“Apple Bloom!” It was Sweetie Belle, the white unicorn sister of Rarity. Her once curly, somewhat short hair now straightened out and long. Apple Bloom assumed that in Sweetie Belle’s older age, she must have realized that straight hair was more mature and fitting than her juvenile appearance she had acquired before.

“Apple Bloom! I knew you’d be here! Guess what!”

Apple Bloom was building an exquisite, cherry wood table. She continued to work while still talking and listening to Sweetie Belle. “Aw shucks Sweetie, I’m always here, you know that! Sweet Apple Acres is my home n’ life! Anyway, what’s up?”

“Guess who I just got free tickets to go see!” Sweetie exclaimed, waving the tickets around with her horn.

“Oh boy! Who?”

“Scootaloo!”

“Wow I haven’t seen ‘er in months, maybe even years! She’s always off traveling with Rainbow Dash ta some fancy flyin’ show. Where’s this one gonna be?”

“She’s right here in Ponyville!”

“Really? Wow, last time she did a show in Ponyville was…” she paused, trying to think of a time she could remember the orange pony with the purple mane flying over the skies of Ponyville. She tried, and tried, but to no avail. “I think ‘twas ‘bout a year ago?”

“NO!” Sweetie Belle corrected, “It was about NEVER ago! Scoot has never done a show here! She was never even touring until about ten months ago!”

“N’ she didn’t start here with ‘er friends?” At this news, Apple Bloom stopped sanding the table and leaned over on the edge of the still coarse side, crossing her legs in the way that was practically trademark to the Apple Family. But replacing the confident, almost cocky look with a confused, unsure one.

“Embarrass us? Now why would we be embarrassed? That’s ar best friend up there in them skies!” Apple Bloom argued, still confused on the subject.

“You know Scoot, she wanted to make us proud.” Sweetie Belle replied with a straight face, calm and collected. But as she spoke, she became more and more excited. “She wasn’t sure of her flying skills. And Dash really wants to show how great of a teaching job she did. So they went to Fillydelphia first. Since they didn’t know anyone there, it was great for rehearsal. Last month they were in Appleloosa, and now their finishing their practice tour right here in Ponyville!” At this, Sweetie started bouncing, forgetting her age and acting like she did when they were just little fillies.

“Gosh…” Apple Bloom was shocked at how out of the loop she was - especially the loop of one of her best friends. “Well…when is the show?”

“This afternoon!” Her joyful jumping had slowed to a hop, but was still filled with excitement.

“This afternoon?” Apple Bloom repeated. She wasn’t prepared at all. “Fine. I’ll go get tha kids. You got anyone special to bring?”

“Nah…” Sweetie recalled the last time Rarity attempted to push a stallion onto her. “Rarity can’t take a hint,” Sweetie Belle thought. This stallion was nice, but as always, he was an aristocrat. Rarity wanted Sweetie to marry someone famous, and rich.

“What happened to that fine looking stallion Rarity tried to get you last time?” Apple Bloom knew the answer, but couldn’t resist asking.

“What do you think?” an annoyed Sweetie Belle replied. She knew that Apple Bloom was simply picking at her misfortune. Apple Bloom was the lucky one of the former Cutie Mark Crusaders. She went and found a colt, had two children, Applebuck and Golden Delicious, and made herself a life as the lead carpenter at Sweet Apple Farms, and the rest of Ponyville.

Once Sweetie was the only blank flank in the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they broke up; remaining friends, but faintly. Sweetie went to work at the Carousel Boutique with her older sister Rarity, and later became the head of it. It was then she gained her Cutie Mark: A roll of fabric with scissors cutting in. Sweetie learned that even if she wanted to leave, she couldn’t. She wanted a colt too, someone to love, someone other than Rarity and that nuisance Opalescence to keep her company. Someone to give her at least one child, a son perhaps, who she could teach the “Art of the Dress” as Rarity liked to call it.

---

“Are we…done yet?” Scootaloo asked her idol and trainer, panting like a dog and dripping sweat. The orange pony with the purple mane couldn’t even hover due to her fatigue.

“Done? DONE? Ya, sure. We’re done. Now go away while I go cancel the show!”

“But Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo whined “I’m so tired…I don’t know if I can fly anymore. And I’ve got to rest up for the show! Why are you even training me so hard! You haven’t trained me this hard since I crashed at Fillydelphia!”

“Exactly! We didn’t even KNOW anyone there, and you crashed, imagine if you crashed here! In front of your friends, my friends, and everyone else!” Rainbow Dash screamed, not realizing how tired her protégé was.

“Dash,” Scootaloo begged “please let me just go to Sweet Apple Acres and go eat some food - healthy food, and rest up before the show!

“Fine, do whatever you want. But if you’re not here fifteen minutes before the show I’m calling it off and you will never do another show with me again!” Dash was furious. Not at Scootaloo, but because she was terrified that she and Scootaloo wouldn’t make a good impression in front of everyone they knew and loved.

“Oh thank you Rainbow Dash!” With that, all of Scootaloo’s energy returned and she was gone in a blink, leaving a smear of orange and purple across the sky. Rainbow Dash wondered if the tired thing was an excuse. But she quickly realized that the filly needed some time to herself, and they were working extra hard today.

Scootaloo got to the farm quickly, and became excited and nostalgic as she entered. While looking over to see how much larger the Apple family had grown along with the farm, she ran into a certain orange pony with blonde hair, still wearing the hat she has wore for years.

“Whoa there partner! Is that the filly I’ma go see at a fancy flyin’ show this afternoon?” It was Applejack, Apple Bloom’s older sister. She still didn’t forget how Scootaloo looked, and still saw the little filly that could barely hover above the ground, crashing into things and running ponies over on her scooter.

“It sure is!” Scootaloo bragged. “And it’s gonna be awesome!”

“Well I hope so Sugarcube” Applejack meant it. Life on the farm had been slow. She wasn’t as good of an applebucker as she once was, and was stuck in the house, caring for Big Macintosh who had broken his leg on the job.

“I promise it will be!” Scootaloo guaranteed Applejack. She returned to her mission. “Have you seen Apple Bloom?”

“Hmm…” Applejack thought. “You wanna leave me already?” She laughed in her playful, jokingly manner. “I’m joshin’ ya Sugarcube. Apple Bloom’s over yonder.” She pointed towards a rundown barn; almost falling apart and looking like it had been abandoned for years. Scootaloo knew this had to be a joke.

“AJ, are you sure you’re not losing your memory with your old age?” Scootaloo trusted Applejack, she was the Element of Honesty after all, but there was always a hint of distrust in the back of Scootaloo’s mind, no matter the person she was accusing.

“Are you saying I’m lyin’?” Applejack knew the answer, but picking on Scootaloo was to fun to pass up.

“NO! Never! I couldn’t! I’ll go! Thanks AJ!” Scootaloo yelled to behind her to Applejack as she flew away in a flash to the barn.

As Scootaloo approached the barn, she slowed to a hover and peeking around the corner as if she was afraid of what was behind it. She saw the butter mare with her long, candy apple red hair pulled back in a tight bow. Upon closer investigation, she was able to see a white unicorn mare in front of Apple Bloom with long, strait, purple and pink hair. Time, matched with the new hair style, caused Scootaloo to not recognize one of her best friends, one of her only friends. It wasn’t until she saw the unicorn begin bouncing with joy that she realized who it was.

She shot towards the two ponies faster than when training.”Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle!” She screamed, filled with ecstasy at the sight of her friends for the first time in years. Rainbow Dash was awesome, but she was a coach, not a friend.

She tackled Apple Bloom, unaware of her speed, knocking over the table as well. The shock of the sight caused Sweetie to fall over as well at the same time as the table.

“What in tarnation? Scoot is dat you?”

“Oh my Celestia it is! I didn’t think we’d see you till this afternoon!”

“Nah…Dash thinks I’m snackin’ before the show.”

“Well, shucks, don’t wanna lie to her do we?” Apple Bloom asked rhetorically as she bucked the nearest tree to her.

“I guess I could use a snack. I got an hour…” Her voice trailed off as if she expected someone to finish her statement for her.

“Ya know, things’ve changed since ya left a few years ago.”

“Ya…like Sweetie’s hair!”

“Hah. Well I like it don’t you Bloom?”

“Darn right I do.”

“Me too!”

“But there are other things too!”

All at once the three knew what they had to do. Excitement and nostalgia filled the air and caused the sacred words to be yelled in unison to the heavens above. So loud that maybe even Princess Celestia heard them and agreed.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS REUNION!”

“I know where to go first!”

“Lemme guess, the boutique?”

“No! I need to get out of there for a while! I was gonna say the library!

“Oh ya! We should introduce Scoot tuh Twi’s son!

“But…shouldn’t we show her Applebuck and Golden Delicious first?”

“Oops! Of course!”

“Wait, wait!” Scootaloo interrupted, she was confused and had lost the conversation at boutique, though she did hear something about Twilight and a son, and two unfamiliar names that she had never heard before now.”Who? And how did Twilight get a son?”

“Mah kids, Applebuck and Golden Delicious. And Twilight got together wid Caramel.”

“Man, I’ve got some catching up to do huh?”

And with that, the three ponies were headed toward the house. Scootaloo could only imagine what other surprises were in store for her.

---

There was a knock on the library door; a quiet, barely audible one. It was very representative of the mare causing it.

“Come on in!” Yelled a medium sized purple and green dragon from his usual sleeping position on the library floor. Spike had grown much larger over the years, and would spend most of his days upstairs in Twilight’s bedroom sleeping in the same spot he had for so long, or he would slowly drag down to the library on the ground floor, mostly to stretch out some, but occasionally the giant reptile would collapse on the floor of the library right where he stood and sleep.

Fluttershy opened the door and made a tiny, quiet, peep upon noticing Spike. She wasn't afraid, so much she was surprised. No pony could ever predict when Spike would decide to stretch, so Fluttershy would jump but realize quickly it was just lovable old Spike. “Oh…hi Spike…I didn’t see you there. By the way, where’s Caramel and Skylite?” She whispered.”I’m sorry. Is Twilight home?”

“Oh, no problem Fluttershy! Yea Twi’s in the kitchen upstairs. Caramel and Skylite went to the farm. Sky likes to help fly the apples over to the collection barn. Still don’t know, or wanna know, how Twi ended up with a pegasis son.”

“Oh, I see. Heh. Me neither. But, am I interrupting something?”

“Nah! She’s just making breakfast.”

“This late in the afternoon? I mean…it’s ok with me…I just don’t…” She was lost for words. Her kindness wouldn’t allow the yellow pegasis with the cotton candy pink mane to speak the words she wanted to say.

“I understand ‘Shy, we just had a late night last night and just woke up.”

“Oh…well may I go speak to her about something? It can always wait until a better time. If…if that’s ok with you.”

“No, no, go ahead. She won’t care.”

With a shy grin and a faint nod, she slowly proceeded up the stairs, as if afraid of what was over them. Then again, knowing Fluttershy, she probably was afraid. Normally this would’ve annoyed Spike and he would resort to his ‘Poker Face’ and turn away, but whether it was from age or sleep, he didn’t mind the slowness and quietness of the yellow pony. With a grin on his face, he fell back asleep.

“Umm…excuse me Twilight.”

“Oh hello Fluttershy, what’s up? Want some break…uh…lunch?” Twilight was making some celery salads; something tasty, nutritious, and kind of neutral in terms of time.

“Oh, no thank you Twilight, I just ate. I’m sorry. But I wanted to talk to you about Pinkie Pie.”

“Umm…ok? What’s wrong?”

“She hasn’t come out of her room all day!”

The news was shocking enough, but Fluttershy yelling, especially indoors, was shocking to say the least! “Well maybe she simply hasn’t had a reason to go out.” Twilight said. Not sure whether to be confident or worried.

“But…I…I went into her room, and…”

“AND WHAT?” Twilight screamed. Fluttershy needed to get out with it before Twilight took it out.

“And…”she sighed “remember when Pinkie went kind of crazy and her hair went straight?”

“Yea…”

“Well, her hair as like that and she was sitting in the back corner of her room, crying in the dark.”

“Pinkie? Crying?” She thought. “Oh no…”

“And when I asked if she was ok, she just mumbled something and yelled at me to get out. I tried to help, but she threw a cupcake at me. It was hard as stone, like it had been there for days.”

“Man she’s really messed up!”

“Twilight?”

“Hmm? Oh. Ya, it sounds really bad.

A voice called from downstairs, it was very deep, and shook the house when it spoke. “Twi, Rarity’s here! She says she needs to speak to you! She says it’s about Pinkie Pie?”

“Oh, no! Not Rarity too! I’M COMING!”

“Do you think it could be about what I was talking about?” Fluttershy was talking a little smoother and louder.

“I don’t know, but let’s hope it something good!”

Once they walked down the stairs to the library, the saw only a sleeping teenage dragon. “Spike! SPIKE!”

“Huh? What?”

“Where is Rarity!”

The purple and green dragon opened his gigantic mouth and yawned. “I don’t know. I think she said something about having to go back to the boutique to handle something. I don’t quite remember. She was talking fast and I was half asleep.

“Ugh. I have got to get you out more! You do nothing but loaf around in the middle of the floor. Scarring ponies away and getting in the way! Either go back up stairs or stay awake and out of the way!”She could see Spike was hurt, but it was true, and he knew it too. She felt bad, but she didn’t have time to worry about it. “Come on Fluttershy. To the boutique!”

“Hey, mom!” The two young foals yelled in unison at the red maned pony. “Who’s that?”Asked the young colt of the two, pointing at the guest of honor.

“This,” replied Apple Bloom “is Scootaloo. She was a friend o’ mine befer I was yer age! She wanted to meet my lil’ ponies. Scoot, this’n that looks like me, only a boy, is Apple Buck

“Buck, for a short!” said the young colt.

“Yep! N’ that’n that looks like AJ is Golden Delicious”

“Just call me Goldie, or GD” commented the filly

“Wow Apple Bloom! Nice litter ya got here!” Scootaloo redirected her attention to the foals.”So, where’s your dad?”

The young ponies could only look down and hang their heads in sadness. “He’s…he’s…” the colt studdered.

“He’s…not here.”

“Been gone fer bout a year now.”

Scootaloo gasped in fear.

“He’s in Appleoosa!”

“Layin’ railroad tracks!”

The two foals looked up then and stared Scoot right in the eyes and laughed. They laughed until their faces were blue and they gasped for air.

“Wait… HEY! NOT COOL!”

Sweetie Belle came trotting the door, raising a brow at the laughter. She had been outside still jumping with joy over the tickets and Scootaloo appearance for the first time in years. It was a dream come true. Well, one of her dreams. The other was to find a stallion to love her; just a normal, down to earth stallion, not a rich, impressive, entrepreneur. She remembered looking a Big Mac as a filly and admiring him. Thinking to herself, “I wish. I wish I was older. Just a little bit older.” Well here she was, but he had aged as well. Now there was no one. Now, she was stuck brushing off wannabe big wigs. “Dumb Rarity.” O well…she’d keep looking for someone to love, and looking past the others. She’s done it this long, why not longer. “Because I don’t have much longer, that’s why. If only…if only Big Mac…” she trailed off in thought. Then she heard the laughter. “What in Equestria is going on?” the white unicorn asked.

“Auntie Belle!” The foals yelled in unison as usual. Scootaloo noticed that they either spoke in unison or finished each other’s sentences, and hardly ever fought. The young ponies ran full speed at Sweetie Belle, as Golden Delicious got her legs, Apple Buck gripped her neck. “Auntie Belle, we missed you!” the foals stated, almost in perfect unison.

“I was just here two days ago!” I managed to force out as Buck chocked her neck to the brink of death. “I would have been here yesterday, but I had work to do!” As soon as she spoke the words she thought to herself, “Pushing annoying fancy stallions aside is hard work!”

“Auntie Belle, ya met Scootaloo?” Buck asked Sweetie, hoping the answer was yes. Wish granted.

