"Hello, Copper."

Dust's pupils shrank to pinpricks as his hoof fell away from the door handle. He could almost feel his whole world caving in.

"T-Tinker?"

Oh, Harmony, no. Why is she here? She knows where I live. She's seen my door—oh shit...

She called me Copper.

She knows...

In the hallway, the grey mare stood, stonelike. Her jaw was set in a hard line that matched her eyes. Her ears were up, rather than back in typical anger. She was clearly upset, though, because her wings were off her back and halfway to flared. Only that and the slight quiver of her jaw betrayed the emotion she must have been feeling.

"Tinker, I... I don—" Dust cut off, his teeth clicking shut as Tinker's eyes flashed dangerously at him.

She took a deep breath, flicking her tail back and forth in agitation. "First off, I am very upset at you."

Dust hung his head in shame.

"You left me. Again. For somepony who claims to like having me as a friend, you do a lot of avoiding."

"I know..." he muttered.

Tinker forced him back until she could enter the room, not bothering to shut the door. "That pissed me off. But I'm also hurt, Dust."

Afraid of making her even more angry, he made himself meet her hard stare. True to her word, she looked less angry and more like she had been recently crying. "I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back..."

"Not that," she said, shaking her head sharply. "I'm hurt that you didn't feel like you could trust me when you so desperately need somepony to listen."

"I—what?"

Tinker sat down. "When you didn't show up for an entire week, I'd had it. I didn't care a lick that I'd promised you I wouldn't try to find out who you were. I started asking. Our classmates did not have complimentary things to say. No real facts or details, so I gathered not many of them actually knew you personally—but more than a few very, very bad names were used.”

Dust snorted.

"I wondered if maybe you had been telling the truth; that maybe everypony really did hate you. But then I randomly met somepony different. A small, yellow unicorn, named Footlight. He not only knew you, he's actually been here. He told me you went by the name 'Copper', and I admit, I was actually a bit confused by how he described you."

"I—" Dust's mind was almost numb with cascading emotions, each one trying to block out all the others. "He—he's a good stallion. What did he say?"

"Oh, he went on and on. Used words like 'kind', 'compassionate', 'gentle'... 'skilled'."

Dust flushed even redder.

"He outright said you're the reason he found his special somepony."

"I, uh, I wouldn't go that far, but I guess it could be seen that way."

Tinker cocked her head to the side and stared at Dust. "You know, it's one thing to hear somepony refer to someone off-hoof as 'whore', 'slut', or 'freak'. It's something else entirely to have it confirmed in plain words that a pony actually paid you to have sex with them."

"Yeah..." Dust turned away. "Yeah, that happened. So was I right or what?"

"At that moment, I'll admit that I wished I had listened to you. I honestly couldn't believe that I was hearing about the same pony I'd met in person. It made a weird sort of sense, but on the other hoof, it really didn't. It just didn't seem like you, even though—" She sighed, shaking her mane out in frustration. "The thing is, though, that was when Saxus found me."

Dust perked up immediately.

"He said he heard I'd been asking about you. He told me flat out that I didn't understand anything about you if I was just asking everypony else what they thought. Your friend told me why you started, and that something absolutely awful had happened to you. He didn't say what, but suddenly everything made a little bit more sense to me. Why you seemed depressed, why you withdrew, why you changed your mane."

"Yeah..."

"Saxus was seriously worried about you, Dust. He kind of blames himself for getting you into this whole thing."

"Of course it's not his fault, it's mine." Dust shook his head sadly. "So, is that it, then? You know most of it now, so I'll understand."

Tinker stepped forward, putting a hoof out to touch Dust's cheek. "Dust, I don't hate you."

He turned to look at the wall, pulling away from her touch.

"Saxus also said you probably wouldn't believe me if I said that I was okay with your past. So I came up with something to try to prove it to you."

Worried, Dust turned back to see Tinker's uncertain smile as she held up two twenty-bit coins.

He backpedaled a few steps, bumping against his desk. "Tinker, no, I—Harmony, no, please. I don't—I can't do that anymore!"

Tinker took a breath and stood up, refusing to back down, still holding the bits in front of his face. "Dust, please. This isn't like before. I just want it to be clear that I understand what you did, and I don't care." She placed the bits down on his desk. "Will you trust me?"

"I—I want to..." he said, his body shaking with bottled-up fear.

