The night after I was discharged, after a brief stop at the bank to sort out our pay, I went 'home' to Sweet Apple Acres and pretty much just slept. Applejack was recovering well from her burns but she was the last one left in the hospital. Fluttershy and Twilight had been discharged the day after they joined us, and Pinkie had recovered quickly as well.

I knew my date with Rainbow Dash would be the next day, and the memories of our game of truth or dare colored my dreams that night. I relived the end of our game, only this time the doctor joined us rather than putting a stop to things. Nightmare Moon appeared, which was kind of weird. Her presence brought my mind out of the moment, making me recognize the dream for what it was. She didn't seem phased in the slightest; to the contrary in fact. "It's good to see you have at least some normal dreams," she commented before taking her leave. I guess it was comforting to know ponies had wet dreams too.

After she left, the cast of my dream shifted a few times. For a time it was Rarity I was eating out, and the blacksmith, Hammer Time, who was hammering me. At another point, it was Tifa before me, and I think some Shinra infantryman behind me, perhaps my old war buddy? The last I remembered was being between Applejack and Big Mac.

When I awoke, I was terribly aroused, but I was afraid to try anything. I had to make do with a cold shower, letting the frigid fluids wash away my desires, for the time being. I hoped things went well with Rainbow and she was as eager for a physical relationship as she had hinted, but even thinking about that brought up a distinct logistical challenge. I had nowhere to take her back to, and her home was literally a cloud. Only pegasi could even stand on their structures, using some form of magic that came along with the wings. So with her place and mine both so poorly suited, we needed a third option.

Of course, I wasn't broke now. It was time to find my own place.

I spent the morning helping out the Apples. With Applejack out of commission, they needed all the help they could get. Big Mac was a powerful pony, perhaps better described as a 'horse', but he could only do so much by himself. Besides, the farm work did a lot to help keep me fit.

I showered again at noon, changed into my cotton dress and headed for town. As I approached the Carousal Boutique to check in with Rarity, and see if she would need my help, the door burst open and Rainbow Dash came out, coming to a stop before me. "Cloud!" she said in surprise, shifting to an embarrassed look.

"What are you wearing?" I asked, giving an appraising look. Casual clothing seemed an odd thing for ponies. Casual usually meant naked, but here was a clear exception. A light, sleeveless white shirt covered her barrel, followed by a rainbow striped skirt over her flanks. Her hind hooves had what appeared to be sneakers on them. The whole outfit looked adorably ridiculous.

"Oh, well, uh... Rarity insisted," she excused, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. "If you don't like it, I can ditch it once we're out of sight."

"No, no. It looks cute on you," I assured. More quietly I added, "but I won't mind taking you out of it, privately."

Rather than blush, she grinned excitedly, before starting down the road. "Come on, let's go get that hayburger I promised you," she said, leading the way. Like the hare in the classic tale, she made her way in fits of speed, pausing here and there to let me catch up, rather than keep a steady pace with me. But soon we were at our destination, ready for a lunch date.

I had to pause at the door, a painful cramp making me grimace as I braced myself on the doorframe. "What's wrong?" Rainbow asked, seeing my look. "Just hungrier than I realized," I excused. I wasn't sure what that was, really, but I had had nothing but hospital food for over a week, aside from the breakfast I had thoroughly burned off this morning.

"Just let me order for us, okay?" Rainbow offered, flitting ahead and approaching the cashier. I was a bit leary of actually eating a hay-based food, but I decided to give it a try. All of the other foods I had eaten in Equestria had been fantastic, or at worst dull, I could risk one truly unpleasant meal with a beautiful mare to distract me.

So I found us a booth and waited for Dash to join me. "It'll just be a minute," she assured after blurring her way into the seat across from me, setting a massive chocolate milkshake between us. I had half expected two straws, but instead she took a quick sip from the one straw before turning it toward me. "Milkshake?"

I tried some, enjoying the taste. It seemed to take a bit of the edge off the distress I was feeling in my gut. So hunger it was? "It's really good," I pointed out, a bit awkwardly. It occurred to me, I really had no idea how to date, much less go on a lesbian date with a pegasus.