“Oh yes dear! I was friends with Scootaloo before I was your age! I knew Scootaloo before I knew your mother.”

The young foals began jumping with joy at this thought. For some reason, they seemed extremely excited by the fact they knew a random pony. Maybe they knew of Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash’s relationship? Scootaloo was being trained by a famous Wonderbolt! Surely this was big news throughout Equestria.

“Watcha so excited fer kids?”

“Mom, ‘member that ol’ tale you used to tell us before we went ta bed? About the three ponies that wanted ta find ‘der cutie marks so ‘dey tried everthing?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders? Ya, I member.

“Well, what if ya three were da Cutie Mark Crusaders?” At this, the foals began jumping again, this time to extreme measures. They believed this was the coolest thought ever, and it would be so cool if their mom was one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Bloom, should we tell ‘em?” Scoot asked, this was so hilarious, she couldn’t wait to see their reactions when they realized it was true.

“Nah, let ‘em have their fun.” Apple Bloom responded. They would find out soon enough.

Then, Big Mac walked into the room.

---

Rarity had arrived at the boutique just in time. A disaster was brewing. A disaster that only happened every that only happened about every one hundred years. A disaster that Princess Celestia and Luna both couldn’t solve, only Rarity. Applejack wanted a dress.

Though the Element of Laughter was crying, the Element of Generosity had work to do. If Applejack wanted a dress, you gave it to her, then you gossiped until you found out what the dress was for. “Pinkie will be fine!” The white, purple maned unicorn thought to herself. “She has episodes like this all the time. It’ll all be over soon. I hope”

“Oh, AJ!” She complemented the orange earth pony with the beautiful blonde mane. “Green looks so good on you, darling! I would suppose it is the eyes. They complement you coat so well. It’s uncanny!

“Aw shucks Rarity, I guess I was just drawn up that way on Celestia’s sketch pad.” Applejack modestly replied. “Anyway, I would reckon the dress is pretty suiting fer me aint it?”

“It sure is! And while we’re asking about the dress, might I ask what you what this dress is for exactly?” Here it was, the moment of truth, the moment the crowd was waiting for; a crowd of one, but still a crowd.

“I just thought I’d get a dress in case I needed it later. I don’t wanna rush ya like last time.” Applejack said with a straight face. The Element of Honesty couldn’t be lying. She is the Element of HONESTY after all!

“But…surely there must be a reason, something to make you think about getting a dress.” Rarity knew there was something. Applejack may not be allowed to lie, but she could still stretch the truth. Maybe there was just simply something she was hiding.

“Umm…I don’t think so.” Rarity would have to keep digging. She needed that precious secret. She failed to beleive that there was no other reason than the one stated. That forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden known as Applejack’s mind. If Rarity did not know, it would eat away at her like a parasite. Parasite. Parasprite. Pinkie Pie. Oh no. PINKIE! Rarity had completely forgotten about Pinkie Pie’s current state of insanity. Though she never really cared for Pinkie, she still considered her one of the team, so it was only fair to treat her as such.

“AJ, I’m afraid I must go, duty calls!” She ran off, thanking Celestia she wasn't the Element of Honesty. She needed to get out of there quickly, and without anyone following her, so she needed to hide the reason that she had run out so quickly. Rarity fled, leaving Applejack standing on the small stage in the back of the boutique, wondering what just happened.

“Gee, I wonder what’s gotten into her.” Applejack mumbled to herself. Anypony else and she would have been fine with it, but Rarity? Applejack carefully took off the fragile, cumbersome dress and laid it on the table nearby. “I gotta follow ‘er.”

---

Twilight and Fluttershy arrived at the Carousel Boutique at the same time that Applejack was leaving. She had a bamboozled look on her face, most likely out of the sight of Twilight and Fluttershy’s worried one. Twilight and Fluttershy both were worried out of their mind. Sure, Pinkie had her little “episodes” as the other ponies called them, but they were usually all over by noon. If Fluttershy was right, this one had been going on for a whole day, maybe even more.

“Applejack!” The violet unicorn yelled trying to stop her before she got away. “Applejack, come back!” The earth pony was on a steady mission, and nothing could stop her. All she heard was the sound of her hooves as she ran toward Sugarcube Corner in hopes of gaining some light on the situation.

“APPLEJACK, GET OVER HERE NOW!” It worked. Applejack stopped in her tracks, looked back at the two, and trotted back towards them. She looked at Twilight as if it were her that made the command. But it was the gigantically gaped mouth of Twilight, mixed with the shy look on Fluttershy’s face, told the story. Applejack’s mouth fell into the dirt as well, as she was shocked by the suddenly serious Fluttershy. She was aware that if Fluttershy was this serious, there was trouble brewing.

“Applejack, where are you headed?” The unicorn asked, hoping it wasn’t where she thought it would be.

“Tuh Sugarcube Corner.” Twilight facehoofed. It was.

“Applejack, if you wouldn’t mind…umm…could you umm…not go to Sugarcube Corner, please? If that’s ok with you.

“Well, Fluttershy, we really need to know why she is going.”

“Rarity said somin about helping Pinkie, but she acted scarred, so I reckoned I’d follow her.”

“Ugh. Just come with us ok. Please, we may need you.” The three ponies ran off together, heading at full speed to the bakery where the pink earth pony known as Pinkie Pie was apparently having a mental breakdown of epic proportions. Once they arrived there, they found a white unicorn crying at the table.

“Rarity, what’s the matter with you? What did you do?” The violet pony asked with a serious look on her face. Did you go upstairs to Pinkie?

“Yes.” Rarity sobbed.

“And…?”

“And she was…was…”

“RARITY! SPIT IT OUT!” screamed Applejack

“And she wasn’t there!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, grateful the bakery was empty. She was joined with three large gasps as she continued her wallowing, covering the table in an ocean of tears.

“Goodness, what in Equestria is going on here?” asked the co-owner of Sugarcube Corner, Mrs. Cake. She gasped at the sight of the sobbing pony and her friends, ran back into the kitchen, and brought out a tray of cakes. Three full, completely baked, cakes.

Rarity looked up and saw the cakes through her tears. She sniffed. “Thank you Mrs.Cake.” she managed to squeeze out, her voice still shaking. Normally, she would decline the offer, as a whole cake to herself seemed ridiculous, but right now Rarity didn’t care, she was too heart-broken, and with good reason, even if it was a little over dramatic.

“Mrs. Cake, have you seen Pinkie Pie anywhere today? Fluttershy and Rarity said she seemed a little…under the weather, and now she’s gone.” Twilight investigated, hoping the answer would be yes, and have an explanation as to where she could be.

“No dear, I was going to ask you the same thing. What’s wrong with her? Maybe I could whip her up something to eat and make her feel better. Maybe some cupcakes, or a few cookies, those always do the trick! Oh, ya! I’ll make some sugar cookies and mix some sprinkles in, maybe some chocolate chips, and…”

“We’ve lost her.” Whispered Applejack to Twilight. “She’s done gone over to the cooking side now.”

“Well, I’m going to go in Pinkie’s room and see if I can make some sense of the whole situation. Fluttershy, if you don’t mind, could you keep an eye on Rarity for me? AJ, come on.” The orange earth pony and purple unicorn walked slowly and carefully up the stairs in the back of the bakery, afraid of the possible nightmares that may lie before them. “Well AJ, here we go…” Twilight shakily commented.

She slowly walked up to the door, and gently nudged open the door. The silence was haunting. Nothing could make Twilight more afraid than she was right now. What if Pinkie was insane What if nothing was wrong? What if…what if there is no Pinkie anymore? She quickly shoved these thoughts to the side. Though one continued to rattle her mind to the point of confusion. The last one. What if there was no Pinkie because…because Pinkie had finally snapped and taken her own life? As she crept slowly into the now forbidden room. The only light was the little allowed in by the small window in the back of the room, and the corners were almost completely black. The walls were plastered with pictures of Gummy, and only a few included Pinkie in them. It was cold, and Twilight was already feeling chills from the very thoughts that arrived before she opened the door, and the sight of the room mixed with the ice cold atmosphere made her actually shiver to the point she had to sit for a minute, causing AJ to place a hoof upon her shoulder for comfort. And then there she saw it, sitting in the dark corner of Pinkies room, Smarty Pants.

“What’s Smarty Pants doing here? I don’t even remember Pinkie coming over in the past week. But if Pinkie has been acting like everyone is saying, then Celestia knows what could have happened.” Twilight was worried, things just weren’t adding up. What could be going on?

“Uh…Twi? Ya might wanna see this.” Applejack slowly muttered, shaking horribly.

“Is…is that…Gummy?” It was. Under a blanket under Pinkie’s bed, was Gummy in a puddle of blood. “Did…did Pinkie do this?”

“I don’t think so, Sugarcube. No cuts or injuries, so not a stab or cut. But, I wouldn’t cancel out poison…” She looked over at Twilight with tears in her eyes.

“I guess we should…”She sniffed her nose. She began to cry as well. “take him down stairs to Nurse Redheart?” She couldn’t look at AJ, her crying eyes, mixed with the fact that she was already on the brink of sobbing on the floor, made her have to stay looking blank at the wall. Not able to acknowledge the fact that Gummy was dead, or that Applejack couldn’t answer her question. “Just…go…I’m gonna take Gummy to Nurse Redheart.

“Twi, I don’t think that’s a good idea by yourself, I mean can you” She was cut off by the currently insane sounding Twilight.

“I SAID I’D DO IT!!!! NOW GO AWAY!!!!!” She snapped, she didn’t know why, but she wanted to be alone. She staired out the window as the other three ponies walked away. Applejack trying not to slip up and say something, Rarity pleading AJ to give her information as she sobbed, and Fluttershy trying to comfort Rarity and keep her away from AJ.

Twilight could finally sob in peace. She wanted to lie on the bed, but simply judging by what was under it, she didn’t know what could be on op. Nor did she want to…she simply sat in the corner and cried more than Rarity. More than she imagined possible. More than anypony could have imagined possible.

Rainbow Dash had heard all of the yelling and crying all the way past Sweet Apple Acres. The sound was sickening, and the Element of Loyalty could do nothing but make sure that everything was ok. But, nothing was alright. A missing pony, a dead gator, and two broke down ponies. Things couldn’t be more wrong.

As she flew with all of her might to Sugarcube Corner, the source of the sorrow, she could almost cry herself. She knew she couldn’t cry for multiple reasons. First, sight. Dash needed to be able to see where she was speeding off to, and she couldn’t fly slow, who knows what could be going on. Second, assurance. Not only for herself, but for her friends. They needed to be comforted more than Dash.

She arrived at the bakery to find it empty except Mrs. Cake weeping and Mr. Cake attempting to comfort her. “Hey…umm…what’s with all the crying?” The blue pegasis pony investigated. Mr. Cake looked up slowly, and looked towards Dash. Not at her, but towards her, as if looking at something on the wall instead of Dash’s eyes or even her face at all, and weakly pointed up stairs. Dash looked down. “OK. Thanks…”

Dash slowly opened the door the exact way that Twilight Sparkle had before her. And saw Twilight in the corner.

“Twi…you ok?” She slowly tip hoofed up behind Twilight, but not too quietly, as to not disturb her. “Twi? Come on Twi talk to me! Please! Your scaring me!”

“Oh, Dashie. Dashie, Dashie, Dashie. You have no idea do you? You have no idea. No idea what’s going on. Look under the bed.” Dash did as she was commanded, and saw the corpse. With a gasp, she looked back at Twilight, hoping for an explanation. “You don’t know what’s going on…you left us all, and then left the world behind. Let me bring you up to speed, Dashie. Pinkie’s gone, something or somepony killed Gummy, My friends are breaking down. My world is falling apart in front of me. And you are loving life aren’t you? You’re famous, got yourself a protégé, and still best flier in Equestria. You leave us and look what happens. We fall apart. You see Dashie, we DON’T need your help to make a gigantic mess of everything! We are doing better than ever without you! So turn around and leave. Just go back to Scootaloo and force her to over work herself so that she does a bad job at the show. And I promise I won’t be there. I have work to do.”

“Twi…don’t do this. You’re not thinking strait. You’re…” Dash had to gain herself after Twilight’s monologue. “Come on Twi! Your scaring the hay outta me!” She looked at the twitching left ear of Twilight.

“Your scared? YOUR SCARED!?” Twilight screamed as she stood up and slowly turned around to the point that she was looking directly into Dash’s eyes. “How do you think I feel? Hmm? This time yesterday my world was perfect. Now we’ve got a crazy pony,”

“Make that two” Mumbled Rainbow Dash.

Twilight continued, not even stopping for a second. “a dead alligator, and four confused ponies!” She looked down, a slightly crooked grin cut through her face. “Dashie…”she giggled “you don’t know scared. No…you don’t. You know fame, glory, praise. We only know pain, fear, and confusion.” Her right eye and left ear twitched on an uneven pattern, her eye swelling to the point it was almost closed, shaking for a short time, and then slowly going down into its normal position. Her ear, at the same time, would flick left and right at a random pace and Twilight would like nothing happened. She was sweating profusely, and her mane couldn’t have been messier if she tried.”Now get out! Can’t you see I’m playing!?” She whipped around, smacking Rainbow Dash in the face with her tail as she did so. As she began to fall back on the floor, Dash was able to get a glimpse of what lay in front of Twilight.

Smarty Pants, soaked with tears.

“Hey Big Mac. Sleep well?” Sweetie Belle asked the red colt with the yellow mane.

“Eeyup. Mighty soft bed with all that new hay we put in.” That was what Sweetie always loved about Big Macintosh: he was always positive and simple. He appreciated the small things in life, and whenever Sweetie did something, he always provided the best compliments. He was that nice to everypony, but Sweetie didn’t care, as far as she was concerned, it was only her.

“Well kids, I’ve loved this visit, but I gotta fly.” Scootaloo chuckled. It was a horrible attempt at a pun, but Applebuck and Golden Delicious loved it. “See you all at the show?

“You know it!” the kids yelled in unison as always.

“Definitely” answered Sweetie Belle

“Eeyup”

“Darn right!”

“Ok good…well, by.”As she soared out of Sweet Apple Acres, a streak of purple and orange was spread across the sky.

“I’ma cook us somin tuh eat.” called Apple Bloom as she walked into the kitchen. “Whatcha want? Buck, Goldie, I know what you want. Big Mac, the usual?”

“Eeyup.”

“Sweetie?”

“Umm…I’ll have what he’s having.” Sweetie pointed to Big Mac and shifted her eyes to his. Big Mac noticed this glare and realized he was staring back, so he quickly turned away before she noticed his stare.

Buck and Goldie were in the kitchen with Apple Bloom helping her cook everyone’s food. Sweetie realized that it could take some time and took advantage of the situation to sit down beside Big Mac, getting as close to him as possible without being too awkward.

Big Mac however, still felt the awkwardness of the situation. This was Sweetie Belle, and even though she was older now, he still saw her as the young, naïve, Cutie Mark Crusader; the small filly that always talked about her sister as if she was Celestia herself.

“So…” she began the conversation “always feels soft with fresh new hay doesn’t it?”

“Eeyup.” Even though that’s almost all he ever said, he seemed distance as if he was only speaking to her out of courtesy, which he was.

She was serious though, and wanted to talk to him. She loved the sound of his voice, and to watch him as he spoke. She had always loved his voice, and as they aged, his voice became more and more soothing to her.

“Ok then Big Mac, your turn.” She would do anything to start a conversation so she could hear him. But, he just looked out the window across the room and stared blankly at nothing, as if he was either thinking of something, or trying to ignore Sweetie. Or both.

“Why?” Big Macintosh asked simply in his deep, masculine voice. Though Sweetie ‘spoke Big Mac’ as she and Apple Bloom called it, this one word sentence confused her.

“Why?” She repeated, thought, then replied, “Well, I tried, and failed, to start a conversation, so…I thought I’d give you a chance to.”

