“Rarity! Are you home?”

Where the hell did all those hooves come? And who the fuck is yelling?

“RARITY!”

BAM!!!

The bedroom door crashes open. I open my eyes and see three sets of eyes staring back at me. I’m still holding onto Rarity. We’re snuggled with my back to her chest. I must’ve rolled over to face the door at some point, but I didn’t let go of her foreleg, which basically turned her into the big spoon. Luckily, the blanket’s pulled up high around my neck, so the only injury of mine the Crusaders can really see is the gash above my eyebrow. I don’t think they even notice though. They’re way too freaked out about seeing me and Rares in bed together.

“Oh… Umm… Sorry!” The door slams shut again in a little burst of green light.

I hear Scoots from the other side, “What were they doing?”

“What did it look like, genius?” Sweetie snaps back.

“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity’s voice is clear and light even in the morning, but she isn’t exactly able to hide that she’s a little irritated. “Please take your friends downstairs. I shall be down in a moment to explain. Better yet, take some bits out of the treat fund and go pick us all up something from Sugarcube Corner, won’t you? Pinkie knows what everypony likes.”

“Pinkie isn’t there,” Sweetie calls back. “That’s why we came here.”

Blue magic opens the door smoothly this time. “Explain, please,” Rare says in her forced calm voice.

“Well,” Sweetie steps awkwardly from the hallway into Rarity’s room with the other two a couple of steps behind her. Her green eyes keep shifting from me to Rarity then sweeping around the room as if we’re going to be positioned differently the next time she looks at us. Rare doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to move though. She just waits patiently for Sweetie to explain like she was asked.

Finally, Sweetie squeaks out all in one breath, “We were sleeping over at Sweet Apple Acres, but then we heard something. It was guards. They came and got Applejack the second the sun came up. We followed them to the guard station, but they wouldn’t tell us anything. Other guards had all your other friends, so we decided to come here and see if they already got you, or if you know what’s going on.”

“Shit,” I say under my breath.

“Alright, darling,” Rary says slowly and calmly, totally ignoring me. “That is distressing, and I’ll forgive you for throwing open my door without knocking at this ungodly hour. First, let me assure the three of you that Applejack and the others are not in any sort of trouble. They are assisting the guardsponies with an important matter.”

“What about Mac?” Apple Bloom steps forward with so much panic and confusion in her eyes that she’s got tears welling up at the corners. I have to look away, because I can’t handle seeing AB like that. Especially when I know that anything I say is just going to make it worse. “They took Mac away yesterday. Is he helpin’ too?”

Thank Celestia, Rare is here to answer that question. She keeps her voice even and soothing. “Mac is involved in the matter as well Apple Bloom, although in a different capacity. He will be in Canterlot for the foreseeable future, darling.”

“Is he in trouble?” Bloom asks.

“Yes, darling,” Rare answers after the tiniest hesitation. “He is. I’m afraid, Mac made a terrible decision and he is in quite a lot trouble for it.”

“What did he do?” Scoots asks like there's no way Mac could’ve done anything too bad. I try to hide my wince at her instant defense of the pony that ripped me apart, then slide under the blanket just a little more to make sure they can’t see any of the bruising on my neck. I’m so not ready to have that conversation yet.

Rare gives me a little squeeze with the foreleg I’m holding onto and tells Scoot, “I've said all that I feel is appropriate for you to know at this point. I know you must have many questions. I assure you, you will get answers in time.

“I am sincerely asking the three of you to trust me on this and believe me when I say that trying to force answers out of anypony will cause more hurt than satisfying your curiosity is worth. Can I trust the three of you to be patient and not allow your insatiable curiosity to rule you for the time being?”

Rarity doesn't sound like she's talking to kids, which is good because they really aren’t kids anymore. They just always seem that way to me. They’ve had their cutie marks for years now. They’re just about to graduate and they’ve been running their business helping ponies with cutie mark problems for a while. Still, I’m impressed that Rarity isn't being dramatic or condescending. She could be talking to our group of friends, and the Crusaders all puff up with pride and being spoken to like grown-ups.

“You can trust us, Rarity,” Scoots says with all the awesomeness she’s been building up over the years. It makes me smile and tear up a bit. Telling her about all of this is going to suck. She’s practically a mare, but she’s still just my little buddy and I wish I could protect her from this.

“Yeah, Sis. We don't want to hurt anypony,” Sweetie chimes in.

Bloom hesitates though. The Crusaders do a lot of dumb stuff, but none of them are stupid. They know whatever is going on is a big deal, and Bloom’s family is smack in the middle of it.