The mare stepped forward again, reaching her hoof out for his. "Come with me."

Dust reached out halfway, reluctant to commit.

"I promise you, whatever you're afraid of, it won't happen." Steeling himself, Dust took her hoof, and she drew him up to his hooves. "Come on."

Following meekly, Dust walked out the door with her, so unfocused he couldn't even concentrate on something nice like her flanks. There was a definite light at the end of his tunnel, but from where he was he couldn't tell if it was a healing light or the pyre he would burn on.

Tinker headed out of the dorm hall and took off, checking to be sure Dust was still following. She led him out into the sky, away from campus and off towards the western edge of Manehattan. Wherever they were headed, the view from above the city was impressive. The sun was only a few hours from setting, and the shadows were just starting to draw out and lengthen beneath them. Tinker flew for at least half an hour, until the university was well out of sight behind them.

"Uh," Dust called up, panting slightly from the effort, "where exactly are we going?"

Tinker didn't answer right away. She was looking down, casting her gaze about for something in particular. "Right... about... there!"

In a flash, Tinker rolled and dove for the ground. Dust followed close behind, and the pair soon touched down in a small glade. A small spring-fed pool rippled in the center, and the whole place was encompassed on three sides by bushes, trees, and general foliage. Towards the west, though, the grove was open to the setting sun, with a majestic view of the northern plains. Dust shifted his hooves, slightly awed by how soft and thick the grass was.

Tinker trotted over to the pool and took a drink. "Ohh, that's nice and cold. So, what d'ya think? My guess is this place was cultivated by some earth pony student years ago or something as his or her private oasis. I found this place while I was moving to campus last fall, and I always come out here when I need some alone time. It's so peaceful..."

Dust couldn't help but agree. There was something almost... energizing about being here, in the middle of this special spot.

"Hey. Come here," she gently commanded, laying down on the grass and patting the ground next to her. Dust ruffled out his feathers and settled his wings against his back. He lay down on his belly and folded his legs under his body almost protectively, not yet willing to go so far as to lean against Tinker's side.

"This really is nice," he said. "Thanks for bringing me here."

"My pleasure."

Dust winced slightly at the word pleasure, suddenly reminded of why he followed the mare here in the first place.

She noticed. "Hey," she said, giving his neck a friendly nuzzle. "I told you to trust me. I'm buying your time to show you that I'm not upset that other ponies did the same in the past. I'm not any better or worse than they are; we're all on even ground now."

"Almost all of us." Dust sighed, but despite himself, it came out more contented than he intended it to.

He almost jumped to his hooves when he felt Tinker reach out and touch his back, but she gently held him down. He blushed, not wanting to ruin the moment by asking what she was doing as she carefully pulled on his wing. She continued, spreading it out to lay in front of her as she lay against him, draped across her front hooves.

She leaned over and closed her teeth gently over the first of his flight primaries, nuzzling and drawing her teeth back with the feather's grain. Dust gasped and almost instantly melted as his flight feathers were groomed. Despite Dust's presumptions, there was nothing inherently sexual in the act. It was comforting, tender, almost familial. He sighed happily.

"Nopony's preened my feathers for me since I was a colt," he muttered. "Not since my mom."

He heard her contented giggle. "I'm just showing you what you really deserve, Dust."

He turned to look over his shoulder at her, and she met his gaze openly. There were no ulterior motives hiding in her eyes. No surreptitious lick of the lips that betrayed hidden lusts. Her ears were laying modestly back against her head, and her smile was so warm he could feel his heart melting.

"You—you really mean that..."

She gave him another nuzzle. "I promise, I'll prove to you that I don't care what you've done. I care about you. And you deserve to have somepony treat you well without demanding anything back."

Tinker went back to her preening, her own wings fluttering slightly against her back as Dust made contented sighs and finally started to relax. With nothing else to do, Dust simply lay on the ground and enjoyed the most tender, intimate, and caring of touches that pegasi could share. He stretched out slightly, letting his front hooves lay forward so he could rest his head on them.

Tinker almost stopped as she looked up and saw tears glistening in the corners of Dust's closed eyes, until she saw the smile on his muzzle. It was the first genuine smile she'd seen him give since the semester began. Reassured, she continued, unwilling to break the spell for anything.

Dust was in heaven. The sun on his back was warm without being overbearing in the still-cool spring air, and he could feel Tinker's teeth as they ran against every one of his primary feathers in turn. He stirred a bit as she stood and moved to his other side, guiding his other wing over her forelegs.