“No…why are you acting like this?” He questioned, seeming slightly angry. “You keep staring at me, and you’re so close to me that you’re just about layin on me, you keep trying to get me to talk. Why?” He was louder now. Loud enough to get his anger across to her, but quiet enough that it was only audible to him and Sweetie.

Sweetie was afraid now. She had seen him angry before, but that was at Applejack, and this was different. It wasn’t all anger. There was something more as well. Something he was trying to cover up. It was as if he was begging her for an answer. She thought, and decided it was time to admit her biggest secret.

“Well Big Macintosh…I love you.”

Rainbow Dash slowly walked out of the room, afraid to look back at the now insane Twilight Sparkle. She was confused. “What did I miss? Did I really cause this? What about Gummy?” So many questions unanswered and more keep coming. Dash was scared and wanted to cry. Not from sadness or fear anymore, but from absolute confusion.

As she walked down the stairs to the dining area, and saw that the entire bakery was empty except the loco pony upstairs. Dash looked around and called for the Cakes, but no one answered. Perfect. She sat at a random table, coincidently the same table Rarity had sat at, and sobbed. Between gasps of air she repeated the one million bit question: “Why?” Eventually she screamed as loud as possible out of frustration and fear, spreading her wings as far as they could. Knocking over tables and chairs and making a mess.

Then, she snapped. Without thinking, she ran upstairs and knocked the door open, causing Twilight to turn and face Rainbow Dash. As soon as she did so, however, Dash turned around, jumped on her front hooves, and kicked her rear legs out as fast and forceful as possible, catching Twilight right in the chin, and knocking her out cold. She didn’t want to do it, but it was necessary. With Twilight knocked out and laying flat on the floor, Dash could easily carry her to the library where she belonged. She lifted Twilight onto her back and started toward the exit. “While I’m at it, I might burn that damned doll too. I’ll be back…”

As she walked out the door she remembered about Gummy. She walked over to the bed and looked under it, to see that the bloody corpse was still there. As much as she dreaded it, she knew that she had to get him. She slowly and carefully pulled him out with the blanket from under the bed, folded him up in the blanket, and picked it up. She began to gag as she walked out the door, but didn’t miss a beat, as she continued down the stairs and out the door into the street. She continuously shifted her sight left and right. The last thing Dash needed was a stray pony walking by and asking what was in the bag or what was wrong with Twilight. However, as luck would have it, that’s just what happened.

“Why, hello there, Rainbow Dash!” A male pony called from down the street. It was a dreary day, so it was hard to make out who it was exactly. “I say, what is that on your back?” The pony walked closer, revealing his brown coat, and darker brown mane.

“Oh this, nothing much, just some stuff to take to the library.” She kept walking. “I’m in a bit of a hurry, so…” she began to jog; making sure that Twilight didn’t fall.

“Oh, perhaps I may be of some assistance? I would be happy to carry that bag in your mouth or the stuff on your back.” He came closer, revealing it was the Doctor. Darn his helpful outlook on life.

“Nah, its personal stuff. I gotta go, like now.” She began running slowly, faster than he was walking by far, but Twilight was slipping and she couldn’t fix it. She ran as fast as she could toward the library, unaware of her speed. She ran so fast time seemed to slow, and she was able to open the library door and sling her flank over and upwards as to send Twilight’s unconscious body onto Spikes enormous body. “Whew…glad I got her here, now to go to Nurse Redheart. She’ll know what happened to Gummy.”

---

Skylite the pegasis colt and his earth pony father Caramel had finally finished a hard day’s work at Sweet Apple Acres. Skylite loved working with his dad at the farm, and in that way he took after his father’s teachings. Even though he took after Twilight, his mother, in the way that he’d rather read books than be a social flutter pony, he was like his father in the way that he would much rather work on the farm than look at books all day. Because of this wide difference in interests, Caramel basically got to be with him on the farm during the weekends, and Twilight got him during school nights so he could study.

“That’s it. All the apples put in the barn. Anything else Dad?

“Yep. Think that’s all fer tuhday. I think ya mom wanted ya home when we finished, so hurry home. Don’t wanna hear her yell when I get there.” He chuckled, and rubbed his hoof on the top of Skylite’s mane. “Now get. I’ll be home soon.”

“K Dad! See ya at home! Love ya!” Skylite yelled as he flew off to home. His dark brown coat and slightly lighter mane, about the color of Caramel’s, left a chocolate streak on the sky as he sped home. Skylite often wondered how two earth ponies ended up having a pegasis son, but he decided he would know when the time came. Being the Rainbow Dash fan that he, along with nearly every other pegasis, was, he loved to pretend he was a Wonderbolt; Flying and dancing through the sky without a care in the world, he painted the sky a dark shade of brown. Then, said paint would quickly dry up and the canvas clean, ready to be painted again.

As he flew home quickly and dare-devilishly he noticed a lot of sad, emotional ponies walking the street. He was a focused flyer, usually not taking time to look around at all of the ponies along the street, but this was so severe that it was impossible to ignore, especially when he noticed a certain white pony sitting on the sidewalk sobbing.

“Miss Rarity?” Skylite quietly asked as he walked slowly up to her. “Why are you crying?”

“Oh…hello Skylite. It’s nothing dear.” She looked away from him, aware that he knew her lie.

“Well then, could you tell me why the whole town is so depressed?” Skylite was the curious type, and that assisted in his reading personality, but this was something you couldn’t look up in books. This was something from the heart, and Rarity was perfect for an answer, as she was almost as much of a mother to him as Twilight was.

“Just a gloomy day I suppose. Sad weather, sad ponies.” She refused to look at him, as she was afraid to. She tried to wretch out a smile, and that led to more tears. Her tears had left a small wet patch on the sidewalk, showing that she had been there for a while. Skylite was in fear rat the fact that his practical mother was in so much emotional pain. But he was also infuriated, she always did that. She would beg for attention, then she won’t reveal why. She also convinced herself that Skylite was still a little foal, not a teenage colt now.

“Rarity,” this grabbed her attention, as it was the first time he had ever called her by her real name and not ‘Miss Rarity’, “I’m not a tiny little foal anymore, and I can tell when something is wrong, especially when half of Ponyville is in tears. You are a drama queen, but you’re ladylike enough that you go to wallow in your own tears somewhere private, not sit here in the middle of town where everypony can see you this way! Now, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me what the hay is going on!” This language, the frank nature of the speech, the subtle insults, it all added up to making Rarity want to cry more, but not being able to.

However, it also left her speechless. She didn’t know what to say. True he was a teenage colt now, not a foal, but it was too much for him to handle. And it would be better to let Twilight explain than Rarity. Rarity couldn’t handle it; Twilight was the down to Earth one. And right now this colt was being more adult and mature in the situation than Rarity was.

“Skylite dear, I don’t want to tell you this, but Pinkie Pie may be dead.” She looked back down at the ground. This action was accompanied by a gasp from Skylite. “She’s been having some troubles, and when we went to check on her, she was gone. We can’t find any hints as to where she could be, but we know it’s not in town. Se either left town or is on the outskirts.”

“Rarity. Please. Do you know anything else?” He was almost on the edge of tears, and had still forgotten about ‘Miss Rarity’

“No darling, that’s all I know.” She wasn’t lying this time, and he knew it. He walked down the sidewalk, hunched his back, got a running start, and jumped outwards, spreading his wings and shooting off towards the library to go check on Twilight. As he approached the giant, hollowed out tree, he heard a door slam and acquired the feeling that something horrible was inside. He halted about 10 feet from the door, and slowly crept up to it. As he slung the door open, he saw his mother knocked out and laying on Spike’s enormous stomach, and a confused Spike alternating dazed looks between Twilight and her son. Skylite gasped as he noticed the gigantic, swelling, pulsing black eye his mother had somehow acquired.

“What tha hay?” Skylite screamed at Spike. He wasn't quite sure why, but he wanted to blame Spike for this. Perhaps it was because he was the only one around.

“I don’t know! I was sleepin’ here on my back, then Dash came bursting through the door and tossed your mom onto me! When I looked, she was out cold, and I guess Dash gave her the shiner. Really nasty.” He made a disgusted face at the swelling bruise. Skylite was ready to burst, and the knowledge that his supposed hero had done this made him want to scream. “She had a sack in her mouth too. It was full of something, but I couldn’t tell what.”

Skylite flew out of the library, his back draft causing the door to close behind him. “Mmk, I’ll be here then.” Spike mumbled to himself, and with a thud he crashed his enormous head onto the floor.

“DASH!” Skylite was furious at Rainbow Dash, and if she found her, it wouldn’t be pretty. “DASH WHEN I FIND YOU I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” It didn’t take much longer until her sights were locked on the sky blue pony with rainbow mane. She flew as fast as her wings as fast as was possible. “DASH!!!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Rainbow Dash to turn around so she could be tackled cleanly and most painfully.

“Your dead, do you hear me?” As he looked to his side to investigate the contents of the spilled sack, he noticed the blood on the blanket, and then he noticed what was inside; the bloody, rotting corpse of a certain alligator. “YOU’RE SICK!” He began to cry as she got off from on top of Dash. He turned her back as Dash gained her common sense stood up, and then, as soon as Dash stood all the way up, he bucked her as hard as he could in the chin. All of his time down on the farm had paid off, as he had learned how to use his wings to add more momentum to his kick. This had knocked the mighty oak known as Rainbow Dash off her hooves, and he hopped back on top of her and held her down. “You are so…ugh, I don’t even know the word! I looked up to you! I loved you! My mom loved you! You were my hero! And you go and do this?! You kick my mom in the face, and kill Gummy! You probably killed Pinkie Pie too!”

“Sky, I know you won’t understand, but I HAD to buck your mom, trust me. And I did not kill Gummy!”

“Then what did?” He loosened his grip.

“We don’t know how he died. I was on my way to find out, and Pinkie just disappeared and that’s what’s wrong with the town! Now, get the hay off of me!

“I’m still mad at you. And I don’t trust you. So…I’m going with you.” She got off of Rainbow Dash, allowing her to get up.

“Fine, but stay out of my way and if you tackle me one more time, or you’ll be being checked out by Nurse Redheart instead of Gummy.” She pushed Gummy’s body into the blanket and folded the blanket back up. “Ok…let’s go…”

Big Mac was shocked. Though he suspected this, he never expected the revelation to be so strait forward, sudden and frank. Yet, as much as he hated it, he shared the emotion with Sweetie Belle. It was about as wrong as it could get; a stallion falling in love with a mare over ten years younger than he was.

“I’m…I’m sorry…” Sweetie Belle looked down and blushed. As Big Mac stared at her in confusion, he saw a tear fall onto the hardwood floor below. “I just wanted to get that off my chest. Please…please forgive me. No one has to know about this. Just answer me this Big Mac, please. Do you love me? I can tell when you’re lying, so please don’t hurt me. Do you love me?” She looked up, tears pouring from her eyes and down her face. She closed her eyes in an attempt to block the tears from flowing as she braced for the impact of his reply to her question, but she failed, as the tears continued to flow.

Big Mac noticed this and walked up silently to her to answer her question. He leaned in close and whispered into her ear a soothing “Eeyup” as he gently kissed her cheek. Sweetie opened her eyes wide in surprise. “What do I do now?” She slowly looked up and into his deep, green eyes, and became lost. Without thinking, she kissed him passionately on his soft lips.

She was still lost in the moment when she forced her eyes half open. He had done the same, and now they were lost and swimming in each other’s eyes. But something sparked in the back of Sweetie Belle’s mind; his name. “Wait…this is Big Mac! He’s at least ten years older than me!”
She backed away from his warm face. Big Mac knew what was wrong, as he felt the same way. “Sweetie, we can do this. Even if it needs to stay under wraps for now.

“But…Apple Bloom…”

“Forget about Bloom! Right now it’s just you and me.” He kissed her again, and then sat down. Sweetie, however, was left standing. She couldn’t believe what was happening. This went against all her previous beliefs and rising, as well as her friendship. She loved Apple Bloom, but she was in love with Big Mac. Nevertheless, she sat up against him as she had attempted before.

“Mmk. Here’s everypony’s food!” Apple Bloom walked out of the kitchen with a tray of hay sandwiches and two young foals at her feet. “You guys had better be hungry! I worked hard on these!”

“Eeyup.”

“I’m starving!”

“Well here ya go!” She placed the sandwiches on the table in front of the two ponies. “By tha way Sweetie Belle, whatcha think of tha table? Made it myself!” It was a beautiful oak table with complex designs down the legs and side of the tabletop.

“I love it!” She kept sheepishly looking over at Big Mac, still feeling the rush of excitement mixed with guilt caused by the past few minutes. “Love it.” She repeated as she grinned at him. He noticed the game she was playing, and decided he would join in the fun.

“Eeyup. Mighty fine. Looks fancy, but still simple. Fits very well with the country feel of the place but still sophisticated.” He threw a look back at Sweetie Belle and grinned.”

“Guys, if ya don’t like tha table, ya can just say so…” she had a disgusted face and her sadness as almost audible by looking at it.

“Oh no, Bloom! Why would we think that? It’s a great, dependable, sturdy table.” Another glance and grin at Big Mac.

“That’s why! You guys complement it, then ya look at each other and laugh like your lying to me!” She began to yell, frustrated at the two of them.

“Nope.” Responded Big Mac “Were just remembering a joke from a while ago.”

“Oh really?” She returned her grin from before. “What was it? I love me a good joke!”

“It’s kinda inside ya know? Only me and Sweetie get it.” That was another trait Sweetie Belle loved about him. He could think on the spot and make it convincing, but somehow he never was able to convince Sweetie of a lie.

“Oh…ok…” She looked at her sandwich and took a big bite of it, thinking about what could be going on between the two of them. “Oh no…” she conceived a thought of the two of them together “Nah…that’s crazy talk Apple Bloom”

---

The skies were beginning to clear up as the day became longer, and the weather was perfect for Scootaloo, the Wonderbolt in training, to practice her usual routine, but better. She was wary about practicing without Rainbow Dash by her side, but at least this way she was able to pace herself.

She began as usual, a couple of slow laps around the fields she was practicing in, and then she moved on to a few more faster laps, then one big one at full speed. At the end of the final lap cam Scootaloo’s favorite part of the routine: she would sling her head and neck upwards, propelling her upwards as she laid her wings as flat against her sides. This would skyrocket her as high up as possible, and as she reached her limit, she would spread her wings out, but not flapping, and stall in midair. As she freefell toward the earth, she would close her eyes and straiten her body out to a strait dive downwards. As soon as she became about ten yards from the ground, she would bend back again, launching her forward and flying her as close to the ground as possible. The rush, mixed with the smell of the fresh ait above the clouds and the feel of the blades of grass on her stomach once she flattened out, made this the greatest thing ever to Scootaloo, and a privilege to be able to do it.

As Scootaloo sat in the high grass to catch her breath, she felt the urge to do the move known as The Freefall again. Normally she wouldn’t, and would simply continue to catch her breath, as she was usually too tired to perform the move again so soon. Rainbow Dash knew this and wouldn’t allow her to do it, but Dash wasn't here, and Scootaloo was all alone. Free to do what she wanted, and at this moment, she wanted to do The Freefall again.

“Can’t hurt. Just do it quickly and get it over with, then go back to Apple Bloom’s house.” She said to herself as she got into position. It had become much later, and the sun had begun to go down, so she needed to do it quickly. She decided she would do one slow lap, one regular lap, and one speed lap before doing The Freefall.

First lap, she investigated her surroundings: low sun, more fog, getting cloudy. Next, she ran the regular lap. Finally it came time for the speed lap. One patch of fog kept bothering her all three laps, so she decided she would simply stay away from the area. As she reached time to lean back and shoot into the sky above, she became scared. It was almost dark, and Dash wasn't there for help. That fog and the heavy clouds didn’t help either.