“Hey, AB,” I take a deep breath and meet her orange eyes. She isn’t even trying to fight back the tears anymore. “I know it sucks, but Rare’s right. You know enough for now. You know AJ can keep a secret about as far as she can throw a barn. She'll tell you when she's ready, k?”

She takes a deep breath and lets it out in a long sigh. “Alright, I guess.” She shrugs.

“Thank you for your patience, Apple Bloom. I know what we are asking of you is no small thing. I thank you for your trust,” Rare says. “Now, do the three of you mind going to pick up some breakfast?” The Crusaders perk up again. Having something to do always helps them. “Get two dozen of something. That should take care of all of us. Sweetie, you know where to find the bits?”

Sweetie nods and the Crusaders leave. It's weird to see how similar Sweetie and Rarity are especially now that Sweetie’s figured out how to do her hair better. They move the same. They have the same jaunty step. They have the same white coat. They even have that same mischievous thing around the eyes that Rarity tries to act like she doesn’t really have.

Rarity tries to pull away but I don't let her. “I need to shower before they get back,” she says, but she snuggles in a little closer instead of making me let her go.

“I know. I just wanted to ask you if you slept at all.” She gets all tense but doesn’t offer up her excuse quick enough. “That's what I thought,” I sigh. “You gotta sleep sometime today, Rares. Ok?”

“If an opportunity presents itself, then I shall try. That's the best I can do right now, Rainbow.”

“K.” I stop holding her foreleg and start tracing flight patterns on it instead. I stare in the general direction of the door. My eyes glaze over so the whole room is just a blur of color. “What are we going to tell them?”

“I don't know, darling,” she sighs quietly in my ear. “We must tell them something, I suppose. However, I’m not particularly inclined to burden them with unnecessary truths.”

“Can we just tell them some drunk pony beat me up or something?”

“Hmmm,” she muses, “something along those lines seems appropriate. They already know Macintosh is involved. I fear we may not be able to keep the full details from them for long, but it’s certainly worth trying.”

“Yeah...” I know she needs to get in the shower. I should let her get up, but it feels like this is going to be our only quiet time for a while and I don't want it to end. I’m not ready to face this day yet.

“Do you want to come with me?” she offers.

I do, but the Crusaders are going to come back and I probably need to stretch before they do. “I'll sit this one out,” I sigh. “Getting up might take a while.” I give her foreleg one more squeeze and let her go. She squeezes me back for an extra second then rolls out of bed.

She's got bed head. I've never seen Rarity with bed head, and we've had how many overnight train trips together? I’ve also never seen her look this tired. There are dark circles around her eyes that I’m sure she’s had before, because of all the times she’s worked through the night to get an order done or whatever, but I’ve never seen them. In my mind, it’s just always been impossible for Rarity to look rough like this. She looks like her head is too heavy for her neck to hold up, so it hangs as she rolls out her neck and shoulders. Her back is always perfectly supported when she moves, but now she's hunched.

It's weird to see her like this, tired and not bothering to hide it. I'm pretty sure that she'll be back on point when she's done with her shower, but for just a second I feel like I get to see through all the layers and just see her as a pony and not some fashionista, or Element of Harmony, or anything else- just a pony that doesn’t want to be up this early.

She leaves the bathroom door open while she showers. After a few minutes, she starts singing. I recognize the song, but I haven’t heard it in a long time. The part about me stands out this time though:

Something brash, perhaps quite fetching.
Hook and eye, couldn't you just simply die!
Making sure it fits forelock and crest,
Don't forget some magic in the dress.
Even though it rides high on the flank,
Rainbow won't look like a tank.
I'm stitching Rainbow’s dress!

That song has some serious Dash-love in it. I never noticed that before.

Rare finishes her song and turns off the shower. “Rainbow, darling, are you up? Do you mind coming to examine my wound?”

It’s a good thing she’s in the other room and can’t see my guilty face. I haven't even started getting up. I was busy listening to her sing. Plus, that was like a three-second shower.

“Bad move, changeling,” I call out as I start making myself get up. “Rares would never dump a bucket of water on her head and call it a shower.” I have to grit my teeth to keep from letting out more than a little groan as I roll off the bed onto my hooves. I am even more sore than I was yesterday. There are aches that run bone-deep through my ribs, my hips, my wings, and each of my legs. My muscles are yelling at me to get my flank back in bed and wait for a few days before I ask them to do anything. “I'll be there in just a sec.”

