Four is Greater

Chapters

1. Revelations
2. Aftermath
3. Spike's Mission

1. Revelations

Four is Greater
Chapter 1
Revelations

The air was thick with anticipation as five gathered friends waited anxiously for the final member of their group to arrive. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all sat at a rather large, circular table outside one of Ponyville's many cafes. Rainbow Dash had come by each of their homes early in the day and gathered them all for lunch, claiming 'important business' that apparently couldn't wait. But now the time they were supposed to meet had come and gone without so much as a glimpse of the cyan mare that had gathered them, and they were growing concerned.

“It just ain't like her,” Applejack exclaimed, “she's been late before, but never like this, especially for something she set up.”

“It is quite unusual,” Rarity agreed with a gentle nod.

“M-maybe something happened to her?” Fluttershy asked nervously, eliciting worried glances from the rest of her friends.

“I'm sure there's nothing wrong,” Twilight assured calmly, “She probably just got held up with weather duty or something.”

“I hope you're right,” Pinkie spoke up ecstatically, “we wouldn't want her to miss the news.

Twilight groaned, slapping a hoof to her forehead. “Pinkie... she's the one with the news!”

“Well duh Twilight; that's what makes it so bad. I mean, who would want to miss their own news?” Pinkie asked, as though everypony – or for that matter anypony – could understand her train of thought or conclusions.

Twilight started to reply, but was silenced as a orange hoof rested itself on her shoulder. She turned to see Applejack shaking her head and mouthing the word 'don't'. Twilight nodded in understanding and closed her jaw.

“Well whatever it is I hope she gets here soon; I have a big order waiting for me back at the shop,” Rarity huffed, annoyance beginning to tint her voice as her eyes scanned around the cafe for their elusive pegasus friend.

“H-hey guys,” a new voice said hesitantly. The group recognized the newcomer instantly, all of them turning to great the pegasus that had approached, most likely from above, without any of them noticing. When they did however, their greetings died on their tongues. Standing before them was not the brash and confident pegasus mare. Rather, she seemed to be doing a rather good impression of Fluttershy; tilting her head down in a vain attempt to hide behind her mane with her wings ruffling at her sides, as though begging her to fly away as fast as they could carry her. Her voice was uneven and her hooves visibly shook as she pulled out a chair for herself and sat in it. “S-sorry for being late...”

“Oh it's no problem at all dear,” Rarity said quickly, her annoyance all but gone as she saw the state her pegasus friend was in. All of them watched her with concerned and puzzled expressions as she sat slowly in the chair, leaning back into it as she let out a long, shaky breath.

“So...” Twilight started slowly, hoping Rainbow would get the hint.

Rainbow snapped her head down to look across the table at the eyes of her five closest friends. “It'll be alright,” she muttered under her breath. Nopony heard it.

“What did you want to talk about?” Applejack asked curiously, filling the empty air Twilight's question had left.

“Right... umm...” Rainbow fluttered her wings nervously at her sides, the feathers ruffling and sending a light breeze across the table. “I uh... I have... uh...” she swallowed thickly, struggling to get the words out.

“Yes?” Fluttershy said quietly, smiling gently in an attempt to alleviate some of Rainbow's nerves.

“You guys are my friends, right?” Rainbow asked suddenly, catching everypony off guard. The group, at first unsure what to do, eventually found there answers in simple, yet heartfelt nods. “Good... good, that's.... good...” Rainbow rubbed her hooves together nervously in her lap, just below the table and out of sight from the ponies sitting around her.

“Rainbow? What's this about?” Twilight asked curiously, now truly worried about her friend and what it was she had to tell them.

“It's... it's...” Rainbow shifted nervously in her chair, eyes darting everywhere and landing on everything except the five ponies gathered before her. “About me...” she trailed off nervously, her eyes finally resting on the table beneath her.

“Oooooh! Did you perfect a new trick you wanted to show us?” Pinkie asked excitedly, bouncing in her chair. A faint groan and smack could once again be heard coming from Twilight's chair, but the pink mare's comment went ignored by the rest of the group.

“No... I didn't... it's...” Rainbow sighed as she trailed off yet again, turning her head and scanning the area around them for any other ponies that may overhear their conversation. The cafe was all but deserted, as was the street it was next to. Being well past noon in the middle of the week ponies were either at their jobs or at home. Only the staff of the cafe were present, and they were all inside the actual building after being shewed away repeatedly by the group while they were waiting.

Taking a deep breath a clenching her eyes closed, Rainbow breathed out “I'm gay” as quickly and quietly as possible while still keeping the words audible for her friends.

An earsplitting silence followed.

Nopony moved. Nopony even breathed. They all just sat there, their faces seemingly frozen in time as they regarded the mare before them. Rainbow still held her eyes shut, the silence filling her ears. She wanted so desperately to scream, to break the silence. To get out and fly away and never turn back. But she couldn't, not yet; she had to know what her best friends thought. She had to know.

And then, the silence was broken. Broken by a small, tiny, insignificant giggle. A giggle that was somehow crossed with a snort. It was the distinguishable giggle of Pinkie, self-dubbed the giggle-snort. And then, laughter, Laughter flowed from all around the table, and Rainbow opened her eyes curiously as all her friends... laughed? That wasn't right... had they misheard?

“T-that's a good one, Dashie!” Pinkie gushed through her joyous laughter.

“Yeah,” Applejack agreed through her own mirth, “for a second there I thought you were bein' serious!”

