"I don't get it. Why are we suddenly going to Ponyville?" Rainbow asked her companion. Trixie stopped for a moment, but then resumed her stroll through the Everfree.

"You know that I started learning magic under Luna, right?" she asked, hesitating. Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah, I saw you digging through books, and casting spells every now and then."

"I have uncovered a certain spell, that... might help alleviate one of your friends' grief."

Rainbow perked up.

"Really? Which one? Please tell me it's Applejack!"

Trixie shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but no. Vinyl said she's half a country away. You'll see who it is when we get there."

The pegasus wondered what exactly Vinyl heard. Using the make-up and body paint Trixie stole, the DJ was easily disguised in a way that nopony recognised her in Ponyville. During the last month, she often wandered around the town, picking up gossip, and tidbits of information. Somehow, cutting her mane short seemed to have a total self alteration effect; no one in their right mindset considered that she could be Vinyl Scratch.

"But why?" the pegasus asked. "I mean, why now? I'm pretty sure whatever you're planning on doing, you didn't learn just hours ago. So why?"

"Because... well, since we're already leaving, there is no need to hide you from them, because we'll be out before they could react. Also, I'm trying to clear two consciences here."

"Two?" Rainbow asked, cocking her head.

"Do you think anypony who had a friend or relative murdered, just shrugs it off? No. Even though they know they couldn't do anything about it, they'll keep blaming themselves... until it makes their lives bitter. Whom we're visiting is having a particularly bad case of self-loathing. Now come closer, so I can put up an invisibility spell around us. We're near Ponyville."

__________________________________________________________________________________

"Please put that down, Mac!" Braeburn pleaded. His bulky cousin paid him no mind, gripping his bottle of whiskey as it was his only friend in the world. "What would yer parents think?"

That seemed to get the red leviathan's attention. He slowly raised his groggy head, staring antagonistically from his bloodshot eyes.

"Wha'd dey say?" he asked mockingly. "Ah dunno, let's ask 'em! Oh wait, them's dead! Forget it, Ah still have the rest of mah family... oops, they're dead, too." He took a long swig from the bottle. "Even AJ left." he mumbled. "Why should Ah care about dis damned farm anymo'?"

"Mac, Ah'm here ta help ya!" Braeburn groaned. "Yer not making this any easier! Juss' put down the drink, and go to sleep!"

"Ya can't tell me what ta do!" his cousin roared. "Ya juss' wan' the farm, like everyponeh' else in the Apple family!"

Slap.

Big Mac raised a hoof where Braeburn hit him. Due to his size, he never was bullied. He inspired fear. Yet, now all the emotions he stirred up in his cousin were of anger and pain.

"If ya say that again, Ah'll leave, and never come back. Ah'm doing this out of mah heart, and ya accuse me that Ah want the farm?!" He spat angrily. "Ah don't know if it's the drink that's rottin' yer brain, but Ah'd think twice before spewin' nonsense." He looked out at the starry sky. "Ah'm gonna go check up on everything. Might be thieves around. Try tah stop drinkin' fer today, fer Ma's sake."

The vested stallion left Mac alone. He didn't even bother putting some lights on; though, come to think of it, Mac preferred it this way: sitting alone, in the dark, chugging down bottles of alcohol one after another. His earth pony physique allowed him to drink twice the amount a normal unicorn would get knocked out from—and still be sober enough that he could miss his family. Well, he was going to remedy that, fast. He took another swig from his whiskey.

Braeburn's hoofsteps slowly faded away, leaving the red stallion with only the clinking he caused... for about a minute. Other, careful hoofsteps echoed; yet when he raised his head to look around, he saw nothing.

"What in 'tarnation?" he mumbled to nopony in particular. To his great surprise, an answer came.

"Good evening, Big Mcintosh."

The stallion turned his head lazily, wondering who might be bold enough to break into his home. When he saw them, however, he felt that his brain just exploded. In front of him, two of the ponies he hated the most stood. The egotistical, stuck-up showmare who made everypony's life a living hell for two days, staring right at him. And beside her... the murderous mare who robbed him of his family, the one who pretended to be friends with his sister... Rainbow Dash.