“Take your time,” she calls back. “I'm taking a moment to sort out what products your obviously fabulous friend uses to maintain this impossible coat she's been cursed with.”

The walk to the bathroom is slow. I try to fluff my feathers a little on the way and nearly bite a hole through my lip to keep from screaming because it hurts so bad. Rares is using her magic to brush her coat when I get to the door.

“How the hell did you do that?” I almost choke on my surprise. She should have two hoofprints, clear as can be, on her chest and a long bruise on her back from hitting the nightstand. And, maybe a couple other bruises from where I stepped on her. But, there's nothing. She's perfect. Her coat is fucking glowing.

“Wait a damn second,” I mumble and walk right in front of her.

“Pardon me, darling, but I was trying to use that mirror if you don’t mind,” she says in that prissy indignance that I learned to ignore the first day we went chasing Nightmare Moon through the Everfree Forest. I have to get my feathers close enough to the spot to test my theory.

Sure enough, I can feel the patterns swirling across her chest.

“Just a little magical cover-up,” she explains. “Too good?”

“No,” I answer and step back out of her way. “You look great. I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't already know. Ready for me to look at that?” I nod toward the towel wrapped around her head.

A little burst of her magic wraps around the towel and puts it precisely in the hamper. She leans forward, and the same blue aura pulls her mane apart around the cut, making it much easier to see than it was last night. “You got all the mint off,” I tell her. “It looks pretty good considering. You'll probably have a scar though.”

“Did I get all the blood out of my mane?” she asks. Having clean hair is obviously more important than whether or not her head wound is infected.

There really wasn't much blood left when I was done last night, but I roll my eyes and check anyway. “Yeah, you got it.”

She stands up straight and flips her mane back over her shoulders. Then her hair all turns blue, there's a pop, and it's done. It looks just like it always does.

“Well, shit,” I say. “Why does it always take you so long to get ready, when you can just do that?”

“I enjoy the ritual,” she says with a shrug. She makes it sound so simple. “I find it soothing and it gives me time to think. Not to mention that this instant version lacks much of the attention to detail I prefer. This won’t stand up to any of Discord’s usual ruckus, for example, but it’s a wonderful option to have in a pinch.”

That kinda makes sense, I guess.

I was right earlier. There's no way to tell how tired Rare is now. She looks like Rarity, she sounds like Rarity (well the Rarity I'm getting used to- the chill, in control, totally gonna take care of me, because my life is a giant mess Rarity), she smells like Rarity. She's good to go.

She's totally not sleeping today unless I make her.

“Would you like to shower or take a bath, Rainbow?”

“A bath sounds nice, but what about the-”

“The girls will be busy eating for the next little while. You have some time,” she says starting the bath and dumping in a bunch of stuff.

“They're going to ask about us,” I say because it's true.

“And I shall explain as best I can. The situation is a bit odd, and what they saw this morning may seem rather compromising. There’s a reasonable chance that they will carry their misinterpretation regardless of what either of us tells them.”

“True,” I answer absently. She’s right and my brain has moved on to worrying about other things. My tail tries to flick and betray the little uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I stop it because it’s totally not worth having pain shoot all the way up my spine. “I think I should talk to Scoots on my own. Seeing me like this is going to suck for her.”

Rares dumps something else in the tub and suddenly there are bubbles. “Perhaps I shall have her bring your breakfast up? That should give you a chance to prepare her.”

“That’ll work. Thanks”

“It’s no trouble at all, darling.”

The door downstairs opens and the Crusaders crash their way into the kitchen. They sound ok. Not exactly their normal bantering selves, but not overly worried or anything.

Rare turns off the water and nuzzles me. “Enjoy your bath. Let me know if you need anything at all.”

“K.”

The bath feels awesome. All the junk Rares put in it feels like it’s working. All of my muscles are relaxing. It actually hurts a little bit when some of the knots in my back finally release and relax. I focus on letting my wings float at my sides and stretch just a little.

The bubbles were a really good idea. This way, I can try to tell Scoots what’s up before she actually has to see it.

I love that little squirt. She can be a total pain in the flank, but being a big sister type is pretty awesome. And the older she gets the more awesome she is. The things she can do on that scooter are crazy.

She still can’t fly though, and that sucks. For the longest time, I kept hoping that her wings would grow, even a little, and I’d be able to start working with her on takeoffs and stuff. But, they never really did.

