“Quill? Quill! Wake up!” A voice shouted, stirring Quill from her slumber. She felt herself being pulled by the scruff of her neck for a ways, the pressure the only sensation she could feel. She knew it was a pony but was far too groggy to know who, much less where she was and what’d happened. “We’re gettin’ ya outta here,” the voice shouted, muffled to her ears, as the body she was suddenly draped over began to move.

The night air was, for a moment, fresh before turning chokingly thick with the stench of fire. Burning. Her house. Her house?!

She opened her eyes and looked through the haze to see her home burning, fire licking from the upper story windows and door behind them. Orange. Blonde. …

“A... Applejack?”

“Doncha worry, Quill, we’re here. We’re here,” Applejack reassured her as they came to a slow canter before stopping two houses down. The fire team was already casting spells and using various forms of magic to quell and control the fire before it could spread to the next house and, subsequently the whole town.

“Where’s,” she took a heavy breath of fresh air, “Lime? I just,” she coughed as fresh air entered her body again, “saw her. Take me back, to her.”

“Ya need a doctor before anything, Sugarcube. Hey,” Applejack called to a nearby pony that was gawking at the fire, “Ah’m headin’ to the hospital with Quill, if anypony asks, that’s where we are.”

The yokel gawked at Applejack and grinned a missing toothed grin. “Heh, why shucks, t’ain’t no problem.”

With a curt nod, Applejack took to a gallop away from the fire and within a minute was nearly halfway through town. The hospital was nearing.

Quill yawned and bobbed. “Uh, I can walk you know.”

“Yeah, Ah know. If ya get off yer in for a hurt though. Ya got a good burn to yer side there and it’s gonna smart somethin’ fierce soon. That’s the reason Rainbow stayed back to help with the fire. She can’t carry you like you are and she’s not as tough as I am fer runnin’... without cheatin’,” Applejack mumbled as she took a sharp right and nearly lost Quill to the centripical forces.

“Yeah, but I’m a Pegasus. I’ll just fly,” Quill groaned as she made to open her wings. Sharp pain shot through her back for the instant she did try to move her wing arms. “Ah, I get it; wing burn. Duh,” she said as her stomach turned from the pain in her back, wing and burns.

“Stay put’n hold on. One last turn and we’re there. What in tarnation?” Applejack mumbles as she neared the hospital.

“What?” Quill asked.

“Uh, nothin’. Just mah eyes playin’ tricks on me.”

…

“So doctor, how’s she lookin’?” Applejack asked Doctor Horse as he looked intently at a medical clipboard.

“Well, we’ve healed the burns and she’ll regrow everything in time. But what concerns me is why she was asleep in a housefire to begin with. There’s no alcohol in her system and we couldn’t trace any illegal substances in her,” he stopped when he noticed Applejack looking aside and biting her lip. “Applejack, what happened?”

Applejack exhaled and looked to the floor. His hooves were really interesting for a second while she thought of what to say. “She tried ta take her life, Doc.”

“Oh my.”

“Her lover died from tainted honey and she must’ve saved the jar. Whole thing was empty when Rainbow’n me pulled her outta the house ‘fore the fire could get to her.”

Doctor horse exhaled and pressed a hoof to his forehead as he took in the news.

“Before ya ask, Rainbow’n me weren’t there when the fire started. We were-”

“Nononahnope,” he interjected, “we know enough about your love life thanks to Rainbow Dash-”

“Ah was gonna say havin’ supper,” she frowned, “and what’s this you’ve been hearin’ about mah personal life from a certain mare? Huh?”

“Oh, boy…”

…

“So I was like ‘whoosh’ and ‘pow’ and ‘splash’. Heh, yup. Totally owned the fire,” Rainbow said landing and ruffling her wings as Scootaloo sat beside Quill on a hospital bed.

“Wow! That’s so cool, Mom! I can’t wait to fly as awesome as you and do half your stunts.”

“Yeah, I know,” Rainbow polished a hoof on her chest, “but you’ll have to keep your expectations lower until you get half as awesome as me.”

A rolled sock bounced off Rainbow’s snout. “Oh, hush it up. You were probably carrying one bucket of water when the chief put out the fire, right?” Quill stated with mirth as she pulled Scootaloo into a hug and gave her a noogie.

“Hey, those clouds don’t make themselves and I only had a little help. So, yeah,” she paused to sigh and look at Scootaloo who wasn’t listening through her beginning to rough house with Quill.

“Hey, I call this one the Scootaloo Jammer,” Scootaloo said as she hovered and began to use all four legs to strike at Quill who was using one of her pillows as a shield.

“Oh yeah? I call this one-”

“Stop that, both of you,” a nurse scolded as she poked her head into the room, “you’re sick and need rest. You’re a filly and should be in school. And you... “ she stopped and looked at Rainbow before sighing, “just, keep the room calm. Please.” The nurse left the mares and filly alone again, the room in silence as Scootaloo stood on the bed and looked at Rainbow.

Quill slowly moved a foreleg and poked Scootaloo under the tail yielding a yelp in surprise from the filly.

“Ha! She poked ya in the eye,” Rainbow laughed as Quill smirked and Scootaloo scowled.

“It’s not funny when my friends do it, it’s really not funny when she does it,” Scootaloo turned and pointed at Quill. Then yelped again as Rainbow poked her under the tail. Scootaloo huffed and jumped to the floor, stomping out with her tail low. “You guys are jerks,” she said before she slammed the door shut behind her.