As Rainbow Dash stared, flabbergasted at her friend's reaction. She noticed that one of them wasn't laughing. All of them were laughing; even Fluttershy was giggling in her own, timid fashion, but one pony wasn't. One pony, one lavender unicorn, was looking between her laughing friends and the pegasus that had caused it with a look of confusion on her face. Confusion and... hurt?

Shaking her head, Rainbow focused instead on the ponies who had taken her confession as a joke. “Girls?” She asked quietly, attempting to get their attention. They didn't even hear her over the sound of their laughing.

“Girls!” Rainbow tried, louder this time. Still, it was to no avail. Growing annoyed and a little insulted and that her best friends hadn't even taken her seriously, she tried something else. “I wasn't kidding!” She shouted, managing to get her voice just loud enough to be heard over the sound of their laughing. Once they heard it, though, they all fell silent instantly. All of them looked on in confusion and... something else. Something Dash couldn’t place her hoof on. Something she didn't want to place her hoof on. All but one had this look. All but Twilight Sparkle, who was looking at her with a gentle smile, apparently oblivious to the others' stares.

And then the world fell apart.

“What in tarnation are ya talkin' about?” Applejack asked, her voice an odd mix of confused and angry. “Y'all can't be one of... them! Ya just can't!”

Twilight's eyes grew wide as she stared in shock at Applejack, her look going unnoticed by the group. Her jaw fell as Rarity nodded.

“Certainly not becoming of a proper lady,” she said with a tint of indignation, tilting her nose up and away from the pony before her.

Rainbow visibly cringed away from the rejection, turning her head away from a shocked Applejack and indignant Rarity, instead looking hopefully at Fluttershy and Pinkie. “You two?” She asked, her voice trembling as moisture started gathering in her eyes.

“I...” Fluttershy trailed off, hiding behind her long pink mane. Pinkie remained silent, staring off into space. Her mane was starting to flatten.

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow repeated weakly, barely finding the strength to speak.

“I...” Fluttershy glanced around the table. Twilight still seemed to be in some form of shock, simply staring at Applejack, who was still trying to wrap her head around the notion. Rarity wasn't even looking at Rainbow Dash.

“Please Fluttershy, please; not you too,” Rainbow was nearly begging, holding on to any strand of hope she could find as solitary tears started leaking from her eyes..

“I... I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. It's not natural,” Fluttershy whispered finally, turning her head away from the pegasus, hiding her own teary eyes behind her mane.

“P-Pinkie?” Rainbow was openly crying as she turned to the bubbly pink mare, dark trails running down her cheeks. She held little hope Pinkie's opinion would be any different.

She was right; Pinkie said nothing. Instead she just turned her head away, but that was all she needed to do for Rainbow to get the message. But there was still one... one who hadn't laughed; one who had smiled. One who was still looking shocked at the rest of their friends.

“Twilight?” Rainbow whispered, not even making eye contact with the mare as she closed her eyes, searching for any last shred of hope she had.

“I... I don't...” Twilight trailed off as all eyes gathered on her. All of them wanted to know her answer.

“You can't possibly support her!” Rarity argued, “You're from Canterlot; surely you were raised better!”

“I didn't... I wasn't...” Twilight fumbled with her words, unsure of what to say or do. Rainbow still wouldn't look at her, fearing the reaction, and the rest all wanted her to agree with them.

“It ain't normal!” Applejack protested, “Granny raised me better than to be around the likes of her. I've heard stories about her kind, Twilight.”

“But... she's... I... She's still Rainbow Dash, and... I...” Twilight trailed off as the glares of her friends intensified. Rainbow opened her eyes, looking at her hopefully. “I... I'm sorry,” she said, hanging her head, “I can't do this.” Before anypony could protest, she was gone in a flash of magical light, leaving an empty seat, four confused and angry ponies, and one heartbroken pegasus.

-_-_-_-

Twilight paced back and forth in her bedroom, eyes locked on the floor in front of her as she walked. She'd occasionally grumble something under her breath, but other than that she was silent, aside from the clicking of her hooves on the wooden floor. Thoughts and feeling ran through her head, each one conflicting with the last. It was... wrong to be gay? Why? Why was everypony suddenly so mean to Rainbow? She was still the Rainbow they all knew right? Why did being gay make a difference?

“Twilight? You in there?” Spike called, tapping lightly against the closed door to her bedroom.

“Not now Spike!” Twilight snapped, whirling around and glaring at the door. A moment of silence followed her outburst before Spike replied.

“Sheesh, no need to bite my head off,” the dragon grumbled, his footsteps leading away from her door and down the stairs to the main floor of the library.

Twilight sighed heavily, going over and flopping down on her bed. What was she supposed to do? She'd never before had a reason to doubt her friends, but now they were divided, and they were forcing her to pick a side. But who was right? She didn't think being gay was such a bad thing, but her friends had been right about things she thought were wrong before.

What if she picked a side, though? If she voiced her beliefs, she'd likely lose Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy as friends, but she'd keep Rainbow. On the other hoof, if she lied about what she thought, she'd only lose Rainbow's friendship.

Lie to keep four, or tell the truth and keep only one. Balance of a conscience and friends. That such a seemingly meaningless thing as sexual orientation could cause such a divide amongst ponies was truly shocking to the young unicorn mare. Her rational mind kept telling her that, no matter how she looked at it, four was greater than one, but that didn't sit well with the rest of her mind. The part that was still relishing in the feeling of finally having friends wanted her too keep as many as possible, but could she handle the guilt? She'd have to choose eventually; no amount of hiding in her library could stop that.

