Generosity of a Mare

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