"Yeah," RD answered about as awkwardly, letting silence have a few seconds before finding something to fill it with. "You know... winter is coming. I'm going to be really busy helping distribute all the snow. It's a big job, but somepony has to do it."

"I bet you're great at it," I said. "Though how well does snow stand up to your amazing speed? Do you have to slow down to keep it from being melted?"

"I do," she said proudly, "but I get to go top speed on the runs back to the factory. So that part is fun."

We made some more small talk until our meal was ready. She kept the focus on herself, bringing all new meaning to 'talking about the weather'. But I enjoyed myself well enough. I liked seeing her smile, and nothing got RD smiling like talking about how awesome she was.

She flitted away as our order came up, promptly delivering a tray before me and a similarly loaded tray to her own side. "Here you go, you're going to love it," she assured. "You should try this sauce with your fries. It's my own special awesome sauce." She had slipped a small paper cup onto each of our trays with a rainbow swirl of something. Ketchup, mustard, relish, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise was my guess. Watching her dip her own fries I could see that, because it wasn't really mixed together, each fry would get a somewhat different mix of flavors.

"Thanks," I said, hoping it wouldn't clash too weirdly in my mouth. I started with the fries myself. My fears that they might also be hay-based proved unfounded, as the taste of fried potato was instantly recognizable. I 'mmm'd happily, easily appreciating the difference in quality between Equestrian fried potatos and what they managed to get in Midgar. Still, Rainbow's 'special awesome sauce' proved more special than awesome to my taste buds, and I used less and less of it as I went, hoping she didn't notice.

"So, I know you're just going out with me because of the dare, but this is actually pretty nice," Rainbow commented just before starting into her actual hayburger.

"You're the one that was dared," I pointed out. "I could have just said no."

She froze at that, halfway through a bite, eyes going a bit wide as if in fear before swallowing slowly. She blushed and couldn't quite meet my eyes for the moment as the implications ran through her head. "Well, of course, who wouldn't want a date with somepony as awesome as I am," she asked rhetorically.

"I could ask the same," I said with a bit of a smirk. "I am the leader of a pretty elite mercenary group, after all. A hero as well, by any measure, and I look damn cute in this dress," I pointed out. I had been avoiding focusing on my own qualities, but it had slowly grated on me how much Dash focused on herself. She was awesome, sure, but so was her date.

"Well, yeah, any group with me in it has got to be elite," Rainbow pointed out.

I rolled my eyes and bit into the hayburger. The taste was decent, a lot better than I had expected. Beef would have been much better, but the amount of grease they used gave it an almost beef-like taste. Then again, I had actually traded words with the local cows, after saving them from their own stampede... I wasn't so sure I could eat beef with that thought in mind.

"What, you doubt it?" Dash asked. "You were there. I killed a dragon the size of a house! How awesome is that?! And not even a small house, like a massive mansion like my house. But you wouldn't know about that, would you? Aren't you still homeless? Living in Applejack's basement?"

I leaned back, giving her an annoyed look. "You sure know how to make your date feel special," I said sarcastically. Well, this date was going down the drain.

That took the wind out of her sails for now, making her sit back and look embarrassed herself as we quietly ate, not meeting each other's eyes. I tried to think of a way to salvage the situation, but nothing was coming to me. So we left in silence at the end of our meals, making our way out into the quiet, abandoned streets.

"Where is everypony?" I asked, realizing how alone we were.

"Huh? Oh no, what day is it?" she asked me, suddenly tense.

I told her the date and she got nervous. "Go! Hide. I'll make a run for the clouds. Maybe Pinkie will let you hide in Sugarcube Corner with her... it's right over there. Hurry, before she sees you!"

"Before who sees me, Dash?" I asked, confused.

"The forest witch! She comes into town once a month, looking for victims to curse!" Rainbow explained.

Reaching back, I gripped the handle of my sword in one hand, reassured by its presence and the feel of the materia touching my mind. "What do her curses do? How many victims has she claimed?" I questioned.