I used to take her up as often as I could and let her ride on my back. Or we’d just go up and hang out on the clouds for a few hours. She loved it. She’s a pegasus and the sky has always felt like home for her. She isn’t like Fluttershy, who would rather just stay on the ground most the time. Scoots would give me a run for my money at a Wonderbolts spot if she could.

Now she’s too big for me to take up like that very often, and she’s too grown up to let me do it anymore anyway. So, I haven’t even offered in a long time. I wish I knew how to help her be ok living on the ground, but it really isn’t something I understand.

I caught her crying behind a bush one day and brought her up to Chateau Dash for a juice box. She talked about the sky, and clouds, and how she wanted to run away sometimes; but she couldn’t get to the one place she really wanted to go. That all makes a lot more sense to me now.

“Dash?” Scootaloo calls from the hallway.

“I’m in here, squirt!” I still don’t know what I’m going to say to her. I sink a little lower under the bubbles as she walks in with a tray on her back and a proud little smile on her face. I like that she still acts like bringing me breakfast is something awesome.

“Thanks,” I say as she sets the tray down on the floor. There’s a mug of coffee, a couple donuts, and some strawberries.

“Sure thing.” She sits down next to the tub, then looks back and forth from me to the food. “Want me to pick something up for you?” She sounds just like she always has, like doing stuff for me or with me is just the most awesome thing ever, like me lounging around in the tub is just the kind of thing I should be doing and it isn’t weird at all.

“Yeah, I’ll have a donut. Thanks”

She gets one in her teeth puts it on the edge of the tub for me. “Is it about you and Rarity?” Her purple eyes glance awkwardly back toward the bedroom before looking back at me. “Because I think I already figured out what’s going on there.” She sounds hopeful, like maybe all the tension and stuff is just about me admitting that I’m sleeping with Rarity, but she knows better. I wouldn’t make this a big of a deal out of something like that, at least I wouldn’t have before.

“No.” I shake my head. “It’s not about that. Well... it kind of is...”

The little smile is gone. She has that worried look on her face. The one everypony gets when they know they are about to hear bad news. It’s different than I’m used to from her though. It makes her look older. It almost makes her look like she can just handle what I’m about to tell her… almost.

I take a bite of my donut. It’s freaking delicious. I finish it in two bites. I should probably use the chewing time to think about what I’m going to say, but I don’t. I can’t, because the donut was just too damn good. The problem is now the tension is even worse, because Scoot’s just been staring at me for a whole minute waiting for some big explanation about why I’m being all weird and totally not cool.

“Why don’t you eat the other one?” I offer. “Since you’re missing out on whatever else is downstairs.”

“You sure?”

“Just don’t touch the strawberries.”

“Thanks, Rainbow Dash!”

She takes a giant bite out of the donut, making the same little happy noises I just did. Then we split the strawberries. Then she lifts up my coffee, which is made just the way I like it, of course.

When the food is all gone, the silence is getting weird and heavy way too fast. She’s being cool about it, but she knows something’s up and there’s nothing left to distract us now.

How the hay am I supposed to tell her this? That look on her face is wrong, she isn’t old enough to handle this. I’m not old enough to handle this. My job is to keep her safe and teach her how to be awesome, not to be an example of the absolute worst things that can happen in life. There’s no way to tell her what happened without upsetting her, but there has to be a way to tell her that doesn’t make everything even worse.

“What’s going on, Dash?” Her voice startles me and sounds way more grown up than I’m ready for. I should’ve known to count on a Crusader’s curiosity to get the best of her. The time for avoiding and acting like everything is normal is over and she knows it. “What did Mac do? Why are the guards talking to everypony? They even hauled in Twilight, and she’s a princess. Why aren’t you and Rarity at the guard station with everypony else?”

“Woah.” I raise my hooves out of the water for a second then quickly plunge them back down under the bubbles. Then I sigh and try to sit up a little bit so I can look her right in the eye. “I need to tell you something about me. We can talk about the other stuff in a bit when we go downstairs, k?”

“Ok.” She sounds nervous and confused but ok. Like if we’re talking about me, then whatever it is must be awesome, because all things Rainbow Dash are awesome.

I hate that I’m about to ruin some of that for her. I hate that I let this happen. I hate that I’m not the Rainbow Dash she thinks I am anymore and that I’ll never be that Rainbow Dash again. I also hate the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that’s absolutely convinced I’m going to screw this up and make things even worse than they need to be, but it’s too late to turn back now.

I suck in one more deep breath and force myself not to whine when my ribs remind me that they can’t expand as far as I want them to right now. Then I let the breath out slowly and say, “I got hurt, Scoots.”

