of the way. "Hey, if you guys wanna eat, you better get in here before I finish everything!" She called out. Her parent's heads snapped in her direction in surprise.

"We're coming," Storm called to her. "I'll call Mac later and straighten this out," he assured his wife as they started walking towards the house. "For now, let's eat," he said a little more cheerily.

/////////////////////////

Breakfast passed quietly and the family had given their gifts to Rainbow not long after. Rainbow had just finished putting away her gifts, the newest Daring Do book, a Wonder Bolts poster, a new pair of flight goggles and the latest issue of The Power Ponies.

Rainbow exited her room, shutting the door behind her, when she heard her father call out to her. "Hey Rainbow, come down here!" Storm shouted from the living room.

Rainbow slid down the railing on the stairs, much to her mother's displeasure.

"Why can't you just use the stairs like everypony else?" she asked, shaking her head in ammused disappointment.

"Cause I'm awesome," Rainbow replied simply, making Firefly roll her eyes and struggle not to smile as she walked passed her daughter and upstairs.

Rainbow walked into the entryway into the house and saw her dad slipping a jacket over his shoulders. "What's up?" she asked, leaning against the wall next to the door.

"I'm heading into town to get something for dinner. Why don't you come with me? You can tell me everything you've been getting up to at school," he replied as he grabbed his keys off of a hook by the door.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, knowing her father wanted to ask her if she was seeing anyone at school. "Can I drive?" she asked, hope in her eyes. Storm had never let anyone else behind the wheel of his pickup. Rainbow didn't know why, it wasn't like it was new or anything. It had been her father's since before Rainbow was born though, and that made it sort of a treasure in the Dash family.

Storm smiled as he held out the keys for her. Rainbow reached for them excitedly, only for Storm to yank them back and chuckle at his daughter's frustrated face. "The day, you can get these keys from me, you can drive," he said as he ruffled her mane. "Now come on," he said as he opened the door and followed Rainbow out.

//////////////////////////

The drive into Ponyville, the closest town to the Dash family residence, was long and had been quiet for almost half the trip.

Storm gave his daughter a sideways glance that didn't go unnoticed by Rainbow. "Go ahead and ask," she told him rolling her eyes.

"Am I that obvious?" Storm asked smiling. Rainbow nodded her head in affirmation, an almost annoyed look on her face. "Okay then," Storm continued. "Are you seeing anyone?" he asked, trying not to ask anything too personal.

Rainbow shrugged. "It's kinda in the air right now," she answered, struggling not to smile.

Storm, blinked in confusion, trying to understand what that meant. "That barely answers the question," he complained, wanting to know more about what his eldest daughter had been getting up to at school.

"It wasn't much of a question," she countered, crossing her arms. "I know what you wanna ask, so just ask."

Storm grew very uncomfortable as he tried to word his question right. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked.

Rainbow frowned. "Might. We've only been on a few dates so far. Haven't really had that spark yet," she explained. Storm nodded in understanding. "And no I'm not having sex with anypony either," she told him, smiling at the flustered expression her father now had.

"That's... umm... Good, you're being responsible," he told her, trying to hide the blush on his face as a car pulled onto the road behind them. "Just... you know... wait until...," Storm trailed off as he looked at the car in the rear view mirror. "Umm... What the hell?" he muttered under his breath as he pulled off onto a side road that lead to a longer route to Ponyville.

Rainbow looked at her father with concern. "Where are you going? Isn't the main road faster?" she asked as she glanced at the sedan behind them as it continued on the main road.

"Eyes forward Rainbow," Storm ordered, leaving no room for argument. Rainbow gave her dad a worried look as she turned back towards the front of the truck.

"Okay, you're starting to freak me out dad. What's going on?" she asked, afraid of whatever could unsettle her dad.

Storm didn't answer at first, instead he just kept glancing at his mirror. After a few more minutes he looked at his daughter and noticed how scared she looked. "Uh... sorry. Just looked like that guy might have been a drunk driver," he explained, returning his attention to the road ahead.

"Right," Rainbow agreed, not really believing what she was told. As long as she'd been alive she had seen her father express many emotions. Fear had never been one of them. He'd pretended to be afraid on Nightmare night when Rainbow was younger, but that had just been a game. Seeing her father get worked up over a drunk driver didn't make any sense to Rainbow. Whatever was going on, Storm obviously didn't feel like sharing so Rainbow didn’t press the issue.

"Hey, why don't we pick up a cake while we're in town?" Storm suggested with a smile, obviously trying to ease the tension.