Twilight was suddenly thrust out of her dilemma by another round of knocks at her door. She groaned as she pushed herself off her bed, wishing Spike would just leave her alone. She couldn't really be mad at him, though; he could tell when something as wrong and was only trying to help in any way he could. She even managed a small smile at the thought. When she opened the door, however, that smile dropped from her face. Instead of her baby dragon she found Rainbow Dash, who looked even worse than she had back at the cafe.

There were dark tracks under her eyes, running down her cheeks. A few glistening tears still stuck to her fur, even as she tried to wipe them away with a hoof. Her eyes themselves were tired and filled with a mixture of pain and a burning anger. But behind that was something else; a battle of sorts hidden and yet still plain as day, between a tentative hope and soul crushing fear.

Twilight's heart broke as she saw the equally broken mare, instantly berating herself for even considering lying to keep four of her friends. Rainbow had already been hurt enough; she didn’t need more pain piled on. But.. what could Twilight do? She'd likely be shunned by the rest of her friends for it. Even with that risk, she couldn't quite bring herself to deny Rainbow the comfort she so clearly needed, at least, not-

“Twilight!?” Another voice called. Rainbow visibly flinched as Applejack's heavy southern accent reached her ears. A moment later the farmer showed up at her bedroom door, hooves screeching to a halt as she saw the pegasus already in the room.

“Twilight! Are you okay? Did she do anything to you? Dash I swear if you laid a single filly-fooling hoof on Twilight I'll-”

“AJ! She didn't do anything!” Twilight snapped, watching as the anger flared up in Rainbow's eyes, though she remained still, not even turning to look at the pony behind her.

“Yet,” Applejack grumbled, carefully stepping around Rainbow and into Twilight's bedroom. “Anyway, I figured she'd come here. I'm just here to make sure she don't try to put any of her... illness in your head.”

“Applejack, it's not an illness; it's-” Twilight started, only to be stopped by a harsh glare from Applejack.

“Don't tell me you think it's okay to like other mares like that!” She said incredulously. Rainbow remained silent, simply looking at Twilight with an unreadable expression.

“Well...” Twilight trailed off. Four is greater than one, her mind reminded her. She looked between Applejack and Rainbow nervously.

“Twi,” Rainbow started, the first word she'd spoken since arriving. Twilight looked up in surprise. “What do you really think?” She asked plainly. Hope and fear's battle reached a fever pitch in her eyes.

“I...” Twilight fumbled again, once more she was cornered, only this time she had nowhere she could teleport to.

“It's us or her, Twilight,” Applejack threatened, eyeing Rainbow suspiciously even as she kept her distance from the pegasus.

Four is and always will be bigger than one! Her mind called again.

“Twi.”

“Twilight!”

“Twi, please; the truth.”

“Twilight you have to see it's wrong!”

Four is greater than one!

“I...”

“Canterlot should have taught you better!”

“What did Celestia teach you?”

It's basic math! No matter how you look at it four is bigger than one!

“I... I'm sorry,” Twilight whispered, hanging her head low to the ground. “It's... not natural...”

Author's Note

Alright, before you get out your torches and pitchforks because I made the M6... er, M4 homophobic, take a moment a listen.

Until I see an official episode of My Little Pony; Friendship is Magic, where the ponies march down the street with gay-pride flags and I hear them say that they are not homophobic, there is no argument you can use that would logically rule the possibility out. Absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence.

That being said, in the coming chapters there are going to be some very... extreme cases of homophobia and some incredibly misinformed beliefs. Before you call me out on those let me make this abundantly clear:

Every thing I use in this story, every argument, every belief, and every thought, comes straight from people I know or knew personally. Trust me, when you've seen half the crap I have, this story becomes very believable. A person can be a decent person and still be homophobic because of the ideas they were raised with. So lend me as much suspensions of disbelief as you can and try to understand that I have personally experienced everything in this story.

Some clarification next. This story takes place shortly after season one, when Twilight is still new to having friends and hasn't quite figured out the ins and outs of it yet. And yes, I can see her picking the bigger number; I myself was in her situation, and though I did not make the same choice, I know exactly how hard it is to turn your back on the majority of your friends.

Also, the first three chapters of this were written almost a year ago, so forgive the slightly-novice writing. I edited and cleaned it up as best I could without completely rewriting the thing.

Finally, yes; this is going to eventually be Twidash.

Comments are always appreciated.

2. Aftermath

Four is Greater
Chapter 2
Aftermath

Applejack stood with a solid smile on her face, grinning proudly at Twilight.

Rainbow Dash was stock-still, her face betraying no emotion.

Twilight looked to be on the verge of tears.

And then, in a sudden burst of speed, Rainbow as gone, the sound of shattering glass filled the room as Twilight's previously locked balcony doors were blasted clean off their hinges, falling out onto her balcony with a pegasus sized hole cut clean through the wood design lining the glass patterns, the glass itself now nothing but shards littering the floor. Twilight watched in silent horror as the rainbow trail of her friend faded into the distance, a cyan bolt at its head as it rocketed away into the dim light of dusk.

Twilight jumped when she felt a gentle hoof rest itself on her shoulder. “I know; I was shocked I'd let one of her kind get so close to me, too. But it's over now; I doubt we'll be seeing her again,” Applejack stated confidently.

