Regret

by Thunder Ice

Rating: teen
Tags: Second Person, Rainbow Dash, Other, Adventure, Sex, Tragedy, Violence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad
Length: 62441

An accident results in a falling out between you and Rainbow Dash, the mare of your dreams, and your friendship with her lies on the brink of destruction.

Words can hurt. Sometimes, that hurt is permanent.

One too many accidents results in a falling out between you and Rainbow Dash, the mare of your dreams, and your friendship with her lies on the brink of destruction. Twilight suggests a vacation to clear everyone's head. Could this be your last chance to make amends, or will you spend the rest of your life filled with regret?

Alternate Universe for wingless Princess Twilight. Might just change this out, because it's a pointless change, tbh. :)

This is a story I've been fantasizing about in my head for a while now. It's had some changes in its development for later chapters to make sense.

Story cover edited by me, original drawing by the lovely RatOfDrawn.

Published 2015-06-22 18:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-08-03 19:56:21 UTC

Chapter II: Slim Luck

Chapter II: Slim Luck

Hours had passed since the bank closed, and you were still pouting over it. You were so close! If you were just one minute earlier, you would have been able to get inside and see how much money you had. Sure, you did think you didn't have enough money to buy those tickets, but did you really?

You won't know until tomorrow.

No. Wait...Make that the day after tomorrow. The bank would be closed.

But it wasn't because of renovations or repairs or anything. It was simply because Rainbow's birthday was tomorrow.

Now in complete honesty, you thought that it was quite stupid to close a bank because it was someone's birthday. You knew Rainbow was well known and well loved by pretty much everyone in town, but honestly, was it really necessary to close the bank?

'Ugh, never mind,' you mutter in your mind, simply choosing to ignore it to avoid the ever growing pain in your head.

Right now, the main things on your mind were just the tickets and nothing but the tickets. They had been on your mind ever since you woke up. It was the one thing you were determined to get Rainbow for her birthday. Sure, she would really love that she got a copy of Daring Do early, along with a satchel from Daring herself, but you knew she would love to see the Wonderbolts, especially a 120 minute 'spectacle of the century'.

With no money and just another hour and a half before tomorrow, you were running out of time fast, and at this point, you were just about ready to give up on getting the tickets altogether. Maybe she'll be fine enough on her own with the book. Maybe she'll think of it as better than just some stupid tickets.

Already, you were convinced that the tickets were not worth fretting over if you were not going to get them.

With whatever mental strength you had, you did your best to block out the thoughts of the tickets and began to prepare yourself for bed. With a yawn, you lifted yourself from the kitchen table and began to make your way upstairs to the bathroom for a well needed shower. You felt that you needed it very much after today.

Making your way into the bedroom, you looked about at the windows. Noticing that the blinds were still over the windows, which were still closed, you sighed in relief, knowing that Rainbow hadn't barged in.

...

However, you did check the spot where you hid the gifts. Seeing that they were still where you put them---as well as in the same position they were placed in---you let out a sigh of relief and left the spot alone for now.

As you made your way into the bathroom, you took a look at yourself in the mirror for the first time since this morning, and honestly, you were quite...well, 'shocked' wouldn't exactly be the word for it, but it was surprising, to say the least.

Your mane was frizzled, likely from your trek in the forest and possibly sleeping...and running.

The same went for your tail, and your colored coat was dirty with shaded patches of dirt all over your body. You were quite questionable about how you managed to get so dirty from rubbing against some plants.

However, you simply ignored it for now and decided to hop in the shower. Oh, but not before warming up the water first, of course.

Turning on the water first, you put your hoof under the rushing water and waited for it to warm up. Once it was at a reasonable enough temperature, you slowly and gently stepped into the shower, and almost instantly, you were drenched with warm liquids, nearly bringing you to your hind knees from simply how enticing it was.

Oh yes, you definitely deserved this.

By the time you had gotten out of the shower, it was already eleven o'clock, indicating you had been in the shower for over half an hour, honestly the longest time you had ever taken a shower.

'Well worth it,' you think as you begin to dry off your mane, enveloping yourself in the fluffiness of the towel.

It was no wonder why Fluffles and Puffles was doing so well in sales.

Once dry, you put the towel back onto the drying rack and leave the bathroom, turning off the light and closing the door behind you. With a yawn, you make your way towards the radio on the stand by the door and turn it on. Almost instantly, the evening voice of Blossom Meadow comes to life mid-sentence.

"-eady to wrap up tonight's broadcast with a few more songs before we sign off, but first, we've got a little challenge for all you listeners out there!"

You didn't really care much about the challenges they made. They weren't hard, but you could never win because somepony out there was always faster than you. But most of the time, you didn't exactly care about the prizes. They were never that interesting anyways. Seriously, who wants a woodchip necklace?

Nonetheless, you like to listen to ponies pointlessly trying to win pointless prizes. In a way, it was kind of comical.

"So today, we've got a challenge question: What is the year of Star Swirl The Bearded's birth? This one is quite the doozy, and only a hoof-ful of ponies really know this one! However, if one of you listeners can figure it out and call within the next 60 seconds, you will win....!"

A mane-dryer! you think to yourself, chuckling at your pathetic joke.

"Surprise! You will win two tickets to the upcoming Wonderbolts Wonder Spectacular!"

Your ears almost immediately perked up so fast, you'd think they would rip off from your head, and before you knew it, you were nearly slamming into the wall trying to reach the phone. As you picked up the phone, you dialed the occasional number for the radio station, and as you did, you could hear ponies on the radio attempting to guess Star Swirl's birth, each and every response thankfully wrong.

But you knew that it wasn't going to last long. At some point, someone was going to answer the right answer, and they would win those tickets.

...And that pony was going to be you.

The moment you heard Blossom's voice on your phone saying, "Caller 22," you immediately blurted out the date that you were certain had to be right.

But the moment you answered it, you immediately also regretted it. You were afraid it was wrong, that you were a year behind or ahead. Or what if you were-

"Correct!"

-ready to scream in joy any second, but you decided to save it?

Yes, you were quite sure about that last part. Very sure. Absolutely 200% sure about it.

That wasn't just a guess or speed or whatever anyone else called it.

That was nothing but slim luck.

"Caller 22, you have just won two tickets to the Wonderbolts Wonder Spectacular! How do you feel?"

You wanted to give Blossom a clear description of how you felt, but you only said, "I don't want to make you go deaf."

Blossom did chuckle a bit at your statement before announcing that the tickets would arrive in your mail in the early morning, and thanked you for participating in the challenge.

Welcoming her, you hung the phone back up.

Then you walked back into your bedroom.

Then you walked into the bathroom.

Then you closed the door.

Then you screamed at the top of your lungs in sheer joy.

Thank Celestia there were no windows.

Chapter III: Birthday

Chapter III: Happy Birthday!

Sleep came well and greatfully to you that night, and when morning came, the excitement could not come quick enough.

With the flickering of your opening eyes, you were not greeted this time with the shining sun---good thing you closed those blinds---but knowing exactly what today was had been more than enough to fully wake you.

Morning, while it was the same as yesterday, was more energetic than usual. You felt so full of life and energy, more full than you have ever been. Maybe it was simply because of the day, or maybe it was because of the sleep you got.

Maybe both.

But you were quite pumped indeed.

Once you finished your breakfast and washed your dishes, you reminded yourself to check your mailbox. With further excitement pressed down on you---in a good way, of course---you make your way outside and walk to your mailbox, the town around you once more coming to life as it always did.

As you stand in front of your mailbox, you notice a little pink slip of paper hanging outward. Grabbing it and opening it up, it read:

Congratulations, lucky contestant! Hope you have fun with that special somepony of yours!

-Blossom Meadow

At first, you wonder a bit how they managed to find your address. But of course, you realize that phones have Caller ID. Originally, when they first came out, that wasn't the case.

Then there was the Prank of '92.

It's amazing how easy ponies can be fooled.

Back on topic, you open up your mailbox and peak inside. You see a few envelopes and take them out.

One was for your bills. Easy to pay.

One was from Applejack, asking for you to return that rake of hers. Surprising, you thought you gave that back ages ago. You make a reminder to check on that later.

Another note was from Pinkie Pie, asking you to attend Rainbow's 'superlicious, awesome birthday party' tonight! When were you not going to go?

Flipping to the very back, you come across the final envelope. You didn't open it just yet, but Blossom's name was enough to let you know. You decided to wait about opening it until you weren't in public.

Going back inside and locking the door, you gently rip the envelope open and hold it upside down, shaking it a bit, until two golden tickets fall into your hoof.

One side had simply the main logo of the Wonderbolts, but the other had a date, a place, and a time: 21st of Windfall, 8:00 PM. Cloudsdale Stadium.

As disappointing as it was that the show was six months away, you were relieved enough that you even had the tickets. You knew for sure that Rainbow would love this. And who knows, maybe this could give you a chance to know her more. That way, you could prepare for future birthdays.

You know...so you don't decide to get the presents at the last second next time...genius.

By ten o'clock, Rainbow's presents were perfectly wrapped in the occasional birthday wrap. The tickets were placed inside another envelope, with your name on the center of it this time, but still thanking Blossom in the corner. However, the tickets were not the only thing inside the envelope, but a letter to go with it. It was a bit of a 'thank you' letter to her, along with a...few other words.

Once the envelope was properly sealed and the gifts were properly wrapped, you put them beside your couch instead, no longer needing to hide them as much.

Now that everything was essentially going according to plan, you decide to go out and see how the other girls were doing. Grabbing your key, you unlock the door and walk out, shutting and locking said door behind you. Once more, you were greeted by the sun's light and the joyous ponies. It didn't look very celebratory at the moment, but you knew it would be by tonight.

Oh, definitely.

The first place you decide to visit is Twilight's castle. Though Twilight's old home was much closer to yours than her new home, clearly, she didn't live there anymore. And it didn't take a genius to figure it out.

However, you did wish that the new house would be at least the same size and not insanely and eye-sore-ingly huge. It wasn't difficult to navigate through, just a sore on the legs. Sure, you're not even in your mid-twenties, and you're complaining about sore legs.

Oh, you little pathetic-

Anyway, once you make your way through the main hall and down a couple of corridors, you end up in what is supposedly Twilight's living room. It wasn't anything more special than her previous one; this one mostly consisted of a few bookshelves, a coffee table, a couch, a love-seat, a radio, a few stands with lamps, and a few decorative carpets on the floor, one of them consisting of her own cutie-mark, a gift from Rarity when her birthday came about.

As you walked into the room, you could see Twilight sitting on one of the couches, almost done with wrapping up gifts, when she turns her head to the sound of your trotting and notices you. A smile beams onto her face.

She says your name in joy upon seeing you and asks, "What're you doing here?"

"Just seeing how you were doing with your presents. How's it been?"

"Good so far," she responds. With a glow of her horn, the gifts illuminate and hover between the two of you. While she doesn't take them out of their wrappings, she does use an X-ray spell in order for you to see it. The first gift was a piece of clothing. Asking what it was, she explains that it was a flight suit, one of the original Wonderbolts uniforms, but slightly modified so she would be protected in harsh weather.

Hovering the second gift towards you, you notice that it's a necklace, with her cutie-mark as a little piece to it. She had paid somepony to make it for her a few weeks in advance, just so that if any flaws were found, there was time to fix them.

Her third gift, not surprising, was a Daring Do book. You will admit, you did panic a bit in your mind, but upon seeing that it was her most recently released novel, you sighed a bit in relief, a bit too loudly, in fact.

Twilight, being curious, asked why you did so.

While you didn't want to say anything just yet, you did decide to let it be your secret to her until tonight, so while whispering, you tell her exactly the things you had gotten her; the book and the tickets.

She did admit that she was surprised that Daring would give out an early copy, especially to a pony she very rarely knew, but she was glad of how generous she was nonetheless.

But when you started talking about the tickets, she had to ask:

"So you were Caller 22, right?"

Rubbing the back of your head with a hoof in an awkward fashion, you sheepishly nodded 'yes.'

Twilight laughed a little at your response, and replied, "It's fine. I was planning on giving you the other ticket anyway."

"You were?" you asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course," she says.

Walking up to you and putting a hoof on your shoulder, she looks at you with careful eyes and says, "I know how much Rainbow means to you. I want you two to...get to know each other more just as much as you do. She doesn't really give you all that much of a chance, but...she should."

With a smile, she finishes, "I'm sure she'll love it."

You smile back, thanking her for her kind words, to which she says, "You're welcome."

For a little while, you and Twilight have a friendly conversation on the couch. Every once in a while, the two of you would tell some past stories, while adding in and making a few jokes of your own, to which you would laugh every time.

Eventually, you bid her goodbye with a hug and trek offward to see how the others were coming along.

For the next couple of hours, you visited each mare, asking how they were doing and seeing what they had gotten Rainbow. Some gifts mostly consisted of plushies, socks, necklaces, or comics, either of Daring Do or the Wonderbolts. Heck, Rarity even made Rainbow a cute-looking Wonderbolts hoodie. Rainbow was not much of a fan of girly apparel, so Rarity assumed Rainbow would like this gift.

While Pinkie Pie's gifts weren't objects that Rainbow could read or wear, they were something that she could eat. Her gifts were really cakes and cupcakes, but they weren't like her typical ones. These ones were...'fantastic' wouldn't even describe it.

As the Prench would likely say it, "Fucking awesome."

The cake, or cakes, were really made in the shape of each individual Wonderbolt: Soarin, Spitfire, Fleetfoot, etc.

You wondered how Pinkie managed to do this in such a short time, but she only said, "I've got ways."

You didn't want to know those ways.

By the time it was three o'clock, you were on your way back home to make sure everything was prepared for tonight, and that the gifts were properly wrapped.

But along the way home, as you passed by the market once more, you heard a voice, while muffled, coming from a nearby alleyway. Being quite a peeping tom at times, you decide to listen in on the conversation. Upon putting your body up to a building wall and listened to the sound of the voice, you almost instantly clicked it as Applejack's voice. Sounding like she was speaking to somepony else, you assumed she was talking to Apple Bloom.

However, upon hearing the second voice come to, you realize that it wasn't Apple Bloom replying, but rather...

'Rainbow Dash?' a thought pops into your head. You didn't know exactly why you were so surprised about her and AJ talking to each other, but it perhaps because this was likely a secret conversation.

While you did feel a bit guilty on listening in on them and wanted to leave, a part of you wanted to stay and listen in a bit, see what they were talking about.

And to be honest, you wished you just left so you didn't have to hear them talk about you like...like that...

"Look, he's a cool guy and all, but he's just...you know...not the most careful, you know?"

"Ah hear ya. Remember that time he nearly set the barn on fire tryin' ta help stack hay?"

"Heh, I remember that. Seriously, was it really that hard to look out for those lanterns? Even I could see where they were!"

"That pony couldn't carry a bale of hay if it meant savin' his life."

"You got that right. Oh, remember that time he nearly destroyed town hall trying to help Lyra with her groceries?"

"Oh, Ah remember that. The Mayor nearly blew a fuse over that."

"I'm surprised he hasn't burned his house down yet."

"Ah'm surprised he hasn't burned the town down."

"If it meant my life, I'm better off not dating him. Trust me - my house wouldn't last a day!"

And as they laugh themselves away, chuckling and giggling at their own jokes and stories of the past, you're just standing there, trying really hard to really comprehend what you had just heard come out of their mouths, primarily Rainbow's.

But no matter how hard you tried, you still could not understand. You just...you just couldn't.

For several minutes, this conversation would go on and on, with them talking about you endlessly, and not one bit of it was in a good way. It was nothing but jokes, cringeworthy stories, and sometimes even insults. You couldn't believe a single bit of what you were hearing.

You couldn't even believe that the Element of Loyalty would say things like this.

After a few minutes of discussion, Rainbow and AJ bumped hooves, a way of 'goodbye', before heading off in opposite directions. You made your way out of there before any of them could end up spotting you.

Still unable to take in those words of theirs, you began to make your way home. Nowhere else.

Just home.

Hours have passed since you heard those jokes and stories that came out of their mouths. After you came home, you shut the blinds and sat down on the couch, not wanting to move much. Upon first coming home, you put your head in your hooves and tried to shake said memories out.

But no matter what you did, they stayed in place, forcing you to remember and hear them over and over again.

The jokes were not as bad as the stories. The jokes, you will admit, are a bit funny and such, but the stories were nothing more than painful memories that you simply wanted to forget.

It wasn't your fault Town Hall was nearly torn down. It was nothing but an accident. You knew it deep down in your heart that what happened was not your own doing. Everything was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sure, you nearly broke your back falling on the see-saw, but no, a building is more important. If they weren't doing construction that consisted of dynamite near the building, none of that would have happened.

But the question was really this: Why exactly was somepony walking around town with a lighted candle anyway? If anything, it was their fault.

You were not a clumsy pony. You really weren't. You never broke a single piece of anything in your home, you never accidentally busted a hole in the wall, you never accidentally broke a window. So why exactly did they think that of you?

However, out of all that you were thinking at that moment, the one thing you couldn't let go was the last thing you heard Rainbow say. You'd never think she would say something like that, but she did.

I'm better off not dating him.

She did.

I'm better off not dating him.

SHE DID.

I'm better off-

That looping thought in your mind cut off as the sound of a knock at the door perked your ears right up. At first, you wanted to just ignore it, let the pony pointlessly knock until they gave up and walked away, just so you could be alone right now.

Then Twilight called out your name. "Are you in there?"

You wanted to just be quiet. Just let her walk away, and you can be alone again.

...

*knock knock knock*

...

You sighed in the semi-silence. Getting up from your couch, you walk over to the door, unlock it, and open it, revealing a puzzled Twilight, staring at you with somewhat of concern.

"Where have you been? The party's already started and the others are wondering where you are!"

At first, you wanted to just not tell her anything, lie and say that everything was fine, and just go. You didn't want to bring her into this. But that concerned look on her face as she gazed upon your own down face let you know that she wouldn't leave you be until she knew.

So with a bit of a depressed outtake, you point a hoof to the couch and tell her kindly to sit down. The look of concern never leaves her face, but nonetheless, she listens and closes the door behind her, walking over to sit down on the couch. As she is enveloped into the soft cushions, you yourself walk over to the couch and sit down right beside her.

For a good few seconds, you open your mouth, as if to speak, but no words ever come out of it. You sigh a bit as you seem to struggle to talk.

Twilight puts a hoof on your shoulder, prompting you to look at her, and with that same concerned look on her face, she says to you:

"...What's wrong?"

You could tell quite clearly that she was worried about you. This was the first time---that you can remember, at least---that she's seen you this upset. It was natural for her, or anypony, to be concerned, even worried, about you.

Letting in a breath, you turn your head away from hers and look out towards the blinded windows. With a sigh, you close your eyes for a moment, then open them a short moment later.

And then you speak.

"...I'm not going."

Twilight, this time with a puzzled look on her face, asks, "What? Why?"

"I just..."

You wanted to tell her, but a part of you kept that locked away, preventing you from reaching out to it, so you lie.

"I'm...not feeling well."

Looking towards Twilight once more, you notice that the puzzled expression is now gone, replaced with an unamused look on her face, and you knew just from her face alone that she didn't believe it.

And with the way that she spoke your name and said, "I'm not an idiot," you knew she wouldn't leave until she knew exactly what was going on. But as you turned away again, her disappointed look faded away, once more replaced by concern, even when she spoke.

"Just tell me...please."

You hated it when somepony begged, especially Twilight. While it was somewhat cute at times, it was still incredibly sad and difficult to ignore it.

And you couldn't ignore this.

So with another breath, letting in and letting out, you look back to Twilight.

And you tell her everything that you heard: Every remark, every poking fun at, every joke and story, and every insult you heard from the two. It took a few minutes to explain the details to her, even if a few were left out, but by the time you were finished talking, Twilight had a look of pure disbelief plastered on her face.

For a moment or two, she didn't respond back, nor did she change her face. It was as if her face was stuck.

But after half a minute had passed, she began to speak again.

"I don't believe it."

Essentially, what you think.

"You're sure that they said all that?"

Again, you nod in response, assuring her that what you told her was indeed true.

"That's why I've been home this whole time...I mean...I may be overreacting about it a bit...but...I just...wasn't expecting to hear something like that about me...especially from...from her."

Twilight doesn't immediately respond back to you, but instead, she sits there with a disappointed look on her face, clearly unhappy about the two mares. You knew she wanted to say something, possibly insulting, about them, damn them maybe, but she never really said anything. She just did what you did and breathe in and out calmly.

After another moment passed, she looks at you again, this time once more with a sympathetic look on her face, same as before. To be honest, you found that look quite comforting every time you saw it. The way she smiled and really cared for you always put you to peace. To you, she was like a little sister.

A few moments of a relaxing back massage later, Twilight began to speak up, and you could tell that she wasn't proud of what came out of her mouth.

"Just...Just don't worry about it...okay?"

Looking down then up again, she added onto her statement.

"I'll...I'll talk to Rainbow about this tomorrow-"

"No," you reply, no reason as to why you said it. Perhaps you assumed that this could be fixed without ratting out, but nonetheless, Twilight resisted against your response.

"Yes. She needs to know about this...about you.....I've never seen you this upset before, and...I just want you to be happy...okay?"

It was at this point that there was no point in arguing against Twilight, practically with anything, so rather than argue and counter against her, you simply let her have her moment and just nodded to her, assuring her that she would talk to Rainbow about the situation when the chance was there.

Twilight smiled at your cooperation, leaning in to give you a warming hug. You had to admit, while Twilight was stubborn at times when it comes to discussion or arguements, it was always nice when she comforted you, regardless of the situation.

After a few moments, she pulled away, the smile still on her face.

"Let's get to the party before somepony comes looking for us," she asks.

Agreeing with her, you get up from the couch and grab the gifts where you had put them. Once you had all of the gifts, you make your way to the door. Opening it, you allow Twilight through first, as all ladies should be, before walking out behind her, shutting and locking the door behind you.

Now you just hope the party goes right.

Chapter IV: The Party

Chapter IV: The Party

Your house wasn't quite far from where the party was taking place, so it didn't take too long for you and Twilight to get there. The short walk there mostly consisted of looking at nothing but empty streets. You didn't think a birthday party would be so important that an entire town is gathered about in one place, but nonetheless, the parts of town you walked in were completely empty.

When you did arrive to the party, you were greeted with all assortments of games and activities: Apple Bobbing, Horseshoe Toss, Pin The Tail on the Pony, balloons, cheese fountain, and so much more that it would take forever for you to even list them out.

As you both ventured forward and observed everything that was here to offer, you were blown back slightly as Rainbow Dash, the birthday girl herself, landed in front of the both of you, a look of sheer joy on her face.

"Hey, there you two are! We were wondering when you were gonna get here!" she exclaimed, "What took ya so long?"

Before you could answer, Twilight answered first.

"Sorry, Dash. We were just wrapping up the last of your gifts. Isn't that right?" With somewhat of a legit face of happiness, Twilight looks towards you, clearly expecting an answer to come out of your mouth by now.

While you weren't exactly in the happiest attitude at the moment, you at least had the strength to crack a smile, no matter how fake it was.

"That's right," you reply to Twilight and Rainbow after a few seconds of silence. Opening your own satchel, you gently pulled out one single gift, being careful not to rip any of the wrapping. Why a single gift, exactly?

Well, you did think it would be nice to put the book in the satchel, to give it more of a surprise. To you, it was more of a last minute decision, but it seemed like a good idea at the time, not to mention it would be easier to carry.

"Where do you want me to put this?" you ask.

Pointing her hoof in a direction, she replies, "Over there, with the others."

Looking the way she pointed, you noticed what seemed to be quite a large pile of presents. There had to be more than a hundred presents, all put in one place, all for Rainbow.

Rather than question on where she would put them all, you thanked her instead before she exclaimed that she had to go, and that she would see us later; with a swift push of her wings, she was gone, already having flown elsewhere.

Once she had left, Twilight looked towards you, this time not with a fake smile, but a real smile, as well as a look of concern, but there was never a frown to be seen.

Walking up to you, she once more put a hoof on your shoulder, an attempt to comfort you.

"Try not to think about it...have fun...okay?"

For a few seconds, you were simply staring at her, your mouth a blank state. But slowly, that true smile of yours came to be, and gently, you nodded 'okay' to her.

With the same smile, she wrapped her arms around you and pulled you into a hug. It lasted for a few seconds before she pulled away, waving you goodbye for now, and heading off into the mass array of party-ponies, possibly to find the other girls, leaving you all alone.

Gift in one hoof, you began to make your way to the pile of gifts. From far away, the pile looked quite small, but up close, it was like a mountain compared to a house, but you didn't pay too much attention to it. Making sure your gift was properly labeled and wrapped, you placed the gift down alongside everypony else's.

No longer did you think about the gifts for now. You were relieved, soluted, and relaxed that everything you had gotten, everything you needed, was finally where it should be, and soon enough, Rainbow would open it up and be happy and glad, and she would hug you and thank you for a long while, or maybe she'll thank you and make fun of you in front of everyone, calling you names, joking about with you, insulting you...

Or maybe, maybe, you're simply overreacting and need to calm down and stop thinking about what happened earlier.

That was before, you say to yourself, This is now.

At first, when you think that, you aren't as relaxed as you aimed to be. But as you think it again in your head, and again and again, you feel yourself easing quite a bit; already, you're feeling calm and steady.

And so you keep thinking it in your head. Over and over, you keep that looping in your mind like a record, and the more you do, the further relaxed you are.

Walking away from the gifts, you begin to walk to any of the many games that there are to choose, all while continuing to think. Even while talking to other ponies, you still didn't stop thinking.

But as the hours passed and you kept playing game after game while occasionally chatting with others, including the girls, eventually you stopped thinking that thought, but by then, you were quite relaxed and honestly...happy.

Every time somepony would tell you something funny, you were always laughing along, replying with your own jokes, and they would laugh in return. Every time somepony told a story, you listened in and were intrigued, ready to hear more. Every time somepony complimented you, you smiled at them with happiness, and they would smile back.

By then, all of your troubles of the day were lifted off your shoulders, and you felt relieved for the first time all day.

And while you did think that what Rainbow said wasn't the best thing you heard from her, you felt that you had the confidence to change the way she saw you. You felt that you could show her just how much of a good pony you were, how dedicated you were to making everyone happy, to making her happy.

You felt that amends would be made and dates would be planned.

It was a cheesy thought, of course, but it was what you felt---no...what you wanted to happen tonight.

You wanted something to happen between you and Rainbow Dash, and despite what happened today, you think it could still happen.

You know it will happen.

You just know.

And you were proud.

A few hours had passed since you arrived at the party, and by then, the fun was beginning to die down, which---on some occasions---meant it was the final part of the party: The gifts.

Gathered around the mass pile of gifts, nearly everypony in town watched as Rainbow sat down on a chair that looked towards the crowd, the pile hovering behind her. Rainbow, being the party gal, thanked everyone for coming, as well as thanking everyone for the gifts, unable to contain her excitement as to what lay inside them.

However, the way the gifts were hoofed to her were a bit different. A few select ponies from the crowd would come up beside her, grab a few gifts, and hoof them to the pony next to them, one by one, until that gift reached her.

You, along with a few other ponies, volunteered to be the gift givers. Walking up, standing next to Rainbow in somewhat of a straight line, you each picked up a gift and hoofed one to Dash every time she opened a gift, and every time she got a new gift, her face would continuously beam with joy. You always thought that sheer look on her face was so cute.

A few minutes in, it was a steady pattern; grab a gift, pass it on. Five minutes in, only a fourth of the gifts had been opened, a lot of them from Pinkie Pie. You had assumptions that most of the gifts were special types of desserts for her to try out. Of course, they were just assumptions.

And to be honest...some of those assumptions were true. A few cakes and cupcakes here and there, all of which had rainbow frosting on them. Rainbow did try a few of them out upon first opening them, but eventually promised to finish them off later, deciding to continue onward with the gifts.

Within about ten minutes, half of the gifts had been opened---and saved for later---and already, some ponies had already begun to head home, possibly from boredom or exhaustion.

Gift after gift, Rainbow never lost that cute smile of hers every time she opened one. Everypony all around her kept up their own smiles, some welcoming Rainbow after being thanked for their generous gifts.

However, your gifts were still yet to be opened, being all the way at the very end of the slowly shrinking pile. Sure, you weren't impatient about it not being carried forward, but you were still quite excited for when it would be opened.

As fifteen minutes tick by, the pile is no more than twenty-five presents to be opened, and yours was finally visible. As you continue to carry the gifts passed to you over to the next pony, you watched in surprise as your present was finally, after a long time waiting, picked up from the pile and being passed down to you.

You could feel the excitement building up within you; you were thoughtful on how Rainbow would feel when she got your present, and you could barely wait to see her face.

That very excitement was almost too much for you.

And so you stumbled.

Upon carrying a gift, you miss your hoofing, and as a result, you tumbled. As you tumbled, the gift fell out of your hooves and flew into the air. As you nearly faceplanted onto the ground, you listen to ponies awe in shock as they watch the gift fly through the sky, and with a crash and bang, crash into one of the many lanterns that hung above the party.

And as that unknown gift crashes into said lantern, a spark begins to ignite, and as that fire begins to burn, it singes the wires holding it together, and as a result, it comes burning down to the ground, or rather, one of the many refreshment tables nearby.

Almost immediately, the table, along with its sheets and many other flammable objects, bursts into flames, the smell of smoke and flame filling the air. Nearby tables begin to catch aflame as well, and by the time most of the ponies had realized what was happening, several of the tables were aflame, smoking into the air.

As the ponies caught sight of the situation, many scrambled for safety, while others attempted to gather whatever water they could to put the fires out, but as they tried to douse the flames, the flames were faster; there was already a great fear of the flames catching onto the nearby homes.

But what could you do?

What did you do?

Nothing.

You did absolutely nothing.

While ponies near and far scrambled for safety or defense against the fires, you did absolutely nothing but watch.

Looking to your right, Rainbow Dash was no longer sitting on her royal chair, but you had managed to catch a glimps of her having flown off, into the air, and into the clouds, and as you looked at the sky, you could see those very clouds begin to swirl and twist about, a speedy rainbow ring forming around them.

And as they swirled about, you heard what must have been thunder, though no lightning had ever struck or even appeared through the clouds, likely having formed within the clouds themselves, but never striking through their thickness.

Moments later, as the thunder faded away, a drop of water fell to the ground, just in front of you, followed by a bombardment of smaller and larger droplets, all coming from the same place. As the rain poured, everypony exposed was immediately drenched, including you, and the exposed scorching fires were quickly, though not immediately, doused and put out before all that much serious damage was caused, to everypony's relief.

Even though the fire was somewhat quickly put out, the rain had lasted for several more moments, before it slowly began to calm and eventually stop falling. The fog that came with the weather quickly faded away, and you were given once more a clear view of the area before you.

And something within your stomach churned as you saw the devastation before you.

Now you had thought that the fire had only spread to the tables, maybe scorched the side of a house, not too much to worry about.

But as you looked, thoroughly looked, at the damage that the fire had truly caused, you and many others had discovered, to your disbelief and shock, that the fire was worse than normally thought.

It wasn't just refreshment tables that suffered damages; it was market stables, a party stage, and the side of a family's home. They were fired, burnt, destroyed. The damage was unbelievable...fast.

You didn't think such a fire would spread and cause this amount of destruction in such a short time span. But nonetheless, here you were, staring at a scorched market street, a collapsed party stage, and a damaged househoold.

And you couldn't believe that this was because of you.

Berfore you could think any further of it, Rainbow Dash shoots down to the ground, landing just in front of you and nearly cracking the ground in front of you. The impact shook the ground below you, fumbling your hoofing, but you managed to keep your balance.

But falling over was not what worried you.

It was Rainbow's face.

And the way she---looked...at you.

This was not just anger that came from her eyes.

It was pure, full-blown fury.

"Y-You...! Y...You....!"

Rainbow could barely contain what you knew was anger. As she stared directly into your eyes, her very own began to twitch as you found her stomping her way towards you, the ground slightly shaking with each step as she got closer and closer, until she was face to face with you, the anger now clear at you.

And at the top of her lungs, she screamed right into your face, startling you in fear.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Her angered yell caused you to step back a hoof or two, and you nearly stumbled once more. You were afraid of Dash almost immediately; you couldn't even manage to get a full sentence out.

"I...I d-didn't mean to..."

"Rainbow!" You hear Twilight shout her name a moment later, and only for a few short seconds does she look away from you and to the princess herself.

Twilight added, "Leave him alone! It was an accident!"

And as Rainbow stared at Twilight for those few brief seconds, you swore you could see her twitch slightly, and it honestly scared you. You had never seen Dash this angry in your life, and seeing her as she is now worried you.

"An accident...? AN ACCIDENT?"

Rainbow gritted and ground her teeth together in complete anger. Whipping her head back towards you, she screamed into your face again.

"EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS AN ACCIDENT TO HIM! IT'S ALWAYS HIS FAULT BECAUSE HE CAN'T LEARN TO WATCH WHERE HE'S GOING FOR ONCE IN HIS DAMN LIFE!"

At this point, you were frozen. You wanted to turn away, run away even, but no matter how much, how hard, you tried, you couldn't seem to just leave. You wanted to resort to attempting to calm her down, but you feared that it would make the situation worse than it already was.

As you looked at your surroundings, you noticed that everypony was staring at the scene unfolding between you and Rainbow. While half of the majority were staring at you, angry eyes stabbing at your body, clearly enraged at what you had done, the other half had looks of sorrow and sadness; a mare held a hoof up to her mouth, unable to really comprehend what you were going through at the moment. A mother covered her child's ears as Rainbow cursed at you.

Looking towards the girls, Twilight could only stare at you with a sorrowful face; Fluttershy hid in her mane, clearly afraid; Pinkie Pie stared in what appeared to be disbelief and shock; Rarity somewhat did the same as Pinkie.

But Applejack? She was clearly looking just as angry at the other townfolk, taking their sides against you. It wasn't a surprise, judging from her talk earlier today. It was also as if she was even agreeing with what Rainbow was saying to you, seeing her nod at each poke at your mentality.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE NORMAL FOR ONCE?!"

It was a hit to your emotions, but you didn't show any. At least, not now.