She leaned back, clinched her wings to her body, and flew upwards. As she spread her wings, she opened her eyes enough to get the cold night air in them. The burst of dry air left her in tears, and she shook her head in pain. The change in direction threw her off course and when she squinted her eyes open again, she was about three yards from the ground face first. She quickly pulled up, tucked, and rolled. A loud snap, and a crackling sound like a bag of crunchy hay.

Screams of a young mare filled the night sky as she continued to roll; screams of terror, pain, and confusion. As she stopped rolling across the wet, hard ground, she realized her neck was not to its full capacity. She didn’t say broke, because she was scared to. She screamed and screamed, not able to walk due to the loss of her front right and back left legs. As she attempted to crawl slowly back to Sweet Apple Acres, she noticed her legs and neck getting worse with every moment.

Still screaming, she reached the property line for the farm. She could hear other ponies in the distance. That is, she hoped it was other ponies, and not her echoes. “HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE! I NEED HELP!” These three sentences were about all she could get out, in random order, before having to stop and catch her breath and massage the broken legs.

“Sugarcube? Scootaloo is that you? Oh my Celestia, what happened to you dear?” Applebloom yelled as she galloped as fast as possible. She ran to Scootaloo and checked on her legs. “With legs and a neck broke this bad, you’re lucky to be alive. Apple family! We need help!” Somehow, the call caused a small family reunion of random ponies Scootaloo had never seen before.

“Apple fritter, go get the hospital, and tell them to get over here. Apple Bumpkin, stay here with me.” Applejack continued to order more ponies around, telling them where to go and what to do. They all obeyed and did as told without question. Scootaloo laid in the middle of the field half alive, and tried to hold back her tears, but failed. She began to cry and scream with pain as she cried. The sound and sight of her pain were too much for Applejack, who began to cry as well. “It’ll be ok… it’ll be ok… it’ll be ok…were gonna fix everything. Just stay still.” She hugged Scootaloo to both comfort her and hold her still, and laid her head on Scootaloo’s ribs, a few of which on the other side were also broken.

Through the sounds of crying and the sight of tears, Scootaloo was able to notice am ambulance was on its way. She was gripping to consciousness, and was able to hear more Apple ponies running to her rescue as she laid there still slipping from life. “Applejack.” She managed to slip out “Applejack. Thank you. I love you.”

“I know ya do Sugarcube…I know ya do…”

---

Rainbow Dash jogged through the crowds of people in Ponyville, hoping to shake Skylite without having to look too suspicious. It was getting late, making it harder to see everypony, but her bright coat allowed her to be seen from a far distance, while Skylite’s dark brown mane and coat allowed for a disappearing act at night.

The streets were becoming more and more filled with ponies as it became later, which was strange on a weeknight. What was stranger, everypony seemed to be heading in the same direction: Sweet Apple Acres. Normally, this would cause Rainbow Dash to fly the direction they were migrating, but she was on a mission.

As she approached the hospital, she was able to see nurses galloping out the back as fast as possible. Though she wondered where they were going, she was intent in finding a reason for Gummy’s demise. At first, all the nurses, other ponies, and the noise made it impossible to find the only nurse that could be of assistance: Nurse Redheart. As Dash and Skylite began to walk around the hospital, Skylite had forgotten Dash’s mission. All he knew was that Dash had bucked his mother and possibly killed Gummy.

“Ugh. What are we doing here again?” Skylite bowed his head as he sighed the statement.

Dash growled with frustration. “We are here to find Nurse Redheart and figure out how Gummy kicked the bucket, but all I have learned here is that all the nurses look the same, and everypony is headed to Sweet Apple Acres. Nopony wants to help us, all ‘cause of that one reason. They see us here, but they just keep going to the farm.”
Skylite walked to the middle of the bustling, loud, cramped lobby and spread his wings. His large wings helped spread an open area in the lobby, and allowed him to get his point across thanks to the attention it gravitated. “EVERYPONY STOP!” he screamed towards the ceiling. All at once, the room grew silent. Hooves were stopped in their tracks, and looked at Skylite. “Now that you have all stopped acting like lunatics…where is Nurse Redheart?”

“I’m here.” said a gray-brown mare with nurses clothing on. “What seems to be the problem? You seem fine Skylite, and it looks like you brought Dash but she looks in good condition as well.” Dash dropped the bag on the floor and looked solemnly at Nurse Redheart. “Hmm. Yes. Well…” She looked down at the bag, understanding what Dash was trying to say to her. “Girls, I’m gonna need to stay here. You can handle it. Skylite, Dash, follow me.” She began walking up stairs and the two visitors followed.

“So…what’s in the bag?”

“An alligator.” Dash replied.

“Oh…is it the alligator I’m thinking about?”

“Yea.” Skylite simply walked beside Dash and looked at the posters on the wall. Safe sex, drug abuse, call 911; the usual.

“Well, here we are.” She walked up to a room nearly hidden by hospital supplies as if it was nearly ever used. Or maybe nopony wanted to go in there. “Just go on in. I’ll be there in a minute.” She walked back down stairs. She seemed very nonchalant, and it worried Dash. For some reason, she expected Nurse Redheart to react like Dash and Skylite had. But, she saw this sort of things all the time.

Dash opened the door and looked inside. There was a table with a single light shining on it. A window in the back allowed a faint streak of light in the dark room, but being dawn, not much was allowed in. Skylite went in first, being the more naive of the two. Dash had gained some experience in her age, and was a bit more careful in the way she lived. Skylite, however, was still young, and barged into the dark without care. He stumbled over a bucket laying in the floor, and laid there in the floor with the streak of light from the window across his face.

“Coast is clear.” Skylite said jokingly as he blushed.

“Get up. This is serious.” Dash laid Gummy down on the table in the middle of the room. His corpse remained in place, as if frozen in time. The stare provided by his eyes even blanker than when Gummy was alive. This was the first time Dash was able to ree the trail of blood that had once ran from his mouth, though now dried. “That explains the blood.”

Nurse Redheart walked into the room with a scalpel as if she was prepared for what she would see. “Ok, Gummy. What’s wrong with you?” She said to his body as if it would respond. A few minutes of investigation and she noticed the blood trail. “Poison? Hmm…” She began to cut down his stomach and examined the organs. “No…not poison. Were there any witnesses?”

“Pinkie Pie, but we don’t know where she is. We’re not sure if she even saw it.”

“Mmhmm…”She thought about the situation. “Ok, that could put poison back on the list.” A few more minutes of looking at the lungs and stomach and she reached a conclusion. “Well it wasn't poison. And it wasn't murder. Looks like some sort of disease. I’m going to need a sample.” She got the scalpel and cut off some skin from the stomach. “I’ll work fast.”
She walked back out of the room, and Dash noticed her cue to leave. She walked back down stairs and noticed the crowded lobby, and turned to Skylite. “Let’s go out the ER exit. Much quicker.” As she walked to the ER, she heard the bustle return as she passed the entrance.

“It’s ok Sugarcube, we got ya.” said a familiar voice behind Dash. She whipped around to see applejack running beside a stretcher and a orange arm hanging off the side. “Scoot!” She galloped up to Applejack and began to investigate. She couldn't see the stretcher, so she had to ask Applejack.

“AJ! What happened!?”

“We don’t know yet Dash; we heard screaming and went to investigate. Next thing I know, I find Scootaloo half dead in the middle of yall’s practice field!” She had tears in her eyes, and looked back down.
Dash began to cry as well. This was her protégé, nearly her sister! And now she may be dead. “Scoot, can you hear me? It’s Dash! Please, Scoot! Answer me!” she begged. This was the worst tragedy in her life, and if Scootaloo died, Dash would maybe never fly again.

“Da…Dash?” Scootaloo mumbled through her lips. “I’m…sorry…” She lost consciousness.

“SCOOT! DOC IS SHE STILL ALIVE? DOC!” Dash was breaking down. Without Scootaloo, hat was there to live for? Her life was falling apart so quickly, all the stress was getting to her, and she was panicking.

“Yes, Dash she’s alive. She unconscious, but she’s breathing. She has been doing that all night. We will be on floor three if you want to see her after the surgery. Now, Miss Applejack, Miss Dash, I’m going to have to ask you to stay here for a while.”

“Surgery?! What does she need surgery for?” The doctor continued walking and entered the elevator. “AJ, what tha hay is going on?”

“Scoot has a broke front right leg, a broke back left leg, four ribs on her right side, and a broken neck in two places. The very fact that she is alive is a work of Celestia! I found her and she was almost dead. As cold and wet as it was out there, if I hadn’t found her when I did, she might would’ve froze.” Dash was shocked. The fact that Scoot was amazing enough, but Applejack was very punctual in rough situation like this apparently.

“Hmm…come on, Skylite’s here too. You should explain what you know to me ‘n him while we wait.” She began walking over to where Skylite was.

“Ya. Guess I should. Poor kid.”

“That was a…nice visit, Apple Bloom. We’ll…have to do it again soon.” Sweetie Belle said as she walked towards the door. “Good bye to both of you. Oh, you too kids. I’ll be back soon.”

“Bye Auntie Belle! We love you!” The children spoke together as they hugged Sweetie around the neck.

“Well, I had better get going. It’s really late, and Rarity probably needs me. She’s not the youngest pony in town after all.” She said with a giggle. “Bye, maybe tomorrow.” She glanced over at Big Macintosh discretely. As she walked from the door, she could hear Big Mac walk out the back door. She quickly walked into the nearby group of trees and snuck around to the back to meet up with him.

“Thank you…for everything.” She looked down and blushed. “I really didn’t expect that. All these years…” She knew she needed to be quiet before she ruined it, but she couldn’t. The words were pouring out of her mouth, and there was no way to stop them. She bit her tongue in attempt to stop them from coming out.

“Sweetie, I feel bad for loving you, but I can’t stop it. I need you. I’ve never loved anypony before, but I love you, and if that’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. If this word can’t handle our love, then they can ignore it. We were meant to be together, and that’s that.” He leaned down to her and kissed her again. “Now go, it’s too soon for anypony to find out.”

Sweetie was still hanging on the kiss when he said the last statement, and didn’t want to leave. “Can’t we just let everypony know? What’s the point of hiding? You say you don’t care, and then you go on and hide. Are you lying to me?”

“NO! I just think we need to get used to this first, then we can tell them. I mean, if we’re not used to it, how can we expect everypony else to be used to it? Now go, please.” He turned her around and nudged her back to the exit of the farm. “I love you.” He called as she walked away.

“I love you too.” She began to walk off, scared of her own thoughts. “Is he telling the truth? Or is he simply scared to admit our love to everypony?” She looked ahead, and realized how late it was. She had spent all day and half the night at Apple Bloom’s house. She wished she didn’t have to go. She wanted to stay with him all night. She didn’t want to leave him and go back to Rarity’s boutique.

She whipped back around and ran back to him. As she rubbed her face to his, she looked him in his deep, green eyes again and kissed him again. “Please! Oh, please! Let me stay, Big Mac! You can let me stay in the barn! No funny business, I just don’t want to leave you!”

“Sweetie…I don’t know…” He looked away, afraid of her possible reaction to his denial at her request. “What…what about Rarity? She’ll be awful worried ‘bout you. Besides, it don’t feel right leavin’ ya out here all alone.”

“You say forget about Apple Bloom, well I say forget about Rarity! She won’t care. I’ll tell her that I lost track of time and passed out here. She won’t care! I promise!”

He looked away again, this time thinking about how to respond. Does he tell her yes? Does he tell her nicely no? Or does he tell her no frankly and tell her to leave? “Ugh…” He began, stressed now at the pressure being laid upon him by his new lover. “Fine…you can stay in the barn. I’ll stay here with you ‘till bed, then I’m going inside to sleep”.

“Aww, why?” She interrupted, sharing her sisters patented whine.

“So Bloom and the kids won’t get suspicious. If I tell them I want to randomly sleep in the barn, they’ll want to know why. And what do I tell ‘em? That my newfound love is out there? Then they’ll ask who, and I’ll have to tell ‘em that it’s you!”

“And what’s wrong with that?” She questioned him. “Why is he so scared to tell everypony?”

“I just don’t feel like putting up with all that drama! Look, Sweetie, I love you, and I want all of Equestria to know that I love you, but now is not the time.” He walked into the barn, signaling Sweetie Belle to follow.

As she followed, she saw him pull out a blanket and pillow from the rafters, as if people stayed in the barn all the time. “Why not? Why can’t we just…” She looked down. She knew the answer, and she knew she would lose the battle, but her heart wanted to keep going, even if her mind insisted to stop.

He gave her a look; A passionate look. A look that made Sweetie stop wanting to ask her question and she simply layed down and began to blush. As she laid down, Big Mac got the pillow from the rafters and sat it under her head. “Now just get comfortable. I’m gonna stay here with you for a while. It’s gonna be cold out here, so I’ll try to keep you warm.” He grabbed the blanket and spread it out over Sweetie, then nudged up beside her so that he was laying beside her as she was tucked into the blanket.

He leaned over and gave her a kiss, soft and passionate like their first, but longer. This time it wasn’t a sin in their minds. This time they were both in love, and they shared their love through this kiss. It seemed to go on forever, but it was only a minute or two. They didn’t care, however, as the pure rush they both gained from this expression of their shared love made every second feel like days. Big Mac was the first to pull away. Not from choice, but by force. “Ok, I’ll be here, just go to sleep and I’ll try to be here when you wake up.”

She rolled over and yawned. As big as that rush was, she was still sleepy, the sooner she went to sleep, the sooner tomorrow would come, allowing their love to last another day. “I love you Big Mac.”
“I love you too Sweetie.”

---

Applejack was explaining the incident to Skylite, and Rainbow Dash didn’t want to hear it. “I gotta get outta here!” She thought to herself. All of this drama in one day was too much. Dash needed her sleep. Even if it meant knocking herself out. She looked over and saw Skylite crying on Applejack’s shoulder. “Poor kid. Didn’t even know Scoot that well, but knew her enough to be hurt by all this. He’s too young for this.” Dash dropped to her knees, holding in the urge to cry out to Celestia and ask her why she would cause all of this pain to them.

“Dash, you wanna say somin to Sky over here?” Applejack asked. She was crying too, though probably the least of the three. Skylite was too young to deal with all this pain, Dash felt like she lost a sister, and AJ simply wanted to hold strong, and be the flimsy tape that held this makeshift family together.

“Hmm…I don’t really wanna talk about it…” She didn’t, but she knew she needed to. “I loved her…” She looked away, afraid to let Skylite see her crying. “I loved her like a sister. Now though, now she’s half dead, getting surgery, and I feel like it’s my fault. I wasn't there. And the last way I was to her was obnoxious, evil, and mean.” She sniffed, looked up, and had a half grin across her face. “But after this surgery…after the surgery everything will be back to normal. And we’ll start over. We’ll go back to practice. Start back in Appleloosa, and I’ll be a nicer coach. I’ll be a inspiring coach.”
“Dash, ya alright?” Skylite walked up to Dash, who was still shaking and tearing up, despite her forced grin. “Maybe you should sit down.”

“Don’t touch me!” Dash snapped. She didn’t know why, but she did. As Skylite jumped back in fear, AJ grabbed him and gripped him in her softening, soothing way. She turned him around and he began to sob upon her shoulder again. “Sky…” Dash reached out, but put her hoof back down. An apology couldn’t fix all of their problems.
The doctor walked down the stairs with a neutral face. Dash didn’t know what to expect. Was he coming with good news about Scootaloo, or was he returning to provide worse news than he had already announced? He walked up to Dash, and looked down at her dirty knees from when she had dropped to the floor, then looked back up at her purple face from crying. He then turned back to AJ and Skylite.

“Who here is her relative or caretaker?” Applejack and Skylite looked over at Rainbow Dash, who agreed. “Miss Dash. A word with you?” He kept his generic, non-expressing face locked onto Dash’s eyes.

