Soarin spent the next week stuck in the Canterlot hospital, recovering from the injuries he sustained from his fall. The doctors were impressed by the field dressings that were done on him, and they asked him who was responsible for such complex skills. Soarin was unable to answer them, but the doctors shrugged it off, completing their duties and leaving the pegasus to rest.

Day and night, Soarin was unable to do anything to quell the nightmares in his mind. Each night was filled with tossing and turning as his mind replayed the horrible scene he witnessed that night, the screams and cries of the dying all too real. Being awake during the day didn’t help either; Spitfire came to check up on him each day, but her visits were mostly all talks about that night, too. While she daydreamed that she could have been leading the attack herself, Soarin could do nothing but try to ignore her words, but he was never able to do so successfully.

The only piece of information he was eager to hear about was if any of the other Wonderbolts had made it out of Cloudsdale safely. Spitfire shook her head, informing him that two bodies had been found so far, both struck by lightning and died instantly. No sign of the third pegasus had been found, but he too was presumed to dead. Spitfire put on a smile, expressing how lucky she and Soarin had been to beat impossible odds and survive getting out of Cloudsdale relatively unscathed. He failed to join her in celebration, sickened by the fact that three of his teammates had perished and one would probably never receive a proper burial.

It was always a relief when Spitfire would eventually leave for the day, finally giving him a few hours of peace and quiet to think before he would unsuccessfully try to sleep for the night. The day he was due to be discharged from the hospital couldn’t come soon enough, but the day finally came. Spitfire had told him the day before that she had arranged for him to stay with somepony for a few weeks until he was completely healed, but with exactly who he wasn’t sure. But as he was helped to the waiting room to leave, Soarin was surprised to see a pegasus that he hadn’t seen in ages.

“Rainbow Dash!” he exclaimed in surprise and delight. She looked up and saw her teammate still with a bandage covering one wing and a leg covered with a cast. She trotted up to him, giving him a hug before helping him along to a waiting carriage to take them to where he would stay.

During the short carriage ride to their destination, Soarin couldn’t help but feel as though something was quite amiss. The Rainbow Dash he knew was almost like Spitfire in determination, energy, and spirit. But the Rainbow Dash sitting with him was quiet, reserved, and hollow. He tried to strike up a conversation, wondering where she’s been since she was summoned by Princess Celestia many months ago. He got no response; instead Rainbow Dash seemed to clam up more than before.

Soarin had no idea about the torture and pain Dash had been through. Spitfire had only told him that Dash’s mission had not gone as planned and she would be living with some pegasus in Canterlot for the foreseeable future, but nothing more. Soarin wished that he knew just what happened to her, because it pained him to see Rainbow in this mental state. However, he managed to hold his tongue for now and rode the rest of the trip in an uneasy silence.

The carriage finally stopped, and Rainbow Dash and Soarin got out and entered a rather large apartment. Soarin couldn’t help but gawk at the large living space, wondering just how rich whatever pony owned this place was. Canterlot housing wasn’t cheap, and even Filthy Rich from Ponyville couldn’t afford a place this size.

“Wow, this is amazing. Who owns this place?” Soarin asked Dash.

“He’s Celestia’s personal courier, so he gets a large break in the rent.” Dash explained.

“Oh wow. You’re lucky to have such an important pegasus for your special somepony.” Soarin said.

His remark caused Rainbow Dash to blush a bright crimson red. “S-s-special s-somepony? Uh, not really… well, I mean…” she stammered. Soarin found it odd that she would get this flustered over a simple statement like that, adding to his curiosity of just what happened to her.

“Well, um, anyways, where is he?” Soarin asked.

“Oh, he left for the Crystal Empire earlier today. Princess Celestia had to send him over to get more information on something Shining Armor and Princess Cadence reported about a threat.” she replied. “He’s been staying with me in Ponyville, but when he got this assignment we figured it’d be easier if I stayed here in case his assignment is extended. We saw Spitfire earlier yesterday and she told us that you were being released from the hospital today, so we told her that you could stay with me while you recovered.”