Rainbow stopped talking for a moment, turned around, walked a few hooves away from you and looked at everypony that stared at you both. If you really listened closely, you could hear the mare breathing heavily, clearly out of breath from yelling so much.

When she turned back around, she was no longer yelling at you, but talking to you in a normal manner.

"Do you know why nopony ever wants to be around you?"

You didn't respond to that question. You didn't have anything to even say.

You do nothing but let her answer her own question.

"It's because they can't stand you. It's because every time you are around them...every time you try to help...you always---ALWAYS---manage to ruin their day. You think you're so great and helpful and everypony is so grateful that you're helping...well, guess what? They're NOT!"

She stomps her hoof onto the ground. You flinch slightly, and you try to say something, anything, back to her, but nothing ever comes out.

So she continues to speak. And as she does, she slowly begins to walk towards you again.

"They think you're nothing but trouble! And that's exactly what you are. You are nothing but an erratic piece of work who causes nothing but devastation everywhere you go. Every time you walk out your front door, you're either burning down a house or putting somepony in the hospital... And me? You really think I'd want to put up with that my whole life?"

She stops for a short moment, but does not stop moving towards you. Every single thing she spoke was only putting more pressure on the dam of emotions and tears in your head, and sooner or later, it was bound to break. And she knew it...or maybe she did.

"Nobody deserves that torture."

She did.

After a moment of silence, she continued.

"So get this through your head. I don't love you. I don't like you. I can't bucking stand you. You are nothing but a worthless, pathetic little parasite destroying everything good that anypony has ever deserved in life. This town would be better off without your help."

Rainbow paused as she stood face to face once more with you. She seemed as if she was trying to find the right words.

And when she did find those right words to say to you, she said them out loud, for all to hear.

"Equestria is better off without you."

And as those six words left her mouth and reached your ears, you swore you could hear not only the sound of your heart shattering into what must have been thousands of pieces, but the sound of that dam in your mind breaking, emotions and salty tears flowing through.

You froze like an icicle. You couldn't let out a single word, you couldn't move a single muscle. All you could do was blink and quiver your lips, trying to get at least one word out.

Every time you blinked your eyes, they would slowly begin to water. You tried to hold the tears back, at least until you were home. But alas, your attempts faltered, and your eyes became wet with salty water, which began to quickly stream down your face. However, this did not change Rainbow's expression, not even in the slightest. Or maybe it did. You could never tell through your blurred vision.

After seconds of silence, you were able to get only two words out, but they were quiet. But Rainbow could hear.

She could hear it loud and clear.

"...I'm sorry..."

Rainbow's face still didn't change from that anger, and it really made you think if she even listened to what you said.

As the tears continued to slowly fall down your face, you heard the sound of movement to your left, but you didn't look. You only closed your eyes, hoping the tears would come down less. It seemed to work, but not as much as you hoped.

The moving noise got closer and closer, eventually slowing down as it got closer to you.

And you heard Twilight question your name, a worrying tone obvious to it.

But you didn't stay to listen to a single thing she said.

As quick as you could, you turned an entire 180 degrees around, unfurled your wings and flew away as fast as you could, even managing to grab your satchel of gifts, and without any hesitation, you began to make your way home.

You heard cheers, and you flew faster.

It didn't take very long for you to reach your house. With a key in your hoof, you unlocked the door, walked inside, closed and locked said door, and threw the satchel down to the floor.

You flew all around your home, pulled down the blinds of every window---shielding you from the outside world. You turned off all the lights you could; you didn't want to be in the light right now.

Once you were sure you were completely isolated, you began to make your way to your bedroom. Closing the door behind you, you sluggishly flew over to your bed. Covering up completely in bedsheets, you buried your head into your pillows.

Without shame, you let the tears flow free---and you cried until there were no more tears left to lose.

And you waited to grow tired and forget it all in dreamland.

But that opportunity never came.

For you, tonight was sleepless.

Chapter V: Honest

Chapter V: Honest

Even when the sun rose into the sky and the morning was bright, the inside of your home was dark and hollow. You never realized how empty it really was until you actually walked about and looked.

You didn't sleep at all. Not even when the morning came did you feel exhaustion. It was only your depression that grew further. You didn't want to go outside at all; you didn't even want to look outside most of the time. Every once in a while, you would open a blind slightly and watch as the ponies went about their daily lives: Gathering groceries, talking about important business, reminiscing about...last night...

Looking in the distance, you could see a group of construction ponies, already getting to work at removing all of the rubble of the house...

...the house you burnt down.

And if you looked closer, you could even see the poor ponies who used to inhabit that house. You didn't know them well, if at all, but you did know their names. Ocean Showers and Pearly Wishes. They were nothing more than simple ponies who just wanted to live their lives as they wished, or at least you thought they did.

Just the sight of them looking through what was left of their home for whatever survived was enough to worsen your guilt by ten times more.

You closed the blinds when a single pony saw you through the window. Their expression of sorrow didn't make you look twice.

While you were depressed, you didn't starve or strive to hurt yourself. You did the occasional business as normal; the only differences meant not going outside and eating in the dark. You liked the silence and darkness of it all.

At least, you think you did. You weren't sure of it.

Every day for the next few days was the same routine: Get up [if you ever had gone to sleep], eat breakfast, lay on the couch for hours, look outside the window and watch the slowly graying environment, and when the moon was high in the sky, you would lay in bed and either stare at the ceiling or cry for a long time; you could never remember for how long.

You just didn't care.

You weren't even in the mood to listen to the radio anymore. For days, the house was filled with deafening silence, only except for when you walked, showered, or cried.

The depression was able to keep you in your house for only four days; at the end of those four days, your pantry was running low on food, and at this rate, you would be out of food by the end of the week.

You knew you wouldn't be able to stay shuttered up in this house forever, especially with low food-stocks---so you had to force yourself to go out and shop.

But not yet.

Slowly making your way upstairs, you opened up a drawer in your bedroom and pulled out a gray hoodie. It wasn't anything special to you, just a rarely worn piece of clothing. But today, you figured that it would be useful to hide, even when ponies could see you.

It didn't take long to put on, neither was it difficult. It fit snug as a bug; it actually warmed you a bit, but it wasn't long before you felt cold once more.

You decide to go into the bathroom to see if it is properly fitted. As you turn the lights on in the bathroom, you look into the mirror, and even through depression, you still manage to shock yourself.

Looking in the mirror to you was like looking at a completely different pony. You didn't think staying inside would...change anything, but after just four days, you could see that your fur color was beginning to fade slightly, along with your mane and tail colors. They weren't as colorful as they usually were---despite you not being as colorful as most ponies.

It was honestly hard to believe that the pony in the mirror was really yourself.

You didn't want to think on it too much, at least not now. Instead of pondering at the thought any longer, you left the bathroom, turned off the lights, left your bedroom, headed downstairs, grabbed your satchel and---for the first time in four days---opened your front door.

The immediate light that shone against you was nearly blinding, but it didn't surprise you that you've been avoiding the sun---or anything else---for this long.

Upon first regaining sight of the outside world, you found yourself staring at the town in a much more...dim way. The color that was abundant whenever you viewed the town was faded, almost like you. The sky and the water was less blue, the grass was less green. Even the ponies had lost somewhat of their colorful glow to them.

While most of the ponies around you didn't notice your existence, only a couple had actually turned their heads in your direction.

It was, quite honestly, surprising to see that even a couple of ponies still held a grudge against you after four days. Of course, it was only four days; not enough to forgive and forget. But even though some were still angered with you, some still felt sorry for you after that night.

You found it quite interesting that one of those sorrowful ponies was Lyra Heartstrings. She was still somewhat frustrated with you after the incident with her groceries, but today she looked like she had been worried about you.

It wasn't wrong for her to worry about you; you just found it a bit---intriguing.

But you didn't think of it for too long. You were only going to get groceries and that would be it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Turning in the opposite direction of those who looked upon you, you began your trek to the market. Along the way, you came across the house that had been destroyed; the new one was already nearly complete, even after four days.

They sure work fast, you think before continuing forward.

The length from home to the market was not too long, only a few minutes. When you get there, you see ponies already having set up shop---no surprise, it was past noon---while some were reconstructing their stables, having also been burnt down.

A list in one hoof, you head to every stable that had the required foods that you needed: Vegetables, fruits, bread, milk, butter, even a few desserts here and there, and a few more. With the hood over your head, no one bothered to ask who you were. Or maybe they knew and didn't want to say anything, either out of anger or sorrow for you.

After a good twenty minutes, you had just about everything that you needed, despite a few select items that were unavailable or lost. You knew mostly why, but you figured those items would be back on sale next week or so.

You now got what you came for, and so now you were ready to head back home.

But along the journey back home, you began to hear a familiar bouncing noise emitting from behind you. As you turned around to the source, you saw Pinkie Pie hopping her way along towards you, as if she noticed that it was you, despite your face having been almost completely covered with your hood. Maybe it was your legs, or your visible tail.

Or maybe it was your clear-as-day Cutie Mark. Great job in covering that up.

Once Pinkie was just a few hooves in front of you, she greeted you with a big smile on her face, quite different from what you saw four days prior. With a cheerful tone to her voice, she asked what you were doing.

Simply, you replied, "I'm just heading home."

With a curious pint to her cheer, she asked, "What's in the bag?"

"Just a bit of food, that's all-"

Suddenly, Pinkie hopped into the air once more and cut you off.

"Ooh! Speaking of food, I totally forgot! There's something I want you to try out over at Sugarcube Corner!"

"I'd love to, Pinkie, but-"

"Awesome! C'mon!"

By surprise, Pinkie grabs you by the hoof and drags you along. Had it not been for the strap on your satchel, your food would have fallen everywhere onto the ground. You wanted to protest against Pinkie dragging you along, but you decided not to do anything but just play along and follow her.

Sugarcube Corner wasn't exactly far from where the market was, literally around the corner. And when it came into your view, it somewhat colored the world around you just a little bit. It was...nice.

As Pinkie continued to drag you along, you asked her what exactly she wanted you to try out, but she only said, "It's a surprise!"

You didn't ask further, rather deciding to wait until you saw it for yourself.

By the time you reached the front steps of the shop, Pinkie let go of your hoof and stood just beside the steps. Bowing like a stallion, she said, "Gentlemen first."

In honesty, while you found it quite...out of it for her to do that, you found it quite funny, though you didn't laugh out loud. Playing along, you thanked her with somewhat of a faint smile upon your face, the first real smile you had since the party.

Walking up the steps, you held you hoof out for Pinkie. With a faint blush on her cheeks, she grabbed your hoof and you led her inside the shop. Upon opening the doors, you were greeted with the occasional design of the main room. Curious to see what the 'surprise' was, you looked around the shop from where you stood. But there was no cake or cupcake to be seen.

Suddenly, the sound of a clearing throat startles you, and you turn to your right to see not just Pinkie, but the other four girls sitting on one big table. Yes...other four...including Applejack.

Looking to the closest pony, you noticed that it was Twilight, staring at you with worried, but somewhat determined eyes.

Curious to know why they were here, you ask them, "What's going on?"

The girls all look at each other, staring at each other's eyes with worry and sadness, before all looking back to you.

Breathing in slowly and gently letting the air flow, Twilight spoke up out of the group.

"We need to talk."

Saving a seat for you, you made yourself snug within it. Looking in both directions, you took a look at the girls.

It didn't take a scientist to tell that they were worried about you. Looking at Pinkie, you realized that her cheery expression was nothing but a show for you, judging by her now saddened expression and deflated mane.

However, none of that was really all that surprising.

It was the fact that Applejack...the pony who insulted you along with Rainbow Dash...was worried about you too. Or maybe that was just a show too. You wouldn't know until she spoke.

But she wasn't the first to speak, Twilight was, but not to you.

"Applejack," she began slowly, "...Don't you have something to say?"

At first, you found yourself staring at Twilight with somewhat of a confused expression, before turning your attention to the farm mare herself, the expression still stuck to your face. Asking Twilight what she was talking about, she simply told you to ask AJ herself.

You never did ask her, but you did look to her.

Seeing your face, she knew you were a bit confused, and while she didn't speak right away, she simply looked away from you, seeming that she could not bear to look you in the eyes.

And as you looked at her face, you knew that look on it was guilt and only that.

And that wasn't fake. Guilt was a hard expression to truly fake, judging from your experience, at least. From the mare's face alone, you could tell almost right away that she was really guilty.

But for what, exactly?

After what felt like a few moments of interior silence, Applejack lifted her face, looked you into the eyes, and spoke.

"...Ah'm sorry."

A bit dumbfounded, you decided to ask why she was sorry.

Another few moments of silence passed, but she didn't look away, but seemed as if she was trying to come up with the right terms. When she spoke, it was somewhat calm, collective, and ultimately, sorrowful.

"Twilight told me everything that you heard... from me and Rainbow."

Your eyes opened a bit, and you turned to Twilight, asking why she did that.

"You deserved an apology," she replied, then prompted you to turn back to Applejack so you could hear "the full story."

A second of silence came and went, with the mare continuing on with her speech.

"...Ah don't hate you...Ah know that---what we said wasn't the best thing we said about you...but...some of those things Ah said to her...they weren't true."

You didn't say anything, nor did you act surprised all that much, but you let her keep talking.

"You're a nice pony. You're caring...you're kind...you make ponies laugh----heck, Ah even had a thing for you when we first met."

THAT did surprise you, and you actually questioned it. It honestly made Applejack laugh a little at your response---in a positive way, of course.

"...You've always been my friend...from the start. Sure, Ah'll admit...you are a bit...clumsy at times. But t' ain't no reason for you to get yelled at. Rainbow went---she went too far that night."

Before she could go further, you stopped and interjected with your experience.

"I saw you that night; it looked like you were agreeing with her."

Applejack took your response and nodded away at it. Her face still carried sadness within it.

"Ah wasn't agreeing with her...Ah was... Ah couldn't believe it."

You cocked your head, curious what she meant by it.

"Ah never agreed with anything she said about you. Every time she said something hurtful about you, Ah couldn't believe what Ah was hearing."

She was silent again for a few more moments. Looking back at the table, she looked blankly---but sadly---at it, her stare becoming unfocused, as if she was thinking of something else.

With a sigh, she didn't look back to you, but what she said was...unexpected.

"Sometimes, Ah wonder why she's even the Element of Loyalty at all."

As you looked at the others, you saw a look of slight shock and disbelief on their faces to her words. Before any of them, even Twilight, had a chance to say anything, Applejack added onto her statement.

"...She lies all the time, is always self-centered, and...she...pretends to be somepony's friend, only to talk smack about them behind their backs. What kind of a friend does that?"

Lifting her head up, she turns towards you and that look of guilt is replaced with concern and sympathy.

"And the way she treats you...You do everything---everything---that you can to make her smile at you, to make her happy; heck, even love you! And what does she do? She pushes you around, talks down to you, insults you, and blatantly said, in front of the whole darn town, that the world could care less if you were gone...Does she even take a chance to even acknowledge you? At all?"

Before you could answer, she does it for you.

"No. She doesn't...because most of the time in her life, she cares about nopony but herself; nothing but a stubborn, lazy, ignorant jerk who doesn't know what it means when it comes to love. She spends all her time waiting for that perfect somepony of hers to just lift her off her hooves and keep her happy---and she doesn't even realize that she's been hurting him behind his back for a long time."

Finished with her rant, she begins to breathe slowly, seemingly a bit tired from it. Slowly, you find yourself looking at the floor, taking in what Applejack had just said. You didn't know any way or form to respond to it. Sometimes, you never would say anything at all when it came to rants or arguments, so for this one, you did nothing but think.

But once the mare had caught her breath, she lifted a hoof, held your head gently and turned it towards her. Her eyes, while still holding that sympathy, was now filled with---care.

"You're an amazing pony----and you're an amazing friend. Anypony would be lucky to be with you."

That last sentence made you smile a bit, to which Applejack's own grew.

With open hooves, you and Applejack pull each other into a heartwarming hug. The feel of her warm fur sent a slight chill through your body; you found it comforting, even through the jacket.

"...Can you ever forgive me?" she asks.

For a few moments, you don't respond, but entice yourself into the hug. While you didn't think she was lying, you did, however, think of the things she said.

You knew there was no way she would be lying about all that she said. You can tell when a pony lies just from eyes alone.

And they looked quite truthful to you.

So holding her slightly tighter, you give her an answer.

"Yes----I forgive you."

For a few more good moments, you stayed embraced with Applejack, feeling somewhat better for the first time in four days. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. While not all of the weight was lifted away, it felt good knowing a bit of the truth.

It felt good having a friend back.

You didn't leave right after that talk. Instead, you stayed for a good several hours, Pinkie insisting on letting your groceries stay fresh in the fridge. That took care of the problem of the milk going bad.

For the next few hours, you and the others talked about---well, whatever you could think of. Jokes, myths, fairy-tales, history, and even how the week went---which was an awkward subject to talk of.

However, while the shop was lively with conversation almost all day---and while you still talked at some points here and there---you were mostly silent. At first, no one really acknowledged it, seeing as you did talk and joke about a bit.

But by the time the sun was nearing the horizon, Twilight began to notice that you were looking rather down again. Asking what's wrong, you pulled yourself out of the sudden daze you found yourself in.

"Nothing," you reply, "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Twilight remarks, clearly talking about your long face. Stepping closer to you, she asks what the problem is.

Pitching in, Rarity adds, "Yes, don't be afraid to tell us, darling."

Looking up a bit from the floor, you notice that all of the girls are looking at you, clearly waiting for you to give out an answer. Knowing that they wouldn't wait forever for you to reply, you sigh a bit and respond to them with a slight tone of sadness to your voice.

"I guess I'm still just a bit upset after what happened with Dash---that's all."

And it honestly wasn't wrong to think of it. You knew exactly what it was: An accident. Yet Rainbow Dash thinks you're nothing but a walking disaster waiting to happen. Some part of you wanted to reject her claims, tell her that she was just wrong about you entirely. But then there was that other part of you, the one that seemed to want to believe everything she said. Maybe you were a walking disaster. Maybe you did cause suffering at every turn. Maybe-...

Your thoughts were interrupted as Twilight gently put a hoof on your shoulder; it was always her way of comfort to you, and most of the time it would work.

Looking at her face, she held within it a smile.

"It wasn't your fault. You know that," she says calmly.

Rather than accept it, you respond against it, while not negatively.

"But I was the one who tripped."

"But you didn't mean to, right?"

"Well---no, but-"

"But nothing. Don't beat yourself up for something that was out of your control. What happened happened."

"Yeah, I know...and now---she hates me...You know---I thought everything was going to go smoothly. I thought I was going to be able to at least have her appreciate me, and I screwed it all up in just a fraction of a second."

With a sigh, you once more look to the ground and finish off your words.

"And I'll never be able to fix it."

And for a moment, you sat there, not wanting to say anything else, but mostly because you didn't really have anything to say. Twilight removed her hoof from your shoulder and not only walked away, but began to walk in circles. You knew from experience that she was officially in a thinking mode.

Depending on how hard and how much she thought, she would walk in a circle for hours or just a few moments. Depending on how long, there would be ho damage to the floor, or there would be a large circle paced into it.

Up to a full minute passes before you hear Twilight come up with some sort of agreement.

"Maybe you can fix it."

While it wasn't as intriguing of an answer as you hoped, it lifted an eyebrow and your head. Staring at Twilight, you asked her what she meant by that; how were you honestly going to fix a mess that you caused?

With a look of planned excitement plastered onto her face, she exclaimed.

"A vacation, of course!"

After she said that, you raised your eyebrow a little more, seeming confused at her answer. How was that going to help at all with this?

Before you could ask that question out loud, Rarity did it for you.

"Darling, what exactly do you mean by 'vacation?' How would that help?"

Turning towards the white unicorn, Twilight began to explain.

"Let's face it...We've all had a rough few days, him mostly," she points to you, continuing, "So maybe it would be best for all of us to just...get away from Ponyville and relax for a little while. Get some fresh air."

"That sounds lovely. Where did you have in mind?" Rarity asks.

For a few good moments, Twilight ponders over the question, as if thinking.

"Well~...I was hoping we could give Manehattan another visit. I mean, we were only there once, and that was just for your fashion show. Plus, I'm sure he's never been there."

"That's true," you slowly remark. "I've always wanted to go to Manehattan, but...I never really had the time---or the money."

Suddenly, you found Rarity flung up in front of you, a vast look of excitement on her face.

"Then you are in luck, Darling! Manehattan is one of the most exquisite cities you could ever visit in Equestria! Just think of it: We'll get to see thousands of beautiful dresses, displays, and even more fashion shows! Ugh, I can hardly wait already!"

Rarity upheld a proud expression, but looked at you in somewhat of awkward embarrassment when she realized she was beginning to get carried away.

"Ehehe----and maybe a few romantic spots as well."

Walking up to Rarity and looking to you, Twilight held a little smile and asked, "So? What do you say?"

You didn't respond immediately; instead, you looked at the other girls. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all had looks of excitement on their face as they waited for you to answer, seeming to already know what you would say.

Looking to Rarity, her face showed more than just excitement, but to you, it seemed more like she was caring more about the fashion part of the trip than the real reason you were going. Not that you minded, really.

When you looked at Twilight, her face showed slight excitement, happiness, but most importantly, care.

Letting in a breath of air, you held it in for a moment or two, before you let your lungs contract, the air escaping from your nostrils.

And as you looked at the girls altogether, your mouth began to curve gently into a smile.

And you responded.

"Okay."

Almost in unison, the girls cheered at your decision, Rarity specifically looking happy---no surprise. In the background, Pinkie was hopping up and down, repeating the same three words over and over in a fast manner.

"Ican'twaitIcan'twaitIcan'twaitIcan'twait..."

Once their cheering was over, you and they began to make a date for when you would leave for the city. After a short discussion, the six of you settled on the day after tomorrow, Thursday, at noon. Once the date was settled, you decided to ask Twilight how she would convince Rainbow to go on the trip. She didn't give out specific details, but she said that she would be on that train on Thursday.

For another hour, the six of you continued to talk and have friendly fun, until the sun finally dipped beneath the horizon. You said your goodbyes to each of them, collected your groceries, and headed home.

Along the way home, you heard the sound of somepony flying high overhead. When you looked above, a streak zipped past the sky. You swore it had been Rainbow Dash, but the streak was too far and too faded for you to assume, so you disregarded it.

Once you walked through your front door, you opened your bag of groceries, put the food where it needed to be, and made your way upstairs to take a shower.

It was just as relaxing as it had always been.

When you got out of the shower, you had the curiosity of checking yourself in the mirror. Wiping away the fog to it, you looked at your reflection in a bit of surprise. The colors in your fur had returned to normal, no longer slightly grayed.

It honestly made you smile a bit.

Once you were dried off, you hung your towel up on the rack, turned off the bathroom light, and began to slip your way into bed. Shutting off your lamp at your side, you yawned and began to close your eyes.

And for the first time in four days, your eyes were not filled with tears, but with dreams.

For the first time in four days, sleep came to you.

And it was such a reward.

Chapter VI: Sorry

Chapter VI: Tears

The entire next day was nothing more for you but packing the common essentials for the trip: Toothbrush, toothpaste, your mp3 player, shampoo, a bit of soap, and...

...That was pretty much all. If ponies wore clothing on a day-to-day basis, there would be a reason to pack some. No need to pack swimming trunks, as it was quite unlikely that you would be swimming all that often---not that many ponies wear trunks to swim anyhow---and there was no need to pack winter gear, being the middle of spring, with winter being eight months away.

So other than your common dental-care, tunes, and hygiene, you were pretty much ready to go.

With the few supplies you had, you simply placed them into your satchel rather than use a suitcase, as it would be pointless for just a few small things.

Once you were certain that you were fully packed, you spent the rest of the day doing nothing but listening to the radio and relaxing on the couch. Today was a much better day than the last few days. You still weren't quite active or outdoorsy, but you were in a much better mood today, that was for sure.

You didn't, however, spend the day alone. At around three o'clock, Applejack came by and wanted to hang out for a little while. She had decided that she wanted to make up for what you heard her say and made you think. You said that she didn't need to do that, but she rather insisted.

For a good hour, the two of you spent time indoors talking and joking about. Every once in a while, one of you would end up telling somewhat of a flat joke, but redeem it with an addition to it, leading to laughter from the both of you. When neither of you could think of a joke, you thought of a story, so for half the time she was there, the two of you did nothing but reminisce of your pasts.

You did talk about what happened five days prior, but it was rare. Even Applejack was the most uncomfortable with it, saying that she wanted the past "to be the past."

Whatever awkwardness ensued was fixed with an apology and a change of subject.

"So...What're you gonna do---y'know, when we get to Manehattan, Ah mean?" she asks, "With you and Dash?"

You didn't hesitate all that much to answer, but you were still thinking.

"You know---I'm not exactly sure, really. I haven't really thought about it. But---even if I did, she probably wouldn't listen to a thing I said anyway."

"Typical Rainbow," she remarks. A bit of silence comes between you, but AJ was the first to speak up, adding to her response.

"Ah can't believe she's still holdin' a grudge against you after all this time. Heck, I can't believe anypony's still holdin' a grudge against you!"

"Well, it's hard to forgive and forget when it's happened time and time again," you add, "regardless whether or not it was my fault."

"Ah know, Ah know, but still."

While you wanted to add onto your statement, you couldn't seem to just find the right words. So rather than talk, you simply looked down onto the floor, unable to reply properly.

This look of sadness only lasts for a few seconds before Applejack lifts your head to face her. Just like Twilight, her face was also of concern and care.

"Look...Sugar-cube...It's gonna be okay...y'hear? It'll be okay...Ah know it."

For a moment, you crack a smile, to which Applejack responds with her own. But not too long after, your smile fades away, and you once more look at the floor.

With a sigh, you say in a sad tone, "Sometimes, I wonder if that's even true."

Seconds of silence pass; while not awkward, it was somewhat uncomfortable being so quiet.

Almost by surprise, Applejack gently places her hoof on your shoulder. What she did was similar to that of Twilight's tactics. It was odd, but at the same time, it was quite comforting; still just as comforting as Twilight's tactic.

"It is true...Dash can't be this way forever---Sooner or later, she's gonna have to talk to you."

You didn't look at Applejack, but you did smile again, and while you didn't exactly see her, you knew she was smiling right back at you.

Noticing her looking at the clock, she states that she needs to be back at the farm. Giving you another heartwarming hug, she bids you goodbye for now and leaves you alone once again.

And for the remainder of the day, you were all by yourself, doing the same thing as you were before, music and chilling. It wasn't until at least around eight-thirty that you started up dinner; hayloaf was pretty good, especially with garlic and cheese to it.

Once you stuffed yourself with food, you cleaned up your dishes, placed them into the dishwasher, then headed upstairs for a shower. You always loved showers; there was just something about them that brought you to pure bliss.

As you finish your shower and dry up, you head back into your bedroom. Wanting to try something new for a change, you turn on the radio and gently float into bed.

Turning off your bedside lamp, the radio begins to play what clearly sounds like old music, clearly a few decades old.

At first, you find the song rather relaxing, finding yourself enticed to its rather gentle tune, but halfway through the song, you find yourself growing tired just from listening to the music alone, and by the end of the song and onto the next one, you're out like a light, the sounds of dreamland drowned out by the music of the old days.

And you didn't have a single problem with it.

Morning came in what felt like a few short moments, despite sleeping for nearly twelve hours, but regardless how fast time felt had passed, you were refreshed and ready to go upon awakening.

After freshening up a bit, you make your way downstairs and cook up some breakfast. Like most of the other breakfasts, this one wasn't special, but it was a bit different. Who knew cinnamon on toast could be so damn good?

After finishing your meal and washing the dishes, you make sure everything is prim and proper so nothing goes wrong while you were away. You and the others would be away from town for at least a week, so surely nothing too bad can happen, right?

The first thing you do is, once all of them were clean, put all of the dishes back in their designated cupboards. The last thing you'd want upon coming home was dishes that smelled like mold---which reminds you to call Handy Dandy to check on that.

What you do next is make sure no food is left around the house; on the floor, on the couches, bed, anywhere, you make sure no bit of food is left lying around. Just thinking about it made you remember the last time that happened.

It took a week for those pesky roaches to be eradicated. Not even Fluttershy could get rid of them, and she's the animal goddess. Well, she's also an insect goddess, but still, they didn't listen. You never really approved of killing anything, but once your last nerve was gone, you said, "Screw it," and gave them hell.

There's still ash on the carpets.

And the thing to be done was to make sure your bed was clean and made. You weren't all that OCD when it comes to keeping your bed clean, but you wanted to come home to a lovely fragrance, not sweat.

Once the bed was made and the air was filled with the smell of a fragrant rose, you smiled at your work. Sure, you were a bit---lazy at times, but when you wanted something done, it got done, no matter the obstacle.

On some occasions, of course.

With the job done, you turn away from the bed and begin to make your way to the door. But just as you reach to touch the knob, your eyes find their way to a photograph, standing on your dresser top.

You hoof moves away from the door knob, and you begin to walk towards the photograph. Upon picking it up, you realize exactly what it is, and you blush, somewhat heavily.

It was a picture---no...the picture of Rainbow Dash, sitting by the Ponyville Lake, in a rather---sultry pose, most likely from some sort of exercise. The picture was about a few years old, dating back to the time of the Gabby Gums incident.

You weren't the one who had taken the picture of course, but there was a small number of ponies who could have possibly given it to you.

One suspect was Featherweight, a scrawny-looking colt with a thing for photography; because of the fact that mostly everypony in town knows about your affection for Rainbow, that likely meant he knew as well, and tried doing something good for you. You never really approved of him invading her personal privacy, but nonetheless, you kept the photo a secret, only using it for when you really needed it.

Another guess was that an anonymous pony had taken the picture and mailed it to you, but you'd figure that there would be at least some kind of note, obviously with no signature.

But the third guess, and very likely the least plausible, was the photo had been purposely taken and given to you by Rainbow herself. Maybe she was aware that you had a thing for her early on, when she actually liked to hang out with you, and decided to give you something to remember her. There wasn't the impossibility of her having taken the photo herself; there were cameras with timers, so she could have purposely posed just for you.

But like you assumed, it was the least plausible guess in your head.

Regardless, you didn't discard the photo, and nopony except you---and whoever gave it to you---knows about it.

In honesty, this had been the first time in months that you've actually looked at this photo. You were wondering why in the world it was on the top of the dresser, in front of open windows, where anypony, even her, could just fly right by and see it in its full glory. You don't remember taking it out of the drawer. Maybe you just forgot.

For about a good minute, you took a good look at the photo. It was nothing more than Rainbow Dash staring off in a random direction, laying on the ground, clearly stretching, but with a leg in the air and the other stretched outward. With that, you were given a full view of everything down there.

You wondered how the photographer never got caught, but you assumed they were hiding in a bush.

As you looked on, you began to find your wings growing stiff as you became aroused. However, your wings were not the only thing that was stiff.

You wanted to put the picture away for now, walk it off, and get ready.

But as your arousal grew, you took a peak at the clock. 10:20 AM.

An hour and thirty minutes before you were to head to the station.

...

"I've got time," you say to yourself out loud.

As quick as you could, you closed the blinds, locked the door---just in case--- laid on the bed, held the picture in your hooves, relaxed and stretched your wings, and got to work.

Wings were better to use anyway.

Once the deed was done, you made sure to clean up and throw away any messes. By the time you were finished, it was nearly 11:30. To some, taking that much time is slow, but you like to take things slow. Makes the outcome more effective.

For the next twenty minutes, you spent your time downstairs, sitting on the couch and listening to the radio for a little bit. It wasn't old music, rather new, in fact. While you weren't a 100% fan of rock and roll, songs of the genre always manage to get your head banging.

Twenty minutes of rock and metal later, you made sure your satchel was prepared with your essentials. You double checked the place to make sure nothing was bound to leak or break or blow up---not saying it could happen, but just a precaution.

Once everything was safe and sure, you lifted the satchel strap over your head and properly fastened it.

But as you made your way to the front door, you caught a faint sight of something just beside the couch. When you looked fully at it, you realized what it was.

It was Rainbow's birthday gift---well, gift(s).

For a moment, you were thinking of wanting to just leave it here and give it to her when you get back---that is, if she forgives you by then. But the other part of you wanted to take it with you. Hoof it to her over a nice dinner, a relaxing lay in the clouds, something friendly and the like.

But as the clock began to ring once to signal ten minutes before noon, you quickly made up your mind.

Grabbing the gift, you unwrap it, revealing the satchel containing the soon-to-be-released Daring Do novel and the tickets for the upcoming Wonderbolts show. As quick as you could, you put the strap over your head and place the satchel on the other side of your body, properly fastening it. You didn't worry about her thinking of it as Daring's; not that she would really look at you during the trip much, really.

Once you were sure it was tightly secured, you open your front door, head out, close and lock it. Unfurling your wings, with a great push, you make your way to the station.

It doesn't take very long to reach the station, less than two minutes by flight. When you first reach the place, you begin to look around for the others, and for a second, you fear you were too late, that the train might have already taken off.

But not more than a minute after you arrive, you spot the train in the distance, quickly making its way towards you, before beginning to slow down and stop at its designated spot.

You watch the train intently as its side-doors open, and a great crowd of ponies flood the platform, walking in all directions. Some looked quite exhausted, while others looked refreshed and awake. Some even looked like they had way too much caffeine.

Another minute passes, and you still wonder where the others could be. Just before you make a decision to board the train and wait, you hear a voice calling out behind you.

"Over here, partner!"

Turning around, you are greeted with the Elements of Harmony walking towards you, all of them---well, almost all of them---holding cheerful smiles on their faces.

"So sorry we're late, darling," Rarity says as they reach you, "We had no idea the time got away from us."

"Actually, you're right on time," you remark, "The train just got here."

Adding onto the conversation, Twilight adds, "Well, it looks like we'll be getting first seats then."

Looking towards Twilight, the lavender unicorn gives you an appreciative wink. With a smile, you wink in return.

Not too far from where you stood, one of the train staff yells into the air.

"All aboard!"

"Well, we best get our seats. C'mon," Applejack says.

Agreeing with the mare, you and the others begin to board the train, but decided to let them to board first. There was nothing wrong with being chivalrous sometimes. Twilight giggled a bit as she walks by you. Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy smile and thank you kindly.