"Are you happy, Dust?"

His eyes were still wet as he lifted his head and looked back at her, in the middle of caring for his wings. "You—you have no idea."

"Do you feel like talking at all?"

He nodded. "I suppose—and you deserve it. I'm sure you've got lots of questions. What do you want to know?"

"Not much," she said, stroking his wing with a hoof. "I don't care about details, or numbers, or anything like that. I don't necessarily want to know, and what I do need to know will come out in time. I just want to know what happened to you to make you what you were. I know somepony hurt you, badly."

Dust sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, they did." He stared out into the horizon, taking a few deep breaths as he watched the clouds against the slowly falling sun. "You know the thing about selling your body? It's the distance. Instantly, I realized that I was different from everypony else. After my first time I cried for almost two hours. I felt so dirty and ashamed. It was like I wasn't me anymore, I was a different pony who only looked like I used to. I knew how much I needed the money, though, so I just went with it. I thought that maybe if I was that other pony, then I would be able to go back to the real me when I didn't need the alter ego anymore.

"Suffice to say, it didn't work like that at all." Dust paused, taking a few more deep breaths to steady himself. Seeing his distress, Tinker leaned in against his side and kept stroking his wing with a hoof. He gave her a thankful smile. "I got so deep into it that I didn't realize that the old me just stopped existing at all. I changed my mane, I changed the way I walked and talked, and I changed the way I thought.

"I convinced myself that I loved it. I let myself love it. I loved the sex, the feelings, and the money. I didn't care if I was mounting somepony or the one being mounted. I loved being able to make ponies happy, and I told myself I was doing something good for others. I thought that would keep me safe."

He fell silent. Tinker leaned down, giving his neck an encouraging nuzzle. "I'm not going anywhere. What happened to you, Dust?"

"...I was raped. Violently."

Against his side, Tinker shuddered and hugged a wing across his back.

"While it was happening, I realized what it was I'd really done by selling my body. I'd devalued myself so much that I'd made myself worthless. I could earn money, but I couldn't earn respect—much less love. Nopony in the world cared except for Saxus and Breeze, and even that felt pointless to me. Nopony knew that I'd been abused, and nopony would have cared if they had known." He sniffed. "I just—I felt so—so worthless..."

Tinker folded Dust's wing back against his side so she could move alongside him. As the stallion's first tear fell, she wrapped her wings tight around his body, meshing her pinions across his chest and wrapped her neck around his. Even as he sobbed, he was shocked to realize that he could feel tears running down the back of his neck, too. Dust knew deep down that Saxus loved him as a brother, but even he hadn't wept over the pegasus in the moment he found him bruised and broken on the floor of his dorm room. Feeling Tinker shedding tears for him both intensified and eased his own grief, and he cried all the harder for it.

The two lay together and wept for what felt like an eternity. The tears within and without burned like fire to Dust—but at the end of it, he felt strangely like that same fire had cleansed him, burning out impurities in his soul. After holding the pain in for so long, he felt weirdly lightened as they calmed and silenced.

Tinker leaned forward, reached out her hooves, and caught his face between them. She pulled his head around to meet hers. Her eyes were red and heavy from her tears, and he knew his were similar. She held his face close to hers.

"Dust, I want you to know: I care. It doesn't matter to me if the entire rest of the world doesn't care. I do. You're worth something to your friends, and to me."

Impulsively, Dust lunged forward, touching his lips to Tinker's.

She pulled back, her eyes wide with surprise. "Sorry, sorry," he gasped, flinching at his rashness. "I just—I've never been in love, and with all the stuff that's happened, I'm not real sure what love feels like anyway, and I thought that maybe this might be it, and I was like 'what the hay', and—"

Dust's awkward, rambling confession cut off as Tinker leaned in for a kiss of her own.

"It might be, Dust," she said quietly. "It might just be."

He nuzzled his head under her neck, the subtle tears in his eyes now of joy rather than pain.

"Honestly, though, you've never been in love before?"

He drew back with a nervous cough. "Uh, no, can't say that I have. I'm not even sure I'd know either way, anymore."

Tinker swept her pink and blue mane back out of her face. "Because it's muddled up with lust now?"

