I

Rainbow Dash really wished she could have some cider right now.

It was barely sunset, and the normally energetic Rainbow Dash was completely exhausted. Her tongue was stuck out as she flew to the mess hall for dinner and some (non-alcoholic) refreshment.

“Race ya to the mess hall, Rainbow Dash!” The Barrel twins suddenly called out.

“Oh crud,” she muttered. Rainbow Dash quickly put her tongue back in her mouth. And with that, she mustered up her last bits of energy to race the 500 meters to the mess hall. She couldn’t lose to them. Or at least, she had to give them a fair race and not bail out on them.

After all, Pickle Barrel and Barley Barrel were the reason that Rainbow Dash had volunteered to run this year’s 8-week-long Junior Speedsters Flight Camp in Cloudsdale. She regretted leaving Hope Hollow so soon, and wished she could spend than just a few days with the twins. Of course, there would be talk if Rainbow Dash had become the twins’ “private tutor.” So instead she invited the two of them to join about 20 other young fliers at the camp.

Spitfire left Rainbow Dash in charge of camp recruitment. The applicants each entered a private room. The interview took about 15 to 20 minutes. A nurse would examine their physical strength. Rainbow Dash, who sat at the recruitment table, was given a profile sheet for each applicant. She would read over the paper, and ask some questions relevant to it. For example “So it says here you saved your village from a major drought. Could you tell me more about that?” Discipline issues were also brought up, such as “So it says here you shoved a fellow classmate off a cloud. Could you explain that to us?”

Although the applicants were supposed to enter one by one, the Barrel Twins insisted on entering together—they were practically inseparable. The other camp coordinators were even more insistent, but Rainbow Dash let them come in together. She barely skimmed their profile sheet, and she didn’t ask them any probing questions. She just smiled at the lovely twins, who were practically glowing in the sunlight shining through the window, and declared, “Welcome to Junior Speedsters Camp.” Their interview took less than 5 minutes.

The Barrel twins landed in front of the mess hall. “We beat ya, Rainbow Dash!”

“Nice job, guys!” Rainbow Dash said, trying to conceal her panting. She was really exhausted now. “Y’know, if you two hadn’t been arguing with each other, you’d have beaten me by an even bigger margin.”

“Well Barley here keeps getting in my way,” Pickle Barrel said.

“No you keep getting in my way!” Barley replied, her eyebrows deeply furrowed.

“Didn’t we agree we were going to do that S-shape swerve at the end?”

“No, I didn’t—”

“Guys, guys, settle down!” Rainbow Dash chuckled. They wasted so much energy arguing at each other. If only she could harness it somehow.

“I’m not settling down, Rainbow Dash! Pickle ruined us at the obstacle course today! He missed his turn and pushed me off course! Because of that, that stupid Wind Sprint came in first instead of us!”

As Rainbow Dash saw today, the Barrel Twins were truly excellent fliers, passing through all the obstacle courses with flying colors. The only creature in the camp who could truly match up was Wind Sprint, the pegasus Rainbow had met at the buckball tournament a year ago, and who was Quibble Pants’ stepdaughter. Watching Wind Sprint fly, Rainbow Dash could tell that she was really in a league of her own. The Barrel Twins are excellent, but Wind Sprint’s insane. She’s gonna give me a run for my money once she grows up. Not that Rainbow Dash would ever admit this out loud.

“Screw that Wind Sprint. We’re gonna kick her flank next time!” Pickle said to his sister.

“Yeah! We’ll get her good!” Barley agreed.

“Hey, wait a sec, Barley. You said I nudged you off course, I never did that!”

“You did!” Barley replied.

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Did to—”

“QUIET!” Rainbow Dash finally silenced the two talkative foals.

The twins didn’t seem least bit hurt by her angry yelling. “Rainbow Dash, you get it, don’t you? You have a sister don’t you?”

“Well…actually I’m an only child.” And spoilt rotten she was, like any only child.