“Wow, she’s so done with us,” Rainbow said before she started to laugh.

“I don’t know, I remember that being a fun game when we were fillies-”

“And anytime just because,” Rainbow added.

“Between friends, yeah,” Quill continued, “but I’ve never been much for the poke game with fillies.”

Rainbow scratched her chin. “What’re you talking about, you’re a ‘filly’ fooler, right?” Rainbow egged her on. Quill returned the joke with a deadpan expression. “Okay, too far. Sorry, but… well,” Rainbow hovered and scratched the back of her mane.

“I saved the honey Lime ate and hid it away in my house. I never thought I’d ever see it again, but-”

The door opened quickly showing Applejack and Scootaloo behind her forelegs. “What in tarnation’s goin’ on in here? Quill,” she directed her questioning, “did you poke her under her tail? And Rainbow Dash, you just let it happen?”

“Hey,” Quill started.

“I didn’t think it was wrong until a few seconds ago, honest, Fritter.”

Scootaloo poked Applejack’s leg to get her attention and whispered softly, pointing to Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash!”

“Busted,” Quill whispered.

“You poked her too?! Ah just can’t… Scootaloo, Ah need ya to get home and play with yer friends while Ah have a talk with these two.” Scootaloo smirked at Rainbow then Quill before turning and leaving Applejack’s underbody, flicking her tail as she left.

Applejack closed the door and walked over to Rainbow and pulled her into a kiss. “Don’t do that again.” Rainbow nodded as a nervous smile crossed her muzzle. “And you, Quill. Ah’m not gonna even start on you with a filly’s game. Tell me why Ah had ta pull you out of a fire you started after tryin’ to kill yourself?”

Quill sighed and moved to get more comfortable in her bed. “I thought you left me. I… can’t be alone again, not from all my friends. All my lovers. All my reasons to be here.”

“Quill, why’d ya go and think we left ya?”

“You both left me for each other,” Quill said firmly.

“Yeah, and we fought it out-”

“Talked it out, Rainbow means,” Applejack pulled Rainbow to her hooves with a clatter, “and I thought we were gonna talk about it.”

Rainbow stomped a hoof. “And I said I was gonna talk with you both and AJ. AJ,” Rainbow looked at her, “I was cheating on you for two weeks with Quill and I totally stopped.”

“Yeah, out of the blue,” Quill nearly pouted before biting her lip instead as both mares looked at her.

“Yer gonna stay quiet fer a minute,” she tapped Rainbow on the shoulder as she turned to face Quill. “Ah was having sex with you ‘cause you listened to mah problems, and the whole time you were listenin’ to both of us talk about the other?”

“...Yes.”

“Sheesh, we could’a just had a threesome everyday then,” Rainbow rolled her eyes before she was shoved back a length by Applejack.

“Ah said hush.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

With a nod Applejack turned back to Quill. “Why, Quill? Why’d ya go and lead us both on?”

“I... “ she paused as silence befell the room, “I love you, both.”

“Ugh,” Rainbow groaned and facehooved.

“What do you mean ‘ugh’? I… fell in love you. A long time ago, Rainbow. You know that from the time I kissed you in your office.”

Rainbow groaned. “Yeah, I remember.”

“And what about me, Sugarcube?”

Quill sighed. “The threesome. It was, my first time and what you both did to me just,” she inhaled deeply, “I haven’t felt like that since Lime and,” she pouted, “I miss her, girls.”

Rainbow snorted in frustration. “Look, Ah got over it, finally. Why can’t you?”

“Rainbow,” Applejack said calmly, “did you love Lime?”

“Duh, no.”

“What’d you do if I died?”

Rainbow frowned. “Ah’d kill whoever did it.”

“What if a tree fell on me and nopony found me until after I passed into the pastures?”

Quill gasped but it went unnoticed. Rainbow continued. “Ah, Ah’d die inside. AJ, without you… I don’t know what I’d do without. Scootaloo, our baby, the farm? Our,” she sniffled and began to cry on the spot, “baby, Fritter. What’d I tell her? How could I tell about how awesome you are?”

Applejack pulled Rainbow into a hug. “Sugarcube, that’s what Quill feels like right now. It’s not somethin’ that goes away easy like.” Rainbow continued to cry as Quill watched on and sniffled.

“That’s what I fell in love with. How much you two love each other, when I thought you were gone I drank, wait, why didn’t the honey kill me?”

“After what happened with the party where Twi turned the town inta an orgy-”

Rainbow sniffled. “We had her cast a safety spell on the town. All the drugs were rendered useless because we were worried about somepony trying to hurt themselves.”

“So, I’m alive because your friend’s a magic idiot?”

“She got her stallion,” Rainbow said as she tried to wipe her eyes dry then gasped, “she moved again! Oh my gosh, Quill, you haven’t felt her yet, have you?” she took to the air and hovered over Quill.

Quill looked to Applejack uneasily but after a nod of approval reached up and waited. A grin crossed her muzzle.

“Now aren’t ya happy ta be alive?”

Quill removed her hoof and Rainbow moved beside Applejack. With a smile plastered on her expression, Quill chuckled. “Eeyap. Wait," she asked, "why'd I fall asleep from the honey if it wasn't poison?"

The three looked between one another, they didn't know.

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