Rainbow smiled and nodded. "Sounds good to me," she replied, beginning to relax again.

///////////////////////////////////////

Fluttershy sat in the back yard of her house, listening to the sounds of the forest, letting nature's music sooth her, even if she wasn't feeling stressed. She had loved exploring the forest when she was younger, chasing various creatures through the trees. She'd even brought several animals home in hopes she'd be allowed to keep them as pets, but each time she'd be given a speech from her father about how creatures from the forest might have families of their own they needed to get back to.

"Fluttershy, can you come inside?" the voice of her mother called to her from the kitchen. Fluttershy stood up, brushing some of the dirt off of her jeans as she walked back to the house.

"What's wrong mom?" she asked as she entered the kitchen, noticing a stack of dishes in the sink.

Firefly frowned as she spoke. "Scootaloo was supposed to help me with this, but I can't find her. Can you go make sure she isn't getting into trouble?" she requested, a note of concern in her voice.

Fluttershy nodded her head. "Oh, I'm sure she hasn't gone too far," she told her mother, giving her a reassuring smile as she left the kitchen.

Fluttershy already had a sneaking suspicion where her little sister was hiding. All three sisters had been taught at an early age that there was one room in the house that they were not allowed to play in. Their father's personal office.

Storm's office had been an extra bedroom at one point, but they almost never had any guests stay the night, so Storm turned it into an office where he could finish the paper work from his security job in peace.

Of course, being told they couldn't play in there, Rainbow and Scootaloo both went in when no one was watching them. Rainbow had even dragged Fluttershy along a few times. There wasn't much to do in the room, but for children, breaking the rules always had a certain thrill.

Fluttershy made her way upstairs and stopped at the first door on the right in the hallway. She turned the knob and slowly entered the room. She spotted Scootaloo sitting in the chair behind the red wood desk, spinning in circles and making airplane noises.

Fluttershy giggled at the display, catching the filly's attention. Scootaloo started to panic when she realized she'd been caught.

"I didn't mess with anything, I promise. I just wanted to spin on dad's chair," she admitted, blushing from embarrasment.

Fluttershy smiled in amusement. "That's okay, we'll just tell mom you were messing with some wires in your room," Fluttershy said, making Scootaloo smile. "Now, why don't you go help mom with the dishes like you were supposed to," Fluttershy suggested, the filly's smile fading in an instant.

"Okay," Scootaloo said in a dejected tone of voice as she hopped out of the chair and shuffled to the exit of the room.

Fluttershy was about to follow her when the phone on the desk began to ring. Fluttershy shooed her sister out of the room as she approached the desk and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she asked, hesitance in her voice.

"Hi, Ah'm lookin for Storm Dash, is he around?" a stallion's voice answered with a southern accent.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but he just left a little while ago," Fluttershy apologized.

"Ah see. Any idea when he's gettin back?" the stallion asked, sounding almost annoyed.

"He shouldn't be much longer," Fluttershy responded, becoming nervous talking to the stranger.

"Thank ya kindly ma'am," the stallion replied, a click telling Fluttershy he'd hung up. Fluttershy looked at the reciever in confusion, wondering who had called looking for her father. She didn't recognize the voice, but Storm used to do a lot of traveling for his work so it could have been someone he met on a business trip. In the end Fluttershy decided it was nothing and left the office.

////////////////////////////////////////

The rest of the day went smoothly, the Dash family enjoying a chocolate cake while Rainbow told them about what she'd been getting up to at school and about the friends she'd made. The sky outside grew dark as the day turned to night and soon enough the whole family was tired and ready for bed.

Rainbow was the last of her siblings to head for the stairs. On her way she passed her father, who had spent the last hour staring out of the living room window at the road that led from their house to the main road.

"You gonna head to bed anytime soon?" she asked as she headed for the stairs.

"Yeah," he answered distractedly. "I... uh... I just gotta lock up the house first," he explained as he stood and started for the front door. "Goodnight," he told Rainbow as he started in the direction of the back door.

Rainbow watched him leave. "Goodnight," she replied as she walked up the stairs and to her room, closing the door behind her. The room was fairly barren due to most of Rainbow's personal items being in Cloudsdale, but the poster she'd gotten earlier that day had already been hung up.

Rainbow changed into her pajamas and fell on her bed, her eyelids drooping as she pulled the covers over herself.

///////////////////////////

"Rainbow!" a voice shouted, instantly rousing the cyan mare. "Rainbow get up!" the voice, which she recognized to be her father, shouted again.