Whirling around, Twilight stared aghast at the farmer next to her. Her mouth worked uselessly for a second, trying to form the words she wanted to say. How could Applejack be so... cold?

“What... happened?” Twilight asked finally, her mind catching up to the situation her body found itself in.

Applejack put a hoof to her chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. “You mean at lunch? Well... after you left, she tried to convince us her sickness was normal – even said you still thought she was normal, can you imagine? - an' after a couple failed attempts she took off. I had a hunch, so I came here; make sure she didn't do nothin' to ya,” Applejack answered, smiling happily, and somewhat proudly, that she'd been there in time to protect her unicorn friend.

“S-sickness?” Twilight stuttered, eye wide as she braced herself for an explanation she probably didn't want to here.

“Well, to be fair nopony's exactly sure what it is. Some say it's a problem in the head, others a disease. All I know is it ain't normal,” the farmer explained calmly. “But whatever it is, it's gone now. Guess we need to find a better Element of Loyalty, huh?”

Twilight never once tore her eyes away from her shattered balcony doors. Instead, she closed her eyes, locking away the tears she could feel threatening to spill out, and took a deep breath. “Get out,” she whispered, her voice strained as she forced herself to hold back her screams.

“What was that?” Applejack asked innocently, trying to catch the librarian’s eye.

“I said get out,” Twilight repeated, louder; firmer. Applejack seemed to be surprised for a second, before nodding in understanding.

“Of course; it is quite a shock, an' you probably need some time. I'll be at the farm if ya need me.” Tipping her hat, Applejack made her exit from the room, quietly closing the door behind her and leaving the library.

Twilight listened, waiting for the sound of her front door closing, before she once again opened her eyes. Instantly her damn broke, and tears came flowing down her cheeks, running down and dripping off her chin onto the wooden floor beneath her.

“Twilight? I heard something breaking up here, are you- Twilight!” Spike gasped as he came around the corner into the room, seeing the lavender mare openly sobbing in the middle of the room. He didn't hesitate as he came running to her side, wrapping her as best he could in a comforting hug. “Twilight? What's wrong?”

Twilight didn't answer. Instead, she returned his embrace gratefully and continued to cry. He didn't stop her, as confused and concerned as he was, he just let her cry. He didn't know why, either; both Rainbow and Applejack had come in, requesting to see her. He'd seen Applejack leave, and the best he could guess was that Rainbow caused the distinct lack of doors on the balcony, but the rest was a mystery to him.

“What do I do, Spike?” Twilight blubbered out, her sobbing growing quieter. “Did I make the right choice?” Twilight was speaking more to herself than Spike; that the young dragon knew, but he didn't care. Twilight seemed to be calming down, and for now that's all the mattered.

“What happened, Twilight?” Spike asked, not really expecting an answer but hoping for some kind of response out of the devastated mare.

“I... I think I made a mistake, Spike,” Twilight sniffled, releasing him as her sobbing finally stopped. “I think I chose wrong.”

“Chose? Twilight, what are you talking about?” Spike was growing more and more concerned by the vague and confusing answers He hesitantly released his embrace and looked up at the older mare as she tried to wipe away her tears, only for them to be replaced by more.

“If four is greater than one... why do I feel like I lost everything?” Twilight continued to ignore her assistant's questions, once again lost in her own mind as she found her way back to her bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress and starring blankly at the opposite wall. Spike crawled up on the bed and sat down next to her.

“Twilight?” He repeated, concern clear in his voice.

“I don't know what to do,” Twilight whimpered, falling onto her back and staring at the ceiling rather than the wall.

“Just calm down and tell me what happened, Twilight. I can't help you if you don't,” Spike prompted quietly, walking across the bed until he was next to Twilight's head and sitting back down.

“It's... about Rainbow Dash,” Twilight admitted finally, making her assistant raise a curious eyebrow.

“What about her?”

“She... we abandoned her, Spike. Our friends... they... they called her a freak. They think she's sick... and I... I agreed with them...” Twilight's voice shook almost as much as her body as she spoke, but she continued anyway. The dam had been broken, and the tears were flooding out faster and faster. “I was the only one, Spike. I was the only one... and I lied to her. I lied to all of them, just because four is greater than one.”

“Rainbow Dash is sick? What do you mean? Why would the others say such mean things to her?” Spike asked, shocked by what he'd just been told. It just didn't add up to him; what could Rainbow Dash possibly do to earn such a thing?

“Because she's not like them. They don't understand and it scares them, they've all been raised to be scared of ponies like her,” Twilight explained sadly. “She knew that, but still she told us all the truth, because she though she could trust us... she should have been able to trust us. Instead we threw it right back in her face.”

“I don't get it, Twilight; how is she different?”

“She's gay, Spike,” she said quietly, barely above a whisper.

Spike's eyes widened a little. “They abandoned her for that?” He asked incredulously, until something else clicked in his mind. Something else Twilight had said. “Y-you abandoned her because of that?”

Twilight couldn't bring herself to look at him. Instead she turned away, nodding weakly.

“Twilight!” Spike scolded firmly. “How could you! The others maybe, but you? Don't you remember what happened when the other students in Celestia' Schools found out you were bisexual? Don't you remember how much that hurt? But you did the exact same thing to Rainbow Dash anyway. Why?”