"The opposite, actually. Because I did what I did without any feeling. You could say I fell in love with the thrill, but I never was attracted to any ponies. There wasn't ever even any lust. I stopped thinking about it." He gave the mare a sheepish grin. "When I first mentioned you, Breeze asked me if you were cute, and I just kinda locked up. I'd never even thought about it. I can't even tell if I'm attracted to somepony or not now."

Thankfully, Tinker laughed rather than taking offense to the notion. "Well, what do you think of me now?"

Dust took a moment to look over the mare sitting next to him. "Can I be weirdly honest?" She nodded, amused. "It isn't your body I notice most when I look at you. At least, not overall."

Her face scrunched awkwardly as one ear dipped sideways in confusion.

"Yes, that! Exactly!" He laughed out loud. "I notice things like your ears, the way they show what you're thinking, and those little tufts of fur on the tips. I notice your mane, and how the way it frames your face actually kinda makes me a little crazy. Those bright colors match your personality perfectly."

Tinker blushed. "I-I dye it," she admitted quietly. "The blue is my natural color."

"I couldn't care less; it's awesome." Dust leaned in slightly more. "I think I notice your eyes most, though. They're just so bright, and when you laugh they seem... I don't know, happier, maybe."

"Dust?"

He backed off slightly and stopped staring at her eyes. "Huh?"

"That's definitely considered attraction," she said, smiling.

He nodded firmly. "Okay then. You're cute. I'm glad we settled that."

Tinker giggled, and somehow the highly feminine sound didn't seem at all out of place on the tomcolt-ish pegasus.

"I dunno about love, though," Dust admitted. "I mean, most ponies can't even define it. All I know is that I trust you. More than I do myself."

"That's a pretty good place to start, I'd say."

He cocked his head to the side. "But, I'd say the same thing about Saxus, and Breeze, too. I'd do anything for those guys."

"That's love, too, Dust. It's all love. Love is putting somepony else above yourself—and letting them do the same for you. It can be brotherly or sisterly, or parental, or something more."

He smiled, ducking his head slightly. "I know it doesn't feel the same to me. I'd gladly die for them—but I'd pull the sun itself down out of the sky if you told me to. Since I was a colt, nopony has ever made me feel this safe."

When he looked back up, Tinker's face was flushed, her ears splayed back against her head. "So... are my bits still good at this market?"

Dust snorted. "I'm not taking your money, Tinker. I made ponies pay so they could have a way to disconnect emotionally. That's the last thing I want from you."

She twiddled her hooves. "Well, I just think it's tragic that you've experienced so much sex and never any love."

"Wait." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you trying to heal me with sex?"

Tinker had the good sense to look sheepish. "Um, maybe. Would it work?"

"Do you really think it's a good idea to move that quickly? I mean, are we even actually a couple?"

The mare's ears swiveled out to the sides, her muzzle scrunching adorably. "If I were anypony else wouldn't we already have been finished by now?"

"Yeah. And that's sort of the point." He sighed, his own ears laying back as he looked out towards the setting sun. "Look, Tinker, I like you. A lot. I might very well even love you. It's hard to say at the moment, but I don't want to blow it. I don't want to run the risk that it'll feel the same to me, just hollow." His tail whipped across the grass. "I need to know."

He felt his muzzle pulled back to the side, and before he could say anything else, he found Tinker's muzzle pressed intently and forcefully to his. His eyes went wide with surprise, slowly fluttering closed as he felt the mare's tongue gently lap against his lips. Dust's wings shivered and extended to wrap around Tinker's shoulders as he got into the spirit of the kiss.

Dust let his lip part just slightly, and felt Tinker's tongue against his for the first time. It was unlike any experience he'd ever had. It wasn't wanton or sloppy, it was controlled and intense; the kiss of a mare who wanted him instead of what he was offering. Tinker took her time, tracing her tongue carefully across his flat teeth. Her tongue didn't wrestle against his, it caressed it. Dust breathed hard through his nose, his senses filled with the mare. Her mane drooped down to tickle his forehead and his cheek, and the taste of her was... exquisite.

Tinker withdrew, breaking the kiss and taking a deep breath as she met Dust's eyes. "How was that?" she asked.

"Different," he panted. "Very, very different. Not—not same at all."

Grinning widely, Tinker rolled to her side and scooted closer to Dust so she could throw her hooves around him. He closed his eyes, arching his back and shivering as her hooves began to scratch at the fur at the base of his neck. He started to roll himself over to meet her face-to-face, but her hooves held him gently in place again.

