Scene 1: Souls

Peter turned over the lightning-bolt shaped Soul Gem fragment in his hand. It was so perfectly shaped, and glowed so ferociously...

"You see, I've done extensive research on Soul Gems. Turns out, that our Harmony Necklaces, and my big crown thingy, are made out of Soul Gems. Or, rather, the emblems on them are Soul Gems."

Peter released a small 'humph'. "Well, that's interesting..."

Twilight nodded. "Yes. And, that lightning bolt is the same exact emblem on Rainbow Dash's Harmony Necklace. It represents Loyalty."

Peter sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Not this again...You know that I can't be the Seventh Element of Harmony, Twilight! I just can't!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as well. "Peter, listen to me! Because part of your soul is in that Soul Gem, your attributes determine its shape! Because you're Loyal, it adapted to fit your soul! Just like the Soul Gem in Rainbow Dash's Harmony Necklace became a lightning bolt, the Soul Gem fragment that holds a part of you became the same lightning bolt! You have the Element of Loyalty in your soul, Peter! And this shows it!"

Peter gritted his teeth in anger. "Listen, Twilight-"

"No, you listen!" Peter shrank back slightly, scared by the sudden outburst. "I've had enough of you belittling yourself, and I'm pretty sure Rainbow Dash has, too."

The Pegasus in question nodded. "Peter, you're every one of the things that the Elements of Harmony stand for. Maybe you just don't know it, but you are. You're the most Loyal pony I've ever met! And don't say you're a human, and you're the only human I've ever met. You're just like a pony, only you look just a tiny bit different."

Peter chuckled lightly. "Yeah, a tiny bit."

He sighed, and scratched his chin with his empty hand. "You know what...maybe I am the Seventh Element of Harmony..."

Just then, a sharp cry cut through the air.

"No, what have you done!? Now, that ruffian Peter knows I'm awake, and he'll try to kill me again...oh, no, protect me, Spikey!" The voice came out as warped by panic and fear. A whimper soon followed, and the groan of springs as Spike cradled Rarity in his arms.

Peter felt a thud in his stomach as he processed the words.

"Why would Rarity think I want to kill her...?" Peter whispered, not wanting to alert the unicorn of his presence and possibly send her into even more panic.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, confused. "Let's go ask her," she whispered back.

Twilight immediately shook her head. "Are you crazy? Did you hear her!? She was in hysteria, she'd probably go crazy if she was forced to talk about it. I think we should leave it up to Spike for now, and go back later."

Rainbow Dash sighed, looking over at the now-closed membrane that lead to Rarity's compartment.

"But...but..."

Peter put an arm around the cyan Pegasus, holding her close as she rolled her shoulders in evident agitation. "Twilight's right, Rainbow Dash..."

The cyan Pegasus looked up with an air of incredulity. "But...but..."

Peter rubbed her shoulder. "She probably just had a nightmare. And who's better for her than the, er, dragon, she loves right now?"

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yeah...I guess you're right..."

Peter smiled, and patted the cyan Pegasus on the shoulder. "Attagirl."

Rainbow Dash chuckled, and Peter smiled. To see her happy...that was worth dying all over again. Well, unless he couldn't come back to her, because in that case, (in Peter's words,) fuck that shit.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, her rainbow mane just as confused as her. "I've gotta wonder, though...what kind of nightmare did she have?"

"I see you two like hanging!" Twilight suddenly called out from below.

Peter raised an eyebrow, and looked down at Twilight. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Wow, Twilight, that was bad," Rainbow Dash grunted.

"I'm missing something here," Peter stated. "What's bad?"

"It was a pun, duh," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "We like 'hanging'? We left her 'hanging' on the conversation? We're 'hanging' in a hammock?"

Twilight smiled from below, and Peter face-palmed. "Oh, Jesus fucking Christ on a unicycle...That was bad..."

