Generosity of a Mare

Chapters

Chapter 1-4
Chapter 2-4
Chapter 3-4
Chapter 4-4

Chapter 1-4

A white mare trotted under a starlit city night. Her once-perfectly curled violet mane hung down in long, careless waves, drifting in the air with every hoofstep of her exhausted body. Tall, glassy buildings towered above, cramping against each other to form the busy traffic of the labyrinths below. She weaved in and out of rambunctious street crowds, still somewhat blurry-minded. Sounds of laughter and shouting pierced her eardrums until she branched off into a dead-end alley, pleased to see a bar entrance. As she waltzed in, the scent of strong alcohol immediately blasted her face, burning her nostrils.

The string of bars and congested streets were packed with enough youthful energy and heat she wondered why the mild stench and humidity wasn't peeling paint off nearby walls. Ponies, packed like torrents of splattered paint, were of varying types: fixed up, casual, wasted and confused. Some were out on the hunt looking for dates, others were regulars and needed a couple of drinks, and some were just with friends or special partners. The bar labyrinths wreaked of youthful initiative, excitement and hints of despair. It was really just a regular night in the more social sections of Canterlot.

The frizzled mare cantered around the barely lit room. Rows of oak-crafted stools sat erected in front of a neon-lit drink bar, pony rumps rested on each one. From behind it, a griffon bartender took down drinks as the lone mare analyzed the bar's various alcoholic beverages. She could make out different flavors of lagers, ales, spirits, wine and cider.

"Hey!"

She jumped, nearly yelping. "Whaa-?" she suddenly noticed a caramel Earth stallion leaping out of his stool.

"You can have my seat!" he announced cheerfully.

"O-oh, well, why thank you, dear!"

"I was getting up, anyway," he smirked.

She thanked him once more before he walked off, blending into the desaturated blurs of the crowd, probably never to be seen again. I shouldn't have just taken it from him, the unicorn lamented, but it gradually left her mind.

She hopped up into the stool, now eye level with the other seated ponies as she wondered what to order, then her eyes re-caught the same griffon bartender from before, busy pouring beer from a tap. His light-grey head feathers complimented his burnt orange body fur, which took a radiant tint under the blue-lit countertop. After filling up the glass mug, he rushed for a customer when he accidentally spilled half of it on the marble floor, strangely ignoring it as he hurried back for a quick refill. Rarity once again looked back over her shoulder to make sure her saddlebags weren't disturbed, taking a minute or two to eye the bar space behind her.

The bartender got her attention just as she turned back around. His jovial tone matched the energy he carried as he spent the night jumping from customer to customer. His voice was thick with street-wise tongue. "Yo, you orderin' something?"

"Yes, hmm... umm..." She scanned the cabinet behind him filled with dizzying amounts of alcoholic beverages. He assumed she was going to have a bit of trouble choosing.

He chuckled. "Hard to choose, eh'?" He turned around, reached for a random bottle and faced Rarity, putting it on the bar. "You'll like this! I recommend it!"

She looked at its label, a pictorial displaying a bushel of apples with the words "Sparkling Zapple" above. She put down eight bits which the bartender took up in his talons.

"Y'ever tried that?"

The mare pondered, "Well, in a way. Back home, my apple farming friend produces bottled cider just like this, only it's not as... strong. They shouldn't know of my heavier habits when I'm out on the town."

"It's cool," he reassured casually. "We don't judge here, y'know. You want somethin', we get it, nothin' else. Ey, is Canterlot your home?"

"I'm from Ponyville, dear. I often give that impression. I just... eckh-” She held in a cough as she tried to fight the bar's intoxicating smoke. “Erm, ugh, I had some relatives who talked like this and I spent much of my foalhood around them.”

"Not many talk like that here, ya' see. Only tends to be near those fancier parts, like close to the castle, y'know? An' a bunch come from Manehatten, too."

"Oh, yes, just like my grandparents. I'm well aware, darling.”

“Say, what's your name?”

“You may call me Rarity,” she responded. “I run a boutique in Ponyville, you see, and I came here to attend a fashion show downtown, but complications occurred that canceled it before I arrived. I was lost for a couple of hours in the city until I showed up here.”

He crossed his arms. “Wow, geez that really stinks. You just had a really bad experience today, eh'? Sorry ta' hear that.”

She nodded.

“Yeah, by the way, you can call me Flicker."

"Of course," she confirmed. “Honored to meet you, Flicker.”

“Lemme know if you need anything else, Miss Rarity.”

The night progressed, and on she drank. The bar continued its regular activities which included incessant yelling and the occasional chorus of drunk singing. Rarity was not exactly a native to this environment but, after an egregious day of running around afraid of being assaulted, she learned to enjoy it.

A group of burly ponies eventually showed up and became the source of the bar's loudest section as they hoof-wrestled each other in a liquid-stained corner. It looked as if it was getting a bit out of control, but it was not on Rarity's mind.

"Excuse me!" she called over the drink bar, garnering the rushed griffon's attention. "Ohh, um... another one of-f those drinks, please," she smiled dumbly. "Th-the Sparking Apple."

Flicker turned around grabbing another bottle in his paw when he heard yelling far off in the arm-wrestling corner, followed by a table breaking over. Two ponies, drunk out of their minds, were beating the tar out of each other.

"HEY!" Despite it not being his job to break up bar fights, the flustered bartender took off running on his back legs when one of them landed on the night's earlier drink puddle, the very same one he forgot to clean. Subsequently, he slips and loses his balance face first as he falls into the bar's open cabinet, rupturing the balance of its various coveted drinks. A few bottles of ale and spirits fell to the floor, a dozen others threatening to fall in the same spot as he looked upon his mess in horror.

Out of the bar management's door came another griffon, her white head feathers forming into a fringe at the top. Her body fur, in contrast to Flicker's, was a fairly common beige with porcelain-white feathers. She glanced over at his mess as he clumsily tried to get off the floor, reaching for the ball cap that fell off his head while still being partially soaked in alcohol. Dumbfoundedly ignoring it, she approached the rough-housing drunkards.

"Get out of my bar right now! Both of you!" She shouted, though she wasn't entirely sure which one of them was at fault. "Get lost! Buzzout! Shoo!" Surprisingly, the two ponies who fought each other stumbled out the nearest exit with no protest. The irritated bar owner quickly returned to Flicker and his little mess.

"Okay, what caused it this time?" she asked as she eyed down the broken bottles and rustled positions of almost-doomed drinks. Flicker continued throwing the largest pieces of broken glass into a nearby garbage can as his female counterpart stood over him, her arms positioned at her hips like an angry housewife.

"I, uh... slipped on a puddle,” he murmured, avoiding direct eye contact.

"What did I tell you about cleanin' up after yourself?" she chided him, already convinced this was the cause. "If you're too busy to do it, get one of us to tend and mop up!" She seemed oblivious to the majority of the bar watching them as she continued barking at the downed bartender.

"Sorry," Flicker stated apprehensively. "But ey’, no worries, I'll get somebody in the back. Here, take this bottle here to the white mare over there, purple mane. Can't miss her."

After getting off the floor, he quickly disappeared behind the management's door. The bar lady approached Rarity, handing down the bottle.

"Here, ma'am, sorry about th-" but then she gets a good look at her.

White mare.

Purple mane.

The Elements of Harmony.

The party in Ponyville.

"Oh, NOT you!" she yelled.

Rarity's partially unfocused eyes opened wide. "Wha- wait, what?"

“Don't think I don't know what you and your loser friends are here to do!” She slammed both talons on the bar, leaning forward to impose her size. “This is my bar! It's been owned by our family for generations, and I'm not gonna take that level of disrespect! I know you and your self-righteous, goody-two-shoes friends had something to do with that accident earlier, as well, so use whatever senses you have left and stop gracing my bar with your Ponyville garbage before I kick you out, myself!”

Rarity's jaw hung open.

“Wh-what now? You're saying I'm planning something?” She asked, confused. “I just came in here!”

“Can't you hear? Or are you so wasted you can't get what I'm saying? Leave my bar. Now.”

Rarity's brows furrowed. If she truly had all of her senses totally collected the same way the manager mentioned, leaving would've been her first decision.

“Now you lis-sten here. I am a paying customer just like anypony else in this bar and I have no idea what you mean by me planning something!” she snobbishly raised her muzzle. “I've never been to this bar in my entire life, nor have I ever met you! You must be completely daft!”

“I'm counting down, bitch. Move it or lose it.”

“What?” Rarity's teeth gritted. She called me a bitch? “Well... f-fine! I'm leaving! Your customer service must be absolutely repulsive if you think everypony who comes in here is conspiring against you!”

The sound of another crash in the corner violently reverberates across the room.

The manager's head turns to the noise. “Hey!” Leaving Rarity as if they never talked, the griffin quickly made it across the room as she approached some drunken, uncleanly-looking ponies. “Don't you get when I say to quit? Scram, now!”

Rarity was enraged and fuming beyond her threshold. Out of a whole day of pointless traveling, disappointment, getting lost in the city, fearing for her life, her wallet and falling into water puddles, this was the top of it all. It was official: absolutely nothing had gone right today. Her anger continued to rise higher and higher to the point she appeared to everypony around her like she could literally explode. Light tears perspired from her eyes, not ones of sadness but of ravenous anger. She paid extra attention to her forearms as they fidgeted uncomfortably, her hooves scraping left and right on the edge of the bar as if she were trying to chip off paint.

What in the world did I do to her? she asked herself. I've never done anything to seriously hurt anypony, have I? Am I suddenly paying debts in the form of misery?

"This isn't fair..." she uttered silently, looking down between her hind legs as they hung off the elevated bar stool.

When I do something wrong, everypony hates me for it, but when somepony else does it, it's completely okay?

So that's how it has to be, then...

The manager was still busy in the corner. It appeared the situation was getting more and more out-of-hand, but Rarity could've cared less. Still, she knew if she stood her ground, she really would get kicked out. Either way, she had to leave. There really wasn't much else to do about it.

Except one thing.

Keeping an eye out for anypony coming through the manager's door, she leaned forward and picked up in her mouth the Sparkling Zapple. Watching the manager (who was still busy berating drunkards) Rarity backed up slowly towards the exit and turned around into a casual walk as she-

“Hey! You didn't pay!” One of the stool ponies pointed a hoof at her with rightful incrimination. Others around her looked on, as well. A dozen or so eyes bared down on her back. She could literally feel them judging her, like a wave of scarring heat bouncing off her shoulders and haunches.

She froze. A thousand pounds of guilt suddenly welled up in her stomach.

I'm stealing.

I'm STEALING.

Everypony in the bar was looking straight at her. They were waiting for her next move.

Put it back.

Put it back! This is completely wrong!

Put it back! NOW!

As Rarity looked back at the bar, her eyes unintentionally met in the far corner with Gilda's. The griffin's expression, she observed, wasn't specifically one of seething anger, nor was it one that promised a lifetime of bitter vengeance. It was helplessness.

Good enough for her, Rarity thought.

And she never looked back again as she raced out of the bar entrance, her hooves clacking on the stained carpet as she made her dramatic escape.