As Pinkie hops by, she shouts, "Thank~you~!" in a sing-song tone, hopping with less effort in order to avoid bumping into the top of the doorway. It actually made you laugh a bit.

But when Rainbow passed you by, she didn't acknowledge you in the slightest bit at all; it was as if she was pretending you didn't even exist.

You weren't expecting her to praise you for letting her on first, but you struggled to accept that such an accident could cause nothing but hatred within her for you. Of course, this has happened frequently. But do you ever mean it? No. At least to you.

Once Rainbow makes it inside, you let out a depressed sigh---the first depressed anything since two days ago, really---you folloq her and shut the door behind you.

Now inside, you begin to take a good look at the cabin. Sure, you've been inside trains before with the occasional seats and aisles, but never had you really been inside the back areas of a train, the cabins that held not just seats, but beds too, likely for those long trips to farther away towns and cities, Manehattan being an example. According to Twilight, the train won't reach the city until tonight, nearly close to midnight, so the only usefulness for these beds would be mostly for a quick nap.

As the seven of you got prepared for the train's departure, a thought came up, and you just had to ask.

"Uh, where is your luggage?" Your question prompts an answer from Rarity.

"Oh, we've left it with Spike, of course. He's in the back, making sure it's all put away. Such a good little helper. Ooh, do be a dear and see if he's alright, could you?"

For a moment, you hesitate, but you promptly volunteer and decide to head back to the storage cabin.

And for the first time in nearly a week, you hear Rainbow talk to you from behind. "Just don't burn anything while you're back there, alright?"

Her voice clearly hints slight mockery.

You ignore her statement and make your way to the next cabin behind, the second-to-last of the train. As you transition your way from one cabin to the next, you begin to hear Rarity faintly talk about "how rude that was," before her voice fades out.

As you enter the storage car, while you can hear the noise of the train beginning to move beneath you, the sound of struggling grunts fills the distance. You knew quickly who it was and decide to go see how he was doing. Following the noise, you eventually turn a small corner of suitcases and come across Spike, only now lifting the last of what must have been Rarity's luggage onto the pile. Listening closely, you can clearly tell he was out of breath.

And honestly, you couldn't blame him, looking at the several cases that belonged to Rarity. Why bring all of this stuff? She probably wouldn't use a fourth of it.

With a bit of worry, you say, "Spike?"

In a sudden spasm of fear, Spike screams and falls to the ground, clearly surprised beyond belief. While the impact of his fall was felt, it wasn't anything to tilt the small tower of baggage.

You had to hold a hoof to your mouth to keep yourself from laughing aloud. A faint snicker did come out, but it was so quiet, not even Spike could have heard it, especially with the train's racket.

Deciding to be a bit of a smart-ass, you ask the fallen dragon, "Having a bit of a nap there?"

Looking up at you, clearly embarrassed, Spike begins to blush and chuckle with a clear awkwardness to his voice.

"H-Heheh... Well, I could use one right about now..."

His nervous response brings a bit of a chuckle to your throat, and you decide to help him up. His blush goes away and the awkwardness slightly fades. As you look on to the pile of luggage, you ask him if he carried all of this into the train.

You shouldn't have been surprised that he said, "Yep," yet you were.

"... And none of them decided to help you?" you ask.

"Well, Rainbow Dash brought one of them in, but that was it."

As much as you were upset with her, you still had to chuckle just a little bit, sigh, and add to his statement.

"Typical Rainbow."

Spike laughs a little bit along with your saying, but it remains quiet for a few short moments. When Spike talks, his voice contains a more serious tone to it.

"So... how's it with you and her?"

For a minute, you were considering lying to him, telling him that things were a little better than a few days ago. But as you could see, Spike may be young, but he's not dumb.

"... Not good," you reply after a moment to catch your words, "She still hates me."

"Seriously? After five days, she still won't even talk about it?"

"Well, she kinda insulted me about it a minute ago, so I guess some progress?"

With a frustrated groan, Spike rubs his eyes. "Why can't she just get over the fact that it happened? I've burnt down tons of things by accident, yet I never get yelled at! ... Okay, well, maybe sometimes I get yelled at, but at this point, it's just ridiculous! She just needs to grow up and make up!"

"It's not that easy, Spike," you remark after his little rant, "You're a dragon. Obviously, you're going to have some kind of flammable accident from time to time. But me? I'm a Pegasus. A pony. Not a dragon. Sure, accidents happen, but... I seem to cause an accident every time I step out the front door."

With a defeated sigh, you look to the floor.

"I don't think she's ever going to forgive me for this." For a few moments, you continue to look down at the wooden floor of the car, trying to keep your spirits up, but no matter what, you felt yourself growing sad again.

But then as Spike put his claw on your shoulder, it made you look up. As you looked to him, he removes his claw from your shoulder, but he shows a caring smiles towards you.

"Rainbow Dash may be a pain most of the time," he begins, "and even though she's being a pain right now, she'll forgive you... sooner or later."

"And you're sure about that?" I ask him, unconvinced and somewhat joking at the same time.

"Of course! Trust my gut!"

You laugh a little as Spike pats his gut a couple of times. As he looks back to you, he holds one of his claws up into a fist, looking for a hoof-bump.

"So relax, alright bro?"

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Spike to call you his 'bro' every now and then. Upon first arriving in Ponyville, he was one of the first you had met, and whenever you had time, you would visit him, your friendship growing stronger with each visit. Eventually, a month after you arrived in town, as a friendly gesture of trust, he decided on doing a hoof-bump, which you found nothing wrong with. And every day since then, you two have done it as a sign of trust.

As the two of you bumped hoof-to-fist, Spike felt his stomach gurgle. Agreeing on grabbing something to snack on, he asks you if you were coming back to the car.

"In a little bit," you reply, "I'm gonna hang out at the end for a little by myself."

"Alright then. Later."

Spike turned away in the opposite direction from you and headed back into the car with the girls, while you went in the opposite direction from him and made your way to the very end of the train, the next car over.

As you enter the car, you are greeted with a fancy looking decorative cabin. To the left were a couple of comfortable looking beds with a couple of chairs next to them. Still to the left, but close to the back exit, was a table, with long seats attached to the structure. To the right, there was a sink, a furnace, a mini-fridge, and even a toilet. You were a bit curious on where exactly pony waste went, but you've always assumed there was a series of tanks connected throughout the train that would be stored and dumped once full.

Note to self: Ask Twilight next time.

Walking over to one of the beds, you place a hoof gently onto it, feeling the texture and softness of the mattress. It was almost as soft as the mattress back home.

With a little yawn, you decide to just hop onto the bed and relax for a little while. Dash clearly didn't want to have you in her sights, so you let her have her 'alone' time.

As you land on the mattress, you are over taken by the sheer softness of it, encasing you in pure bliss. It wasn't just almost like the one back home; it was better than the one back home.

Getting yourself comfortable, you lay flat on your back, letting your hind legs reach the hind-hoof end of the bed. Looking up to the ceiling, you notice a little chandelier, gently rocking about to the train's movements. The movement of the train itself was gentle and calm; it was a little strange, but at least you weren't being rocked about by boulder-sized bumps.

In fact, the movement of the train was gentle enough to tire you even further. Already, you could feel yourself beginning to drift off from the rocking.

It wasn't long before your eyes closed. You felt a good nap would be a bit nice, just to make the trip a little shorter.

But as you were in the middle of losing consciousness, you heard the sound of the door---not the exit door---beginning to open up. You didn't open your eyes, as you hoped you'd be asleep before the pony even entered.

However, once the country accent spoke your name, you had no choice but to open your eyes and look at the very pony who spoke to you. But once you opened your eyes, Applejack was already sitting on the bed beside you, looking at you with questionable eyes.

"Tired?"

It was the first question she spoke to you, to which you replied with an 'Mmm-Hmm,' nodding your head slowly. It made Applejack laugh a little, but then it was awkwardly silent except for the train moving.

Applejack was not looking at you directly, but to the side, the ceiling, the bed, out the windows, and other places. Eventually, her eyes found their way back to you.

A few moments later, her face scrunched up slightly, and with an awkwardness to it, she asked, "Can we talk about somethin'?"

You raised an eyebrow a little at the question, but nonetheless, you let her talk. Again she went with the looking around, but you knew she was likely thinking of either something to say or a way to say something. Either way, it was a bit cute to you.

"Ah... W-... Well..."

She was unable to get more than a word out of her mouth without stuttering in what seemed to be embarrassment or nervousness. But you only asked yourself why she would be embarrassed.

And then after a few seconds, she got her words out.

"Why do you have a picture of Rainbow Dash?"

'''

So that was why the picture was on the stand.

As she asked that question, your eyes opened wide, your pupils dilated, and your face turned red in sheer embarrassment. Already, you were beginning to stammer and have trouble responding to the question.

When you did get ready to respond, you had no idea how to even put it in words or make it even believable.

So you waited a few more seconds for the suddenness to fade away, and when you felt as though you could talk somewhat normally again, you asked her.

"H-... How do you know about the picture?"

Well, you did know how she knew, but you wanted to hear how she even managed to find it to begin with.

"Well... you said Ah could use your bathroom, so Ah just walked upstairs, went into the bathroom, and there it was, just sittin' on the counter."

So that's where you left it. You always had the assumption it had been in the drawer the whole time, but it was really on the bathroom counter. How come you never noticed it? Or maybe you did notice it and never thought of it as being something that guests should never find.

Either way, you were quite embarrassed, your blushing face showing it. Applejack apologized for even bringing it up, but at the same time, promised that your secret was safe with her, that she would never tell anypony, even Dash.

So really, the problem solved itself, but said discussion wasn't over. You never really answered her first question, and she reminded you of that.

With no way to really change the subject, you decide to answer her question, but in the best way you possibly could.

"I don't really know who took it. It just kinda appeared in my mailbox one day."

With an eyebrow raised, she asked, "Really?" However, it sounded like a mixture of 'I understand' and 'I don't believe a thing you're saying'.

Regardless, you kept explaining. "Yyyeah. I woke up one morning to get the mail and... well, there it was, in a little envelope. The one thing that was a bit... off was the fact that the envelope had no signature. Like, there was no name, no address nothing. I still don't know who did it, but they can tell I like her. I mean, it was still a few months after I moved to Ponyville, so I just kinda assumed it was... her, maybe, that sent it to me. I kept it a secret and that was that."

Applejack blushed a little, but she managed to keep her composure. "Have you...um...y'know...?"

It didn't take a genius to understand what she was asking, and as awkward as it was to think of, you just decided to answer her question and get it over with.

"I... yes? I mean, I... ... Yeah."

The farmer's face became flushed and dark with red. She shifted a little in the bed, but for some reason, it didn't seem much like it was of discomfort, but you didn't think anything of it, so you shrugged it off.

Another few seconds of silence passed before Applejack had suddenly announced that she was going to head back to the others.

"You comin'?"

With a tired outlet, you reply, "Maybe in a little bit. I'm just gonna lay here for a bit."

"Alright then."

Turning around, Applejack headed for the car door. Opening it, she passed through and shut it behind her. But as you watched her leave, it seemed like she was in a bit of a hurry to go. You didn't know why, really, but you were too tired to think into it.

You let it go and decided to re-position yourself in the bed to get yourself comfortable again. Once you felt relaxed, you once again closed your eyes, the slight bumping of the train seeming to massage your body all around, bringing you closer to sleep.

But as you finally drift off into dreamland, a scent slowly, but surely, caught your fading attention. You couldn't put it into a thought or word, but it was a strange scent. Somewhat enticing, you could say.

It smelled like... like...

... Apples.

Waking up wasn't special or surprising, just normal as usual. The smell was gone, thank Celestia. But thinking of it now, you assume you were just hallucinating the scent. It wasn't a bad or foul smell; it was rather nice, in fact. Sweet.

A little too sweet for your nose, perhaps.

You stayed in the car for a few more minutes, just enjoying the sound of the train engine and the gentle bumps here and there, before deciding to head back to see what the others had been up to.

Getting up from the bed, you turn around and properly make it, making sure it was as tidy as it was before. Once that was done, you took a look at the clock to see how long you had slept for.

The time was near one-thirty, so you had slept for well over an hour.

A little early, you think.

Whenever you napped, it was always, or always around, three hours long. Sometimes, you were refreshed, but other times, you still wanted to just go back and sleep longer.

However, there were slim chances of sleeping for more or less than you wanted. One time, you took a nap at noon and didn't wake up until midnight. It nearly ruined your sleeping schedule, but it was fixable.

Once you took a note of the time, you left the car and continued back to the others. When you arrived at the car, the girls had been busy eating what must have been lunch: Cucumber sandwiches, Egg-Salad sandwiches, potato chips, Prench Fries, and even lemonade.

Not to mention some cupcakes for later, of course.

Twilight was the first to see you and said, "Hey! You came just in time! We saved a seat for you!"

With a hoof, she patted a free hoof on a seat next to hers.

A seat next to Rainbow Dash.

Who was looking away from you.

Still angry, you can tell.

But regardless, you weren't going to sit on any of the beds. As long as you were sitting next to Twilight---or any of them, rather---you were fine. She could deal with it for a little bit.

Heading over to the group, you sit down right in between Twilight and Rainbow. The seat, upon first sitting down, was a bit cushion-y and comfortable.

Looking over the assortment of sandwiches and chips, you wonder what you really want to have first.

It wasn't long before you chose the Egg-Salad sandwich. They were always your favorite, hooves-down, so you could never resist.

Taking a bite into the bread, the moment that Egg-Salad touched your taste-buds, it was better than laying in a bed by a long shot.

The taste was too good, in fact, you closed your eyes and unknowingly moaned a little from the delicacy. For a second, you thought it was a quiet one, that none of them could hear it.

But opening your eyes again, you found them, all of them---even Rainbow---looking at you funny. Rarity looked like she was about to cry out in laughter.

"What, did that turn you on or something?" Rainbow asked, her question not being insulting, but sounding more of a joke, rather. You knew it was offensive, regardless.

Other than blushing heavily, you couldn't respond, at least until you swallowed your food. When you did, you laughed a little, clearly embarrassed.

Twilight could see your embarrassment, and trying to save your plot, tried to change the subject.

"So---how long will it take to get to Manehattan?"

Rarity, seeming to have already forgotten you, replied, "It shouldn't be too too long. If we don't come across any trouble, we should be at the city by morning, assuming the stops aren't too long."

Looking towards you, the mare continues, "Oh, you are going to looove Manehattan, darling! It's everypony's dream to be there! It has everything you could ever want!"

Taking another bite into your sandwich, you look up at Rarity and smile as you swallow.

"Can't wait."

Then not more than a couple seconds later, Rainbow pushes her plate slightly forward and leaves the little table, flying up and laying in her bed. All of you saw her leave, but none of you said anything.

You had assumptions that she left simply because of you. But you didn't say anything about it, and neither did the others, so you continued to eat.

A minute or so passed before the girls began to engage in conversation again. You talked every now and again, but not as much as they had. You played games with them, such as Tic-Tac-Toe or Charades, and you even listened to Twilight as she talked to you about something historical. It was mostly Starswirl The Bearded, but other times, it was something else. It was always interesting to learn what she knows.

After a couple of hours, you found yourself growing a bit sad. Eventually, you didn't want to play any games or hear any piece of history.

You just wanted to lay down and look out the window.

For a couple of hours, you did just that. The girls did notice at some point, and Twilight even asked if you were okay, and you said, even promised, that you were fine.

It was only a little true.

By the time it was nine o'clock, you found it a bit difficult to see out into the distance, so you decided to look up at the bottom of the top bunk bed. Crossing your hooves over your stomach, you stared at the bottom for Celestia-knows-how-long.

The girls were still talking and playing at the table. Even Spike jumped in a couple of hours back. But here you were, in your bed, just laying down and staring at that same bottom.

Just staring, and staring.

...

With a sigh, you get up from the bed and let out your wings. With gentle flutters, you hover upward until you are level with Rainbow's bed. She's staring out the window, but seeing her reflection, you notice she's still angry.

However---at the same time, you can see...

...Sadness.

She looks up and sees you through the reflection, and that sadness seems to fade.

Sighing, she asks, "What do you want?"

You look her for a few seconds, trying to figure out the words to say, but can only usher a single question.

"Can we talk?"

She continues to look at you through the reflection, but after a couple of seconds, she looks away from you and covers her head with a pillow.

Her voice, while muffled, says, "There's nothing to talk about. Just leave me alone."

You hover there for a few seconds, deciding whether or not go back to your bed or try to coax her into talking to you.

It didn't take much brain-power for you to choose.

"I want to apologize"

And you wish you chose the former.

In a huff of anger, Rainbow jumped off her bed and flared out her wings.

"Are you an idiot? Do you not pay attention to anyone, or are you so deaf that you didn't hear me the first time?"

"I... I-"

"Let me make this real clear to you, buddy. I. Don't. Care. About. Your. Apology! I said LEAVE ME ALONE. What part of that did you not understand?!"

"But... I just wanted to-"

"NO! I don't care about your STUPID apology! Do something right for once and leave me the buck alone!"

Almost immediately, the whole car goes silent. Pinkie and Rarity stop playing their game, Twilight stops teaching to Fluttershy, Applejack is woken up in shock, and Spike just... stares. As do you.

Rainbow quickly found herself becoming the center of attention. It seemed like the first time she didn't want it. With a frustrated 'UGH', she unfurls her wings and flies off, heading to the back of the train.

For a few more seconds, you sit there, staring at the place where Rainbow was sitting. Then slowly, you return to your bed and with a gentle 'plop', you sit down and look out the window. And that's all you do.

Twilight called out your name, but all you could do in response was rest your head against the window pane and tell them you were fine. Of course, it was a lie.

Eventually, one of the girls comes up to you and sits right next to you. You don't bother to look, nor do you tell them to leave you alone. You just let them sit there. But after a few seconds, they wrap their forelegs around you and pull you into their grasp.

"C'mere, sugar-cube."

Embraced in the hug, you opened your eyes and find yourself held against Applejack's warm fur. She held you close to her, as close as she could.

"I'm sorry... I just wanted to..."

And like she was your own mother, she comforted you with words of her own as she rubbed your back.

"It's alright, sugar-cube... It's alright..."

For a while, you and Applejack sat there on the bed, hugging, apologizing, and accepting over and over again. You didn't want to cry. You felt it weak. You wanted to laugh at the irony of that as you sit pressed against your friend. How pathetic you looked, right?

"Don't say that."

You said that out loud. Of course you did.

In that moment, for that one night, there was no happiness or laughter, nor was there fun had all that much for the remainder of the night.

It wasn't supposed to be like that. You just wanted to say you were sorry.

Chapter VII: Arrival

Chapter VII: Arrival

The night passed by in silence. By ten o'clock, none of the girls wanted to keep playing, especially after Rainbow's outburst, so they all went to sleep. Applejack didn't leave your side at all, instead deciding to sleep next to you for the night. You said that she didn't need to, but she insisted, and you didn't want to argue much about it, so you just let her.

Even after they had fallen asleep, you didn't close your eyes for a few more hours. Until then, you found yourself looking outside the window, and with each passing minute, you were waiting for the sound of the car door opening, and Rainbow Dash would float back into bed.

But she never came back into the car, so you assumed she was going to sleep at the end for the night.

You didn't bother worrying about her anymore for the moment. She wanted to be alone, so be it.

Focusing on trying to sleep, you close your eyes after a couple of hours of looking at the dark environment before you. For a few minutes, you feel as if you were ready to fall asleep at any moment. But no matter what, you couldn't drift off. You weren't cold, and you weren't hot, nor were there any other complications, yet you couldn't just go to sleep.

You must have spent at least half an hour tossing and turning in the bed, but you tried not to move too much, as you didn't want to wake Applejack.

After thirty minutes of struggling to sleep, you let out a gentle sigh and begin to get out of bed, hovering gently over Applejack, being careful not to nudge or fall on her accidentally.

With perfect success, you manage to reach the aisle of the car without making a noise. Folding your wings back up, you begin to take a look at your surroundings.

As you already had known, all of the girls and Spike were sound asleep. The lights of the train car were out, encasing the place in near darkness, had it not been for the moon. The car rattled and shook very slightly from the bumpiness of the ground beneath it. Every now and again, there would be a powerful bump, but nothing too serious but knock a painting down.

Not wanting to cause a ruckus, you once more hover upward and search for a chair to sit down in. Rather than a chair, you notice what appeared to be a comfortable looking couch near the opposite side of the car, nearer front.

Deciding to sit on that instead, you gently float down onto it and quietly plop yourself onto it, quickly enveloped into its cushions. Already, you knew it was much more comfortable than those beds, maybe even more so than the ones at the end of the train.

Not more than a few seconds later, you were feeling much more relaxed than you had been on that mattress, and you were already beginning to feel tired, to your surprise.

A part of you wanted to stay awake, keep looking out the window, and stare at the endless and black landscape.

But that other part of you really loved how comfortable this couch was.

A bit too comfortable.

So it didn't take a judge to know which part won.

You didn't wake up until close to ten o'clock in the morning, when Fluttershy had woken you up. Quite odd, really. You assumed Applejack would have been the one to wake you up, what with her being around you a lot recently.

Out of somewhat instinctive care for your shy friend, you ask her if anything was wrong upon waking up.

"Oh, nothing's wrong," she replied calmly and quietly, "Twilight just wanted me to tell you we're just getting ready to stop."

"The train's here already?"

With a smile, she nodded. The way she did it you always found cute.

Thanking her, you gently get up from the couch and stretch. With a yawn, you feel the cracking of your bones, and you moan slightly in the intense sensation of every bone in your body tensing and relaxing.

Once fully stretched, you get up and get ready to head into the storage area to retrieve your saddles, but a little look at the window to your left grabs your attention.

Walking over, you take a good look at the window and watch, in full glory, Manehattan standing tall and proud into the sky.

With a 'whoa,' you give a grin of what felt like excitement, like a kid on Hearth's Warming day opening his presents.

The city was massive, much more massive than Baltimare or Cloudsdale. Hundreds of buildings, spanning different lengths and heights, plagued the island, and even from here, if you opened your windows and listened real close, you would be able to hear the sound of distant chatters and screams.

Of course, the screams could be a number of things, ranging from laughter to anger and many other reasons.

It honestly surprised you how loud the city could be, even from such a great distance.

The train wasn't very far from the island upon you first seeing the city. You were bound to reach the station within the next couple of minutes.

A part of you couldn't wait to depart, but another part of you wanted to sit down and relax a little while longer.

Eventually, you decide that sleep could wait a while. With the little bit of morning strength you had, you head off into the direction of the storage car to grab your luggage. As you travel in between cars, your surroundings dim for a moment. Only for a second did you question it before you realized that the train had entered the subway tunnels, signaling that it was close to its destination.

As you enter the storage car, you notice that Spike is already here, grabbing what must have been Rarity's luggage and preparing it to be moved.

Taking further steps towards him, he begins to hear your movements and looks up to you. His cheerful hums fade to nothing, and his cheerful smile fades to a look of sympathy.

After a few moments of silence, he says, "...Hey."

You manage to greet him a couple seconds later, lifting a smile, and you begin walking over to where you had last put your satchels. On the way, Spike asks how you were doing today. It took a moment for you to respond, but you simply stated that you were fine. It was only very little a lie, but you honestly did feel better this morning, much better than last night, definitely.

As you grab your bags, you hear the sound of the door nearest to the back begin to open. You knew regardless that it was Rainbow, so you decide to distract yourself by assisting Spike, who seemed to be having trouble picking up a couple of suitcases.

"Let me help you with that," you say as you walk over to him.

Grabbing the suitcases, you found yourself surprised in their weight, despite their small size. It was as if she was carrying a dozen golden ingots in each of them. Luckily, while Rarity had a lot of luggage, it wasn't stacks high, so you were able to easily place them on top of each other with out much of a problem.

As you did so, Rainbow walks past you. While she greets Spike, she doesn't greet or acknowledge you at all. Spike does call her out on it, asking if she forgot something, to which she replies, "Nope," slamming the car door behind her.

With a grunt of frustration, Spike resumes collecting the luggage while arguing about Rainbow's attitude.

"I don't get why she keeps acting like that. Seriously, you accidentally trip, and now it's like she's a completely different pony!"

"I probably would too if someone burned down a house," you say casually as you stack another suitcase.

With a look of slight anger---not to you, of course---Spike replies, "HEY. That was not your fault."

You look at him with eyes that show of guilt.

"It IS my fault, Spike. I tripped and I caused that fire. I CAUSED that house to burn down. It's MY fault that we're in this situation. MY fault that she's like that. And I don't think that some trip to a city's gonna change that. It's not like it's gonna make me forget it happened."

You didn't want to argue with Spike. You didn't want to argue with your best bud. And a part of you wanted to think that it wasn't your fault.

But all it takes for you to change your thought is remembering that you were the one who tripped.

Spike doesn't add to the conversation, but doesn't feel anger or frustration to your opinion, and you two finish placing the luggage onto the cart. Once it was sure and done, Spike begins to head back to the others first. But you stop him mid-way, to which he turns with that face of concern again, asking what you wanted.

As you walk up to him, you hold out a hoof towards him and ask, "We still cool?"

It doesn't take long for him to smile and bump his fist with your hoof.

"Yeah."

With a smile, you pat him on the back---like the common movie pals---and the two of you head back to the girls.

Entering the car, you notice that the train is still inside the tunnel system. Prompting a question, you head over to Twilight and ask her how long before we reach our stop.

"It's the next stop," she replies as you pass by one of the few stops.

While the train was going a decent enough speed for things to zip by, you were still able to get a good view of the platform. You expected maybe a few ponies here and there, or maybe a little less than twenty.

Oh no. It was packed---crowded---overflowing with ponies waiting for their train to arrive. It was like a big mob or horde of ponies standing, sitting, or doing whatever while they waited, and that alone gave you a good view on how populated Manehattan really was. The stations in Baltimare had less than thirty ponies per platform, but here, it looked like more than fifty, maybe nearly a hundred.

Of course, a hundred was just a guess, but it couldn't have been far off.

Nonetheless, the train eventually exited the tunnel, and you are given a good view of the city from within. While the city looked normal and common like Baltimare or Cloudsdale, the ponies living here were somewhat close to that of the ponies from Canterlot. Of course, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you, what with Applejack explaining having come here as a filly, but it did manage to surprise you regardless.

However, while a majority of the ponies looked posh and proper, some looked like casual town-folk, rather than city-folk. In Baltimare, everypony was casual and normal, as the city wasn't a place of glamour or fashion. But every once in a while, you would have seen a posh pony walking about in the streets. Some were easy to get along with; others thought the world was their slave.

That was why you didn't make all that many friends growing up.

A couple more minutes pass, and finally, the train reaches the station, somewhere close towards the Grand Park. Making sure you had both satchels on your sides, you head over to the exit door and open it.

Almost immediately, your view is filled with a mass array of ponies, young and old, all standing about on the platform, and already, you can feel a pressure push in on your chest. You never dealt with Claustrophobia in your life, but just standing here in this crowd was making it so.

C'mon, move already!, you think to yourself as you're trying to maneuver your way past the ponies.

At some points, you would accidentally bump into a pony. While some would apologize, others---the posh ones---would call you a 'dirty local' or go 'Well, I never!' like you were badmouthing them or intentionally trying to harm them.

It was ponies like these that made you hate going to Canterlot sometimes.

As much as you rarely used the word, glamour ponies were dicks. Period.

Eventually, you make it towards the railings that overlook the street below, and you let out a breath of fresh air, the pressure in your chest having finally released, but you continue to breathe in and out---calmly, but needing.

A few moments pass before the others manage to make it through the crowd, a majority of them now on the train you were just on.

Twilight was the first to ask if you were okay.

A moment later, you give an assuring nod while still taking in air. You didn't think you would have been this out of breath just from---what, ten, fifteen seconds?

"Darling, you don't happen to be---Claustrophobic, do you?" Rarity asks with a curious tone.

"I---hahh---I'm not---huff---even sure---phew---at this point."

"Oh, he's just overreacting," Rainbow couldn't help but claim.

Maybe it was just your lack of air or something else, but for some reason, you snapped right back at her.

"Yeah, no, I'm totally faking struggling to breathe after marching through a thick crowd of ponies. Just for show, no reason at all! I deserve a bucking medal, right?!"

And for the first time, you saw Rainbow, despite her irritated posture, look back at you with widened eyes, as did most of the girls, even Spike.

"... Sorry," you couldn't help but apologize, blaming the hot air.

Yeah, that might have been it. Just the air.

Just after eleven o'clock, you and the others sat inside a Donut shop, called Blazin' and Glazin'. It was a cheesy name for a shop, but damn, were their donuts good.

While the majority of the girls at the large table were chatting about to each other---even Spike joined in at some point---you were silently eating away at one of your donuts, taking in the extreme taste of the glaze that covered each one. You even sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on them at some point, and that only made it even better.

Every once in a while, you would take a peak at the group, and every time you looked, Rainbow Dash was never talking to them, nor was she looking at them. She was doing almost the same thing as you, eating quietly at her donuts. Her face, while it was blank and not the most positve around, had a look of---thought to it, like she was in deep thinking.

At some point, she looked up and her eyes met yours, to which she turned away, that irritable look back on her face.

None of the girls seemed to notice this, having been a bit too deep in their discussion to notice the two of you mentally bickering at each other.

You didn't bother doing anything else to get her attention, so you went back to eating your donut, then moving onto the next one.

The stay at the shop lasted for nearly an hour, and by the time you and the others left, it was nearly noon. Still carrying luggage, you all decide to head to a hotel and rest for a bit before going out.

Rarity suggested the Mane Fair Hotel. From what you know, they had originally been to that hotel last year, when Rarity had gone for Fashion Week. To their misfortune, you weren't able to attend, having been on a trip to Las Pegasus to attend an old friend's wedding.

Everything was great, but the bride was a bitch. And from Rarity's accounts, that Suri mare was a bitch too.

None of the girls had objected to it, and neither did you. Without hesitation, the eight of you made your way to the hotel, which was surprisingly not too far from where the shop had been, just a couple of blocks away, having taken a little over five minutes to reach by walking.

Once you arrive at the hotel, Rarity goes up to the front desk and checks everypony in. The desk-clerk gave her the key to their hotel room, and you made your way to the elevators.

Unfortunately, due to Rarity's...large luggage capacity, you and Spike were the only ones able to fit in the elevator with the tray. You did apologize, but Twilight remarked that it was fine, that they would climb the stairs instead.

"We'll see you upstairs," the mare adds just as the doors close.

With a slight jolt, the elevator begins to move upward, and though mechanical sounds filled the air, it was silent vocally. Eventually, after a few seconds of silence, Spike opens his mouth and asks:

"What was that before?"

Confused, you look at him, though he didn't notice. "Hmm?"

Replying, he adds, "At the train, I mean. The way you talked to Dash like that. I've never seen you act like that before."

Looking back to the doors, you try to come up with a proper response.

"I don't know, really. The air, I guess? Maybe it was because of her comment?" You couldn't help but shrug. "I don't know."

Spike doesn't answer the question right away, but silence instead fills the air for a couple of seconds. As the ding of the elevator signals that you've reached your floor---the eighth floor---Spike gives his opinion.

"Well, whatever it was... good for you."

You couldn't help but let out a brief sigh.

"What for? It's not like it really did anything."

Spike didn't add anything, but he kept on moving. You followed behind him, pushing the cart forward while he pulled. It didn't take very long to find the room, room 804, but without the key, the two of you were forced to wait another minute or two for the others to reach the floor.

Once they did, you heard them emerge from a doorway to your far right. It took only a couple of moments for them to spot you.

Keycard in aura, Rarity inserted it into its slot, and with a confirming beep, she opened the door, and already, you could recognize that hotel-room smell. You remembered that smell as a young colt, and it never left your mind. Just smelling it now brought you back by many years.

"Oh wow," Rarity sparked, "they really have changed this place quite a lot since the last time we were in here!"

Whispering to Spike, you ask, "This is the same room you guys were in?"

"Yup."

To be honest, you were a little amazed. They were going to stay in the same hotel, in the same room, and sleep in the same beds for the same amount of time as last year, a week.

It was kind of interesting to you. Why?

The next half hour after entering the room mostly revolved around you and the girls, along with Spike, unpacking your luggage and making sure you had everything.

Rarity's unpacking was bound to take more than an hour, maybe longer than too, but---to no surprise---Spike didn't mind handing suitcases to her for an hour or more.

The others mostly had one single suitcase. As you inspected them, you noticed that, while they had their common essentials, there were clothes in each case.

You didn't suppose they were for any formal occasion?

But looking closer, you noticed that the clothing was really bathing suits, Pinkie even having what appeared to be scuba gear. Typical of her, you thought.

You didn't bring any clothing, nor did you bring any swimming gear, seeing as you never needed shorts to go swimming. Usually, you would just shake yourself off like a dog and let yourself dry.

Or maybe use a towel. Likely a towel.

For you, unpacking what you had took less than five minutes. You honestly had no need to bring a great load of things that you would have to cram back into a suitcase when you left. You thought that was too much work.

As they say: Work smarter, not harder.

Not long after, you found yourself a bit parched, quite possibly from the donuts, so you told the others that you would be right back. Stepping out into the hallway, you recall seeing a vending machine along the hallway.

Halfway down the hall, you find a small corridor with couple of counters with excess cups, a sink, a water fountain, and a soda vending machine.

With your satchel still on you, you take out your wallet and pull out a couple of bits and insert them into the machine. Looking over the choices, you decide to go with Jizzy Fizzy. Never in your life will you ever get how wrong the title of the drink sounds.

But damn everything, it tastes so good.

With the satisfying thud of the soda as it lands in the small compartment, you reach in and grab the can. Looking at the contents of the can---the title and color of the can---you nearly burst into fits of chuckles.

The word Jizzy and the color white really don't go too well together on some occasions.

Regardless, you open the can and take a sip, and already, you feel at ease, like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders, even just for a moment. You sigh as you sit down in a nearby chair, and as you do, you take in your surroundings, visually and audibly.

Visually, the hallway was empty; this had been the first time in two days that you have really been alone, if you discount the back of the train yesterday. It felt a little chilling, as if you were the only one in the entire hotel, like it was completely empty, ghostly.

Sound-wise, that wasn't the case. You could hear the sound of a young foal crying in one room, and the sound of grown ponies laughing and playing about in another. Putting your ear up to a nearby wall to another room, you could hear the muffled moans of what must have been a loudly fornicating couple.