Twilight's smile faltered, and, with a frown, she teleported in front of Peter and Rainbow Dash.

"Well," she said with a huff, "nevermind that now. Now, what happened before?"

Peter rubbed at his eyes, trying to diminish the sun streaks that the teleportation had created in his eyes. "Well," he began, "my palms glowed, and-"

"What!?" Twilight exclaimed, shocking Peter out of speech. "Then I was right! The Soul Gem granules in your hands allow you to do magic!" She cried in delight, clapping her hooves together like a little filly.

"Yeah, but...That's not all that happened," Peter continued. "On my right hand, these...Granules, somehow arranged themselves into a lightning bolt, while the granules in my left hand just kinda...Floated randomly."

Twilights' clapping stopped, and she gestured for him to outstretch his palms. "Try to get them to glow again," she commanded.

With a nod, Peter pushed everything he had into his hands, flexing his muscles and squeezing his eyes as he focused on his hands, only.

All he managed to do was look and sound constipated, and lose concentration as a small squeak escaped his posterior.

"Ugh, yuck!" Twilight exclaimed, holding up a hoof to block the smell. Rainbow Dash fell onto her side in laughter, and Peter blushed.

"Shut up, you," he mumbled, backhanding her on the side. Rainbow Dash playfully swatted at him with her tail.

"That was real magical, Peter!" She shouted, hitting the seat of his pants with her tail. "Or gasical! Get it? Gasical?" She rolled onto her chest, and tried her best to regain her breath. Peter hunched forward, blushing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're a child, Rainbow Dash," he mumbled.

After a few minutes of both Peter and Twilight simply staring at the cyan Pegasus, she finally calmed down, and, with a sigh, nodded to Twilight. "You were saying?"

"Right," Twilight continued. "Well, as I was saying, you must've had a huge amount of emotional input. What I don't wonder, though, is why they didn't activate when you and Rainbow Dash first kissed...I would think that that would be extremely emotionally charged..."

"Well, I was wearing bandages," Peter pointed out. "Also, my palms weren't fully healed, so maybe they weren't part of me yet? I mean, I'm just assuming by the whole 'emotion' thing that they're part of my nervous system...And, to be totally honest, I don't know how to feel about that..."

Rainbow Dash slapped him on the back, and he rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Pete! It's awesome! You can do magic!"

Peter sighed. "Yeah, okay. But let's say I get really pissed off. Instead of making a pretty light show, what if I burn something down, or hurt somepony?"

Rainbow Dash frowned, and looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I...I hadn't thought of that..." She admitted in a low whisper. She didn't want Twilight to hear that she had screwed up...

"Of course you didn't," Peter sighed. "You need to start thinking more, Rainbow Dash. If you're going to be a mother, you really do."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever," she replied as she looked back to Twilight.

"Yes, you do, Rainbow Dash."

"I said okay!"

"No, you said 'whatever'. That is not okay."

"Uh...Guys?" Twilight asked sheepishly. "Can we...Please?"

Peter nodded. "Sorry, Twilight. Okay, so, you were saying?"

"Well," she said, gulping as Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "The fact that your hand glowed, and made a lightning bolt, means that you're truly Loyal, Peter."

Peter nodded. "Okay, we've already come to this conclusion. Also, Rainbow Dash's cutie mark glowed, does that-"

"WHAT!?" Twilight exploded, grabbing Peter by the shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me in the first place, you bucking idiot!?"

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash snapped at Twilight. "Watch how you're talking to him!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as she returned to her position on the hammock, and Peter smiled at Rainbow Dash. "Thanks," he whispered, holding up his fist for a brohoof. Rainbow Dash gladly met his fist with her hoof.

"Well, let's go to my library," Twilight sighed. "Come on."

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, and looked back to Twilight. "Twilight," Peter said carefully. "We're hundreds of miles away from your library."

"No, the library in my luggage," she stated, matter-of-factly. "Come on, I'll show you."