“Uhh…sure?” She began to cry again, but on the inside, she was a tad excited as well. Maybe he was going to say that she was ok. Maybe.

“Miss Dash. Well…we were able to at least begin on the surgery. Then something went wrong.” He looked to his right at the waterless plant in the corner.

“WHAT!? What went wrong? I’ll give you all the bits you need to fix it! Don’t tell me she’s dead! Please!” She dropped to her knees again, looking up at the doctor with broken spheres of pain in place of her eyes. “Please…”

“Miss Dash, I’m…I’m sorry. It’s my job. She lost consciousness again and…well…never gained it again.” He tried to avoid the word died; passed away, kicked the bucket, left us. They never did their job of softening the blow. Saying what he did probably didn’t either, but it was an attempt.

Dash screamed. Her worst fears were all coming to light, all in less than 24 hours. This time yesterday she and Scootaloo were racing from Ponyville to the outskirts of Canterlot. Now, Scootaloo wasn’t there to race anymore. Or practice. Or play. Or anything. She was dead. Gone.

“Miss Dash I…”

“Shut up.”

“Miss Dash?”

“Shut…up.” She got up and began to look around in an angry fashion, as if she was looking for a place to go, to get away from everything. Which she was.

“Dash ya alright?” AJ asked her as she walked by. Skylite had walked out of the room, afraid of the burst of emotion that was inevitable.

“No…I’m not. And neither is Scoot. Neither WAS Scoot…” She stopped walking and looked around angrily again.

“Oh no…Dash…come sit down. Please.” She stood up and put her hoof around Dash’s neck and began to nudge her towards the seats.

“GET OFF OF ME! NO, I DON’T WANT TO SIT! Now stay here. I’m going outside. Don’t follow.”

“Dash, this isn’t healthy, you have to let it out girl! Please? Just come over here, ya aint gotta sit, and cry it out. Nothing you do is gonna make this situation any easier, but we can do it together.

“You act like you don’t care! Why don’t you care Applejack? Hmm? You don’t care that the closest thing I ever had to a sister is dead? You don’t care about me wanting to be alone? You don’t care that I’m heartbroken? No…you don’t. You don’t understand, that’s all. You think I can just sit down and blow this off? No. And as if this is the only problem I’ve had today? I’ll bet you don’t even know about Gummy? Did you know he’s dead? Ya. He’s upstairs now. Layin’ on some inspection table cut open with half of his organs out. Something, or someone killed him. And now I find out Scootaloo is dead!? It’s my fault too! I should have been nicer, I should have been there with her too!”

“Dash, this aint your fault, and ya I knew ‘bout Gummy. That explains why you were here in tha first place.”

“IT IS MY FAULT! She always tried to practice without me. I worked her too hard, especially since we came back here. I wanted her to do good, so I over worked her. She like practicing on her own ‘cause she didn’t have to put up with me. If I had just…”

“Dash…you simply wanted her to be good. So maybe you were a little harsh, you just coached the way you thought was suitable.” She knew this was a lie, but Dash was scaring her, and she needed a way to calm her down.

“Oh. Another thing, did ya know about Twilight?” She turned around finally, tears flying from her face as she whipped her neck around to face Applejack. “Ya. She’s insane now. Worse than ever. And guess who she blames. ME! She says that it’s because I left that all of this is happening. I didn’t want to believe her, but I guess she right. It’s all my fault. I had to leave and try to get famous.”

“You had to; it was your dream, and your destiny. And you had to help Scootaloo out too.”

“I didn’t do it for Scootaloo. I did it for me. I thought if I could make her good, I could show I was an awesome coach. I did it for me. You see? I’m a self-centered, evil, jerk.

AJ knew this was true, but she didn’t want to say it. She just looked down at the floor. Even if Dash saw, she was in her own world, and it wouldn’t change anything.

“It’s all my fault! All of it! MY fault that everything is going so wrong!” She began running around frantically, yelling about how everything was her fault. Then, she ran head first into a wall, and began banging her head into it, repeating the phrase “My fault!” with every blow.

The doctor, who had been listening to the conversation until Dash began running around like a lunatic, returned with two bigger doctors by his side. The larger of the two had a grey coat and black mane, and the smaller donned a coat of white and navy blue mane. The larger one ran and jumped onto Dash, gripping her by the neck and pulling her down as he wrapped his legs around her to hold her in place.

“LET…ME…GO!” Dash screamed as she tried to break free in her now unstable condition. She was no longer a possible threat to others, but now an enormous definite threat to herself. Releasing her now, after they had attacked her, could have catastrophic results, ones that they weren’t willing to pay. As the larger doctor kept his grip on Dash, the smaller doctor ran up and stabbed her in the neck with a syringe, releasing the fluids inside into the vane on the side of her neck. She kecked a few more times at the sudden pulse of pain that swept through her body, then relaxed. She slowly dropped her head and closed her eyes, her whole body relaxing at once.

“Is…is she dead?” asked a now present and up to speed Skylite.

“No. Simply unconscious. She has been sedated so we can carry her to the mental ward and put her in a cell.”

“THE MENTAL WARD!?” asked the brown and orange ponies in unison.

“Well, we can’t allow her to leave under this condition. It’s simply a danger to herself as well as others. She’ll spend the night with no medication, and we’ll see how she’s doing, and if she seems to be healed, she can leave.” The doctor had the usual blank face that he had lost only when breaking the news of Scootaloo’s death.

“But…she’s not insane. She’s just stressed. All this that’s happening; Gummy died. Then Twilight flipped her top, then this. It’s a little much, and she’s kinda snapping under the pressure. Insanity is a harsh word, Doc.” Skylite defended Dash with all of his knowledge and power, but to no avail. Dash was going to the mental ward, and nopony could stop it.

Sweetie Belle drifted slowly and silently to the sleep. Big Macintosh, who had been on the brink of sleep as he lay beside her to warm her in the cold night, noticed this and stood up. He never stopped checking back on her to make sure she was comfortable and still asleep. She laid there, in her own little world, no fear, no cares. Big Mac loved the expression on her face. He loved her. As he began to turn around, he saw her move and sigh as a smile spread across her smooth face. He turned around and grabbed a large pile of hay and pushed it over to her.

“That outta keep her warm for the rest of the night.” He nodded as he adjusted the hay to make a sort of manger for his love. He stood and stared at her for what seemed like hours, though most likely only a few seconds, and he grinned. As he finished setting up the hay bed for his lover, he leaned down to her and stroked her mane as he kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I love you Sweetie”

As he began to walk out of the barn, he heard her rustle around, then believed he heard a slight mumble: “Love…too…Mac” He smiled, somehow relieved at this obvious fact that she loved him. She was the one to come to him, and yet he was the one who needed her. He couldn’t tell if things were going good or bad, but he loved everything about it.

He crept out of the barn and closed the gigantic door quietly. As he carefully maneuvered through the yard, he realized that tomorrow was a new day and maybe then he would reveal his forbidden love to everypony in Equestria. He set this though aside, however, as right now he didn’t want to be caught sneaking in from the barn. They would ask questions, and questions required answers. Answers would inevitably lead to revelations; revelations he wasn't ready to let go of.

He approached the back door to the Apple Family abode. The door seemed heavier than usual, and the floor creakier. Nevertheless, he stealthily snuck trough the home, trying to avoid making too much noise. However, he was stopped in his tracks halfway across the living room they had all met together earlier in the day. “Where do ya think ya goin?”

“Apple Bloom! Didn’t see ya there. I was just gonna go upstairs and go to bed. Mighty tired.” He looked up the stairs and began to trot his way up them, but Apple Bloom began again, causing him to halt in place.

“Where were ya all night? I saw ya go in tha barn there, but ya never came out. I wanted to make sure you were okay, so I thought I’d wait here.”

“I was in there feedin tha cows, but I must have fell asleep. That hay out there can be mighty comfortable sometimes.” He looked down, aware at how pitiful his half-lie was.

“Mac, there was another pony there with ya…a mare. She was white, and had purple and pink hair. Mac, what are you hiding? Please, lemme know! I have a feeling I already know, but I wanna here ya say it!”

Big Mac looked down again, and then looked back at Apple Bloom in her eyes. This was the moment he had been dreading, yet he was more ready than ever. “Sweetie Belle.” He continued to look her strait in her orange eyes. “Sweetie Belle was the pony you saw, and she’s still out there, sleeping. We were out there together. She didn’t want to leave me, so I stayed out there to keep her warm. We love each other, and that’s final. Say what you will Bloom, but I love her and she loves me. She’s funny, smart, fancy, but she fits in well with us. There are plenty of things to hate bout our being together, but I’ll let you pick which one you want to throw on me. I love Sweetie Belle, and she loves me.”

“YA DARN RIGHT THERES PLENTY OF THINGS TO HATE!!! First off, she’s gotta be about ten years younger than you, second, she’s my best friend. Big Mac, what the hay were you thinking!?”

“She came to me!”

“Ya couldn’t tell her no!? Mac, she’s TEN…YEARS…YOUNGER THAN YOU! This is gonna get you both killed! I’m not…too mad at either of you, I’m just disappointed and worried bout ya’ll! This is really bad! Really, really bad! This could get you both killed, or worse! Mac, I can’t believe you did this. Wait till I tell AJ.”

“NO!” He ran up and was so close that he could see his own reflection in her eyes. “You will NOT tell anypony. Me and Sweetie were gonna tell some ponies tomorrow, at our own pace, but you can’t do it. Please Bloom. Do it for me? Do it for Sweetie? Please. I love you sis.”

“Ugh fine. Whatever. I won’t tell anypony about you two. Just stay on my good side. I swear to Celestia if I find a reason to rat ya out to all of Equestria, I will. You know I will too." She gave him an evil stare. Blackmail wasn't usually her thing, but this was a different story. This was blackmail to possibly save Sweetie, Big Mac, even the entire Apple family name.
"Fine. But I will NOT run around to do stupid errands that you can do easily. This will not be an excuse for you to lay around and not lift a finger like I know your plannin to do. I got plenty of work to do here, and you do too. So, dont think for a second I'm gonna do both. I'll try to get her to help around a little, but you can’t just have her go straight to work. She's a city pony, not a farm horse like you and me. Though, she'll be happy enough thata she won’t have to hide from you.
Where is AJ anyway? She's usually home by now."

"She's over at the hospital. I don't know why, but it sounded bad. You know me though. Didn't wanna scare the kids and all, so I stayed here and saw 'em to bed. Goldie asked where she was too, told 'er she must've stayed over at Twilight's for a while. She passed right plum out.”

“AJ is gonna be fine. She can handle it. She’s a big girl after all.”

“Yea. I guess you’re right.” She sat down in her chair and began reading a book.

Big Mac began up the stairs and stopped in mid step. “Bloom?”

“What?” Her voice still showed anger, which she had every right to have.

“Thanks. He turned around with a small grin. “Thanks for not going around and telling everypony about me and Sweetie.”

“Ya. Whatever. Just remember what I said. Don’t give me a reason to tell them.” She continued reading her book.

Big Mac continued up the stairs slowly as he thought about all that had happened today. He had found his once unknown love of his life, and realized that she was all he needed. He had fallen in love, and now it was falling apart. This only made his love for Sweetie burn stronger. As he walked by the children’s room, he peeked in. Inside he saw both children in their own beds, and smiled. “No worries. No cares. Just here to live life. I reckon ya’ll got Apple Bloom to thank just as much as ya got youth.” He closed the door silently and trotted down the hall towards his room. As he lay in his bed for the night, he thought about Sweetie. He thought about her soft, tender face, her beautiful mane, and her deep, light green eyes. He thought about the passionate kisses they had, and looked forward to being able to feel her warm face again as he drifted quietly and gently into sleep, just as Sweetie had just a few hours before.

---

The night was dark, cold, and foggy, and through the dense, choking fog, you could faintly see an old gray pegasus mare with a black mane walking quickly through the night. Behind her, you could hardly see a small brown colt with a chocolate brown mane of about four or five years old failing to keep up with the gray mare. “Where are we going mommy?”

The gray pegasus continued to walk, almost to a gallop, down the side walk. Then, she ducked into an even foggier alleyway between a playhouse and apartment complex without warning, leaving the small colt behind. “Mommy?!” The brown colt flapped his wings as hard as possible, wearing himself out to the point of exhaustion. He fell to the ground again and again, unable to even hover for more than a few seconds. Eventually, his still developing wings gave out under the punishment, and he fell again. This time, however, he had managed to move over a few inches, and upon falling, the colt struck his head on a crate and had passed out. The last sight he saw before going completely black was the hard ground rushing towards his face.

The colt awoke in a warm bed, covered up and bandaged. At first, he wondered if it had all been a dream, but the bandages were real, as was the pain. He sat up, and it was accompanied burst of pain through his head. As he slowly looked around the room, he saw a bookshelf, a small window covered with thin curtains, a few potted plants, and a chair. Inside the chair was a lavender colored pony reading a book.

“Who…ouch…who are you?” He held his head and squinted his eyes in order to see her better. She was very pretty, with her very dark purple, strait cut mane, and a lighter purple highlight accompanied by a pink highlight.

The lavender pony jerked her head up with gigantic eyes and a gaped mouth. “Caramel, dear! He’s awake!” She got up and slowly walked over to the bed. “Oh thank Celestia you’re awake. I’m Twilight, Twilight Sparkle in full. My husband, Caramel Apple, will be up here any second. I’m sure your awfully confused.

A caramel colored stallion with hair the color of the colt’s walked up the stairs. Although it hurt to think, even the colt could assume that this was Caramel Apple. “Howdy. Nice to meet ya. Must’ve been a nasty fall ya took. Ya got quite a lump up there on ya head. I’m Caramel Apple, butcha can call me Caramel. You already met my wife, Twilight. Now, son. Can I ask ya watcha think happened? We found ya layin half-dead in an alleyway. We were leavin’ a play, and herd a thud, then we saw ya layin there.”

“Yes. As Caramel went to pick you up, I stayed behind. I heard wings flap, and saw a…fairly large pegasus flying away. It seemed like she was flying away. Anyway, we grabbed you and brought you here, to my library here in Ponyville. I live here. You have been knocked out since about when we found you, until now. We were beginning to worry about you.”

“Thank…you…I’m…I’m…” In the fall he had forgotten his own name. After a few seconds of thinking, he recovered it. “I’m Skylite.”

“Well Skylite, we let all of Equestria know that you are here with us. If nopony comes soon, we’ll just take you in with us. Does that sound ok? Would you like to stay with us?” She got down to his level as he laid in the bed.

“Ye…yes…that’d be great!”

Within four years, he had forgotten that Twilight and Caramel were not his real parents. He had grown accustomed to the fact that they were all of a different breed: Caramel being a Earth Pony, Twilight being a unicorn, and himself being a pegasus. He eventually never realized that he was any different than them and simply knew how to use his wings. He grew larger, and was eventually allowed to work on the farm with his “father”, Caramel. His newfound “mother” Twilight, however, attempted to keep him nearby to work on his studies.

Another six years later, he sat crying in the waiting room as his hero was dragged away to the mental ward. The scar on the side of his head, which he had completely forgotten about, was pounding with pain as he sat in the chair sobbing with Applejack attempting to comfort him. “AJ, I love you like a sister, but I just realized something.”

“What’s that Sugarcube?” She looked him in the eyes and stared at him as she asked the question.

“Why didn’t anypony tell me about the concussion? My mother leaving me? Twilight and Caramel finding me half-dead in an alley? Why was all of this kept a secret? Maybe to soften the blow, but now it’s hitting harder because I had to find out myself this late in my life. Why did nopony love me enough to tell me the truth? WHY?” An angry expression spread across his face.

“Sky, how did you find that out?” She was completely confused.

“I don’t know. I just suddenly got this throbbing in my head, and then I kinda blacked out for a few seconds. Next thing I know, I had all these memories clogging my brain, and they’re about me growing up.”

