A Path Of Healing

Ink Heart tossed and turned under the covers in the guest room as he struggled to sleep. The sound of girls moaning in pleasure echoed in his eardrums as the sight of a couple in bed haunted his vision. He finally opened his eyes as he groaned in defeat. He was not going to get some sleep tonight.

He pulled the blankets off his body and pulled himself out of the bed. He looked around to find only the moonlight illuminating the room as his saddlebags leaned against the far wall by the window, still full and waiting to be unpacked from the trip. Essentials filled the room, such as a dresser and bed for anyone who came to visit or needed a place to sleep for the night.

He groaned and walked away from the bed to the door, which he opened to peek his head out to survey the hall. With the coast clear, he quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him before he snuck down the hall toward the stairs. He periodically stopped to check for any of the Apples out at this hour, continuing through the seemingly empty house before he got to the front door. He stopped at the door to look over his shoulder to find no one following him before he walked out, quietly closing the door behind him.

He looked around to find the only source of light came from the moon, which the princess brilliantly placed high in the sky. He stared up at the moon as if looking for answers he would never receive. He sighed as he hung his head after a minute. "How does anyone heal from something like this...?" he asked no one in particular. He lifted his head and walked toward the apple trees. He walked through the forest of aged apple trees for several minutes before he came across an old, small house elevated from the ground by pillars lining the corners.

"What's this?" He asked as he walked over to get a closer look. It was a small house like a foals playhouse. The yellow paint on the walls, as well as the red paint on the roof, faded from age. A ramp stretched from the ground to the porch along the front of the house. Guardrails lined the porch to keep anyone from falling off the edge.

Ink Heart admired the small house as he walked up the ramp. It showed signs of use, yet the wood still held strong. He walked into the small house to find old posters and drawings taped or nailed to the walls. It was hard to see in the dark, but he could see the drawings showing images of buildings, shops, hills, each marked with large, red crosses, as they all were connected by red, dotted lines. A checklist of places to see possibly? The rest of the posters lining the walls showed images of Rainbow Dash.

"Whoever uses this house really likes Rainbow Dash," he told himself as he smiled softly at the sight.

"The foals who used this clubhouse were big fans of mine," an elder mare's voice startled Ink, causing him to look back to find Rainbow Dash standing in the open doorframe. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya," she said with a soft smile.

"Misses Dash!" Ink studdered. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to intrude!"

"Don't sweat it, kid," Dash held up a hoof with a reassuring smile. "And you can just call me Rainbow or Dash. Misses never suited me."

"Sorry," Ink said as he hung his head. Rainbow walked around, smiling at the posters still hanging on the walls. "How'd you find me out here?"

"I saw you walking out the front door from my bedroom window," Rainbow answered with a smile. "My little sister and her best friends used this clubhouse as their base to get their cutie marks," Rainbow mused as Ink watched her. "You couldn't stop those three for ten seconds without them scheming about how to get those ass tattoos for years." She smiled at him. "They almost went through a similar loss to you."

"What do you mean?" Ink asked. Rainbow sat on the floor as she looked at a picture of three young mares standing together hanging on the wall. A white unicorn with a cotton candy-colored mane and green eyes, a yellow earth pony with bright red mane topped with a pink bow and orange eyes, and an orange pegasus with underdeveloped wings and purple mane. All three smiling proudly in front of Twilight's School of Friendship.

"While they were still fillies, not too long after they got their cutie marks, Scootaloo," Rainbow pointed at the orange pegasus, "was about to be taken away to live with her parents far away. Her parents work with rare creatures uncommon to Equestria, so they rarely spent any time in Ponyville." Ink Heart watched Rainbow intently as she told the story. "One day, they came home with news that they were going to move with Scootaloo away from town, and nothing could convince them to let her stay."

"So, where does the almost come into play?" Ink asked, getting Rainbow to smile.

"The whole town and several creatures jumped in to let her parents know how important she is with her friends," Rainbow stated. "A gryphon named Gabi came all the way from Gryphonstone to tell her parents what she and her friends did for her."

"And they let her stay by herself?" Ink asked.

"Not quite," Rainbow chuckled. "The frosting on top of the cake, as my old friend Pinkie Pie would say, was Scootaloo's aunts pitching in. Those two bought the house and were more than happy to be her caretakers." Rainbow smiled. "The whole town celebrated that day." Ink sighed.

"That's a nice story, but it doesn't relate." Rainbow walked up and rested a hoof on his shoulder, getting him to look up at him.

"The point of that story is that if it weren't for her friends, we all would've lost one of the most important fillies in all of Ponyville," she stated. "You have friends here." Ink smiled softly before he looked off into the distance. Rainbow let his shoulder go. "Remember when I told you I lost a girlfriend?" Ink looked up at her.

"Yeah."

"Then trust me when I say I know what you're going through," she assured.

"I bet you didn't walk in on her fucking someone else in your bed..." Ink sighed bluntly.

"Okay, normally, I don't have a problem with language, but please try to put a muzzle on that muzzle for my wife's sake," Rainbow ordered.

"Sorry," Ink sighed as he sat on the floor.

"... but you're right, kid," Rainbow added. "I didn't find her cheating on me. I found out she wasn't the same gryphon I fell in love with at Junior Speedster Flight Camp. She was rotten. Only cared about being cool." Ink looked up at Rainbow. "It took one of Pinkie's parties for me to see how bad she was."

"What got you through the pain of losing someone you loved?" Ink asked.

"My friends," Rainbow stated proudly. "When I lost Gilda, I still had my new friends to turn to. If it weren't for them, I'd be sulking for so long I'd be too out of shape to fly anymore."

"I don't have many friends..." Ink sighed. "She was the only one I talked to for so long, I've been isolated."

"And yet you're friends with Zap," Rainbow corrected.

"Yeah, but I didn't know her until after I broke up with Brimstone," Ink pointed out.

"Brimstone?" Rainbow asked. "A dragon?" Ink nodded, getting her to incline her head. "Not to be speciesist, but that makes sense. Dragons tend to be polyamorous-" she bit her lip when she saw Ink look away. "Sorry. Not helping."

"It's okay," Ink sighed.

"Look, Ink Heart," she called as she stood up, "you're hurt. I get it. Just know that as long as you live here, you'll always have someone to talk to whenever you need it." She walked to the door. "You can stay here for as long as you want. This clubhouse doesn't get as much company as it used to." She offered him one last smile over her shoulder before she started to walk out the door.

"Wait, Mis- uh... Rainbow?" Ink called out, getting her to stop and look back at him.

"Yes?"

"You and Apple Jack," he began. "How'd you two have Zap?" He blushed at the question. "If it's not too much to ask." Rainbow chuckled.

"Apple Jack and I went to our friend, Starlight Glimmer for help," Rainbow explained. "She's quite the talented unicorn, and with her magic, she got me pregnant with AJ's foal."

"So, you used magic to conceive a mare's foal?" He asked further.

"Eeyup," she answered. "And no, not by making AJ a male, or intersex or anything like that. Just a quick spell to get me pregnant with something directly from AJ. We couldn't be any happier when we found the spell worked." Ink inclined his head. "Well, I'll leave you to be alone, kid. And don't stress yourself. We're all here to help you." She smiled before she walked out the door.