She had no idea if somepony was chasing her down or not and assumed that'd be the case as she made herself disappear into the crowd. But on she stampeded, with thin tears streaming out of her squinted eyes, running through crammed alleyways. She passed clumsily through outside restaurants, underneath dimly-lit streetlamps and almost crashed into a pony or two as she made a show out of her panicked running. The smoke never did dissipate, and clogged up her breathing passages as she heaved and coughed. After a few minutes, Rarity didn't feel like she was running from the bar owners anymore.

An infinitely deep hole, perhaps one that reached as far as Tartarus, formed inside Rarity's chest, tearing and sucking away anything close to it with a dark satisfaction. Running felt like the only way to satiate the ungodly horror that ravaged her body, to keep it from surfacing and truly hurting her.

Rarity ran into the main streets, home to the city's larger flow of traffic as her panicked rushing dialed down to slow, clumsy cantering. The cider still sat clamped down by her muzzle as she walked on. It felt like she was carrying her own guilt in a glass bottle.

Pure, unreserved tears poured down her muzzle as they threatened to become full-blown torrents. Her nostrils clogged up, forcing her to provide breathing gaps in her bottle-stuffed mouth. Ponies walking by looked upon her with sullen eyes, but none responded, as if this were (and probably was) a common sight in downtown Canterlot. Rarity didn't care enough to fight back. She had no drive or reason. Her composure completely deconstructed from the inside out. She was drunk and crying right in the middle of public and she didn't care.

The victimized look in Gilda's face wouldn't leave her mind.

"What have I done..." she lamented quietly, her voice low and scratchy.

She sat on a bench, staring mindlessly across the street. Details of high-class carriages, inner-city shops and shiny cobblestone sidewalks blurred in her vision. She recalled memories of herself walking up and down those streets with her cat Opal, acting just like she was a part of Canterlot's upper-class as she attended VIP parties and Wonderbolt shows by the virtue of others' generosity and interests. Rarity wasn't sure she could compare herself to that pony, anymore.

She sat there, allowing time to pass.

Who can I confess this to? She asked herself. Do I... no. I don't know. Who would listen to this and not become angry and disappointed with me? Even my own friends? How could I ever tell Sweetie Belle? Or my dear Spikey-wikey? If they understood the severity of what I did tonight, they'd never look at me the same ever again.

And I'm supposed to be the Element of Generosity...

The evening, be it wrapped in the veil of a starry night, was still young enough for Rarity to make one more decision. She raised her front legs off the bench, feeling tingly sensations in her muscles as she moved them for the first time in thirty minutes. Her back legs kicked her off onto the pavement, and as she shook out the stiffness, she continued down the streets by herself, just like one of the many strangers she formerly observed, and continued carrying the stolen bottle in her mouth.

As much as I wish to, Rarity thought, I don't think I'll be throwing this away just yet.

Minutes later, Rarity was boarding a late night train on its way back to Ponyville. She stepped out from Canterlot's station onto one of the carts, trailing behind a fairly small group when she found a lonely window seat inside. As the train started up again, she looked outside, eyeing the darkness that hid the details of passing buildings. No lights were on inside the cart, bathing it in a cool, monochromatic blue. Luna's stars graced the night above as the mountain peaks of Canterlot reflected their light.

Rarity stared up at them for the rest of the trip until she drifted off to sleep.

The bar manager stood outside in the suffocating chasms of Canterlot's alleyways, just a few feet in front of her dead-end bar. She stared up into the alley's limited view of the night sky, looking at the same stars Rarity gazed upon her train ride home, tapping a single claw on the un-homely pavement. Racked with pensive thoughts, the features of her feathered face scrunched and contorted, her eyes giving way to subtle twitching.

They came back... they weren't finished... and now they're watching...

From behind her, the double doors opened. Flicker emerged, standing with a drink-stained towel wrapped over his back and wearing the familiar reverse ball cap. He was no less perturbed than his opposing kind standing hunched in front of him, but for different reasons.

“Eya', Gilda,” he spoke in a thick street accent. “Uhh... everything's cleaned now, ya' see. Just finished puttin' the damaged drinks back in the store room. How ya feelin'?” he asked apprehensively, as if ready to expect more berating.

Long, awkward seconds passed.

“I... well, ey, look, umm... I know she shouldn't ah' done that an' all, but still... I heard that commotion as far back as the cellar, you know. An' am sure everybody else could hear it-”

“Go away and leave me alone.”

“Uh...” Flicker could've sworn he diminished in size. He heaved a nervous breath. “Gilda, I'm sorry, I just-”

The front half of the cruel buzzard's body shifted around, her eyes shooting straight into his. “GO!”

Flinching from her unnecessary hostility, Flicker defeatedly hung his head and turned around. He slowly walked back through the bar's double doors as he left the irrational griffon to herself. However, he remained behind the doors, keeping them open just enough to eavesdrop.

Gilda faced forward, addressing nopony. She looked back into the sky for a few more minutes.

“I know where you ponies live. Especially you, Pinkie Pie.”

Chapter 2-4

Makeshift huts, bamboo shacks and parked wheelbarrows sat busily under the afternoon sun. Being a favorite area for socializers, no place else in Ponyville was more populated than the town's marketplace.

A bubbly mare trotted happily down the center of the path, looking to-and-fro at the lively merchant shacks and splotches of social groups. Her pink, frizzy hair bounced with every small impact her hooves made with the cobblestone. Assuming she knew virtually every citizen living in Ponyville, an endless smile beamed across the rotund mare's muzzle as she waved hello at everypony in sight.

Pinkie Pie's serial greetings went on hold after glancing forward at an intersection, surprised to find Rarity. This would not have stopped Pinkie from greeting her best friend as well if not for the relatively-bizarre scene taking place. Of all things, Rarity's body was hooked up to a fairly large wagon full of stuffed bags and bits of protruding merchandise, showing apparent struggle with every step she took. While the load was sizable enough to cause strain for the little mare's body, Pinkie observed that wasn't the complete source of her pain.

Rarity's mane drooped down in its naturally untreated waviness, lacking the impervious curl of her trademark hairdo. The white unicorn's eyes were vacant of mascara and eye shadow, revealing the true appearance of her wildly exhausted face, muffling Pinkie's slight fascination with seeing her friend without makeup. This, combined with lugging an oversized cart of various items through town, as well as knowing she never carries her own belongings, mixed into a palette of highly confusing, pitiable sights.

A random stallion appeared from the crowd, addressing Rarity as they engaged in a relatively casual conversation. Though Pinkie couldn't hear her, she could tell from Rarity's hunched posture and drooped facial features that she wasn't brimming with any level of elation about selling her items.

Pinkie double took her surroundings. Even though Rarity had yet to discover her location, Pinkie took caution and trotted briskly to the side of a gingerbread shop. She stood just enough out in the open to see.

The plump mare watched Rarity dig through the mysteriously bulky bag, pulling out a small lamp with her jaw. The stranger held out a few bits in his right hoof as he extended it forward, only to find Rarity wouldn't accept them. The stallion insisted but she just wouldn't comply. She sat the lamp in front of the lime-coated stallion, and almost defeatedly, he lowered down to clamp it in his jaw, nodded courteously to her and walked off.

Retreating behind the gingerbread shack, Pinkie navigated the backstreets of the marketplace as cobble and hard dirt turned to weeds and dried mud. She finally made it out of the semi-maze, spotting Rarity's lamp-lugging buyer from before. Keeping to the side of another shack, she peeked down the path to find Rarity was no longer present, and walked forward into the street, confronting the stallion.

“Hey, mister!” Pinkie shouted, though he was relatively close.

“Uuugh?” Shocked, he turned around to face a panicked mare. He quickly placed the lamp base-down on the stone-y ground. “Yes?”

“Do you know why Rarity is going around selling stuff in a big, giant wagon thingy?”

“Rarity?” The approached lime stallion scratched his chin. “Oh- ohh, oh yeah, duh! Of course, the young unicorn I just got this lamp from. I was just asking her if she had anything on sale, but she told me it was all for free. She actually offered me this really nice lamp out of the blue, practically brand new. I insisted she took my bits, but she refused.”

Pinkie jumped in before he could finish. “Yeah, but do you know why she's doing it?”

“Umm... no, not really, but it didn't look like it was making her very happy. I'm pretty sure she's the town's dress maker, too. Pretty funny seeing her doin' that and- oh yeah, look at the bottom here-”

Picking up the lamp again, the morning stallion tilted the bottom of its base into her vision.

[Property of Rarity Belle. If found, please return to Carousel Boutique.]

He put the lamp back down. “I guess that's your answer.”

“What could be wrong with her?” Dejectedly, Pinkie's front shoulders hunched down, her eyes no longer teeming with any level of joy or excitement.

“If you're looking for her...” He raised his hoof, pointing down the west end of the path. “She went that-a-way.”

Pinkie gave him a warm smile, followed with a bear hug. “Thank you so, so much, sir!”

After parting ways with the kind stranger, she followed in the direction he pointed, weaving in and out through studded crowds until her eyes met with Rarity's backside, still lugging her heavy wagon.

“Rarity!” Pinkie called.

The unicorn looked over her withers, slightly apprehensive. “Oh, dear Pinkie, how are you this fine afternoon?”

“What are you doing selling all of your stuff?”

Standing in place, Rarity wobbled slightly. “Heh heh, oh, just getting some extra clutter out of the house, you know. Spring cleaning and the like.”

“It’s September!”

The unicorn waved her right hoof whimsically. “Spring, summer, fall, winter, doesn't matter to me, darling!” She gave her friend a serious glare. “Now listen closely, Pinkie. You're my best friend in the whole world and it's sad we haven't spent more time together on a daily basis. Allow me to give you something to make up for my mistakes." Using the same hoof, she dug into the wagon's holstered bag, tugging out a pink ragdoll. It had a few stains and exposed seams but, for its age, remained in excellent condition. She hugged it longingly against her chest as she pressed its head with her cheek. “I had this dolly when I was just a filly, and now I want you to have her.”

“Rarity, seriously, what the heck's going on with you? I'm, like, super-duper confused right now!” Pinkie came within touching distance of her distraught friend. “No, I don't want to take any of your stuff! Keep it, it's yours for a reason!”

“What good is keeping so much for so long when you don't share it with others, my dear?” She pinned the doll against Pinkie's chest. “Please, it's the least I can do.”

“No, Rarity, I-”

“Please,” she pleaded. Pinkie read fear in her face.

Unsure of what else to do, the party mare approached Rarity, hugging her around the neck with both forearms, careful to avoid the wagon chain. Rarity returned the same gesture, hugging firmly around Pinkie's withers as they were both forced to stand on their back legs. The pitiful unicorn melted into her friend's embrace, absorbing as much warmth as possible as she lovingly pressed into the side of Pinkie's face. After a minute passed, they parted, landing back down on all fours, but before the earth pony had time to react, Rarity shoved the doll into her unwilling grasp.

“I must go.”

Pinkie quietly watched as Rarity walked off with her wagon, still holding the ragdoll in her forearm.