Peter squeezed his eyes shut as the world gave way beneath him, and winced as it came back extra strong, the teleportation spell leaving his vision blocked by annoying sun streaks. "I hate that..." He muttered as he stood, rubbing his sore seat where it had made abrupt connection with the ground.

"Come on, let's go," Twilight said as she dipped into the luggage, and disappeared.

Rainbow Dash was about to enter, when she sighed, and pulled the membrane of the mini library shut. "Peter, can I talk to you?"

Peter nodded, slightly confused.

With a gulp, she looked away, and blurted out a hurried sentence. "I'm sorry, I was just being stupid in the hammock, do you forgive me?"

Peter smiled, and hugged his wife-to-be. "Of course I do, Dashie. I love you, and we all act stupid sometimes."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed Peter on the cheek. "Thank you, honey," she whispered. It took her a few moments to deal with the fact that she had just used the word "honey" in reference to another pony, or human. "I love you."

Peter smiled. "I love you, too. I there anything else you want to talk about, while we're here?"

Rainbow Dash thought about it, and shook her head. "No, nothing. So, shall we?"

After a small nod, and a short kiss, Rainbow Dash took a few steps into the luggage, and disappeared completely.

Peter took a deep breath, and followed the cyan Pegasus' rainbow tail through the purple luggage. Holding on to the zippers lining the entrance, Peter slowly lowered himself onto the first step, incredulous.

Rainbow Dash shuddered, as she had just remembered the other dreams she had had, of ponies in a tunnel, and in a city...where the world didn't work like this one. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten about them. Perhaps in the midst of getting a stallionfriend, pregnant, and engaged, her mind had gotten wrapped up.

"Hey, Peter?" She said, from in front of Peter. The human, still amazed, hurried down a few steps to catch up with her, his heart skipping a beat as he stumbled, and almost tripped.

"What?" He asked, cracking his knuckles in nervous tension, due to his almost-fall.

"I forgot about some...other, dreams I had. On the same day that you arrived."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what were they? Wait, do you want to talk about this in private? Should we go back up into the compartment, so that Twilight won't hear us?"

The cyan Pegasus shook her head. "No, Twilight knows all about these dreams..."

Peter looked ahead, at the lavender unicorn already descending the second flight of stairs...in her luggage. Peter rolled her shoulders.

"Well, go ahead, 'Dash."

The cyan Pegasus smiled. "Well, I had a dream that wasn't my own. In it, there were a bunch of dead ponies, in a tunnel full of water. And then, there were also a bunch of burning ponies, in a blown-up building."

Peter's mind connected to the Soul Gems, and he stopped walking, staring ahead as he saw horrible images.

He turned, and stared in awe, fear, and disbelief as yet another thermite-packed warhead smashed into Wallstreet, destroying his family's emaciated bodies even further, and he-

The visions were interrupted, as his real vision registered the image in front of him: Rainbow Dash was looking at him, concerned. The idea of her, and their child, totally obliterated the darker images from his mind. He shuddered, the feeling of death and sorrow leaving his mind, slowly.

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of his face. "You okay?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah...I think I just made contact with those Soul Gem fragments again...but it was weaker this time. I don't feel what I felt last time. Well, at least, not as much...The idea of you...and our child...it pulled me back to reality..."

Rainbow Dash blushed lightly, and kissed him on the cheek. "Glad I could help..."

Peter ruffled her mane, smiling. "You're awesome, Rainbow Dash."

"So are you..." She whispered, pressing her head into the crook of Peter's neck.

The sudden sound of a throat being cleared distracted them. "C'mon, lovebirds!" The lavender unicorn's voice voice echoed out.

Both Peter and Rainbow Dash blushed, and continued down the stairs, Twilight waiting halfway across the stone and granite entrance hall, the large statue of Celestia gleaming in the light made by the miniature sun.

In her luggage.