“Because I was scared Spike!” Twilight shouted, through shame rather than anger. “Because if I didn't agree with the girls I'd lose them all as friends. Because if they find out how I am they'd shun me like they shunned her! I didn’t know what I was supposed to do! If I lied I'd keep four of them as my friends... if I didn't, I'd only have one of them left...”

Spike shook his head, crossing his arms in disappointment. “You know what you did was wrong, don't you?”

“I know!” Twilight sobbed, raising her hooves up to her face and hiding behind them. “But I didn’t know what else I could do!”

“Tell the truth, Twilight,” Spike advised gently, “You could have convinced the others, I'm sure of it.”

Twilight shook her head adamantly behind her hooves. “You don't get it Spike, this is something that's been ingrained in them for as long as they can remember. I wouldn't be able to change their minds, no matter how hard I tried.”

“That doesn't mean you should just give up and roll over!” Spike protested loudly, making Twilight lower her hooves to look at him. “You shouldn't have lied to them, Twilight.”

“I'm not so sure. Who's to say they're wrong? Maybe ponies like us are different. Maybe... Maybe we are-”

“You are not,” Spike stressed, grabbing Twilight's hoof in his own scaled claws. “Twilight, you know what the Princess said about it. What Cadence told you, remember?”

Twilight sighed, squeezing the claw that was holding her hoof. “Love is love no matter who loves who, I know... but you should have seen them, Spike. The things they said, and I have no doubt they said worse things after I left...”

“All the more reason you should have supported her!” Spike argued sternly.

“But then I'd loose all four of therm as my friends!” Twilight protested. “I just... I don't know anymore.”

“Twilight,” the dragon groaned quietly. “If yours and Rainbow Dash's positions were reversed, what would you want Dash to do?”

Twilight sniffled weakly, glancing over to Spike. “I... I'd want her to tell the truth... no matter what it was.”

“Exactly. And knowing Rainbow Dash, do you think she'd let anypony else tell her what was right or wrong?”

“No...”

Spike flung his arms above his head. “Well then?”

“I... I need to go find her.” Twilight rose of the bed, wiping the remaining tears away from her cheeks. “I need to find her,” she repeated, more strength in her voice as she sat up.

“Exactly!”Spike cheered as Twilight pushed herself off the bed.

“I... thanks, Spike. I don't know what I'd do without my number one assistant,” Twilight said as she rushed out her bedroom door and down the stairs. Spike heard the front door open then slam shut as she ran out of the house.

Blushing lightly at the compliment, Spike hopped of Twilight's bed. “While you find Rainbow Dash,” he muttered to himself, descending the stairs. “I'm going to go talk some sense into these ponies.”

-_-_-_-

Rainbow Dash stomped around her house in a blind rage. Anything and everything in her path was tossed out a window, smashed under her hoof, or slammed on the floor. Nothing escaped her angry rampage. For every vase she smashed and every picture she flung across the room, just a little bit of her anger bled from her body, leaving the soul crushing sorrow in its wake.

With a scream of rage Rainbow flung her hoof into a picture hanging on the wall, the glass shattering under the force of her punch. She felt the razor sharp edges slash into her skin but she didn't care. Removing her hoof, she looked through teary eyes at a blood-stained picture of six ponies, all smiling brightly at a camera. Her best friends. She collapsed on the floor into a pitiful sobbing mess. She curled in on herself, turning into a small, whimpering ball of cyan fur and rainbow mane.

She didn't have anything anymore. Word would spread through the town, and by the next day everypony in Ponyville would hate her. For all she knew there was already a mob of ponies forming to run her out of town. She wouldn't be surprised, if her... former friends reactions were any indication. They'd probably be at the front.

So Rainbow Dash cried. She wailed and she sobbed openly on her floor. She'd lost everything, and what she hadn't lost yet she'd be sure to lose soon enough. Images of her past, of her time spent with her friends flashed through her mind, only making her cry harder. Hatred swam through her very being every time she thought about her friends and their faces when she'd told them. But perhaps worst of all was Twilight's. Rainbow had seen the look Twilight had given her; Twilight didn't hate her. Twilight didn't agree with the rest of them.

But still, the unicorn had chosen a side, and it was not Rainbow's. Rainbow Dash hated her for that. Twilight had lied to all of them, just to keep the majority of her friendships alive. So be it; Rainbow didn't need her. Rainbow Dash didn’t need anypony. Not anymore.

It was on weak and shaky hooves that the cyan pegasus pushed herself from the floor. She staggered unevenly into her bedroom, tears still running down her cheeks as she moved to her closet, digging within for a moment before extracting what she was looking for.

She laid her saddlebags out on her bed and threw them open, hastily stuffing a few choice items inside. A Wonderbolt poster or two, a signed Spitfire photo, a few basic hygiene products. She packed only the bare minimum for what she would need, threw what bits she kept with her in the bags, and strapped them onto her back.

She had nothing left in Ponyville, nothing but good memories tainted by the shadow of betrayal. With a speed she normally reserved for competitions Rainbow Dash flew out of her house, knocking the picture of her five former friends to the floor before blasting out her front door and into the evening sky. She put the small town of Ponyville behind her and headed in a random direction. At the moment, she didn't care where she was going. Anywhere was better than Ponyville.

Without looking back she soared swiftly through the cool air.

Author's Note

And chapter two! Sorry for the wait; editing these is pretty low on my priorities right now. They're pretty short, but these were the average lengths of my chapters back when I originally wrote these. After chapter 3 the writing will get better and the chapters will be longer.