Nodding, Soarin followed Rainbow Dash around the apartment as she showed him which room he would be staying in and where everything else was. Soarin thanked her for her help but insisted that there was a pressing matter he must take care of immediately and told her he would be back shortly.

Thankfully for Soarin, Dash’s apartment was extremely close to Celestia’s castle, most likely due to the nature of her special somepony’s job. As Soarin entered the castle, he notified one of the guards that he must speak to Princess Luna immediately.

“But sir, the princess is asleep. She is to be awoken only for the most urgent of matters.” the guard said.

“I know that. This cannot wait. I need to speak to her now.” Soarin pressed.

The guard nodded, not too keen on having to wake the princess during the day. “Very well, wait here.”

The guard left to go inform the princess that she had a visitor and returned moments later. “Follow me.” he told Soarin.

The two ponies walked down the hallway to Luna’s private chambers, the guards standing by her door opening them for Soarin. He walked into her room alone, the doors shutting behind him as the princess walked towards the injured pegasus.

“Thank you for seeing me, Princess Luna. I’m sorry to disturb you.” Soarin said, trying to bow but his injured leg limited his movement.

Luna gently placed a hoof on his shoulder. “There is no need to bow, Soarin. You have been through more than most ponies even dream of. Both you and Spitfire have defied the odds by escaping Cloudsdale.” she said.

“Thank you, princess.” Soarin said. “But I must tell you of something that happened after that.”

“Yes, Spitfire informed me of that, too.” Princess Luna said. “She told me how you had been captured by the group of griffons trying to sneak up on Canterlot.”

“What? No!” Soarin cried out, his fears of Spitfire relaying the wrong information now confirmed. “No, they didn’t capture me! They helped me! They took me in and helped me. They posed no threat to us.”

“I doubt the griffon army would just help you without having some other motive in mind.” Luna said.

“But they weren’t part of the griffon army, they were all refugees who wanted to find peace here in Equestria.” Soarin said. “That’s what I came here to tell you. Somepony gave the order for your night guard to attack them and kill them all. Even the children in the camp were killed! We have to investigate and find out who ordered the attack!”

“Oh, I did.” Luna said flatly.

Soarin was dumbstruck, unable to even think that one of the two rulers of Equestria could give the order to slaughter innocent, helpless creatures. “That… that was you? You did that?” he stuttered in disbelief.

Luna nodded. “Yes, I did. I had no other choice. The possibility of one of them being a spy or assassin was too great.”

“Wait a second, you knew that they weren’t the griffon army?” Soarin exclaimed. “But you still… dear Celestia, you still gave the order to…”

Luna walked up to Soarin, her face showing some hint of regret. “Listen, Soarin, I do not expect you or any other pony to understand right now why I chose to do what I did. But I swear I had the safety and well-being of every pony in my mind when I made that decision. Maybe one day you will understand. Maybe not. But sometimes the right decision is not always the easiest one to make.”

Soarin nodded, still feeling sick to his stomach. He knew there was nothing left to talk about to Luna, so he took his leave, thanking the princess for her time and turned to leave. Luna watched Soarin go, thinking that once he had time to think about the larger picture, he would eventually know she made the right decision.

Soarin made the short walk back to his temporary home and went straight to his room, sprawling himself on the bed. He had hoped to put his mind more at ease, but after his talk with Luna now his head hurt even more.

‘Maybe I should try talking to Celestia next. But what if she also approved of what her sister did? Who am I kidding, she probably does. They’re co-rulers, after all.’ Soarin thought. His quest for justice and peace of mind was now shattered, and with no other ideas of what to do Soarin closed his eyes to try to sleep, hoping that maybe tonight he could finally get some rest.

Once again, no rest came to Soarin, instead his night was spent tossing and turning as the memories of the innocent griffons being slaughtered in front of his eyes returned to his mind. His eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed, sweating and breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself.

