Trixie was worried. She was watching Sunset's stream, and just saw Flanksy run off to check out a literal gunfight. She knew that Sunset might not be Flanksy herself, but just the thought of Sunset running off to watch a gunfight worried her. She wasn't exactly popular, and she knew why. Not many people could deal with her ego, and Sunset was one in a million. So she watched Retna as he ran to his point. He was minorly complaining about Flanksy knowing so much about them, but more often he was looking towards where the gunshots came from.

He painted quickly, and Flanksy was proven spot on. A sexy angel, her wings burning as she held a blank ball in her hands. Retna shuffled, and Trixie heard him speak. "Well, since Flanksy can't introduce her new little toy, I will. She was apparently playing breaking bad and made us some new paint. Tell us what you think in the post-show, aight?" And Trixie let out a breath as the paint hit. A rainbow. Not just a static thing, but a moving, breathing sphere of color that seemed to shift and change according to the whims of fate. Trixie was spellbound as Retna cut the feed. She sat in silence for five minutes, rewinding the stream just to watch the colors shift, over and over again.

She would have sat there for hours, simply watching paint change colors on its own, but the stream was cut. With a spiel of laughter, the scene abruptly shifted to what looked like a closed rooftop cafe. She heard Mouse. "Man, Flanksy's new paint kicks ass, really added some pop to my work."

She heard Feint's cheery voice pop up. "Yeah yeah, if Flanksy doesn't show up soon then we'll-"

Suddenly a door was heard, and Retna jumped up. "Everybody, camera's down, we've got an issue!"

Most of the runners threw their camera's face down into the middle of the group, but Mouse instead stared in horror as Brainwash ran off screen. Trixie switched the feed as quickly as she could, and flinched. Flanksy was shot. Torn flesh and seeping blood coating her left shoulder, her mask cracked in half revealing a grimacing face. She was leaned back in a chair, which was slowly getting coated in her blood. She was telling Feint something and was handed a small syringe. After staring at it for a moment she jammed it into her shoulder. The scream pierced her speakers, and Trixie's blood froze. That was Sunset. She might not have ever heard Sunset scream, but she recognized the voice. Sunset looked to Mouse, and then stared into the camera. She said something else, but it was said so quickly and quietly Trixie couldn't make it out. Mouse turned around and ran to the main area, stopping at the laptop on a table. "Okay, so uh... Trix, if you’re watching comment on our feed." Trixie quickly posted a quick message, saying she was here, and Mouse physically relaxed. "Good, look, Flanksy needs you. Head to her place. There's a key hidden in a hole at the top left-hand side of her door. She said the couches end table had an old flip phone inside it. Grab it and call the nurse. She said to say money is no object." Trixie nodded, heading out of her room. "Grand-père, I need a lift! NOW!"

***

Rainbow Dash limped up to Fluttershy's small house, trying to keep her thoughts in order. She had known Sunset was guilty. But, she had also known Sunset was a wimpy nerd like Twilight, trained by some princess to be a career nerd. Rainbow stumbled on the gravel path. She also knew a bookworm doesn't know how to counter a kick into a picture perfect ankle break. Rainbow Dash wasn't stupid, in fact when it came to any of her favorite subjects she was quite smart. In a fight, to do a counter like that took more than most people's natural ability. That was the result of both practice and use. Someone who had fought before, and on a much more serious level than sparring. The only time she slowed down was when the hold was locked, and that was after Rainbow started to feel the tension that would break her ankle and ruin her chances of a scholarship. As she reached the door she spoke. "Sunset had to stop herself from hurting me. She was so used to beating people to a pulp that she had to physically stop herself."

Rainbow chewed her lip as she knocked, waiting for Fluttershy. It only took a moment before the butter skinned girl answered. She seemed to glare at Rainbow a moment before her expression softened. "What the matter Rainbow? Weren't you going to meet that guy you were asking out today?"

Rainbow grimaced. "Nah, he had to cancel, one of his friends got in a spot of trouble. I was going for a run in the woods and ran into a spot of trouble." She gestured to her ankle. "Think you can check it out doc? I think it's sprained."

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, sit down out here and let me get my first aid kit."

Rainbow smiled and sat down in the wicker chair, leaning back. Her head was still full of questions. Sunset could fight. This was now a fact. Rainbow didn't run from cold hard facts. Sunset also said to trust her heart, but what could her heart say? There was evidence Sunset was Anon-A-Miss. No one else had that picture, and Applejack’s dumb nickname didn't get out until Sunset knew. Sure, Applejack’s whole family knew, but they would never rat her out. Rainbow winced as she tapped her foot. She hated her nervous habits. She grumped in her seat, a sour expression on her face. All of their friends knew that nickname, but they were pretty much family. Rainbow suddenly sat up straight, just as Fluttershy came out and softly placed a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. She pushed her back into her seat and pulled a small stool up to sit on. "Okay, Dash put your foot on my knee."

Rainbow Dash did so, and Fluttershy blanched. "RAINBOW, THERE’S BLOOD ON THIS BRACE!"

"What?"

She carefully peeled the brace off and gave a quick sigh of relief. She lifted the leg, examining it. "Well, you're not bleeding, so that's good. Where'd you get this anyways? I know you don't keep one in your car."

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "Sunset gave it to me."

Fluttershy quirked her head, "Really, I thought you threw out everything Sunset gave you when Rarity did."

"Er, she gave it to me today." Fluttershy silently lifted Rainbow’s ankle, looking it over with gentle movements before placing it on the floor. Then she leveled an extremely judging glare right at Rainbow, knowing that she was very adept at decoding the sometimes tricky silent looks Fluttershy could give. "Yeah, I was looking for her..." Fluttershy crossed her arms, and Rainbow nodded. "And I may have thrown a punch..."

Fluttershy moved from a judgemental glare to an angry one. "Rainbow Dash, she's been through a lot, even if you think that-"

Her sentence was cut off when Dash leaned in. "I think Sunset's innocent."

Fluttershy stared for a moment. Rainbow felt awkward during it, with Fluttershy not showing any of her normal nonverbal cues. After the moment dragged on for just a bit too long, Fluttershy spoke. "Why?"

Rainbow sighed. "She can fight Flutters. And not like me, she can fight and brutalize somebody without a second thought." She ran a finger through her hair, trying to marshal her thoughts. "And I never knew that. Hell, I would have bet she didn't have a clue how to fight."

Rainbow hauled her leg back into her lap, grabbing the brace from the floor. "And if I didn't know she could fight, I didn't know anything. But despite all that, I agreed with Applejack when she called her family." Rainbow Dash's fist clenched. "I thought she was family and threw her aside without listening to her side of the story at all."

Fluttershy wrapped Rainbow up in a small hug. "I know Rainbow, I did the same thing." Rainbow froze. If Fluttershy said that, she thought Sunset was innocent too. Rainbow returned the hug. Everything else could wait for a moment. For now, she just wanted some comfort, and Fluttershy was good at that.

Author's Note

Edited by kitkataddel, posted 2/16/19