It was a brilliant afternoon, Twilight thought, to be out and about relaxing in the dry summer air with Fluttershy. Sitting under the protective shade of an oak tree's fully-bloomed leaves, the lavender alicorn valued the absence of the torrid heat she normally experienced within seconds of stepping outside of her nestled library, feeling just enough of the tingly warmth sheeting her fur but not enough to become sticky and sweaty. Twilight left her brain-training books at home, instead preferring to lay sprawled out on her belly for the past thirty minutes, leaving her eyes shut as her consciousness threatened to put her to sleep. Fighting the prospects of mid-afternoon slumber (and potential insomnia as a result), Twilight slowly opened her sensitive eyes, adjusting to the light.

Her sight followed a gravel pathway waving over hummocks, passing by and twisting around short fig trees, healthy pachinas and finely-trimmed shrubs. A few hills away, a mare and a stallion were both leaning on each other in a gazebo next to a small lake, watching a fountain. Near the edge of the park, just before it went back into Ponyville proper, was a wide cobblestone bridge.

“Umm...” a demure voice spoke up, “Twilight?” Fluttershy pointed her hoof down the pathway leading back into Ponyville proper.

Rolling over, Twilight looked at her butter-coated friend. It was hard to make out Fluttershy's expression due to the long, carnation pink hair that covered half her face.

“Wha- huh?” Blinking out her tiredness, Twilight looked down the pathway to see her other two friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, coming into view over the forested hills. Running side-to-side, they kept a good pace, but uncharacteristically enough, the two mares didn't seem to be racing.

Applejack, the amber-colored mare with a blonde ponytail, kept her head tilted forward so the flowing wind wouldn't threaten to blow off her stetson. Rainbow Dash, the blue pegasus with a prismatic mane, was packing saddlebags. Both mares charged for Twilight and Fluttershy's picnic spot.

“Hey, guys!” a grainy, high-pitched voice blurted from Rainbow Dash as they both approached. “Have you seen Rarity, today?”

Twilight sat up off the picnic cloth, her front legs supporting her height. “No, what's the matter? I thought she was still supposed to be coming back home from Canterlot, today.”

“Well... actually, we saw her earlier in town and, umm... well...”

“Girls,” the country Earth pony said, “somethin's seriously wrong with her."

“Yeah... like, you may wanna see this.” Turning her head around to her side, Dash dug into her left saddlebag. Pensively, she pulled out with her mouth a perfectly new set of mascara, not even yet to be taken out of its cellophane.

Applejack took up for Dash's temporary muteness. “She was luggin' around this big wagon full of stuff, handing things out to ponies round' town like furniture, makeup, fashion things, fabrics, you name it. She was practically forcin' RD here to take that case of mascara, and then she gave me some stuff, too.”

“Huh...” Twilight responded.

“Ah almost didn't recognize her. Hair was totally flat an' messy, droopy eyes and looked barely strong enough to stand up. And ah ain't sayin' it's bad she ain't wearin' any, but she had no makeup on, either.” Somberly, she pointed her head down to the ground. “And we're pretty sure she was cryin', too. Somethin' is really botherin' her, Twi. I mean bad this time. Somethin' really terrible must've happened while she was in Canterlot and we was wonderin' if you two and Pinkie would come help us talk to her.”

Fluttershy panicked. “I feel like this is my fault. If I had just gone with her to Canterlot, I could've at least helped in some way. I might've even been able to stop whatever it was.”

Twilight put a forearm around her. “Don't worry about it, Fluttershy. This wasn't your fault, and besides, you were babysitting Sweetie Belle, so either way, you were helping her.”

Fluttershy looked at her and smiled.

The young princess addressed the group. “Okay, first thing's first: do you guys know where she is now?”

Rainbow Dash, now absent of the mascara case in her mouth, stared intently at Twilight. “We were with her near that coffee shop close to the park, but when we left and came back, she was gone. The wagon slows her down so you know she can't be going anywhere too fast.”

“Huh...” Twilight replied. “I wonder if she'll try to hide from us now. I mean, she knows you girls know something's wrong, and obviously that means the rest of us will know, too, but it's just so strange of her to hide her emotions, especially from her friends. After all, she's always the first one of us to let somepony know if she's upset.” She flinched. “Er, well, not that I mean anything by that...”

Dash budded in just before anypony else could talk. “Do you want me and Fluttershy to patrol the park area? We can get a good view from above.”

“I'm not sure. Again, something tells me she's going to hide from us now, but only because she wants private time to herself. Maybe we should just leave her alone for a while and help later?”

Applejack stood contently. “Well, ah don't wanna hurt the poor girl's feelings more than anypony else here, but ah' don't wanna waste any more time before she's done throwin' away all her belongins'.”

“Are you sure they're hers?”

“Who else's would they belong to, Twi?” She responded impatiently. “Half the things she was givin' out had her name on em'.”

Dashie jumped in once again- “If she's gonna force me to take anything, why mascara of all things...?” -though it was more intended for herself. “Um, er, sorry. I promise I'm really worried, too. It's just, ugh, stupid, I'll be quiet...” she facehoofed.

“Okay, girls!” Twilight said. “Dashie and Fluttershy, I want you two to fly above the park, while Applejack and I will look below. It's more likely she'll be in town, but since she was so close to the park, we can still clear this place out first, just in case. Also, it'd be a great help if you guys could find Pinkie. We need all the girls here for this one.”

“Got it!” Dash confirmed

After finally standing up, Fluttershy waltzed clumsily towards the daring pegasus, still shaking the tiredness from her limbs. “I'm game!”

And thus a search commenced. Twilight and AJ scanned the park from below, while Dash and Fluttershy looked down from above, acting less than conspicuous to on-looking ponies. Both parties searched every corner and questioned every pony in sight.

“Rarity!”

“Rarity, are you there?”

“Hello, Rarity?”

“Have you seen a white unicorn around pulling a wagon?”

“Rarity, c'mon!”

Questions and shouts were voiced, both to park patrons and empty spaces, but their efforts proved to be fruitless. From a gazebo sitting next to a small lake, Twilight signaled the girls to come back down.

“It looks like we're not gonna find her here, everypony. We'll just have to go into town.”

And as the small group left, an audible “phew” could be heard from underneath the gazebo.

Rarity sat in a small patch of wet grass, listening to the hoofsteps of her friends going away. She kept her head just below the gazebo floor so she wouldn't scrape any dirt or mildew into her already limp hair.

Well... I finished giving out everything... the rest of it's just sitting out in the market, so I guess that makes up for it. Rarity hunched over, taking in the slightly sordid conditions (for her standards) of the gazeebo's under workings. But nothing's going to take back what I did. I don't even know if I'll get to go on adventures with my friends, anymore...

“Hi, Rarity!”

“WAHH!” Her reverie was epically destroyed by a random filly's surprise greeting. Moving backwards into a supporting wood beam, she sees the culprit hiding with her under the summertime house. Her coat matched exactly with Rarity's, and her perm-curled hair grew in two tones of lavender pink and purple.

“Oh, Sweetie Belle...” Dropping her hostility, Rarity was relieved to find it was just her little sister. “How did you get under here, darling?”

“I was following you around the park and saw you go into a hole under this house thing. Funny to see you go hole exploring after coming back from a fashion show.”

“Yes, I guess so...” she replied, attempting to change the subject. “How did you enjoy staying at Fluttershy's while I was gone?”

“Meh,” the filly commented. “Pretty boring. Apple Bloom was grounded and Scootaloo is still getting over the cold, so it was just me and her.” But then her eyes grew wide. “Say... you don't look so good, big sis. Are you okay?” The little girl's adorably stubby legs carried her forward to get a better look at her poor sister. She could make out facial details from light peeking through cracks in the floor as well as the exposed dirt entrance. “You look like you're sick or upset or something.”

“Oh, well...” she responded apprehensively. “That's because I am, honey.”

“What is it, Rarity? Do you need help? I can get my friends together, uh, somehow, and we can help out-”

The big sister raised her front hooves, waving them dismissively. “No, no, no, no, no! Definitely do not do that. It's not that kind of problem, Sweetie. Trust me. I prefer having some time alone for this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I'm sorry.”

“Is that why you're down here? So your friends won't try to help either? You know I saw them looking for you, too.”

The fashionista-turned-earthworm scratched her chin. “It's not that I don't want to tell them, daring, it's just... I don't want to tell them right now. I'm too afraid of what they'll think.”

“Is it something you did in Canterlot?”

“Yes, unfortunately. I did something very shameful. You would be embarrassed of your big sister if she told you.”

Sweetie Bell unintentionally gave her older sibling the puppy dog-eye stare. “You sure you can't tell me? I promise I won't say anything mean.”

“Of course I'll tell you, it's just... well... I don't know about now but...”

“Pleeease?” Sweetie Belle frowned.

Rarity sighed again. “I... I guess. You are my little sister, after all. Just don't tell anypony until I say so, understand?”

And just at the exact same moment, Pinkie came hopping over the park bridge from town, intercepting the rest of the gang.

“Hey, guys!” Pinkie called. “Are you busy?”

Twilight stood ahead of the group. “Yes, Pinkie. I'm sorry but we're trying to find Rarity; she's in bad trouble. No fun and games, today.”

“I was just getting ready to tell you! I was talking to her earlier this morning at the marketplace and she was all upset and depressed and everything, but she wouldn't tell me what was wrong and just walked off! Seriously, you guys need to listen to me cause' I know what to do!”

Dash butted in. “Um, Pinkie, we appreciate that you want to help out Rarity, too, but right now we're just worried about finding where she is. You'd probably make more progress helping us.”

“Well, could you guys at least hear me out?”

Thirty minutes later...

“...you even gave out your dresses?” Sweetie questioned.

“No, no, not all of them! Just a few, and the ones I gave out were either old or inexpensive, anyway. In total, I may have not given out over a dozen things, but irregardless, the rest of it is sitting out in the streets somewhere in a wagon with a 'free' sign. I gave out many things I wish I didn't, but... if it means making up for what I've done and getting to be with my friends, then that's all that truly matters.”

“That's crazy, Rarity! I can't believe you gave out all your stuff!”

She sat silently, looking down at the dirt floor between her legs. Mixed regrets were seeping in.

“And what do you mean 'getting to be with my friends'? Do you think they'll hate you from now on? Cause' I seriously doubt that, even over something so bad, if it was even that bad in the first place,” Sweetie disapproved.

Rarity's eyes, once again, threatened to perspire. “If you're the Element of Generosity and you commit theft, what do you think is going to happen?”

“Y-your eleme-” cutting herself off, Sweetie Belle went silent, then her eyes widened in shock. “Oh no...”

“Yes...”

A gentle wind flowed above the wooden floor, squeezing through the gazebo's banister support beams. The filtered glow of the sun's rays disappeared, instead replaced by a soft light. Sweetie broke the silence.

“Rarity, I don't care if they take your element or not. You're the greatest, most generous pony in the whole world! I know it and your friends know it! And even more than that: you're the best big sister anypony could ever ask for, and I mean it!”

“Sweetie...” the older mare felt a familiar pressure in the back of her eyes. She could feel tiny tears forming at the corners and, after blinking, a blurry filter came over her vision. Rarity watched as Sweetie Belle jumped into her arms, grasping around her neck with the type of loving embrace only two sisters could ever understand. Rarity laid back against the dirt wall. They hugged for several minutes, giving no care to how long time passed, nor to the mildly saturated dirt their bodies met with, until they detached.