"So, what were you saying about those dreams, Rainbow Dash?"

The cyan Pegasus smiled, grateful for Peter being so Kind... "Well, it felt like what happens here...would never happen there. Like this, and magic, and Pinkie Pie having an infinity mane...all of it felt so different..."

Peter knelt as they finally reached the landing, their final steps on the stone stairway still echoing. He put an arm around her, and kissed her on the forehead, holding her close to his heart as he spoke. "Well, don't let it get to you. You're stronger than that. And we both know it."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and rubbed her head under his chin. Peter smiled, her coarse, yet soft, hair warming his neck.

"Thanks, Peter..."

Suddenly, Twilight teleported right in front of them, and Peter reeled back in surprise, effectively tripping over Rainbow Dash's tail.

"Ow!" They both shouted in uniiosn, as Peter stepped on Rainbow Dash's tail, and hit the ground, his head thudding on the stone steps behind him...in Twilight's luggage.

Peter sat up, rubbing the new bump on his head. "Damnit, Twilight...sorry, 'Dash."

Before Rainbow Dash could answer, Twilight began to talk.

"Listen, you two. We need to find out what this means, and fast. Because when somepony's cutie mark glows, it means that they were changed, by something, somehow. I know this because everypony knows, for a fact, that a cutie mark defines a pony. It is them, essentially. And when one glows, that means that it's begun to resemble more than it did originally. And it will change. Not the entire image, maybe just a small bit of it. Maybe a cloud will thicken, or soften, or something will seem more defined.

"And, if we don't hurry, the changes may be too subtle to discern. So, come on, you two!"

Evidently impatient, she teleported all three of them down by five stories. Peter held his head as his vision doubled, the teleportation making him feel rather woozy.

"Ugh...I hate teleporting...last time we did it, I was knocked out, remember?"

Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly. "Hehehehehehe...yeah...anyway, let's find this book, shall we?"

Peter nodded. Twilight walked off with a huff, still rather impatient, searching for how to properly examine a cutie mark...

Peter took two steps forwards, but immediately ducked as a book flew over his head. "What the fuck, Twilight?" He shouted, ducking as yet another book flew over head.

"Sorry! I just wanted to get these books out of the way. I already tore apart the past three floors, so how about you two make your way downstairs?" Twilight responded, only her flank and tail visible as she looked deeper and deeper into the bookshelves.

In her luggage.

"Uh...okay...I guess..." Peter stammered, wondering exactly how big this place was...

"C'mon, Dash. Let's go."

The cyan Pegasus nodded, dodging a book of her own.

"Be sure to go down at least five stories, as I'll probably tear them up pretty easily." Twilight called out, balancing on a ladder. Peter simply nodded, and started to walk towards the stairwell he could see...about ten yards away...in Twilight's luggage...

When they reached the stairwell, Peter decided to break the silence that had accumulated during their small walk.

"So, Rainbow Dash, while we're in a library, which just so happens to be in Twilight's luggage," he smiled, facepalming, "what kinds of books do you read?"

Please note: this takes place before Read it and Weep, and right after The Return of Harmony.

Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly. "I don't read much. I mean, I read a lot of books on astronomy, but besides that, I mostly leave it to the eggheads. Like Twilight."

Peter raised an eyebrow, incredulous. "You kiddin' me? You don't read? I mean, come on, reading is awesome! When the book is well written, of course. And when it has a solid plot."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "I knew you were a bit nerdy, but not a total egghead!"

Peter shrugged, which ended up looking rather awkward as he walked down the steps. "Well, certain books are awesome. Like 'A Game of Thrones'. I swear, the sex and death in that book is insane."

Rainbow Dash pulled her head back in surprise. "Sex and death? What?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. There are sex scenes, gruesome death scenes, and epic Tyrion Lannister scenes. I swear, Tyrion is badass. Besides Daenerys, Jon Snow, and Eddard Stark," he said, but cut himself short as he stopped walking, and shook a fist at the air. "Damn you, Joffery!!! Anyway, besides dem three badasses, Tyrion's my favorite character."