He kicked his chair back, and lunged for the intruders. That is, if he was in any condition to move swiftly. The sudden change caused him to land face-first on the ground, barely a feet away from the table. He groaned defeatedly.

"Dammit'... Ya'll here, it'd be juss' a swing... an' ya'd be down, yet Ah can't even lift a hoof..."

Trixie ignored him, and stepped to the cupboard, where lines after lines of alcohol stood, some open, some still uncorked. She grabbed a bottle, and sniffed it, then put it back disgustedly.

Meanwhile, Rainbow stepped closer to him.

"Mac," she began, "I... I don't even know what to say. To just tell you that I am sorry would be a joke... That day is the single most day I regret in my whole life. If I could make my apology count, I would... but I can't. I can only say that I am sorry... sorry for losing control."

"Ya think that's gonna be it? Ya say one sorry, an' Ah'll juss' forget that ya murdered mah sis?!" he screamed.

"And that is where you're wrong," Trixie interjected coolly. Mac looked at her, with hate in his eyes.

"Oh, an' that makes everythin' better! A liar says this pegasus di'in' kill mah sis', so I should believe her! Buck you!"

The showmare offered a condescending smile.

"I never said you should believe me."

Still smiling, she lit up her horn. The inside of the room seemed to fill with mist; for a second, nothing could be seen, just swirls and twists of gray. The smoke-ish substance receded, gathering to a single point—and from that point, two figures appeared, their bodies transparent, nut unlike the mist that was there before them.

"Ye git up this instant, Big Mcintosh!" a familiar, rickety old voice ordered him. He slowly rose to a sitting position, trying hard to understand what was going on. The two mist creatures were none other than his sister, and his grandmother—both smiling at him. He felt anger rise deep within.

"Is this some kinda' sick joke?!" he asked, rage overtaking his features.

"Ye soiled yer bed 'till ye were five," Granny Smith softly spoke. "Ye couldn't sleep 'till ye got an old doll of yer Ma with ye in bed, after they died."

"... Granny?"

The elderly ghost nodded.

"Yes, Mac, it's me. This here feller' agreed ta' help us talk to ye one last time... before we move on."

"Mac, Ah know Ah haven't been the most ha'd-working pony," Applebloom began, "but Ah ya to know, that Ah always looked up to yah. Ah think that mah brotha's the kindest, strongest, most amazin' stallion that evah lived. Don' be like this. And..." she bit her ethereal lip hesitantly. "Ah know, it's much to ask, but don' be mad at Rainbow. Ah remember the moment Ah died, and... well, she was, kinda not awake, so it's not her fault, really."

"Not...awake?" the stallion asked, confusion in his voice. Trixie stepped forward.

"If I may... The fact that Rainbow was unconscious, means one thing: somepony knocked her out, and flung her into the crowd. She never wanted this."

"Ah...Ah don't know what to believe anymore..."

"Now listen here, sonny!" Granny Smith began. "Ye 've got a good head on yer neck, so use it to think! Juss' this once, Ah'll forgive ye for drinkin', but if ye try to destroy yerself with this wambamadang, Ah'll come back an' haunt ye! And don' even git me started on how ye hurt poor Braeburn! 'Tis true, sadly, that the rest of the Apple family left ye, but despite that, he came, and tried to help ye! Ah say this once, young stallion, don' be a useless drunkard like that good-fer-nuthin' cousin Hillbilly! Ye got the strength to make it count, so what if the family left ye? Yer Pa always did what he could fer others, an' there are plenty'a ponies out there that need help! So git to it, sonny!"

Big Mac rubbed his eyes, to clear away his tears. He looked at the showmare.

"Can... can ya make it so Ah can touch them? Juss' fer a second?"

Trixie nodded hesitantly, and her horn glowed even more intense. The two ghosts' spectral bodies darkened, and they weren't see-through anymore. Mac stepped closer... then he pulled both of them into a hug.

"Ah'll miss ya," he sniffed.