“You know what, Sweetie Belle?” Rarity proposed. “Forget all of this. I'm just going to go home. After a good rest, I'm going to get all of them together and just tell the truth. If they'll accept what I did then, hopefully, I won't lose my element. Either way, they will still remain my best friends in the whole world.”

Sweetie smiled. “Great!”

“Still, I would do anything to take back what I did. I would gladly return that bottle and accept whatever punishment they intended.”

“Hrmm.” Gears in Sweetie's head were turning. “I still don't think you're too much to blame, big sis'. Just from judging by the way you described things, that griffon lady sure didn't sound too innocent, either. She just kicked you out cause' she didn't like you, and over something you didn't even do! That was really mean! And you were also... umm... drunk, so I guess that had a lot to do with it?”

“Yes, Sweetie, I wholly appreciate that you want to defend your big sister, but that still doesn't justify what I did. As imprudent and unjustified as that bar owner behaved, I am still in the wrong.” She heard another breeze go overtop the gazebo and smiled. “Hmph, how about we finally get out of this rancid little dirt hole and go home?”

“Aww, I kinda liked it in here...”

It was the first time since last night Rarity's mind felt at ease. Trotting casually next to her diminutive sister, the fashionista passed by several beige cottages, adorned with polished oak wood frames and hay-lined roofs as they sat relatively close to each other in no particular order or pattern. After living close to Downtown Ponyville for several years, Rarity learned there was almost no time during the day, except for the dead of night, when the small city wasn't defined by the livelihood of its citizens. Roseluck watered flowers out in her yard, some elderly mares were taking down wire-hung clothes, carriages occasionally passed on the main road, and familiar citizens trotted about.

Thoughts of just going home with Sweetie Belle and laying down, casting away the foreboding bundle of fear and regret she carried for most of the day, could not have sounded more satisfying. It was the perfect way to end this trepid experience.

After leading out of downtown through a couple of modest alleyways, the white mares were not but a street-cross away from the Carousel Boutique... as well as a conspicuous stranger sleeping at its front door.

Wordlessly, Rarity and Sweetie Belle synchronously looked at each other, bearing looks of apprehension.

“Just an evening customer, I'm presuming...” Rarity weakly assured her sister.

As they gradually closed the distance between themselves and the other side, Rarity could make out in the figure more than just a few splotches of orange and white. The stranger was definitely not the common sort to be seen in Ponyville: resting on the front step like a scolded dog, he sported attributes Rarity had no trouble recognizing right away. Rarity's eye shadow-less eyes widened as she came to a quick halt.

“It's that bartender!” She exclaimed horrifically, taking careful steps backwards. “No! Sweet Celestia, no! They've come to get me! They knew where I went! I knew I'd never get away from this!” Fresh tears built up out of the corners of her eyes. Sweetie, who was already in close proximity of her terrorized sister, once again embraced her around her neck. The filly was at a loss of words, so she let her unspoken concern do the talking as Rarity kneeled down to her for another hug.

And amongst the emotional mares arose a stirring. The sleeping stranger from before, absent of any tiredness whatsoever, approached the two apprehensively, acknowledging his distance from them so as not to make any potential mistakes.

“Miss Rarity?” Addressed Flicker.

“No, no, no, no-o-o...” she wailed dramatically.

“Eya', look, I know this is weird an' all, but I can fully explain why I'm here...”

While still embracing her older sister, Sweetie Belle shot unappreciative looks at their surprise guest. “Leave Rarity alone! She's not a bad pony! Everypony makes mistakes, don't they? Don't you? Please just go home! Please! I can't live here without my big sister!” For a second, even Sweetie's eyes threatened to perspire.

“Wait, wait, no! You both's gettin' me all wrong! You gotta’ listen to me! I'm not here ta' do anything to her! Nothin' at all! I'm here ta' help!”

Rarity slowly rose her head, showing Flicker her disheveled face, as if she were embarrassed of a disfigurement.

“D-did...” she snorted, “did that lady send you down here to take me to jail?”

“No, Miss Rarity, I would never do something like that ta' anypony, especially not you, but now ya have ta' listen to me cause' this is serious. No screwin' around. Listen ta’ me.” Decrementing the level of tension between them and himself, Flicker walked closer until he was within casual talking distance. “I came down here cause' I got a bad feelin' bout' last night. I know how my sister can be when she gets angry, but this time...”

“Wait, what?” Rarity angrily interrupted. “Are you saying th-that dreadful, abhorrent buzzard thing from your bar is your sister?” And then she realized what just flew out of her mouth.

“Ey! Don't be throwin' insults at my family, hear? You watch what comes outta' that trap of yours, girl. We ain't bird people any more than you all's horse people, got it? I don't appreciate insults being thrown at my sister cause' she's a griffon. That's disrespect.”

Both Rarity and Sweetie Belle flinched. It also didn't help they were already upset and crying.

“Look...” he exhaled, scolding himself internally for almost going too far for his unexpected rant. Past memories of scorn and violence subsided before they had a chance to affect his mood. “I get you both's all angry an' upset an' you've had a bad day an' what not, but I just ain't gonna stand here and accept nasty comments about my family, no matter how they act sometimes. Now, for the second time, listen ta' me.”

Sitting down like trained animals, both ponies stared in patient silence. Rarity was wiping away earlier tears with her right knee.

“First thing to start off: I'm gonna bet da' both of ya's familiar with a certain Gilda. Remember her? That's the name of my sister. Her full name is Gizelda if that helps any.”

Processing his words, Rarity and Sweetie looked into each other's eyes, scanning for unspoken confirmations, then turned to look back at Flicker, shaking their heads.

“Huh...” He scratched his chin with a stray paw. “Weird. What about a party from a year or two ago for a young griffon lady?”

Rarity gave in for a few more seconds, but struggled to recall anything. “My apologizes, Flicker, but here in Ponyville, we have lots and lots of parties for lots of different reasons, so it's hard to pinpoint just one of them out of two years.”

“Okay, hmm...” Flicker dug deeper, adjusting his backwards ball cap. “Here's the thing: what I'm about ta’ tell you two is what Gilda told me, so I ain't claimin' this actually really happened, but...” His eyes shifted between both ponies, reaffirming himself he still had their undivided attention. “When she came back, she told me a bunch of ponies down here threw her a party to get revenge on her or something like that. Said they were pullin all kindsa' mean pranks on her, like rollerskates an' pie and darts an' blindfolds an' other stuff. Can't remember the whole thing, but she was really, really mad about it. Like, vengeful mad. Scary mad.

“If I can recall correctly, she initially came ta' Ponyville ta' see one of her old flight school friends, an' from there, everything got all rancid. She told me some other pony kept buggin' them both, then later on that same pony arranged a party. She told me both ponies were apart of some little clique, somethin' called the Elements of Harmony, an' said she'd pay em' back someday.”

Rarity's lightening mood shifted from lurid tension to pure, distilled terror.

“Wait.” She took a step closer, reading his navy-blue eyes. “Is... is she here?”

“When I woke up this morning at about five, I couldn't find her anywhere an' nobody else could, either. A bunch of inventory items were missin', too, like buckets, tools, paint, rope, and even some store money was missin'. The night before, I heard her stewing over something out in the street to herself. She said, 'I know where you ponies live.' An’ then she emphasized someone called Pinkie Pie. Put it all together.”

Rarity's jaw dropped.

“We have to find my friends! Now!” She demanded. “Especially Pinkie!”

Flicker's expression went sour. “Well, you'll have to lead the way, Miss Rarity, cause' I ain't gotta clue who or what or where they might be or- oh!” He exclaimed, interrupting his own stream of words. “Stupid! I can't believe I forgot! You two, follow me inside, quick!” As Rarity and Sweetie Belle complied, the trio ran off the streets up to the Boutique. Upon opening the decorated front door, both ponies bared witness to a bag of considerable size, sitting ceremoniously right in the middle of the circular living room.

“By the way, it was already unlocked, so don't be glarin' me any daggers, ya' hear?”

As if approaching a trapped animal, Rarity slowly walked up. Indiscernibly blocky objects of varying shapes pressed outward through the tough fabric, attesting to its durability. At the foot of Rarity's big bag laid a rolled up scroll. Using her magic, she levitated it in front of her and slowly unrolled it. Both Sweetie Belle and Flicker approached from behind, curious along with Rarity to find lines of hastily scribbled mouthwriting inside:

hi, Rarity! me and the rest of the girls got all the stuff back you gave away to everypony in town. it was my idea. I'm so sorry about whatever happened to you this morning!!! we thought something terrible happened to you so we wanted to help as much as possible. please come over to sugar cube corner and tell me whats wrong! nopony else will be there, just me. I won't judge you! I pinkie promise! from your bestest friend in the whole wide world, Pinkamena Diane Pie!!! <3 <3 <4

P.S: we got into your house because fluttershy still has that spare key you gave her, so nopony broke in.

P.S.S: actually, just call me pinkie pie. It would be so weird if you called me pinkamena!

P.S.S.S: actually, I have nothing else to say. I just wanted to add one more P.S. LOVE YOU! <3

“I can't believe it...” She stared at the short message, her magic levitating it almost involuntarily.

Flicker kept his eyes anchored on the scroll. “That's funny. Why did they go back and get all the stuff ya’ gave out?”

Ignoring his question for the moment, Rarity rolled the scroll back up. She looked inside the bag, analyzing its messily-strewn contents. The mare found expensive fabric wrapped up in plastic, the doll she gave earlier to Pinkie, some old clothes, that one lamp...

“I'm not sure,” she responded laggingly, her head still enveloped by the bag. “I feel truly blessed to have such dedicated friends that would go to such extremes to do good things for me, but... I'm not sure if this was really warranted.”

Sweetie was still confused. “How come?” The little crusader watched Rarity pull back from the bag, turning around with a lamp clamped down in her mouth. She placed it on the floor next to her, then sat down looking at them..

“My belongings were originally given out to rectify the mistake I made last night. A self-inflicted punishment, if you will. Giving these things out alleviated my guilt, not to mention it shows I'm still capable of being generous, which balances out the treachery of my deed. After all, what good is an element bearer if she can't live up to what she represents?”

“Uhh...” Flicker butted in. “Ey', I, uh, hope you don't mind me sayin' something here...” His voice seemed to vanish mid-sentence.

“Of course,” Rarity said. “Don't be shy.”

“I'm sure the both of ya's would probably know more about this sorta thing than me, but... the way I look at it is like this...” Flicker paused pensively. “Well... there's more ta’ being generous than just giving stuff out. See, you gave out stuff that didn't matter to ya', right?”

Rarity cut in urgently. “Not necessarily. There was a lot of stuff in there I'm honestly glad I got back, even if I still would've preferred to cast them away. I wasn't in the most conscious of states earlier today, and I probably wouldn't redonate most of this again.”