Rainbow Dash blinked in pleasant surprise. "Huh. I guess I'll have to give that a try. Y'know, if you think something is awesome, it probably is."

Peter nodded. "Yeah, I have a pretty good sense of awesome. Like, I think you're awesome. And I'm totally right!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Flank kisser..."

Peter chuckled, rubbing his arms as he realized how cold it was in the luggage...and he was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. That probably didn't really help, did it?

"Wow, it's cold in here...holy crap, it is cold in here!" He shouted, shivering.

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Here, lemmie take care of that!"

She stepped behind Peter, and jumped onto his back, lining his arms with her forelegs.

Peter grunted as the cyan Pegasus landed on his back. "Rainbow Dash...I'm really weak...I can't hold you up on my back..." He gritted his teeth, struggling to walk as Rainbow Dash lay on his shoulders, desperately trying to avoid calling her 'heavy'. He knew what would come out of that.

"Oh, sorry!" She exclaimed, immediately spreading her wings and flapping lightly. The light flapping didn't raise her up, but it did lighten her burden on Peter. "I guess I've been putting on a little weight, having not flown in a while..."

Relieved that she had become substantially lighter, Peter shook her head. "No, you haven't. I'm only 112 pounds, and can't really support anything..."

Rainbow Dash guffawed from over his shoulder, her fur lightly ticking Peter's scalp as the descent down the stairs jostled the both of them.

"A hundred and twelve!? That's amazing! You could be a model with that weight! I weigh two hundred!"

Peter didn't say anything, but, rather, listened to her, enjoying the sound of her voice. "I'm just getting fat, aren't I?"

Peter immediately interrupted. "No, you're not. You have more muscle mass than anything else. You're not fat, you're super buff!"

Rainbow Dash looked at him in surprise. "Super buff? Really? 'Buff'?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Okay, then, strong."

Rainbow Dash kissed him on the cheek, rubbing his arms with her forelegs, warming him. "Thanks, Peter..." She nuzzled his neck, her wings still flapping lightly, whispering in the bright interior of the luggage as she lay on his shoulders.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, I just had an idea..."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"See all these tables around us?"

The cyan Pegasus looked around. In all honesty, she hadn't noticed the mahogany tables. "Yeah..."

Peter motioned for her to get down, off of his back. When she did, she took in her surroundings.

Despite being in luggage, the room was enormous. The floor consisted of tiles of black, shining granite, and there were mahogany chairs and tables everywhere. Lining the walls were rustic-looking, brown oaken bookcases, which were almost packed with books. A large, fake sun gave the room light from above, but not warmth. Strangely enough, those light sources never expelled warmth, despite being suns...

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the tables. they were all neatly assembled, as if ready to have hundreds of ponies studying the pages of books. They were all equivalents in height and length, and their surfaces were totally flat, and glossy.

"Hardcore parquor!" Peter shouted. He immediately turned, and jumped onto a table, swiping his legs around as he got off.

Now at the second table, he rolled over it, and then under the next table.

Grabbing a chair, he turned around on the floor, pulled himself up onto the seat, and, with one foot on the back rest, and one on the indented seat, he dove onto the next table, turning his body at the last second so as to land on his side. As soon as he did, he rolled off the table top, and used his momentum to slide on the marble floor, and under the next table.

As he slid, he cracked his knuckles. When he slowed to a stop at the next table, he grabbed the edge, and pulled himself up and over, rolling off of the surface. When his sneakers made contact with the granite floor, he popped up onto his feet.

Smiling back at Rainbow Dash, who was watching on with growing admiration and determination, he puffed out his chest, and cried: "Beat that!"

She did.

Front flipping over the first table, she turned in the air and landed on her back hooves, her back facing Peter. She immediately did a backflip onto the table, and jumped backwards, doing a roundhouse kick to spin herself.