A lot of you have voiced concerns about the reasons for homophobia in Equestria and the characters, and I will be going through all of this. I started it this chapter, but it'll really be happening next chapter; while Twilight is chasing Rainbow, Spike will be going around to each of them, and eventually Celestia, and through him you as the reader will discover the back story behind each instance of homophobia. I've planned out stories for all of them and I hope they are as believable to you as they are to me. We've only just scratched the surface for AJ, so what was said in this chapter is not all; don't think I'd leave it there.

As always comments are appreciated.

3. Spike's Mission

Four is Greater
Chapter 3
Spike's Mission

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called as loud as she could, looking up towards the pegasus's clouds house. She'd ran their as fast as her hooves could carry her after leaving the library. However, after five minutes of screaming up into the sky without a response, she was beginning to worry. The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains, bathing the white fluff in a red glow, and it was looking more and more like Rainbow either wasn't going to answer or wasn't there at all

“Rainbow!” She called once again, her voice hoarse and her throat sore from yelling. With a worried frown she lit her horn, quickly casting her cloud walking spell before charging another. A flash and a pop later Twilight was standing on the clouds that made up the foundation of Rainbow's house. Taking moment she looked up at fluffy white structure turned foreboding by simply being quiet. Taking a deep breath, she walked hesitantly up to the door.

“Rainbow?” Twilight asked hesitantly, knocking gently on the door. When it swung open, revealing a darkened, empty house, she began to truly worry.

“Hello?” Twilight poked her head into the darkness, glancing around the front room. From what she could see, it looked as though a tornado had been through the room. Anything not made of clouds was lying on the floor, anything that could be broken was smashed to pieces, and there were a few holes in the walls that were not supposed to be windows.

Twilight crept into the house carefully, stepping over what looked like thee remains of a glass vase. “Rainbow Dash?” She tried again, scanning around the darkness for any sign of the pegasus who lived there. When no answer came, true fear began to worm its way into her heart, twisting her gut into an aching ball of worry.

Stepping cautiously around the shattered pots and bits of random junk, Twilight made her way up the stairs to where she presumed Rainbow's bedroom was. She found the door open and walked in, taking in her surroundings. She noticed the open closet doors, the lack of saddlebags, and the fact that the Wonderbolts posters normally covering the walls were missing.

“She left...” Twilight muttered in disbelief. She couldn't blame the pegasus, either; she'd have wanted to get as far away from the town as possible if she were in Rainbow's hooves. With a heavy heart Twilight once again descended the stairs, heading towards the front door in defeat, but stopped when she stepped on something. Glancing down, she saw a shattered picture of six smiling, happy ponies. There was a distinct red stain covering the edges of the broken glass.

“Oh Rainbow,” she whimpered, falling to the ground and picking up the picture, taking a moment to examine it before hugging it to her chest. “What have we done?”

-_-_-_-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Spike set his lips into a determined frown as he waited patiently at the front door of Carousel Boutique. Under ordinary circumstances, he'd be ecstatic to be on the doorstep of his crush's house, but today was very different. Today he'd found out Rarity had done a terrible, cruel thing to one of his other friends, and he was determined to sort things out while Twilight talked to Rainbow Dash.

“Coming~” Called the sing-song voice of Ponyville's resident fashionista from within the shop. The sun was just beginning to near the horizon as the door was opened, revealing a stunningly beautiful mare. “Ah, Spike, whatever brings you here at such an hour?” She asked, stepping aside to allow the dragon inside.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” Spike admitted, watching as Rarity went into her kitchen, presumably setting on a pot of tea to boil. He had yet to be at her house without being served a cup of tea almost instantly.

Rarity poked her head out of the kitchen, motioning to a couch. “Take a seat; tea will be ready in a minute. In the mean time, would you care for a snack? I think I have a few spare rubies around somewhere...”

Spike opened his mouth to eagerly accept the offer, before catching himself and coughing into his claw. “No, thank you.”

Rarity frowned, noticing how serious the dragon was acting. It wasn't all that uncommon for him to randomly show up, offering his surprisingly helpful services when she needed them, but for him to simply want to talk to her? That was unusual. “Well, what is it you'd like to ask?”

“It's actually about Rainbow Dash,” Spike started.

“Oh yes, simply dreadful how that turned out,” Rarity said absentmindedly, walking back into the kitchen and setting two teacups on a tray. “But I suppose you never know who might be one of them.”

Spike held an icy glare at the doorway to Rarity's kitchen. “Twilight's 'one of them',” he thought bitterly. There were very few things that made him truly angry, and even fewer things that could make him mad at Rarity. Indirectly calling his adoptive older sister, the pony who had raised him for as long as he could remember, a freak, was one of these things. Forcing the glare off his face when her heard the kettle whistle, he asked; “One of who?”

Rarity came out of the kitchen, tea kettle and cups held on a tray kept aloft in her light blue magic. “A filly-fooler,” Rarity supplied simply, setting the tray down on the table before glancing curiously over at the dragon. “You know what that is, don't you? Surely Twilight's taught you how dangerous they are?”

Spike silently ground his teeth, forcing himself to keep an ignorant smile up. “Filly-fooler?” He barely choked out the derogatory term. “Twilight hasn't said anything about that...”

“Oh dear, I thought she'd have raised you better than that. They're a very dangerous type of pony,” Rarity explained casually, taking a delicate sip of her tea. “Do you perhaps know what a paedophile is?”