Her eyes narrow and suddenly she looks at the bubbles I’m hiding under a lot more skeptical than before.

“I got beat up.”

“What? Seriously?” she sounds all excited. “Was it like a bar fight or something? Did you totally kick somepony’s tail into next week? How many ponies did it take to get you down? I bet you were like-”

“It’s not like that.” I cut her off before she gets any farther down that road. “I went out with some friends a couple nights ago, and well… things happened, and I got the crap kicked out of me.”

What I’m saying and how I’m saying it is starting to sink in, and now she’s looking at the bubbles like I’ve got a dragon stashed underneath them.

“I’m a racer, not a fighter, squirt.” It’s all I can think to say, but it doesn't help calm her down. She looks like she’s about to launch into another list of questions I won’t be able to answer. I wish Rarity was here. She’d know what to say, but I suck at talking.

I think about just rolling onto my hooves and standing up, but I realize that I’m probably going to need help. Slouching down in the tub was good for hiding the fact that I’m beat to hell, but my muscles are tired from the awkward angle. I’m not even sure I can roll myself over. Plus, just showing her how bad things are is probably a really bad idea.

“Actually, Scoots.” I let go of a huge sigh of defeat. “Do you mind going to get Rarity for me? I need her help.”

“Is that why you were here?” she asks. “Because you need help?”

“Yeah, Rares found me after it happened and… yeah.”

There’s a long pause. She’s still staring at the bubbles like she’s trying to figure out exactly how bad I’ve got to be hurt that I need Rarity’s help just to get out of a bath.

“Dash?” Scootaloo’s voice is almost a whisper now.

“Yeah, squirt.”

“Can you fly?”

The fate of the world hinges on this question, at least she makes it sound like it does. What is a Rainbow Dash that can’t fly? How can anything be right in the world if Rainbow Dash can’t fly?

“Not right now.” I shake my head and look down toward my wings. My eyes are burning with the tears I refuse to cry in front of her. “My wings got pretty messed up. I’m grounded for a few weeks.” Then I look back up at her with my Wonderbolts smile plastered on my face. “But it’s no big deal. I’ll be back in the sky before you know it!”

She stands up and flings her forehooves around my neck. She’s almost as tall as I am- otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to reach this far into the tub. She’s crying. Sobbing. The flying thing was the part that made it all real for her. She can’t know how bad it really is, but she knows enough to feel bad for me and it sucks.

“Hey,” I say using my best ‘everything is awesome’ voice. “It’s cool. You’ll just have to teach me how to be a super awesome ground pegasus. Maybe I can get my own scooter?”

“Really?” she asks. It’s easy to tell that the idea of scootering around together makes her happy, but she doesn’t really want to show how much.

“Definitely,” I say quietly and lift a hoof out of the water to run through her mane.

“Cool!” She squeezes me extra tight for just a second then lets go. “I’ll go get Rarity now.” Then she’s gone. It feels like that went better than I expected, but I really have no idea.

Rarity comes in a minute later. It’s a moment where if she was really the drama queen I always thought she was, then she’d be swooning about how I’m a poor, helpless, little thing. Instead, her horn lights and the tingly blue gently levitates me out of the tub and onto my hooves. Then she grabs a towel in her magic and starts drying me off.

“How did it go?” she asks and it sounds like she really doesn’t know. So, either Scoot kept up a good poker face downstairs or she’s really handling everything way better than I thought she would.

“Fine, I guess.” I shrug. “I told her I’d get a scooter and we could hang out until I can fly again.” Rares gives me a questioning look. “I honestly think it will be fun once I’m up for it.”

“What did you tell her about all of this?” She waves a hoof around at me.

“Just that somepony beat me up, and that you’re helping me out. I’m not sure she believed that part though.”

“They did see us in what appeared to be a rather compromising situation.” She winks at me.

“Yeah, I guess,” I answer with a little smirk. Then she starts brushing my mane. “How did things go downstairs?”

“As well as could be expected,” she says with a little shrug. “I told Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle essentially the same version of events you told Scootaloo. So, we won’t need to have that conversation again.

“They still have a lot of questions about what’s going on with the others, of course.

“Apple Bloom also mentioned that there’s quite a lot of work that might not get done at the farm today with Big Macintosh gone and Applejack being interrogated for Celestia knows how long. Sweetie offered to help. I’m sure Scootaloo will as well.