“I see,” his spirits sunk. “Well, as far as giving stuff you don't want away, that's easy. Just about anyone, or anypony, can do that, even me, but if you ask me what generosity means, it... well, it just means giving up things without expectin' anything back. It's just somethin' you do because you know it has to be done sometimes, get it?”

Both Rarity and Sweetie Belle nodded, their eyes wide and attentive.

“But it's not always about things, ya' see. Sometimes it's people. Like, when you were in the bar yesterday, you coulda' just left an' the whole thing woulda' been just fine.”

The unicorn cringed with guilt. Flicker, unfortunately, read it plain-as-day on her face.

“But, see, ya' didn't. You were so angry at my sister, you just had to get revenge on her somehow. Now I get it... we all get mad an' we all do stuff we don't mean. Believe me, I've been there a lot more than you have, Miss Rarity. I wish I could say stealin' some booze was my only crime. If doin' this sorta thing bothers you, I'd hate to see how you'd fare living with my past.”

“I won't judge you, Flicker,” she said.

“Thank you,” the orange bird grinned. “But anyway, the thing I'm tryin' to say is... well, you get now that I came all the way down here, an' I'm not sure if that's what I'd call generosity, but... it's definitely the thought that, uh... ugh!” He wacked his head with one talon. “Darnit, I'm screwin' this up so bad.”

“No, no.” Rarity raised her hoof, shaking it. “You're doing fine. I feel honored that you came all the way here, I truly do. I understand. Anypony who traveled this far for little old me should obviously be allowed to speak his mind. Please continue.”

“Heheh... well... the point is...” His brow furrowed, mentally searching for something, then his eyes brightened. “Generosity isn't just about givin' stuff out, but knowin' that what you're doin' is making a difference, even if nobody knows about it. I think that's about all I gots ta' say.”

What Flicker said unearthed a demon hiding in the back of Rarity's head. A stray thought from last night re-emerged:

When I do something wrong, everypony hates me for it, but when somepony else does it, it's completely okay?

Her tumultuous guilt returned as she silently acknowledged the company within her Boutique, looking over at her little sister with mournful eyes.

“I've often questioned the ways cruel ponies think, about their ruthlessness and violence. I thought I could never understand their motives because I regarded myself as a decent being, so I always felt safe from becoming like them, but now I’ve finally realized the truth. What a fool I've been. It wasn't just that night, but many times during my life where I didn't take responsibility for my actions, and as a result I have hurt others. For somepony who took pride in being the Element of Generosity, I never honestly realized how much I didn't live up to its name.”

She put a hoof under Sweetie's chin. “Like the Sister Hooves Social event, where I acted like a bratty little child instead of a proper older sister, or the time when we went camping and I never offered even once to help carry anything. It's enough to make me sick.” She turned away from them both. “As far as selfishness and egotism goes, I have it all. I must really be a bitch like Gilda says. Considering what happened last night, it's ultimately the fate of people who don't care what they do, just as long as, in the end, they get what they want.

“To the both of you and to my friends who were not here to hear this, I am truly, deeply sorry.”

Her head hung darkly.

Sweetie and Flicker sat momentarily silent, staring at the miserable mare as they finished absorbing her speech. Looking back up, Rarity found it difficult to read what they were thinking.

Sweetie slowly approached Rarity, hugging her around the neck. The recovering fashionista returned the embrace, placing a forearm around Sweetie's little body. Neither pony spoke.

Just before the room fell awkwardly silent, Flicker spoke up. “Ey, s' no problem, Miss Rarity. We live an' learn, we become better people. No need ta' dwell on the past. Live for today.” He drew sharp, invisible lines in the floor with his talons, not eyeing them directly. “And yeah, y'know, I understand whatcha' mean about my sister, she's just... something ain't right about her, y'see. S' been that way longer than I care to think about. When she gets angry over somethin' or somebody, she dwells on it constantly, an' for some reason, it was you guys she always fumed about the most.”

Rarity looked up. “I understand, but we're still wasting our time sitting here. Who knows what your sister could be doing right now?”

She looked down at her little sibling. “Sweetie, I want you to stay here, and don't let me catch you following us, either. There is serious danger involved. Also, make absolutely sure you lock the doors behind us, as well as any windows.”

“Yes, Rarity,” she complied.

Sweetie watched as her sister levitated a saddlebag, putting it on. And from a desk, she pulled out a bottle of alchohol, placing it inside her bags. She looked at Flicker, and they wordlessly ran out of the Boutique.

Chapter 3-4

Rarity and Flicker took a hasty trip to Sugar Cube Corner, the town's source of confectionary needs. But instead of finding Rarity's supportive friend, ready to welcome her with open arms and warm friendship, the duo was instead presented with nopony but the store owners... and from them, some terrifying news.

Rarity and Flicker burst back out of the quaint little store, carrying themselves into the streets with dire urgency.

“Which way did they go?” Flicker shouted, drawing heavy breaths.

“Just follow me!”

The crisp rays of the daytime sun were subdued by the rolling height of the land's distant mountains, its round contour no more visible to the late-night Equestrians than a thin sliver hanging on for dear life above the bumpy horizon. A navy haze shrunk concentrically around the sinking orb's vicinity, backed by dark violet from the approaching night side of the sky. Luna's beautiful stars were just beginning to shine.

The decremented daylight gave way to heavier shadows and mysterious street corners, as if the world around them was growing smaller and smaller by the minute. The town's many buildings became enveloped with a deep blue, where the honey glow of indoor lights burst through homely crafted windows. Rarity noticed the air nipping at her body, caressing it with cool stings and frosty breaths.

Flicker's eyes dilated as he navigated Ponyville's dark alleyways and shady street corners. The experienced bartender hoped Rarity knew where she was going.

After worming through various back alleys and dirt roads, the duo finally spilled into the main street, brightened conveniently by an avenue of magically-lit street lamps and nearby windows. In front of the Golden Oak Library's stood a worried cyan pegasus and a pacing pink earth pony. They stood right in front of the door, begging to get back in.

Looking behind herself, Pinkie catches the sight of two strangers running tiredly towards them, softly illuminated by street lights and the dying pink rays of the sun. She could make out a white mare.

“It's Rarity!” Pinkie shouted, springing upwards.

“She's here?” Rainbow Dash questioned, sitting defeatedly by the door as she glanced down the open street. “Who's that other guy? Wait, a griffon?”

As if to answer her question, Rarity and Flicker closed the distance, retiring into walking as they heaved tired breaths.

“Girls!” Rarity cried out. “Are you all okay? Where's the rest of you? What's happening?”

Dash left the door, sternly approaching the unicorn. “Are you kidding me? We were looking all over for you, Rarity! What gives?”

“I... it's... well, a long story,” she said. “But darling, that isn't important right now. You sh- ack-” Rarity heaved, catching her breath as she stood on wobbly legs. “Ugh, apologies, Rainbow Dash. As I was saying, you should be extremely aware of the fact an old friend of yours is here back in town, and I'm using that word loosely. If we're to be correct, she's planning a series of attacks on us, and possibly Ponyville as a whole!”

Dash exhaled. “You don't have to tell me, Rarity.”

Given just the right amount of time to absorb what she said, Rarity noticed through the darkness the ghastly bruises and scratches laden upon her athletic friend's face and forelegs, but perhaps even worse than that was the discoloration of her mane. Splotches of green and yellow stuck in Dash's hair like a mix between putty and color dye.

“No...” Rarity's eyes dimmed. “Rainbow Dash, this is all my fault. Please, please forgive me. I was being selfish, hiding from all of you this entire time. The reason this whole catastrophe is happening is because of me.”

“Don't blame yourself, Rarity.” Dash lamented, running the side of her hoof through her sticky mane. “I just never knew Gilda would ever go this far. She wasn't like this at Junior Speedster, or even the years after.”

“Wanna bet?” Flicker, the silent stranger, budded in. “Cause' that was just around the time she started actin' like this, see. I don't think you know her like ya' think ya' do.”

Dash registered his appearance and street accent. “Who the- woah, wait a minute, wait... aren't you supposed to be her brother? Flipper, Flicker or something, I think. I remembered seeing you a few times back then. Were you in on this with her?”

“Ey, you think I'd be here with Rarity worryin' bout' you all if I was?”

Feeling an argument coming on, Rarity broke through. “Dash, Flicker came all the way here to help us, so please do show some consideration for his efforts. After all, he'd know more about what she's planning than the rest of us.”

Perched like a dog, Pinkie watched their conversations bouncing back and forth. An impatient dissatisfaction formed on her face, ready to spill over with anticipation.

Flicker noticed less of the colored gunk in the pegasus' hair and more the bruises and scratches on her face. “Yo, Dash, what did she do to you, anyway?”

Dash nearly rejected his question. “I... I accidentally walked into a rope hoop on my way out of a coffee shop looking for Rarity. When I did, it hung me up by my left back leg and...” She cringed. “...And my face smashed into a building several times while I had a bucket of goo and paint on my head. It happened right in front of Twilight... and everypony in town.”

She glanced away from Flicker. “The next trap happened to Twilight, but her's was worse.” She looked over the side of her withers, eyeing the locked library. “Guys, Gilda has completely snapped. For whatever reason, she's out for revenge, and believe me when I say she knows how to do it right. After that one prank went off, Twilight ran away crying into the library and holed herself inside. That makes this problem much worse cause' Fluttershy and Applejack are still around town somewhere, and Twi' refuses to come out to help.”

“Twilight?” Flicker's mind skipped a beat. “Ey, uh, hold it here now... Twilight who? Now you can't be talking about that Twilight, can ya? I mean, well, I heard she lived in Ponyville an' all, but...”

Dash flailed her hooves in the air. “Yes, that Twilight! Twilight 'the freakin' alicorn Princess of Friendship' Sparkle! The Princesses' personal student since she was a filly! That one!”

“What!?” Flicker's beak hung open in disbelief. “No freakin' way! My sister really is going insane! What's she doin' attackin' a princess? She's gotta be goin' bananas or nuts or somethin'!”

Dash looked at him unamused, crossing her forearms. “So, looking at me didn't tell you that first?”

Pinkie couldn't hold it in anymore.

“GUYS!”

Her voice echoed across the land. Dash and Flicker stopped conversing, their attention now set on the pink one. Rarity, too, was anticipating her friend's message.

“I think Applejack and Fluttershy went back to the park!”

Dash walked forward. “Really?”

“Yeah, Fluttershy told me while we were looking for Rarity that she still wanted to go back to the park, so I'm preeety sure she'll be there.” She shivered a little. “And, um... do... do you think Gilda will be there, too? Because if we get the chance, I'd really love to talk to her about something.”

The doors to the Golden Oaks Library swung open.

They turned, witnessing the alicorn's form. Her eyes showed signs of perspiration as she frowned, looking back at her friends.

“Don't go without me, girls.”

The right side of her body revealed the results of a terrible prank: she was covered in mechanically shaven spots of pale, stubbly skin, as if a shrunken lawn mower danced on her backside. Even some of her cutie mark was missing.

Rarity held at her chest. “Twilight, please, you don't have to-”

“I insist, Rarity. Now let's go to the park before anything else happens.”