They need to make the walls sound-proof next time---well, if any of them are unicorns, of course.

It takes you a few minutes to finish your soda; once finished, you crumple the can and throw it in a nearby garbage can before heading back to the room.

As you open the door---to your surprise---Rarity has already finished unpacking, and only after twenty or so minutes. Of course, Spike helped a bit, but you didn't expect her to be done for at least another hour.

Oh well, you think. It was better than taking an hour, at least.

As you somewhat expected, Spike was given a complimentary pet on the head by Rarity, as well as a little kiss to the cheek, to which it looks like he nearly fainted from.

"Well," she begins, "It looks like we're done here for now."

Walking to the door and passing you by, she stops just in front of the door before turning around to the group, a smirk on her face.

"Who wants to go shopping?"

Chapter VIII: Don't Care Anymore

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter IX: Aqua Lilly

Author's Note

I lied last chapter. This one's longer. :3

This chapter is a bit of an extra chapter. This was originally planned to be one of a two-part chapter, or the climax of the story. However, I wanted to give the character, Aqua Lilly, a bit more character to her. She will be important later on, but that's all I'm saying.

Enjoy!

-In the alternate scene in the bathroom, it was originally going to be Applejack, eventually ending up in them making out with her on top of the counter, but I decided to bring back Twilight for another sisterly moment.

-A picture in the bathroom scene is upside down. The reason so is because of the character's POV. You're seeing her how you would see her on the floor.

Chapter IX: Aqua Lilly

Chapter IX: Aqua Lilly

Upon arriving back in the hotel room, none of the others questioned, nor had any suspicion, as to why the two of you were down there for so long. In the case that they asked at some point, the story you two stuck with was simple; you and AJ wanted to swim and have some more fun, nothing more, nothing less.

Of course, Pinkie had some sort of decency to make some innuendos about what really went on. You couldn't help but blush and laugh in embarrassment, but beyond that, it wasn't enough to make anypony question it.

The two of you didn't add to the conversation; hopefully, it would be forgotten by tomorrow.

The rest of the day went normal, though nopony ever left the hotel. When dusk settled and dinner was ready, you all decided to eat downstairs in the hotel's cafeteria. You will admit, hotel food can be good sometimes.

Sometimes. The last time you ate hotel food, you couldn't leave the toilet for a second, or else it'd be coming out both ways.

Dinner was rather delicious: Hayloaf, or a big slab of hay served cooked with choices of sauce. You'd rather prefer ketchup, but the others, excluding Pinkie and Applejack, preferred it without sauce. Applejack rather preferred it with Ranch, and Pinkie prefered it with...er...frosting.

You don't know how well the two go together, but for some odd reason, you don't want to find out. You let Pinkie do whatever the hell she pleased.

Night came rolling by, and everyone picked a bed, two to each, and were out like lights within minutes. Twilight and Spike, Pinkie and Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow, and you with Applejack. A part of you maybe wanted to sleep next to Rainbow, but nothing would have happened but an awkward, sleepless night.

However, even after the lights had gone out and the lamps went dark, you weren't able to fall asleep right away. It was always this curse with you, but only after what happened at the party; even after your spirit was improved, you still had trouble properly going to bed, to the point where it would be hours before you could shut your eyes, and even then, the sun would rise in a couple more.

It made you fear that your schedule would be completely out of place, or---with the little sleep you had---you would get sleep deprivation. You tried, you really tried, to sleep, but no matter how hard you tried, you were always forced to stay awake until your mind gave you permission, like it was rather a delayed reaction to bed.

Eventually, nearly two hours after the lights went out, at around twelve-thirty, there was an urge in your bladder, beckoning you to the bathroom, and it wasn't willing to take 'no' for an answer.

Carefully lifting the covers, you slide out from the bed and gently hover your way to the bathroom. Once you make it inside, you flick the light-switch, and the three lights on the ceiling come to life, taking you by surprise and nearly blinding you.

When your sight was righted and your vision was no longer blurred, you took a look at the bathroom before you. You never thought hotel bathrooms could look so...well...fancy.

To the right of the bathroom from the door, there was a rather large bathtub, larger than the one in your home---or any other bathtub, for that matter. It looked like it could hold a couple of ponies, maybe more than five, and even then, it looked like there would still be elbow room. The tub had a few assortments of shampoos and soaps. Some looked elegantly rare, others were common bath-washes that even you had.

Looking to the center of the bathroom, at the other end, was a single toilet. It wasn't all that fancy, it looked like any other toilet. The only difference is, it was much cleaner than the ones at any Las Pegasus hotel you've ever been to, and that was honestly sad for a city like that.

The left of the bathroom consisted of a marble-structured bathroom counter---clean and smooth-feeling---a few drawers, all of them locked---possibly for staff only for those occasional checks on pipe work---and a mirror that extended from the toilet all the way to the door, giving you a good reflecting view of the bathroom, which looked good even the other way.

However, as much as you really liked seeing this, and you really did...

...you really needed to pee.

Hovering your way towards the toilet, you flip open the lid, but not to hard as to make such a noise, you make sure you're properly aimed, and with assurance, you let loose the storm.

Relief racked your brain; with caution, you closed your eyes and savored this relaxing moment. You haven't had a moment this good since yesterday, when you let loose a different kind of storm.

Within half a minute, the stream began to diminish, before finally coming to a full stop. You shook a few times to let those last few drops fall before flushing.

You did sometimes wish you were a unicorn so you could just use a soundproof spell every time you went to the bathroom, but unfortunately, everything has a price.

Including your privacy.

Once the toilet was cleanly flushed, you gently closed the lid and made your way to the sink. Turning on the water, you pour some soap and lather your hooves in the substance. Once they were properly bubbled and foamed up, you rinse them beneath the water and make sure not a single spot of soap is left behind.

No survivors.

It doesn't take long for you to fully wash them. Once you were sure they were properly clean, you began to shake them out of somewhat instinct, but it wasn't until a few seconds later that you found a towel, hanging just beside the toilet, and you shook your head for not noticing before.

Grabbing the towel, you begin to wipe your still-wet hooves dry. Once dry, you hang the towel back on its railing and decide to head back to bed before anyone were to notice you were gone.

Then you tripped.

Karma being a bitch---as usual---you slip on the floor, having been wet because of you, and slam your face onto the counter, but only the right portion of it. Falling to the ground, you land on your head and reel back in pain.

You didn't know how long you laid there for. A minute? An hour? It didn't matter. It hurt beyond anything you've felt before. Sure, you're sprained a wing before once or twice, but that was virtually nothing, in your opinion, compared to this.

It took all your vocal strength not to scream in agony. You thought you had broken your nose, knocked out a tooth. But as you gently, but stupidly, felt around those areas, you noticed---to great relief---that no teeth had fallen out, and your nose was neither broken nor out of place.

But sweet goddess, your right eye was killing you.

The area around your right eye felt badly bruised and rather painful, the moment you touched it, you flung your hoof away and cringed in great pain. You actually began to take in sharp breaths, it was that bad.

"Son of a bitch," you remember whispering. Even now, you didn't want them hearing you and making a fool of yourself.

And you'd rather not deal with Rainbow right now.

...

That made you think for a second, what you just said. A week ago, you were head over hooves for Rainbow Dash. She was the mare you'd want to love, the mare you'd want to marry, have children with, and spend the rest of your life with.

She was the one, you thought.

But it was only recently, just the past couple of days, that you actually considered that whole thing, looked into it at face value, and you finally realized something.

She really hates you.

It didn't come off as a surprise in the slightest. Of course she hated you! She's been hating you all week!

But then you thought back to that day, her birthday. You saw her and Applejack talking in the alleyway. You heard the whole thing start off with, "He's a cool guy and all."

However, that only raised further questions. Did she even mean that at all? Did she really think you were 'a cool guy', or did she think you were some disaster, even before the party?

Was that 'friendly attitude' of hers towards you for the past two years nothing but a gimmick so she could talk about you behind your back? So she could laugh at your mistakes and your sorrows and not even care?

Would she really care if you were gone?

Mid-thought, you heard a silent knock on the door behind you. Of course, laying on the floor, it was technically above you.

At first, you had assumptions it was Applejack, perhaps checking on you to see if you were okay.

"Is everything okay in there?" you heard Twilight's familiar voice whisper instead on the other side.

It took you a moment to reply. "Yeah, I'm fine." Only your voice shook with every syllable.

She didn't believe it, but honestly, neither did you.

"You don't sound fine. I'm coming in, okay?"

Managing to unlock the door from the other side---pesky unicorns---she slowly opens it, making sure the door made as little noise as possible. Luckily, you were not that close to the door, so you didn't have to worry about it smacking you.

Immediately upon entering, she spotted you laying on the floor.

"What are you-" Her question was quickly cut off when she noticed your face. Of course, you didn't think it was too bad.

But her face said otherwise.

"Oh Celestia, what happened?!" she asked, trying to keep her voice down.

As painful as it was, you were able to cough up a little chuckle.

"I guess I kinda slipped. Of course, it had to be me right? Heh... ow."

You attempt to hold your face again. This time, the pain is only a little less extreme, but it's still there, but you're cautious this time.

As quick as she entered, Twilight left momentarily, and upon coming back, she was levitating what appeared to be a bag of ice. You wondered where she could have gotten that from. Surely, she couldn't have gotten it from the ice machine; you never heard her teleport.

But then you remembered the mini-fridge near the door, inside containing a bag of ice. You couldn't remember really, the pain was just killing you.

"Here, sit up," Twilight kindly demanded.

To your best effort, you carefully grabbed the marble counter and tried hoisting yourself up. It was successful, but you felt yourself beginning to slip once more from the still-wet floor. Luckily, Twilight was there to grab you via magic.

With no effort whatsoever, she was able to properly levitate you over to the edge of the bathtub, promptly sitting you up.

"Careful," you point out, "the floor's wet."

Twilight, with proper focus, was able to locate the small puddle of water, and to your surprise, she managed to levitate every drop of it and pour it down the sink.

You didn't think she was able to even do that. Sure, she can do practically anything, but you weren't expecting that, so it was rather impressive to you.

Once the water was washed down the sink, Twilight returned to your focus towards you, and that look of concern was there.

Goddess, to be honest, you missed that from Twilight, that look of worry for you.

Walking over to you, Twilight levitated the bag of ice, now slowly beginning to drip, towards your face.

"It might hurt a little."

You nodded, understanding and letting Twilight know.

Prepared---somewhat---you waited as the bag got closer, ever closer, to your face.

When it touched, all that preparation had retreated.

You did your best not to scream, and all you could virtually do was cringe, cringe harder than you ever had before, all while Twilight was profusely apologizing to you again and again.

And this had to be done while keeping quiet, which was harder than it sounds.

Luckily, however, the pain slowly began to subside, possibly from the cold, and at some point, you were able to hold the bag yourself without pain rupturing through your mind.

You won't deny that it was still a bit stinging, but it wasn't going to kill you.

For a couple of minutes, you sit there on the edge of the bathtub, holding the slowly melting bag in your hoof, while your face began to comfortably numb. Not long after, Twilight sat right next to you on the tub, seeming to look forward, but at the same time, look down. It seemed as if she was attempting to say something, maybe ask, but couldn't find the right words to say so.

Welcome to my world, you mentally say.

When she doesn't say anything after a minute or two, you decide to speak up, but quietly.

"Rainbow's gonna have a field day in the morning when she sees this, huh?"

You give a hearty, but dim chuckle. Of course, it wasn't much of a truthful laugh, just something to spark a conversation. Looking towards Twilight, you had assumed she would probably be chuckling, just a little bit, maybe even a smidgen of a smile.

But when you stared at her, there was no smile, no giggle.

Nothing but sadness and a questioning concerned look.

Then finally, she turned to and asked a question you'd never expect from her a week later.

"How can you stand her?"

...

You cock your head slightly, trying to act a bit surprised, like you didn't understand what she was truly talking about.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me, please."

Her voice carried seriousness in it, and that was when the playfulness stopped, and your question also became serious.

"What do you mean?"

She looked down towards the floor for a few moments, trying to get the correct words out. When she looked back towards you, she gave you quite the emotional and stern speech.

"You know exactly what I mean! Ever since that day at the party, she's done nothing but belittle you, insult you, and scream at you for no reason! You've done nothing wrong, you know it was an accident, and yet, all she keeps doing is treating you like dirt! Why do you keep trying to win her? Why do you keep chasing her?! Why do you keep trying to get her to care?!"

She managed to keep herself mostly quiet throughout her frustration, but her voice was loud enough to wake anypony just outside the door. Luckily, the beds weren't too close, so there was no worry.

Twilight, by the end of her rant, was panting somewhat, trying to catch her breath. When you looked towards her, that concerned look was still there, but it was overshadowed by frustration and anger, not for you.

For a couple of seconds, you look towards Twilight, and when you look back to the marble counter, you let out a little chuckle again, and at the corner of your eye, Twilight projected a look that said, 'What are you laughing about?'

"You know, I was just asking myself that same question a couple minutes ago."

When you look back at the corner of your eye, or through the mirror, Twilight's confused look faded slightly, showing sadness and sorrow.

But she didn't say anything back, so you add on to your words with your own little 'rant'.

"I've known her for two years now. Two years, and from what I'm guessing, she's been talking bad about me behind my back since the day we met. How I'm a 'walking disaster' waiting to happen. To be honest, she's been in more accidents and caused more accidents in just these past few years than I have in my entire life. If anything, she's the walking disaster, not me. I may not be the most careful pony in Equestria, but at least I don't talk bad about her whenever she screws up."

Sighing, you close your eyes for a couple of moments, the pain now entirely faded, likely because your face had become numb.

When you opened your eyes again, you turned back to Twilight, who had this odd look on her face. You couldn't quite describe it, but it seemed that she saw some "change" in you, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. But you didn't want her to ponder on it too long.

"You should head back to bed. I'll be fine, I promise."

Twilight, now out of her little trance of emotions, blinked a couple of times, but she still looked you up and down.

Then suddenly, she pulled you into a hug. You weren't entirely sure why she decided to hug you, but honestly, it was rather enticing to hug her again.

With your free hoof, you pulled her in closer. Gently rubbing part of your face into her shoulder, you took in her softness. She was like a pillow. A living pillow.

Which was comfortably creepy.

Soon enough, the hug ended and she pulled away. There was a faint tear in her left eye, but she wiped it away quickly.

"Goodnight," she pleaded in a gentle tone, smiling a bit, before she got up from the edge of the tub and walked out, leaving you alone once again.

You sat there for another minute with the bag on your face. At this point, water was dripping down your swollen cheek and down your neck.

When a minute came and went, you decided to get up from the tub and walk over to the counter. Slowly, your steps made noise, but not loud enough to draw attention. Sure, Twilight may have heard it out there, but she likely paid no mind to it, maybe.

When you finally stopped just in front of the counter, you began to take a good long look in the mirror. The bag covered half your face, water was visible on your fur, making it wet and glisten.

Then gently, ever so gently, you removed the bag and took a good hard look at your face. One side was normal and unscathed. But the other side, primarily around the eye, was bruised, battered, and black, like it had been beaten in.

For a moment, you tried comparing both sides of your face with that of good and evil. But you never knew why you did it.

"You could never tell the difference," a sinister voice whispered in your head.

All you could do was laugh like an idiot. "Okay, that's enough Power Ponies for a while."

Is this what being up late was like? You didn't like it.

You were able to fall asleep, though it hurt more than before to do so. Morning rolled by fast, and as you had joked about---but expected---Rainbow was there to make fun of your bruise.

The first thing you woke up to was her laughing. For a minute, you wanted to smile. It honestly felt good at that moment to hear her laugh.

But then you realized what she was really laughing about, and whatever happiness you had inside you was replaced with annoyance and slight negativity.

Opening your eyes, you saw her looking at you, a smirk on her face. In any other situation, it would have been nice to see it. But as it stands, it's nothing but a snarky smirk.

"Pfft, I didn't know you had a thing for mascara," she joked. You couldn't lie... it was clever, had it not been for the situation.

Groaning from both her joke and the lingering pain, you head over to the fridge and grab the bag of ice again.

"Hahaha. Funny. You're a real jokester, Dash," you responded almost monotonously as the ice touched your face.

You were sure Dash looked at you funny, but you were too focused on everything else around you. The others were starting to wake up after you. Rarity couldn't help but notice you and Rainbow standing near each other, and for a moment, she seemed to smile. You took it as a kind gesture and smiled back.

But her smile faded when she noticed you holding an ice bag up to your face. It was only for a moment that you took it off because of the cold sting, and you heard her gasp from across the room the moment she saw your black eye.

"Darling, what happened?!" she demanded in a state of shock. Getting out of bed, she came to you, as if to see if she was just only seeing things. Sure enough, she was staring at a black eye.

In an instant, that shock turned to what may have been anger, but towards Rainbow Dash.

"What did you do to him?!"

Surprised by Rarity's sudden outburst, Rainbow recoiled. "Me?! I didn't do anything!"

"Oh please! We all know how you've been acting towards him for the past week! I should've seen this coming from a mile away!"

"Rarity..." you spoke, but she doesn't seem to hear.

"All you've been doing for this past week is going at him behind his back, and you don't even care about how he's felt about it!"

"Rarity."

"Did you even care at all when he cried?!"

"Rarity!" At least, she faced you. Her face was a mix of anger and worry. "It's not Rainbow's fault, alright? I just slipped on the bathroom floor last night."

"Oh, 'slipped'? Is that really what happened, you 'slipped', or are you trying to save her flank again so she can hurt you again later?"

Rarity was angry, no doubt about it. You've honestly never seen her this mad at somepony before. Rainbow was still looking towards the posh mare like she saw a ghost.

"I'm pretty sure I remember slipping. I just fell and hit my face on the counter. Nothing more to it."

"And how do we know you're telling the truth?"

"Because Twilight's the reason it's not as bad as it could've been." The mention of her name alone had you looking around the room, but you didn't see her. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

"She went down to a pharmacy a couple blocks away. Somethin' about a 'facial cream'," Applejack replies.

You knew what it was likely for. "Probably for this," scrolling your eyes towards your bruise before putting the ice bag back on.

You noticed Rarity continuing to hold a scowl over Rainbow, but you assured her that it wasn't her fault.

"Rarity, it's okay. I'm fine. Dash had nothing to do with. Honest."

Eventually, Rarity did finally calm down, but she never removed the glare from her face as she sat down on the bed. You still couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, and your friends didn't end up killing each other.

Once the bag began to drip, you put it back into the fridge. Thirsty, you decided to grab a cup and pour some water. As the water slid down your throat smoothly, you leaned against the small marble counter above the fridge.

You always wondered what the deal was with hotels and marble things. Sure, they were pretty, but you wanted something different, like granite. You loved granite; almost a good competition with marble, but much more prettier. To you, at least.

Ten minutes of silence followed. Pinkie and Fluttershy took a bit longer to wake up, Pinkie with much more enthusiasm upon doing so. But as expected, they both showed shock upon seeing your bruise. Pinkie, to your surprise, even asked 'Dashie' why she would do that, to which Rainbow denied it.

You did have to clear it up a couple of times, but the more you did, the easier it got.

When Spike woke up, you cut him off almost immediately after he began asking about the eye. The last thing you wanted was to see him go off.

When ten minutes came and went, Twilight returned with about four bags. One of the bags had some pharmaceutical products, but the other three contained a rather delicious smelling batch of breakfast food from Burger Queen. You wondered at first why she decided to grab some hayburgers at nearly ten in the morning, but then you remembered that BQ sells breakfast.

As Twilight put the bags down on the counter, all of the girls and Spike headed over to see what to eat. You tried joining on them, but Twilight at the last moment pulled you back.

"Not yet," she said firmly as she point to your eye. "Not until we deal with that."

Twilight dragged you to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Before she could tell you so, you sat down on the edge of the bathtub. A moment later, she joined you and started to hover the bag from before, setting it down on the floor just in front of her.

Digging through it for a moment, she cried, "Aha! There you are!" With her focus now on an object inside the bag, she pulls out what seems to be some kind of medium-sized jar. The title was in Prench, but you try your best to make out the words.

"Crème Sensuelle?"

"Prench for 'Sensual Cream'. It's kind of a silly name, but from what I've heard, it works wonders."

Why is every name so cheesy nowadays?

Opening the jar, Twilight scoops up what appears to be some type of tan-ish looking gel. It reminded you of sunscreen, only... well, sunscreen was white.

Lathering it up in her hooves, Twilight instructed you to face her directly, to which you do so.

"Try not to move so much, okay? I don't know how much it's gonna hurt, but the last thing I want is to get this in your eye, alright?"

You nod, and prepare yourself to sit completely still. Once you give her the 'okay', she gently begins to lift her hooves and bring them towards your bruise, that sad look in her eyes again.

So much concern, you swear.

Finally, after a tense couple of seconds, her hooves make contact with your right eye, and almost immediately, a stinging sensation wracks your brain. It hurts and you tense up a bit, but you do your best to keep still. Well, as still as you can.

You let out a deep breath, trying to keep yourself calm as Twilight continues to gently lather it onto your bruise. Not wanting to make just groans and moans the whole time---it sounds awkward behind closed doors---you decide to begin a conversation, hoping it would make time go faster.

"So, what exactly is this gel supposed to do?"

Not drawing attention away from her work, she answered, "From what the sellers told me, it's supposed to help bring down any future swelling. It's also supposed to help cover it. I saw a couple of examples, and it looks like it worked really well."

"Examples?"

"They take some before and after pictures of ponies with any kind of black and blue marks from whatever they got themselves into: Fights, brawls, or... well, in your case, slipping and hitting your face on a bathroom counter."

The way she said it made you laugh a bit, but you kept still.

"How far apart were the pictures?"

"Apparently, only a couple of days."

Mentally shaking your head, you admit, "I don't really believe in anything pharmacies 'proclaim' in anything."

Looking towards your visible eye, she asked, "Why?"

And so you begin a short tale.

"Well, back in school, I had, and I hate to admit this, but... really bad acne. Seriously, the other kids would compare me to pizza. By the time I got my cutie mark, everyone... and I mean everyone... called me a 'walking braille machine.'

"Anyway, on the radio one day, I heard this advertisement about some sort of cream, forgot what it was called, that dealt with acne, made it disappear in just a couple of weeks. And judging from all the comments, reviews, and celebrity claims about it, it seemed like it was a legitimate... product.

"So with the bits I got for my birthday, I went out and purchased some of the cream. Every day... Every day, I used it.

"For three months. It didn't do anything. Hell, it looked like it got worse with each time I used it. I couldn't believe I wasted twenty bits on a fake product that didn't even help one bit. And speaking of bits, I was able to get a refund for it, luckily."

A bit of silence came between the two of you, despite the squelching sound of Twilight rubbing the cream on your face.

With a clearing of your throat, you finished your little story.

"The point is, I don't believe everything that the radio tells me or what celebrities say. If it is 100% confirmed to have worked with everypony who's tried it, then I'll give it a chance."

An eyebrow raised to you, Twilight asked, "So you don't think this works?"

"I... have my doubts. But I'm willing to try anything to get this to go away. Because honestly, it hurts so much right now."

Twilight gave a faint smile, but didn't take her focus away. She gave another minute for the gel to seep in and take effect. When she was sure the gel was properly rubbed in, she said that you were good to go.

"So how does it look?" you ask as Twilight gets up.

"It's still there," she replies, "Give it a couple more hours. If it really is a good product, you should see---and feel---the effects."

"I hope. I really don't want you to have wasted any money on a sham."

"Don't worry about it. If it doesn't, I can always take it back."

"If they're willing to refund you, that is."

Twilight let out a little giggle as she put the jar back into the bag, then placed the bag onto the bathroom counter for now. She begins walking towards the door and asks, "Let's get some breakfast, shall we?"

"That sounds good right now."

Walking out of the bathroom---but princesses first, of course---you notice that the others are already engaged in their meals, somewhat too busy to notice you. For that short moment, you begin to take a look at the way they were eating. You didn't exactly notice it yesterday, but now you could.

Looking at Rarity and Fluttershy, their eating style were---somewhat normal. Rarity's eating was prim and proper, being careful not to make a mess, whereas Fluttershy was little bites and close to the breakfast tray.

Applejack, Pinkie, and Dash had seemingly messy ways of eating. While food didn't get all over the place, they did end up having a bit of sauce around their mouths that needed to be wiped off. Pinkie somehow did manage to get food on her cheeks and in her mane, but---being her, it was not much of a problem to get out.

You didn't consider yourself a proper eater, but you didn't consider yourself a messy one, either. You were right in the middle, the kind that would try not to make any messes, but there would always be one little splotch of whatever was around.

You hated that.

Grabbing your tray of food, and Twilight grabbing hers, the two of you sat down around the others and dug in.

Pancakes and hay sausages.

Yes.

You would call yourself a liar if you said nothing happened for the rest of the day, but you would also call yourself a liar if you said anything important happened. Today was a rather calm, but mostly---and awkwardly---silent day, primarily due to Rarity's wrongful outburst. She did apologize once the truth was proven, but even then, it was still quite awkward.

And you did have assumptions that she still didn't believe even Twilight.

You and the others didn't really do anything that important or big today. It was mostly just walking around, eating lunch/dinner, or sightseeing. You could say that sightseeing was important, but it was mostly just relaxing. Plus, you absolutely loved seeing the skyline of Manehattan from the Equestrian Empire Tower. Sure, you could have seen it if you flew into the air, but where would the fun be in the experience?

Then again, when is climbing over a hundred flights of stairs an experience?

The day flew by without a hitch, and before you knew it, it was time to head off for bed. The next couple of days were just like this: Get up, eat breakfast, explore, eat lunch, come back to the hotel, eat dinner, go to bed, and repeat.

You never really understood why the past few days had suddenly flown by, whereas the first day in the city felt like days in itself.

But of course, the past couple of days after that morning with Rarity's outcry wasn't as awkward as that day had been. Eventually, the awkwardness faded away and conversation became common again. A simple mistake wasn't going to ruin anything.

Well, that mistake, of course.

However, while you did notice that it had been silent between the group for that short time before things resolved themselves, the one thing you did seem to notice---though not right away---was that Rainbow...well, she wasn't really...

She wasn't really all that rude to you.

Sure, she did say a couple of insults from time to time, but she stopped yelling at you. She stopped getting angry suddenly by looking at you. While she was still pretty angry, however, she wasn't as angry.

You wondered if all the recent behavior she was getting was causing her to think.

But you were never entirely sure, so you didn't ponder on it. That time would come on its own.

In facial news, it turned out that the cream was really working its magic, to your surprise. In just three days after Twilight had applied it, the mark began to show signs of improvement, even beginning to fade. You actually smiled at the progress that it was going at. At this rate, your face would be back to its handsome self in no time!

...Well, not that you think of yourself as handsome, of course.

At this point, it had been a total of four days since your arrival in Manehattan. The trip was already halfway done, and though nothing has changed majorly, it was good to know there was at least some progress between you and Dash, even if it wasn't much.

The fourth day started off as normally as the other recent two. You got up, breakfast came along---this time, it was delivered by one of the workers themselves---you showered, brushed your teeth, and made sure everything was neat and clean.

Taking a look in the mirror again, you smile when you saw that the mark was almost completely faded. Feeling around, it no longer hurt, and your eye didn't swell anymore.

It looks like Twilight and those pharmacists were right. It did work wonders.

At least not all products were jars of lies.

Once breakfast was done and everyone was cleaned up and ready, the eight of you left the hotel and decided to go sightseeing some more. Of course, tonight was going to be different from the rest. Rarity had already planned for all of you to go to the Dark Water Symphony tonight. She had spent a few good weeks prior to now gathering all of the tickets for the rest of you, and she, from just looking at her face, was greatly excited for it.

Along the way, as you and the others walked through the streets, Rarity began to talk about the symphony.

"I can tell you here and now that you will just love them! Dark Horse is simply a divine group. They really know what true music is. I've attended every single show they've done ever since I was a little filly! Trust me, you are going to love them!"

"Ah bet," Applejack smartly replied, giving you a slight chuckle that went unheard by Rarity, thankfully.

"Oh, you'll see, Applejack. I bet you right now that you will be dying to go their next one after tonight."

"Thirty bits says Ah don't."

"Deal," Rarity smirked, bumping her hoof with Applejack's mid-walk.

You knew Rarity wasn't one to back down from a bet every once in a while, so it was bound to be interesting to see who wins. Eventually, after a few moments, you even decided to place your own bet.

"Thirty bits says you do," you add, smiling a bit.

Applejack gives a bit of a chuckle towards you.

"You willin' to risk that?"

"Maybe I am."

"Heh, alright then. Yer on, honey."

"Oh, so I'm a honey now?" you questioned, marking her choice of words.

Applejack couldn't help but blush and laugh. "Oh, shush, you know what I mean."

Dash caught up beside Applejack at walking pace. "Yeah, you should probably just keep calling him 'sugarcube.' He's far from a 'honey' by a long-shot."

While Dash did laugh at her little end joke there, the others didn't find it so amusing. Applejack, however, just took her beginning advice so the topic could be changed.

"Okay then."

That part of the conversation ended, but the bets were still placed. You were interested for tonight already.

But suddenly, mid-walk down the sidewalk, you accidentally bumped into a pony walking in the other direction. It wasn't a painful bump, just an accidental, occasional bump.

The others noticed this and Rarity had asked if you were okay, even calling out 'the scoundrel' like they were one of the many stubborn ponies in the city.

You said you were fine and turned towards the pony to apologize, but when you looked at them, you noticed that they looked familiar.

Then it hit you.

"Aqua Lilly?"

It took her a moment for her to recognize you, but when she did, her face beamed in a fit of delight.

"Oh, it's you!" It took her a moment to remember your name, and she even asked if it was right, to which you nodded for assurance.

The others noticed your conversation and wanted to join in.

"You two know each other?" Twilight asks.

"Yeah, we met a few days ago," you reply, turning to Twilight.

"Saved my bag from some idiot. He was the only pony out of everyone there who decided to help me. Thank you again, by the way."

A faint flush reaches your cheeks. "It was nothing, really."

But she disagreed.

"It was! This bag has all of my money in it. If I lost it, I'd be walking to Ponyville."

That raised your curiosity.

"You live in Ponyville?"

"Well---not yet. I'm actually getting ready to move there. In fact, I'm heading back to my apartment now to pack the rest of my stuff up. But----if it's not too much, and since I happened to bump into you, do you think you and your friends could---maybe, help me?"

"Darling, we'd love to!" Rarity replied with an interested expression to her voice.

"Sure. Where do you live?" you ask.

"Just a couple blocks down from here. Follow me."

And so, turning 180 degrees around, you and the others begin to follow Aqua, or just Lilly---as she rather prefers---back to her apartment. It wasn't all that much of a long trip. It was nothing but a couple of blocks, as she said, away---just alongside the Grand Park, one of the noisiest parts of the city. At some point, you asked how she could sleep with all the noise going on.

"I couldn't all that much," she answers, "That's why I decided to pack."

"Well, you're gonna love Ponyville, then. Pretty quiet there," you add.

"So I've heard," she says, letting out a cute chuckle.

It didn't take long for all of you to reach her apartment, just a couple of flights up, thank Celestia.

Once you all had reached her door, she scrambled through a few keys, but when she found the right one, she unlocked the door.

"Sorry if it's a mess. Still getting everything."

Opening the door and letting you all in, you were greeted with a rather---blue home.

The ceiling was blue, the floor was blue, the walls were blue. Even the refrigerator was blue.

Giving a bit of a chuckle, you say, "I can see why they call you Aqua Lilly."

She giggles at your little comment, and replies, "Well, I really like the color blue."

"Ah can see that," Applejack adds.

Trying to ignore the blue for a while, you take a look at the design of the house. As most houses start, you were standing in the living room. In front of you, about ten hooves away, was the kitchen area. A small hallway stood to your left, with three doors for a closet, the bathroom, and the bedroom.

There wasn't much to show, as most of the things that would have been standing about were currently in boxes.

It was mostly boxes that were standing all about, in the living room, the kitchen, and the bedroom. A couple were in the bathroom, but they weren't very big.

It takes a few moments for all of you to get acquainted into the home, but you weren't here to get comfortable, you were here to help Lilly pack.

And so, ready to help out, you ask Lilly what you should start with, to which she answers, "Anything you want first, really."

Walking over to whatever was closest to you, you find an empty box that's big enough, and you begin to put whatever you can into them. Everyone else pitches in and begins to find empty boxes and put anything into them, big or small. Once those boxes were filled, they were closed, taped shut, and a new box was grabbed and filled.

It kind of reminded you of the day you packed up to leave Baltimare, only there wasn't as much stuff as...well, here.

You really didn't like packing.

But still, it was nice to help a new friend out.

Within an hour's time, everything---and you meant everything---was all packed up and ready to go.

Nearly a hundred total boxes, fitting what must have been hundreds of price-ful pieces of merchandise. It made you ask how she was going to get this all to Ponyville.

"Well, obviously, I'm taking the train," she asks with a smirk.

"And how are you gonna get all of this to the train?" you add.

"I've got a couple of old friends I know. They're gonna bring a storage wagon and fly everything there. The next train to Ponyville doesn't leave until at least five o'clock or so, and...they don't get here for another hour and a half, so---if you guys want, we could talk, get to know each other a bit."

"Sounds good," Applejack says with a smile, but then adds on by looking towards you and asking, "How'd exactly you two end up meeting?"

With a cup in your hoof, you take a sip of some water and begin telling the story like it happened a few days ago...because---it did.

"Well, I was checking out a couple of stores, mostly just music stores, and I heard some arguing. At first, I thought it was a couple, but when I actually listened, there was this stallion, somewhat the same size as me, trying to steal her purse.

"The dude pushes her down and runs off. None of the ponies in the place decide to help her in any way, which kind of wasn't a surprise, so literally being the only other sane person there-"

Dash lets out a chuckle while taking a sip of her own drink, to which Twilight knocks her in the back of the head, whispering for her to knock it off 'for once'.

Ignoring Dash's snickers, you continue the story.

"---I chase after the guy. And then suddenly, he gains these---well, pretty cool looking parkour moves and jumps up to the second floor. I fly up and manage to find him. I tackle him down and keep him pinned there until the guards come along."