“I’m considering stopping by a few friends’ to see if they are available to assist as well. It is planting season after all. I’m sure the Apples can’t afford to not have any work done today.”

“That’s a really good idea, Rares.” I don’t mean to sound surprised, but I can’t help myself. “I didn’t even think of that. But, without AJ or Mac who will-”

Rarity giggles at me a little. “Granny Smith knows everything about running that farm, Dash. Truthfully, I’ve always been rather impressed with her tenacity and aplomb when various situations have required her to take the helm.

“There are a few stallions I grew up with that have assisted with planting many times over the years. I’m sure they can’t do everything just how Applejack would want, but they can cover the basics at the very least.”

I always forget that Rarity grew up in Ponyville. She doesn’t act or sound like a Ponyville pony, except that she totally does. She’s all about the town events. She never misses a town musical number. She could be living in Canterlot or Manehatten right now, but she’s always said that Ponyville is where she feels peaceful. It’s where she feels at home.

It’s cool to hear her talk about Granny Smith like that, all respectful and stuff. I’m really glad that stuff with Mac isn’t messing her up about helping AJ. I didn’t think it would but it could have, and I’m glad it isn’t.

She steps back for a second to make sure that my mane and tail look awesome before she starts brushing my coat.

“What about our friends?” I ask.

“I think you could go wait for them at the station if you felt so inclined,” she answers distractedly. There’s a ruff on my chest that isn’t doing what she wants it to. “Contra told me they were likely to be called in for questioning. She felt it was best that I stay away from the guards unless specifically summoned. It’s rather important that I don’t appear to be attempting to influence anypony’s statement in some way or another.”

She’s doing her best to covering it with that practical tone of hers, but she’s bummed. Rares would totally go and sit there all day and all night if she could. Then, she’d take everypony out for something awesome to eat when it was all over. It sucks that she doesn’t get to do that. It sucks that our friends don’t get to have her do that. We’re all kind of used to Rarity pampering us after something rough happens. AJ and I would never admit that we like it, but we totally do.

“I don’t really feel like sitting there by myself all day,” I admit. I feel bad about it though. I just think I might punch somepony in the face if I find out that they did anything to help get Rarity in trouble.

“It’s probably best that you don’t. You need to rest, darling,” she says as she puts the brush away.

“Hypocrite,” I say expecting some retort back, but it’s Rares. She just answers smooth as silk.

“Yes, well. That’s an issue to be dealt with later regardless. For now, there are three young ladies waiting to talk to us, your wings need to be preened again, there are some letters to be sent, I have some work I simply must get done, and Contra may be stopping by. I’m also hoping our friends will come by when they can.”

“Yeah, plus Celestia and Luna might drop by.” Rares gives me the questioning eyebrow. “Oh! I forgot I didn’t tell you- when I fell asleep again last night, Luna and I talked for a bit. She said sorry for the dream. I guess she’d been watching me, but every time I fell asleep nothing happened. So, she was helping other ponies. She felt really bad. She said Celestia was probably going to stop by today or tomorrow, and that she might come with her.”

“Well, that’s one less letter to send, I suppose,” Rare says with a serious look on her face. Then she shakes it off and gives me a little smile. “Are you ready to go down?”

“Yeah.” I look myself over real quick. I look like crap, but there’s nothing I can do about it. “Let’s do it.”

Rarity says that she wants to walk down the stairs in front of me so she isn’t tempted to huff impatiently at me for taking my time, but it’s really so she can prep the other two Crusaders for what they’re going to see when I walk in the room. We’re at the top of the stairs when we hear the yelling.

“You’re wrong!” Apple Bloom screams, “My brother never hurt another pony in his life! Take it back right now!”

“It’s one hell of a coincidence then!” Scootaloo yells back.

Rarity takes off down the stairs. So, do I. It hurts, but I deserve to have every muscle in my body screaming at me for being such a fucking idiot.

“Tell her, Rarity!” Apple Bloom says when I’m on the last stair. “Tell her that Mac didn’t do a damn thing to Rainbow Dash. Tell her that they’re friends.”

“We are friends,” I say firmly, even though I can’t believe the words coming out of my mouth as I stumble into the kitchen. There’s a collective gasp when they see me. Scoot looks like she might actually pass out. Either that, or like her eyes are literally going to pop out of their sockets. “Now sit down and shut up, so I can tell you what’s going on.”

