The rain had dulled to a slight trickle, and by the swearing above, it likely seemed to be from technical difficulties. Toaster did not mind, though. She was used to living outside, and rain did not bother her.

Lost in thought as she wandered through the town, she hardly noticed the rain- -or how ponies would turn up their noses at her, or retreat to their homes, closing the doors, or even spit on her. Her mind was not able to focus on more than one thing at once.

“My problem,” she said to herself. “What is my problem? My problem is that I don’t have enough customers…” She paused. That was not what Fluttershy meant. There was a reason why Toaster did not have customers, and she did not know it. While initially she had assumed that she was physically defective somehow, now she was not so sure. Her confusion was deeper, and continued to grow more profound the more she thought about what Fluttershy had said. “No…it’s not that…it’s not even the job…it’s something more complex than that…but what? Why am I failing?” She turned to the pony who had been walking beside her for several minutes. “I just don’t understa- -HOLY BUCK!”

Suddenly realizing that a pony was standing inches from her caused Toaster to jump higher and harder than she ever had in her life. Within a few seconds, though, with her heart racing, Toaster realized that there was no real threat. She recognized the pink, straight-haired pony who had appeared beside her.

“Oh,” said Toaster as the gutter she was holding onto started to creak and disconnected from the building, slamming her into the ground with a thud. “It’s just you, Pink Friend.”

“My name is Pinkie Pie. Or have you taken one to many shots from a party cannon to the head?”

“I sure hope not,” said Toaster. “That sounds painful.”

“Only painful to society’s morals.”

“Wait, when did we start talking about mushrooms?” Toaster paused. “You wouldn’t happen to HAVE some mushrooms, would you?”

Pinkie stared at toaster for a long moment. “I get the joke, but I’m not going to laugh. Because you are a whore.”

“Well, that logic doesn’t follow. Or it might. I think I hit my head falling off that building.”

Pinkie Pie shoved a plate into Toaster’s face. “Cupcake?” she said, smiling.

Toaster gasped. “Cupcakes? Really?! Oh, I’m so happy! Thank you Pink Friend!”

Pinkie pulled the cover off the plate, and Toaster reached in to grab a cupcake- -until she saw that every single one of them was blue.

“Um, on second thought, I kind of need to slim down.”

“Oh, come on,” said Pinkie. “It won’t put that much cushie in your tushie! Just one bite, a little Toaster nibble…that’s all it will take…”

“Nope. Only two things I won’t eat. One of them is blue cupcakes.”

“Darn it,” said Pinkie, dropping setting down the cupcakes.

“But the though is still nice!” said Toaster, seeing how disappointed Pinkie was. “It’s nice to know that I have friends here in Ponyville…friends…”

Pinkie looked up, and something glimmered in her eye. “You look down, Toaster. Is something wrong?”

“Oh. Well, yeah. I was just coming back from Fluttershy’s…”

“Fluttershy? What were you doing at Fluttershy’s house?”

“Oh, that. She rented me for a bit.”

“Waifu theft!”

“Excuse me?”

“Eh ha ha…nothing,” said Pinkie, smiling. She put her foreleg around Toaster. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s wrong? I’m sure I can think of something that will cheer you up!”

“Well,” said Toaster as the two of them started walking down the muddy street, “it’s just that…for some reason, business hasn’t been all that good lately.”

“You don’t say? I wonder why.”

“So do I!” gasped Toaster. “It’s like your mind is my mind! Are we sisters or something?”

Pinkie Pie nearly vomited. “I sure hope not,” she said.

“Oh. Well, if that’s the case, then I should let you know that I don’t go for mares. Tried it with Fluttershy, and although she tasted okay, I don’t swing that way.”

“You tasted Fluttershy? What did she taste like?” Pinkie Pie shook her head. “No…off topic.”

“When I was there, she encouraged me to think about WHY I’m having this problem. I mean, at first I thought something was wrong with me, and it still might be, but now…now I’m starting to wonder why this is so hard, and why I’m not happy doing this.”

Pinkie smiled, perhaps too widely. “Oh, I just can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you! I mean, moving all the way out here and leaving all your friends and family behind in Canterlot- -”

“Oh, I don’t have any friends and family in Canterlot.”

“No…no friends?”

“Never had time. Too busy.”

“Oh,” said Pinkie, her eyes narrowing. “Figures. But still. You came all the way out here, and into such a competitive market.”

Toaster froze. “What?”

“Oh, I thought you knew. Or I knew you thought. Which, at this point, it kinda seems you don’t. I mean, all your business acuhymen- -I mean acumen, I figured you were just ambitious to come to such a saturated, moist market- -oh sweet Celestia, it’s catching!”

“Wait, you mean I’m NOT the only prostitute in Ponyville? There’s MORE?”

“Of course, silly!”

“Competition!” cried Toaster, suddenly realizing the answer to Fluttershy’s question. She was failing to fulfil her special talent and become happy not because she was doing something wrong, but because she had mistakenly entered a market without realizing that it was already filled. Of course, in retrospect it all made sense- -all the stallions in this town looked so happy, they MUST have been having sex with somepony. “Who is it? Where is she?”