"No, stay there for now. I don't want you to do anything."

He gave her a confused—but satisfied—glance. "I, uh, why not?"

"Because," she said, her half-open eyes flashing in the gold light, "I want you to sit back and see how it feels having somepony take care of you."

Dust wanted to protest. He really wanted to ignore her offer and jump back into the moment himself, but he remembered her words: Love is putting somepony else above yourself—and letting them do the same for you. With a great deal of mental effort, he forced himself to stay still and allow Tinker to do what she wished. She's doing this because she cares, he kept telling himself.

Whatever he was feeling, Dust couldn't contain a moan as her hooves began to work into his shoulders. He heard her giggle, not quite underneath him, and resisted jumping as her head darted up and planted a kiss on the base of his jaw.

Tinker shifted, rolling herself back upright alongside her stallion. His wings were still very relaxed and—if she was honest—quite beautiful, especially now that they were straight and clean. She let them splay out onto the grass on either side of his body, her own wings barely able to stay close to her sides due to her excitement.

The mare's hooves came down right in the center of Dust's back, just below the wing joints, and Dust let out a full-on moan as he felt his muscles give way under the kneading. The stallion's body stretched from tip to tail and went slack, falling into a limp, contented pile. It soon became apparent, though, that Tinker wasn't satisfied with him being merely content.

As Dust lay flat, experiencing pure bliss, he felt Tinker's hooves gravitating towards his wings again, but the touch they gave this time was anything but familial. Tinker ran her hooves around the base of his wings, rubbing his skin over the muscles underneath. Like most pegasi, flying gave Dust a well-defined set of back and shoulder muscles, and Tinker began tracing her hooves through the grooves between each one. He was just beginning to get accustomed to the new touches when he felt Tinker's body lean in against his side and her mane drape against his back.

He gasped as Tinker stretched out her neck and ran her tongue over those muscles. It traced down his spine, making him shiver. It circled around the base of his wings, and she drew a moan out of him when she pressed her mouth to his wingbase and suckled. Dust's wings fluttered, straightening out flat above the ground as his body tensed in pleasure. Laying against his body, Tinker took his wing in her hooves and began to run her mouth all along its leading edge.

Dust practically purred. These were sensations he was entirely new to, and they were intense. Nopony had ever treated him like this, with such desire and gentleness. His hooves reached out in front of him, pawing at the grass as he wriggled under Tinker's touch.

For her own part, Tinker's wings were tensely flared, barely in her control to keep close to her body. As her mouth played with his wings, her teeth gently nipping at his back, her hooves began to caress his sides. Dust's back arched under her touch as she traced from his forelegs down towards his cutie marks, enjoying each one of his gasps and twitches.

Dust's body had completely forgotten his mind's misgivings. He felt like his chest was on fire with an unfamiliar combination of joy and desire, and Tinker's hooves were certainly having their intended effect. He fought to keep from wriggling against the ground as his stallionhood began to make itself known underneath him. He felt as though he could ignore any minor discomfort or awkward position for as long as necessary if it meant never having Tinker's hooves leave his body.

He could only hold out for so long, though. Dust had to arch his rump upwards to allow his pride room to lay flat without getting cramped into a weird and uncomfortable position against his belly. Tinker noticed. And glancing backwards, Dust knew that she noticed. Her eyes were firmly riveted to his rump as it shifted uncomfortably.

He blushed, trying not to cringe away from her stare. "I, uh, whooo..." Harmony, how long has it been since I've been embarrassed in front of a mare? Or anypony, really? "Tinker, I..."

She looked back up and saw his discomfort. "Dust, do you want to go further?"

"I, well..." he said, his face scrunching in sympathy with his internal turmoil.

Tinker gave him a sympathetic smile. She pushed his near wing away enough that she could lay forward underneath it, against his side again. "We don't have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. That's the last thing I want."

He gave her a thankful smile, wrapping the wing around her. "Yeah, I—I just don't know what I feel right now. I mean, I do want it. I want it badly. But I just can't. Not... now."

She shrugged. "Hey, I got time. I'll be here for at least another three years, anyway."

"Yeah..." he replied slowly, frowning. "I'm not sure if I will be or not. I mean, I think I'll be here for this summer at least, but I dunno with the way things have gone so far."

"Well, you said you'd quit, right? What would keep you out now?"