The brisk chills of the night blew over Gilda. She glided in the direction of the wind, conveniently guiding her overtop the rushing ponies below. She was somewhat dissatisfied with the severity of her pranks, weakened by their improvisational nature, but at the heart of it all, this was truly about the one she hated the most, the one who started it all. Gilda was almost glad that self-centered fashion pig came walking into her bar, setting of this chain of events she'd been planning recently, but it wasn't really about her, either.

She still remembered the party just as vividly as when she attended it three years ago. She knew Pinkie was a master of concealing her sardonic joys, hidden beneath the surface of a sickeningly naïve innocence, and tonight, she was going to bust that facade' wide open right in front of her stupid friends.

Still flight bound and well above them, Gilda followed the small gang, including her idiot brother, into Ponyville Park. She could easily detect the haste and panic in their running, as if finding their other friends would prevent what was to come. She almost laughed. For once, Pinkie, you're at the other end.

Spearheading the small group, Twilight caught sight of two mares sitting together under a tree. “Over there!” she yelled.

Rarity still felt apprehensive. “Good, they seem to be fine.”

From high up, Gilda hovered in place as she watched the gang canter over to the pair sitting beneath the oak. They carried on a light conversation, strangely devoid of urgency.

For anypony looking up from the ground, Gilda appeared as nothing more than a shadow, an unnamed specter that blended into the night. Slowly, she came overtop the tree and descended.

Pinkie stood next to Flicker as she scanned the sky and surrounding nature. Her eyes were tense with fear. The accompanying griffin, despite not intending to, wordlessly acted as her guardian.

“Say...” the Canterlot native said. “You were the one who threw that party, weren't cha'? Pinkie Pie, ain't it?”

“O-oh yeah!” she shakily responded. “I just did it because I wanted to improve your sister's mood, that's all. I'm always looking for ways to make everypony happy!”

“Cool,” he responded calmly. “How was that party, anyway?”

“Oh? It was just like any other trademark Pinkie Pie party: cake, pastries, punch, pie, doughnuts... chocolate fondue fountains...” Her jaw dropped slightly, mesmerizing herself with junk food. “Oh boy, now I'm hungry. Definitely a bad time for it! But anyway, everything was your standard Pinkie Pie party fare, but with a twist! You see, thanks to Dashie over there, the whole place was set up with hidden pranks, but they weren't set up specifically for anypony, they were just there...”

As Pinkie's side of the story unfolded, Flicker sat contently, listening. This is the mare my sister hated for three years?

“...and then after she stormed out, everypony was just, like, really shocked. I never saw anypony get that mad over practical jokes in my life. But, yeah, after that... we never saw her again...”

Flicker read her facial expression. It was a sense of longing, perhaps regret.

“Huh, my sis' always told me you all was makin' fun of her and being mean. Yeah, I always knew she was wrong and whatever, but I didn't realize just how badly she took it.” His expression went sour. “Yeah, stealin'? Check. Being rude an' inconsiderate? Check. Callin' everyone around her names? Check. Definitely her. Don't even have ta' ask. Put up with it for... well, too long,” he cringed.

Now it was Pinkie's turn to listen. She sat quietly, looking at him.

“I just wish... y'know... that she was different. Like it was the old times again. The Gilda I grew up with wasn't anything like this; we were as close as brothers and sisters could get, I swear it. Was closer to her than any friend I ever made, see? Got memories of us hanging out in the cliffs at night. Sometimes, that was just about the only place we had to get away from it all. Today, it's like she just forgot about all that, like she's another person now. I know she doesn't love me anymore, but... I'd still die for her.”

Suddenly, Pinkie was smiling. Interpreting it as an insult, Flicker got angry, but then he looked closer.

“Of course she still cares, silly! I can tell you two had a really happy relationship. You know she couldn't forget about all the good times, so who's to say those days are gone?”

Flicker half-heartedly nodded.

Going quiet, both of them listened to the other conversation.

“I'd prefer that we went back to the library,” Rarity responded. “That way, everypony can hear the story with a bit of assured safety, and do believe me, there is a grand one to tell.”

Applejack understood. “Fair enough, Ah guess, an' Ah’ll make sure that lady ain't gonna get away with any tricks along the way.”

From behind the farm pony came Fluttershy. Wordlessly, she approached Rarity and hugged her around the neck.

“Whatever it is,” the demure pegasus assured, “you'll have my support. I only wish I was there to help.”

Rarity returned the thoughtful gesture, wrapping her forearms around her friend. “Oh, my dear Fluttershy, think nothing of it. After I tell you, there will be no more worries. I'm prepared for any response you girls may give me... I hope.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “You hope? Rars', we're your friends, remember? You should know us better than that. If anything ever bothers you, an' Ah mean anything at all, then for cryin' out loud, sweetheart, just come up an' tell one of us. Please. We're always gonna support you, no matter what. You got the best friends in the whole world, sugarcube.”

“Yes...” the fashionista took comfort in AJ's words. “Thank you, Applejack. I love you. Everyone of you. Never forget that.”

A gagging sound came from the tree tops. Everypony looked up.

“Oh, I love you all, darlings! Ohh!”

Gilda dropped like a bomb, landing on all fours as her wings softened the landing. Her first sight was Dash. “Sup', Dash, that's a nice new look for ya'. Where'd ya get it?”

“Gilda, what the hell is going on with you?” Dash demanded. “Of all the years I've known you, I would've never-”

“Of all the years I've known you, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh,” Gilda imitated. “Dash, when did you ever get the idea I changed? Do you mean because of that time I decided to leave all my real friends behind for a bunch of lame, scheming ones? Oh wait, that wasn't me; that was you.”

“Gilda...” she replied, flabbergasted. “I've been here the whole time. I never left anypony, especially not you.”

Flicker approached his enraged sister. “Gilda, you listen ta' me right now-”

“YOU!” she condemned, pointing a talon. “You're the one who planned all of this in the first place! You can't fool me, Flick, I know you better!” she was inches from his face. “You're in on this with them. You've been planning this for months, admit it now.”

“I... I... no...”

She glared at him. “Oh, you don't say? As always, I'm the wrong one, of course. You're not gonna stand there and tell me one of them just happened to stumble upon my bar hidden in the middle of Canterlot by accident. Do you really think I was the one who made the first move?”

Rarity's heart was thumping. Think of something...

“N-no, Gilda! She was just in town for a fashion show!” The ineffectiveness of his words burned in his mouth.

“Yeaaah, suuure...” she droned.

A fire burned inside Flicker.

Twilight broke in. “You have some serious nerve attacking a princess, as well as my friends. What you did is punishable by Royal Law and I'll see to it as such.”

“Fine, go ahead, tell the guard, tell Celestia, tell everyone, see if I care. I'll just tell them what your little friend did last night at my bar, then we'll see who else is punishable by Royal law, little miss princess.”

Twilight grumbled, her horn glowing.

“I've done plenty of reading on this Elements of Harmony business you're all into. Not many people know about it seeing as you prefer to remain shady, but if you really take the time to look it up, everything's in plain sight. Even the things you think you've got hidden.”

Rarity was sweating.

“You guys are real scary, you know that? Being given permission by Princess Celestia herself to get away with crime and theft, then having protection when things get too hot. Dang, if only I had someone to back me like that!”

Twilight asserted herself. “Nopony in this group has ever used their status to get away with crime! Equestria has depended on us several times when danger dawned, and in the end, we always came through. I don't know what ridiculous books you've been reading, but this group is held together by friendship, not organized crime! Given your supposed research, you should be fully aware of this!”

“And you should be fully aware of what that little unicorn did at my bar last night, but something tells me you're not.”

Twilight was shot down in flames. She looked at her exhausted friend.

“Rarity...”

The generous mare stared back, her eyes verging on tears.

“Y'know, for being so generous...” Gilda scathed, “she sure has no trouble stealing, does she?”

Twilight's eyes refused to pull off her dearest friend. “Is it true, Rarity?”

The fashionista looked at Twilight, then the rest of her friends as they all stared back. Flicker watched, but seemed distracted by something else.

Unzipping her saddlebag, Rarity pulled out the coveted ‘Sparkling Zapple’ in all its glory. She placed it on the ground.

“Last night, I stumbled into Gilda's bar asking for a drink. She denied me service and accused me of many things I can assure you I was never going to do. But in the end, I still lost control of my temper. After I inebriated myself, I ran out of the bar with this bottle in my mouth while everypony, including Gilda, watched. Somewhere in Canterlot, I am wanted for theft.”

The group listened silently.

“I've been in the process of losing my element for quite some time now, but this is what will finish me off. I may never get to go on adventures with you girls ever again, nor will I ever have the chance to stand amongst you when the time calls, but please never forget about me. You girls are what I live for. Even if I receive the privilege of rising the ranks of Canterlot someday, it won't matter if you're not there with me. Elements or no elements, you are my friends and that will never change.”

Taking the bottle back in her mouth, she approached Gilda, placing it down. “It's the least I can do to make up for what I've done. I'm sorry.”

“Keep it,” she said. “I could care less. I'm not here for you, anyway.”

“What?”

“The pink one. Where is she?”

Applejack jumped in. “You ain't touchin' one hair on her body!” Twilight and Dash stood next to her in defense. Oddly, Flicker didn't do anything. He continued standing still, mumbling to himself as he stared at his sister.

“Oh, please. You think I'm just gonna jump down here in the middle of a group of ponies and start throwing punches? Especially considering there's a freakin’ alicorn princess here who could have me obliterated? Or, if she preferred instead, to have me sent to the moon,” she smiled at Twilight, “since that's a popular thing you princess types like doing.”

The alicorn gritted her teeth. Please, Celestia, forgive me if I actually do that.

Rarity pleaded. “What could you possibly want from Pinkie Pie? She hasn't done a single thing!”

“You mean other than being the whole reason I lost Dash to you losers?”

You really are delusional... Rarity thought.

“I'm over here.”

Pinkie Pie emerged from behind a nearby park bench, hiding in fear. Fluttershy was standing next to her for support. Pinkie was wracked with terror. “I... I'm ready for whatever you want. B-but just let me say one thing...”

“Three years ago,” Gilda cut in, “I came to Ponyville to visit my once-totally awesome friend Rainbow Dash. But the very next day, I came home humiliated and embarrassed, and minus my best friend. Do you want to know why, Pinkie?”

Pinkie's face drooped.

“Because of you.” She said, pointing another talon. “For being in a group that’s so crazy about friendship, you have an odd knack for ending relationships, you know that?”

“I… no! That’s not what I was trying to do, at all!”

Twilight stepped in. “Okay, that’s enough!”

Gilda continued. “Don’t hide it from me. Pinkie enjoys seeing me in pain, along with the rest of you! That’s why Rarity came down to my bar, so she could try somethin’ on me, too! And of course, my stupid brother did nothing to help, as usual! If anything, I bet he was helping you this whole time!”

Before Twilight had any time to react, she was brutishly pushed to the side by a passing figure, nearly losing her balance. Stunned, she watched as a fairly large figure charged from behind towards Gilda, tackling her to the ground. The rest of the group watched in near awe at the sight of Flicker holding his surprisingly defenseless sister in a chokehold. After almost blacking out from lack of blood going to her head, Gilda laid uselessly underneath her brother, and then it began. Relentlessly, Flicker started pummeling her in the head as he yelled obscenities and incoherent babbles into her face, giving no care to who around him was watching.