“Ugh. I don’t know exactly what happened, but from what I’ve heard, your mother apparently left you in a dark ally and you somehow knocked yourself out. Twi, and Caramel adopted you, and you forgot everything. I guess cause of the concussion, and cause of the young age you were too. I don’t know why nopony told you, but they had their reasons.”

“But what was the reason!?” he looked away and growled. “Fine. I don’t wanna be here anymore. I’m leaving, follow if you have to.” He stormed out the door, leaving no trail for Applejack to follow.

“I reckon he’s gonna go back to the library.” She reared back, and ran full speed towards Twilight’s home.

Applebloom stopped reading and laid her book down on the table beside her chair. She sat there, alone, and stared blankly into the darkness that had engulfed the Apple family home. A fast glance at the clock hanging on the wall to her right confirmed her theory that it was after midnight; 11:52 PM to be exact. She sat alone in her chair for another 30 seconds or so, and stood up. As she did so, she looked around suspiciously, as if somepony was watching her, and slowly walked over towards the door across the darkness.

As she approached the door that led outside, she stopped and looked down. Her heart was pounding, and she let her head hang as she let out a long, extended sigh. She slowly looked up at the door, and then quickly walked out. As she exited, she turned around to catch the door before it closed on its own. She slowly allowed it to close, then sighed again, dreading what was to come. Without thinking too much about the situation, she quickly turned around and headed her momentum to the barn across the yard.

She paused again before reaching the barn door, once again afraid to go any farther. She nudged open the barn door, and slipped through the crack she created. The old doors were creaky, but only to an extent. As little as she had opened it, she should be fine. Through the darkness, she could barely see a white blur in the floor. She walked over and flicked the switch for the dim lights to be turned on, illuminating the barn.
Now, all was visible to her, and she could see the white blur that was Sweetie Belle wrapped up in her blanket in the pile of hay that was made for her. The pillow and blanket were Apple Bloom’s from when she would stay out to take care of the sick cows, and now Sweetie Belle was using them to sleep in the barn with no purpose. She could easily go stay at Rarity’s house.. For some reason, this infuriated Apple Bloom; that, and the whole situation with Big Mac.

“Sweetie, wake up. I wanna talk to you.” She whispered as she nudged Sweetie in the back as she laid in the fetal position in the hay.

“Bloom? Is…is that you?” Sweetie mumbled as she rolled over and out of her slumber to face Apple Bloom.

“Ya. It’s me, Bitch.” Bloom quickly replied, followed by a strong hoof stomp to Sweetie’s face.

---

Big Mac jerked out of his sleep; a nasty habit, he had been meaning to get that checked out, but there was so much going on Especially now. Normally, he’d be able to lay back down and go to sleep again, but this time, he was forced to stay in the land of the living out of pure curiosity. His curiosity was spiked by the faint sound of the barn doors. He had spent so much time in that barn that he could tell if the doors were being opened from across the 20 acre farm, and hearing it open and close this late? That was more than unusual. The clock read 12:05 PM, much to late to be caring for the animals. Then, he remembered about Sweetie Belle. “Better check on her. Won’t hurt.”

He walked down the stairs and expected to greet Apple Bloom and concoct a yarn of why he was going out so late, but once he reached the bottom step, he realized that his little sister was nowhere to be seen. “Must be in the bed.” He continued into the living room and began to walk towards the exit to the outside world, thinking about his lover and how beautiful she looked sleeping. He slowly walked out the door, careful not to wake the children.

As he walked away from the home, he saw the old, dim lights in the barns flick on. ”She must be awake. Perfect.” He began walking slowly towards the barn, looking forward to seeing her again; to feel her warm lips, tender skin, and soft mane. He began walking slightly faster inadvertently, excited by what was possible to come.

He walked up to the barn, wondering what she was doing awake so late. Perhaps she had become cold. He began to feel guilty for leaving her out in the cold alone. ”She could get hurt out here.” He shook off this feeling and continued towards the barn. As he reached the bar, he heard somepony speaking. It sounded like Apple Bloom. ”That’s impossible…” then he heard another voice as he got closer. This one was obviously Sweetie Belle.

“Bloom? Is…is that you?” She sounded fatigued, as if she had been woke up by somepony. That somepony was definitely Apple Bloom.

“Ya. It’s me, Bitch.” And Big Mac heard a stomping of the hoof, but not on the ground, instead it sounded…like it was on a pony.

Big Mac busted through the barn doors, and without thinking, tackled Apple Bloom and held her down. “What tha hay do ya think your doin’? You’re crazy Bloom! How could you? Why would you?” He turned to find Sweetie Belle curled into a ball, sobbing into the fresh hay beneath her with her hooves over her face, covering the area that Apple Bloom had stomped. This sight infuriated Big Mac, and it took all he could not to stomp onto Apple Bloom’s expressionless face. She felt no guilt, she was actually quite proud of her job. She had accomplished what she came to do. Though she didn't get to stomp a few more times, and beat the point across a little bit more, the one stomp she managed to get through was well worth it.

As she stared at Big Mac, a grin wanted to break through her stern face, and she turned away to look at Sweetie. Seeing her in pain the way she was made Apple Bloom even more proud of her work and the grin finally worked its way through to be visible. She turned back to Big Mac, who saw the smile, and reared back to stomp in Apple Bloom’s face, but he remembered that this was his sister, and no matter how much he hated her, he needed to keep somewhat calm. Also, Sweetie Belle was watching, and she had had enough pain for one day. He stomped on the ground to the right side of her face, making her jump, and stop smiling. He was breathing heavily, and had fire in his eyes. Apple Bloom realized that she was most likely lucky to be alive.

“Go. Inside. NOW! I swear to Celestia if you ever touch her again, I WILL kill you! Just because you’re my sister doesn’t mean I can’t kill you. I love her, and I thought I loved you, but if you hurt her again, I’ll make sure you won’t have the chance to do it again.” He got off of on top of her, and walked over to Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom jumped up and ran as fast as she could into the house.

“Sweetie Belle…ya ok? Where did she hit you?” Sweetie Belle remained curled up in a ball and sobbing, not able to speak to her lover and tell him the information that he desired. “Sweetie…where did she hit you?!” Sweetie Bell looked over to face him as she moved her hooves away from her face, and revealed the gigantic black eye that Sweetie had gained in the confrontation.

---

In a cottage on the verge of the Everfree Forest, lived a yellow mare with cotton candy pink hair. Fluttershy the pegasis pony sat alone in the living room of her home, allowing nopony, or rabbit, in. Angel, who was on the other side of the door, was confused. If her owner Fluttershy wouldn't let HIM inside, something was wrong. The last thing he saw was the butter shaded colored pony running into her cottage, and now he had been left outside wondering about what had caused Fluttershy to cry.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, was sitting inside the cottage staring at an old group photo of her and her five friends from ten years ago. No, former friends. They weren’t friends; they were just other ponies that had been there. She had used them as a shield from the outside world, and now look, they all considered her useless, harmless, and in Discord’s own words: weak and helpless. She had agreed with him, but she didn’t think it was so true. SHE knew she was weak and helpless, but that was just a fact. She formerly Rainbow Dash to be her closest of friends, and now Fluttershy realized that Dash was the one who hated her the most. Her best friend now hated her.

Fluttershy stared at the photo and thought of all of the good times she had with them: defeating Nightmare Moon, saving Ponyville countless times, defeating Discord, the Grand Galloping Gala, so much fun. She began more and more thankful that the old picture had been kept in a frame for the ten years it held its place upon her shelf as tears began to fall down her face. She looked at all of their faces, all of them so happy. Or was that a mask they put on to hide their hatred for Fluttershy?

She looked away, and found the necklace she had gained when they defeated Nightmare Moon, the same one she had used against Discord. Since the incident with him, there had been no use for the elements of harmony other than a decorative ornament to place on the shelf along with other useless knick-knacks and memoirs. Her necklace was once a luxurious gold, with a crystal pink butterfly as the centerpiece, much like her cutiemark. Now, however, the dust of ten years without use had piled on top of it. It looked similar to a dull bronze piece of dress-up jewelry, with faux crystals in the center.

Her element was Kindness. She had earned it, but there was no need for kindness anymore. It came in handy that one time against the manticore. Now, though, the world seemed to be doing fine without her. Nopony remembered about them saving Ponyville now anyway. Her element may have been kindness, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t have a dark side. She glanced back down at the picture, and closed her eyes in an attempt to dam the tears. Suddenly, the thought of everypony hating her rushed back into her brain. She swung her hoof forward and the picture frame crashed into the wall, accompanied by a painful sound of shattering glass. Without thinking, she ran upstairs into her bedroom.

Inside the bedroom were pictures of her “friends” everywhere. Not for long. She swiped each one of them off of the shelf one by one, her heart racing faster with each smashed frame. Only one remained: A picture of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash together as fillies after Dash had won the race and gained her cutiemark, as did Shy. They were so happy together, not a single torn bond between them. But now, they were two completely different mares. They had nothing in common, and had not even seen each other for years. Fluttershy calmed down and sat on her bed, staring at the picture of the sky blue and cream colored fillies. She did not need to stare long, as she quickly stood up, opened the window, and threw the childhood photo out the window, enjoying the sound of the glass shatter as it hit the ground.

Her life had been a lie, everypony hated her in all actuality, but she had been too naive to realize it. The world had casted her to the side, but she had convinced herself that she was loved. She lay down on her bed and sobbed, but this was a different sobbing than she had ever seen or felt before. She was crying because she was sad, but at the same time, she was laughing. She felt a sudden relief in her life, as if all of Equestria had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn’t need friends. She didn’t need anypony. She would show Ponyville that she could be just as vile and mean as they were to her.

Angel had managed to climb through a window on the ground floor after hearing the shattering of the first picture frame. He slowly hopped up the steps into Fluttershy’s room, as if it were a dungeon or a forbidden land, and creaked open the door. At once he saw Fluttershy laying on her bed sobbing and laughing.

“YOU!” Fluttershy yelled in a menacing voice. “You were the worst of them all! You treated me worse than anypony ever could! Here I considered you more than a friend. I considered you family! But all along, you were treating me horribly! I am the master, NOT YOU! YOU are a pet! No…you were a pet. Now though, you’re nothing. Get out, and don’t EVER let me see you anywhere near this cottage!”

Angel looked confused at Fluttershy. All of these years he had assumed they had a tight bond with each other, one that was everlasting, but apparently this was not the case. He began to cry, and slowly, he hopped out of the room, and stood in the middle of the living room. He looked around to see his old bed (which he never used due to his sleeping with Fluttershy instead), his play toys (also unused due to his old age), and the shattered picture frame. The broken glass was like a magnet to him, and he found himself hopping over to look at it. He bent down and flipped over the frame, to reveal the old group photo of the saviors of Equestria. Angel bent down and grabbed the photo and carried it up the stairs, then slowly slid it under Fluttershy’s bedroom door, hoping that perhaps she would take another look at it and realize the error of her ways.

Now that Angel had done what she could to resolve the issue, he continued on his way to the exit from Fluttershy’s home. He opened the door and hopped out from it with his head hanging low. What now? Where would he go? This was the only home he had ever known. He had been lost in the Everfree forest, and had found his way to Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy had been farming her carrots, and Angel attempted to steal some. Though he had failed at his mission, he succeeded at stealing Fluttershy’s heart. They had been together ever since, and now he was ejected from the home. His home as much as hers.

Fluttershy lay in her room, calming down from her crying fit that she had become caught in. She had gotten the sadness from her system, but not the rage. The rage that made her want to destroy all traces of her friends. “Why am I here? What’s my purpose? Element of Kindness…I was just a pony who was in the right place, at the right time, and suddenly I’m a hero. Not anymore. I’m not “The Element of Kindness”, I’m simply Fluttershy, the pony who lives in a cottage in the middle of nowhere.”

She rolled off of the bed and landed on her feet. As she looked up, she noticed the mess she had created. It looked as if a riot had taken place in her bedroom, which it had. Fluttershy’s rebellion had taken place throughout the home, destroying everything that stood in her way. Another glance around the room, and she noticed the familiar photo of six different colored ponies, all lined up and in a row. She hated the picture, and hated Angel for forcing it back on to her. She held the picture in her mouth as she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Walking across the living room, she was careful not to step on any broken shards of glass. Seeing the result of her work around the home made her proud. She had thrown off the shackles of her kindness, and now was as ruthless as anypony else. She had realized the hatred that surrounded her, and embraced it.

As she trotted with glee into the kitchen she laid the picture of the six ponies down on the stove. Quickly, she turned the knob to low, watching the picture slowly fade into ashes in a glorious blaze of red, orange, and yellow. The feeling of the heat of the fire on her face felt wonderful and relaxing, and she watched as the last ponies face burned into oblivion, Rainbow Dash’s. Fluttershy continued to keep the fire blazing, feeling the soothing heat from the burner on her face. It provided comfort, without having to go outside and face the false hope that somepony enjoyed her presence. Suddenly an idea popped into her head.

Fluttershy quickly gathered all of the photos from the broken frames that were shattered in her rampage, and placed them in the kitchen. One by one, she laid them on top of the burner, playing a sick game with herself of guessing who would be the last to burn. Rarity, Twilight, Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, Dash, Pinkie, Shy, AJ, Twilight, it went on and on, through the many pictures that Fluttershy had compiled over the ten years she knew Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and AJ, plus the many other years that she had known Dash.

Something was missing, as if she had forgotten something, but what? What had she left behind in her rampage? She searched the house high and low, trying to remember what she had forgotten. No results. She went outside, and discovered what she had missed: The picture she had thrown from the window. Quickly, she ran up to it and grabbed it, looking at it again, and feeling the rage build up again.

She galloped into the cottage and laid the picture down in the table, then she went to the oven and turned it up as high as it would go. After the burner had turned as hot as it could, Fluttershy turned it off, then laid the picture in the middle of it, watching with a disturbing excitement, as if it was a race to see whose face would burn into thin air first. The blaze of the paper, mixed with her pure bliss with the burning, made the whole event disturbing. She stopped bouncing with joy when the “race” came to a close.

She watched closely as the fire burned out, making the fire burn even slower, and building the anticipation. Dash won by a few milliseconds. Fluttershy jumped with disturbing joy as Dash’s face completed its obliteration. In nearly a second later, Fluttershy’s face was also gone, then the middle of the photo, and then it was all gone, its only traces left were the glowing ashes underneath the burner.

Big Macintosh remained seated beside Sweetie Belle all night, attempting to comfort her in the crisis that had surrounded her world as well as his. Sweetie would occasionally fall asleep, only to randomly jerk out of it in tears. When she was asleep, she was either on the verge of tears, or already there. Big Mac couldn’t even think about falling asleep as the rush of anger and fear he had acquired was still present, and not appearing to fade away anytime soon. He would occasionally force himself to look over towards the white mare that as curled into the fetal position. It was murderous to have to bear the pain that he acquired from glancing at the swollen, black bruise that engulfed her left eye. She kicked and turned in her sleep, as if in a struggle, and Big Mac could only watch as she fought an imaginary fight in her mind, and it appeared she was losing.

Sweetie Belle could not escape a certain dream she continued reliving every time she faded into sleep. She would dream that she and Big Mac were laying in a soft bed of grass beside a stream, with Big Mac laying on his side, and Sweetie laying on him with her head on his chest. She would lean up and look him in his dark green eyes, and smile as he looked back down into her faded olive spheres of light. Slowly, he would lean down towards her face, still locked onto her eyes, as she would move her neck forward and their lips would touch, but only slightly. As the blood would rush through their bodies, they would become closer and their kisses more intimate, soon they were nearly on top of one another, and it was all uphill from there. They didn’t belong together, or so it would seem, but perhaps that is what made their love burn even more than expected. The contrast between them was that of Yin and Yang, Night and day, Celestia and Luna. She was soft, tender, and gentle. He, on the other hand, was firm, bold, and protecting. Their opposite personalities intrigued them, and they were both curious to investigate.