Now on the nest table, she did a side flip onto the next, and simply glided over the table top, landing next to Peter.

"Beat that!" She shouted triumphantly.

Peter held up his fist, and she met him halfway in a brohoof.

"That was friggin' awesome, Rainbow Dash!"

The cyan Pegasus smiled wide.

Just then, Twilight teleported right in front of them, a book in her teeth.

Spitting it out on the table, the lavender unicorn cleared her throat.

"I found a good book on cutie marks."

Peter pulled a chair back, and gestured for Rainbow Dash to sit.

"No, thanks," she said, smiling. "I'll just stand."

Peter nodded, and sat down on the chair, Rainbow Dash standing beside him. With a small exclamation of surprise, she was pulled onto his lap.

"Peter, what're you doing?" The Pegasus asked. However, she immediately realized something: his sweatpants were super comfortable. And so was his chest. In fact, he was like a big, living, breathing, eating, cushion. Okay, he wasn't a cushion, but you get the idea.

"Well, I felt bad for just letting you stand there, so I decided to make you sit."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Peter..."

Across from them, Twilight madly flipped through the pages searching for something, anything about glowing cutie marks. After five minutes of flipping through the page, (and Peter and Rainbow Dash (rather awkwardly) making out across from her,) she released an exclamation of agitation, slamming the green and red book closed.

"I give up! I cant find a single thing about glowing cutie marks!!"

She looked across the table to see that Peter and Rainbow Dash had, thankfully, stopped kissing, long enough for Peter to say: "Why don't you check the Table of Contents, instead of flipping through the pages like a crazy little pony?"

Twilight blushed, and, rather sheepishly, flipped the book open to the Table of Contents, muttering "I'm not little..." Scanning the list, blushing even deeper as Rainbow Dash chuckled at her expense, she found a section titled 'Odd Happenings with Soul Gems'. Immediately flipping to page 12700, she scanned the chapter for information.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, and began to read the short passage aloud. "'When a Soul Gem and a cutie mark glow in unison, the Soul Gem and the pony who bears the cutie mark has been 'Tied''-that's with a capital T-'to the pony who has magically affected the Soul Gem. For more information on 'Tying', read 'Souls and their Paths', by Starswirl the Bearded.' Huh...well, I don't own any books by Starswirl the Bearded, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask Celestia in the-"

She sat bolt upright, shocking both Peter and Rainbow Dash.

"Apology letter!!"

Rainbow Dash gasped. "Oh, shit! I forgot all about the letter I sent Celestia!"

Peter raised an eyebrow, asking, "What letter?"

Rainbow Dash blushed. "I...I kinda cursed Celestia out...y'know, for letting you die?"

Peter burst out laughing, and Rainbow Dash jumped off of his lap.

"What's so funny?" The cyan Pegasus asked, blushing a deeper shade of red.

Peter, trying desperately to catch his breath, spoke through bouts of laughter. "You...you cursed out a god!? Now that takes some balls!"

Rainbow Dash released a small shout of irritation. "Peter, that's not funny! I might get in serious trouble for this! Also, you were dead. I don't think death is very funny."

Peter sighed, holding back a chuckle. "You're right, 'Dash...I'm sorry..."

Rainbow Dash smiled in victory. "You'd better be. Now, come on. Let's go back up."

"What the buck did you two do!?"

Peter and Rainbow Dash turned, startled. They immediately noticed what had brought the exclamation about: during their hardcore parkour, they had rearranged the tables. What had once been an orderly grid of mahogany tables, was now a square with a large gash in the middle, of knocked over chairs, and tables kicked askew.

"Hardcore parkour," Peter explained.

"What?"

"I'll show you," he said, about to do the hardcore parkour once more.

"Uh, no, that won't be necessary..." The lavender unicorn said softly.

Peter nodded, and started to walk to the stairwell.