Sweetie is already sitting at the table, she’s been crying. Her green eyes are red and getting bigger and bigger as she tries to take in every bruise on my body. Apple Bloom is by the back door like she was about to storm out when I showed up. She looks like she’s going to throw up. She’s staring at my flank, right at one of the bruises I should have known would tell all the truths I thought I could protect them from. Scoots is looking at AB like she wants to buck her into next week.

“See?” Scoots says waving a forehoof at me. “I don’t know many stallions with hooves big enough to leave bruises that cover a mare’s entire flank!”

“I said, shut up, squirt,” I snap at her. “Seriously, sit down.” Then I turn to Apple Bloom and say in a softer tone. “You too, kid. Please.”

Scoots takes a seat, but Apple Bloom doesn’t move. She’s still staring at my flank. The game is up, she knows. I look at Rarity, begging for help.

“Apple Bloom,” Rares says quietly, walking over to Bloom and putting a hoof on her shoulder. She’s using the same voice she uses when she’s trying to talk Fluttershy down from a panic. “Please come sit down. I’m sorry we didn’t manage this better for you, darling.” Apple Bloom collapses against Rarity and they both slowly drop to the floor like a slow-motion tent deflating.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Bloom asks still staring at me. Rares and I trade a look. I know she’d answer the question if I asked her to, but I feel like I owe the not-so-little pony her answers. Apple Bloom isn’t a kid anymore- none of them are- and she just asked me a question.

“Yeah,” I say trying to keep my words even. “It’s true.” I sit down slowly and let her look. I can feel the others looking at me too.

Bloom’s eyes move to my flank again. Then take in the rest of the damage. They gloss right over my wings, I wouldn’t expect her to notice exactly how bad they are or to know exactly what it means that they look so rough. It doesn’t matter anyway. She knows he didn’t just beat me up. Her eyes say it all. She knows. They all know. Maybe they learned about it at school. Maybe the Crusaders snuck into a club during one of their sleepovers and saw one of those cliche posters in the bathroom. Maybe it’s just so obvious that she can’t not know.

Finally, AB looks me in the eyes again. Carefully, I sit down on the floor then open my forelegs to her. She crashes into my chest as gently as she can and plops down in front of me. It hurts. She’s like AJ and has no idea how strong she really is, but it’s ok. I just hug her and let myself cry in relief. It feels so much better to not have her looking at me like that anymore.

Rarity’s eyes are checking on everypony. I don’t want her to look at me. I messed this up and we both know it. I don’t really want to feel any worse about it. I feel her look at me anyway, and she doesn’t look away. She isn’t giving me the “Honestly, Rainbow Dash, you couldn’t have thought this through a little better look.” She’s giving me the “You’re doing wonderfully, darling” look. It makes me squeeze Bloom just a little bit harder before I let her go and nuzzle her real quick.

“Shall I make us all some tea?” Rares offers.

“Are there any more donuts?” I ask over Apple Bloom’s shoulder. She’s still all tucked in against me, which is fine. “Somepony ate one of mine.” I shoot Scoots a look. She doesn’t respond. “Who spit on your cupcake?” I ask her.

“You can’t be serious,” she snarls.

“Fair enough.” I turn to Rares. “I did give her my second donut.”

“Stop it,” Scoots snaps and pounds her hooves on the table.

I turn to look her in the face and give her my best serious look, which doesn’t even phase her, but keep one foreleg draped around AB’s withers. She’s still leaning on me, and she leans into me a little bit more when I snap at Scootaloo, “You really wanna do this dance, little pony?”

“Yeah, I fucking want to do this dance!” She screams as she stands up from her spot at the table. “You didn’t get beat up, Rainbow Dash! You got raped and then you lied to me about it!”

I’m about to yell back at her, but Rares beats me too it. She uses the voice she used on Sweetie Belle when she was just a kid. It’s the ‘I’m not quite your mother, but I’m close enough’ voice. It’s got enough juice behind it that even my ears fold back.

“You will not speak to her that way.” Rarity stands to her full height, which gives her a few inches on Scoots, and glares with as much stony authority as Princess Luna when she canceled Nightmare Night. “You will sit down and you will listen, or I shall make you sit down and listen. This situation is bad enough without your temper, Scootaloo. You will also refrain from using that kind of language in my home. You know better.

“If Rainbow’s casual tone offends you, then perhaps you ought to take a moment and remember who you are talking to and what she has been through. You may also want to remember that you are not the only pony in this room with a family member tied up in this whole mess. One of your dearest friends just found out something awful about her brother, and you aren’t making the situation any easier on anypony. Now, sit.”