“Wait, what about that orange and purple pony that’s always with you? Isn’t she your sister?”

There was no way Rainbow Dash could’ve run the camp all by herself. Even though the now-teenaged Scootaloo still couldn’t fly, she did well as the camp’s assistant counselor, helping with bed checks, dealing with discipline issues, and so on.

“Ah, well, Scootaloo and I not really biological sisters, but I’ve looked after her since she was a little filly. We’re kind of like godsisters I guess.” Rainbow Dash happened to glance back. “Speak of the devil, it’s her.”

Scootaloo came out from the mess hall. “Rainbow Dash, you better come quick. Wind Sprint’s getting teased again by those colts. I managed to get the bullies to apologize to her but I think you need to go talk with her. She seems hurt.”

“Erm…well…okay.” Rainbow Dash left the twins reluctantly. “You two go on in and get dinner. I’ll catch up with you later.”

She looked back as Barrel and Barley made their way into the mess. She wanted to shout, “Remember to wash your hooves first!” but reasoned that they probably couldn’t hear her.

II

Rainbow Dash talked with Wind Sprint, after which she went back to her regular cynical, eye-rolling self. “And erm, really good job at the obstacle course today,” Rainbow said.

“Ah, sheesh, it was nothing,” Wind Sprint said, rolling her eyes. “Now, can you tell those two down the table to stop hogging the hot sauce?” For a foal her age, Wind Sprint really liked hot sauce. Most of the campers just used it to prank each other or draw funny faces.

“Hey, can I have the hot sauce please?” Wind Sprint went over to ask.

Pickle and Barley Barrel were drawing funny faces on their plates with it. “Wait a sec, we’re not done yet,” they said.

“You’re not even eating it. It’s against the rules to play with food.”

“Rainbow Dash!” they called out. “Wind Sprint’s bothering us!”

Rainbow Dash came over. “Heh, that face looks the funniest,” she pointed at the plates. She let the twins draw a few more funny faces. They shared a good laugh. Wind Sprint hovered impatiently behind them. She simply rolled her eyes when Rainbow Dash finally gave her the bottle.

III

After that matter was settled, Rainbow Dash joined Scootaloo at the counselor’s table to eat her own dinner. “How’re you feeling, Dash?” Scootaloo asked.

“Tired. I didn’t think taking care of kids would be so damn exhausting,” she said quietly, making sure the campers wouldn’t hear her profanity.

“Me too,” Scootaloo said. “I feel so old. I can’t believe that I’m only a few years older than most of them. I feel like a fucking parent.”

“I dunno if I could stand raising a kid,” Rainbow Dash thought out loud. “Well, hey, if I can take care of 20 kids here, 1 or 2 should be a piece of cake,” she reasoned.

“They’re not your children, you know. They’re your students. There’s a huge difference.”

“I…I…oh.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t think of what to say.

Scootaloo smirked. “You’re looking at them again, aren’t you?”

“Who?” Rainbow Dash pretended to be oblivious.

“Them. Those two…what’s their names again? Cucumber Barrel and Rice Barrel?”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “It’s Pickle Barrel and Barley Barrel. There’s only 20 campers, can’t you at least remember their names?”

“I know their names, Rainbow Dash. I was just testing you.” She giggled. “You really like them, don’t you?”

“They’re really sweet foals.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes glazed over, so much so that Scootaloo waved her hoof in front of her face. Even though Rainbow Dash was a full-grown mare, she used to always scoff at the thought of having foals. A family just was never part of her life plan.

Rainbow watched the twins eating dinner together. Barley pushes the plate of leftover peas to her brother. Pickle pushes it back. They start teasing each other. Pickle snatches Barley’s beanie. Now they’re tickling each other. They’re giggling. Now they’re playing with their food. Pickle makes fangs with the hay fries. Barley draws funny faces with the hot sauce.