Dash, seeming to ignore Twilight's plea, gives off a snarky reply.

"Of course, you'd be the one to pin down stallions."

For a good couple of moments, Rainbow begins to laugh at her own joke, while a couple of the girls, even Lilly, blushed awkwardly, while Spike had a look on his face that said, 'I don't get it.'

But she wasn't going to have the last laugh.

"Well, at least I get more action than you."

That brought out the laughs. Almost immediately, the blushing girls broke out into fits of laughter, twisting and contorting on the floor as they laugh their hearts out and their plots off. Their laughter was loud enough to echo through the whole apartment. To them, it was that funny.

And yet, Spike still didn't get it, but didn't question it.

Eventually, the laughter dies down, with Rainbow sulking in her seat in defeat, while continuing to take sips from her cup. Rarity asks politely to continue the story.

"Oh, right, sorry. So anyway, the guards came along and almost immediately recognized the guy. Swift Shadow was his name. Apparently, he's broken out of prison several times. They never knew how, but within a day or two, he was out on the streets again, but then someone would catch him and he'd be back in prison. At first, the guy didn't seem so bad. Just an average crook that was an amateur when it came to stealing. But... then he said something to me just before he took off."

Lilly asked what he said. At first, you weren't sure if you wanted to tell them and get them worried, but it was better than them asking you over and over.

Looking at all of them, with a face of...uncertainty but also worry, you told him what Swift said to you.

"He said, 'you better hope I don't get outta here.'"

And as you expected, they all began to show signs of worry, Fluttershy mostly with fear. Even Rainbow looked worried for you.

"He said that to you?"

"Yeah," you answer before taking a sip, But I wouldn't worry about it."

"Darling, how could we not worry about that?" Rarity asked with concern.

"It sounds like he wants to kill ya," Applejack added, "Why wouldn't y'all want to be worried 'bout that?"

Taking a look at them, you hold a hoof to silence them before you continue on.

"When he was sent away, one of the guards walked up to me and told me that he's threatened tons of ponies, but he's never done anything to them. Most of the time, he never sees them again. Apparently, the only thing he's really done is just rob and try to rob. He's never killed anyone before."

"Maybe it's just because he doesn't tell them that," Rainbow adds, a hint of concern to her voice, somewhat surprising you, but you don't show it.

"Nope," you proclaim, "I did some snooping around. Turns out all of them are still alive. Trust me, if they were dead, we'd know."

You take another sip and look at Rainbow. That look of concern never left her face as she pondered over your words.

"Right," she quietly adds before taking a sip of her own drink.

You were more surprised you actually talked to her without her getting angry or insulting you. Good for her.

"So... why don't you guys introduce yourselves to Lilly, huh? I remembered you guys haven't really met until today."

"That's right! Goodness me, so sorry, Lilly!" Rarity says towards her, to which Lilly adds that it was fine.

And so, one by one, each of them greeted themselves to her.

"Ah'm Applejack," AJ was the first to greet, holding out a hoof, "Nice to meet ya."

Shaking Applejack's hoof, Pinkie greeted herself with a cheerful hop and what you would call a heart attack-inducing smile.

"I-I'm...Fluttershy..."

"I'm sorry, what?" Lilly asked as Fluttershy spoke her name in her occasionally quiet voice.

"I'm...Fluttershy."

"Oh."

Holding out a hoof towards Fluttershy, she added, "It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy."

The mare smiled behind her mane and shook Lilly's hoof. The hoofshake was cut abruptly by Pinkie's energetic hopping and shouting. While you usually heard her speak in her fast paces, it was really hard to understand her out of the whole group. Even Lilly seemed confused, but she didn't say anything of it.

Eventually, Pinkie ended her excited 'speech' with a hug, one that Lilly seemed to take quite well, despite how bone-crushing they usually were. It actually made you laugh a little.

"I am Rarity. And if I might add, rather, do consider adding a bit more...er...fashion to your new home, if you would."

Lilly seemed to smile, but also look confused too, though she never questioned it, but rather responded with, "Okay," and shook the mare's hoof.

And Rainbow, her boastfulness seeming to return to her momentarily, spoke proudly:

"And I'm Rainbow Dash! But you probably already knew that." Rainbow smirked with her forelegs behind her head.

"Actually, I don't."

That took that smirk off her face, followed by a look of slight embarrassment and a sheepish smile.

"Oh. Okay then. Heh-heh."

"And I'm Spike!" exclaimed the dragon as he stood in front of the mare with a grin.

Lilly seemed to do a double-take. You were surprised she only just now noticed him. "A baby dragon?"

"Yep! But don't worry, I'm not gonna eat you or anything. Don't really plan to, either!"

"How comforting," the mare laughed. "Well, it's good to meet you, Spike."

"Cool!" Spike lifted a hoof up, and you already knew what he was hinting at. "Fist-bump?"

Lifting a smirk, Lilly bumped her hoof against Spike's fist. You chuckled at it, like they were already bros.

Twilight came over and greeted herself to Lilly. To your interest, it wasn't any of the others' names that caught her attention. It was Twilight's that made the gears in her head turn.

"Wait... Twilight Sparkle? As in Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight nodded with a smile, and it left Lilly absolutely wide-eyed and speechless. Probably because she was talking to one of the most important ponies in the entire nation. Meanwhile, you were wondering how she didn't notice the fact that Twilight sported both a horn and wings.

"I... I, uh..." Suddenly, she knelt to the ground almost in a rush. "It is an honor to be here with you, Princess Twilight."

You couldn't help but laugh a little, but you don't think Lilly really heard. Nothing kept a couple of the others from letting out a little chuckle of their own, either.

Twilight held one of Lilly's hoof and gently stood her up. "Lilly, you don't need to call me 'Princess.' I'm just a friend; just call me Twilight, okay?"

After a couple seconds of silence, Lilly giggled a tiny bit, seemingly at her own embarrassment.

"Right... sorry, Pri-... Twilight. It really is an honor to meet you, though."

Smiling, Twilight let out a hoof, to which Lilly gladly shook back.

For the next hour, you and the rest of the group did whatever friends normally were to do: Talk, joke about, play games, make games, tell stories, anything to make time fly by in the best way possible.

The one thing you really noticed throughout the remainder of the time, however, was how...normal Rainbow was being. She wasn't being insulting, nor was she being negative towards you.

You had a feeling that she was slowly, but surely, beginning to lighten up.

Then again, it may have just been because Lilly was here, and when she left, the insults would return.

But you would know when you guys got back to the hotel, but for now, you decided to enjoy this moment while it lasted.

Eventually, however, to your sadness, Lilly's old storage buddies arrived, and one by one, they carried box after box onto a medium-sized storage wagon. It looked pretty small to you, but it was nonetheless able to carry and store all of the boxes with still enough space for at least three ponies to fit in.

Lilly told her friends that she would meet them at the train stop. Nodding to her, they left for the station with all of Lilly's belongings; Lilly decided it was better if all of you continued to talk along the way there.

It was a reasonable and thankfully long distance from the station, giving you and the others plenty of time to keep the conversation with Lilly going as long until you got to the station.

For the whole walk, you talked about the same stuff as in the apartment: Jokes and stories.

"I've got one," you say, "What is a duck's favorite drug?"

Pondering on the question for the answer, none of the girls could think of it.

Here came the punchline.

"Quack."

The majority of them seemed to get the joke and laugh along to it, but it was only Spike and Rainbow that didn't seem to get it. While you pointed out that it wasn't exactly mature for you, Applejack whispered into Rainbow's ear what the punchline had been. Rainbow, while she got it, didn't think it was funny like the others thought.

"That's kinda stupid."

"Of course, everything is stupid if it comes out of his mouth, isn't it?" Rarity responds to Rainbow with a somewhat annoyed attitude.

"Just my opinion."

"Like it has been for over a week now?"

"Seriously? You're bringing that up now?"

"Well, I am quite curious to know why every time he opens his mouth, you go and bark off at him because of something that happened a week ago!"

"Well, it was his fault!"

Leaning over towards you, Lilly whispers, "What are they talking about?"

Turning away from the group, you look ahead and answer Lilly's question.

"Long story. I'll tell you about it when I get back to town in a few days."

Looking towards you in a bit of surprise, she asks, "Wait, you live in Ponyville?"

"Yeah, I never told you?"

"No."

Lilly turns her head to the front and continues to walk, all while Rarity and Rainbow continued to have a verbal fight in the back.

"Huh, what are the chances, right?"

"Yeah."

"ENOUGH!" Twilight suddenly yells, silencing the two mares going at it. "Seriously, is this how you want Lilly to know you?"

Only Lilly couldn't help but shrug at the situation. "I didn't hear a thing they said, so it's all good to me."

"And right now, I honestly don't care," you add in about whatever Rainbow's comments talked about, "so can we just get to the train station without killing each other? Please?"

The remainder of the trip was somewhat silent, despite a couple of words exchanged between you and Lilly. Eventually, you and the group made it to the train station, with just a couple of minutes to spare before the train would be due to arrive.

You were a bit disappointed that Lilly had to leave, but on the bright side, at least you only had to wait a couple of days.

Lilly noticed her friends with her boxes and waved to them, to which they waved back, before she turned back to you guys.

"Well, this is it... for now, at least," she said to you guys.

"Let's look on the bright side; we only have to wait a few more days," you comfort her with a smile.

"And then we'll be able to throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party! Of course, it would actually be a late-late 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, but it's still a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!" Pinkie said rather fast, giving a proud smirk at the end.

The next couple of minutes came by, and before you knew it, the train arrived onto the platform. One by one, Lilly's friends carried her things into the train's storage car, and this gave you and the others a short period of time to say your goodbyes for now.

One by one, each mare said goodbye to Lilly, some with hoofshakes, one with hoof-bumps, and a couple with hugs.

But when your time came, you gave her a hug, but in return, and to your surprise, she gave you a small, but considerate, kiss on the cheek. This actually rose a 'Ooooh' from Rarity, but she quieted herself down.

"Thank you again---for saving my bag."

"Like I said, it was nothing."

"I have to disagree on that."

"Well, I have to disagree with your...disagreeing."

"Well, I have to disagree with your disagreeing with me disa-"

"All aboooard!"

Cut off from what would be an endless stream of disagreements, the two of you laughed it out a bit before giving one last hug. When the two of you pulled away, Lilly started making her way towards the train, turning back to wave to you one last time before departing.

All of you waved back and said your goodbyes.

After a few seconds passed, the doors to the train slowly slid shut, and through the window, Lilly continued to wave you goodbye, even as the train began to take off.

The group continued to wave and yell goodbye, up until the point when the train left your sights, at which you all stopped waving and began to make your way back to the hotel. In the distance, the sun began to sink, near to the horizon.

And at this point, the one thing coming back to your mind was the concert.

And the bet.

You could hardly wait to see who would win already.

Once you and the others made it back to the hotel, you laid down on your bed and felt almost ready to fall asleep; however, you weren't willing to sleep just yet. You decided that would wait until the concert came and went.

You were just hoping you wouldn't fall asleep during it.

"I think we'll just order some take-out," Twilight suggested as she reached for the phone on the wall.

"Sounds good to me," Rainbow agreed as she laid down on her own bed, legs crossed, "But let's not get Burger Queen this time. Having it for breakfast is enough for me, but let's just settle for some pizza, alright?"

"Oooh, pizza!" Pinkie yelled in a burst of delight.

"Pizza it is, then," Twilight confirmed as she began to dial the number to one of the few pizza places in the city. The one she decided to go for was the Pizza Bear Palace. The first time she called, it went straight to the company voicemail. The second and third times came with the same result. It was only at the fourth time that the response was different.

"Hello, you've reached the Pizza Bear Palace voicemail. Unfortunately, we are unable to place a phone order at this time, so in order to make a purchase, please go to one of our many stores around the place. Thank you for understanding."

"No, I don't understand," Twilight said to the machine in frustration as she placed the phone back on its hook.

Rubbing her temple, she looked towards the group and said to them, "Looks like we're taking a little trip to Pizza Bear's. Who wants to come?"

"Not me," Applejack says a bit tiredly, "Ah may be willin' to walk a thousand miles, but there's a time when Ah'm willing to say 'eenope'."

"O---kay then?" Twilight then looked towards you and asked if you wanted to come.

"I'm good, thanks," you reply, a little smirk on your face.

"Typical slob," Rainbow says in an out-of-character fashion. But then again, when has anything she said all week been in character of her?

Thinking quick enough, you give a quick, "Look who's talking," just before the rest of the girls leave the room.

And so, that left just you and Applejack, just the two of you---all alone.

What a coincidence, really.

For a couple of minutes, it was relatively silent in the room, except when it came to breathing---and the air conditioner running. For a few good moments, you were contemplating whether or not you wanted to listen to some music to make the time fly by quicker or go to sleep to catch up on rest.

However, as you eventually would have predicted---Applejack had other plans.

And it wasn't very long before you listened in on her plans.

And it also wasn't very long before those plans came into action.

Sleep could wait, couldn't it?

Skip a good twenty minutes in time, and the both of you are hung over each other, breathing heavily and trying to recuperate, having come down from your highs. It was always good in the middle, but it was always so disappointing when it came to a close.

Panting wildly, the two of you laid there, up against the bathroom counter, for what must have been a full minute before your breath fully returned. Though still physically exhausted, Applejack was able to lift her head from your shoulder and look into your eyes.

"You alright... hah... sugarcube?" she struggled.

You nodded. "Yeah. It's hard to catch my breath."

"Take your time."

You sit beside Applejack, trying to fill your lungs with well needed oxygen. The mare rubbed your chest up and down, as if trying to sooth them. It wasn't long before you were breathing right again and doing the same process to her. There was just something about chest fur that seemed so... yes.

"What're you thinking about?" she asked you after a small bout of silence. She had noticed the look of curiosity on your face.

"Just... this," you said hesitantly. "N-Not saying that it's a bad thing. I like it, I do. I guess I'm just thinking about what's gonna happen after we go back home."

"I'm sorry I can't answer right away, hon."

You held a hoof against her cheek. "Don't be. Take your time. But whatever you want... or don't want, I'll support it. I know you want us to both be happy. I'll be fine no matter what you want."

Applejack lent you a warm smile. The two of you looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and soon enough, the farmer couldn't help but kiss you again, and you savored that faint taste of apples on her tongue.

A part of you wanted to just lose it and go right back to town on her. But though you had the mental endurance to go on again, your body refused, only having enough strength to hold your lips against hers.

But that was okay. This was a good substitute.

For what felt like a long time, the two of you relish in the romance of the kiss, holding and brushing against each other every now and again. Whatever happened in the next few days, you didn't care too much. For right now, all you wanted to do was just enjoy this moment, just this one moment with her.

And so you did. And you loved it.

Chapter X: Amends

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter XI: Never Made

Chapter XI: Never Made

It didn't take long for you and Applejack to clean up and freshen the place to burn the evidence of the existence of sex having ever happened. About ten minutes later, Twilight and the others had returned with a couple of boxes of pizza; one with plain cheese, and one topped with daffodils.

Dinner officially made.

Of course, your excitement for pizza didn't really make its way into conversation as the eight of you began to chow down. Other than the occasional 'please pass the cutter' or 'pass the pepper', it was relatively quiet at the table that stood near the window, with nothing but constant chewing of dough and cheese to fill the silence.

In all honesty, this had to be the most quiet you've ever heard. Sure, you could count the four days you were cooped up in your home, but even then, you could still hear life happening outside. But here, it was very quiet, which came to be more shocking to you, considering how many ponies lived here compared to Ponyville, not to mention you were in a hotel, with possibly hundreds of ponies. Perhaps it was because you were further away from them? But even then, that wouldn't make sense. You'd be bound to hear at least one pony make noises outside or behind these walls.

But you were so focused on hearing voices so distant, you didn't even hear Twilight's close voice until she yelled your name, to which it knocked you out of your trance. At this point, everyone was looking like you like you were dumb. Of course, Rainbow was the only one who did think you were dumb.

"Sorry, what?" you say as a first response.

"I said, can you please pass the hot sauce?"

For a second, you looked at her confused, but when you realize what she was talking about, you quickly shook your head and mentally slapped yourself in stupidity.

"Oh, sure. Sure, here you go, sorry," you say somewhat quickly as you hoof her the hot sauce.

You never seemed to understand why she liked hot sauce to begin with. From what Pinkie told you about the time she first came to Ponyville, Twilight practically drenched herself in cold water upon accidentally drinking hot sauce. Perhaps she got used to it over time? You never really knew.

However, the whole awkwardness didn't end after you gave Twilight the sauce. This sparked a conversation of concern.

Again with the concern? Really?

"Darling, are you feeling alright?" Rarity asked with a caring voice. "You're not allergic to pizza or anything, are you?"

Wait, what? Allergic to pizza? Really?

Shaking your head to object her question, you explain your thoughts in a shorter, but vocal way.

"Have you guys noticed that it's much more quieter here than in Ponyville? Like, aren't there ten million ponies living in this city? So, how exactly is this city much more quieter than a town of three hundred?" You lift a hoof, shaking it slightly in effectiveness for your statement. "I mean, yeah, it was loud earlier when we were helping Lilly, but... I don't know, it just sounds so... eerie now. Is it just me? I think it's just me."

Rarity and the others looked at each other with uncertainty, while Rainbow completely ignored them, having been enveloped in the newest edition of Daring Do. Of course, it wasn't the edition you planned to give her for her birthday, as that edition wouldn't be out for another four months.

But just looking at the cover made you remember the gift almost immediately. You were always wondering when you were going to just give her the gifts as an apology, but just the way she was acting made you reconsider sometimes. Make her wait for the book. Make her miss the Wonderbolts Show.

But that would have just been hurtful, no matter what.

However, back to your thoughts, the others decided to let your words pass by, unable to come up with a response to it, and just keep eating, looking up at you every once in a while with a bit of concern. Rainbow, as always, showed signs of not-caring, but you yourself didn't care at the moment.

Once everypony got back to eating, you took the time to really look at the scene in front of you.

The table you had been sitting at was rounded, in a circle shape, with a total of eight chairs, one for each of you. Two boxes of pizza and extra plates sat about on the table. A candle sat in the center of the table, illuminating the short area. Of course, there was risk of the candle falling and setting either a box or the table on fire, but Rarity made sure it was safe and secure.

Meaning, she moved everything away from the candle, not made sure the candle wouldn't fall or trip. Something was bound to happen, but honestly, at this point, you didn't really care all that much.

"And... you're thinking about this stuff now? Out of nowhere?" Rainbow questioned after several moments of silence.

"Well... yeah, why not? I mean, you can hear it too, can't you?"

"Pfft... you really are a weirdo," she says before taking another bite into a slice of pizza.

"Rainbow," Twilight scolds her quietly, but enough for the rest to hear. Regardless, the pegasus didn't seem to acknowledge Twilight's glare as she continued eating her food.

You groaned quietly. "Can I ask you something? Why exactly do you dislike me so much?"

"Darling, don't-" Rarity begins, but you politely cut her off.

"Don't worry, I just want an honest answer. Not the same answer we got last week. I want the truth." Rainbow looks up at you, her nostrils flaring faintly with frustration.

At this point, she stops chewing her food and is now looking right at you, her eyes like daggers piercing into yours. It doesn't scare you, but it was honestly unsettling. Very slowly, Dash put her book down onto the table, quite close to the candle, dangerously close, in your opinion.

"... I really hate you."

Your eyes darted left and right slowly.

"... O... kay... that doesn't answer my question. You mind actually giving me something better?"

"You guys, don't do this right now, please," Twilight interjects with a concerning voice, "this is supposed to be a fun trip, remember?"

"Well, it would have been fun if he hadn't come along!" Rainbow slightly raises her voice and turns to Twilight. "You know, every single day, I have to put up being around him! All day, every day, when I want to hang out with just you guys, he's there following you! Because he knows I'm coming along! Meanwhile, he's always tripping over things and destroying Celestia-knows-what, and me and the other pegasi have to clean up his mess—"

"What, you think I do that on purpose?" you respond in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, I do! This happens all the time, and I'm stuck fixing your crap! And then you think that I don't care, and you contin-no, no, no...try to flirt with me, like it's gonna make it all go away! And then there's the stupid letters and poems and that you keep sending me every other month because you think it's gonna make you win me over! Well, guess what? It doesn't work like in fairy-tales!"

When Rainbow stops talking, she breathes silently but somewhat heavily, trying to regain her breath. For a second, she closes her eyes, but when she opens them, she continues to talk.

"You always keep saying that you care about me. But I always keep asking, all by myself... Do you think I give a buck about you?"

For a moment, you open your mouth as if to say something, but no words could form, so you close it again, snorting quietly.

"Because I don't. Ever since you came into Ponyville, you have been nothing... but complete... trouble. Even Derpy has caused less problems than you, and that is saying something!"

You softly stomped a hoof on the table.

"Oh, you're one to talk. So you're saying I'm the one that sabotaged the Weather Factory to keep my pet from going into hibernation? Something that happens to animals literally every winter? Yeah, real genius of me, I gotta say. But hey, I guess I got some competition if you're also causing trouble so ponies would look to you as a savior."

"Well, at least I didn't burn down somepony's house and ruin their life!"

You grit your teeth as she recalled that moment.

"At least I'm not the one that tripped over a bale of hay and nearly burned down my best friend's barn! At least I'm not the one who tried helping Lyra Heartstrings with groceries and almost got her run over by a wagon! And hey, at least I'm not the pony that nearly burned down an entire town on my birthday!"

Your heart was beating quick in your chest, and nothing you could do would slow it down. Applejack and Twilight looked upon you with worry, as if you were going to suddenly drop dead from a heart attack.

"Here's a bucking favor for you. You wanna show how much you love me? You wanna prove to the world that you care about all of us?! Walk out that door and don't come back! EVER!"

Silence roared over the table. Everyone stared at Rainbow Dash like they had just seen a ghost standing in front of them. You could tell by their expressions that they could not believe what she had just said. And neither could you.

You looked at Dash, then back to the table. Closing your eyes, you felt the fabric and sighed.

"You know what? I'm out of here."

That alone seemed to change her expression. Her eyebrow raised only a smidgen, and the look of anger and frustration faded only slightly, but you don't know if it was ever showing concern. You never really took the time to look at her face, and honestly, you didn't really want to.

Getting up from the table, you apologized to the others and started for the door. Twilight called out your name and yelled, "Wait!" but for the first time since you met her, you didn't listen to her. You kept on walking.

The door opened with ease, but unlike the common story hero, you didn't look back to the others, and continued walking. With an assuring click, the door shuts behind you, and you begin to walk away. You just couldn't stand to be in there for the time being. You really just needed some time to yourself. That was all.

But not more then twenty feet away from the door, you hear it open. Turning around expecting Applejack or Twilight, you actually notice Spike, surprisingly, heading towards you.

"Where're you going?" he asked.

For a second, you were considering lying to him, convince him to go back inside the room so you could be alone for a while. But you quickly realized that would be a terrible thing to do to him. Spike was your friend, your buddy, your 'bro'. And bros told each other the truth.

"I'm heading out for a bit," you simply say, "... I can't be around her right now, Spike. I... just can't."

While Spike seemed upset at the fact you were leaving, he did seem to understand you. Even he had said at a time that he couldn't stand her, so it didn't come off as a surprise. You were willing to tell him to go back to the room so you could have some peace, but then he spoke up first.

"Can I come with you?"

And you didn't really know what to say. Sure, you couldn't reject his offer, but you really wanted to just be by yourself, and you also didn't want to run the risk of him getting lost, especially in a big city like Manehattan.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course," he replied with a smirk on his face, "I'll let Twilight know I'm with you. Plus, you look like you could use some company."

That was only half a lie, you thought. Sure, you wanted to be alone, but really, there was no harm in having somepony—or somedragon—tag along.

"Okay then," you shrugged, turning around towards the elevators, "You sure you can keep up?"

"Duh. I carried a cart of luggage while walking with you, remember?"

"True."

And so as you began to walk once again towards the elevators, Spike stayed at your side. For the first couple of minutes, from getting into the elevators, going down to the first floor, and walking outside to the front of the hotel, the two of you didn't really seem to say anything between each other, mostly because you had nothing interesting to say, really.

But once the two of you were outside, you honestly had no idea what to do next.

"So where do you wanna go?" you asked him, looking out to the endless string of buildings. You were hoping that, maybe, he had a place worth checking out in mind. You were hoping it wasn't some kind of restaurant. Though you only had two slices, that pizza really filled you up.

"How about Vanilla Sky?"

Ugh. Too soon.

"Spike," you say, "We just had pizza. I'm kinda stuffed right now."

You didn't want to crush his 'dream', but it was true. Any more food, and you'd likely be spilling chunks, and you didn't want to give anypony the displeasure of cleaning your mess---again.

"We don't have to eat there, you know," he reiterates, "Vanilla Sky is a place where you can hang out or eat. We can just find a table and chill out for a bit. You know, until you're ready to come back—well, until they're ready for us to come back. Plus, I've got an old offer to take care of."

The young drake smiled with excitement as he imagined something circling in his head.

You were already curious at what his 'offer' was.

The closest Vanilla Sky was five blocks from the hotel, and at the pace you walked, it took only ten minutes to get there. And while the place was very full of ponies eating, drinking, or just having casual conversations, there were still a lot of tables to choose from, so the two of you picked the one closest to the bar table.

You weren't one to drink, but according to Spike, he's got a connection.

At first, the 'connection' had you already assuming things.

But then the giant bowl of gems came out, and you slapped yourself mentally for thinking stupid thoughts. Sure, you were relieved, but you felt stupid all the same. You were more surprised at the size of the bowl and the amount of gems inside of it.

The two of you sat down at the table nearest to the bar and got yourselves comfortable. Though you weren't hungry, you did feel a bit parched, so you decided to order yourself a Jizzy Fizzy. Name or not, it's addicting.

Spike didn't seem to mind what drink he got, so he was given a different soda, a Cloud Cola. It was, in your opinion, the second best soda next to Jizzy Fizzy.

For a couple of minutes, while you sipped your soda, Spike dove into the bowl and ate all kinds and shapes of gems and jewels. For a second, you wondered what they tasted like.

Probably blood when you try eating one. That's more likely.

After a few minutes of silence and crunchy eating between the two of you, you finally speak up to Spike.

"How do you know that guy?" You point towards the bartender, who seems to be paying attention to other customers or bar-sitters.

Spike holds up a claw for a moment, trying to finish swallowing a gem. "When me and the others came to Manehattan last year, we came here on our last day. The bartender said that I was his first dragon customer ever!"

You raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Putting another gem in his mouth, he quickly chews and swallows it before continuing. "He said that I can have free gems whenever I come here!"

"And he managed to recognize you after a year?"

"Well, I am the only dragon customer he's ever had."

"True."

Eventually, Spike once more becomes indulged in his sparkly treats, every once in a while taking a drink of his cola. You honestly couldn't help but chuckle a bit. But soon enough, your chuckles faded, and the smirk on your face disappeared, replaced with a slight frown. You quickly seem to find yourself taking a look at your environment.

As late as it was, the Vanilla Sky was full of life. Ponies, seemingly from all four corners of the world, were gathered here to eat, drink, talk, and even party, judging from the somewhat muffled music in the very back.

Looking towards the front door, you notice ponies coming and going as they please. Sometimes, it was a single pony. Other times, it was a young couple, married or not. But sometimes, it was like a train of ponies came waltzing in for a good time. The amount of ponies who entered compared to those who left was crazy, yet there were still a good ton of chairs to be taken.

As you look up to a nearby clock, you notice the time, 8:42. You and Spike have only been gone roughly twenty minutes.

Which reminds you...

"Spike," you say to him, getting his attention. "Did you tell Twilight we're-"

But before you could finish the question, Spike belches out a letter, seemingly from Twilight. It did catch a few ponies' attention, but they quickly went back to their business.

Spike unrolled the parchment and began to read it. You ask what it says, to which Spike decides to hoof you the letter after a few seconds of reading it.

Spike,

The girls and I are having a talk with Rainbow about her behavior earlier. Do you think you two can keep yourselves busy until we're finished? I think it's best if it's just girl-talk for a while.

-Twilight

Moving the paper aside, you ask Spike what they meant by 'having a talk' with Rainbow.

"My guess? It's probably some kind of intervention."

"Intervention?"

"Yeah. You know, how they make somepony sit down and talk about their problems, try to come up with a solution, that sort of thing---That's probably what they're doing with her right now." He could only snort. "Good luck to them."

After a couple of seconds, Spike wrote down a reply letter. Once it was signed, he engulfed it in a burst of green flame and patiently awaited for the return letter, which came after what must have been twenty seconds. It was nothing special, just a simple "thank-you".

Once the letter trade had been finished, Spike put away whatever parchment paper he had and almost immediately went back to eating his jewels, the bowl only less than a fourth empty, despite him having eating for the past twenty minutes. Either he was a really slow eater, or there were too many gems for you to count.

You also went back to the same behavior you were doing prior. The moment the environment peaked your interests, you observed it with interest.

The big 'eyesore' you noticed right away at first was the design of the Vanilla Sky. The building, outside and inside, was white to give the impression of 'vanilla', but at the same time, it was also a bright blue to symbolize the sky. There were plans for a spell to make the designs more realistic, as in 'clouds moving and the sun shining'. But after several failed attempts, the owners abandoned the idea and settled for artificial sunlight and made the designs as realistic as possible. It was rather impressive to you.

But regardless of impressiveness, it was seemingly unable to make you crack a smile. Spike didn't take long to notice this, and he didn't take it all that positive.

"... You okay?" he asked, bringing your attention to him.

You stare at him for a second or two, but sure enough, you nod and reply, "Yeah. I'm fine."

But Spike seemed to be able to see through your lie, so he didn't let the problem go away just like that. He put the bowl aside and focused his attention on you.

"It's about Rainbow---isn't it?"

...

You couldn't deny it, really. No matter how much you tried to focus on something else, your mind always wandered back to Dash. Had it been a week ago, it probably would've been something romantic. Now, it was anything but.

Before your mind could trail off, you nod again, but this time, there was no vocal response, but just a sigh.

Again, it was silent between the two of you. Your head hung low and you found yourself staring at the table for a couple of moments. You knew Spike was staring at you with that look concern that everyone seems to have. It wasn't all that bothersome, but honestly, there was too much concern.

"Why do you like her so much?" Slowly, you lift your head and look at him. You didn't seem to have a right-away answer, so Spike only added on to his question. "I mean, ever since you moved to Ponyville, she's been making fun of you, talking behind your back, and pushing you around. If anypony ever did that to me, I'd go somewhere else in a heartbeat. So why aren't you leaving?"

"Spike-"

"I just... don't want you to be miserable, dude."

His words, his tone, his look---It didn't take long for you to realize that he was really worried for you. Of course, anyone would be worried in your situation, what with this being almost similar to that of domestic abuse.

Of course, that was what they seemed to make it out as. But you didn't want them thinking that.

"I always had the feeling that... she was the one for me. I mean, other than Pinkie, she's the first girl I ever laid eyes on in that town, and something... I don't know...connected me to her, like we were meant to meet. Destiny, you know? Something cheesy. When I met her for the first time, she was so amazing. She could pull off moves that I've never seen anypony else do. Every time she talked, I was always so interested in what she had to say. I loved hearing her voice."

You paused, laughing at yourself.

"She was—and I'm saying this really—the first girl I have ever fallen in love with. And that was saying something. She made me feel things I've never really felt before. Sure, that sounds stupid, but it's true. She was the one girl I really felt happy being around. I always loved hearing her talk, watching her fly, just... being with her. I knew I really loved her... and I felt that she knew it too.

You sighed.

"But... obviously, she never loved me back."

Your speech ended with a sigh. You felt as if a weight had been lifted off your shoulders, though a majority of it still remained, and it seemed to leave Spike stunned. You never knew why he was stunned; it wasn't that big. But you weren't him. He probably took it differently than you did.

But after you spoke, it was once again silent between the two of you, nearly for twenty seconds. You took his silence as a sign that he was still stunned, so you didn't take much note of it. You did seem to notice, however, that he seemed to look rather...sad towards you, like he felt sorry for you.

You never questioned it, you simply let him think what he wanted.

After doing nothing but looking about and leaning on the table with your forelegs, you decide to sit back up properly and take a drink. But as you grabbed the drink and lifted it to you, before the edge of the cup ever touched your lips, Spike responded and broke the silence.

"If she doesn't love you tonight, she's not worth it."

That left a frog in your throat. You were lucky you weren't actually drinking yet, otherwise you'd be coughing all over the poor dragon, who only seemed to laugh briefly at your mild inconvenience. But as soon as he noticed you weren't laughing back, he eyed you again.

"I... don't really love her anymore, Spike."

After a moment frozen in place, he shook his head. "Whoa... what?"

"I know, I know, that whole thing is complicated, and I know Twilight and the others brought us here to help the two of us get together... but I think it just made things worse. This whole week, it's been nothing but tartarus between us, and tonight was that big push, you know?"

"I... I-I guess. But I don't understand. It doesn't take a week to just fall out of love with somepony, right?"

But you only shrugged. "It can take just a second, if the moment's right."

"Really?" You nodded. "So... was it like that with you?"

You shook your head and sighed. "It was a few days for me, really. I think that whole thing at the party was what did it in for me. I guess I just didn't realize it until we got to Manehattan. Then everything she kept saying and doing after that, and... well, you know. I guess I'm just seeing things clearer now. If only it didn't take me years to find that out."

Looking down at the table, you caught your breath, trying to block out the constant batter of music and chatter from other restaurant-goers. You were almost afraid of looking up at Spike until he put his hand on your hoof.

"I'm sorry, bud."

You snorted with laughter. "It's fine."

Spike retreated to his seat, looking over one of the few gems left in his bowl, hesitant to eat it just yet. "So... what now? What do you want from her?"

"Honestly," you answered as truthfully as you could, "I think I just wanna be her friend again. It kinda killed me to be yelling at her like that and bringing up that stuff."

"Even though she was doing the same thing right after."

"... True. I guess both of us went too far in our own way."

"I didn't think you went far enough."

You rolled your eyes at the drake, but couldn't help but chuckle again. "Still, I hope Twilight can talk some sense into her and the two of us can just... start over."

"Sounds like a challenge."

"Eh. Wouldn't really regret it, if that were the case."