“Oh, I can’t tell you that, silly! It would breach my Pinkie privacy policy!”

Pinkie started to trot off.

“Wait, don’t go!”

“Can’t stay, got a lot to do today!” then, her voice darkening. “I’ve got one heck of a party to plan…”

Toaster was left standing in the middle of the street while Pinkie ducked behind a building.

“Heh heh heh,” she said. “I’m so evil in this story.” She reached into her hair and pulled out a cupcake and munched on it. Then, as she did, her eyes widened. She looked down and realized it was blue frosted. “Aww, buck,” she said. “Buck me ‘till I’m stuck like a duck. Welp, guess I’m going to the hospital.”

Toaster sat in the street for a moment, feeling the rain running down her back. She knew that somewhere out there, somehow, somepony was stealing her stallions. That just was not fair. Really, she was used to playing second fiddle to more successful prostitutes; she knew she was not actually that good. But to have one competitor taking every steamy transaction in town while Toaster was left a virgin was just not fair.

So she sat down and pondered for a moment. As she did, she realized that she was in a part of town that she had not yet been too. Then, as she watched, the door to a large and ornate stand-alone building with an immaculate lawn opened.

Two stallions stepped out, one following the other. They were both slightly disheveled and disproportionally sweaty for the coolness of the day. They both turned to each other and giggled slightly. Toaster sat and watched this, but really had no opinion about it- -until a mare stepped out behind them.

Toaster immediately gasped so hard that she hyperventilated and nearly passed out. When her vision came back, she coughed and stared at the most astounding mare she had ever seen. She was a unicorn, but not just any unicorn- -a WHITE unicorn, the rarest and most beautiful shade of their race. Her hair was perfectly coiffed, and her makeup was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible- -but amplified her perfect blue eyes immeasurably.

“I can’t thank you enough for your help,” she said, smiling at the two stallions. Toaster almost cried out- -not only was she a white unicorn, but she had an ACCENT. She was like the shorter, fatter Fleur de Lis.

“Oh, the pleasure is all ours,” said one of the stallions. “After what you did for us, it’s the least we could do, Ms. Rarity.”

“Yeah,” said the other. “You certainly are the Element of Generosity!”

“Oh my,” said the white mare, putting her hoof over her mouth and blushing coyly. “You two are such gentlecolts. And certainly two of my very best customers.”

“Just make sure our wives don’t know,” said one of them, looking around suspiciously.

“Oh, darling, I wouldn’t DREAM of it,” said Rarity smiling. “You just go home, and I’ll send you the bill later.”

“Thanks again, Rarity,” they said. They started to walk off, but Rarity cleared her throat and they turned back to her.

“Oh, boys, I really don’t want to be a bother,” she batted her long eyelashes and crossed her front legs seductively. “And I hate to aske, but you two are just such big, strong stallions…” an overfilled trashcan floated out of the door, propelled by her magic. “This trash is just TOO heavy for me to lift alone,” she said, lifting the container effortlessly with magic. “If you two could just carry it out.”

“Not a problem!” said the first stallion, grabbing the can.

“No, I will!” said the other, grabbing the other side of the bin.

“Oh, thank you SO much,” said Rarity, smiling. She went back to her door. “I really must be going, though. I have another customer coming in half an hour, and I simply MUST get myself ready.”

She closed the door, and the two stallions proceeded to fight over who was going to take the bin to the curb. Toaster turned back to her pondering, wishing for just a moment that she could bring herself to be a lespony if only to hit that sexy white mare.

Then the thought hit her all at once. This time, Toaster did gasp so hard she passed out in the street. When she woke up after several minutes, the stallions were gone- -and she suddenly understood what Pinkie Pie had been talking about. That white unicorn, that Rarity- -SHE was the town whore!

“It all makes sense now!” cried Toaster, grabbing and shaking a nameless, generic pony.

She released the pony, who brushed himself off and walked away, and Toaster’s gladness on figuring out her rival collapsed into sadness. She was just a brown unicorn, the worst color, and she now had to compete against an all-white unicorn with an accent who was clearly rich enough to afford a HUGE house.

“I can’t compete with that,” she said to herself. “I just can’t…” Then she took a breath and steeled herself. “No. That’s no way to think.” She figured that this must have been what Fluttershy wanted her to figure out, that this “Rarity” was what was impacting her life. In this case, there was no failsafe. There was no room for failure. If Toaster could not make it in Ponyville, she had no fallback plan, nowhere to go.

In her desperation, she knew that there was only one option. She had to eliminate the competition.

After taking measurements for her second client of the day- -a rather svelte and unshapely girl by the name of Flitter who could just not stand still- -Rarity had a momentary break in her schedule. She took this opportunity to go out for some quick grocery shopping.

The rain had mostly slowed, but there was mud everywhere. Normally, Rarity would not have dreamed of going outside so soon after a storm, but she had recently created the most darling set of rain boots to keep her keenly polished hooves dry, and she had been wanting to test them out all week.