Everypony was floored.

The white unicorn wanted to move, but she was immobilized by her own shock. She kept telling her body to move or say something but it wouldn’t register. Rarity looked around herself at her friends. Twilight, AJ and Dash all had the same flabbergasted expressions. Still behind the park bench, Pinkie was hugging Fluttershy, the latter of whom had broken down into terrified sobbing.

The merciless beating was quickly turning into a horrific sight. Gilda laid like a lifeless doll as years and years of repressed anger flooded out of Flicker’s irate attacks. He continued punching her face until it showed signs of swelling. Intermittently, he slashed her with his talons, leaving deep scratches. Rarity reluctantly learned through watching the trickle of blood coming out of Gilda’s beak nostrils that griffins can in fact sustain nosebleeds.

Do something…

Flicker’s body appeared to be stuck in some kind of automatic loop: he kept coming down on Gilda’s now-pulpy face, alternating between both arms as they traded hard blows in mechanically rhythmic motions. More incoherent ramblings spewed out of his beak, as if intending to chant demonic curses.

Do something!

Soon, he alternated into kicking her in the stomach, forcing air out of Gilda’s body. The more he continued attacking her, Rarity observed, the more pain he wanted to inflict, as if lost in a violent trance. Between losing the ability to breathe, suffering from intense bruises and possible broken bones, as well as splattered blood mixed into her shredded feathers, Flicker’s unfortunate sister was suddenly fearing for her life. She shook and twitched, half from pain and half from terror.

Rarity! Do something! Now!

Watching in abject horror, the unicorn observed as Gilda turned her head to the side. Through the blood and swelling, she looked right into Rarity’s eyes, instilling a distant, yet very recent memory. It was the same expression Gilda gave her last night just before Rarity ran out of the bar. It was helplessness.

Scanning the nearby area, Rarity saw the park bench Pinkie and Fluttershy was hiding behind. Her horn sparked up with a vitriolic aurora, and looking at the same bench, she cast a levitation spell surrounding its entire form. Rarity found a strength within herself she never knew as had as she lifted it several feet into the air with no apparent struggle. Setting her sights on the potentially murderous griffin, she used her magic to bring the bench down on top of him with as much force as magically possible. Knocked out of his sardonic mania, Flicker felt the full force of a heavy object impacting into the back of his head and backside. It reverberated with a pain he was familiar with, but he didn’t have enough time to fully experience it before he blacked out, lying disturbingly motionless over-top his nearly dead sister.

Everypony looked at Rarity with mixed looks of shock, relief and fear. The cacophony of screaming and punching ended with an abrupt, sickly thud, and the quiet soundtrack of the night returned.

“NO!” Rarity rushed over to Flicker and Gilda as apprehension crippled her movements. “Please be okay, please be okay…” At first, she forgot what to do: the pitiful sight lying before her was almost more confusing than pitiable. Nopony was the good guy or the bad guy anymore. Finally, she snapped back into action as she came close to Flicker, turning him over off of Gilda and onto his back.

His eyes… she raised each one individually and observed them both automatically close themselves. Please be alive. Please be alive.

Rarity then looked over Gilda. She looked like a horror story psychopath’s unfinished victim, which was terrifyingly closer to reality than Rarity wanted to think. Her entire face was covered in blood, and swollen bruises laced just underneath her ripped feathers. Gilda looked back up at Rarity, returning a look of intense pain.

“Nngg…” she writhed on the ground. “Unn… nngh…”

Rarity didn’t notice the company that approached behind her. An authoritative voice spoke up.

“Rarity,” Twilight said, “I’ll go fly to the hospital with Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy, keep a check on both of them. We’ll be back.”

Twilight and Dash took off from the ground as they flew in the direction of Ponyville proper. Rarity sat in silence with Gilda as she looked over her mangled form, processing more of what became of her. Sweet Celestia, Flicker was going to kill her.

With the help of Rarity, Applejack carefully drug Gilda next to the oak tree while Rarity barely levitated her off the ground. Fluttershy, who managed to stop crying, advised Gilda to keep her head up against the tree, then she checked on Flicker’s unconscious body.

“H-he probably has internal bleeding.” Fluttershy stated. “Prop him up against the tree and find s-something to keep his legs raised off the ground.”

Virtually nothing else was said until Twilight and Dash re-appeared, an ambulance crew following just behind.

Rarity and Pinkie sat next to each other while royal guards shot them questions about the evening. The happenings of the day unfolded from their retellings, and despite still being held under further investigation, the opposing sides of each pony gave a well-rounded account of the day’s disaster.

The hallways were pasty white with turquoise floor tiling, and the smell of sterilized equipment and sick patients unpleasantly graced the two mares’ nostrils. Rarity sat watching Twilight and the rest of her friends being prodded for information as she continued staring in silence with Pinkie.

The party mare spoke up. “You think they’ll both be okay?”

“Hm?” Rarity was pulled from her reverie. “Oh, yes, Pinkie, I’m sure they’ll recover. Not to worry” she heaved. “My dear, please listen, I’m sorry about this whole thing. This was all my fault-“

Pinkie quickly raised her hoof to her friend’s mouth. “No more blaming yourself, Rarity! I won’t let you!”

“I understand,” she gently pushed away her friend’s hoof, “but I’m still worried about Flicker. Mind you, Gilda is definitely in my thoughts, but… but I nearly killed him, Pinkie! I mean I… I- I’ve even never hit anypony in my entire life, l-let al-lone…” Rarity nearly broke out into tears again. “I never meant to hurt him like that. It was just to get him off of her, that’s all. It wasn’t supposed to… to hospitalize him, for Celestia’s sake!” Tiny droplets formed at the corners of her eyes.

Pinkie listened thoughtfully, disappointed in herself for having less than exuberant responses to make her unicorn friend feel better. Rarity took up for her silence.

“Uh, well, it sure... has… been such an exhilarating day, hasn’t it?” the unicorn chuckled awkwardly. “I’m just glad it’s coming to an end, dear, but still… I still think something needs to be said to them for the night to be property complete. I’m just not exactly sure what, yet.”

“Well, if you go in there, remember to bring me with you, cause’ I definitely have something to say to Gilda, too,” she said, twiddling her forehooves.

“Yes, of course.”

Minutes passed. The guards finished up their reports and went into the ER. Twilight and the rest of the girls approached Rarity and Pinkie.

“So what now?” Rarity questioned.

Twilight’s half-lidded eyes darted between Rarity and the shaven gaps on her hindquarters. “Well… with tonight’s events considered, I’m still incredibly mad at Gilda, but I think it’s only right that we go in and talk to her. Doesn’t have to be long.”

Something heavy seemed to drop in Rarity’s stomach. “Y-yes, agreed.”

Reassembling, all six girls entered the emergency room, immediately presented with the busy rushing of nurses and secretaries, cantering through a long hallway with patient rooms on each side. Large box-like machines sat lined up in the middle, bleeping and whirring with unknown processes. Approaching Twilight, a courteous nurse guided the group into one of the rooms, shielded by a cyan curtain as they passed inside. Surrounded by a number of tubes and small devices, a female griffon laid on her back as she appeared less than aware of what was going on.

The nurse spoke quietly. “It’s a good thing you brought her as soon as you did. A concussion, internal bleeding, severely bruised, broke her left arm, the works. You can speak to her, but don’t disturb her if she wants to rest.”

“Thank you,” Twilight replied, and the nurse left outside of the curtain.

For the first few minutes, nothing was said. Gilda laid virtually lifeless, as if mindlessly staring at the ceiling was all she knew. The girls felt very awkward, especially Pinkie.

“Uh, maybe we should come back, tomorrow?” Dash proposed.

“Nng…”

Everypony looked at Gilda.

“N-no… stay…” she grumbled.

An unsaid confirmation floated in the room as the girls simply stood in place, eying their bed-ridden victim.

She turned her head, looking vaguely towards the group. “Where’s... my brother?”

“He’s in custody right now,” Twilight stated a little too matter-of-factually. “But they’re checking him out for head trauma.”

Rarity felt a pang of guilt.

“Head trauma…?” Gilda blurted weakly.

“You can thank Rarity for saving your life. If it wasn’t for her, who knows how much worse you would’ve been hurt.”

“D-… don’t hurt him… please…” Gilda wasn’t totally there, but her woes were clear. Rarity felt even guiltier.

“Nopony will hurt him, I promise, but he’s in big trouble for what he did.” Twilight contemplated informing Gilda she’d be facing the same fate, but she figured it would’ve been like rubbing salt into an open wound. “We just came in here to see how you were doing.”

“Yeah…”

Rarity observed her pink friend’s apprehensive stature. Though she could easily blame herself, the unicorn couldn’t help but notice how different Pinkie’s behavior was today.

“Darling,” Rarity whispered, “you don’t have to talk to her if you don’t want to. Even if you don’t, you’ll have several days afterwards when she’s much more awake. Honestly, taking into account of tonight’s events, this would be the worst possible time to do it. She may not even remember what you’ll say.”

Pinkie looked at her. “No, Rarity, I want it to be tonight. This is important to me. I can’t put it off.”

The worn and torn fashionista wasn’t sure what to say, so she sighed. “If you insist, dear.”

Nodding, the party pony carefully and slowly cantered toward Gilda’s bed, as if anticipating a postulated attack. The bottoms of her hooves clacked coldly against the tile floor, a detail she wouldn’t have noticed any other time. The bed was elevated fairly high off the floor, considering its surface met all the way up to her chin. Maybe I’m just short? She questioned off-handedly.

She looked over Gilda’s mangled mess of a body, sprawled out over the medical bed like a carnivore’s tenderized meal. She was mostly cleaned up by now, and her worst wounds were wrapped up in temporary bandages, but it wasn’t hard to imagine how she was just two hours ago. Feathers were stained in red as they looked broken and mangled, while the bruises on her face were still clearly stated. The level of abuse Flicker managed to inflict upon his sister impressed Pinkie, which was something she never thought she’d think.

The rotund mare was too afraid to say anything, yet too afraid to back away. Fortunately, she didn’t have to make the first move.

“Pinkie…” the hospital patient said.

“Umm… hi…” she awkwardly rubbed her foreleg.

The griffon laid silently. Acting before trepidation had a chance to return, Pinkie continued.

“I, uh, I just wanted to… tell you something. I hope you don’t mind, Ms. Gilda.” She said childishly.

Silence. Gilda tilted her head somewhat towards the mare, though Pinkie couldn’t be sure if she did that intentionally to pay her more attention.

“There’s something I want to tell you that I wish I got to say a long time ago.” Her heart raced uncomfortably. “And, uhh…”

Now without mistaking it, Gilda’s head turned completely to the side. Her tired eyes met somewhere within the area of Pinkie’s face. The other girls watched on with mixed emotions.

“Well… I’m not mad at you, for one thing. I never was.” Pinkie treaded lightly, making sure not to directly mention the party. “When you left Ponyville, I got kinda sorta sad because… well…”

Pinkie heard a nearby clacking and saw Rarity walk up next to her. The unicorn looked at her and smiled warmly. Pinkie nodded confidently and turned back to Gilda.