Suddenly, she heard Scootaloo’s voice. “Hey! You two!” the assistant counselor yelled. “No playing with food allowed!”

At that moment, Rainbow Dash hated Scootaloo.

IV

The campers had all improved their flying skills on the second day. Scootaloo had to prep the mess hall for a special guest that night (Spitfire from the Wonderbolts and her signature “full body wing and hoof cast drinking through a straw” motivational speech). This left Rainbow Dash on her own to run today’s obstacle course.

Rainbow Dash shaped a brand new, more challenging obstacle course with the clouds. It featured 20 hoops, weaving in a up-down snake-like path. “The vomit comet,” Rainbow Dash called it, for it often caused fliers to throw up due to the up-down jerking movement.

Wind Sprint came in first as usual (without throwing up once), beating the Barrel twins by a good 30 seconds. The twins saw her cross the finish line ahead. Barley nudged Pickle. “Hey look! That Wind Sprint beat us again!”

“Well it was nothing to with me!” Pickle replied. And they started arguing.

Rainbow Dash watched them tease each other after the race. “I beat you,” Pickle said. “No, I beat you,” Barley said. And so they went, back and forth. They tickled each other, and they fell on their backs, giggling together.

“Nice job, guys,” she said as the approached the twins.

Barley took off her goggles. “Aww, it was nothing, Rainbow Dash. Just another job well done from your one and only Junior Wonderbolts!”

Rainbow Dash shushed them. “I told you, don’t say that nickname in public!”

Spitfire always prided herself for keeping her job as Wonderbolt captain separate from her personal life. So, if she ever found out Rainbow Dash had favoritism for the Barrel twins…she’d never hear the end of it. She could even get kicked out of the Wonderbolts. Legit.

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash,” the twins muttered. “We forgot. We’re not worthy of your respect.”

“Aww, nonsense. It was an honest mistake. Well, now you kids run along and get some water. Training resumes in 15 minutes,” Rainbow said, remembering Spitfire’s professionalism.

Rainbow Dash watched as Wind Sprint jumped on a cloud, squeezing some fresh rainwater into a bucket. She saw the Barrel twins pee in the bucket while Wind Sprint wasn’t looking. Wind Sprint dunked her head inside to take a big gulp, and she immediately spit it out.

The other campers still hadn’t finished the course yet, so they didn’t see what was going out. Rainbow Dash was standing at a distance, and could barely make out what the three young foals were saying.

“Now who’s the loser?” she thought she heard Barley Barrel say to Wind Sprint. And then the twins poured the entire bucket of pee-tainted water over Wind Sprint’s head.

Rainbow Dash chuckled at their pranks. She knew that in front of foals their age, Barley and Pickle were a naughty bunch. They reminded her a bit of her pranking days a few years ago. Or the boy bullies that Rainbow Dash raced against back when she was a camper herself. Admittedly, they were a little mean to her and Fluttershy a couple times…okay, several times…okay, all the time…but, they were only foals, right? And it was all in good fun, was it not? Sure.

Rainbow Dash wanted to approach the twins and reprimand them for that little prank, but…she wasn’t sure exactly what she heard. And for all she knew, Wind Sprint may be a good sport when it came to cute little pranks. After all, she was a sort of tomboy character, from what she had seen of her.

But most of all, Rainbow Dash noticed the two Barrel twins and their lovely faces as they laughed…and her last bits of professionalism crumbled away.

She took a step back and chuckled softly. “Th-the little rascals,” she muttered to herself, hesitating slightly.

Rainbow Dash left to check on how Scootaloo was doing with the preparations. On her way, she noticed Wind Sprint sitting slouched on a cloud, her mane dripping wet, and her eyes downcast. For a moment she thought she was crying, but Rainbow Dash realized it was probably just the wetness of her mane.