"What's going on?" she asked, as she sat up and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Just hurry and get your sisters. Take them to the basement and don't come out until it's safe," Storm ordered as he headed for the door.

The fear in her father's voice was enough to bring Rainbow to full attention. She followed Storm out of the room. Storm was already headed for the stairs. Rainbow was about to ask what was going on when someone started knocking on the door.

"Storm open up. We got business tah discuss," a male voice said with a southern twang.

Storm froze at the sound of the voice and turned to look at Rainbow. "Go," he whispered as he descended the stairs. Rainbow could have sworn she had seen a tear in his eye, but pushed the thought from her mind as she walked down the hallway to Fluttershy's room.

Rainbow opened the door to find Fluttershy sitting up in her bed in a yellow nightgown. "Is something wrong?" the timid pegasus asked, frowning. "I heard dad yelling."

Rainbow wasn't sure what to say. "I don't know, but we need to get Scootaloo and get to the basement," Rainbow explained. Fluttershy nodded and climbed out of her bed and followed Rainbow out of the room.

The pair turned down the hallway just as Scootaloo's door opened. The small filly walked out of her room, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked, yawning as Rainbow approached her.

"We're playing a game," Rainbow answered, her voice starting to shake as she scooped up her sleepy sibling and carried her to the stairs. Rainbow and Fluttershy quietly walked downstairs as the stallion outside continued to pound on the door.

"Storm, open the damn door!" the muffled voice shouted, starting to sound irritated. Rainbow lead the way to the basement door in the kitchen and passed Storm on the way. The stallion was holding his rifle at the ready as he walked back to the door.

"Dad?" Rainbow called after him.

"Get in the basement," Storm ordered as he left the kitchen.

Firefly appeared in the doorway and beckoned her daughters to follow her. "Let's go girls, do as your father says," she told them as her daughters entered the kitchen.

Rainbow handed Scootaloo, who had fallen asleep at some point, to Fluttershy and lead them to the basement door. Firefly opened it for Fluttershy, but the yellow mare stopped in the doorway, tears in her eyes. "What's happening?" she asked fearful, as her mother dragged her into a hug, the pounding on the door never ceasing.

Firefly kissed Fluttershy on the forehead. "No time to explain right now. You three get down there and don't make a sound," she told them, closing the door once all three were in.

"Come on," Rainbow said as she lead the way to the bottom of the stairs. Once they were at the bottom Rainbow found the darkest corner and gestured for Fluttershy to sit down.

Rainbow heard the front door open and someone angrily stomped inside. A voice, muffled by the floor, following soon after. "Bout damn time. What, were ya settin’ up some ambush?" the country stallion asked, footsteps indicating he was moving towards the living room.

"What are you doing here Braeburn?" Storm asked sternly.

"The hell do ya think? Granny has a job she needs done," Braeburn replied annoyed, his voice now coming from the dining room. "Mrs. Dash, nice tah see ya," he said, earning no reply at first.

"Can I get you anything?" Firefly asked, her voice shaking.

"Jus' water'll be fine," Braeburn replied. Rainbow heard chairs being pulled out from the table as the unwanted guest took a seat.

"I don't work for your family anymore," Storm spoke up, anger in his voice. "My contract ended years ago."

Rainbow heard Braeburn start to laugh at that. "Storm, nobody stops workin’ fer us. We let ya have some time tah yourself so ya could play house, but it's time tah come back tah work," the stallion said still chuckling, as their mother's footsteps entered the dining room, presumably with Braeburn's water. "Thank you."

"No Braeburn. I'm out. I'm not going back," Storm said defiantly.

"Storm," Braeburn began only to be interrupted.

"I called the police while you were waiting outside," Storm informed. Everything went deathly quiet upstairs. "By now they'll have the main road covered," Storm continued.

"Why would ya do that?" Braeburn asked, as if he were disappointed with a child. "Ya realize Ah have to kill everypony in the house right?" he asked like it was the obvious solution, something thunking on the table as he spoke.

"Just leave Braeburn," Storm advised, a note of fear in his voice.

"You know Ah can't," Braeburn replied. Rainbow heard something click. "I wish ya'd been smarter Storm, this could have gone a lot smoother," he said with that same disappointed tone from before.

"Braeburn you don't-" Storm was cut off by a three gunshots, Scootaloo instantly waking up as something upstairs fell with a thud.