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad pony, or a bad griffon. I think everypony has the potential to be a friend. They may not all relate with you or even treat you the way you’d like, but that’s just how it is, you know?”

Gilda’s eyes widened subtly.

“When you left, I was a little upset because I knew I lost a potential friend. I would never hold any mean, angry thoughts towards you, because if I did, what if one day you decided, ‘oh, I guess I’m not mad at Pinkie anymore even though I thought she was originally a big meanie mean pants who wanted to make fun of me and write run-on sentences while negating the use of commas in paragraphs when writing dialogue for me for the sake of comedic effect because authors think that’s funny for some reas-“

Rarity shoved her hoof into Pinkie’s mouth. “She’s saying, dear, that she’d forgive you if you ever decided to come back. Considering how long I’ve known her, Pinkie would never hold a grudge against anypony, no matter what they’ve done. She sees the innocence in us that we sometimes forget we have, and that’s a truly special talent.”

Gilda almost raised her head off her pillow.

“Are you…“ -trying to accuse me of being bad? She wanted to say out loud, but something about its delivery didn’t feel right. “…Saying you’re okay with what I did?”

“No, not really!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Everything you did tonight was pretty much the most horrible thing anypony’s ever done in the history of forever, but I still don’t have any issues with you! I’ll always be open to welcoming your friendship, Gilda. I mean that!”

“I…” The injured griffon found herself with virtually nothing constructive to say. Guilt and repressed fear was directing her flow of logic. “I… I just want to lay here. I don’t want to say anything.”

“No problem! I’m just glad you got to hear what I wanted to say! Well, kind of sort of through Rarity, but oh well!”

Feeling very relieved and satisfied, Pinkie respected Gilda’s space and walked over to the rest of her friends, now with a visible spring in her step. Rarity watched her in the process. The old Pinkie’s finally back, thank the heavens. Maybe you really did do something good tonight, Rarity.

“Wow, Pinkie…” Dash said, her mane now all cleaned up and devoid of goo. “We could all learn something from you, couldn’t we?”

“Sure, Dashie, but it’s not me you’re learning from. It’s Rarity!”

Still standing next to Gilda’s bed, Rarity looked across the room at her pink friend. “How come?”

“Because of all the good things you’ve done today, silly! You tried to give out all your stuff even though you didn’t want to, and you also saved Gilda’s life!”

“Thank you, Pinkie, but I don’t think that’s going to help me in the end when I lose my element.”

“Oh, Rarity,” the pudgy mare smiled. “We’ve all had a time or two when we went against our elements. It doesn’t mean yours is in danger.”

Dash stomped her hoof. “Hey, not me!”

“And even if you did make a mistake, that’s okay cause’ we all do it! An element is just a symbol, not a living person. I have the Element of Laughter, but that’s not what I’m always about, you know? The same goes for you, too, Rarity, and the rest of us, as well! Just don’t worry about it so much.”

Rarity nodded her head, and almost on impulse, she levitated the bottle out from her saddlebag and placed it inside Gilda’s side table. “You do whatever you want with it. Throw it away, take it back home, doesn’t matter to me. It’s the best thing I know to do. Just don’t tell any nurses or doctors it’s there.”

Gilda looked up at her silently and nodded.

A sudden wave of tiredness fell over Rarity’s body. Finally. Walking up to a series of chairs sitting next to each other, she perched herself long-ways into their seats. Her chin thunked to the surface and she passed out instantly.

“Uhh…” Pinkie said, “I think we need to take Rarity home…”

My dearest friend, Flicker,

I hope you’ll forgive me for not being able to see you in Canterlot sooner. Many life circumstances, including my friends and my job, are holding me back from taking a proper trip to see you. I am still preparing to go sometime within early next month, and I believe Pinkie will be coming with me, as well. I will visit, you have my word.

I’m very glad to hear they reduced your sentence. Maybe the Royal Guard just wanted to be lenient, or maybe it’s because of your sister’s begging? Either way, I’m glad things turned out how they did. The sooner you get out, the better.

Again, I cannot apologize enough for hurting you. My intent was to get you away from Gilda, but I was left with only a bare minimum of choices. Strange how nopony was doing anything that entire time, wasn’t it? Not even Twilight. I was scared to death thinking I may have seriously damaged your skull, and I was even worried I may have sent you into a coma or killed you. I still cried a little for a few days afterwards, but I’m just glad it didn’t go any farther than what it did. I hope I’ll never do anything like that, ever again.

I also want to thank you again for coming all the way to Ponyville to help us. I can’t express how much it meant to me that you sent yourself all the way down here just for us. It shows immense dedication.

Pinkie is something of a sage, you know. I can’t wait for you to see her again, as well, but if it wasn’t for her, I’m not sure if I would’ve been capable of forgiving myself. I’m not sure if any of the other girls will come, but I’m very certain at least Pinkie will.

And one more thing… we all make mistakes, Flicker. There’s nothing wrong with us, we just forget how to be good, sometimes. Since three years ago, I’ve had to live up to a symbol every day of my life, yet I cannot claim it came with any regrets, even in the face of danger. Maybe I haven’t always been the easiest to let go of things, but being generous has become an extremely enjoyable routine of mine, and I have no reservations when it comes to giving something of mine away when somepony truly needs it. You have a life to live, and mistakes represent only a micro-chasm in the story of our lives. Make the best of it, Flicker.

From your Ponyville friend,

Rarity Belle

Chapter 4-4

Dear Rarity,

Thanks a lot for sending me that letter. It’s good to know I have a friend outside of these walls. Also, don’t forget to thank my other friends for proofreading this thing so you won’t have to take how bad my English really is, haha.

I don’t think you should feel bad for what you did, at all. You had to do what you had to do, you know? Looking back, I still can’t believe I did all that crazy shit to her… or maybe I can.

Back before flight camp, Gilda and I lived over in the griffon territories, like lots of big mountains and cliffs and stuff. We had friends and all, but when nobody else was around, we only had ourselves, and those were very important times for us. We didn’t have many gadgets or toys growing up, but we always found something to do and always had a blast doing it. Sometimes we had fun just not being able to come up with anything, if that makes any sense. I could write you an entirely different letter just based on our childhood together, but some of the best times of my life were spent being around her.

Before I go any farther, I just wanna say this: I’m not blaming anybody or anything for her behavior. Not Rainbow Dash, not flight camp, definitely not you nor anybody else. I also wanna say I’m not completely innocent, either, which is pretty obvious seeing as how I’m writing this from a cage. I think we both thought we were totally innocent but the other one wasn’t, you know?

Six months before we went to flight camp, we both had to move in with our grandparents up in Canterlot because our parents couldn’t afford taking us to the local flight camp. Why did we have to move to the flight school in Canterlot for years when we could’ve just gone to Cloudsdale first? Long story, tell you later. But anyway, as we were on the way to our new place, it seemed like we were gonna live better lives, like live in better homes, eat better food, work less, all that nice stuff. But it wasn’t until we got there that we realized we ended up in the “wrong” side of Canterlot, where all the crime, gangs and violence went down. It didn’t take long for us to get used to it, either. In most cases, if you weren’t in some kind of gang, you’d get the hell beaten out of you or killed, and there weren’t a lot of shortcuts through the neighborhood to avoid them. My sister had it a little easier for some reason, but for me, it went all the way. I had to do things I didn’t want for the sake of my own life, and as a result, it shaped me into an angry, violent person that I don’t like.

Obviously, I wasn’t the only one going through changes. Gilda started hanging around different groups, like these clicks, you know? Cliques, clicks, I forget which one. I never liked the people she hung out with, and I’d hardly call them friends. They got her into trouble a lot in school and on the streets, but she never really cared, even when I pointed it out. Sometimes we wouldn’t see for her weeks straight, then she’d come home a drunk mess, angry and furious. Even when it was just us, she didn’t like hanging out with me anymore, and it made us both very distant. I don’t know how much it hurt her, but it definitely broke my heart.

Years passed and we went to Cloudsdale together. I thought getting to live under better circumstances would’ve made things improve, but boy was I wrong. She’d yell and snap at me over completely pointless things, like pointing out she was wrong or warning her about something. She’d insult me both in my face and behind my back. It seemed all the times she did it was when I was trying to help her. That stupid Rainbow Dash she hung out with pissed me off the most. I swear she must’ve been the biggest reason my sister became such a bitch.

I’m sorry for snapping about your friend. Don’t let her read this. It feels good just to let out pent up emotions to somebody, you know? I have friends I can talk to, but you’re different for some reason. No, I won’t take back what I wrote about Rainbow Dash. Another side of me wants to tear her up the same way I did Gilda, but naturally that didn’t work out the first time. Maybe I’m wrong about her, but I just want to blame my anger on somebody and destroy them. She might be completely innocent, and I kind of hope she is.

By the end of flight school, Gilda practically hated me. The only times she’d ever talk to me would be once or twice every month or so, and even then she didn’t seem to care. It was like looking at a completely different person. We both got jobs and we both worked, but it didn’t work out very well for the both of us. It was mainly just medial jobs like running stores, fixing things, weather patrol, all that stuff. Then after we found out our grandparents were getting too sick to run their bar in Canterlot, me and sis decided we would team up and take over the business for them. Sounded like a great idea at the time: getting a good, stable job while bonding with my sister again, right? But just like before, she was mean to me and pretty much everybody around her. Everything got worse. Two or three years passed and then, like an angel, you suddenly came in and somehow fixed everything.

I liked what you said about making mistakes: they’re just microchasms in our lives… or whatever that word means. I looked it up in the dictionary and couldn’t find it. Are you trying to mess with me, Rarity? Anyway, making mistakes doesn’t mean nothing but bad happens. I wanted to say this really bad when I was back in Ponyville, but mistakes are really important in our lives. If we didn’t suffer or feel pain, we would never look for help, right? That’s what happened back at the bar. You think it’s so bad you stole that bottle, but if you hadn’t, nothing would’ve changed between me and my sister. She’s been visiting me a lot in jail lately, and I can already tell the way she acts is really different. Maybe not different in all the good ways, but it’s a start, and lots of things still need to be fixed. We are talking in ways I thought we never would ever again. I have you to thank, Rarity.

I guess that’s enough about me. Can’t wait to see when you and Pinkie visit. It’ll be good to add another two visitors to the list, and maybe me and sis can work something out so we can all talk together and whatnot. So much is changing in my life right now, I don’t even care I’m in jail. Also, you don’t have to worry about my head, either: it’s pretty thick! I came away with some internal bleeding, but it went away really fast. I’m pretty glad you hit me with that bench. In a way, I wish you hit a little harder or with something bigger. It’s actually kind of funny now to think of being hit with a freakin’ park bench of all things. You must have some serious magic power, Rarity. Ponies oughta’ watch out around you, I’m being serious.

Again, Rarity, thank you so much for what you’ve done for me. I may just be one guy in a world full of them, but when things get bad, you’ll always have my support and appreciation.

It feels good to have my sister back.

From your friend,

Flicker