So, she quickly trotted through town, being careful to avoid puddles so as to avoid getting her beautiful new rain boots covered in mud. She knew that she only had a few hours to get some basic ingredients for her nightly salad before she spent the afternoon in production. She was quite busy, as always, because being best pony was most definitely no small task.

Rarity watched as a yellow-coated earth pony stepped into the puddle nearest to her and sank completely out of sight. Rarity paused, and then walked around that puddle, taking the yellow-coated pony’s place in line at one of the farm stands.

“Hello, Ms. Rarity,” said the proprietor.

“Oh, hello, Dil,” said Rarity. “Such horrid weather we’ve been having, don’t you agree?”

“I can’t complain. It’s good for the crops, as you can see.” He motioned toward his wares.

Rarity reached into the stacks of cucumbers and removed an especially long, warty one that was nearly as thick as her foreleg.

“Oh my,” she said, her eyes widening. “This certainly is a handsome specimen…”

“You sure do have an eye for quality, Ms. Rarity. With the size of that one, I’m sure you’ll get plenty of use out of it.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will.” She passed the green fruit to Dil.

“I’ll have that wrapped up in a jiffy.”

“Oh, aren’t you sweet.”

“Not as sweet as these pickles,” said Dil, producing a large jar of much more stout cucumbers. “Only five bits a jar.”

“As tempting as the offer is,” said Rarity, pushing the jar away, “fermented food is bad for my complexion.”

“Oh. Okay,” said Dil, finishing wrapping up the abnormally large cucumber and giving it back to Rarity, who paid for it with a hoof full of bits and a small gem.

“Keep the change,” she said.

“Wow, thanks! I’ll be sure to save the next big one for you!”

Rarity waved as she trotted off, putting the cucumber into her saddlebags. She would get to it later. She began to make her way back to the Carousel Boutique.

As she passed a particularly dark alley, however, she heard a voice call out to her.

“Psst,” said a voice. Rarity stopped and turned to see a brown hoof beckoning from the shadows. “Over here, Rarity.”

Rarity paused, wondering why somepony would be in such a dark, damp, smelly alley, and why any such pony would want to talk to her. Still, she knew that nopony in Ponyville would ever hurt her, and the pony clearly knew her name. So, hesitating only for a moment, Rarity stepped into the darkness.

“Oh my,” she said, stepping into a puddle of something unpleasant. She shuddered. “Hello? Is anypony in there?”

“Yes, me,” said a voice. “I’m in here.”

“Where?” In the dim light of the overcast sky, Rarity could not see clearly into the narrow space between the buildings.

“Just come in a little bit closer.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Rarity stepped took a few more steps into the dark, unpleasant crevice, holding her breath against the smell of garbage- -and something that smelled strongly like a grandma.

“How about now?”

“Yes,” said the voice. Rarity could tell that it was female, but could not see its source. “That should be close enough.”

Something moved quickly, and suddenly Rarity felt a jarring pain ripple through her entire body. Her breath left her, and she looked down to see brown hoof shoved into the center of her chest. She wanted to look up, to see who the hoof belonged to, to ask why anypony what she had done wrong, but instead she just let out a nearly inaudible squeak and doubled over in pain.

The second blow came as rapidly as the first. This one struck Rarity in the face, causing her vision to flash into bright yellow-white light and her thoughts to momentarily freeze. That blow knocked her back into a brick wall, and her saddlebags fell to the ground. All she could think of was how her cucumber was rolling away.

She managed to look up to see a stony-faced brown unicorn looming over her.

Rarity’s eyes widened when she saw the pony’s mane. “Green…hair…” she gasped.

The pony did not react. Instead, she picked Rarity up by the shoulders and slammed her repeatedly into the wall. Each blow caused Rarity to cry out in pain. She tried to summon her magic, but her special talent was for sewing, not for defending herself. She could not think of a spell to use.

After a few blowes, Rarity was dropped into the dirty muck of the alley and her perfect white coat was stained with garbage water and mud. She wheezed loudly as she waited for the horrible pain to leave her body, and then, finally, managed to look up at the pony standing over her.

“Why?” she asked.

“I’m not a violent pony,” said the brown mare. “But I can’t fail. Not here. Not now.”

“Fail? I don’t- -I don’t understand…”

“You filthy slut…there is only room for one of us in this town. You are my competition. The only way I can survive is to remove you.”

Rarity felt adrenaline rush through her body as she realized that she was dealing with a madpony. She reached out with her horn and picked up a nearby board, a scrap of a palate that had been left with the other trash. With all her strength, she tossed it at the brown mare’s head.

It struck, and the mare was knocked back. Rarity tried to stand, to run, but cried out from the pain. Something inside her chest was broken, badly. The pain was worse than anything she had ever felt.

The brown pony looked back at her. The blow to her head had done nothing; she had barely even reacted.

“How many stallions have crammed themselves into you, Rarity?” she asked. “Stallions that were rightfully mine. I am their new dumpster. Not you. You must go now.”

The tip of the brown mare’s unusually pointy brown horn ignited with a crimson light, and it produced what appeared to be threads of glowing energy. The threads extended and separated from her horn, and then began to move. They swarmed around her body, forming a vortex of streamers of red light.