Despite some reluctance, Spike eventually agreed. You knew if something happened between him and Rarity, he'd want to start fresh if it meant being friends again. But the two of them were such good friends, you couldn't see them falling apart like you and Rainbow. And you hoped you never had to.

Spike raised his cup of gems and motioned it towards you. It was clear what the intention was, and so you lifted your glass towards his and clink the two together, before bringing the cup back to your lips and taking a well needed sip of Jizz.

...

That...could have been worded better.

For the next hour, you and Spike got more drinks, and he got more jewels. Apparently, the bartender had a steady supply of gems in the back just for Spike, if such an occasion as this were to happen. He even volunteered to deliver a steady supply back home, and Spike wasn't one to back down from an offer like that.

Once another bowl was set on the table and your drinks were refilled, you and Spike once more began a steady conversation. It was the first real bro-ly conversation you two have had in weeks. It was nothing personal, just business getting in the way, as usual.

The first thing you started the conversation with was how business in Canterlot was doing. You've only rarely gone to Canterlot, and that was typically for either the Grand Galloping Gala or important business, important meaning anything evil, really. There was no section of evil. If 'evil' ever pops up with Celestia, there's no other question or excuse.

Of course, you've only rarely intervened in such business. It was mostly because you had no vital part in it. You were no element of harmony. Then again, you probably are... somewhere, that is. Spike and Twilight would visit Canterlot every month for typical princess business, with Spike keeping check of her royal duties. You couldn't help but ask how things were going up there.

"Things are good. Twilight's actually getting better at her work."

"I can see that," you add with a faint smile, "She's not as exhausted as she was in the beginning."

"Yeah... I think she can really handle it now. She's even been discussing some ways to extend friendship outside the borders of Equestria!"

"What do you mean by that? Isn't Equestria already peaceful?"

"Well," he hesitated slightly, holding another jewel in his claws, "not exactly. There's been a few problems going around recently, but it's nothing too serious."

"Problems?"

"Robbing, vandalizing, public exposure..."

Robbing was no surprised to you. But public exposure? Really? Sure, ponies ever rarely wore clothing, but... really? With children around?

Spike was quick to notice the disgust on your face. "Okay, maaaybe it's a bit more serious than I said it was, but... trust me, iit could be a lot worse."

Okay, you had to agree with him on that one. "Point taken," you marked with another sip of your drink.

Once the cup hit the table again, your mind once more began to trail off, and you begin to wonder what the others were doing. Probably still trying to 'rehabilitate' Rainbow, no doubt. Just even mentioning her name in mind made you begin to think of her again. Spike seemed to notice this, but decided not to knock you out of it, and just let you think of Rainbow; who she was, how she lived, what others knew her to be.

And it made you think for the future ahead.

How in Equestria were things going to be once you all got back to Ponyville? A year from now? Ten years? Let's say you and Applejack decided to stay friends after... that. And let's say, for the sake of this prompt, you and Rainbow finally made amends and became friends, then sometime down the line, ended up feeling something for each other. What would that be like? Romantic? Awkward? Depressing? Would the two of you be sitting down at the table five years from now and eating grilled cheese and talking about your day plans?

That sounded so boring.

Also, you didn't know this place served grilled cheese.

Before you could even answer your own thoughts, Spike belched out another parchment letter, once more gaining attention from other ponies. The parchment letter landed on the table, just between the two of you. Putting his jewel down in the bowl, Spike picked up the letter, unraveled it, and began to read it.

"What is it?" you ask, "another letter from Twilight?"

But slowly, he shook his head. "It's from Rainbow."

"What?" You grabbed the parchment letter from him. Unraveling the letter again, you begin to read it in your head.

Hey, Spike. It's Rainbow. Listen, can you guys come back to the hotel? I need to...tell you guys something, especially him. It's time I apologized. For real this time.

-Rainbow Dash

You found yourself somewhat surprised after reading the letter. Rainbow was ready to apologize? How did they manage to make her change her mind? What did she want to tell them?

With these thoughts in mind, Spike took out a blank parchment letter and a quill with ink on it, seeming to be ready to write a return letter. But you stopped him before he could put anything down.

"... Do you think I could write this one?" you asked politely.

He turned his head and smiled. "Sure, dude."

Hoofing you the parchment letter and still wet quill, he gave you a subtle, but reassuring, nod, to which you snorted and shook your head with laughter. Grabbing the quill, you positioned the parchment letter close to you. With the letter already set in mind, you begin to write it down. It took a minute or so to write everything down, but once it was done, you placed the quill down and reviewed it to see if it was good enough.

I'm sorry too. I was honestly being kind of a jerk about the whole thing. I shouldn't have walked out. It was childish of me, and I'm sorry about that. We're on our way back right now.

It seemed perfect to you, but something was missing. It didn't seem complete. You wanted to be sure loose ends would be tied, and you wanted them to know you wouldn't make the same mistakes again. Grabbing the quill, you added another couple of sentences. When you finished, you place the quill once more on the table and take a look at the added words.

Maybe after this, we can start fresh. I'll try not to be a screw-up this time around.

You admitted in your mind that it did sound like a statement that tried to deliver guilt, but you wanted to be honest. With your signature to finish it off, you roll up the parchment and hoof it to Spike, to which he engulfs it in flames, now off to be read by Rainbow.

You did feel nervous about the letter already, but honestly, it felt good to lift more of that weight off your shoulders.

It felt really good.

With a sigh and a smile, you look towards Spike. "You ready to go?"

He grinned. "Yeah."

Finishing off the remainder of his gems, Spike got up from the table and headed towards the bar to return the bowl.

The bartender only chuckled. "Keep it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That's a rare bowl, only twenty of them in existence. Could be worth a fortune when the time's right."

The dragon stumbled over his own words, gripping onto the bowl tightly as he laughed. "U-Uh... W-Wow, thanks!"

"You're welcome, kid," the bartender replied. "And don't think I forgot about that offer of yours. You could use that bowl with it anytime you'd like."

With a grin of excitement, Spike thanked the bartender and waved him goodbye as he started towards the door. You stood just beside the door and waited for him to reach you. Once he was next to you, you asked him once more if he was ready to leave.

"Yeah, definitely," he added, looking back at the bowl in his claws.

It honestly made you chuckle.

Nevertheless, you turned towards the door and opened it, but a kind couple came walking through. You apologized, but they insisted it was fine and let you two by.

You were glad not everypony in Manehattan were total jerks. Well, at least not ponies in this part of the city, that is.

Holding the door open for Spike to walk through, you followed behind him, letting it shut behind you. Remembering the path you had gone, the two of you took your stroll back to the hotel.

And on the calmest of nights too.

By the time the two of you had left the Vanilla Sky, it was already fairly late, but luckily, it wasn't too too late. Even at this time of night, the city was still bustling with life, loud ponies, and extravagant crowds from all corners of the world. It reminded you a lot of Las Pegasus, only more fashionable, and less laid back.

As rude as some ponies were in this city, they did know how to live a little regardless. Maybe, in some cases, a little too much. However, it did nothing to hinder the journey back.

So, not wanting the walk to be quiet and boring, you decided to spice it up with a conversation.

"So why'd the bartender let you keep the bowl?" you ask.

Turning his head towards yours while also managing to keep track of his movement, he added:

"He said this is one of only six of this kind of bowls in the world! One of the rarest!"

"And he let you keep it?"

"Yeah! He said, when the time is right, I could sell this thing! It'd be worth a fortune!"

"Why would you want to sell something like that?" you ask, curious and confused at his thought-of tactic.

"Duh," he begins, "Rare and pricey bowl plus selling it equals---a sea of gems just for me!"

Okay, it's thoughtful. Selfishly thoughtful, that is.

Speaking of selfish, the topic brought up a devious idea in your head, so you use it to your advantage and toy with him for a bit.

"Just for you?" you ask with a smirk on your face.

Spike just looks at you, wondering why you asked that question. But when he realized, he turned his head away and blushed in apparent guilt.

Way to go, jerk.

"...And maybe Rarity too."

You laughed and decided to stop toying with him. "Look, do what you want with the bowl. Use it for food, sell it, share it with Rarity... It's yours. Do what you want."

Giving a smile for reassurance, you pat him on the back too. He smileed again after a second or two, and kept the bowl held tightly in his claws.

But of course, there was always the risk of somepony stealing it, or bumping into him and him dropping it. Especially with so many ponies around, that risk was high.

"Here," you say as you lean towards him, "Put it in my satchel. It'll be safe in there."

With a nod, Spike gets closer towards you and holds his claws out towards the satchel in order to open it. But as he opens the flap of the satchel, his face turns to curiosity and somewhat surprise.

"Are these..." he begins, "... Rainbow's gifts?"

Wait, what?

Only for a second, you turned your head towards him in order to see the satchel.

And he wasn't lying.

You had the satchel with Rainbow's gifts still lodged inside of them. You must have grabbed the wrong one on the way out of the room. Of course, it was confusing, what with them being almost identical.

As creepy as it sounded, the scent probably would've helped you tell the difference.

In the midst of looking backwards, you and Spike didn't seem to notice the oncoming couple of city mares. The four of you bumped into each other and nearly fell on your rears. As a result, the bowl goes flying into the air, only to come back down a second later. But before it was able to crash into the ground and shatter, Spike was able to catch it almost perfectly, the bowl only an inch from the ground.

With a sigh of relief, you get back up on all fours, the mares doing so too.

Only they didn't seem too happy about it---as expected.

"Hmmph!" one of the mares called out, "How irresponsible! Do you not know how to walk properly, you clumsy fool?"

She reminded you a lot like Rarity in some ways---but this mare was a bitch. That was the only difference.

And regardless of it, you honestly had enough---but you weren't willing to start a war between the two.

Luckily, they didn't seem to say much, only stare at you in an angry manner---well, one of them, anyway---before walking away, the same mare bickering about you.

"If we weren't in such a hurry, I'd teach him a lesson in treating a lady right!"

"Relax, Velvet dear. It was only an accident."

"But of course! It had to be a stallion! It's no wonder this society is so doomed! Too many delinquents in the gene pool nowadays."

If you weren't so willing to let it go, you probably would've said something then and there. But honestly, you didn't have the energy for it.

Ignoring the slowly fading mares, you turn back to Spike, who seemed to be holding the bowl tightly in his clutches.

"You okay?" you ask him, snapping him out of his little trance.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

With a nod, you say, "Yeah. I'm good... but man, I hate city ponies sometimes."

After a couple of seconds, you start to look around the environment for a clock, any clock that could tell you the time. Eventually, through a store window, you notice a grandfather clock slowly ticking by, reading 9:06.

Turning back to Spike, you add, "Come on. We should get going. Just put that bowl in my bag for right now."

"O-Oh. Right."

Walking back over to you, Spike once more opens the flaps of the satchel, and without saying a word, properly places the bowl in the satchel, nice and snug right next to the gifts, before closing the flap.

The two of you then continue to walk. For about ten seconds, apart from the sound of the city's life around you, it was quiet.

But eventually, Spike spoke up again, and as you expected, it was about the presents.

"You haven't given her her gifts yet?" he asked.

Turning your head only slightly while still moving, you respond, "No, not exactly."

"Why?"

"Well... I was gonna. At the party, just before everything happened, my gift was picked up and was being carried over. I was so excited about it too."

"Is that why you slipped?"

"... Yes. But you know I didn't mean to slip, right?"

"Yeah, I know that, but... you know, I was just wondering... what are the gifts, anyway?"

Leaning your head a bit, you could feel a smile coming on, and that feeling of excitement only returned slightly, but you could feel it was there.

"Well... Inside, it's a couple of tickets to that upcoming Wonderbolts show—"

"The Wonderbolts Wonder Spectacular?!" With a smile, you nodded. "How the heck did you afford them?! A ticket costs, like, a thousand bits!"

"I won them. That little challenge Blossom Meadow usually does every once in a while on the radio? All I had to do was answer a question about Star Swirl The Bearded, and they were mine, no trouble at-"

"Wait," Spike stopped you, "you were Caller 22?"

What are the chances of him also hearing that too?

"Heh... Twilight told you, huh?"

"No, I was with Twilight when I heard it. We were trying to get tickets for Rainbow Dash, but... well, we were kinda slow."

"Yeah..." You started scratching the back of your hoof with a pint of guilt. "Sorry about that."

"Ah," he waves one of his claws, "it's fine. At least you were able to get the tickets before anypony else could."

"That's true."

"What's the other gift?"

"The next Daring Do book. Not the current one. The new one."

"What? How'd you manage to get that?!"

"The day before Rainbow's birthday, I went to—wait, you know about the whole Daring Do incident last year, right?"

"Yeah. Rainbow wouldn't stop talking about it, remember?"

"Oh... right." You chuckle awkwardly. "Anyway, I went to Daring's house the day before Rainbow's birthday, and she was kind enough to give me an early copy of the book."

Spike seemed to raise an eyebrow, a bit of suspicion on his face.

"She gave you a copy? Just like that?"

"Yeah, I was a bit suspicious too at first. But apparently, she seemed to recognize me after a bit, and from what I heard, her and Rainbow hang every six moons or something. I can't remember, but the point is, she was nice enough to give me a copy," you finished with a shrug and a smirk, only to remember the third gift. "Oh! And guess who gave me this thing?"

For a second, Spike seemed to think about who could have given the bag to you, but it didn't take long to guess.

"She gave you this, too?"

"Yeah," you answered. "Apparently, she has a bunch of these, so she figured, what better way to give Rainbow a gift than a satchel that belonged to her idol?"

"Why didn't she give it to Rainbow herself?"

"Two reasons," you say while extending two wingers, "one, she has a lot of time and things on her hooves. Two, she... didn't seem to know Dash's birthday was coming up until I told her about it. The two kind of... fit together when you think about it."

Looking back in front of him, Spike takes in the situation almost too calmly.

"Huh," he mumbled simply. "Rainbow thinks you're unlucky. But then here you are, with more luck in one day than anypony in a lifetime... what's your secret?"

You could only trill your lips.

"It's not luck, really—okay, maybe just a bit— but I like to think life decided not to do me in for once. Even if it was only a day, it was good while it lasted."

"Oh, come on," Spike groaned, nudging your side a bit, "what makes you think that's it?"

"The whole week so far?"

That did seem to silence Spike for a couple of moments, but soon enough, he went on talking.

"Your life's been a whole run of good luck. Sure, everypony's gonna have some bad luck in their life. Remember that time at the Equestria Games? My whole singing charade?"

Oh dear Celestia, you remember that, clear as day, as if it happened yesterday. The whole thing in itself was, as hurtful as it was to say it, cringe-worthy at best. Even after a year, ponies in the Crystal Empire still talked about it as if it was today's news. Even trying to get him to leave kindly left you embarrassed by everyone else. You never knew why, but you did feel awkward nonetheless.

"Yeah, I do,"

"When I started packing to leave, you and Twilight came in to talk me into staying. Don't you remember what you said?"

It took a couple of moments for you to truly remember, but when you did, you nodded and recited it.

"Luck will always conquer malevolence, no matter how great or cruel it may be."

You always thought it was a stupid quote, the stupidest. It originally came from your mother, but you never really liked it. You assumed it would have maybe done something at the time, but nowadays, you think it was just silly. But Spike seemed to prove you otherwise.

"When you first said that, I told you that would never help me at all. But when that ice cloud started falling... I remembered what you said. That was why I did what I did. And guess what? I saved everypony in that entire stadium."

You had to admit, you were surprised. You didn't think a stupid quote would really be responsible for saving hundreds of ponies, yet here was Spike, proving you wrong.

"Luck conquered malevolence," he said with a smile and a wink.

It made you laugh a little, but you didn't keep your eyes away from the sidewalk. Luckily, there weren't as many ponies around, so there was less of a risk in bumping into someone else.

"Even when bad luck happens, there's always someone willing to bring good luck, even when they don't think it. I think the good luck starts tonight."

"You really think so, huh?" you debated.

"I just don't think so. I know so."

Looking forward, Spike's smirk widened, and his face is now plastered with determination and confidence. He seemed much more happier than he had in this past week. You don't know why, but for some reason, tonight seemed like the best night for him so far.

"In my honest opinion—I think tonight's just the beginning."

Looking down to Spike, his smile was wide, and he seemed very happy. And as expected, it made you smile with joy too.

Maybe Spike was right. Maybe luck doesn't always run out.

Maybe tonight was the beginning.

"Think again, you piece of shit."

Almost immediately, the sound of the voice stopped you dead in your tracks, and it startled you. Slowly, but carefully, the two of you began to turn around to see the source of the voice. But before you could even truly see the physical source, you were met with a quick kick to the gut. You heard Spike scream your name as he was picked up by his scales, and you your mane.

"Alleyway, now. Resist, and you're bucking dead."

You nodded. "Okay, okay. We'll go. Just... don't hurt us."

"Don't talk."

Another chill went down your spine from his words, but nonetheless, you obeyed him.

With a sturdy hoof keeping Spike close to you, you begin to walk forward. As you near him, you being to walk around him, and as you take a real look at him, his stare never left you... and neither did that cold smile of his.

Once you pass him, you take a left into the alley, only having been a couple hooves away. The two buildings that made the alleyway were connected with a metal fence with a door attached to it. The door was open, waiting for you to step through.

When you did, you took a good look at the alleyway. Up top, you get a good view of the several lights of apartments that shine and illuminate the upper halves. But at your level, light was almost entirely absent, despite the lights of the city shining about.

From behind, you could hear the sound of the metal fence door shutting with a loud mix of clanks. Turning around, you watched as the stallion locked the door shut. Once he was finished, he turned around and noticed you staring at him. A knife was present in his hoof, but he never charged.

You were willing to fly off, but noticing that the guy was also a pegasus, and the fact that he was bigger you, he was probably stronger... and faster.

He'd probably kill you before you even touched the ground. And Celestia knows what he'd do to Spike, if he didn't kill him too.

For a couple of seconds, the stallion stared at you, and the air between you and him was tense, chilling... fearful.

Your mind tried to think of what to say before he had a chance to say or do anything; anything that could save you and Spike, you were willing to do it.

"L-Look," you began with a stutter, "I-I don't have any money with me. I left it back at my hotel. This satchel... it has nothing but a book and a worthless vase in it! They're worth nothing! Please, you don't have to do—"

Before you could react, the stallion swung his knife at you and cut your side. It wasn't enough to do any deep damage, but it was enough to bleed. Plenty. You screamed and knelt to the pavement, clutching your wound tightly to keep the blood flow small. Spike ran to your side, asking if you were okay.

"He's fine, you little shit," the stallion remarked. "I wouldn't bet on that forever, though."

With a shiver, Spike leaned in closer towards you, the fear now growing within him. He was too afraid to move, too afraid to do anything.

Suddenly, the stallion shouted into the darkness further into the alley. "We got the stallion! The one you were talking about!"

You and Spike turned around into the blackness, trying to see whoever he was yelling to, but couldn't see anything but a faint, black silhouette. He seemed to be hiding in the dark, followed by two other silhouettes, so it was clear he was not alone... and that you were outnumbered four to two.

After a second, the silhouettes slowly emerged from the darkness, and each of them immediately carried smiles on their faces, and knifes in their hooves or wings. They did nothing but stare at you with grim intent, but they had no reason to frown.

But you weren't focused on them all; only the one leading them.

"... S... Swift Shadow?"

Swift Shadow, the stallion you chased down and tackled to the ground for stealing Aqua Lilly's purse. It didn't take much for you to remember him, seeing as he was now standing in front of you for the first time in four days. He didn't look any different; in fact, he looked worse for wear. Tattered hoodie, dirtied face, matted mane and tail. He looked like the average Manehattan thug.

He smiled grimly. "Not so tough looking now that you're stuck here with me... are you?"

You couldn't say anything proper to him; all you could do was try and back away, taking Spike with you, but the stallion behind you kicked you forward. Your wound bled more, and you winced. As you went forward, Swift Shadow grabbed you with his hooves and held you against the wall.

"It's been a long time coming, you bastard. You think you can just be the hero, get the girl, and everything will be okay? I don't fucking think so."

"I... I..."

He smacked your hoof away from your wound and started to rub it aggressively. You let out a pained scream, trying to get away, but he held you firmly in place, all while arguing with you.

"You think you were just gonna stop me? Just like that?!" He punched you in the wound, forcing you to your knees. "Nopony talks to me like that, ever! Not even a little snitch like you."

"I-I... please—"

"Please nothing. I told you you better hope I didn't get out. I got out, and you didn't even prepare."

"But... the officers... they said—"

"I wasn't dangerous, I make up these lies, I haven't hurt a single po—yeah, no, I killed them. Every single one of them. Every single bastard, bitch, and their little bastard offspring—dead. Chopped them up and burned what was left. I don't do this shit on my own."

You stared at Swift with a confused but fearing expression. "W... What...?"

"Yeah... you weren't expecting to hear that... were you?"

"L-Look... Swift... Please... You don't need to do this; you don't need to... kill us. The dragon, he... he's just a kid. He didn't do anything wrong. Just... take the bag. You can sell it, make some bits, I don't care... Just please let us go. Let him go—"

"Yeah, you see, that shit's not happening. You see, you said my name, and now the kid knows my name, and if I let him go, he's gonna tell your friends, and they're gonna know my name, and... you see where I'm going with this shit? It'll snowball, and I'll get in trouble, and—as much as I love it—I kind of fucking hate going to prison. Besides... I wasn't gonna let you go anyway."

You swallowed the spit in your mouth, tilting your head and gently pleading with him, but he didn't care to listen.

"W-Wait."

"Knock him down and hold the kid."

Almost immediately, the stallions begin to act on his command, all while Swift simply watches the events unfold before him.

The stallion behind you runs up and grabs Spike, seemingly without much trouble. Spike begins to panic and yells your name, shaking himself and trying to get free from the stallion's clutches, but to no avail.

You turn around and see this happen, but before you could act in helping Spike or fighting the stallion, you feel the impact of metal slamming into one of your hind legs.

Pain almost immediately filled your leg, and you nearly fell down, but as the adrenaline in your body came to life, you knew you had to react quickly.

Turning around as quick as you could on three legs, you watched as the stallion holding a metal bat in his hooves readied himself for another swing. But before it could make contact with your body, you grabbed it at the last second, and for a couple of tense and fearful moments, it was a struggle between you and the stallion, as the two of you battled it out in taking control.

You each turned left, then right, up and down. At first, you felt as it you would lose it.

But a shot of adrenaline kicked in at the right moment.

With the strength you had, you took a sharp turn to the left, succeeding in ripping the bat out of the stallion's clutches. Handling it properly in your hooves, you didn't hesitate to swing it.

You heard the thud of his head making contact with the end of the bat. The stallion went flying a few hooves to your right, stumbling only slightly, before crashing into a set of garbage cans. He didn't seem to be out cold, but he didn't seem to be willing to get back up anytime soon.

Bat in hooves, you were ready to face the other two.

But before you knew it, one of them had pinned you to the wall, the bat flying out of your hooves and landing several hooves away. The stallion pinning you held a knife towards you, attempting to stab you, but you were quick in holding him back. The two of you struggled, and slowly, the blade was getting closer and closer to you.

Another shot of adrenaline through your body helped you move it away at the right time. With enough speed, you were able to throw it to the ground, out of reach from the two of you.

Using your strength, you tried pushing the stallion forward, pushing yourself away from the wall. Successfully, you got yourself away from the wall, but continued to push the stallion forward, up until he himself was pinned against the wall, but it only lasted for a moment.

The stallion was somewhat stronger than you, so it didn't take much for him to push himself away. Knocked slightly off balance, you were left defenseless. So he took a swing at your face.

You swore you could hear something in your head crack the moment his hoof made contact. You don't know what it could have been; a tooth, your skull, maybe your jaw. You didn't know---and right now, you didn't care.

As quick as you could, you managed to block the stallion's second attack by putting your hooves up. Whenever he took a swing, you blocked or dodged; once you had the chance, you took your own swings. You managed to get a couple of hits in his cheek and nose, but no matter how hard or quick you hit him, he wouldn't go down.

The moment you took another swing, he took it as a chance to grab you. His intent was to tackle you down, but when you didn't go down, he tried his best to strike you from the side. Though you took most of his blows, you were able to block a couple of them, despite the pain burning in your sides.

Eventually, you took this position as a chance to hit him back. Hard.

With enough strength and willpower, you pulled your head backwards and headbutted him as hard as you could. The pain was sickening, your head in some of the worst pain you've ever felt. It even made you dizzy. But nonetheless, it was able to get the job done. With a stumble of his hooves, the stallion fell to the ground, apparently out cold. It surprised you how he was knocked out and not you, but you didn't ponder on it too long.

In the short silence of grunts and anger, you heard Spike call out your name, telling you that you could do it, seeming to cheer you on, despite his situation.

But his cheers were cut short as the stallion holding him began to cover his mouth, his cheers now become panicked and muffled screams, and his struggling only increased.

"Spike!" you yelled to him.

With a push, you started running towards the stallion, ready to charge at him and help your friend.

"Let him go! Spi—"

Before you could ever finish his name, you found yourself tackled against the wall, the right side of your head slamming into it hard, but you managed to keep yourself conscious from all the pain.

But mid-impact, you let out a gasp as you felt pain strike you within. Not from your head, but from your side.

Somewhat in a state of shock and dizziness, you slowly began to turn your head to the left and downward, to where the source of the pain came from. The stallion, still pinning you against the wall, held the handle of a knife against you—a knife that was now buried into the side of your stomach. And it only took you a second to realize what had just happened.

He stabbed you.

...

The bastard actually stabbed you.

You were expecting the pain to have been more of that than being slammed against a wall by force. Maybe your brain wasn't rendering it properly after that headbutt---but, while you did feel it and while it did hurt, it didn't seem to---hurt all that much.

But it did affect you, regardless of how it felt.

Continuing to look down at the blade, you watched as the liquid that kept you alive began to run down from the mark, dripping down your sides and falling to the ground, drop after drop. It honestly tickled, and while it didn't make you laugh or smile, you felt like chuckling nonetheless.

Maybe it was your mind that was blocking out the pain, and for a moment, you felt almost nothing. But as the stallion noticed your face, how calm it was, he twisted the blade to the right.

And your pain sensors went into overload.

Possibly nearly damaging your vocal cords, you let out a deafening scream that pierced the air around you, all while the stallion continued to twist the blade further clockwise. Eventually, however, he slid the blade out, and with it, blood came leaking out, dripping to the ground. Turning to your left, you took a look at the knife that was in your body only moments ago.

It was glistening red with blood.

Your blood.

And it made you absolutely... sick.

After a few seconds of the blurred out noise of Spike screaming to stop, the stallion holding the knife took another swing at you. The knife once more pierced your flesh. You screamed again, but it was not as loud as before, but more of a gasp. This time, the blade entered the front of your stomach, just above your belly button. Only this time, he didn't twist it like before. Quicker than before, he pulled the blade out. It took longer than before for the blood to start coming out.

With another swing, he stabbed you a third time. Then a fourth time, then a fifth time, then a sixth time.

The other stallions jumped in, knives at the ready, and took swings at you. You tried to push them away, hoping to fight them off, but it was a pointless fight; the stallions dug their knives into your body again and again, making new holes for blood to pour out. You heard Swift tell them to "Stop, you fucking idiots," and a second later, they pulled their knives out of you and watched you squirm. You had been stabbed nearly twenty times, if you could remember to count it all.

It honestly surprised you, regardless of how dizzy or ill you felt, how you were even still alive at this point. You thought a single stab would kill you in seconds, like in books that you've read before. But this wasn't a book, so... maybe it was different. You were hoping it was different.

In an instant, your body gives out, and you collapsed to the ground, falling on your back. You let out a weak grunt of pain, and with the little bit of strength you had left, you took a look at your body. Not only were you bruised in several spots, but you were drenched in blood, lots of it making your fur sticky and wet. You could see blood slowly and gently gushing out of their sources.

But you were only able to look at it for a second before the pain made you drop your head back to the ground.

You started to wonder how you managed to go from a peaceful stroll back to the hotel to make amends, to lying and dying in a dark alleyway, filled with brand new holes. And even then, you still wondered how you lasted this long.

But as you focused on death in particular, you felt your mind go numb for a moment. Your vision started to blur, and you wondered if this was it, if this was the part where your life would flash before your eyes for the last time, and like all things, your life would end.

Sure enough, you began to have visions, but they weren't the last thing. But what were the visions that you had?

... Rainbow, of course.

You always said to yourself, you wanted Rainbow to be the only thing on your mind when you died. And sure enough, there she was, in your mind, playing with Scootaloo or flying in the clouds or napping on a tree somewhere. There she was, talking to her friends and laughing along with them whenever the fun times were had, meeting you for the first time as you entered Ponyville, yelling at you at her birthday party and insulting you any chance she got, coming to terms and saying she was sorry.

There she was, crying as your coffin was lowered into the ground.

And there he was.

As the visions faded away, your mind came crawling back to the alleyway. The stallion you headbutted was once again awake, seeming to watch you intently. He raised his hoof as if calling to attention.

"Look who's finally awake!"

Looking to the right of him, you noticed Swift Shadow appearing to be talking to Spike, though you never heard what he said. Once his man notified him of you having woken up, he turned towards you, a cigarette sitting in his mouth, almost completely burnt out.

"Fucking finally. Time to get this shit over with."

"Would you get it over with already?" the stallion carrying Spike said, "I wanna have a go at his little friend while he's still breathing!"

Though your mind was blurred and racing, you could still see Spike's face, still afraid and even more scared than before, even to the point of tears falling down his face. You knew that he knew what the stallion meant by.

"Ruin him, and I'll kill you."

Weakly moving your head up to get a further look at Swift, you watch him as he begins to take his cigarette out of his mouth, and blows its final plume of smoke. Looking at you, face to face, he smiles. Then without a hint of hesitation, he starts to punch you in the face. Your head flew back, hitting the pavement, but you still had the strength to lift it.

"Fuck! You!" He exclaimed with every punch. "You snitching! Mother! Fucker!"

After several punches, he sits back on his haunches, catching his breath, an expression of clear anger on his face, with steam practically coming out of his snout. Turning around, he demands one of the stallions hand him the metal bat. Without question, they give him the bat. Gripping it in one hoof, Swift Shadow leaned back over to you and talked to you softly.

"Here's what I'm gonna do next. First, I'm gonna bash your skull in like a fucking golf ball. Second, me and my boys are gonna do your little friend in over there. You know dragons are durable as tartarus? We ain't ever tried it before. And then third and last, I'm gonna kill him, and burn both your bodies. Make it look like an accident. One hell of an accident."

You tried to beg one more time, but all that could come out was a choked cough of blood. Swift got up from the ground and stood on his hind legs.

"I'm gonna make sure you never snitch again. Say your prayers, asshole!"

And with those last words played out in your fading mind, Swift quickly lifted the bat into the air.

With a final, single swoop, you feel the cold metal smash your skull in. And as it does, your life, everything that you were, and everything that you ever would have been, ends.

You were gone.

Spike

It was horrifying the things that could happen in only a few minutes.

One minute, my best friend and I were walking back to our hotel and hoping to make things better between all of us. And the next minute—he has his head smashed in with a metal bat.

I couldn't even remember how loud I screamed as I watched it happen. All I could remember was his... his... face. I knew it was him... Of course I knew it.

But the face. It was so... so... mangled.

When the stallion Swift was done, he took a napkin out from his hoodie, whistled a tune, and just wiped away the blood... as if it was nothing. But to him, that's all it was—nothing.

And what was I doing as I watched it happen? I panicked. I shook and twisted and flailed about as much as I possibly could, but... I was never able to get myself free. I may have been strong. But the stallion holding me was much stronger than I ever could have been at my age.

After Swift wiped the bat off almost entirely, he threw the napkin onto the ground, next to my friend's body. Giving the bat back to the other stallion, he set his sights on me again. He had this twisted, ugly smile on his face, just like the other stallions.

"Now, where were we?"

And just with that, my panic only grew. As he and the other two advanced towards me, I started to thrash about, shake, even try to hit the stallion holding me. But no matter how hard I tried, he was always stronger. I grew scared. I knew exactly what they were going to do to me! They were going to use me! Use me like a doll and then throw me away when they were done!

I didn't know what to do!

And as the other two stallions got closer towards me, I tried kicking my legs at them, trying to hit them away. But all they did was laugh and say, "Ooh! This one's a fighter!"

Eventually, as I kicked and screamed and flailed about, I started yelling at them.

"No! Get away from me! Stay away!"

But all they did was laugh at me and taunt me as they got closer. One of them tried grabbing my legs in an attempt to hold me down. They never stopped after I hit them. I was scared beyond belief. I thought this is what would become of me. I thought this is where I would end.

I thought this is where I would die.

And that was when the adrenaline kicked in.

With the stroke of fear and sudden strength, I let loose my fire. The flames were big, fierce. It caught the stallions in front of me completely by surprise. One of the stallions stepped back as they were caught in the fire. They didn't ignite, but their face and parts of their body became badly burned, even from just a single second. The other stallion, the one with no mane, was more unfortunate.

Within only a couple of seconds, he burst into flames, immediately beginning to flail about and scream, "Put it out!"

The stallion who held me let go, and with panic quickly settled in, I quickly turned around and blew my fire into his face. He too screamed and lit up in flames. The fence door behind him was quickly melted from the fire, and with a great crash, he fell onto the boiling hot fence.

"Oh, fuck this!" I heard Swift yell, before he ran away into the darkness of the alleyway, with another stallion. When I turned around, he was gone.

The stallion on the fence's screams, along with the other stallion, filled the air. His body became stuck to the hot melted fence. Every time he tried to get up, his skin would stick to the metal, coming off in slices, muscle and burnt tissue becoming visible beneath. His body began to bleed heavily, even if some of the blood began to evaporate from the flames.

For several moments, he and the other stallion continued to scream as they fought to survive. But no matter what they tried and failed to do, their screams grew silent quickly. Just like that, it was over, and they were... dead.

I... I killed someone.

As quick as they began, the stallion's movements against the melted fence came to an end, his body almost instantly becoming limp on the structure. His body continued to burn. After he died, I turned around to the other. He was also dead.

When the initial panic died down, I ran to my friend's side. But as I stood over him, I gasped and felt sick as I saw and smelled the sight before me.