"We will, too," they replied in unison. "And don' forgit to make sum kids before ye join us, ye ladykillah'!" Granny Smith winked. For a moment, Mac could swear that their bodies glowed for a split second, before they faded into thin air. Trixie lost her balance when she stopped the flow of her magic; she had to lean on the pegasus to stay upright.

"Damn... Breaching the boundary between life and death takes a lot of juice out of you," she wheezed. Mac looked at them, unsure what to do. Rainbow noticed his stare.

"Look, Mac, I don't expect you to forgive me right away, just... just live your life, and stop all this brooding. I—"

The front door's creaking sprang the mares to attention, prompting Trixie to pull an invisible veil over them. A second later, Braeburn entered the neighbouring room; all while Mac stepped to the liquor cabinet, and also while two careful mares tiptoed around the vested stallion. He was busy wiping his hooves, so he only rose his head when the front door creaked again. To his utter confusion, nopony was to be seen around. He entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Mac, ya seen—"

CRASH!

He could barely dodge the incoming bottle, which crashed into the wall beside him.

"What the-- ?!"

He watched dumbfoundedly as Mac threw bottle after bottle, invoking the rage of the heavens against simple liquor; every single one of them shattered, their contents spilt.

"Braeburn."

"Y-yeah?"

"Don' let me buy crap like this again."

The Appleloosan shivered.

"This Ah'll gladly promise."

The red stallion nodded, making way towards the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Braeburn cried. Mac stopped, and looked back at him with determination.

"Ah'm gonna go and make things right. You comin'?"

__________________________________________________________________________________

"Right here!"

The two mares entered Ponyville Cemetery; a gruesome reminder of mortality for everypony; only visited by those whose close family or friends were buried there. The graves didn't even have a proper caretaker, the major had to make it mandatory for a rotating group of ponies to tend to it; was it not for that, it'd have fallen into complete disrepair. Rainbow scanned the rows of graves, until she found whose she was looking for.

"Hi, Rarity."

The only answer was silence.

"I don't know where you are right now, or even if you can hear me, but I still want to tell you this. I miss you. I didn't even realise until you were gone, but I loved hanging out with you; even if your interests... well didn't really fall in line with mine." She gave a soft, sad laugh. "Despite our differences, we always had fun together... not just because we were both friends of Twilight, so we'd have had to tolerate each other. Even when I needed a friend the most, you were there for me, believing in my innocence. I won't promise you vengeance; that never solves anything. I do promise something however: we're going to find out who did this, and make sure they can't hurt innocent ponies anymore. I guess... this is goodbye."

She felt tears well in her eyes. Turning away from Trixie, she quickly wiped her muzzle to hide her sorrow—but she couldn't. For every teardrop she smeared, two took it's place. She finally broke; sobbing loudly while also trying to hide it. The ex-showmare gently pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay," she cooed. "I won't think any less of you if you cry."

Minutes have passed until she finally felt the strength to keep her act together. She sniffed, and turned to her companion.

"I'm better now, Trixie. Let's go, before anypony sees us."

The showmare nodded, and a moment later they were shrouded with invisibility again; making their way back to the Everfree.

__________________________________________________________________________________

After Cup Cake was taken away by Equestrian authorities, hard times fell on Sugarcube Corner. Having to raise two foals on his own, Carrot Cake decided to serve drinks, too, as a way of scraping together just enough money to live by. Pinkie did her best to help him, but they were way behind profits compared to before. Even in the middle of the night, such as this time, he is forced to remain open. Would he consider closing, judgement would be upon him.

For those gathering and drinking in his estabilishment are not simple ponies. No, they are a branch of the CCF, specifically a branch which hunts down and captures fugitive blue ponies. Pinkie Pie was nearing their table with some drinks, when one of them slapped her butt. She nearly dropped everything she held, but through sheer willpower, she managed to set down all the drinks for their guests before turning to the offender.

"Please don't do that," she asked in a casual tone, as if the stallion couldn't interest her the least. Said stallion licked his lips.

"Oh c'mon, babe, you know you like it."

"No."

