After they were done with their... conversation, outside the city, they arrived back at the city to have her son wake up shortly after. Castus made breakfast, Rainbow reported to the Caesar, who didn't have anything for her, and Rainbow spent time with her son. He had really, according to Castus, started to fly everywhere, driving the caragor half-mad. Rainbow was nonetheless proud and spent that time working with Depressi on his form.

After the lunch and Depressi had been tucked in for a nap, Castus sat down with Rainbow over on the table. Both sat in awkward silence, the memory of what they did barely four hours earlier still fresh in their minds. The silence was only occasionally broken when one would take a sip of water from the cups in front of them, or when one would absent-mindedly tap the table.

Rainbow was the first one to properly break the silence. "Listen. About, er, what happened. I'm sorry. It's just, I-"

"It's fine, Domina," Castus said. "You were emotional, and you don't exactly trust easily, from what I've seen."

"Ain't that the truth." The awkward silence fell over the two of them once again. "I was serious when I said I wanted to stop. I started taking them for the nightmares, but as time went on, that was more of a pleasant side-effect, ya know? Like I said, it evolved into, well, allowing me to live with myself."

"Yeah, you said. And like I said, I just wanted to help. But, you didn't really seem like you were just gonna give them up, so I asked a friend to get me those water pods. I thought it was a good idea."

"So you're a dumb-ass as well as a liar?"

He laughed at that. "I suppose I am. Anyway, I still want to help. I still care about you, as you well know."

"Heh, yep." Her smile faded as she looked down at the table. "*sigh*. What am I gonna do?"

"Just stop. You only get a certain number a month. We can help you while the shipment for next month is disposed of. Hopefully, you'll be over it by then."

"Wait; what do you mean, 'We'?"

The door suddenly swung open, two sets of pawsteps entering. She jerked her head to the side, seeing who exactly walked in. "Sutura? Didius? What are you two doing here?"

Before either of the newcomers could respond, Castus said, "They were my, co-conspirators, if you will."

"Whiskers over there is dead-on, boss," Sutura said, making herself at home on Rainbows couch. "A few weeks after Dorus got his paws on you, he gathered the two of us in private. Said he wanted ta help you."

Didius said, "Well, while cruder than I would've put it, she is correct. We recognized it was an issue, and we talked about how to figure out the problem."

Rainbow deadpanned, "And it took you over a year to come up with a plan?"

"Not one we could all agree on, anyway," Castus said. "We all work and/or live in separate parts of the city, and didn't have too much free time to meet up. And when we did, it wasn't for long, and we never really reached anything definitive."

"Anyway, 'nough talking about how we came to the plan, and let's talk the plan," Sutura said. "Now, like Castus said, I handle the shipment of the crackers, as they technically fall under the category of 'meds'. Heh, those things are no more medicine than a fucking hunk of manure."

"On task, my friend," Didius said.

"Right. Point is, all I gotta is just huck the stuff in the trash soon as I get my hands on it. Simple as that. As for the nightmares, I can't really help you with that too much. Don't seem natural. But, I can get you that rune you used during your pregnancy with your kid. Speain' of, how is the little whirlwind? Still given' Castus a hard time, I hope?"

"Why do you hope for my suffering?"

The pale gray Terran just cracked a grin reminiscent of Rainbows' own. "Why? 'Cause it's funny as shit, that's why!"

Rainbow smiled back. "Heh heh. Yep, still dartin' all around." After Sutura stopped laughing her ass off, or more accurately, after Didius managed to pull Castus far enough away so he wouldn't strangle the Imperial Physician, she said, "And. And, thanks, guys."

It had been about a month since that day. Sure enough, Sutura had burned the next shipment of the drugs, meaning she couldn't get her talons on them if she wanted to. Since then, things had improved greatly for the Pegasus.

First was her physical condition. She didn't really notice this before, but there were some physical side-effects of the crackers. Her hair had lost a little of its vibrancy, her coat dulled, and her one good eye had felt a bit sore. Now, with the drugs gone, these effects were not only noticed but also began to be reversed. Her coat was once again a vibrant cyan like a summer sky. Her mane was now a more colorful shade of its various colors. And besides that, she simply felt like she had a lot more energy. It didn't ease her scars, but she almost felt like she didn't have them; as if she were unburdened by their previous dull throbbing.

There was also the mental aspects. Like her lack of energy, the crackers had slowed her somewhat in the head. Now, she felt better. It felt like after she had just woken up and down a whole gallon of hot coffee (The thing she missed most about Equestria besides her parents, Scootaloo, and Tank.)

Finally, she had felt better morally. This she had never really given much thought to, besides the fact she had done horrible things and was a monster for it. Now, though, was able to move on, head held high. Didius had summed it up best in a quote from Caesar Drucius the Wise: 'The past is a foreign country, full of things we regret, things we fear, and things we wish to forget. Best to move on, to leave these aspects in that foreign land, and move into our future unburdened by such load.'

Though all this time, Castus, Sutura, and Didius had supported her. Kept her company, made sure she didn't do anything stupid, help her watch Depressi. The three of them were fully supportive, and she thanked them over and over. They had responded by the even older saying than the one of Drucius: 'What are friends for?'

Friends. They called themselves her friend. And for the first time since her exile now over five years ago, she believed them. For the first time in five years, she had people she could trust. People she could rely on to help her, like how they helped her out of the hole she had dug for herself. People she could, happily and proudly, call friends.

Next Chapter: 54~The hidden truth Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 19 Minutes