The mare started walking forward, and Rarity cried out in terror when she saw what the streams of red light did to anything in her way. A trash can was ripped into glowing segments, torn apart as if by an invisible saw. Large, molten grooves were cut into the cobblestone floor.

“Please, stop!” cried Rarity.

“I can’t,” said the brown pony, tears running down her face. “I just can’t.”

“Somepony, please help me!” cried Rarity.

“Nopony can save you now,” said Toaster. “It is just you and- -”

Her words were cut short an orange blur struck her in the side, sending the tall but light-bodied brown mare flying through several trash cans and finally coming to a stop on a metal dumpster with a loud crack.

“Get away from her!” cried Applejack, now standing over Rarity.

“Applejack!”

“You motherbucker!” cried the familiar voice of another pony, appearing at the edge of the alley.

“Stay out of this,” said the brown pony, standing awkwardly from a blow that would have sent most ponies to a hospital. “This is a fight between two- -OOF!”

She was struck in the gut by Applejack. Rainbow Dash joined Applejack, containing Toaster in the back of the alley.

“Please- -” started Toaster before taking one large blow from Rainbow Dash to the face. “This is a fight between that crab-infested whore and me.”

“Crab infested?” said Rarity, tears welling in her eyes. “How could you say that?” She burst out into sobbing. Rainbow Dash moved quickly to comfort her, flapping her wings even though her flight feathers had been singed off just a few days earlier.

“How could you say that?” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“Because there is only room for one prostitute in this town!”

“Prostitute?” cried Applejack. “You take that back, or I swear to Celestia’s plot I will snap that stupid horn off your forehead.”

“Please don’t,” said Toaster, backing away in fear. “But, she is. I saw it!”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash both looked at Rarity. “You did?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah! I saw two sweaty stallions coming out of her house, claiming to be her ‘customers’ and paying her for sex!”

“Wait, what?” cried Rarity. “You mean Barnboard and Hedgepodge? They are two of my best customers- -for DRESSES.”

“But…they’re dudes.”

“Not for them! For their wives! They order their wives new dresses every month as a surprise!”

“But- -they were so sweaty- -”

“Because they helped me move my furniture! I make dresses! I’m a fashion designer! And now look at me!” she felt her eye, which was rapidly swelling and darkening and looked down at the mud that covered her body. Then, once again, she broke out into sobbing and clutched Rainbow Dash.

“Wow,” said Rainbow Dash. “This is awkward.”

“But- -but- -”

“Rainbow Dash,” said Applejack, “I’m about to do something none to friendly.”

“I think I’m gonna help you with that one,” said Rainbow Dash, setting Rarity down.

“No, stop!” cried Rarity. “Please! I just- -I can’t take this. Can you two…can you just help me back home?”

“Sure thing,” said Appejack, picking Rarity up and throwing her over her own back. “You just hold on, sugarcube.” She turned back to Toaster. “And you…you are a disgrace. If I ever see you in Ponyville again, I’ll…”

“Well, if I see you, I’ll mash you into rainbows,” said Rainbow Dash. “First you mess up my wings, and now this? You make me sick.”

“But…”

Rainbow Dash reached forward and punched Toaster in the gut. Toaster doubled over from the sudden pain and fell into a pile of trash. Her vision swirled as the others walked away.

“Is it bad?” asked Rarity. “Do I look okay?”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s a real pretty…plum color…”

There was crying, followed by Applejack claiming. “It’s fine! It’s fine! Isn’t it, Rainbow Dash?”

Toaster lay in the wet garbage, slowly regaining her ability to breathe. Then, slowly, she stood up and limped her way back home.

That night in Lyra’s crawlspace, Toaster did not sleep. She tried, but every time found that there was just no way she could. Images kept flowing through her mind of what had happened, what she had done- -the terrible thing that she had almost done. What bothered her most is that it had all been a mistake- -her mistake. If what those two weirdly strong ponies said was true, then she had just beat up an innocent fashion designer.

Eventually, the weight on her heart got to be too much. She simply could not take it anymore, and she pulled her way across the dirt floor and out of the crawlspace. There was nothing she could do to fix what she had done; un-beating a pony was very, very difficult. The least she could do was try to apologize, though.

So she set out in the dark, drizzling night, lighting her way with the dim red glow of her horn as she galloped into town. As a mare of the night, Toaster was no stranger to darkness- -but something in the silence of this small town frightened her. It was late, far later than she had been out before. No ponies were out of doors, and even the streetlights had been shut off, leaving the entire town in shadowy darkness. Still, Toaster felt as though she was not alone. Through the trees, she could see large shadows moving silently through the forest and hear the humming of machinery.

She did not allow that to stop her. Even if there were things in the woods, and even if the town was dark and empty, she knew that she had to right the wrong that she had committed. Lost in thought, though, she quickly found herself lost in Ponyville.

Eventually, Toaster stopped on a small bridge. There was a narrow, lazy stream of water beneath it, and Toaster looked over at her moonlit reflection.