"Umm, well, none that I know of..." admitted Rainbow. "But that's just because we always get away and lock all the doors first. Come on, you've got to hurry."

"You can hide if you want, but this is what I signed up to do," I said firmly.

"Fine. If you can face her, so can I," Rainbow said, determined not to abandon me. Element of Loyalty, right.

"Let's go then," I said. We started searching the town, together, and before long we caught sight of her.

She was a pony of some kind, I guessed from her shape, but her features were hidden under a dull brown cloak, covering her head and body. What I could see of her legs were a mix of grays in irregular stripes, with one covered in golden loops. Her eyes seemed to glow from beneath the hood as she slowly approached me, her grim grey muzzle poking out into the light.

"That's far enough," I said when a building's length was all that divided us.

"Your hope to stop me is unjust, what must I do to earn your trust?" she asked, though she at least didn't close the gap any farther.

I opened my mouth to speak again but all that came out was a cry of agony as I doubled over in pain, my gut wrenching in indescribable ways. I fell over, clutching my gut tightly. Rainbow Dash panicked at the sight of that, and fled with awesome speed, lest she become the witch's next victim.

I heard the witch approach me, and asked me something. I was in too much pain to make out words, but the tone seemed... friendly than Rainbow had led me to expect. Concerned. I managed something of a nod. Oh Bahamut, what was happening to me?!

She brought her head close, sniffing at me and looking me over before she seemed to come to a decision. She stood up to look around for a moment, before pulling me onto her back. I was only vaguely aware of events as she made haste, fleeing with me out of the town. Scenery flitted past me in a blur, first buildings, then fields, then trees. At last we came to a stop within a small wooden hut, somewhere deep in the woods. She let me down and I rested, still clutching my gut in agony although the worst had passed, for now.

"What did you do to me?" I asked.

"I have brought you to my home this day, to help your pain to go away," she said. She started a fire in the middle of her tent, before beginning to add ingredients to the water held within. Most I didn't recognize in the slightest. However, the obvious smell of cocoa filled the room as she worked.

"The hayburger?" I guessed. It certainly wasn't hunger this time.

"Tis truly not fit for you to eat, your gut is more attuned to meat," the pony allowed. As she worked, she cast off her cloak, revealing more of her striped fur and mane, as well as the golden jewelry that covered her throat and hung from her ears. "But food is not what troubles you, tis simply that your time is due."

"What's that supposed to mean," I asked, struggling to sit up. The movement brought my attention to an odd stickiness under my dress.

"You suffer as the red baboon, tis wonder it has spared your mood," she said cryptically before offering me a simple wooden bowl filled with her chocolaty concoction.

I sipped at the drink a moment before downing it. As impossible as the mare was to get straight answers from, she seemed to at least have an idea what was wrong with me, and maybe she was just trying to help. Indeed, my cramps began to slowly ease up.

While I drank, she took a cloth to her own hide, cleaning up a few spots of blood. More was on her cloak, I saw.

"You're injured?" I questioned.

"The blood you see comes not from me, nor injury born, it comes from thee," she explained.

I frowned at her for a minute until I finally caught on, slapping my forehead in shame. It wasn't bad enough I was transformed into a woman. I had to be transformed into a woman with excruciatingly painful menstrual periods.

Our conversation was rudely interrupted by Rainbow Dash, bursting through the front door, which bounced off of my knees where I was seated crosslegged against the wall, and carrying straight to the back wall, knocking over Zecora's pot in the process. The zebra and I had been discussing our very different receptions in Ponyville, but now she was rising in alarm and anger at the sudden intrusion, our conversation abandoned.

"Hold it right there, enchantress! Don't move a muscle!" Pinkie Pie demanded, more seriously than I had ever heard her, while leveling her canon at the zebra's head. I wasn't sure whether to expect another burst of confetti or if she had actually armed it with something dangerous this time. Either way it looked to be serving the purpose of intimidating my newest friend quite well.