Dust winced slightly. "Well, my grades aren't nearly as good anymore, but I think I can mostly fix that. I just—well, I don't think I'm going to be allowed back into my dorm next year."

"Is it that bad?"

"It's nearly that bad," he said, running a hoof through his mane. "Heck, just being charged for the damage to my door would be bad enough, but I'm pretty sure nopony wants to live near me. It would be nice to move to one of the campus apartments or something, but; one, I'm still an underclasspony, and two, that would require at least two other ponies being willing to live with me. That might be asking a lot..."

Tinker watched his face carefully. "That's not it, though, is it?"

Dust bit his lower lip. "No," he finally admitted. "Frankly, I'm... I'm still scared. I'm scared that I'll end up seeing him around campus."

"You mean your attacker?" Tinker asked quietly. Dust nodded. "You know, I bet we can do something about him."

"You mean go to the guard, right?"

"Well, yeah," Tinker said, trying not to sound pushy. "He committed a major crime, and you're terrified of him. Dust, we need to do something. We need to talk to somepony."

Dust shuddered, shaking his head slightly. "I—I don't think I can..."

"What if Saxus went with you for support?" Dust cocked his head noncommittally. "What if I went with you, too?"

He stared intently out at the setting sun, taking his time. Tinker watched him and waited.

"With you two by my side, maybe. I might be able to go through with it."

"Okay." Tinker leaned over and gave Dust's cheek a tender nuzzle. "That can come later. For now, let's just enjoy what we have."

Dust couldn't have agreed more.

"You ready?"

Dust gave Tinker a sideways glance and a silent, hesitant nod.

Tinker laid her wing across his shoulders and rapped a hoof at the door. Within a few moments, the latch twisted and the door opened.

"Ah," Saxus said, "Good evening."

"Hey, Shadow," Dust replied. "Can we come in?"

"Of course. Tinker," the earth pony said, nodding his head politely to the mare.

She replied in kind, keeping her wing around Dust as they entered the dorm room.

"So, what brings you two here, together?"

Tinker glanced over, and decided to speak for the pair of pegasi. "I took your advice, Saxus. We, well, things went well. Very well, in fact. Dust needed to come here first to tell you something."

Dust took a deep breath. "It was High Society."

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!" Breeze shouted, jumping to his hooves and pacing behind his desk. "Did I not tell you? I feel like I have to take a shower every damn time that sleazebag walks by, and now I know why! I swear by Luna's moon, I'm gonna tear his horn off and—"

"Please, Breeze," Dust cut off his friend's tirade, holding up a hoof. "Please don't. I may be in trouble for what I've done, and I won't stand to see anypony else get in trouble on my behalf." He took another deep breath, blowing it out slowly and steadily. "I—I'm ready. I'm ready to tell the city guard. I think."

Saxus' eyes seemed to light up. "Really?"

Dust nodded. "Yeah, I think I can do it. If you guys are there, too."

Breeze knocked over his pencil stand in petulant anger at not being allowed violence as an option, but he jumped to join the circle of friends without hesitation. "Always, dude. All the way."

Saxus nodded emphatically, his ears eagerly forward. "Let's do it."

The following Thursday evening found the four ponies hanging out in Saxus and Breeze's room, enjoying the sweet freedom of having survived finals week. Throughout the week, all four ponies had made the room their headquarters of sorts, studying together, laughing, and—most importantly—not being alone.

"Celestia's mane, dude, did you ever think we'd make it through this week?" Saxus sighed, leaning back in his desk chair with a highly relieved look on his muzzle.

"Eh, it wasn't so bad," Dust said, a bit quietly.

"Yeah, but you're smart," Breeze retorted.

Tinker giggled at the trio's bantering, as she often did. "So, what are you two doing for the summer?" she asked.

Breeze sighed happily. "Sleeping for a week straight. Then I guess I'll have to get a job or something."

Saxus chuckled. "I've got a summer class at the community school back home I'd like to take to kill off some credits, and my father actually helped me line up an internship for the summer. So I'll be good and busy until fall." He looked up at Dust and Tinker, an oddly knowing smile at the corner of his mouth. "So, how about you two?"

Dust ruffled his own mane with a hoof. "Well, I'm staying here, mostly. I'll be going home tomorrow for a week to see my mom and catch up, and then I'm coming back. Surprisingly, I got a summer housing apartment, and I'll be working a job here in Manehattan, which is much easier to find after everypony leaves for the summer." He chuckled. "Mostly, though, I'll be here because I'll be starting weekly therapy sessions with one of the professors in the psych-sci department."