The smell of iron was rich in the air. But his body---it was drenched with blood, so much that there was even a small puddle around his belly button. Just smelling it made me want to puke from how---strong it was.

But I couldn't focus on that. Not now.

At the chance I got, I started screaming, "Help! Somepony help!!"

I never understood why nopony came the whole time this was happening. It was like the whole city became deserted in an instant. One moment, we were surrounded by rich snobs, and the next, we were all alone. But rather than focus on that, I continued screaming into the streets, hoping somepony, anypony, would hear and come to my—his—aid.

In my panic, I tried to see if he still had a pulse. Taking a claw and putting it up to his neck, I waited for a pulse. For a second, when I didn't feel a thing, I became scared, already fearing the worst had happened, and I almost began to cry right there and then.

But then I felt a single beat, and then another after that, but a couple of seconds after that. It was there, but slow. But he was still alive.

Thank Celestia, I wanted to cry in joy.

I continued to shout to the streets, waiting for someone to hear. After a minute of continuous shouting and crying for help, I was already starting to give up on anyone listening. But just before I stopped shouting for the last time, like angels, they came. A couple of ponies, a mare and two stallions, stumbled upon the scene. The mare screamed in horror as she saw the burning corpse of the stallion on the melted fence. The other two stallions were just as horrified, but they seemed to be left speechless.

And soon enough, their eyes fell towards me. It was not in a bad way, it was more of a "What in the hell happened" way.

Before they had any chance to say or do anything, I yelled to them, "Call an ambulance! Help him, please!"

Quickly knocking themselves out of their shock, though the mare seemed to be hyperventilating, one of the stallions said to the other stallion, "Go find a phone, now! Go!"

The other stallion nodded and ran off. The stallion still here, along with the mare—who was still panicking, but lesser now—started making their way towards me, then seeing the state that my friend was in. As they knelt down, they looked in shock as they saw all the bruises, stab wounds, and other marks on his body... even the blood.

"Cerberus Almighty, what the hell happened to him?" the stallion asked.

Looking back to him, I... I didn't know what to say. At this point, the panic died down a bit, but my emotions only seemed to get the better of me.

"I... I-I..."

It was at this point... I couldn't take it. As if something took hold of me, I felt myself breaking down, mentally and physically. I burst into tears, the water falling down my face like salty rivers. I covered my face with my claws, unable to hold back the tears any further. Eventually, I did take them away, using them to wipe the tears, but they only kept coming.

The stallion only watched me in what must have been sorrow. Even the mare seemed more sorry, though I could tell she was more scared and sick of the whole scene around her. For several minutes, the three of us sat there, me crying around my friend, as we waited for their other friend to return with help.

After a few minutes, the stallion came back, letting us know help was on the way. Not more than a minute after, the sounds of sirens filled the air, only getting closer and closer.

Before we knew it, there were ambulances and police carriages standing outside the alleyway, along with photographers and news reporters. Even the regular city-ponies we had seen before began to emerge, some with looks of horror, shock, disgust, or even relief on their faces.

Grabbing a stretcher, the EMTs weren't hesitant on getting him to the hospital. For a minute or two, they seemed to be trying to figure how how to get him on the stretcher without hurting him any further. Once they knew what to do, they quickly lifted him in a cautious manner and placed him onto the stretcher. They yelled certain orders to each other to help him. I don't remember what they said; I was more focused on making sure he got there okay.

And alive.

The ride to the hospital was fast and hurried. A normal ride that would have taken maybe fifteen minutes was done in five. Of course, the sirens blared from the top of the carriage, so city-ponies knew it was an emergency.

Along the way, EMTs in the back where him and I were did what they could to help him.

"Make sure you keep his oxygen steady!" one of them say.

"He's losing blood fast! We need to pressurize the wounds NOW!" a female EMT yells.

The whole situation was a scramble of orders and doings. He was given an oxygen mask, and they did whatever they could to prevent the wounds from bleeding any further, at least until they got to the hospital.

After five minutes of bickers and orders, we finally reached the hospital: Manehattan General.

It was one of the biggest hospitals in the entire city, a building that spanned up to nearly seventy stories high. Even after being to the city a second time, I was never able to get used to buildings being so tall, even after growing up in Canterlot.

As quick as they could, the EMTs opened up the back doors of the ambulance, held his stretcher carefully, and lifted it onto the ground; once all four wheels touched the concrete of the front entrance, they began to roll him inside.

I began to follow them in, but before I did, I looked around the outside for a moment, looked for something that would tell me where we were.

As quick as I could, I managed to find a street sign. Illuminated by a street light, it read, "53rd Sonata Avenue."

I didn't even realize it until now. They don't even know it yet... do they?

Keeping the address in mind, I hurried on into the hospital. I wasn't too far behind, but they were still somewhat far from me. The main hallway was crowded with doctors, nurses, and even patients, all trying to get where they needed to be as quick as possible.

At the end of the hallway, I saw the EMTs making their way into an elevator. I tried running after them, but before I could reach the elevator, the doors shut, and I was forced to take the elevator that was next to them. And judging from the reflections of the elevator, they were going to the 17th floor.

Getting in the elevator, I pressed the number '17' on the pad, and as quick as it opened, the elevator shut its doors and flew its way up. Within less than twenty seconds, it stopped on the 17th floor.

Looking around, this floor wasn't as crowded as the first, so it didn't take long for me to find the EMTs and the stretcher. Chasing after them, I could hear them still giving orders and telling other ponies in front of them to move, and they weren't being rude about it, just directive.

For a good ten seconds, they continued down a hallway, telling each other to watch his oxygen or give him more blood. But soon enough, they eventually reached the ER, or Emergency Room.

And as I expected, I was denied access. Those that denied me instructed me to go sit in the waiting room and wait for any further information, should something else happen. I was never one to argue to a hospital worker, regardless of the situation, so rather than protest, I did what they said and made my way to the waiting room, which was just nearby.

You'd expect the waiting room to be full of ponies, even at night, but here, it was almost completely empty, except for a couple of ponies, both of which were asleep. Finding a seat all by myself, I sat down in a chair.

Even though I tried my best to relax—and I really did—fear and worry always came back to me, and it only brought me down further. I was once again scared, and you didn't need an explanation to know why.

As much as I tried to keep myself calm, I eventually found myself breaking down in panic and tears again, but I did my best to be sure the ponies nearby weren't disturbed. But I found it hard to do.

After a couple of minutes of panicked, silent crying, I remembered once again. They didn't know. I needed to tell them.

They needed to know.

With a sniffle, I get off my chair and start looking around the floor for a telephone that I could use. Eventually, I managed to find one. I hopped onto the chair, grabbed the telephone, and began to dial the number for our hotel room. Once I dialed it correctly, there was the dial-tone, and all I had to do was wait. And as I waited, I tried my best not to cry. I tried keeping it in as much as I could.

Eventually, the dial-tone ends, signaling the phone was picked up, and someone was on the other line.

"This is Princess Twilight Sparkle."

As much as I wanted to laugh at how cheesy that sounded, my emotions overshadowed that. It took me a few moments to get the strength to talk, but even when I did, I couldn't stop sniffling.

"Twilight—...—sniffle—... something... something's—"

I was having so much trouble speaking that I couldn't even get a proper sentence out right now. But halfway through my words, Twilight cut me off quickly, already knowing that something wasn't right.

"Spike? What's wrong?" she asked me. Already, I could tell she was worried about me.

And in the midst of the conversation, I nearly started to freak out as I tried to explain.

"S-Something happened, Twilight. I was so scared...! I was so scared, I didn't know what to do! I didn't—"

But she stopped me before I could go on any further.

"Spike-Spike, just calm down. Where are you?"

"Manehattan General Hospital, 53rd Sonata Avenue... Please get here quickly, Twilight—I'm so scared."

"Just stay there, okay? We're on our way."

Without hesitating, she hung up the phone, leaving the hang-up tone to ring in my ear. After a couple of seconds, I put the phone back on its hook and walked back towards the waiting room, but when I got there, the other two ponies were gone, leaving the place entirely empty.

Picking the same seat as I had sat in before, I propped myself back up on the chair and tried to keep myself calm. But like before—that didn't work. So, curling up into a ball, I let my emotions get the best of me, and I wasn't afraid to let the tears flow again, the salt sticking to my face and dripping to the floor as I began to cry again, worried beyond belief.

I wasn't just hopeful for good news. I was scared.

I was truly, truly scared.

Author's Note

This chapter has been rewritten in spots. Better dialogue, better spacing, and fewer plot holes in accordance with previous chapters! :twilightsmile:

If you wanna read the old Author's note, it's spoilered below. Didn't really wanna lose that. :twilightblush:

This is it: The ultimate reveal of last chapter's "cliffhanger".

The beginning of this chapter and last chapter are the same, though once the character leaves, this chapter focuses on HIS---or...YOUR---POV.

So yeah. I felt it would be cool---or something.

But yeah, shit goes down here. A lot of shit. Oh, and blood. That too.

Also, sorry if the beginning---well, after the character leaves---seems rushed. Sometimes, it's hard to write. But nonetheless, it's fun too.

Enjoy. Oh, and find the Fallout reference. Cheesy, but Fallout, yo. C:

Chapter XII: Flatline

Author's Note

With first person POV, it's hard to get the personality down right through their eyes. I've decided to keep the remainder of the story third person. That way, details don't have to be restricted.

The main character won't get anymore lines for the remainder of this story. You'll know why soon enough by the end of this chapter.

By the way, He [italic] is referring to you, or the character.

So yeah, enjoy! :)

Also, this chapter sucks, in my opinion. C:

Chapter XII: Flatline

Chapter XII: Flatline

Hailing a cab, Twilight and the others were able to direct the driver to 53rd Sonata Avenue. The bad news was, it would take at least twenty minutes to get there. Had there been no traffic, jams, or street-walking at nearly ten o'clock in the evening, they probably would have made it to the hospital in less than ten minutes.

But along the way there, they happened to be caught in a much bigger set of traffic, one that cut them off for at least a minute or two. Regardless of how much he tried to make his way through, the cab driver had no other choice but to wait.

As the traffic moved forward, the driver and the girls were able to get a better view of what exactly was slowing them down.

But when the sight caught their eyes---they nearly turned away in horror.

The sight before them was nothing more than a crime scene. And even with things covered up, it was still frightening nonetheless. It had been the first time any of them had seen something so---grotesque.

Though they were quickly riding by the scene by the time they got near it, they were able to get a pretty decent, but disturbing, view of the environment. But Twilight was quick to shield Fluttershy from the view. No matter how old she was---she didn't need to see it.

Two sheets lay on the ground, bulging to indicate that there was a pony lying beneath it. It was all it took to send shivers down all of their spines. Knowing that they were looking at ponies that were no longer alive---It was just chilling.

They never believed something like this could happen --- especially in Equestria.

However, it seemed that one of the ponies of the scene was still alive. But it wasn't much to show that he was nothing but a criminal, having been hoofcuffed and being dragged into a police wagon.

As the scene now lay behind them, Rarity quietly said, "Monsters," as she took one final look at the despair before the cab turned a corner.

Looking towards the mare, Rainbow added, "Well, at least they're going to prison, right?"

Even as the wagon turned the corner, Rarity continued to look outside the back window. Her face, while mixed with anger and frustration as the scene had rolled by, was more blank, like she didn't know what to feel at the moment.

But after a few seconds, she eventually replied to Rainbow's comment.

"...I suppose so."

Rainbow and Twilight seemed to notice Rarity's troubled expression, but they didn't question her of it, so they kept quiet. But the silence only lasted for what must have felt like mere seconds, before the sounds of water-drops began to bombard the roof of the wagon. The windows quickly became wet with raindrops, and the cab driver was forced to turn on his windshield wipers so he could properly see the road ahead of him.

And for those few seconds, in the pitter-patter of falling rain, it was very quiet between the six girls. None of them knew what to say, or if they did, they didn't seem to speak very much. Twilight wanted more for the cab to get to the hospital. It was honestly quite shocking how packed the roads were with wagons and ponies moving about. Sure, Twilight should've expected something like that in a city such as Manehattan, but regardless, she was still baffled by it all.

Rainbow, on the other hoof, had a different mindset to her. She wasn't thinking about the traffic. She wasn't thinking about the ponies crossing the street, or the rain.

She was thinking about him.

Sure, an hour ago, she said she wanted him to "walk away and never come back" just before he walked out that door. But now? She just wanted him to come back.

Her worries only increased after that sudden phone-call. Twilight had played it before the cab arrived, and the fact that Spike sounded terrified, worried, and scared---along with the fact that he didn't say anything---and the fact that they're both at the hospital---

It not only concerned her greatly. It worried her greatly. And she had a right to be so.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Rarity slowly began to turn back around, aiming towards the front of the cab. While she didn't say anything for the first few seconds, she seemed questionable. With another few seconds ticking by, she began to open her mouth. At first, she didn't seem to know what to ask or say.

But once she knew it, she started to speak.

"You... You don't... think that Spike being at the hospital---had anything to do with---back there... right?"

And just from that question alone, it sparked a fearsome curiosity in Twilight and Rainbow's mind. Fearsome because they didn't want to believe so. It could just have been a coincidence.

But then again---it could not.

With this scary thought in mind, Rarity added, "... You don't think the reason Spike's at the hospital is---because---"

It didn't take very long for the others to know what Rarity was getting at.

But regardless, it brought up questions in their mind. For the moment, it seemed foolish, stupid even, to automatically assumed the worst before they saw for themselves. But the crime scene only having been recent, as well as Spike's chilling call minutes ago---

---It was a feared connection that they just didn't want to believe.

Even Rainbow let out a chuckle. But they knew it wasn't a real one. The laugh seemed forced and pushed out, her laughter seeming to contain a bit of worry within it. It was very noticeable to them that she was just as worried as they were. But she continued to play the role that had already slipped through.

"You don't actually...believe that---do you? He... He may be..."

Already halfway in, her game died down, and her tone returned to its normalcy.

"... He may be clumsy, but... But he'd never let anything... bad happen to him..."

Looking up towards Twilight, she questioned the mare.

"... Right?"

For the moment, Twilight didn't reply. The princess could see the look of worry in Rainbow's eyes, knowing she wanted an answer. But she didn't have one to give right now. Not for a while.

After a few moments of tense exchanging of looks, Twilight turned away, the worry very present on her face as she looked out the window, into the rainy streets.

"... Twilight?" Rainbow called her name, her voice full of emotional concern and worry.

Twilight looked down, towards the paved road of the street, regardless of how blurry the windows had been. Her ears drooped as her own worry rose. Rarity's thoughts were already getting to her head, and as much as she didn't want to admit it---

---She might be right.

"... I don't know, Rainbow," Twilight spoke up after the lingered silence. Twilight knew that answer was a lie. But at the same time, it wasn't the truth, either. They would never know until they got there.

And the fear only grew as they got closer to the answer.

After another ten minutes of going through traffic and streetwalkers, the cab finally made its way to 53rd Sonata Avenue. Upon stopping, the girls all got out, Twilight paid the driver, and he took off. And as quick as they could, the girls all began to run their way to the dry underpass of the hospital entrance.

All but Twilight, who found herself staring at the massive building. Even though she had spent most of her life in Canterlot, she had never seen hospitals as tall as this one.

The floor must have been nearly seventy stories tall. There must have been hundreds of ponies in there, recovering, dying---or dead.

And somewhere, in that whole mess of care and tragedy---he was there.

And she only hoped it wasn't bad.

"Twilight, come on!" Rainbow yelled over the deafening rain from the entrance.

With a shake of her head, Twilight came out of her trance and quickly made her way towards the front. By the time she made it inside, she was more drenched than the others, who were already walking their way towards the elevator on the opposite side of the building.

Looking towards Twilight in confusion, Rainbow wanted to ask what Twilight was doing. But she figured there were more important matters to focus on, so she didn't say anything.

Once Twilight shook herself off as best as she could, Rainbow said, "C'mon, let's go catch up with the others."

Nodding, Twilight began to follow Rainbow Dash. The two of them caught up with the others, who been standing at the front desk. The pony at the front desk was a mare, probably ten or so years older than they were. Somewhat humorous, she reminded them of Ponyville's Nurse Redheart, the only difference being her manestyle and cutie-mark.

When they caught the desk-mare's attention, Twilight asked where their two friends were. After a couple of checks and looking through papers, they found their stallion and dragon friend on the 17th floor.

But before they left, the mare asked the six of them if they were the stallion's friends.

When they all nodded, the mare's curious face drooped to that of sympathy and sadness. While it only increased their worries, the girls decided not to ask why.

Without hesitation, they all made their way towards the elevators. Getting into the only available one, they all hopped in, pressed button '17', and within less than half a minute, the elevator slid all the way to the floor.

Once the doors opened, they got out and took in their surroundings. The one thing they noticed right away was how---empty this floor was. The bottom floor, while they didn't acknowledge it all that much, was packed with ponies, from children to elders. But on this floor, it was very empty, only a couple of ponies walking by every few minutes or so.

They started walking down the long hallway, the first thing on their minds being to find Spike. If anything, the first place he'd be in would be a waiting room, so now their search was narrowed to a simple waiting room. Surely, there wasn't more than one on this floor.

As they walked through the massive hallways, they never really realized until they turned almost five corners how massive the floor and structural design really was. Sure, the hospital back in Ponyville had similar designs, but it wasn't as big as this hospital.

Walking through the hallways, Rainbow eventually found herself looking through the windows of hospital doors as she passed by them. While only a few of them were empty, the vast majority of them were filled with ponies, old and young, laying in bed, trying to walk, being read bedtime stories, or having a friendly talk with their families or friends.

But as she would expect, a trip to the hospital was never as cheery as she first sees it.

Turning back in front of her, she looked into the distance, near the end of the hallway. If she looked really closely, she could see---she---she could see...a filled stretcher, being carried out of a room.

...And the bulge beneath its blanket was small.

She had to block out the echoing screams of the family at the end so she could focus more on looking with the others. As cruel as it was to ignore those cries and shrills of tragedy, they were not her family.

Catching up with the others, not knowing that she had slowed down, she stopped looking through the windows. She didn't want to see through the rooms after that.

She was afraid of getting anymore dark surprises.

After a few minutes of twists and turns on the floor---which seemed much bigger than how it seemed on the outside---they eventually found a waiting room area. It wasn't much of a room, really, but rather, a section of the floor consisting of chairs for families and friends of patients and tables plastered with magazines, books, and even a cooler in the center with drinks inside.

It was already much more different from Ponyville Hospital by a lot.

Upon first entering the waiting area, many of the chairs were empty and unused, but there were a couple of ponies who sat about, waiting to hear anymore news on their loved ones, or to simply visit their doctor or nurse for whatever it is they were here for.

But after a couple of moments, as they looked around the chairs, they eventually found their dragon friend. It was quite hard to see him from where they stood, but nonetheless, he was there.

But their relief quickly turned to concern as they took a look at Spike. Upon looking closer at him, they noticed that he was curled up into a ball and---and... just staring.

From just looking at Spike alone, Twilight could already tell whatever happened...it wasn't---in any way---good.

"...Spike?" Twilight gently called out.

At first, the young dragon didn't even seem to acknowledge their existence; it was as if he was in some kind of---trance, like he was in very deep thought.

Twilight could only wonder in fear at what was going on inside his head right now.

After a few seconds, Spike eventually snapped himself out of his disturbed train of thought. With a slow turn of his head, his eyes slowly, but eventually, met Twilight's.

He stared at them intently for a few more moments, somewhat as if he had seen ghosts, or rather, six of them. He seemed amazed, worried, sad, but more importantly, relieved that they arrived.

When the time passed, Spike got up from his chair and ran over to Twilight. With a wrap of his arms around her body, he cried into her chest.

Twilight found herself somewhat shocked and surprised from Spike's sudden reaction. But she was more worried than surprised.

After what felt like an eternity of crying and hugging, Spike eventually pulled himself away from Twilight, but still held onto her with teary eyes.

"Twilight...I'm sorry---I'm so sorry, Twilight...I didn't mean it, I didn't know what to do!"

Despite his please of forgiveness, Twilight had no idea what he was talking about. What was he sorry for? What did he do?

But---his words brought a thought to Twilight's head, and for a second, it made her think: Was he in there because of Spike?

No. She would never think of that happening. Not between the two of them. Not between two brothers.

"Spike, stop."

Spike's sorrowful words immediately stopped upon Twilight's demand. Her face showed a faint sternness to it, but it quickly faded into a look of concern and worry.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I had no other choice! They were...They were going to-"

"'They'?"

Spike looked up at Twilight for a moment like she was somewhat dumb. But after a few seconds, the realization came to him.

He never told her yet.

"Spike... What happened?"

The young dragon looked at the six girls, all with worried and concerned looks on their faces. Spike was breathing in and out somewhat heavily, and his eyes were still watered with tears.

With a close of his eyes, he let out a sigh, which seemed to calm his breath just a bit. When he opened them back up, he wiped the water from his eyes.

Once he seemed more relax---even though he looked more afraid and scared---he eventually walked back to the chairs and sat down in the same chair from before. The girls took this as a sign to sit down, as well. All finding seats around the young dragon, they sat down and looked towards him, Twilight once more asking what happened.

Spike didn't seem to say anything at first, but seemed more to be thinking in thought again, as if trying to recollect the story.

When his train of thought stopped, he looked towards Twilight for a moment, the worry still very clear on her face, before he looked back down towards the ground.

"We... We started making our way back to the hotel. We were just walking and talking. He was so hopeful... you should've seen his face.

"And then this...this stallion came out of nowhere, behind us. He had a knife in his hoof and threatened to... you know."

As the girls all gasped quietly in shock, Rarity found herself even more afraid than them. The fact that her 'Spikey-Wikey' was threatened to die was chilling. Regardless of the gasps, Spike continued.

"He told the stallion not to hurt us, and...and we got into this alleyway he wanted us to go in. When we did get in, he just---locked the door.

Spike told them how he tried to bargain with the stallion in order to save their lives. While there were breaths of relief when Spike mentioned the stallion saying they wouldn't kill him---that relief was very short.

"Then there was this...other stallion that came out of the alleyway," Spike adds, recalling that he seemed to recognize him just from saying his name.

"What was his name?" Twilight asked.

"...Swift Shadow."

And just from that name, Twilight's eyes, even the others', went wide, the name becoming spontaneously recognizable to them. At first Spike himself didn't seem to remember the name, even then, but when he really thought about it, his face grew with curious worry.

Through their worry, Spike was able to ask them a question, just one to confirm his thoughts.

"...Isn't that the...the guy he was talking about...? At the mall?"

And as he expected, his thoughts and fears were confirmed with a simple, but slow, nod from Twilight. Even as he looked at the others, they nodded a bit, the fear on their faces were just as much as on Twilight's. Twilight, after a few moments, put a hoof up to her mouth, the shock of it having overtaken her somewhat. If Spike listened closely, she could hear her say something like, "Oh Celestia" or "Oh my goddess..."

﻿﻿﻿﻿As Spike looked at the others, they were more or less speechless, unable to say or think anything. It was a set of reactions he expected to see from them. But then he looked towards Rainbow. And when his eyes set upon the mare, he saw nothing but fear, and only that.

He knew Rainbow. She didn't scare easy. But this... this was different.

After a couple of seconds of nothing but expressing the worry on her face, she eventually gained the ability to open her mouth, her words stuttered and tripped over.

"B... But he's ok-kay---right?"

Spike wanted to tell her yes, that he was okay and he would recover. Another part of him wanted to tell her no, that he was not okay and he could... He didn't want to finish that thought. But a third part of him wanted to say---he didn't know, because that was more true. He just---didn't know right now.

But before he could even give a proper answer, Twilight interjected, causing him to turn to her as she asked, "What.....What did he do?"

As much as Spike didn't want to continue, he didn't want to keep them anymore worried as they were. But even if he didn't say anything, they would be worried regardless. Nonetheless, he simply decided to continue to Twilight's demand.

"... H-He...-"

But before Spike could ever fully answer her question, he was cut off as a couple of doctors and nurses zipped by the waiting area. At first, they wanted to ignore it, probably having been a simple hospital emergency.

Then there came the scream, "We got a flat-liner in ER!" and they disappeared behind doors.

The girls had wondered what it was about for a moment. Eventually, they disregarded it as a hospital issue. But when they looked back towards Spike, his face was wide with horror, his eyes open as far as they could have been.

"...ER? He's in there!"

Getting down from his chair, he immediately made a sprint down the hallway, towards the windowed doors of the ER. The girls almost immediately followed after him, all with looks of horror, worry, and fear still very present on their faces, especially after Spike's words.

But the one who had been worried the most was Rainbow.

Why wouldn't she be worried?

As the girls all followed Spike towards where the ER had been, only a few doors down, surprisingly, they saw him try to make his way into the room, only to be pushed back by a doctor from inside. By the time they got to Spike, the doctor had already shut the doors and locked them out.

But they had forgotten to cover the windows. And so, as their fears and thoughts came into reality, their eyes darted their way into the Emergency Room, only to find their friend lying on the operation table, his head bruised and bloodied beyond compare --- and his heart monitor dead flat.

And as they looked on at him, something in their hearts dropped, overwhelming them with vast amounts of fear. There was no other way to describe the things they felt in that moment---nothing other than that. Because that's all they were.

They were scared.

"No...Nonononononono, this can't be---this can't be happening-NO!" Twilight yelled as they peered on through the windows.

The long beep echoed in her mind.

As the doctors and nurses cleared everything around them, and one of the doctors immediately stood up on his hind hooves and began applying CPR, hoping to get a pulse.

"One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand---" the doctor counted as he pumped onto their friend's chest, trying to restart his heart.

After reaching ten one-thousands, one of the unicorn nurses grabbed what appeared to be a defibrilator unit and ran to the stretcher.

"Stand back," the nurse said, and immediately, the doctor moved away, the nurse standing in his place.

Rubbing the two ends of the defib unit together, it gathered an electric charge. Releasing them away, she hovered it over their friend. With a loud, "Clear!" she pressed them down onto his chest. With a sudden jerk, his chest flew upward, his muscles having jolted from the charge.

But regardless of the charge, his heart still did not restart, his monitor still gone flat.

"Keep pumping," the nurse said to the doctor, who immediately transferred to the other side of the table, and with his hooves ready, he began to pump his chest as the nurse continued to recharge the defib units.

After a few more seconds, she instructed the doctor to move away, and with another, "Clear!", she pressed them onto his chest, and as before, it jolted upward, before falling back down onto the table.

But also as before, his monitor still did not register a beat. But regardless of the negative results, they did not stop trying. Again with the CPR, and again with the defibrilator, they tried it again for a third time. No result. A fifth time. No result. A sixth time. No result.

By the seventh time, Spike and the girls' hearts were beyond pounding, their eyes drenched with tears, their breathing ragged and mentally pained. They were beyond scared. While the others couldn't think of anything to say or even do --- not even Twilight could figure out what to do --- Rainbow just watched on, salty water drenching her cheeks and neck.

Fight for life, fight for another moment to see the light. Fight for her.

"Please," she whispered, "Please don't die --- Please fight... Please... Please --- Please... Fight... Fight..."

But as she whispered these pleas and begs to her friend, Twilight slowly found herself turning towards the mare, having heard her cries as they grow slightly louder. It was the first time she had seen her this afraid before. The first time she had ever seen her scared.

Lending out a hoof, she gently grabbed Rainbow's own, who didn't hesitate in returning the favor. Rainbow squeezed Twilight's hoof pretty tightly, but Twilight's mind was never on that to begin with. She too was begging and pleading for his life.

And for the moment, a hope grew in their minds, as if they had begun to believe their pleads were working, that he would hear them somehow, and he would fight. But as the doctors continued to give him CPR and give him a shock, their hope was already quickly beginning to fade.

A minute had passed since their atttempts began, and his heart still did not beat. And as another minute passed---they could already feel themselves losing their patient.

But one of the doctors still didn't stop.

"Dammit," he yelled, "I am NOT losing you tonight!"

Pumping the patient's chest harder, he began to beg him to breathe.

"C'mon! Breath, dammit! BREATHE!"

But regardless of his begs, he still did not move or give a beat. And the doctor's yells only rose in volume, until he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"BREATHE!"

All of the girls at this point, even Spike, were all tear-eyed and tried to keep their tears in. Spike tried to keep his emotions in, his breathing ragged and he too begged for his friend to just breathe.

But Rainbow? She couldn't bare to look anymore. Turning away from the window, she broke herself free from the group, and turning in the opposite direction, she started running back towards the waiting area. But she only fell to her hind knees before she ever got halfway.

And as she fell to the ground, she clutched her sides tightly, as if trying to hold or hug herself. Her face was bent down towards the floor. It wasn't a sign of physical pain, but more along---emotional. With the strength she could have been able to bear, she pushed herself against the wall of the hallway. Twilight turned towards her, barely able to see her friend through her blurred, watery vision.

And though she tried to hold it in, no matter what, in the blind panic of it all, Rainbow Dash let out an agonizing cry, everything already crumbling on top of her, her mind broken down so quickly, so... painfully.

With the strength that remained in her throat, she was only able to let out six words. And those six words pierced Twilight's heart with distress and emotional pain in itself.

"I DON'T WANT HIM TO GO~!"

Her screams were so loud, the whole floor could have heard them. And though a few ponies did look in their direction, even turn the corners to see what the commotion was about, they said nothing to them. When some of those ponies realized why she cried, they could do nothing more but show sorrow.

And as Rainbow cried and screamed in mental agony, the whole floor fell silent, while the others continued to peer on into the Emergency Room. Almost all of the doctors were ready to give up, one of the nurses even looking at a clock, ready to determine the time of death.

But the doctor that begged his patient to live again still did not give up. At some point, however, he stopped pumping his chest, and went with his one last resort: The Defib Unit. Grabbing the units from the nurse's hooves, he rubbed them together as quick as he could, and with a single, loud, stern, and final:

"CLEAR!"

He pressed them against his patient's chest. And as his body jolted into the air --- that was when his monitor began to beep. His chest began to expand and contract, and his mouth opened to let in the breath that was life itself. The girls, as they stood at the doorway, all watched in the room, their expressions turning into shock and disbelief. While they wanted to express the emotions they wanted to, they felt themselves unable to.

"We've got a pulse!" the doctor said, quickly putting the defib units away before adding, "Give him an oxygen tank, now!"

One of the doctors nodded, immediately heading towards the opposite side of the room, in a nearby storage container, to grab one of the few oxygen tanks stored inside. And after a few moments of basking in the relief that he saved his patient's life, he found his friends, his witnesses, staring at him. He saw many emotions just from their eyes---fear, relief, shock, horror.

But it was mostly a mixture of fear and relief. He too wanted to smile at them, as they had faintly done to them, but they didn't need to see anymore.

"Rider," he said to one nurse, "Please close those windows."

The nurse known as Rider nodded towards him and immediately walked over to the windows and covered them with a set of blinds. The five girls and Spike were now no longer able to see their friend.

But regardless of whether or not they could see him... he was alive.

Amidst the silent relief, Rainbow was still crying, likely not having heard the doctors at all. Twilight made her way away from the window and started walking over towards her friend. And without hesitating a single bit, she hugged Rainbow tightly and didn't plan on letting go. Rainbow wrapped her own arms around Twilight and brought her closer to her, hugging her tighter than Twilight had.

The unicorn felt Rainbow's head sink into her shoulder, her tears drenching her fur as they had done before. It was a scene that was very reminiscent of what had happened an hour prior, when death was not a fear.

After a couple of moments of Rainbow's cries, Twilight calmly quieted her friend. But this time, her words were different.

"It's okay --- he's alive... he's okay... He'll be okay."

And it seemed that, as Rainbow heard those very words---her grip on Twilight only grew. But at the same time, as her grip increased, her cries died down. And what replaced them seemed to be... laughter.

But it was not full on laughter. It sounded like a mixture of crying and laughing at the same time. It was like the mare wanted to cry, but at the same time, she wanted to laugh in relief or happiness. It was as if she was a mixed bag of emotions, and she didn't know which one to express the most, so she simply expressed them both.

So as the two of them sat down on that hospital floor, the sounds of crying filled the hallways.

But at the same time, so did laughter.

Eventually, the laughing and the crying stopped, and the six mares and the young dragon all returned to the waiting area, still empty, regardless of how much time had passed by.

At this point, there was nothing else for them to do. Nothing more except wait.

So the seven all stayed in the waiting area, never leaving except having to use the restroom, but only that. They all sat in the chairs, which seemed rather uncomfortable, in Rarity's opinion, and waited for anything to come up. While they waited, they did whatever they possibly could to make time go by faster.

But no matter what they had done, they stopped within just minutes, their bodies and minds still shaken up and wracked from before. But it seemed Rainbow had the worst of it. As the others played tic-tac-toe or read magazines, she just stared off into the distance, dry and wet tears still down her face, like she was frozen in time, or she was paralyzed. It took a few shakes of her body from Twilight to get her to come back to reality, but even then, she still felt numb.

An hour came and went, and Rainbow felt an odd feeling in her stomach. It was a feeling she was familiar with only rarely in her life, but when it came, she felt sick.

"I'll... I'll be right back," she said before making her way towards the restroom.

Twilight called her name, but that didn't stop her. Rainbow ran down the hallway, past a few patients and doctors, before ultimately making it to the restroom. Picking one of the five stalls that stood side by side, she got into the closet one, opened the toilet seat, got down onto her knees, and vomited chunks into the toilet, her sounds of retching and puking and crying echoing around the empty bathroom.

When the first wave of vomit fell into the toilet water, Rainbow coughed a couple of chunks into the seat.

"O... Oh---Oh f-"

Another wave came out mid-sentence. Her sounds would have been violent to anyone who heard it, but she wouldn't have cared anyway. As the contents from her stomach poured into the toilet, she had to put her hooves onto the seat to support herself, already having grown weak from just two waves.

And as she felt a third wave come on, she tried, with all the strength she had in her, to keep it down. But regardless of how hard she tried, it crept up on her, and before she knew it, she was blowing a third wave of chunks into the bowl.

By the time the third wave was finished, the bowl was already very full, a mixture of water and chunks of pizza from prior. Her stomach, now having been mostly drained of her food, was already beginning to growl slightly, now feeling empty.

No longer feeling the need to vomit any further, she weakly grabbed a bit of toilet paper from the nearby dispenser and began wiping her mouth. Once she had gotten all of it off, she threw the piece of toilet paper into the bowl and reached for the lever.