“Why am I so STUPID?” she said to her reflection. “What have I done? I really could have hurt her! I feel terrible. And a little hungry.”

Toaster realized that she really was a bad pony. Perhaps she had been her whole life. It occurred to her that she had never once actually helped anypony. She had only ever made their lives worse, and brought them more pain.

“What am I even doing?” she asked herself.

For a long time, she just looked down, expecting a response. Then the water seemed to shift. A shadowy figure appeared, and Toaster realized too late that it was a black-clad figure behind her.

Something heavy hit her in the back of the head, and Toaster immediately collapsed onto the bridge like a sack of potatos. The blow had not knocked her out entirely, but it had been substantial enough to leave her dazed. In her semiconscious state, she felt herself being dragged away by her rear legs. The world faded, and then in the distance she felt ropes being wrapped around her body and her rear ankles.

Then, just as she was beginning to fade back into consciousness, driven by a strange and inexplicable fear that she did not understand, she saw the world shift. Suddenly, the world was upside down.

As reality slowly returned to focus, Toaster realized that the world had not moved; rather, she had been strung up by her feet and was handing inverted from a tree. All around her stallions, all dressed in tight spandex clothing that covered their entire bodies, save for their eyes.

“What- -what’s going on?” squeaked Toaster, suddenly terribly frightened. “I don’t understand!”

They did not answer. Instead, they all produced sticks of various sizes. Toaster’s eyes widened, and then closed as they descended, beating her as she swung immobile from the tree.

“Please! Stop!” she cried, feeling the wooden blows striking every part of her body. Toaster was no stranger to pain, but it still hurt- -but not nearly as bad as the fear. She did not know why they were beating her and what they would do to her afterword, and she knew that she was defenseless and immobile with no way to escape.

One of them stopped her swinging while another slammed a large board into her chest, knocking the wind out of her so that she could not scream. The stallion lifted her head by the end of her nose, and Toaster smiled, hoping for mercy.

“This one’s for Rarity,” he said, and instead of helping Toaster slammed his hoof into Toaster’s face. Lights flashed through Toaster’s vision, and she momentarily felt like going to sleep even as the pain overwhelmed her. Still, the beating continued, the stallions driving their full force into her body with their wooden sticks, hooves, or whatever else they could gather.

“Hey,” said one of them to an unseen figure, the only one that was not taking turns wailing on Toaster. “You want a piece of this whore?”

“More than anything,” said a female voice. “Well, except maybe triple alamode quadruple frosted cake…oof…” there was a sound of liquid pouring out over the ground. “But having your tummy pumped sure does take a lot out of you. Literally. But you guys enjoy the party!”

“Party?” wheezed Toaster, spitting out several teeth.

“Of course!” said the unseen figure, the only female. She approached, and Toaster came face-to-face with a pair of large, blue eyes. “It wouldn’t be a party without a piñata! We’re gonna beat you until ALL your treats come out! Or, well, we’ll at least beat the tricks out of you!”

“Eew,” said one of the ponies, pulling his hoof back from Toaster and shaking it. “I think she peed!”

“Yeah, I hit her right in the pelvis,” said another. “Think I felt it fracture, too!”

“And I definitely got a few ribs.”

“She deserves it!”

“Yeah! For what she did to our Rarity!”

“Please,” gasped Toaster. “Please stop hurting me.”

“Why should we do that?” said the mare, grabbing Toaster by the horn and stopping her slow rotation. The beating mostly stopped, with a few stallions jabbing Toaster one last time.

“It…it hurts…”

“And you hurt us,” said the mare. “You came into our town like you owned it, bringing your disease and filth. Beating our friend! Let me spell it out for you…well, maybe not, I’m a bad speller, but anyway: we don’t want you. Nopony wants you. Nopony ever will. Whores like you are not welcome in Ponyville.”

“I was just…trying to…”

“Trying to what? Corrupt our morals? Ruin our happy life? You’re like a lump of baking soda in a perfectly good cake. I tried to make it subtle, but you didn’t take the hint. We all hate you, little piñata. You are ugly and disgusting. And I’m going to make sure that the rest of them see it too.”

“Snap off her horn!” cried one of the ponies.

“Yeah! Take her horn!”

Toaster’s eyes widened, and for the first time, she tried to struggle free. “No! Please! Not my horn! I’m not a unicorn without my horn!”

“No,” said the mare. “I’ve got a better idea.”

One of the stallions passed her an object, and Toaster heard the flick of a switch. Something started buzzing. “We’re going to make sure that no pony ever even thinks about trying to give your tushie a low-cost pushie!”

Toaster stared wide-eyed and frozen, not even able to scream, as the electric razor descended upon her.

Laughing, Scootaloo raced forward, her tiny and useless wings buzzing as she jumped, as though she might actually perform the impossible and finally fly.

“Come on, Applebloom!” she called back to her friend. “I’m barely even trying! You run like you have apples stuffed in your rump!”