V

It was the second night at camp. After showering, all the campers settled into their beds. Barley and Barrel shared a bunk near the back wall of the dormitory. The 4 hippogriffs in the camp shared 2 adjacent bunks, while the 2 griffons in the class slept on opposite ends of the dorm. (Things like dormitories and restrooms are mixed in Equestrian society. Since nocreature really wears clothes in daily life, it never seemed to be an issue.)

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo settled into their bunk at the very back of the dormitory. Lights out was supposed to be 10 o’clock, but Rainbow Dash was so tired out that she changed it to 9 o’clock. She fell asleep almost right away.

It was in wee hours of the morning when there was suddenly a very loud voice. Scootaloo was a much lighter sleeper and woke up first. She went to wake up Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash…” she whispered. “Do you hear something?”

Rainbow Dash noticed the sound immediately. “It sounds like…crying.”

“More like moaning, I think?”

Rainbow Dash had a dirty thought and smirked. “You don’t think…?”

“Eww! No! Yuck!” Scootaloo had dated quite a bit in recent years. Yet she couldn’t bear the idea of someone 3 years younger than her actually going out on a date and…doing it. She was curious about what it felt like. She was a virgin herself. It seemed that she could never get that far in any of her relationships. Sweetie Belle blamed it on the fact that she looked too “butch.”

“I’ll bet it’s the twins,” Rainbow Dash said, continuing her dirty thought.

“The twins—EWW! NO!”

“Shh! Not so loud! You’re gonna awake up everycreature!”

“How can you even think that, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo lowered her voice. “That’s incest! That’s gross!”

“Well…we don’t have any right to judge them if that’s the case. You know how close they are to each other.” Pickle and Barley’s parents were not around very often, so they often took care of themselves and leaned onto each other for support.

“Well, my parents are hardly around too,” Scootaloo said. “But you don’t see me coming to your place and having sex with you!”

“Eww!” Rainbow Dash said instinctively. “With you? No, that’s gross.”

“Exactly!” Scootaloo genuinely took the rejection as a compliment.

They could still hear the crying/moaning. Rainbow Dash pulled out a lantern and they went to investigate. They walked slowly down the dormitory. They could hear the cries getting louder as they walked.

Rainbow Dash shone the light on the Barrel Twins’ bunk. They were fast asleep, their clothes hanging on the bed rails. Barley’s beanie and goggles were hanging on one bed post. Pickle’s were hanging on the other bed post. They didn’t snore. They smiled as they slept. They breathed in sync with each other. Ever so lightly. Rainbow Dash smiled a loving smile. They were so adorable.

“Rainbow Dash, if you’re done gazing at your ‘little friends,’ why don’t you get a move on so we can figure out where the noise is coming from?”

Rainbow Dash was jolted. “Oh! Right, sorry, Scootaloo. Let’s go.”

They found Wind Sprint out of her bunk. She was sitting in the corner of the dormitory, curled up into a ball, crying. Rainbow Dash couldn’t imagine her crying so much. When she first met her and Quibble Pants, she seemed like such a tough young filly. It seemed as if that was just a front.

“Hey, Wind Sprint. Why’re you crying?” Rainbow Dash whispered.

Wind Sprint curled up even tighter.

“It’s okay, Wind Sprint. It’s just me, Rainbow Dash. You can tell me.” She stroked Wind Sprint’s mane to try to comfort her.

Wind Sprint flinched. She slapped Rainbow Dash’s wing away. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” she yelled out, spraying her saliva into Rainbow Dash’s eye. Rainbow Dash quickly shone the lantern back the Barrel Twins’ bunk. Phew. They’re still fast asleep.

“I’ll deal with this, Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo approached Wind Sprint. “Heya, little Sprint. It’s me, Scootaloo. D’you wanna tell me what’s the matter?”

“I wanna go home,” the young filly muttered.

“Those colts won’t bully you anymore. I promise.”

“No. It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s been happening all day, really…but something really bad happened. In the shower. After dinner.”

Scootaloo felt her heart sink. “Wh…what happened, Sprint?”

