"So, wait… she up and left us?!" James slams the table. He feels - justifiably - furious with the mare. "Does she know what we saw back home?!" James sinks into his chair, feeling distraught. "The little bitch!"

"Yes and no. If I'm being honest, her enlistment took me by surprise," Twilight takes a sip of her tea. It provides little comfort. "I mean-"

"Surprise is understatement!" Ivan shouts. "She can die! She too happy to lose! She…" Ivan turns away to hide his tears. "She remind me of sister,"

Twilight walks over and hugs the stallion, guessing what happened to his sister. "Hey, she'll be fine," I doubt that.

"I mean…" James takes a deep breath. "So, I finish dinner with Ivan here. We come back, all happy and dandy. Now, you're telling me that Pinkie Pie - the party mare, always spreading joy - enlisted in the volunteer corps," James says this in a cold and calculated tone to avoid a break down of his own.

"Yep," Twilight nods for added emphasis, releasing Ivan to hug James. "Artillery. Something about her party cannon being needed,"

"You said Aquilea, right?" James gives a dark chuckle, shaking his head. "It'll be over soon,"

"Why's that?" Twilight asks, full of worry.

Ivan understands James and finishes the joke. "French no fight: only run," The two stallions laugh, though it is full of pain.

Twilight, however, does not sense the hurt in them. "You… she might fucking die, and you laugh?!"

"Eh, us four lived, no?" James suddenly stops laughing. "Ok, serious question here. What is the most recent war invention?"

"The… machine gun, I think. Why?"

James shouts in anger, punching a hole through the table. The loud crack causes Twilight to flinch and take a step back. Ivan merely hugs Twilight, burying his anger. "We all miss her,"

"Why, what's so-" Twilight begins.

"70 percent casualty rate! 70 percent of soldiers were shot or wounded in The Great War! It was as high as 98 in some cases!" James punches a second hole through the scrap wood, ignoring the splinters in his hoof. "Best case, she comes home broken. Fuck me…"

Dash comes through a window, wings unfurled as she slows to a stop. "Whew, that was fun! What'd I mi-"

"Pinkie is fucking dead! Gone! Some fucker convinced her to sign up for the volunteers! If we're lucky, she'll come home broken, a shadow of her current self!" James wraps his arms around the stunned Pegasus, openly crying. His tears mix with Dash's sweat, further soaking her mane. "Fuck,"

Dash remembers the limited view she had seen: aka propaganda posters. "Wait, what? It's suppose-"

"It not fun," Ivan protests. "It never fun! Mangled body, bloody scream, cries for mom - not fun!" Seething, he lets go of Twilight. "I finish job if French no succeed…" He kicks the scrap wood, only further making a mess of the room.

"Woah woah woah," Dash hugs James back, sensing that he needs it. "That's… a lot to take in," Heh, glad I took a day to decide.

"She not get that chance! Where is she?!" Ivan's demand surprises Twilight, but she quickly recovers.

"On a train to-"

James breaks out into a sad song, having recovered his voice. "There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute… Intestines were a danglin' from her paratrooper suit…"

At this point, Ivan joins in. The tune was familiar, even for a Russian in the RAF. "She was a mess they picked her up and poured her from her boots And she ain't gonna jump no more! Gory, gory what a helluva way to die-e Gory, gory what a helluva-"

"Ok, enough of that," Twilight stops the morose song. Shuffling some books, she says "Let's… not think about that, yes? Something else, something-"

"How about a bloody tragedy?" Tommy stumbles through the door and dumps Strob on the ground. The stallion groans in pain, still gagged. "Fuckin ass right here. Bloody dyke, I'd bet,"

James flinches, hurt by the insult so commonly thrown his way. "Don't call me that,"

"Oh, uh…" Tommy sheepishly smiles. "Sorry. But this bastard can burn in hell after we get our turn with him,"

Hans and Scootaloo enter through the door. The filly seems to be stunned, and the stallion holds an emotionless gaze. "Of course, he means after a legal trial,"

"No, I meant my turn,"

Dash hurries to Scootaloo. "Hey, you ok Squirt?" The two enter a hug for a split second, acting like sisters. "You don't look ok…"

"I thought I was, but-"

"The limp is the result of a plate that her father had thrown at her," Hans casually comments. Everyone who is not Scootaloo, Tommy, or Hans pales. Papers stop flipping. "By the way, does anyone know a therapist? I'll take five appointments, one for each of us,"

"Squirt… is he right?" Dash snarls at the stallion as he leaves.

"Yeah, but I interrupted Daddy,"

A stunned Twilight and stoick Hans walk out to discuss court procedures, bringing Strob with them.

"Squirt…" Dash resumes their hug. Scootaloo just stands there, still confused at what had been done wrong. "That isn't ok,"

"Oh, you should check her bloody schoolwork, too," Tommy hands over Scootaloo's report cards and homework. "It's… I know it's wrong, but not how. Now I want a drink," The other three stallions give the two some space.

Dash gasps upon seeing the cards. Letting go of her fan, she sets the work down in front of the two. "F-? What is a…" Dash fails to comprehend Scootaloo's math. "...that?!"

"That's math, silly! See, the two is here, the x is-"

Dash tears up as she grabs Scootaloo in a hug. "I… I'm so so sorry Squirt! I wish I knew about this,"

"Wait… is that not how you're supposed to do it?" The genuine confusion on Scootaloo's face breaks Dash's heart.

The two hold their hug for a few more seconds. Eventually, Dash pulls back to continue asking questions, eyes still wet. "Hey… wanna live with me and Twi for a bit?"

"Yeah! That sounds awesome!" Scootaloo smiles, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Ok! You hungry?" It is about dinner time.