"Storm!" Firefly shouted as Rainbow clamped a hand over her sisters’ mouths to keep them quiet, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Footsteps thundered upstairs as Braeburn chased their mother into the kitchen. A struggle was heard, Braeburn shouting in pain. "Gahh! You bitch!" he yelled as two more shots were fired, followed by another thud. "Dammit!" Braeburn hissed in pain as Rainbow heard him start to walk towards the stairs.

Once the footsteps had faded to the top floor of the house, Rainbow removed her hands from her sisters mouths. "We need to go," she said as she lead them towards the stairs. Keep quiet," she instructed, struggling to keep her voice from shaking.

Once they reached the door Rainbow signaled for the others to stop and cracked the door open and nearly threw up. Firefly was lying against the cabinets on the far side of the kitchen in a pool of crimson, a blood stained kitchen knife in her hands.

Rainbow turned back to her sisters and picked up Scootaloo while taking Fluttershy by the hand. "Both of you keep your eyes shut until I say otherwise," she said, barely stopping the tears from leaving her eyes as she heard the sound of the rooms upstairs getting torn apart by the intruder, probably looking for them. Once the two shut their eyes she opened the basement door and quietly lead them through the kitchen and passed the dining room. Rainbow peeked into the dining room and instantly regretted it, seeing her father slumped on the ground just like her mother.

"MOMMY!" Scootaloo shouted, obviously ignoring Rainbow's warning, the filly started to cry at the sight of her mother.

The upstairs instantly went silent as Braeburn stopped searching. Rainbow heard footsteps headed for the stairs and turned to Fluttershy who had opened her eyes in shock and looked like she wanted to cry, horrified at the sight of her dead parents.

"Run!" she shouted as she barreled through the backdoor, splintering the wood around the hinges as the three sisters ran into the cover of the darkness. Just as they reached the edge of the woods Rainbow pulled Fluttershy to the ground behind a tree and looked back to the house, Once again clamping a hand over Scootaloo's mouth, trying to stifle the crying filly.

A silhouette appeared at the back door, hunched over in pain. "Ah know yer out there. Come on out and Ah'll make this quick," Braeburn said, scanning the darkness. Rainbow held her sisters in place, not letting them move.

Braeburn had started to move towards the woods when Police sirens sounded in the distance, drawing closer every second.

"Shit!" Braeburn cursed as he started hobbling into the woods, still clutching his side.

Once the sound of Braeburn stumbling through the woods faded into the distance, Rainbow stood up and scanned the darkness for any sign that the stallion would return. When she didn't see him, she fell to her knees and pulled her sisters to her. The three were crying uncontrollably as the Police came around the side of the house, lights illuminating the forest around the sisters.

//////////////////////////

Almost an hour later Rainbow and her sisters were sitting on the back of an ambulance, blankets over their shoulders. Scootaloo hadn't stopped crying since she'd seen her parents bodies and Fluttershy seemed catatonic. Rainbow didn't know what to tell them. She couldn't lie and say everything would be fine. Nothing was going to be fine.

"Excuse me." Rainbow was broken from her thoughts as a purple police mare with a darker purple mane and a pink stripe in it approached them. "I know this isn't the best time, but if we're going to have any luck finding your parents killer, we're going to need to take your statement."

Rainbow nodded in agreement as she wiped her eyes and looked at the officers badge. "Right well, Officer Armor, we were in the basement for most of the...," Rainbow trailed off unable to say attack. "While he was here," she continued. "I did hear my dad call him Braeburn though," Rainbow said as tears started forming in her eyes.

Officer Armor looked at Rainbow with wide eyes. "Braeburn Apple?" she asked, a note of urgency in her voice.

Rainbow shrugged. "Didn't get his last name. He kept talking about a family though," she offered, hoping that helped.

"And he mentioned a Granny," a soft voice spoke from next to Rainbow. Rainbow and the officer looked at Fluttershy in surprise. They hadn't even been aware she was listening. Scootaloo had cried herself to sleep in the yellow mares arms while Rainbow had been talking to the officer.

"Alright. That should help a lot actually. Thank you for your time and I'm sorry for your loss," the officer said, her voice a little shaky as she turned to leave.

Rainbow stepped in her path, surprised that such a small amount of information had helped so much. They didn't even get the last name. "Wait that's it? Do you know who this guy is?" she asked, suspecting there was more to this.

"Ms. Dash I don't think," Officer Armor began.

"Please," Fluttershy interrupted. "If there's anything you can tell us, we need to know," she said, tears in her eyes.