Wind Sprint mumbled the whole story to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. “And they wouldn’t stop touching me…down there. And laughing at me the whole time.”

“Who…who was it that did this to you?”

“There were two of them.” Wind Sprint grabbed the lantern from Rainbow Dash and flew over to one of the bunks in the dormitory. She shone the lamp and pointed. “It was them. The two of them.”

“No…no way,” Scootaloo muttered. Rainbow was unusually silent.

Wind Sprint pointed at Barley Barrel and Pickle Barrel. The two of them were still fast asleep despite all the noise. Fast asleep…and grinning.

VI

“No way, Rainbow Dash.”

“Why would we do such a thing?”

“Of course,” Rainbow Dash replied to the twins. It was the next morning. “I dunno why she accused the two of you.”

“We’d never hurt our friend like that. I mean, she’s our rival, for sure. But we’d never stoop to something like that, knowing that we’d disappoint you.” They were smiling.

Rainbow Dash just couldn’t imagine the Barrel twins would do such a horrible thing to Wind Sprint. They were so…young. And the way that they gazed upon Rainbow Dash, with a full smile and eyes lit with admiration for their idol…there was no way it could be the two of them. “I’m sure you would never,” Rainbow said. “But anyway, I just had to ask. Procedure, y’know.”

“We understand. You’re just doing your job. Any great pony like you would do the same.” The twins smiled and nodded in unison. They were still grinning. It was starting to seem awkward.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, by the way,” Barley asked. “Is…erm…is Wind Sprint going to be sent home?”

That morning, a nurse came and after a thorough examination didn’t find any sign of physical trauma on Wind Sprint. Although she concluded that Wind Sprint was undoubtedly suffering from “deep emotional strain” and should be sent home immediately.

“Yeah, the nurse said it’d be best for her emotional health to skip the camp,” Rainbow Dash told them.

“Oh. What a pity,” the twins said in unison. “It won’t be same without her beating us all the time in the obstacle courses.” And they walked towards the mess hall exactly side by side, blinking in unison, the exact same awkward grin on their faces. It was…bizarre. Rainbow Dash almost missed the time when they just argued with each other. This…was almost too…robotic.

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment that they may be lying. But then she talked herself into believing that they were just in a cheery mood. The little rascals.

VII

During the second week of camp, Rainbow Dash got a letter. It was from her old friend Quibble Pants. At first, she thought it was him catching up to see how things were doing and inviting her to join him at the next Daring Do convention. But then she recalled his relation to Wind Sprint.

Rainbow Dash,

My stepdaughter told me about what happened. You are my friend, so I won’t spare you from my grief. You don’t know how distressing it is for me to see Wind Sprint turn into a frail, timid young filly who yells at me every time I touch her and who’s too afraid to even step into the shower. It’s been barely a week, and I already miss her usual snide remarks and eye-rolling.

Wind Sprint told me that those two foals who did this to her have not been disciplined for their actions. I am sure that your hooves are probably tied and you are trying your best to see justice is done. If it’s their parents who’re forcing you to do nothing, let me know, because I would like to talk with them and give them a piece of my mind. I trust that you will do your best to help Wind Sprint.

Quibble Pants

How long had it been since she and Quibble met? 5 years ago, at the Daring Do convention. He was Rainbow Dash’s old friend. For 5 long years. She had only known Barley and Pickle Barrel for about 4 months. It was without question where her loyalty should fall.

But then again…within those 5 years she and Quibble really hadn’t met that often. They only met a few times a year, and usually no more than one afternoon. Perhaps a cumulative total of, say…68 hours. In other words…not long enough.

And those two little rascals were so much more adorable than Quibble Pants.

VIII

Late one night, Rainbow Dash crept over to the Barrel twins’ bunk. She had agreed to tell them a bedtime story. She wanted to. But she only agreed to do it after all the campers had fallen asleep, which was around 1 o’clock.