Suddenly, however, dark clouds would build above them, and lightning would strike in the distance. Sweetie would roll off of Big Mac and slowly get up, dizzy from the excitement that had filled her brain. As she and Big Mac would look into the sky at the black clouds and white lightning, the lightning would appear above them and strike the tree they were once under without warning. The stream in front of them, once crystal clear and beautiful, would become a dark red, as if bloody, and would flow slowly and sluggish. The grass beneath their feet disappeared along with all of the surrounding trees except the one directly behind them. Soon, they were left in a barren wasteland with no end in sight, and only a river of blood and a dead tree to accompany them. Lightning would strike just in front of them, and Big Mac would jump up from his seat.

“Sweetie! Run!” He would yell as he turned to show her what direction to head to. As they ran, the lightning would strike at their feet, grazing the prints they left in the barren dirt and rock underneath them. This is the part that Sweetie would begin to sob, as the sound of the lightning was deafening, even in her dream. They would run with the lightning striking at their feet until they reached a cliff. Sweetie would never look down, as she knew what was down there, nothing. Nothing at all, just a black pit. The lighting would strike in front of them, and knock Big Mac into the pit. “Sweetie!” he would scream as he plummeted into the darkness.

Sweetie would always jerk out of her slumber at this point in her dream. This time, she found Big Mac cuddling with her instead of simply sitting beside her. “Big Mac, what time is it?” He would not budge, but Sweetie felt the need to leave him be. He had had as rough of a night as she did, if not rougher. She looked over at the small window to her right, and saw a faint glow from the rising sun. She assumed it was about 7:00 in the morning. As she looked back over at Big Mac, she saw his deep sleep. Her decision was to remain by his side for another hour or two, allowing him to gain his rest. Though she would not be able to return to her sleep, she would be able to be with her lover and look at his soft, comforting face.

---

Two hours later, he awoke to see the white mare lying in front of him. She had her peaceful look back in her face, and was awake. She didn’t notice he had woken, and was staring out to the field of apple trees as if she was looking for something.

“Boo.” Big Mac whispered into her ear as she stared into space. She jumped, not expecting him to wake up as early as he had. She realized that it was only him, and turned her head to kiss him lightly on the lips. Just like her dream however, she got into the moment as her blood pulsed through her body, and soon she was in his arms, and lying on top of him. He had felt this rush before, and only now was he able to do anything about it. He kissed her faster, harder, holding onto her in his arms as he lay on his back. They opened their eyes to see how they had entangled themselves in one swift motion.

He quickly rolled her off of him, laying her gently on the hay beside them. He had forgotten about the black eye, and that had woken him from his buzz, but he also forgot who she was; how young she was. “What’s the matter? Is it my eye?” She turned away in an attempt to hide her swollen face as she began to tear up.
“Nope. I just don’t think that we should go as far as we were. It’s only our second day, and the age difference is too much to do somethin’ like that. We just need to wait. But, speaking of your eye, I’ll be right back. Gonna get some ice to help tha swellin’.” He stood up and began walking out of the barn, when he stopped and turned back to her. “Hey,” he said as he walked to her slowly, “I’m sorry. But listen to what I’m saying. I love you Sweetie, but we need to move slower. I understand how you feel, and I feel that way too, but it’s best for both of us that we just wait it out. I’m ten years older than you, so that needs to be taken into consideration too. Maybe soon, but not now.” He reached her and kissed her softly again. “Soon, I promise, just not right now.”

“Ok…” Sweetie Belle remained seated in the hay that he had sat her in. Her dream was coming true (the good part anyway), but it was stopped. By Big Mac of all things! “I understand. I’m sorry, for everything. I get why you want to wait. And I get that our age difference makes it hard. Just know that I love you too. She looked back at him and watched him walk away, and she examined his firm, muscular, protective body. Sweetie had never loved him more than she did last night and a few minutes ago. He had probably saved her life. But now it seemed like he didn’t want to be with her. Was it all in her head? Was it because of her age? Or maybe it was her eye? Whatever the case, she didn’t like it.

---

Applejack raced to the library, not thinking about everypony else, only her need to get there soon, and find out what was wrong with Skylite. Skylite was out of sight, but his destination was obvious. As AJ sped to the giant tree in the middle of Ponyville, she remained focused, but confused. What was happening to Skylite? Why all of these repressed and forgotten memories suddenly returning? Why now?

As she ran, her thoughts began to trail off as they tangled with the questions that had become proposed to her. Her focus slowly faded into nothingness, and she began running toward the library with a blank mind. “All this stress must be gettin’ to me.” she thought as she slowed to a fast gallop. She looked quickly over to her left to look at a new pony in town, and when she looked back up, her vision was filled with a white and indigo blur. It was Rarity, who had run out from a side street just in time to hop in front of Applejack. She slammed on the brakes, flinging dirt and rock everywhere through the air, over AJ and rarity’s heads.

“Rarity? Whatcha doin’ runnin’ out in front of me like that! I like ta’ hit ya!” AJ yelled angrily at Rarity. Not only had she narrowly avoided possible injury to herself or her friend, but she was also in a hurry.

“AJ! I have some WONDERFUL news!” She hoped lightly with excitement.

“Rarity, I don’t care about some dumb dress, I have much more important things to do. Can’t it wait?!” Applejack was growing frustrated with Rarity. She stops in to look at the dresses, simply out of curiosity and with no intent to buy, and now Rarity is stopping her in the middle of the street to talk to her about them?

“Oh, but Applejack, it’s not about the dresses, Darling. I found somepony on my way to Fluttershy’s!” Out from behind her walked a sturdily built yellow stallion with a dark blonde mane and eyes identical to Applejack’s. He wore a hat similar to AJ’s as well, and a thick leather vest. On each side of his flank he had a cutie mark of a lone apple sitting in the middle of his hip.

“Braeburn?” Applejack asked, confused as could be.

“Well, howdy lil’ cousin! How’s it going?!” Braeburn yelled, being the older of the two, one would suspect that, him being the older of the two, he would be more mature. However, that assumption would be wrong, as he would constantly invade other people’s personal space and deafen them with his constant yelling. “Say, ya alright cuz? Ya look kinda rough if ya don’t mind my asking?”

“Ya, I’m fine. I’ve just had…a rough few days. There’s this colt name Skylite and he’s having…troubles. Plus, Scootaloo, and Pinkie, and Rain…” She paused, raising her eyebrow and looking up at Braeburn “Wait, why are you here? Ya didn’t say anything ‘bout comin’ down to Ponyville any time soon.” She and Braeburn had always kept in touch through letters, but Braeburn had never mentioned a visit, as he usually does.

“Thought I’d surprise ya! I know how you love surprises,” Braeburn joked, or perhaps he simply showed his naïve side again, “so I reckoned I’d come on down and pop in on my favorite cuz! So…ya busy?”

“Brae, you know I hate surprises! But, it’s mighty nice of ya to drop by, even if it was unexpected. I aint doin’ much. I just been busy all night. Mighty tired.” She thought about Scootaloo, but quickly brushed these thoughts away. Now was not the time to think if such things. The saved room of thinking space was overtaken by the thought of Skylite racing to the library. “Bah, whatever. He’ll be fine. He needs to figure things out on his own; me helping him along will probably make things harder.”

“You’re welcome down to the farm. Got some nice, perfectly aged Sweet Apple Acre’s award winning cider! Made and aged it myself!” She bragged. “Got plenty of apples as usual, and maybe a few other things layin’ round. Rarity, you’re invited over too.”

“Oh no thank you, Darling!” She shook her head no. “I’m not hungry. What, with all of the action the last few days, I just need to go home to the boutique and rest, but first, I must go and see Fluttershy. Check on her, you see?” She hung her head low, expressing her fatigue.

“I understand. But…one question.”

“Yes, Applejack?”

“How’d YOU and BRAE get mixed up? You two are complete opposites!”

“Simple, dear. I was on my way to Fluttershy’s cottage, and I heard a train pull in. Needless to say, my curiosity peaked, so I walked over to the train station, and who should I find standing on the podium, with no baggage at all, but Mr. Appleloosa himself, Braeburn Apple! We began talking. About how well Appleloosa was doing, how Ponyville has changed, how good of a leader Little Strongheart was,”

“Very good actually! She learned from our confrontation a few years ago I suppose. Now there’s hardly ever a fight. Except at the salt bar.” Braeburn chuckled.

“Yes, and we talked about you. He was telling me about how you were becoming slow in your responses to his mail. I told him: ‘Applejack is a busy girl. Especially now that Granny Smith is gone, she’s taken over a majority of the business.’

“That’s true; I have been working VERY hard. Especially now!” Applejack agreed with a nod of the head.

“But, anyway, we were walking and I saw you galloping up, so I jumped out to stop you. And now here we are. Me, with my dirty coat from your brake check, and you sleepy, tired, and just plain beat.”

“Well, that about sums it up.” Braeburn agreed, also with a simple nod of the head accompanied by the statement. “Anyway, thank ya kindly, miss Rarity, but I need to get going.”

“As do I, deary. As do I…” She turned her attention to AJ. “I heard about…everything last night. Good luck.” The smile, wither it was fake or not, returned across her face and she nodded as she quickly released her closing statement while she exited the scene: “Well, I must run. Nice meeting you again Braeburn! Applejack! Do relax some time, dear? It’s not healthy the way you live! Bye!”

“Well, cuz?” Braeburn said, raising an eyebrow at Applejack.

Applejack sighed. It was going to be a long day. “Well what?”

“Well,” Braeburn intruded Applejack’s personal space as usual. “aren’t ya gonna take me to tha farm? It’s a mighty long train ride, and I’m starvin’ for some Sweet Apple Acres trademark apples!” He jumped in the air and threw all four of his legs in different directions, nearly hitting AJ.

“Ugh. Let’s go…” She began slowly walking towards the farm. She knew why Rarity was in such a hurry to leave. The same reason Applejack wasn’t in a hurry to go back to the farm. Braeburn. She loved him to death, but he was so annoying, Applejack began to wonder if the main reason he came to Ponyville is because Appleloosa kicked him out.

---

“Fluttershy! Oh, Fluttershy dear!” Rarity called as she crossed the bridge over the river in front of Fluttershy’s cottage. Something wasn’t right. A perfectly good morning, and yet not a single yellow mare was in sight. Nor were any of her dear animal friends. They were all gone. “Fluttershy, where are you?”

“Ugh. Of all the ponies to show up, why HER? The only one worse than her is Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy complained as she remained in her bed. She could hear Rarity’s requests for Fluttershy’s presence, and responded by locking the door to her cottage. Now was not the time to talk to anypony. Especially the five ponies she once spent every day with. She walked back into her bedroom, and lay back on her bed, still grinning slightly as she remembered her laughing fit from before.

Rarity continued walking through the lawn of Fluttershy’s cottage, becoming more and more curious, as well as afraid, of why all of Fluttershy’s friends were gone, and Fluttershy was not present as well. “It’s too early for her to go for a walk. And I highly doubt that she went into the Everfree Forest. Even if she had, there would at least be SOME animals here. Right?” She asked herself mentally.

Suddenly, Rarity heard a crunch under her rear left hoof. She looked over at it, and saw a piece of wood, but it wasn't a stick. It was carved eloquently, and was very beautiful. As she investigated her surroundings, she found that she had narrowly avoided a minefield of broken shards of glass scattered across the property owned by Fluttershy. “Fluttershy? Darling? Is everything OK?”Rarity shakily questioned towards the cottage, as if the home could respond.

A knock on the door, followed by shouts asking, once again, if Fluttershy was hurt. “Mentally, yes. Physically, not at the moment.” Fluttershy thought. She walked back down to the door, but did not answer. Instead, she sat and gained entertainment from hearing Rarity’s worried calls.

“Fluttershy?! Dear, I know you’re in there! I found a picture frame broken and scattered across your yard!” A pause. Perhaps she had finally gone away. “Is something wrong?”

“Wow, that’s the longest it’s been quiet since she arrived here.”

“Fluttershy. Please. I need to speak with you. I know you’re in there. What happened to the animals?”

Fluttershy stood up and began to walk back up the stairs to her room. “I’m not here right now. Leave a message.”

“You want a message? Here’s a message. I came to see if everything was OK. I was not sure if you were aware of the news like everypony else was, considering how far you live from town.” Rarity was growing angry with Fluttershy, and her worried tone faded out and was replaced with a more demanding, stern one.

“Oh really?” Fluttershy investigated as she stopped halfway up her stairs. “What news…hmm? What news? What could have POSSIBLY happened in Ponyville, the ‘Friendship Capital of Equestria’?”

“Well for starters, Scootaloo died in the hospital last night, and then”

“Oh, wow. That sucks.” Fluttershy interrupted. She never cared for Scootaloo. Especially now that she was older, her ego grew as well. She became more like Rainbow Dash with every year.

“Yes, very…depressing. And then, Rainbow Dash went insane last night.” She hung her head low.

“Really?! Fluttershy could not have been happier, and ran down to the door, swinging it open. This allowed Rarity to see the gigantic mess that Fluttershy had created in her living room and kitchen. “What happened?”

“Uh…” Rarity was shocked, confused, and afraid of why Fluttershy seemed so happy and curious about the loss of one of her friends, and the mess spreading throughout the house was intriguing as well. “Well, the shock and trauma from losing Scootaloo apparently triggered something in her brain and she went…well…loco! Rumor is, she blames herself for all of the trouble going around, and there is a hole in the wall of the waiting room where she smashed her head into it.”

“Wow…” Fluttershy looked down, trying to hold down the laughter that was building inside of her.

“Yes, very dramatic. First Twilight has another one of her breakdowns, and then Dash goes crazy. Next thing you know,” Rarity chuckled, “next thing we all know, you will go crazy next.” Rarity disguised it as what she hoped it was: a joke. After observing the state of Fluttershy and her property, and seeing her shake some, as if laughing, after sharing the news of Rainbow Dash’s fate, Rarity wasn't too sure. ”Your just being paranoid, Rarity. All of this stress is getting to you. Sounds like you need to sleep more than Applejack.”

“My, that really would be amazing wouldn’t it? Well, as you can see, I’ve got some cleaning up to do. Angel had himself a little tantrum, and now he’s wrecked the house, and scared all of the animals away. I guess I didn’t hear you knock I was cleaning so hard.”

“Mmhmm. And about the ‘Leave a message’ thing?”

“I’m a little stressed from having to put up with Angel. He’s been having some rough days, and I don’t know what to do with him.”

“Hmm. OK. I’m sorry to bother you; I thought you would like to know what was going on in town.”

“Thanks, now I need to get back to work.” She slammed the door in Rarity’s face, just wanting to get away. Quickly, she ran into her room, jumped on her bed, and stuffed her face into her pillow, drowning out all sounds of her laughter.

“Well. That was…interesting.”

Big Mac returned from his mission to gather the ice to lessen Sweetie Belle’s swelling. He walked into the barn slowly, looking around for Sweetie. “Hmm. Must be asleep. I’ll look around some more.” He began to walk short laps around the inside of the barn, making sure not to miss any areas she may be sleeping. “Weird…maybe she went home?”

He began walking up the path towards town, where The Carousel Boutique was located, with the ice still in his mouth. Still questioning where Sweetie could be. “Come to think of it, I ain’t seen AJ ‘round either. Maybe she stayed at the hospital overnight.”

He kept looking towards the Apple home, as if expecting Applejack to come running out calling for Big Mac to come in and drink some cider with her and Apple Bloom. That, however, was impossible. AJ wasn't there, and unfortunately, Apple Bloom was. Big Mac still felt the tension he had felt earlier that night, when it took all of his strength to not stomp her face in like she attempted to do to Sweetie Belle.

“HOWDY BIG MAC!” called a familiar sounding voice from down the path. It had the Apple Family accent, and it was a voice that he had known all his life. But, it wasn't AJ. “Cousin Mac! Ain’t seen ya in years! AJ been writin’ to me ‘bout all these crazy things you do, and I just had to come down and see the three of ya! Where ya headed with that ice?”