Scoots does what she’s told, then Rares looks at me and says in a perfectly casual tone, “You really should get up off the floor, darling.” Then she sets a plate with two donuts in front of an empty chair and starts making tea.

“You good to get up?” I ask Apple Bloom. She nods and goes to sit by Sweetie Belle. Slowly, I sit on Sweetie’s other side, across from Scootaloo, where Rarity put my donuts. “Sorry, I lied to you Scoots. I forget you aren’t some kid anymore. Honestly, I didn’t want any of you to know the truth. I don’t want you guys getting messed up over this.”

“I’m not wrong, right?” Scoots asks in a quavering voice. She’s barely holding the lid on how angry she is. “He raped you.”

My throat aches. I don’t want to give her this answer. I want to give her some lie that will make her feel better and make it easier for them all to move on, but I can’t. So, I just nod and say, “Yeah.”

Sweetie reaches over with a hoof, but doesn’t quite touch me. Apple Bloom stares at her hooves.

“Then how can you say that you’re still friends?” Scoot shakes her head at me like I just told her the sky isn’t blue anymore.

“I don’t know, Scoot. Part of me hates Mac, and part of me feels bad for him.” I see Bloom’s ear twitch as I talk. “I don’t know if he was just drunk, or confused, or what. I hope it was just a mistake.”

“A mistake? A MISTAKE?!” The lid blows off and Scoots slams her hoof on the table again.

“Don’t yell at me!” I cut her off. I can feel Rares behind me turning to say something, but I wave her off. This is between me and the little punk that I can’t blame for being angry.

“What am I supposed to do, Dash? You’re the closest thing I have to a sister, and somepony raped you. Somepony you know. Hell, somepony I know. Somepony we all trusted. I’m mad, Dash. Aren’t you mad? You can’t fly. Have you seen yourself?” She waves a hoof around at me. “You’re more bruised than not. So, yeah, I’m mad. And you’re, what? Forgiving him? Saying that is was just some stupid mistake he made, like planting carrots instead of tomatoes?”

Every word hurts. I get that she’s mad. I’m mad too. I want to beat Mac to a bleeding pulp, and then I want to be friends again. How fucked up is that? And how am I supposed to explain that to her?

“I don’t think anypony here thinks of the matter so trivially,” Rarity says, setting teacups in front of everypony. Mine has coffee in it. Of course, Rares knows I don’t really like tea all that much.

“Then what?” Scootaloo fires at her.

“Then nothin’,” Apple Bloom says quietly, but fiercely, meeting Scoot’s pink glare. “You think you’re mad, Scoots?. My sister got hauled off by a buncha’ guards this mornin’! My brother raped and beat one of her best friends.

“It’s plantin’ season and we’re already behind. Now we don’t have Mac. The whole farm may fail for the season, which could mean Ponyville can’t survive the winter. All because of my dumbass brother.

“And guess what? I know I should hate him for what he’s done, but he’s my brother and I still love him, even if he’s done the worst wrong a pony can.” Apple Bloom gives me a pathetic, apologetic look. “Thanks for wantin’ it to be a mistake, Dash,” she says softly. “And thanks for not kickin’ me out.”

“Hey,” I say, putting my forehoof on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault. And don’t worry, Rares has some ideas for getting help at the farm.”

I look at Scoots. “I know you’re mad. I’m mad too. I think we’re all mad. I don’t care if you’re mad. I care if you’re mean. I care if you let this change you. I care if you stop showing up for your friends because of this. That’s what I care about Scoot.” I start crying again and hold a foreleg out for her. “Now get your scrawny orange flank over here.”

It’s Scootaloo’s turn for a hug. It’s a good one, but it doesn’t last as long as Apple Bloom’s. When she pulls away, Scoot turns to Bloom and they hug. “Sorry,” Scoot says. “This just sucks.”

“S’alright,” AB answers. “Can’t blame you for bein’ upset.”

I catch Sweetie sniffling and looking at me. “Come on, mini-marshmallow.” I wave her in. “You might as well.”

Sweetie’s is the only Crusader hug that doesn’t hurt. It’s quick and it’s soft, and it reminds me of Rarity a little.

We spend the next little while eating and making a plan for getting some help on the farm. Apple Bloom is going to go talk to Granny Smith while the other Crusaders start rounding up some help. Rarity makes a list of the ponies in town that she knows have helped with planting before. When they leave, the Crusaders are still pretty messed up but they’re good. They’re smiling at least, and they have that look they get when they’re on a mission. It’s nice, because it’s how I know that they are going to be ok.