Rainbow Dash read them a chapter of Daring Do. Softly, in a whisper so that no other creature would hear it. Unlike Wind Sprint, the Barrel twins enjoyed Daring Do very much. After Rainbow had finished the storybook, it was quiet for a while. She could hear herself taking a deep breath.

She finally decided to ask. “Barley…Pickle…tell me…3 nights ago…did you try to rape Wind Sprint?”

At first they denied it, as they had before. Rainbow Dash kept pressing. It was silent for a bit.

“We…we wanted to be number one,” one of the twins finally said.

“We couldn’t let her beat us,” the other said.

“So we agreed to work together to…”

Their grins faded, turning their expressions into cold stares. “We just wanted to win. And she was getting in the way.”

“That’s what Wonderbolts do, don’t they Rainbow Dash? They strive to be number one, and they don’t let anypony get in their way.”

Rainbow Dash was about to refute them, but she paused…and looked into their eyes. Two pairs of eyes intently staring at their hero. Their hero, Rainbow Dash. She couldn’t let them be sad. She couldn’t let them down.

“Don’t worry, we’ve agreed that we’re not allowed to molest you,” the twins reassured their idol.

All Rainbow Dash could do was blink. She felt beads of sweat running down her neck. She felt the need to get out of there. She didn’t actually leave, but she felt like she had to go. Somewhere. Anywhere. And fast.

“Please don’t tell anycreature,” they said. “Not your parents, not your sister—”

“Godsister,” Rainbow Dash corrected. “Scootaloo’s not my sister.”

“You wouldn’t betray us, would you?” the twins said, with those adorable eyes. “We’re your friends.”

Rainbow Dash tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in her stomach. “Of course not,” she simply said. “Of course not.”

She kissed the two foals good night. On the lips. About 7 seconds each. She stuck her tongue in for less than a second. Rainbow Dash felt her eyes droop shut. Their scent was like a field of flowers. A field of lovely, colorful roses…with thorns. And bright yellow bees buzzing around. With stingers. Massive stingers.

Rainbow Dash never spoke of that evening to anycreature.

IX

“I’m not kicking the two of them out just because of these false accusations,” Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo in the privacy of the counselors’ office.

“They’re not false accusations,” Scootaloo replied. During lunch, Scootaloo took the initiative and pulled the campers aside, one by one, to ask them if they knew anything about what happened to Wind Sprint. A griffon who was showering in the neighboring stall said she overheard the abuse taking place, including lewd remarks about “wingboners” and “dripping wetness.” Other creatures in the bathroom at the time also reported hearing screams and similar remarks. When asked why they did not report this earlier, they all said the exact same thing.

“Barley and Pickle saw us. They said they’d send their hero Rainbow Dash to bash our skulls in if we ever told.”

Scootaloo told Rainbow Dash all these findings. “Can’t you see that Barley and Pickle are the ones who’re lying to you!?” she said.

“Y-you take that back!” Rainbow Dash yelled. She couldn’t deny Scootaloo was right, so she turned defensive. Even though Scootaloo was insulting the twins, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel insulted herself. A part of her, at least.

“I will not take that back! Look, Rainbow Dash, you’ve been my sister—”

“Godsister. Not sister.”

Scootaloo whimpered softly. “W-whatever. Rainbow Dash, you’ve given plenty of advice and insight over the years. Well, now it’s my turn to give you some. You’ve got one big weakness, Rainbow Dash, and you know what it is? Your ego. Your ego’s just too fucking large.”

“What’s that got to do with this!?”

“It’s got everything to do with this. You think those two foals love you so much!? Just ‘cause they’ve made a fan club for you and they’re all adorable and they practically worship you, you’re gonna let them do this? They’re pandering to your goddamn ego knowing that you’ll let them get away with what they’ve done!”

“You’re way too cynical, Scootaloo. They’re just foals, for Celestia’s sake!”