Officer Armor seemed to consider her options for a moment before speaking. "If I'm correct, he is Braeburn Apple. He's an enforcer for the Apple Family, a gang in Manehattan," she explained, starting to look uncomfortable.

Rainbow smiled. "So it should be easy to pin this on him right?" Rainbow asked, her voice filled with hope.

Officer Armor frowned. "We'll do our best, but the Apple's are very well connected. We haven't been able to keep any of the high ranking members in prison for more than a few days," she told them, unable to look either sister in the eye.

Rainbow frowned. "So that's it? Our parents die and he gets away with it?" she asked angrily balling her hands into fists.

"We'll do what we can but-" the officer began, but was quickly interrupted.

"That's not good enough!" Rainbow shouted, startling the officer and waking up Scootaloo.

Fluttershy placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Thank you for helping," she said, catching the officers attention. "But I think we need some time to ourselves."

Officer Armor nodded and walked away, still shocked by Rainbow's outburst.

Rainbow sat back on the Ambulance an angry look on her face. "Rainbow?" Scootaloo called to her sister, calming Rainbow. "Are they gonna catch him?" she asked, having missed out on the conversation.

Rainbow considered her answer before she spoke. "No," she said. Scootaloo and Fluttershy looked at the ground in disappointment. "But he will pay," she said, angry.

Fluttershy gave her sister a concerned look. "What do you mean? How will he pay if the police don't catch him?" she asked.

"Dad taught me a lot about self defense over the years and I'm not a bad shot with a rifle either," she explained.

Fluttershy quickly caught on. "Then I'm going to help," she said, a determined look on her face.

Rainbow looked at her sister in surprise. "Me too," Scootaloo stated, trying to look confident.

Rainbow shook her head. "No. Hell no. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you guys," she told them, trying to dissuade them from joining her.

"And it's any different for us?" Fluttershy asked, looking almost angry. "At least this way you'll have somepony you can trust to depend on," she explained.

Rainbow was about to reply when Scootaloo jumped in. "They were our parents too," she reasoned, giving Rainbow a determined stare.

Rainbow tried to think of something to convince them they shouldn't go, but both of her sisters looked like they wouldn't take no for an answer. "Alright, but you both do what I say when I say," she told them, Fluttershy and Scootaloo nodding in agreement. Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. "We'll make a game plan in the morning and stay at hotel in town for the night," she told them, knowing staying at home would be too painful.

Fluttershy wrapped her arms around her older sister, quickly followed by Scootaloo. "We'll be fine as long as we stick together," she told Rainbow.

"I know. But that doesn't make this any easier," Rainbow replied as another officer, a stallion this time, approached them.

"If you girls need a ride into town I'm about to head back to the station," he told them, gesturing at a squad car on the other side of the driveway. Rainbow nodded and the three followed the stallion to the car, climbing into the back. The stallion started the car and drove off into the night.

Author's Note

Okay so first things first. Progress on this story will be very slow. I have a plan in mind for this story and I really want to make sureI do it right, so don,t expect anupdate for maybe a month and a half, possibly longer.

I am also writing this as the inspiration comes to me, unlike my MLPU stories (thats the Marvelous Little Pony Universe for any newcomers), which I sort of come up with on the fly, but with an outlineof what I want.

Second major point. This is an Anthro story with hands, other than that it's whatever level of Anthro you prefer unless I get more specific later. The reason I went Anthro was because there will be a lot of gun wielding and I'd prefer not to create a new trigger mechanism for ponies or apply Pinkie Physics to every character. Trust me Pinkie will provide al the Pinkie physics this story needs.

Third but definitely not least, there are three individuals I would like to thank for their help.

First up is Dark Darsi, my as of yet unnofficial proofreader for the story. Thanks for taking the time to make surethis was ready for posting. You are a kind person and I appreciate your help.

Next up is Spideremblembrony who looked over the first draft and pointed out all the places that could use more detail. He is very good at making sure stories are detailed enough. Thank you sir for your help.

And lastly, Thank you Avenging-Hobbits. I came up with the idea for this story like four years ago, butuntil this last November I couldn't figure out how to make stuff work the way I wanted, and it also wasn't a pony story when I first thought it up. So to kind of test the water to see how people might react to the idea, I sent AH a PM with the details and he told me he thought it was a cool idea. So I started putting more thought into it and kept sending AH updates when I thought of new stuff. He always gave me worth while feed back and wasn't afraid to tellme what wouldn't work. Thank you my friend for enduring those horribly written messages.

Well, that about wraps things up.

Thanks for reading and Stay Tuned.