Nodding slowly, Spike was careful to keep his lips pressed into a nutral line. He was pretty sure if he opened his mouth he'd end up screaming at her for comparing being homosexual to being a paedophile, and for implying Twilight hadn’t done a good job of raising him.

“Think of a filly-fooler as a mare like that, only instead of going after young colts they go after fillies, though they'll take either if they have to. Of course, they do tend to chase down older mares as well, but they're much more oriented around the young ones,” Rarity elaborated as best she could, watching as Spike's eyes grew wide.

“That's what you think!?” He blurted out before he could stop himself, making Rarity raise a curious eyebrow.

“What do you mean? That's what they are, not what I think.”

“That...” Spike was truly at a loss for words, simply staring at the mare before him. “I just... I can't even believe it!”

Rarity frowned, nodding in agreement. “I know. To be honest I'm surprised we didn't see it in Rainbow Dash sooner, but better late than never, I suppose. She didn't hurt you, did she?”

“Rarity, you don't...” Spike trailed off, unsure what he could, or even should say. After what he'd just heard, he wasn’t about to tell her about how Twilight was; that was just asking for trouble, and it was up to Twilight whether or not the rest of them found out. But... there had to have been something he could do. “Rarity, what if I said you were wrong?”

Rarity did a double take at the statement, surprised the little dragon would suggest something like that. “Well, no offence, Spike, but since this is the first you've heard of this, I don't think you really know what you're talking about.”

“But I do, Rarity,” Spike countered. “Twilight... told me about these things already. I just wanted to see what you thought about it.”

“I see,” Rarity muttered skeptically. “And what, pray tell, did Twilight tell you?”

Spike fidgeted nervously on the seat, unsure what the unicorn's reaction would be to what he had to say. “She told me what Cadence told her, which is that, well, there's nothing wrong with... err, ponies like Dash.”

“You can't possibly say that!” Rarity protested loudly, a look of utter shock on her face. “After what I told you? How they go after the young ones? You can't say that that's acceptable!”

“But they don't!” Spike argued. “Rarity, I don't know where you heard that, but it's not true! The only thing different about Dash compared to you is that she's romantically attracted to mares rather than stallions. That's it!”

“Spike please, you're still just a bay dragon; I don't think you really understand this,” Rarity lectured carefully, speaking as though Spike were too young to understand half the words in the sentence.

“Rarity, I'm a lot older and more mature than you give me credit for,” he muttered before strengthening his voice and continuing. “Even if I wasn't, any foal could tell you it's not right to judge a pony based on who they like!”

“Even when who they like are little fillies and colts?”

Spike groaned in frustration, smacking a claw to his forehead. “They don't! If they did Twilight would t-” Spike covered his mouth with a claw, realizing what he was about to say. Rarity, however, caught it.

“Twilight would have what?” Rarity asked, giving the dragon next to her a piercing gaze.

“Told me about it...?” He offered weakly, hoping to preserve Twilight's reputation as long as he could. They'd find out eventually, no doubt, but it wasn't his place to reveal it.

“Spike, are you say that Twilight... is one of... them?” Rarity whispered the final word, as though simply mentioning 'them' would bring about the apocalypse.

Spike glanced around nervously. “N-no?”

Rarity gasped, easily catching the lie. “Spike! Why didn't you tell me sooner? She hasn't done anything to you, has she? So help me Celestia I will-”

“Rarity!” Spike barked, cutting off the unicorn before she could say anything that would make him even angrier, if that was possible. “She would never do anything like that to me!”

“I can't take that risk. From now on you're going to stay here with me, where it's safe. I'll protect you from her, don't worry,” Rarity assured, wrapping a hoof around Spike's shoulders.

Spike pushed the mare's hoof off of himself and stood from the couch. “I don't need to be protected from Twilight!” He shouted angrily. “What is wrong with you? Didn't you notice that the entire time you were with Dash there was nothing wrong with her? She didn't act off or weird. You didn't even notice anything until she told you! Can't you see she's just like you?”

“She is not!” Rarity raged, standing from the couch. “I am nothing like her... filth!”

Shutting his eyes, Spike turned his head away, disappointment thick in his voice as he said, “Goodbye, Rarity. Think about what I said.”

“You will not go back to the monster who raised you! She could hurt you!”

“She is not a monster!” Spike screamed at the top of his lungs as he stomped across the room, his claws balled into fists as he approached the door. “You're the only monster I see,” he whispered sadly, throwing the door open and marching into the dark of night that had descended upon the town.

“Spike!” Rarity called, running out the door after the young dragon, partially out of anger for what he'd said and partly for fear of his safety back at his own home. However, he proved surprisingly fast as he disappeared out into the night. With no other option in her mind, Rarity charged towards Golden Oaks library.

-_-_-_-

Spike angrily slammed the library door behind him, grumbling to himself. He knew that ponies could be stubborn and ignorant, but Rarity was a whole new level he wasn't prepared for.

“Twilight?” He called, scanning the front room of the darkened building. When he didn't get an answer, he walked further into the room, noticing a small light bleeding through from the door at the top of the stairs.

“Twilight?” He called again, climbing up to the second level of the library and knocking on Twilight's bedroom door gently. He heard a weak sniffling coming from the other side.

“I... I'm coming in,” he said as he carefully pushed the door open. The room was lit by a lone candle sitting on Twilight's desk, the mare herself nothing more than a breathing mass on her bed, covered by a deep blue blanket.