Scootaloo paused. “Well, if you really love them, Rainbow Dash, you’d make them face the consequences of their actions. If you teach them that they can get away with anything if they just suck up to you…you’d be teaching them a lie. And what kind of love is that? Hmm?”

Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo to leave her alone. “You know that I’m right, Rainbow Dash. That’s why you’re asking me to go.”

“You don’t have any right to expel anycreature out of camp without my permission.” As much as Scootaloo didn’t want to admit it…she was right. That was the rules.

Scootaloo left, slamming the door behind her. Rainbow Dash sat alone in the office for a moment. She picked up the letter from Quibble Pants with her right wing. She picked up a photo of her with the Barrel twins with her left wing. Letter on her left, photo on her right. Letter, photo. Letter, photo.

She threw the letter in the trash can. But only after thinking about it for a good hour and a half.

X

It was the third week of the camp. After dinner, the campers watched the Wonderbolt movie in the lounge. Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash to come into the counselors’ office. Scootaloo shut the door.

“There’s somepony who I think you should see,” Scootaloo said.

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Look, if you brought Quibble Pants over to talk with me, I already told you—”

“I didn’t,” Scootaloo said. “I brought somepony else. Maybe she’ll help change your mind.”

A familiar yellow pegasus with a pink mane walked into the office. “Hi, Rainbow Dash,” she said in her usual soft, whispery voice.

Rainbow Dash was taken by surprise. Seeing Fluttershy, she suddenly recalled her days in the very same flight camp. It was not long ago that she and Fluttershy were Junior Speedsters themselves. There were a lot of memories from that camp. Painful memories. Painful-from-watching-others-suffer memories.

And they were only little foals at the time.

Rainbow Dash felt tears well up inside her. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy.”

“Don’t be, Rainbow Dash,” she said. “It wasn’t your fault that that those boys…” she turned to Scootaloo.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. You can tell her.”

It had been a secret between the two of them for a long time. For Fluttershy’s sake. They didn’t tell Twilight, AJ, Pinkie, Rarity, nor any of their other friends. Fluttershy didn’t even tell her family. The things those colts had done to Fluttershy during camp…in the bathroom…in the shower…at the flagpole near the camp entrance…were too painful to be heard, let alone seen. Fluttershy was always a quiet pony, but her experience at camp turned her nearly silent. “Timid and fearful,” as Quibble put it in his letter.

“I-I was too scared to tell! I’m sorry, Fluttershy!”

“But now you can, Rainbow Dash.”

She sighed. Scootaloo gave her godsister a stern look.

“Do it for me, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy pleaded.

Rainbow Dash sank into her office chair. She kept playing the rejection in her head. I’m sorry, Pickle Barrel, Barley Barrel. What you two did to Wind Sprint was inexcusable. I’m going to have to ask you to leave the camp, and you will not be permitted to return. I’m also going to have to report your actions to the police. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not loving you two enough to make you face the consequences of your actions.

She would betray two yellow pegasi in exchange for the respect of one yellow pegasus. And the respect of one orange pegasus. And one little purple pegasus, who would never dare to step into a shower ever again.

It broke Rainbow Dash’s heart to have to betray the Barrel twins. But the only thing that would break her heart more was having to let go of all of her other friends. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie…there were too many friends to count.

“I’ll do it,” Rainbow Dash said.

XI

Rainbow Dash asked the twins to come into the office immediately the next morning. Scootaloo was inside, but left the room. She trusted Rainbow Dash to say her piece.

“Yes, Rainbow Dash?” The twins said in unison. With that same grin. That same fucking evil grin.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “15 years ago, I watched my friend Fluttershy get hurt by bullies. I watched it happen, but I said nothing about it. Now, I…I’ve decided not to make the same mistake…with Wind Sprint.”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading, and I hope you liked it. Feel free to comment on your thoughts. I may post an epilogue on what happened to ~~Twinkle Sprinkle Did You Shrinkle~~
~~Windex~~ Wind Sprint later on.