"Yeah, let me go get some food!" Scootaloo heads out of the door, happily skipping towards town. Let's see… what did I decide to do? Oh yeah, fish!

"Squirt, where ya going?" Dash flies over to the oblivious Scootaloo. The filly squeals with glee. Dash is gonna help me get dinner!

"To get dinner, duh! Me and Sweetie and Bloom learned about foraging and gathering and fishing and- oomph!"

Dash once again snatches Scootaloo where she stands. "You mean… your parents never made food?" Another tear comes to her eye as she holds the filly in her arms. Legs.

"They did, but that's for them! Now let me get food!" Scootaloo struggles against her captor, even though she knows that it's in vain.

"Squirt…" Dash mulls over the food Twilight has. "What do you like to eat? If you could have one food, what would it be?"

"Pizza! I really like the cheese!" Scootaloo looks down again. "But I can't buy one, and Daddy's…"

"Hey, don't worry. I'll get one," At this point, Dash sets Scootaloo down outside the castle. The two walk inside, Scootaloo thankful for the warmth.

"Really?! Thank you thank you thank you!" Scootaloo nuzzles her idol, who only sheds a tear in response. "This is gonna be the best dinner ever!"

Dash, crying too much to talk, sets a wing on Scootaloo. "Hey, why are you crying? You're Rainbow Dash!"

"I… Squirt, I'm such a bad sister!" With a sob, she holds the filly tight with her wings. After a deft, unexplainable manoeuver, Scootaloo ends up on on her back. Dash soars off, flying towards Ponyville. And cheese pizza.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!"

LATER

Scootaloo takes three slices of the cheese pizza and plops them on her plate. It's not paper! Happy, she skips along to the stairs, only stopping when she realizes she has no bedroom. Or bed.

"Uh… Dash?"

"Yeah Squirt?" Dash is filling out her own plate with two slices, not feeling that hungry. What, did I order wrong?

"Where's my room?" Scootaloo looks utterly lost, not knowing what to do.

"We gotta eat first," Dash takes a seat and pats the seat next to her. The cushion feels nice and inviting, only making Dash sleepier. Wonderbolts training is exhausting, and after last night…

Scootaloo's eyes widen. "You mean we can eat together?! Yes!" The overjoyed Scootaloo runs to the table and jumps into the designated seat. Setting her plate down, she starts to eat her food.

Holding back another sob, Dash merely takes a bite of her food. Still eyeing Scootaloo, she watches as the vacuum inhales half a slice. Staring back, Scootaloo seems to be shoving it in as fast as possible.

Dash swallows her first bite. "Hey, Squirt…"

Scootaloo quickly swallows her own food. "Yeah?"

"You don't have to eat it so fast…" That can't be healthy.

"Yes I do!" Scootaloo returns to shredding her plate, now looking panicked.

"Scoots… no one's going to steal it…"

Scootaloo finishes her first slice. "Really?! Thank you!" Scootaloo wraps herself around Dash in a warm hug. "Best. Sister. Ever!"

Dash lets a tear slip through her cracking wall. "Squirt… you cou… could've… died there,"

"No, I know how to fish and find food, remember?" Silly Dash!

"When did you last go to the doctor? Dentist?" Dash fears the answer her fan can give her.

"Daddy said those are a waste of money! He wasn't gonna waste money on me!" Scootaloo takes another note of pizza. "Plusy the school does some check ups!"

Dash feels her mental wall crashing down. Tears freely flowing, she holds her informal sister tighter. Idiot! "Tomorrow… we're gonna go to the doctor… and get you checked, ok?"

"I don't wanna go!" Despite the protests, Scootaloo holds her position in the hug.

"Too bad. You need to," I'm having a word with her parents!

Twilight and Hans come back in. The two look wasted and completely sober, respectively. "Hey Dash," Twilight calls out.

"Where's your spare room?"

"Upstair n the left, whyyyyyy?" Twilight stops talking when her eyes fill with fear. "Gotta go, third room!" Thundering off, she plans to go empty her stomach of everything she ever ate..

With a sigh, Dash says "Come on, Squirt, let's get you to bed,"

"I don't wanna go to bed,"

Dash sighs. "Squirt-"

Scootaloo yelps. "Sorry! I-i'll go to bed! Just don't hit me!"

Dash once again lets tears flow from her eyes. "Squirt… I… I… can't hit you,"

"But Daddy did! And Daddy said that's what good parents do!" The filly's red flanks suddenly made much more sense.

"Let's just… go to bed… ok?" I can't deal with this shit...

"Yeah!" The two pegasi leave Hans alone in the kitchen.

His stomach rumbling, Hans approaches the box. "Well… I guess a few slices couldn't hurt…" Hans takes the remaining three slices from the pizza box and finds a clean plate. Taking a seat, he stares off into space. Maybe all of this is real… maybe it's not a bad dream… maybe-

"Darling, you in there?" Rarity's voice calls from the front door.

"Yes, milady," As expected, Hans receives a giggle. "Give me a moment to clean up and I shall be with you,"

"That is fine, but do hurry," Hans moves to the 'sink' and stamps the button to start the water. Rinsing his greasy hooves, he soaps them down, killing 99% of all germs!

With a chuckle, Hans grabs his pack as he moves outside to meet Rarity. "Here, milady,"

"Thank you. Now, shall we depart for my place?" Rarity's tone has a hint of sultry intentions.

Hans understands the implications. "Only if you wish, madam," The two walk off, tails entwined, in order to spend a night in each other's arms.

Author's Note

WW1 time

Yes, Aquilea is from Equestria at War. God tier mod, btw. This is the last real chapter.