“I can’t help it!” gasped Applebloom, running up beside Scootaloo. “Ever since I got my cutie mark, my plot just keeps getting bigger. Granny Smith says it’s because ahm getting’ my big-mare butt like Applejack, but…”

“Uh, no,” said Scootaloo, looking down at her own underage filly plot, which was still tiny and narrow, just like Rainbow Dash’s- -which was, of course, a plot that Scootaloo had spent a great deal of time studying. “I think it has more to do with all that apple pie you keep eating.”

“Ah just can’t help it,” said Applebloom. “It just tastes so good. Like…”

“Pie?”

“Yeah!”

“Anyway,” said Scootaloo. “I beat you!”

At that moment, Sweetie Belle appeared, walking quickly but not running, and Scootaloo greatly rejected her choice of words.

“Speaking of beatings,” she said, “how’s Rarity doing?”

“She’s been in the hospital all night,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Celestia’s horn up sweet Luna’s Plot!” gasped Applebloom. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“Of course. Nothing’s really wrong with her, apart from a fractured rib and a black eye. She’s just a bit of a whiner. But still, if I get my hoofs on that darn filthy slut- -”

“Wait, are we still talking about Rarity?” asked Applebloom. Scootaloo momentarily prepared to stop a fight, but Sweetie Belle just sighed, clearly recognizing Applebloom’s legitimate confusion.

“I just don’t know how it could have happened,” said Scootaloo. “I mean, Toaster’s a great pony. She always shares her food with me, and in all our talks, she never seemed violent.”

“Wait, talks?” said Applebloom. “You mean you’be been hanging out with the town hooker?”

“Well, yeah. She’s my neighbor.”

“Neighbor?” said Sweetie Belle. She and Applebloom looked at each other. “Um, Scoots, where exactly do you live, anyway?”

“IN A HOUSE!” cried Scootaloo, suddenly profoundly defensive. “With my parents! Who definitely did not die of chikungunya!”

“Chicken what?”

“It means ‘that which bends up’ in Zebric,” said Sweetie Belle, walking past them.

“And how do you know that?”

Sweetie Belle was about to explain when something suddenly lodged in her throat. She turned around and coughed, and spat out a swatch of green fibers.

“Can’t hold your grass, Sweetie Belle?” suggested Applebloom.

“It’s not grass,” said Sweetie Belle, making a face. “It tastes like my grandma.”

“Let me see that,” said Scootaloo, taking the green fibers from Sweetie Belle. Her eyes widened when she recognized what they were. “This is hair.”

“Green hair?” said Sweetie Belle. “Disgusting!”

“There’s more of it,” said Applebloom, pointing to a trail of it that had been blown in the wind.

“Come on!” said Scootaloo, somewhat panicked.

They followed the trail of hair until they finally passed into the area near the Ponyvile stream. Scootaloo gasped when she saw the sight that was waiting for them. There, hanging from a tree by her ankles, was Toaster. She was tied up and limp, and a sign had been pinned to her. It read, in bold red letters, “HARLOT”.

Scootaloo also saw that she was not the first to find her like that. Even as she watched, ponies would walk by. Toaster would look up weakly, and the passerbies would just laugh and point before moving on their way.

“Toaster!” cried Scootaloo, running up to the dangling pony. There was a large mass of hair directly beneith Toaster, and Scootaloo gasped when she saw that most of Toaster’s mane and tail had been shaved off. “What happened?!”

“What?” said Toaster, weakly. Her blootshot eyes opened, and she seemed to recognize Scootaloo. “Oh…not much. Just hanging around. Contemplating my life choices.” Her voice rose as she seemed to suppress the urge to collapse into sobbing. “They’re all bad. All of them.”

“YOU!” cried Sweetie Belle, rushing forward and pushing Scootaloo out of the way. Before the other two could stop her, Sweetie Belle punched Toaster directly in the jaw. The force of getting hit by a small and relatively soft unicorn filly did not do much to Toaster, other than to cause her to swing slightly.

“Sweetie Belle, stop that!” cried Applebloom, leaping on her friend.

“Get off me! I’m gonna knock her teeth out for what she did to Rarity!”

“I think somepony beat you too it,” said Scootaloo, picking up a white object from the mess of severed hair that had collected below Toaster. As soon as Sweetie Belle saw that, she went pale and stopped resisting Applebloom.

“No, I deserve it,” said Toaster. “I’m a bad pony!” She sobbed slightly, and then seemed to pass out.

“We have to get her down!” cried Scootaloo. She jumped up, trying to help Toaster, but the knot that held her to the tree overhead was too high. Scootaloo pumped her tiny wings, but she was unable to get off the ground. She turned to her friends. “Come on! We have to help her!”

“After what she did to my sister?” spat Sweetie Belle.

“And, well, with what she did to mah brother and cousin Braeburn…maybe she does deserve it…”

“You- -you’re just going to leave her like this then?!”

Neither Applebloom nor Sweetie Belle could look Scootaloo in the eye.

“Fine!” said Scootaloo. She looked around, trying to find a larger pony to help her. There was nopony around at first, but then Scootaloo spied a large group of identical blue, gray eyed unicorns pulling an oversized cart filled with refrigerators and various equiptment.

Scootaloo ran to the nearest of them, the only one that was female.