She trotted back to the counter, and disposed of her tray. She considered heading upstairs to have a bath, and end the day, but then she heard hoofsteps closing in from above. The Cake twins, who were no older than her when she got her cutie mark, came down, rubbing their eyes.

"Aunt Pinkie, we can't sleep." Pound cried. Pinkie hurried to his side, and gently hugged the two of them.

"Don't worry, I'm here. What if I sing you a song?" Without waiting for an answer, she began singing softly. "My name is Pinkie Pie, and I am here to say..."

One of the guests got up, and creeped closer. A drunken smile was playing on his lips, but he neither said, or did anything.

"It doesn't matter now, if you are sad or blue—"

Her song was rudely interrupted by the stallion tackling him. Because of his bulky phisyque, he knocked her to the wall seven feet away.

"What's this, then? Conspirational talk? Don't matter if they're blue? IT BLOODY MATTERS IF THEY ARE BLUE, YOU TART!" He cracked his head sadistically. "Seems like ol' Bruisy's gotta teach you a lesson."

Pinkie watched in horror as the stallion raised his hoof. A billion thoughts raced in her head. This isn't real. This isn't supposed to be like this. He is the bad guy. All the stories said that the hero arrives on time to save the damsel in distress... Where is the hero then? Was it just a lie? Her heart fell when she realised: there is no happy ending in real life.

The stallion brought his hoof down. A sickening crunch could be heard. Pinkie screamed. A moment later, she realised she wasn't the only one screaming. Looking up, she saw a red hoof hold the stallion's leg in a sickening angle.

Sometimes, the hero is on time.

"Ya step away from her, or ya'll get roughed up." Mac warned him. The other stallion reeled back, cradling his wounded hoof. He looked at the farmpony with hatred.

"You filthy, ignorant peasant! Do you have any idea who I am?!" he spat with rage. Big Mac seemed unfazed.

"Nnope."

Pinkie felt like she saw the light at the end of the tunnel...

"Then let me remind you." the other stallion snarled. "Guys, beat up his sorry arse!"

...which turned out to be the express train closing in. Big Mac simply positioned himself in front of her and the foals. Then, at the same time, five ponies jumped at him, male and female alike. Pinkie closed her eyes when she heard the screams... then she opened them again, because it wasn't Mac who was screaming. It was the other five. Mac grabbed one of them, and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the other four. With. The. Fifth. Pony. Pinkie felt the surreality of the situation, and for the first time in her life, she felt an odd sense of companionship with the red stallion.

"Well slap me silly, he's really going overboard this time." Braburn popped up, startling Pinkie. One of the thugs landed in frontof them, and when he tried to get up, the stallion unceremoniously whacked him over the head with a bottle. "An' stay down!" He noticed something from the corner of his eye. "Pardon me for a moment, Missy!"

He leaped at the cowardly leader of the ponyhunters, who attempted to flee the scene. A quick jab under his eye made him reconsider. Braburn slowly led him in front of Mac, not letting him escape. The leader's eyes darted around. His troop was utterly beaten, and Mac took his time to throw them out of Sugarcube Corner. Through the windows. He started sweating.

"W-wait until Commander Applejack hears about this! You filthy mud-digger will be in a world of pain when she hears you've been aiding blue-lovers."

Mac's face was unreadable.

"Well, at least we'll have somethin' to talk about over dinner."

The gears in the thug's head clicked into place.

"Y-you mean ....?!"

Mac nodded.

"Eeyup. Ah mean exactly that." His voice became menacing. "Ah'm thinking that mah sis would never order somethin' like this. Ah'm thinking that ya like your 'job' just a little more than it's healthy. An' Ah think ya'd better reconsider yer occupation before ya get... let's just say... unfit for duty. Are we clear?"

The oh-so-mighty attitude of the thug was gone. His voice trembled as he answered Mac.

"C-crystal clear."

Mac nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, good." He brought a hoof to his chin. "Oh wait, one last thing. Nopony hurts mah friends."

His blow sent the leader flying through the air, crashing into the door, and ripping it from it's hinges on the way out.