Big Mac dropped the ice on the ground as his jaw dropped in awe. He had obviously not informed AJ of his visit, as she would have told Big Mac. She knew how much he hated surprises. Braeburn did as well, but he didn’t care. His annoyance knew no bounds, and it shocked Big Mac more that this wasn’t a shock to him. “Uh…nowhere cuz. Just nowhere. Listen, I’m kinda busy at the moment. Why don’t you go explore Ponyville, eh?” If he told Braeburn about Sweetie Belle, his loud mouth would inform all of Ponyville, and now was NOT the time for that!

“Aww. I just got here! Can I help ya out? Can I at least go inside and say hello to Apple Bloom?”

“Nope! Bloom’s outta town on a field trip with her college class. They all went to Canterlot for the week to study finer art in carpeting. Mighty buildings they got up there!”

“Ya got some talkin’ goin’ in ya Mac! What’s happened to ya? I’m just messing with ya! I like it! Anyway, can I help round the farm?”

He stared at Braeburn, making it obvious what the answer was. “I got important stuff to do, and you need to hang out around Ponyville and see all the new changes since you visited about, what, five years ago?”

“Guess ya got a point Mac. But first, lemme tell you a quick something between you n’ me. I”

“There you are! I know you’re excited, but you can’t just go runnin’ off like that! Ponyville’s changed, last thing we need is you gettin’ lost. Knowin’ you, you’ll tear the town down!” AJ scolded as she ran up behind Braeburn. “Oh, howdy Big Mac. Brae, why dontcha just run on down to the chickens. They need food.”

“Yes ma’am!” He called with glee. It was nice to see something else other than Buffalo, and he loved chickens.

“Big Mac, we need to talk.” AJ began walking towards the barn, showing that the conversation was important. Big Mac managed to nonchalantly get into the barn before her, allowing him to cover the pillow and blanket he had laid out for Sweetie with the hay remnants of the makeshift bed. She walked in, but turned to her left, walking around the area that the pillow and blanket were located.

“OK. Where to begin. First, Twilight isn’t…feelin’ well. If you run into her in Ponyville, be tender. Even if she looks perfect, don’t talk to her unless essential. Even then, keep it to a minimum, k? Second, Dash is in the mental ward. Don’t ask how; just know that it was for her own safety. Third, be careful around Braeburn. He seems to have something on his mind. Rarity found him at the station, and I saw the way he kept looking at her our whole conversation. See if you can milk it outta him.

“Eeyup. I noticed that too. Seems pretty…preoccupied in his brain. As if that’s sayin’ something!” He giggled, causing AJ to laugh.

AJ stopped laughing bluntly. This one though, is no laughing matter. She looked down and Big Mac thought he could see a tear fall onto the hay below their feet. “Scootaloo…is dead.”

“Oh my Celestia! What in Equestria happened AJ? TELL ME!” He grabbed both sides of her face and directed them towards his own, forcing her to release information about Scootaloo.

“She was practicing for the show last night, and she crashed.”

“Heard that it was closed ‘cause of something. Did she die on impact?”

“No, but she was close. I can’t believe you guys never heard her screaming! Kids must’ve been loud. Anyway, she died in the hospital when they started doing surgery on her.”

Big Mac was never very close with Scootaloo, but he felt the pain the Sweetie should have been feeling. He had shared enough with her that he knew how she would feel and react to happenings of this magnitude, and now he was beginning to feel the same way. “And…and Dash?”

“Like I said, mental ward. That’s all I can say.” She looked around the corner of the outside of the barn. Braeburn was still busy trying to find the food container for the chickens. “He’ll be busy for a minute. I reckon you’ve got a right to know ‘bout Dash.” She began walking towards the middle of the barn, as if she was in a play, and the barn was her stage. “Dash kept thinking that she was the reason that Scoot died which she kinda was, and then started destroyin’ everything around her. Doctors got her and tackled her” She stepped on something soft under the hay. She brushed the hay off of the object and discovered a pillow.

“Big Mac, what’s this doin’ here?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Uhh…”

“Who was in here last night? I know it wasn't you; you never sleep when you’re out here. And Apple Bloom said that the cows were doing great. A sickness doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere like that Big Mac!” She became hostile, yelling at Big Mac trying to get an answer out of him.

“Well…it was Sweetie Belle.” He decided it was time to tell AJ as well as Apple Bloom. They would find out soon enough.

“Oh, she n’ Bloom were staying out here for the night, eh?” AJ laughed as she spoke. She hoped the answer was yes, but something about Big Mac’s face said no.

“Well AJ, it’s a…funny story”

---

Sweetie Belle ran up the stairs to her bedroom, sobbing as she ran. Rarity was not home, but that would not have stopped Sweetie from acting the way she was. “He hates me! Big Mac hates me, Apple Bloom tried to kill me, and now I look like this! No wonder he never wanted to tell everypony about us. He was ashamed of me. He really hates me!”

Sweetie jumped onto her bed and sobbed into her pillow. She looked over at the mirror on the wall and scowled at her swollen eye. She used her magic to grab a music box and play it. The song always calmed her down. She began to sing along under her breath.
“Hush now, quiet now,
it’s time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now,
it’s time to go to bed…”

She began to sob. The song only brought back memories of the Cutie Mark Crusaders; of her, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo lying in the bed at Fluttershy’s cottage. They were all so happy then: Sweetie without a care in the world, trying to become a designer like her big sister Rarity, Apple Bloom smiling from ear to ear, dreaming of being a great apple bucker like AJ, and Scootaloo, who always put on a fake smile and pretended like they didn’t notice. So did them. They all knew about her life. Homeless, no family, and barely living day to day. Dash never showed concern. She never had concern.

Sweetie levitated the music box with her powers, and slammed it into the mirror. She was hideous, and so was that song. Nothing god ever came out of either of them. Sweetie laid there crying, praying to Celestia that it was all a dream. That she would either wake up before everything happened and she would go buy the tickets to Scoot’s show, then be happy, or that she would wake up in Big Mac’s arms like before, but it would be different. He’d actually love her.

Anger rose inside of her. Pink wisps of colored wind blew across the room, and a faint sound of thunder was audible. It wasn't raining outside, and it was mid-day. Why would it be raining? The confusion added to her current state of anger, and she was becoming tense. All of her muscles tightened up, and she was as straight as a board, and it hurt her. She could not stop though. Soon, she forgot about it, and could only think of her reflection in the mirror and how ugly it was. Soon she remembered the song and all of the painful memories. She became tighter and tighter, and she believed she could hear music playing through the air:
“Hush now, quiet now…”

She screamed out of confusion as well as pain. She had no idea what was going on, how to stop it, and if she should be scared or exited. It was painful, but it felt great. In an attempt to stop the music from playing and ringing inside her ears, as well as destroy her own reflection, she smashed the music box into the mirror
“It’s time to lay your sleepy head…”

Failure. Sweetie quickly glanced around the room. A picture of Applebloom, AJ, and Big Mac flew across, as well as a picture of Scootaloo. Soft wisps of pink wind gently flew through the air of her room. She began to panic, making the blood pulse even faster through her body.
“Hush now, quiet now…”

Suddenly, bolts of purple/pink lightning shot from the purple clouds floating on top of her room. Fear fueled her adrenaline, as well as the pure enjoyment from the new experience that felt so great! She curled into a ball, and began to levitate a few centimeters above her bed, then jerked outwards, screaming in pain and terror at the sudden surge of electricity through her veins and horn.
“It’s time to go to bed…”

Sweetie fell to her bed, and saw the picture of the Apple Family floating in mid air. It ripped, seemingly on its own, in three pieces; one piece for each family member. Apple Bloom’s piece flew into the fireplace across the room, AJ’s landed on the ground, and Big Mac’s landed on her chest, with him smiling at her.

Next, Scootaloo’s picture floated above her head. It did not rip, but flew around in crazy patterns. Suddenly, it did a back flip strait into the fire.

“What? What was…?” She was interrupted by another surge of energy, this time it went straight to the end. Pink and purple swirled around her, and lightning crashed in her ears. No music, however, which made the situation that much scarier. A gigantic burst of energy, and Sweetie was back on her bed. This was different though. The bed was stripped of all sheets, pillows, and blankets. The entire room was empty except for three things: the fire, the picture of Applejack on the floor, and the picture of Big Mac on the bed. “But...what the…”

Suddenly, the picture of AJ flew into the air, and busted into pink flames.

“That was…interesting…”

---

Twilight Sparkle awoke from her unconsciousness feeling numbness in her face and a slight ringing of the ears. “What the hay did I do last night?”

“Spike?” The lavender unicorn called out, her eyes still shut. “Spike! Where are you!” She yelled for her assistant, not aware of her own surroundings.

“Under you.” He mumbled. “Your laying on top of my stomach, you got knocked out.”

“Oh, dear! I must have done something wild last night, eh?” She said, nudging him to enforce that it was a joke.

“I don’t know, but Dash had to bring you home. She was in a hurry to… As if she had somewhere to be.

Then, the library door swung open, slinging back and knocking a picture of Fluttershy on the floor. Skylite, Twilight’s adopted son, quickly ran across the library, looking back as if he was waiting for somepony.

“What’s up Sky? I just woke up, so sorry if I’m a little tired…”

“Mom…look at your face…if you can…” he nervously dribbled out of his mouth.

Twilight slowly walked over to the mirror across the lobby of the library and peered into its reflection. She was unable to see, however, as the swelling of her face had rendered her nearly blind. “SKYLITE! WHAT IS THIS? SPIKE?!”

Spike quickly laid his head back down on the ground, attempting to impersonate sleep. Skylite, however, was rendered defenseless. He was forced to face his enraged mother alone, and that was a rare feat. Usually, he had his father Caramel nearby to help him. He had been forced to defend himself many times before, and didn’t want to leave his only son in the same position.

“Mom, I can explain! Rainbow Dash, she”

“Don’t blame Dash! What has gotten into you?! Not only are you lying to me, but you’re pinning it on your idol!”

“Mom, I’m not lying. Dash said you went a little crazy, and wouldn’t come home, so she had to buck you and knock you out to get you home. Spike! Stop pretending and help me! You were here!”

Spike slowly rose from the floor, giving Skylite an evil look, promising vengeance. “Ugh…” He grunted as he lifted his neck up. “It’s true. Dash did it. I suppose. She ran in here and threw you on top of me and then ran off. Didn’t say a word, so I suppose she was in a hurry. NOW can I go back to sleep?”

“Go upstairs Spike. Skylite, you too, go in the kitchen.”

Spike slowly lifted himself on all four feel and began to slowly dredging his way up to the stairs to his enormous bed by Twilight’s. Skylite began up the stairs as well, but was stopped by Twilight. “He won’t notice you didn’t go up there. He’s just so darn childish sometimes! Anyway, apparently you’re telling the truth, but I’d still like to talk to Dash about this.”

“Ya…about that”

---

“Big Mac…you mean to tell me, that you have been…spending time…with Sweetie Belle?” AJ yelled. She was furious at the fact that a mature stallion such as himself would take the chance of ruining a young mare’s reputation and life. He had always projected a mature, smart look upon the rest of them, but this was something completely different! Not only was it a young mare, but his sister’s best friend!

“AJ, lemme explain! Sweetie, she said she’s been having feelings for me since she was a lil filly, but was scared to say! For some reason, she decided to tell me yesterday morning, and…well…I thought ‘bout it for a minute and decided I feel the same way about her. WE didn’t do nothin’ last night! WE got close, but stopped before we did somethin’ we regret…” He looked at the hay beneath his feet, and AJ could faintly see a blush through his thick red coat. “We were so close. And so fast. I didn’t want to screw up, so I told her that we should wait. I don’t know what happened after that though. I went inside to get some ice for her bruise and she was gone when I got back.”

“Wait, wait…bruise? What’s all this ‘bout a bruise?” Her voice rose again, though not with as much force as before. Now, she understood the situation. Now she realized that Big Mac didn’t start it, and he wasn't just there for personal reasons. He loved her. At least, AJ hoped he did.

“Oh yea…hmm…” Big Mac looked back down at the ground, attempting to find an explanation. “Apple Bloom had some kind of moment. And she tried to kill Sweetie.” He tried to appear as calm and nonchalant as possible, calming the situation. “I don’t know why, but I don’t think I want to find out. She seemed happy with Sweetie’s screams of pain…so I don’t know what was going on.”

“Apple Bloom…tried to hurt Sweetie Belle?”

“Eeyup.”

“What tha hay is going on with this town! Everypony is going crazy! Big Mac, please tell me you didn’t hurt her!”

“Nnope.” He had regained his old speech patter back. Without Sweetie, he seemed to become a different person.

“I’m gonna inside and see if I can talk to her. The kids are probably worried sick! You go talk to Braeburn. Keep him busy for me.”

“OK.”

AJ ran off towards the house, worried more about Golden Delicious and Applebuck than her own sister Apple Bloom. Big Mac, meanwhile, walked over to speak with his long lost cousin from Appleloosa. It had been five years since he was last seen anywhere near Ponyville, and another five years since they all visited Appleloosa. Even then, Big Mac had not gone with them, and before that, nopony in the Apple Family had not seen them since he was a small filly. Big Mac only wished it could have been under better circumstances that he was able to speak with his cousin.

“Uhh...Hi Brae.” Big Mac started, hoping to stall him long enough from his stumbling to gain an actual conversation. “What brings you to Ponyville?”

“Howdy Big Mac!” He replied, sporting his loud, obnoxious voice as usual. “I just thought I’d visit after all these years. Heh…you ain’t changed a bit! Me? I’ve changed a ton. On the inside AND out!”

“There had to have been something to make you change your mind! Something to make you think of us?” He began to walk down the hill to the barn, where they could go around the back and loot Big Mac’s stash of cider. Braeburn followed, not knowing where they were going, but following nonetheless.

“Well…there is one thing…” He agreed as he walked behind Big Mac with his head hung low.

“Oh really? What’s that?” Big Mac questioned as he sat down to grab a bottle of cider and hand another to Braeburn. He took a swig, reared back, and shook his head, as if it would heal the pain from the sudden tartness of the cider.

“Well, I had become…a bit of an outcast in Appleloosa…” He took a swig of the cider as well, and repeated Big Mac’s actions. Surprised at the bitterness of the cider. “I didn’t really fit in. And wasn't very accepted in town. So, I thought I’d come to Ponyville for a change of scenery, and to see my favorite cousins!”

Big Mac was surprised. This was the most calm and collected he had ever seen Braeburn. Usually Brae would go in with guns blazing. Now, though, it seemed like there was something on his mind, possibly something bad, but perhaps it was good. He looked as if he himself had mixed emotions about the situation, and Big Mac wished he could help somehow.

“I wish I could go back soon, but I just don’t know…I was thinking about settlin’ down here?
Maybe you guys have a place I could stay til I get my house set up?” He had a look on his face that Big Mac was unfamiliar with. It wasn't excitement, or even hopefulness, but it was pure begging. He was in need.

“Hmm…that’s…a pretty big question Brae. There’s a lot going on, and were kinda packed. It’s really up to AJ. I’m just a farm horse. She’s head of the house. How ‘bout you just hang out around town for a while. We’ll get you set up for a couple nights. If ya don’t mind my asking, what made you such an “outcast” in Appleloosa anyway?”

“I don’t know if I want to talk about it…” He looked down at the ground and took another sip of cider, this time unaffected, as he was used to the bitter taste. “I…I don’t what the same thing to happen to me in Ponyville that happened in Appleloosa. There’s no way I could live in Fillydelphia or Canterlot. I ain’t fancy enough. After Ponyville…I don’t know what’s next…”

“Aww, come on Brae…you know me, I can keep a secret. Heck, my own sister’s the element of honesty.” He took another gulp of his drink, also unaffected. “Just tell me cuz. Come on…”