"Uh, Peter? You don't wanna go up those stairs..."

Peter turned, and raised an eyebrow. "What d'you-"

"Watch out!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing behind him.

"Huh?" Peter turned and saw...

"BOOKALANCHE!!! Rainbow Dash, Peter, follow me!"

Peter and Rainbow Dash turned, chasing the lavender unicorn through the tables. For the two ponies, it was no problem, but for the human, it was rather difficult.

"Fuck!" Peter shouted, tripping over a table leg.

"Peter, no!!"

Peter stood, and pulled himself up onto the table he had tripped over, just as the bookalanche caught up to him. Preparing to jump to the next table, he shouted in a rather strange voice.

"The floor iz lava!"

He jumped to the next table, just as the table he had been on prior gave way to the sea of books.

He turned to jump to the next table, but was left balancing, his arms moving in a pinwheel motion as he fought to keep his balance. The next table had been overturned by a rather large book, the smug face on its cover mocking Peter.

"Oh, shit..."

He turned, and saw even more books flying at him, when...

Rainbow Dash scooped him up, Twilight in one foreleg, Peter the other.

"Hold on tight, you guys!" She shouted, flying right at the bookalanche.

Peter, clinging onto Rainbow Dash for dear life, got a thrilling feeling in his stomach as the cyan Pegasus flew through giant swells of books. He screamed, not in fear, but in thrill.

"Wooooooooooooooo! Yeah, hyeh, hyeaaaahhhhh!!"

Rainbow Dash smiled. At least one of the two earth-bound beings in her forelegs was enjoying himself...

Maneuvering her wings in familiar motions, she did a barrel roll between two large swells of books. The bookalanche seemed to be never-ending...

She flew through the stairwell, managing to dodge all the books that were falling at her.

"OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO DIE!!!" Peter shouted, frowning, his heart beating too fast for his mind to keep up.

"I'm going to try to teleport us outta here!"

Peter shot her a furious glance. "Why didn't you do that the first fucking time!?"

Her horn glowing, she responded. "I was scared! I can't do complicated magic when I'm scared!"

Peter rolled his eyes, but pulled his foot up with a yelp of fear as a swell came dangerously close to his sneaker.

"Hold on tight, here we go...!" The lavender unicorn shouted, just as the world exploded in light.

Scene 2: Forgiving and Forgetting

Peter collapsed on the mahogany floor, his knees turned to jelly by the flight.

Rainbow Dash immediately trotted over, supporting the human with a strong, light wing.

"You okay, Peter?" She asked, concerned. Behind her, Twilight was recuperating as well, albeit faster.

Letting the wing support almost all of his weight, Peter started to talk, haltingly.

"That...was..."

"Terrifying?" Twilight suggested, now mostly recuperated.

Peter shook his head, trying (and failing) to support his own weight as he spoke again.

"No, that was fucking AWESOME!! He shouted, falling back onto Rainbow Dash's wing as he fist bumped the air, offsetting his weight balance as he did so.

Rainbow Dash put on a giant grin. "Really? You liked to fly?"

Peter nodded. "Fuck yeah!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, and flipped open the clasp on the membrane.

And then...

"Jesus Christ, not again..." Peter moaned as he was tackled, yet again. He had lost count of how many times he'd been tackled, in all honesty.

"Sorry," Rarity said lightly, getting up off of Peter. The latter blinked, and gave the elegant unicorn a hug in return, remembering what she had shouted before, from the confines of Spike's compartment.

Peter broke the embrace, smiling at Rarity as he stood. He immediately lost his balance, and had to lean on Rainbow Dash's wing yet again.

"It's great to see you again, Rarity," he said, smiling down at her. "How're you feeling?"

The unicorn took a deep breath. "Well, I had a nightmare where you killed me...and that's why I shouted that before. But trust me, Spike helped he get over it. I know you would never hurt me." She finished in a tone of respect and honesty, and Peter nodded in return.