"The buck?!" a surprised voice came from the outside. Soon after, three pegasi emerged from the darkness of outside; Pinkie recognised Raindrops, and the mint-colored one was familiar, too. third, however, was completely unfamiliar to her, with her stripey pink mane, and white coat.

"Hmmm, should throw a welcome party—no! This is not exactly the time for that!" She filed that thought into her mental 'later' folder.

"All right. I need somepony to clarify to me what the buck has happened here?!" Raindrops asked. Carrot Cake finally gathered himself enough to answer, so he told the events that just happened minutes ago. The mint pegasus was listening with half an ear, her eyes scanning the destruction, and the two Apples. After Mr. Cake finished his story, Raindrops turned to her superior.

"So what will it be, Ma'am?"

"Let's round up these so-called 'ponyhunters', and put them in a nice, cold cell. As for you two," she said, pointing at Big Mac, "I'm going to have you come down to the precinct tomorrow, so we can take your testimonies."

"Uh, Ma'am, I think regulations say that we should bring them in, too, even it was self-defense." the white pegasus interjected meekly.

"Blossom, they just beat five ponies into next Tuesday. If you really want to pick a fight, be my guest. Now haul'em up."

The other pegasi nodded, and they quickly herded the unobjecting thugs together. A few minutes and hooficuffing later, only the mint pegasus remained.

"So, I hope there will be no more infringements today?" she snarked. Mr. Cake was quick to reassure her.

"No, no, of course not."

The pegasus nodded, and was about to leave, but Pinkie's voice stopped her.

"Wait! Who are you? How did you get here?"

The pegasus raised her head with pride.

"Name's Lightning Dust, and I'm vice captain of the Wonderbolts. As to why am I here... Actually, we were called here on official business, and our lodging happened to be near Mayor's office. When somepony told her about the... ahem... lively noises your friend made, she asked us to come investigate."

"Noises?" Pinkie asked confusedly, "He only got here a few minutes ago."

"Oh, you should have heard how he trampled through the streets. That's what caused somepony to report. I believe her actual words were 'with the rage of the High Heavens, and the loudness of a hurricane'. Must've been one heck of a sight."

Mac blushed slightly. Pinkie found this cute. She filed this thought under 'later', too.

"So, filly and gentlecolts, that's it for now. Please do come around the precinct, or we'll be forced to pursue you. While I don't want to face you off, I will if you play us fools."

"That won't be necessary." Braeburn said in a reassuring tone. Dust nodded.

"Good. Until tomorrow, then."

The pegasus left, carefully avoiding the swathe of destruction throughout the shop. As soon as she was out of sight, Pinkie jumped at Mac, hugging him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was so scared! Even more scared when I faced King Sombra, 'cause my friends were there, so I was sure it'd work out all right, but now I was absolutely unsure! I—"

She was stopped by Mac, who gently placed his hoof on her mouth.

"There'll be time for that later. Now, Ah think we should move before anythin' else happens."

"Move?" Mr. Cake asked. "You don't mean...?"

The red stallion nodded.

"Eeyup. Ah'd like to invite all four of ya to mah house. Ah think it'd be a lot safer than staying here."

"Mac, I don't know how I can—" Carrot began.

"No need." Mac said. "Ah've been to busy screwin' around to notice that ya three got into such a bad position. Juss' go an' take whatever ya need, an' Braeburn will escort ya back home."

"Thank you." Carrot whispered, as he took his foals upstairs. Braeburn followed them shortly thereafter, but not until he shot Mac a 'ya owe me big time' look. Pinkie turned to the stallion.

"Um, Mac, I know it's rude to ask, but... can we bring one more pony?"

The stallion shrugged.

"Sure. Who'd it be?"

"Fluttershy. She's so afraid, she barely left her cottage in the past few weeks. I want to cheer her up, and make her feel safe. And you, Mac, is the safest pony in Ponyville right now! ... I think... Does that make any sense?"

"Enough sense fer me. Let's go."

Author's Note

New layout. Please tell me if it's better than the old (breaks 'n such), so I can keep it if it's good, and possibly redo the earlier chapters. If not, I'll only need to change this.

Also, ship's just got real!