Rarity's outfit fit the description I had given her of Tifa's typical wardrobe, the black shorts hugging her ass and somehow highlighting it more than being naked, while the white tank top blended a bit with her fur, giving it a bit different texture and just enough protection to keep the dirt off her and little else. The leather boots on her forehooves resembled gloves as best they could, while her hind boots looked more serious. A pair of large needles hovered at her side, firelight gleaming off the deadly sharp points. "Where's our human? Speak quickly before we have to get unfriendly."

Fluttershy drifted in behind them without a word, looking around worriedly. She spotted me almost right away and approached me with obvious relief. "Oh, Cloud! Thank goodness you're okay. You are okay, aren't you?" I nodded to her. It didn't seem like the others heard her though.

"You dare to threaten in my home, e'en deep within this wild biome? This friendliness of which you speak, your case for it is awfully weak! Cloud did ail, and I did aid, even-" Zecora began, before being interrupted by a loud burst of confetti.

"Quick, stop her before she entrances us all!" Pinkie shouted, as Rarity and Rainbow Dash moved to attack.

"Stand down!" I shouted, stopping them with a phrase. "Atten-tion!" Soon all four mares were sitting stifly, Pinkie and Rainbow soluting, though only Rainbow and Fluttershy were actually facing in my direction.

"Cloud!" Rainbow said, tackling me into the wall with a flying hug. "You're okay? Or are you?" she said, looking at Zecora suspiciously. "When did you get here?"

"She was sitting behind the door," Fluttershy pointed out, now that it was quiet enough to hear her.

"Zecora, the zebra here, brought me back here to help me," I explained. "We were just having a conversation when you all rudely interrupted. How did you even find this place?"

"We just followed the trail of blood," Rainbow said. "I thought for sure you were in deep trouble, between that and watching the witch take you out with just a glance. Sorry I ditched you back there... I couldn't risk her taking me down before we could get backup."

"It's alright," I said, petting her mane. "Zecora didn't take me down, it was just menstrual cramps."

"Oh, you poor thing," Fluttershy said, "you didn't mention that women have that problem when we first spoke."

"What are you talking about now?" Rainbow questioned.

"Men don't usually discuss those things, so I didn't remember them. Mares don't have that problem?" I asked.

"No, we have an estrus cycle instead," Fluttershy pointed out.

"Why are we talking about that, now?" Rarity asked, confused. "Is it Cloud's time? What does that have to do with doubling over in pain?"

"It's a whole other awkward discussion we can have later," I suggested. "For now let's just say it was a bad time of month to have a date. For now, we have a few injustices we need to address, starting with your destruction of Zecora's home. And ending with fixing her unearned reputation."

"Well what can you expect darling, with her always dressed like, that," Rarity said.

"And it probably doesn't help that the whole town saw her take you down with just a glance," Rainbow added. "Even if it wasn't technically her doing."

"Then we'll just have to 'defeat' her," I said. "It worked for Nightmare Moon."

"I know not what it is you plan, but if it will remove my ban," Zecora began. "I'll trust you to do what you think right, and repay all your debts this night."

The town gathered before us, as Mayor Mare led off the public announcement.

"... and thanks to our amazing heroes, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the evil witch has been purified, and is now happy to join us as a good and trustworthy member of society, much like Princess Luna before her!"

There was a bit of uncertain cheering, before Zecora and I went up to the podium. The girls and I were wearing our Elements for the event, making it that much more official.

"I thank you all, for welcoming me, to come here from my home among the trees. I want no harm for any of you, not injury nor even flu. If any aid I can provide, call for me and I'll rush to your side," she offered. The cheers were a bit louder and more sincere this time.

"Are there any questions?" I asked, not really having anything to add.

After a delay, a pony with a small card saying 'Press' on his hat spoke up. "Miss Strife, I note that the Bearer of the Element of Honesty was still in the hospital. How were you able to purify the witch with only five elements."

"We were able to defeat the dragon without Kindness," I pointed out. "We don't always need all six for every mission. And I think my friends here would all agree, we were able to deal with this issue well enough without Honesty."