With a single pull, the tan liquid formed into a whirlpool, spinning all the contents within it down the toilet, before being replaced with a fresh set of clean toilet water.

But even after Rainbow felt better, she felt no need to leave the stall for the time being. Her mind wanted to go. But her body, being so weak, just wanted to stay. So she listened to her body instead, and slid down the stall wall, until she reached the floor. When she felt as comfortable as she could have been at the moment, she tried to take everything off her mind for now.

Closing her eyes, she let in a deep breath, the deepest she possibly could have. And with a clearer, more relaxed mind, she let it out. But then the tears came back to haunt her.

And for the while that she was in there, the only sounds that echoed through the bathroom were her cries. Only this time, there was no one there to hold her.

By the time Rainbow's sobs died down and she left the restroom, her friends had all fallen asleep. It had been more than an hour since the... thing.

It was really the only way Rainbow could possibly think of it. She really didn't want to think of it as 'the time her friend died'.

Not wanting to wake the others up, Rainbow gently flew her way over to a chair, any one of them, and carefully landed into it. She did admit that, while they weren't the most comfortable chairs in the world, it was no wonder her friends had fallen asleep so fast.

Getting into a position that she deemed as 'comfortable', she tried to get herself to doze off. At first, her attempts didn't seem to work, as didn't necessarily feel tired, regardless of how weak her body was or how dizzy she felt.

But after a couple of minutes, she felt her body begin to shut down. Her eyes grew weak and heavy, and she could feel herself slowly slipping into unconsciousness with every ticking second, as every fiber in her body slowly came to a halt.

Then with a close of her eyes, she was out like a light.

As quick as she had fallen asleep, Rainbow felt herself being shaken awake. She stirred and moaned as her brain began to reactivate. She extended her fore and hind legs, stretching them as far as they could go.

When her mind became as active as it could upon awakening, she started opening her eyes. Expecting Twilight or Applejack to be the ones shaking her awake, she found herself surprised---and somewhat worried---when she found herself staring directly at a doctor.

"...Huh?" Rainbow sluggishly replied.

The mare looked around, noticing that all of her friends were up or waking up like her. She looked back towards the doctor, a dark-tan looking unicorn with a doctor's coat around him, and asked who he was.

"I am Dr. Cobalt Nectar," the stallion responds calmly to Rainbow's appreciation. "I am the doctor currently taking care of your friend."

And then it dawned on Rainbow why he seemed so familiar to her. He was the one who saved his life. While she wanted to thank him for what he did---there would be time for that later.

Right now, she just wanted some answers.

"I...Is he okay?" she asks, her voice much more clearer upon recognizing the doctor.

The doctor's face is mixed, but mostly calm, clear, and serious. He nodded.

"For now, yes. We've managed to get him into a stable enough position, but---..."

Cobalt stopped midway, seeming unable to finish the sentence. He didn't seem pained by what he thought about, but he didn't seem to have the nerve to tell Rainbow.

"---But what?" the mare asked, not demanding an answer---but needing it.

A few times, Cobalt opened his mouth, seeming as if trying to tell her the answer, and at a point, he readily opened it, but before a word could get out, he turned his head away to look at the others. Seeing that they had all awakened, he turned back to Rainbow. He spoke in a louder sense, loud enough so that the others could hear him too.

"I think it's best that all of you hear this, so you can all properly deal with it."

"A-About what?" Fluttershy asks with concern to her voice.

"Is everything okay?" Spike called out. Once his voice was heard, he immediately started asking about his friend, his injuries... if he made it.

Cobalt turned towards the young dragon. While he didn't have a big smile on his face, there was indeed a faint one, one that was able to give Spike hope he was looking for.

"Your friend is okay. Surgery went extremely well. It was a difficult process, but---it went better than we had originally hoped."

Twilight stepped forward, asking, "How bad are the injuries?" her voice clearly containing worry within it.

And just from that question, the small smile Cobalt held faded to nothing, becoming nothing more than a frown. The doctor let out a sigh, which had worried the girls just a bit. Cobalt tightened up a bit, his face contorting as if disturbed.

"... In community terms --- This is the worst attack this city has ever experienced in nearly a century."

As shocked as they were on that news, they didn't add in anything.

"In personal terms --- They're quite severe."

The term 'severe' worried all of them, mostly Rainbow. Cobalt lifted his hoof containing a clipboard. Flipping the pages open, he began to read what appeared to be a list of their friend's apparent injuries. And every single mention worried them even further.

"By the time your friend arrived at the hospital, he had already lost more than half his blood. Had he arrived only minutes late, his chances of survival would have been impossible."

"How could he have lost so much blood?" Rarity asked.

Spike wanted to look at them odd, but then he remembered --- they don't even know what happened --- until Cobalt spoke.

"Your friend was... stabbed multiple times."

And as he mentioned the word 'stabbed', the girls' eyes went wide with horror, unable to properly comprehend what the doctor had just said. Rarity covered her mouth with a hoof.

But Rainbow... she was frozen.

"S... Stabbed?" Twilight said, finding the information difficult to take in.

"Yes," he inquired, "It's a miracle he managed to stay alive for so long---despite having lost so much blood. But that was mostly due to the areas in which he had been pierced. One of his wounds was just near his heart. One inch further to the left, and it would have killed him. Another wound was just under his right lung. A few centimeters further up, and the blood would have suffocated him."

While Rainbow was still frozen in her state of horror, even more worried as the doctor went into further detail on the wounds, Twilight asked Cobalt further of their friend's injuries. The doctor looked again at the clipboard, eventually flipping to the second page, where he listed out another set of injuries.

"Other than stab marks, his body appeared to be covered in bruises, signaling that he was in some sort of fight, likely prior to the stabbing." Looking towards Spike, he asked, "Correct?"

Spike, while still somewhat stunned---having remembered the event clearer than Cobalt had---nodded in assurance.

"His stab wounds will take quite some time to heal, a couple of months, at best. As for his bruises---they should heal up in a week at best."

But when the doctor's faint smile faded, so did Twilight's.

"However..."

The girls found themselves once again worried as he said that word. That single word always meant something more was wrong, or it was just worse. But they let Cobalt continue.

"Despite the stab wounds... those aren't the worst of his injuries."

Twilight's face grew with worried confusion. She just had to ask what he meant by that. But when she did ask, she noticed Cobalt's discomfort and---sadness on his face. He stared at her in a way that asked, 'Do you really want to know?'

Though he never said it vocally, Twilight still nodded slightly. And Cobalt didn't protest. Looking back to his clipboard, he flipped to the last page.

"During the assault --- your friend appears to have sustained mass blunt trauma to the left side of his head. From the X-Rays, it shows that his skull is fractured in multiple areas. as a result, his brain appears to have swelled significantly. This has built up pressure in his brain, or Cerebral Compression, if you will. But the---..."

Cobalt stops for a moment, trying to read over the next statements. The others stood anxiously, waiting for him. They knew he seemed troubled, and it only increased their worries.

After a few moments, Cobalt continued.

"The swelling of his brain has... Well... it has significantly pushed down onto his brain stem---As a result, his... his RAS---the part that allows him to be aware and aroused... it's been severely damaged."

The others, though the damages were worrying, were confused about the particular area.

"... RAS?" Applejack asked, worried, but more confused.

"The Reticular Activating System---It's the part of his brain that allows him to become --- aroused or... aware... to be awake."

While they were only now understanding the RAS, Twilight knew exactly what it had been.

"RAS?" Twilight asked.

Her face showed great worry and fear on it as she took a step further towards Cobalt. She could feel a tear form in her right eye, but she didn't bother with it.

"... You... You don't mean..."

But she could never finish the question. Cobalt, however, knew what she meant to ask. With a disappointed and saddened look, he gently nodded towards her. The others only wondered what they meant by it. Then with a clear, calm-sounding voice, he gave the diagnosis she feared.

"Your friend is in a coma."

And with those six words, there came silent and somewhat audible gasps between the seven of them. Rarity once again covered her mouth with a hoof. Fluttershy gasped silently, tears already beginning to form in her eyes. Applejack covered her mouth with her hat, trying not to cry, though it was quickly becoming impossible. Pinkie, having been silent for a majority of the time, was also on the verge of crying. Twilight could feel warm tears dripping down her cheeks, and her breathing became slightly ragged.

Spike could only stare in disbelief, only able to say, "... No..." as he too tried not to cry.

But things that went on in Rainbow's mind were perhaps worse than theirs. It was as if her entire world was falling apart in the course of a single night, and with each passing minute, it got worse and worse. But the fact that her friend was in a coma...

She felt her mind begin to rupture. Holding her head in her hooves, she sat down on one of the chairs, her face frozen in disbelief. But it wasn't just a look of disbelief. It was a look of guilt.

After a minute of silence had passed, Rainbow lifted her head from her hooves and looked towards Cobalt.

"Can we..." she paused for a second, trying to keep herself composed. "...Can we see him?"

Cobalt looked towards her as she asked the question. With a very faint and almost unnoticeable smile, he nodded towards the mare.

"Of course. Follow me," he said to all of them, before walking down the hallway.

Rainbow got up from her seat and stood near the other six, as they all followed Cobalt. Within just moments, they once more passed the ER. Of course, it was empty for now, but just looking through its windows only brought back some... bad memories.

Eventually, the group reaches the end of the hallway, to which Cobalt turns left. They follow him, which leads to a hallway with no turns at the end, only a window that looked outward to the streets below. Cobalt continued walking down the hallway, and the others continued following him. Eventually, they reached their friend's room, the last door at the end.

Before they entered the room, Rainbow was able to get a good look through the window. Peering into the sky, the sun was only just rising, signaling it was the early morning. As much as she hated mornings sometimes, It actually felt nice.

Looking down below, the streets were filled with pony folk, young and old, walking along the sidewalks and crossing the streets, others hailing cab wagons and going to work. Even from seventeen floors up, Rainbow could see everything clearly. But what she couldn't hear was anything.

The streets, though filled with life, were quiet from where she stood. Not a single murmur of screams or talking. It was very... quiet.

Just like he said.

With a twist of a knob and the click of the door, Rainbow turned around to see Cobalt slowly opening her friend's hospital door. He was the first to walk in, with them all following behind him.

The first thing they noticed was the room design. It was bland, as most hospital rooms were. The walls were a simple light-gray, with the occasional green line in the center of it. Rainbow only half expected Rarity to make a statement about the hospital's choice of 'fashion'. But not a word came out of her mouth.

Because that wasn't the thing they were focused on. He was.

Slowly, as they were soon to have done, Rainbow's eyes fell upon the center of the room. And there he was. Laying on the bed was her friend that, only a night ago, was awake, talking to her, and eating pizza with her at her hotel table.

Now here he was, laying in a hospital bed a night later, attached to a heart monitor, had an oxygen tank strapped to his face, and now, unwillingly, was unable to wake up.

Cobalt stepped aside and allowed the girls and Spike to walk their way over to the bed. Once they all stood beside it, they were able to get a better look at their friend. But the damage, though not as bad as it may have been prior, was enough to make a couple of them turn away not only in disgust, but sorrow. Rainbow was the only one who couldn't seem to look away. But the longer she looked at him---the more her eyes began to tear up.

His face was not really mangled, but it was heavily bruised and mostly bandaged. A respirator was plastered on the lower half of his face, allowing him to keep a steady amount of oxygen to his lungs. Being as careful as she could, she lifted the blanket upward, allowing her to have a closer look at his stab wounds. They were properly bandaged, wrapped around his body, and were durable in keeping blood from seeping through. As long as he didn't subconsciously panic, that is.

The heart monitor he was attached to kept a steady beeping pattern, showing that his heart was having no trouble functioning, despite a knife having nearly pierced it. Looking down slightly, Rainbow noticed his forelegs laying on the blanket that covered him, close to his sides. Being to his right of the bed, she gently took his right forelegs in her hoofs and carefully lifted it.

Then slowly, she began to shake it, as if doing so would wake him up, make him open his eyes and see her lying there. But no matter how long she waited, that moment never came. After ten seconds of gentle shaking, she let go of his foreleg and let it drop back to the bed, limp like a rag-doll.

She felt tears coming on, but she held them back; she didn't want to cry---Not now.

In the stillness and almost quietness of the room, Rainbow, without turning her head away from her friend, asked Cobalt, "...When will he wake up?"

And though she didn't see his face, she knew Cobalt was just as saddened as she was, but seemingly more disappointed.

With a sigh, he could only say, "...I don't know."

That wasn't the answer she wanted. Almost immediately snapping back at him, Rainbow asked in a frustrated manner, "How the hell can you not know?! You're a doctor, dammit! You know everything about him, how could you not know---!"

"Rainbow!" Twilight stopped the mare before she could go any further. Rainbow, having realized what she had done, stopped to Twilight's demand. She didn't apologize, but the look of sorrow and guilt on her face made up for it. But Cobalt only seemed more sorry for Rainbow than he did for himself.

Sighing again, he explained to the best of his abilities.

"The damage to his brain was more severe than anything we've ever dealt with... and I've worked at this hospital for nearly twenty years. For all we know, he could wake up in an hour, a day, a week, a month... a year. Or maybe it's not a question of 'when', but... whether he'll wake up at all."

The way he said it --- it chilled Rainbow to the bone. The thought that her friend could never wake up again scared her. She tried to knock that thought away, but it just came back again. And Cobalt wasn't finished.

"He's the only patient in this hospital --- maybe in this entire city --- who's suffered from severe brain damage. If he does wake up, he may never be the same."

Once the silence returned, Dash could only hear Cobalt's words play in her mind over and over as she looked upon her friend. All she wanted now, more than anything, was to hear him say something, see him do something. But no matter what---he was not going to wake up anytime soon, no matter how hard she wished it.

Suddenly, the sound of the intercom could be heard outside the hospital door, enough for them all to hear.

"Dr. Cobalt Nectar to Elderly Services, please," the feminine voice instructed.

As he sighed, not really in frustration or annoyance, but more along sadness---as if he didn't want to leave them---Cobalt flipped his clipboard to the front page.

"I'm sorry," he said to them all, "I need to check on some other patients of mine. I'll be back to check on you shortly."

With a quick 180 degree turn, Cobalt headed over to the door and walked out, leaving the six mares and the young dragon alone with their friend.

As the door closed, the room was once more silent, the only noise being the beeping of the heart monitor.

None of them moved for a good half a minute, their minds trying to comprehend everything that had happened in the span of a single night, not to mention the new information they only recently received.

When half a minute came and went, Spike eventually found himself walking further to the bed in order to get a closer look at his friend. When his eyes met his friend's face, he seemed---frozen. He couldn't say or do anything. All he did was just---stare.

But they could see the pain his eyes as he looked on, the pain that only grew until it began to push the salty tears from his eyes. His face was truly sad, even as he tried to hold it back. However---though the tears continued to flow from his face---his look of sadness and despair---quickly turned to that of frustration and anger.

But it wasn't towards his friend or Twilight or Rarity or any of them---not even himself.

It was towards Rainbow Dash.

"Spike...?" Twilight asked with worry, noticing her assistant's sudden change in emotion.

And without a single bit of hesitation---

---Spike snapped his head up at Rainbow Dash and screamed at her.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Rainbow quickly jumped slightly backwards from Spike's sudden outburst; even the others took a step back, also having been startled.

But before Rainbow or any of them could have the time to say anything, Spike continued to yell.

"IF YOU JUST CARED ABOUT HIM---ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT HIM AND SAID YOU WERE SORRY---HE'D PROBABLY BE BACK AT THE HOTEL AND OKAY, NOT LAYING HERE IN A HOSPITAL AND DYING! MY BEST FRIEND COULD DIE AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Dash was frozen from Spike's words and anger. She didn't know even how to react. She was, really, more afraid to.

Before Twilight could say anything to Spike or tell him to stop, the young dragon storms out of the room in a depressed fury, slamming the door behind him, causing all of them to flinch. Stunned from the outburst, it takes the mares a few seconds to react to Spike having left. Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy quickly run after Spike, hoping he didn't run off too far.

That left only Applejack, Twilight---and Rainbow standing in the room, Rainbow more or less sitting on the ground, having fallen from Spike's yelling. Other than the sound of a ticking clock on the wall and their friend's heart monitor still keeping a steady pace of beat, the silence was deafening.

"...Rainbow?" Twilight asked, noticing her friend having been 'frozen' in her state of shock.

But it wasn't long before that shock became realization. And it was then and there that Rainbow realized something.

Spike was right.

Chapter XIII: Different This Time

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 0: Prologue

Author's Note

This was a fantasy of mine that I wanted to turn into a story. It's changed a bit in its development, but I think it turned out pretty well.

Now before you read, don't judge the story off this chapter. This is just a prologue. Also, as a pre-reminder, I will admit that a couple of things in the next chapter might be a bit silly, but they aren't the main focus. Don't be discouraged if a chapter isn't to your liking. Trust me. ;)

Don't mind the shortness of this first chapter. Each chapter gets longer by a thousand or more words. One chapter is over 10,000, so yeah, enjoy the story. It was hell writing it, but more fun than hell. :)

Chapter 0: Prologue

Prologue

Morning was always the best part of the day, primarily for you. You never knew exactly why you seemed to love mornings more than everypony else. It was just how it was, and that was how you liked it.

The only dislike you had when the sun rose was when it would shine down on your face. Every once in a while, depending on whether not the sky was cloudy in the morning, you would find yourself waking up nearly blinded, your vision blurred only temporarily until you woke up completely...or in some cases, closed those cursed blinds.

But that was your only pet peeve with sunrise, and you didn't find it that bothersome. In honesty, at least it woke you up when you needed to....such as now.

Upon waking up and closing the blinds for what you could over-exaggerate as the millionth time, you rub your eyes gently with your hooves, yawning and taking in the morning air, before slowly letting out a big gust of breath. Once you were as relaxed as you possibly could be, you slowly got up from the comfort of your bed and sluggishly made your way into the bathroom to brush your teeth.

On your way to the door, you lift a hoof and aim to press a button on a radio. As your hoof makes contact with the button, the radio almost instantly comes to life, a female voice filling the bathroom with life.

"Hello everypony! This is PonyvilleFM with today's Ponyville news! I'm Sunny Beat with the latest!"

It was the same thing she would say every day, but you were quite used to it. In fact, you found it relaxing to hear. So as you applied toothpaste to your brush and began to lather your teeth with the minty freshness, you applied the radio to your ears.

For a good few minutes, it would give certain subjects a minute or two of discussion time; this would result from politics, to entertainment, to gaming. The Gaming topic was the one you hated the most, as it would always talk about the same game rather than every other game that exists.

'We get it. Fallout Equestria 4 is coming,' you say to yourself, but sadly, your request would never be heard, so you dealt with it.

You continue to brush your teeth for several more minutes, making sure you got every single tooth and corner. Spitting out the contents of your mouth into the sink to wash it down, Sunny Beat began to finish off her broadcast with a final statement.

"And for my final topic today: Ponyville's got a birthday coming up tomorrow! Tomorrow, Ponyville's very own Rainbow Dash will be turning 23! Let's give her a round of applause and wish her a happy birthday!"

Your ears perked up almost immediately at the sound of Rainbow Dash's name.

Then your eyes widened at the words, 'happy birthday'.

And you felt stupid for forgetting it for even a second.

Tomorrow was Rainbow Dash's birthday.

For a pony who doesn't know who Rainbow Dash really was, they would not care much at all about her birthday...well, not as much as YOU, of course.

But you were different from those other ponies.

You grew up and lived east, far from Ponyville, in the city of Chicacolt. You found it okay to live there, but recent political struggles there forced you to move out and leave the city before things would go from bad to worse.

After a few days on the road, you were already beginning to consider going back home. You figured that it would be better to eventually live in a run-down house than starve to death on the side of the road.

But then as you began to make your way back, you found yourself staring upon a billboard on the roadside. You did notice it, but upon walking by it, you only saw its backside until you turned around.

The billboard was of a small, quaint little village, the image bustling with life, the sky bursting with color, and big bold words plastered on the top and bottom of the image, seeming to advertise the village.

COME TO PONYVILLE!

WHERE FRIENDSHIP IS ALWAYS MAGIC!

It was cheesy advert text, but it was advertisement nonetheless.

And it hooked you.

The billboard alone grabbing your attention, you turn once more around in the direction you were originally heading. Not stopping for one moment, you continue forward for another day, maybe two, until you found yourself stepping into the same town that the billboard had promoted to you and any other passersby.

The first pony you met---and judging by others, the first pony everyone in town ever met---was Pinkie Pie, the town's dessert baker. The moment she met you, she blasted your face with questions about you, then statements about her own doing. Then after her endless, comma-less speech, she insisted that she threw a 'welcome to town' party just for you. Before you could even object to it, she was gone.

You spent your first day in town talking with ponies, getting to know some, and even making some best friends along the way.

And then...

You met her.

It was an occasional 'bumping into each other' kind of greeting, followed by an apology and the usual 'goodbye!'

Sure, you had done this same thing to several other mares over your life with no real connection between you and them, but for you, this bump was different. You didn't just shrug it off and walk away.

You watched her intently as she flew off, and just from that, your heart fluttered with joy.

It may have been wrong, but if love at first sight was wrong, you didn't want to be right.

You saw her again later that day at the party Pinkie had thrown for you at town hall. She recognized you instantly as 'that guy I bumped into today!'

The two of you sparked up a conversation just outside the town hall building. You remember talking for what felt like an hour before the two of you decided to head back to the party.

You did wish something more could have happened that night, but her becoming your best friend more than made up for it.

And tomorrow was her birthday.

You were baffled at yourself at how you managed to even forget that in the span of a single night, but luckily, Sunny Beat came on the radio just to remind you about it. And just thinking about it got you even more giddy for the rest of the day.

Once you were finished in the bathroom, you turned off the light and walked out, turning off the radio before heading downstairs to fix yourself some breakfast: The occasional peanut butter and jelly toast, with a pinch of hay to top it off.

But also milk, of course. You can never forget the milk.

As you made your toast, you turned on the kitchen radio and tuned it to the same station, now simply playing local music by the town DJ. Some of the songs were okay, but others didn't exactly click with you. Nonetheless, it was nice to listen to some music while having breakfast.

While you were a slow eater, it honestly didn't take very long for you to eat your toast, washing it all down with a cold glass of milk. Once finished, you carried your dirty dishes and placed them into the sink for later.

Pushing in your chair, you exit the kitchen and make your way into the living room. As you entered the room, you could already hear the outside world coming to life. In the distance, a bell rang, followed by a group of young fillies and colts chattering their way to school. A few adult ponies passed by each other every once in a while, greeting with the simple 'hello' and 'good morning'. And---no surprise---Pinkie Pie was already setting up shop in front of Sugarcube Corner, this time with a batch of cinnamon brownies.

However, you didn't care about cinnamon brownies at this very moment.

Your only focus today was surprising the mare of your dreams.

Today was planning day.

Regret
By
I Am The Night

Chapter I: Planning Day

Chapter I: Planning Day

Though it was still a bit early in the morning, almost ten o'clock, the town's market was full of life, with most of the ponies setting up their little shops, advertising their foods or whatever they had in store for the citizens. Sometimes, ponies would walk away, as they would have further business to attend to, but at other times, ponies would observe and either be intrigued or disappointed at what they found themselves looking at.

While you didn't exactly have a clear mindset on what to get Rainbow for her birthday, you were sure that you would find something worth buying for her, and you were sure that, whatever it was, she would like it.

But it really wasn't until you actually stepped hoof into the market that you even began to think of really what she would like.

Then that brought up an honest question: What does Rainbow like anyway?

The first automatic thought that came to your mind was, of course, the Wonderbolts. You were well aware of what exactly the Wonderbolts were, in full, endless detail. Every day, Rainbow would talk openly about them, talking about their 'daring performances' or their 'sick moves'.

You did see the show they performed a few months back, but while you didn't think they were 'extravagant', they were quite impressive, but they were never something you would dream about at night.

However, you never had a problem with Rainbow obsessing over them, and for a while, you considered getting her something commemoratively reminiscent of her famed heroes, like plushies or necklaces or even a book on their history---she would love that.

But a part of you wanted to buy her something even more special than small dolls. You considered buying her tickets, rather expensive ones, to one of their next shows. They were planning another show here in town in the next few months, and from what most were saying, it was one of their biggest shows yet: 'A 120 minute spectacle of the century,' some have called it.

You mostly knew of this from Rainbow paining over the fact that she didn't have the bits to purchase even one ticket, one of which was well over 1,000 bits.

While you did have some bits in the bank, it was not enough to purchase one of the tickets, and you felt guilty about it, but you made it a goal, maybe not today or tomorrow, but somehow, you would get those tickets for her, even if it meant selling a few things in your home.

Most of it was junk, anyhow.

The next topic Rainbow really loved was the Daring Do series. It was a series of books mainly revolving around a particular mare named Daring Do, who went on adventures across the world, discovering tombs and finding old treasures.

For a short while, by the way the stories were written, you had the assumption that the character was entirely fictional. But it wasn't until last year, on a trek to find A.K Yearling, the series writer, that you discovered that Yearling herself was the famed Daring Do.

You asked her at a point why she disguised herself. She never really gave a good explanation, but she did say that if ponies discovered her true identity, they would be at risk to her enemies. She did add that once her dangers were gone, then she would reveal herself, but for now, the only ponies that really know who she truly is was you, Rainbow, and the other Elements of Harmony.

And you let it stay that way.

For gifts that could be worth giving to Rainbow, there were really only plushies and books. As far as you knew, Rainbow didn't exactly like plushies, as they were 'too girly', and as much as Rainbow has bragged about the stories, she essentially has every book that Daring---or is it Yearling?---has ever published.

...

...Well...maybe not every book...

12:30 PM

'Borrowing' a few bits from the bank, you hopped your way onto a train and made your way to Galloping Gorge. To your surprise, it took only a few short hours to arrive to the destination. You were always confused at spans of distances in Equestria. Places that were miles away would take a day or two to reach, but in other cases, farther places would take just a mere few hours. You assumed that it was because of the design of the train tracks, how much they curved or twisted about, but you didn't ponder on it too long.

Once you arrived at the train stop nearest to Galloping Gorge by noon, you began to walk the rest of the way there on hoof. Once you made your way to the forest to the west, you began to cut your way through.

Well, that was rather a lie. You were slapped quite a lot by branches, but luckily, they weren't big enough to cause much harm to your face or...other parts.

But after a good few minutes cutting corners and trying---and failing---to avoid branches, you finally make your way to a small open and isolated area. For the first time in several minutes, you could once more feel the sunlight as it shone down on you.

The area around you consisted of an open grassy area with few bushes; nothing too special. But the one thing that stood out the most in your view was the small cottage not more than twenty hooves in front of you.

Almost instantly, you recognized the cottage as Yearling's---or Daring's---home.

Seeing as how a year has passed since you last saw her, you'd assume her house would be prim and proper.

But it's not.

In fact, it's as if it had been pilaged. Again. Furnature was scattered around the outside, a window was smashed in, and the door was entirely ripped from its hinges.

Upon walking inside, you are given a view of devastation, with furnature toppled over and glass scattered around the broken window, but interestingly, it isn't as bad as last year. You assume this is likely the work of that...enemy of hers. What was his name again? 'Something' Ziti?

You can't remember, but honestly, you didn't care.

"Who are you?" a voice calls out to you from behind.

Upon turning around, you are greeted with none other than Daring Do, who was mixfully confused and suspicious on your doing here.

Before any awkward suspicion could really take hold, you explain to her who you were and that the two of you had met before, reminding her of last year's events.

As she ponders and remembers of the event, her face almost immediately beams into a smile of relief as she begins to recognize you.

"Oh, that's right! You're Rainbow Dash's friend!" She says your name and questions if it was correct, to which you reply that she said it right.

Daring then suddenly apologizes about the mess, claiming it was from another attack by Ahuizotl---as she had pronounced to you---and his so-called henchponies.

"You don't need to worry about this stuff, anyway. I'll clean it up later...*sigh*...until he attacks again, that is," she said in a bored, but disappointed tone.

Putting away her frown and lifting a smile again, she looks towards you and asks, "So, what can I do for you?"

For a moment, you nearly forget why you were even here to begin with, but upon remembering, you begin to explain the story.

"Well, uh...well...you see...it's Rainbow's birthday tomorrow, and-"

"It is?" Daring sparks up with surprise plastered onto her face.

"Yeah. I've been spending the morning trying to find her a gift, but...well, I haven't exactly had much luck...or money."

Daring takes your words into understanding, but the confusion remains upon her face.

"And? What did you come to me for?"

You thought of your coming sentence in your head, but you tried to make it not sound rude or forceful.

"Well...seeing as how you're her idol, I was wondering if...you had a copy of your next book for me to give her."

You, upon finishing your sentence, smile sheepishly, patiently waiting for her response. Daring, at first, rubs her chin with a hoof, as if thinking about one of two things: Having a copy, or considering giving you one.

This pose of hers only seemed to last for a few moments before her face clicked with realization and excitement.

"Yyyes! In fact, I DO remember having a copy somewhere! Let me go check! Just---make yourself comfortable, if you can."

Daring Do makes her way upstairs to the second floor, but you don't follow her. Instead, you sit down on the nearby couch, which had been moved quite a bit from its original spot, now positioned closer to the broken window. A few pieces of glass were on one of the cushions, so you brushed them off before sitting down.

As you 'make yourself comfortable,' you find yourself looking about the living room. While some of the things in the place had been moved about and busted, others were intact and left untouched, and it gave you a sense of what the living room normally looks like. You always wondered why Daring had such a small cottage, but you assumed that it was to be less 'visible', in a way.

Just above you, you can hear the sound of shuffling hooves and papers flapping about, with Daring going 'Aha!' A few moments later, the khaki mare clops her way down the steps once more, carrying in her saddle the supposed final draft copy of her upcoming book.

"Here," she says as she stands just beside you. Grabbing the book out of the satchel, she doesn't exactly give it to you right away, but begins to say, "This may be the final copy, but it isn't the FINAL copy. There's a couple of errors here and there, but nothing too serious. Don't forget to tell her that, alright?"

"Sure," you nod.

She smiles a bit and holds the book out to you, to which you grab it. This book had a different texture to it from the rest. With the book in your hooves, you begin to do the motion to put the book in your own satchel, but to your own unintended stupidity, you realize that you had forgotten it back home.

Daring notices this right away and tells you not to worry about it. You assumed that she would walk upstairs or in the kitchen and grab a spare satchel, but instead, she takes off her own satchel and gives it to you.

At first, you're surprised at the sudden 'gift', and you ask her if she'll be needing it, to which she responds:

"Nah. I've got a lot more where this came from. Besides...I've got a feeling she'll like this present just as well."

You thank her with a smile for the satchel, to which you put it on and place the book snuggly inside. Daring asks if that was all you came here for.

"Yes, pretty much. I'm sure she'll be glad to know where these came from."

"Just make sure nopony else finds out, alright? At least, for now?"

You nod in agreement with the mare. Upon getting up from the rather comfortable couch, you begin to bid her goodbye with a hug. During the short hug, Daring reminds you to say hi to Rainbow for her. You make it a promise to do so. Once you two pull away from the hug, you begin to walk out, with Daring waving to you and yelling, "Bye!"

As you walk away from the house, you look back to Daring, who has stopped focusing on you and was now focused on the pieces of scattered furnature around her. You even hear a faint grunt of annoyance.

With book in satchel and satchel on body, you begin to make your way back home.

After another couple of hours, you finally make your way back to Ponyville, with nopony seeming to notice that you were gone.

To you, that was a good thing.

At this point, it was nearly 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and while you had known it for a little while, it still surprised you how fast time was flying by. Luckily, for you, there was still enough time---lots of time, in fact---to get the remaining gifts you intended to get this morning.

With the book in your care, you were able to cross that off your short list.

Now the only thing left was really the tickets.

You knew this was going to be the hardest gift to get.

Sneaking your way back home and making sure that you didn't come across the soon-to-be birthday girl, you take the satchel and book and bring them upstairs to your bedroom, making sure they were away from any windows, should she "accidentally" come across them.

Once they were secure and hidden, you begin to let out a sigh of relief. However, not only were you relieved that you got at least one of the gifts for Rainbow, but you were also mentally and physically exhausted from the travelling and simply thinking---and the branches.

Right now, you just wanted to lay down and relax, at least for a little bit.

And you did exactly that.

And you regretted it. Dearly.

You awoke with a slight stur. At first, the wake-up was quite relaxing. The stretching, the yawning. The flexing.

It was like the morning all over again.

And then you looked outside. And you nearly panicked.

The sun was already beginning to dip below the horizon, signaling that the day was quickly coming to an end. You took a peak at the clock on the stand beside your bed. It was almost 8 o'clock already.

You had been sleeping for nearly five hours. You were only planning on resting for at least a good hour, not almost five.

'Maybe there's time,' you think to yourself.

Without much hesitation---other than still trying to wake yourself up---you nearly sprint your way downstairs, past the living room, and once more out your front door. However, you did not hesitate to lock the front door. Once you were sure that your house was secure, you begin to make your way towards the town bank. You weren't entirely sure how much time you had left before the bank were to close for the day, but you hoped you weren't too late.

There was really only one way to make sure.

And the outcome was NOT what you wanted.

As you approach the Ponyville Bank building, you arrive just in time to watch as the bank's owner shut off the lights inside the building and locked the front doors.

'Nononono,' you say in worry and frustration.

You were hoping you were just seeing things, but sadly, it was not the case.

You watched with disappointment as the owner finished locking the front doors and walked away, keys in hoof, whistling an unfamiliar tune. Looking up, you stared at the eyesore of a sign.

Ponyville Bank
Money Well Saved!
8AM-8PM

After a few moments, the sign instantly powers down.

Lowering your head, you sigh in frustration, angry with yourself.

'The one time I take a nap,' you think.

As you lift your head back up, you begin to take a look at your surroundings. While the town was still quite alive---it was only 8 o'clock, after all---some ponies were already beginning to take down their shops and head home, while others were still walking along and talking with each other, some even heading down to the nightclub for a bit of nightly fun.

But you didn't care about the nightclub. You cared about those damned tickets.

You mind was filled with several thoughts, and out of those many thoughts, only one came out in words.

"...Now what?"