“Please!” she cried. “You have to help me!”

The gray-eyed unicorn looked down with cold, dead eyes and Scootaloo stepped back. There was no expression on her face, aside from possible annoyance. She looked down for a long moment. “What do you want, filly pony?” she asked.

“My friend,” said Scootaloo, pointing. “We need to get her down!”

The blue pony stared. “Is that not a unicorn-pony? Cannot she use her magic to free herself?”

“No,” moaned Toaster in the distance.

“Her magic’s all jacked up,” said Scootaloo. “Please, if you could just cut her down!”

The mare looked down at Scootaloo again, and then after a long moment separated from her group and walked over to Toaster. She lifted one of her front hooves and set it against the rope that was holding Toaster’s ankles to the tree, and the piece of the rope that she touched was instantly overgrown with ice. The extreme cold weakened the fibers, and it suddenly snapped. Toaster cried out as she fell to the ground.

Scootaloo raced over to her and pulled apart the knots that bound Toaster.

“Eew, she smells like pee!” said Applebloom, holding her nose.

Eventually, Scootaloo got the ropes untied and then helped Toaster dislodge her horn from the ground.

Toaster groaned. “Ohhh…so this is how all my clients felt…how poor Rarity felt…”
“Come on,” she said, helping Toaster stand and supporting her as she walked. “We need to get you home.”

Toaster cried out as she was lifted, but she let Scootaloo lead her away.

“I’ll see you guys later,” said Scootaloo, somewhat darkly. She was angry at them, but she understood their sentiment. If Toaster had attacked Rainbow Dash more substantially than she already had, Scootaloo would probably have been angry too- -but of course, Toaster probably would have been reduced to cream of whore in a one-on-one fight with the Dash.

“Scootaloo,” said Toaster. “Do you think Leera knows how to relocate a shoulder?”

“Probably?” suggested Scootaloo.

In the dream, Toaster was soaring through the air. The upper atmosphere felt cold against her back and through her soft down, and her strong wings pumped and extended to slow her descend to the castle below. Her metal-clad hooves clicked against the expensive stone tile, and she pulled her glorious alicorn wings back against her body, smiling as she entered the landing area of her castle.

As she did, she suddenly felt herself slip.

“Oh noes!” she cried, falling backward.

Instead of hitting the floor, though, she was caught on a soft warm bed of light. She was momentarily confused, but then she saw a softly smiling bearded face appear over her.

“Solaris!” she cried, reaching up and hugging him. “You saved me!”

“Well,” he said, sounding oddly similar to Raunchy Riker, “I couldn’t let my newest consort come to any harm! I just don’t know what I would do if anypony ever hurt you!”

“Oh Solaris!” cried Toaster, prostrating herself below the alicorn stallion. She spread her legs. “Take me! I want it so bad! Make me earn that royal commission!”

Solaris smiled and leaned in, and Toaster braced to experience a part of pony anatomy that was most definitely larger on alicorns than on normal ponies by far. They two of them were interrupted, however, by the sound of a pony clearing his throat.

Both of them turned, and a tall blue stallion was standing at the edge of the room.

“Artemis!” cried Toaster.

Artemis, disgusted, adjusted his glasses. “I come here to start preparing for the moonrise, and THIS is what I find? My own brother abusing my most favorite of concubines?”

“Artemis,” said Solaris, his voice measured and caring. “You know that we promised to share her.”

“I’m tired of sharing her!” yelled Artemis.

“Artemis- -”

“I want us to have her at the same time!”

Solaris and Toaster’s eyes widened, and they looked at each other. “I don’t think I have enough internal volume for that,” said Toaster.

“I can dig it,” said another male voice. The three alicorns turned to see a tall, narrow bodied pink alicorn stallion entering the room with a small, boyish purple stallion at his side.

“Crescendo! Dusk Glow!” cried Toaster, surprised to see the Prince of Frienship and the Sex God himself.

Crescendo looked down at Toaster, a perverse grin spreading across his mouth. “I say we have ourselves a good ‘old fashioned royal orgy!”

Dusk Glow gasped. “But Crescendo! You’re married!”

“Well Shiny Armor can suck my horn.” He giggled. “And believe me, she DOES. Nightly. You’re just nervous because somepony here is still a virgin…”

Artemis turned to Solaris, his jaw dropping and his eyes wide. “You TOLD?” he cried.

“That’s okay,” said Solaris. “Here, my little student, and my brother. Crescendo and I can show you how it’s done.” He looked down at Toaster and smiled. “That is, if it’s okay with you.”

“Yes, oh yes!” cried Toaster, tears of joy running down her cheeks. “Fill this princess with prince!”

“Oh, we will,” said Solaris, his soft, fatherly smile suddenly widening into a sadistic grin. “We’re going to beat you with our stallionhoods like our little harlot-piñata!”

“Piñata?” said Toaster, suddenly afraid. She did not know why that word made her so afraid.

“Oh yes,” said Crescendo, pinning her shoulders down. “We all hate you Toaster. And now we’re going to do terrible, terrible things to you!”