A creak outside his door alerted Soarin of somepony. “Rainbow Dash, is that you?” he called out.

A few seconds of silence were finally broken as the door opened, revealing that Soarin had been correct. “Are you okay? I heard you yelling at somepony in here.” she said, looking concerned.

“No, no. I’m fine.” Soarin said, quickly wiping a tear off of his face so she didn’t see it. “It was just a bad dream.”

Dash looked at the way the sheets were tangled, knowing that it wasn’t just a simple nightmare. “Soarin, it’s okay. You can talk to me about it. Spitfire didn’t tell us much about what happened to you. Maybe talking about it would help.” she offered.

Soarin shook his head. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash. I just… I don’t want to drag you into this whole mess.”

Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on top of Soarin’s, looking him in the eyes. “Soarin, you can tell me. I promise, it will make you feel better.”

The look of determination and concern in her eyes finally broke Soarin down. Giving in, Soaring told Rainbow Dash everything, from finding the destroyed weather factory and Spitfire killing one of the intruders to watching Luna’s guards slaughter hundreds of helpless griffons. Rainbow Dash listened in silence, and at the end of his story Soarin took a deep breath. “You’re right, I do feel a little better.” he said, offering a weak grin.

Rainbow Dash smiled back, happy she could help him start to fight his demons.

“So, what happened to you? How come you haven’t been back to Cloudsdale?” Soarin asked, not realizing how sore of a spot he hit.

Dash’s smile disappeared in a flash as dark memories began to resurface. Though the past didn’t torment her as much as it used to, the memories of her time in captivity was still not something she could easily deal with. Rainbow took a deep breath, calming herself slightly and faced Soarin once more.

“I guess it’s only fair that I tell you.” she said.

Soarin sat in absolute horror as Rainbow Dash told him about some of the torture she went through while a captive of the griffons. She didn’t tell him everything, definitely leaving out the dragon raping her and the gang bang contest. She also left out everything that related to her special somepony, not wanting to stir up any misunderstandings, not to mention it was her personal sex life.

After she was finished, Soarin looked at her sheepishly. “Guess my problems are nothing compared to yours, huh?” he asked. “How did you deal with all of that? How did you recover from it all?”

Rainbow Dash paused to think. She couldn’t tell him she still had the occasional nightmare when she slept alone, or how she and her special pegasus would engage in somewhat unusual bedroom activities. “I guess… I guess just having somepony who is always there for you, who won’t leave your side. Somepony to hold you at night and to do anything for you.” she said.

It suddenly dawned on Rainbow Dash that Soarin didn’t have a special somepony of his own, and she felt stupid for saying what she just did. Deciding that her own special somepony would understand her actions, she moved closer to Soarin.

“Do you, um, want me to spend the night with you?” she asked, lightly blushing.

Soarin was slightly dumbstruck by the offer, simply nodding in response.

“Okay, then.” Dash said, lying down on the bed. Soarin gingerly followed suit, careful not to move his injured wing or leg too much. He wrapped his front hooves around Dash’s slim frame and felt her warm body against his chest. “Better?” she asked once he was comfortably situated.

“Yeah. Thank you.” he said genuinely, already feeling more relaxed.

Rainbow smiled and closed her eyes, glad that she was able to help her old teammate. She was also glad he agreed to sleep with her as she still wasn’t comfortable sleeping alone yet, and as Celestia’s messenger would be away for a few more days she was happy to have a friend for a substitute.

Soarin buried his muzzle into Dash’s mane, a fruity smell filling his nose accompanied by a hint of Dash’s unique body scent. Both ponies soon fell asleep, neither of them troubled by the memories that had haunted them before.

Author's Note

Just a short filler chapter, mainly to see how well received a happy chapter would be.

Also a heads up; updates to this story may take longer than usual. I have some other ideas for stories that have spent enough time on the back burner. One of such stories can be found here. And no, not all of them will be rape stories... though there won't be a shortage of those either.