Rainbow is nervous. She doesn't truly know what this stallion is capable of, after all. Her lessons say to trust, but her guts scream to her that she would get hurt. Her heart states that she would deserve it, and her head is just tired, so it isn't much of a competition in the end. Whatever's easiest.

James seems to be doing better, too. Well, he is barely together in all honesty, but he wears a face. He wants to be polite, after all. Be nice to your hosts, his mother always said.

Eventually they encounter Dash's ground house. James immediately tries to enter. "Hey, you gotta let me unlock it," Dash mutters. James steps back and lets her as he takes a look at his surroundings, weary. Trees there, hill there, river the-

Then he remembered what peace was like.

No more looking over his shoulder. No more worrying for Werewulven, or for snipers. And yet he still did. Habits die hard.

"Hey, you changed your mind or….?" James realizes he had been standing there, looking around for what could have been a minute. Numb, he apologizes and heads inside. Now to lock down the fort.

The first sign Rainbow gets of his current state is when he immediately locks, bolts, and jams the door. Making a joke, she asks "What, expecting a robbery?"

"No, Jerry," he casually adds. He is too tired to truthfully think out his answers or actions, so he just says the truth.

"Jerry…?"

"Yeah. Kraut bastards paraded their 'righteous cause' for all to see," Looking satisfied with the structural support, he stands up and nods. "Alright. Window time," He suddenly picks up two wood boards and a hammer, moving towards a window, when Dash stops him.

"Hey! Stop it! Buy your own windows!" Dash flies in front of James.

"But the Were… vul…"

"Were what now? Are you talking about about werewolfs?" Dash lets out a laugh. "Those don't exist, silly, they can't hurt yo-"

"Oh, but they already have,"

"...um, wadda you mean?"

"I mean those stupid nazi shits ARE REAL!!!" James screams, causing Dash to cower. "Ask any of my friends, Ryan, Luke, Carter…" he breaks down into tears, collapsing in his materials (thankfully in containers).

"Is this something from… over there?" Dash asks quietly. James nods bitterly and punches the wall, breaking the drywall.

"FUCK!!!" He curls up into a ball. "Why me…"

Dash isn't sure what to do. So, being the tactful and honest mare she is, she merely asks "Can I do anything, or should I-"

"You could… um…" He cringes. "comecloseandcuddleprettyplease?" He sounds as if he switched with Pinkie for a second, talking a mile a minute.

"Um… I mean…"

"Oh, who was I kidding. I'm sorry for bother-"

"It's fine, just… unexpected…" At this news, James sighs in relief. The sound makes Dash happy, and then she remembers why she is the Element of Loyalty. Assuming the spot nature tells her too (she is a mare), she walks over and snuggles her back into James' chest. Looking back, she then thinks to ask "Is this fine?"

"Uh-huh," Dash turns back around, closes her eyes, and makes a checklist of what she had to do tomorrow. It sure was busy. Apologize to Luna, talk to to Twi, get some-

A soft mutter broke her thought process. "Everything is gonna be fine," James mutters in his sleep as he hugs her tighter. "I have a friend now," Dash can feel her heart break before she almost passes out.

Author's Note

Hint: Read the .5s to understand what the fuck is happening. They usually run parallel.