“No, wait!” cried Toaster, trying to squirm away. “Wait, stop!”

They did not stop. Instead, they surrounded her, all glaring down, swirling overhead, blocking out the light of the room. Then the pain started. They were bringing their hooves down again and again on Toaster’s body. She felt her beautiful alicorn body crushed under their blows as she was bruised and broken.

“It hurts! It hurts!” she cried.

“Snap off her horn!” cried Artemis.

“Break off her wings!” screamed Dusk Glow.

“Not a problem,” said Crescendo, taking Toaster’s horn in his teeth.

“Please, no,” cried Toaster. “Not my horn- -I’ll do anything, just don’t take my horn!”

“Why?” said Dusk Glow, laughing. “You can’t even use it anyway.” He nodded to his brother in law, and Toaster’s eyes widened. She watched as he snapped his head back, and felt the world flash with light and sound as she was unhorned.

Toaster shot awake so fast that she slammed her head into the floor of Lyra’s house, penetrating it with a small round hole from her horn. At first, she was confused, and then it all came back to her. The pain returned to her body, and she laid back down in the dirt of the crawlspace as she remembered just how terrible her life had become.

She rolled over, wincing from the pain in her shoulder. Lyra had not been at all gentle sliding it back into place, and it had swollen and frozen. Toaster’s whole body hurt, and her fractured ribs were just starting to heal. So, cloaked in pain, she curled up on the dirt floor and shivered in the cold as she cried.

A flash of lightning lit the storm outside, and Toaster’s eyes widened as she saw a figure on the border of her crawlspace.

“No!” she cried, immediately knowing that the blue-eyed mare had come back to finish the job she started. “No, please! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! No more pain! Please!”

A second, more distant lightningbolt flashed, and the figure was illuminated at a different angle. Now Toaster saw that it was just Scootaloo, her hair and body sopping wet from the storm.

“Can I come in?” she said, shivering.

“Yeah,” said Toaster. “Sure.”

Scootaloo stepped into the small space, crossing the dirt ground and the grotesque network of Lyra’s plumbing job. Eventually, she came to a rest in front of Toaster. Scootaloo shivered in the cold, and noticing this, Toaster lowered her horn. She ignited the tip, and a red glow filled the dark space, filing it with warmth.

“Thank you again,” said Toaster. “For saving me.”

“I just wish I could have got there sooner.”

“No! They would have beat you too! And you don’t deserve it like I do!”

“But you didn’t deserve it!”

“Yes, I did,” said Toaster, lowering her head to her forlegs and lying down completely. “I hurt an innocent pony…but it’s worse than that. I thought I was helping. I thought I could succeed in life, and I didn’t even see that I was nothing but a failure the whole time. That nopony…nopony ever loved me…” She started sniffling, and wiped her face. Although it was not its intended purpose, she assumed her professional face, suppressing the outward appearance of her internal pain. “But it’s okay. I know what I need to do now.” She paused. “Why are you here anyway, Scootaloo?”

“Because Muffins’s porch has those little slats between the boards, so when it rains…I get wet…”

“Have you talked to Muffins about it?”

“NO! I mean- -she can’t find out! Nopony can! They might tell Rainbow Dash!” Lightning struck again, and Scootaloo jumped, grabbing onto Toaster. She paused, and then sighed. “There’s something else, though,” she said. “And if you tell Rainbow Dash, I will put you right back up on that tree!”

“I don’t think Rainbow Dash would be willing to do much listening with me,” said Toaster. “More hitting, I would suspect.”

“Well…the thing is…seeing you up there like that…I can’t stop seeing it.”

“Why?”

“Because of what it means. I mean…how to explain…” she took a deep breath. “I mean, if ponies could do that to you, a full grown unicorn, what could they do to me?”

“But why would they want to hurt you? You’re so cute.”

“Don’t call me cute. But, I know…but I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m…I’m afraid. I don’t have parents anymore. I can’t fly. I live under a friggin porch! And now ponies might just gang up on me and beat me, too?”

“It wasn’t that bad,” lied Toaster. “I’m sure you could fight them off. Or Rainbow Dash could help you. She hits with…great vigor.”

“I know. But…I don’t want to be alone right now. Which is why…” she reached under her wing and pulled out a bit. She held it out to Toaster.

Toaster looked at the coin, and then back at Scootaloo. “I don’t take mares. Or fillies. Or anypony anymore.”

“Please,” said Scootaloo. “I don’t mean sex. You don’t have to do anything like that. Just…just stay with me.”

Toaster looked down at Scootaloo and paused for a long minute. Then she reached out and gently took the bit. She rolled on her side and gestured for Scootaloo to come closer. Scootaloo silently obeyed, and pressed herself against Toaster’s underbelly, being careful of the bruises and broken bones.

Toaster put her forelegs around Scootaloo and dimmed her horn. Scootaloo’s shivering slowly abated and finally ceased, and from her regular breathing Toaster knew that she had gone to sleep. Toaster closed her eyes and held the filly close, and as she did, she could not help but wonder if Scootaloo had hired Toaster for her own benefit, or if it really had been for Toaster’s instead.