“Not now, Spike,” Twilight whimpered, curling tighter in on herself. Her voice was raw, betraying the fact that she'd been crying for the better part of the day.

“Twilight, did you... did you talk to Rainbow Dash?” He asked, carefully approaching the side of the bed.

The mass on the bed seemed to flinch at the name. “She's gone, Spike.”

Spike raised a confused brow as he sat himself on the edge of the bed. “Gone? What do you mean gone?”

“I mean she left Ponyville... all because of me...” Twilight admitted quietly, sniffling loudly. She still held Rainbows smashed and bloody photo tightly against her chest.

“Twilight, it's not your-” Spike tried to comfort her, only to be cut off by the sound of the library door being slammed open.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity bellowed from the main floor. “You will not lay a single filly-fooling hoof on Spike!”

“You told her!?” Twilight hissed, snapping upright in her bed and throwing the blankets off herself.

“I didn't mean to! I slipped up and she figured it out!” Spike defended weakly. “I'm sorry! But she's not going to stop until she gets me out of here. You should hear some of the things she's been told, Twilight.”

“Sparkle!” They heard Rarity scream, accompanied by stomping as she made her way up the stairs. Without hesitation the door was blasted open in a glow of furious blue, revealing a raging white unicorn.

“Rarity, calm down,” Twilight tried, discretely wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“Calm down!?” Rarity shrieked. “When my precious Spike is living with one of you freaks!? Never!”

“Hey!” Spike shouted, stepping onto the floor between Twilight and Rarity. “She's not a freak, and she's not the problem here either. Go home, Rarity; I'm fine here with Twilight.”

Rarity's jaw fell open, but she quickly shook herself from her stupor. “She's indoctrinated you to think she's normal! You need to be removed from her as fast as possible.”

Twilight sighed, pushing herself from the bed and taking her stance next to Spike, though she was much less sure of herself than he was. “Please, Rarity, just go home. It's Spike's choice, not yours. It's late as it is and I just want to go to bed.”

“Spike's too young to make the choice for himself!” Rarity argued indignantly.

“I am not!” Spike yelled angrily. “I'm old enough to know right from wrong, and what you're doing is wrong!”

“You can't force him, Rarity,” Twilight said, eyes still glued to the ground.

“We'll see about that,” Rarity muttered, lighting her horn and grabbing Spike in her magical blue glow. The dragon struggled against it as he was lifted into the air, but was ultimately weaker than the unicorn's magic.

“Hey!” He cried angrily. “Let me go! Twilight!”

The lavender unicorn's head snapped up, glaring angrily at the mare trying to abduct her brother. With a flash of her horn Rarity's magic vanished from Spike’s body and was replaced by her own as she gently set him back on the ground. “If he wants to leave, he can. But I will not let you force him into anything,” she growled.

“You can't stop me,” Rarity argued, already lighting her horn to once again take the dragon.

Twilight shook her head, cast a spell, and the magic fizzled out from Rarity's horn. “I'm much stronger than you, Rarity. Please, just leave. If Spike wanted to go with you he would have.”

Rarity stared agape at her horn, once again trying to cast her spell. Nothing but tiny blue sparkles came off her horn. “My magic!” She gasped, staring angrily at Twilight. “What did you do to me, you monster!?”

“Anti-magic field. All magic other than mine is blocked within the library,” she explained shortly. “Now please leave.”

Rarity tried again to light her horn, but when she was met with the same result, she cast a pleading glance to the dragon standing next to Twilight. “Please, Spike, come with me. You'll be safe at my house; I'll make sure of it.”

“Go home, Rarity,” Spike grumbled, crossing his arms and turning his head away.

“This isn't over yet, Sparkle, I will protect Spike and this town from you, just like we did from Rainbow Dash.” With those final, threatening words, Rarity trotted indignantly out of the room. Neither Spike nor Twilight made a move until they heard the front door slam shut behind the enraged unicorn.

As soon as she was gone, Twilight once again found herself crying as she fell back onto her haunches. Spike immediately ran to her side, placing a comforting hoof on her back. “I'm sorry, Twilight,” he said quietly. “I didn't know she'd go this far.”

“It's not your fault,” Twilight whispered, tears still sliding down her cheeks and dripping off her muzzle. “The entire town will now by tomorrow afternoon... everypony will hate me, and I turned my back on the only one who wouldn't have...”

“It's gonna be okay, Twilight,” Spike assured gently. “We'll find a way to convince them of the truth... somehow...”

Author's Note

WAIT! Put down the torches! You, yeah you; I can see that pitchfork. Drop it and hear me out.

I know I promised to go into the back story behind each view, and it may seem like I've just ignored that promise, but this isn't the end for Rarity! We've seen the what of her beliefs, not the why. That's a whole other story.

And no, I'm not going to make it some stupid thing like she was molested as a filly or anything. As much as the thought crossed my mind, it just would not work in this story with the way I want things to go.

If I'm being honest, we probably won't know the why of Rarity for a little while yet; AJ's probably going to be first on my 'why' explanations list. Still, I haven't just dropped that promise; it will happen, just in a later chapter.

Finally, I'd like to take this chance to remind you once again that I personally know people who hold these views. Most of them were my friends. It was honestly painful for me to write Rarity's arguments in this chapter, and that will be the same for most of the others as well. Just know I'm suffering from her ignorance as well.

As always, thoughts are much appreciated.