Everypony nodded happily at that, and Tinker reached a wing over to rub Dust's back. "As for me, I'll be staying here, too. There's a few summer classes I wanted to take that weren't in my major, and I'll be working for the facilities department." She looked over and smiled at Dust. "Mostly, though, I'll be taking care of this guy."

Dust gave a small but heartfelt smile. "Yeah. She agreed to go with me to my therapy sessions. It's gonna suck so bad, but I think I might be able to stick it out with her there."

The pegasi gave each other an affectionate nuzzle as the other two stallions chuckled. "Harmony help us, it's terrible," Breeze joked. "Either get yourselves a room or get me some insulin."

Saxus rolled his eyes. "Har, har. Anyway, I got some news today, and there's actually a few surprises I think you'll like, Dust."

The pegasus perked up. "Such as?"

"Well, first off, that detective from the Manehattan guard we talked to last week actually stopped by and caught me after one of my finals. He kinda gave me an update on what's going on." Saxus put a hoof to his chin thoughtfully, trying to keep a smile off of his face. "Turns out High Society has a bit of a history. He transferred to UE:M last year because he was quietly kicked out of Canterlot University after two other incidents. He was charged with sexual assault of two mares, but never convicted because they mysteriously dropped charges. Apparently, he picks his targets based on who he can best bully into silence."

"Yeah, I got that," Dust winced and snorted angrily. "No such luck this time, though."

"Yeah. And the detective said that between our testimonies and High's history, there's a very good chance that you might not even have to take the stand for his trial. He'll probably try for a deal, of course, but no matter what he's still not coming back to UE:M until long after we're all gone."

"Sweet!" Tinker whooped happily, holding up her hoof for Dust to bump. "Good freaking riddance."

Dust chuckled and knocked his hoof against hers. "Yeah, that's pretty good news."

"Oh, but that's not all." Dust cocked his head, as both Breeze and Saxus were grinning fit to burst. "On an unrelated note, don't bother packing your stuff up at the end of the summer, Dust."

Dust gave the pair a confused look. "I—huh?"

Breeze chimed in. "Shadow and me pulled a few strings, talked to a few ponies, and greased a few hooves where we could. We got you assigned to that apartment for next semester, too."

"Shadow and I," Saxus interjected.

"Shut up, you just study rocks."

Dust stared at the roommates, amazed. "But, how did you do that? You have to be a junior to get into the student apartments, don't you?"

"Well," Saxus said coyly, "it just so happens that Breeze and I are juniors next year, and we both wanted an apartment." He buffed his hoof idly against his chest, playing it casual. "Also, we signed your name as our preferred roommate, and after visiting with your dorm's resident director, he said he'd recommend that it be allowed."

"So you're roomin' with us next year, buddy!" Breeze bellowed, rocking erratically in his chair with excitement. "Also, sorry, but we stole some of the spare bits out of your dresser drawer and paid the double fee for your room, so it'll just be the three of us." He grinned at Tinker. "We thought you two might, ah, appreciate that part."

Tinker blushed and smiled as Dust looked down, nearly in tears. "I—wow, guys..." he said quietly. "I don't know—sniff—don't know what to say, really."

Saxus waved a hoof vaguely at Dust. "No, really, it's cool," he said, wiping at his own eye as subtly as he could. "You already said it weeks ago."

"I did?"

Saxus shrugged. "When you told us you needed help. Breeze and I have been talking it over, and honestly, this was about the least we could do. We already hang out enough anyway, so why not just bunk up and share a place, right?"

Dust wiped his eyes and smiled. "Thanks, guys. Thanks for everything."

Author's Note

i cri erry tiem. ;_;

I know there will be a few people out there who aren't satisfied with the ending (myself included, at least not entirely), but more often than not life doesn't work out like the stories we're used to. Sometimes things go well, sometimes not, but I strive for that realism in my work. I thought this was more true to life than some big climactic showdown. I save those for the adventure stories.

For those who wonder, here's a picture of Tinker. It's an old one, back from when she was still an earth pony in my head, but it's still a great rendition my friend did for me. Maybe someday I'll get around to drawing again and do Dust.

Welp. The story is over.

However, in the immortal words of Steve Jobs, "there is one more thing."