"Yep. I would never hurt a friend. Ever."

Rarity nodded, and immediately drew him into a second hug. "I heard from Fluttershy that you died...from the Pegasus Flu...but that you came back, for Rainbow Dash."

Peter nodded. "Yep. I beat the hell out of Death."

Rarity piled out of the hug, smiling. "Well, I say that coming back from the dead for a loved one is a great sign of being a true gentlestallion. Now, then, Pinkie Pie said she wanted to talk to you about something..."

Peter nodded, and woozily balanced himself on his feet, taking a shaky step towards the door.

Within moments, he was walking normally once more. As soon as he exited the compartment, Pinkie Pie exploded.

"Surprise party time!!!" She shouted, oblivious to the world around her as she bounced around like a Mexican Jumping Bean.

"Uh...thanks?"

Pinkie Pie nodded, still bouncing around. "Irealizedthatwedidn'tthrowapartyforyoucomingbacktolife! So, this is a Anti-Death Party!!"

Peter burst out in laughter, and grabbed the pink pony as soon as she landed next to him, pulling her into a hug. "Thanks, Pinkie. Rainbow Dash, get out here!" He shouted, turning as he let her down.

Rainbow Dash walked out of the compartment, along with Rarity and Twilight, immediately gasping.

Confetti was everywhere. Banners of multiple colors spanned the length of the ceiling, and balloons were everywhere as well. On the table lie a bowl of punch, and a bowl of candy, as well as three bottles of soda.

"Wow, Pinkie! You went all out on this, didn't you?"

The pink pony shook her head. "Nope! All out is when I use the Desert Eagle in my tail to spread candy everywhere!"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, what? Why not just use the party pad we made?"

"We broke it, y'know, that night that we got really drunk. I incinerated the glass shards. Nopony was hurt, don't worry."

Peter shook his head in confusion. "How'd you get a fucking gun in your tail?"

"I had Plant Guy help me make it! It's in my tails' dry dock."

Peter facepalmed. "What? Just...whaaaaaaaaat? You have a fucking dry dock in your tail?"

The party pony nodded, and turned her tail to aim at the ceiling.

"Fire!!!!" She shouted. Just then, her pink tail shot out a shower of candy, the immense amount of it immediately tearing the one of the three hammocks to shreds.

"Oh, shit, fuck, waffles!" Peter shouted as candy and fabric rained down from the heavens, the other ponie's shouts of dissent joining his own. Applejack merely stared on, oblivious in her own world.

Making his voice go super deep, he sang. "Chocolate Rain, crashin' silently through yer veins!"

Pinkie Pie turned around, eyes closed as she let the majority of the unwrapped candy land back in her mouth, standing on her hind hooves as she basked in the shower.

Descending to four legs, Pinkie Pie licked her lips. "Mmmmmm! Yummy!"

By the side, Spike sighed, Applejack staring him down. "But shouldn't it wait until after the party?" He asked, rather pleadingly.

Applejack shook her head. "No. Y'all gotta do it now."

Spike sighed again, and cleared his throat.

"Pinkie Pie...can the party wait until tomorrow? There's something I need to tell Rarity..."

The pink party pony nodded. "Alright! I understand! You go ahead and tell her. I'll just plan out the next party..."

She walked away with a sigh, Peter and Rainbow Dash scratching the backs of their heads.

"Uh...okay, then..." Peter muttered, watching as Twilight and Applejack engaged in conversation, Fluttershy, concerned for her friend's sanity, pulled Pinkie over to the side, and Rarity followed Spike into his compartment.

"So, Rainbow Dash...wanna take a look at that book I told you about?"

"Sure, why not?" She responded, smiling.

Together, they retrieved Peter's Kindle from his luggage, and went up to the hammock.

After a few minutes of Peter getting it set up, Rainbow Dash stared at the touch screen, incredulous.

"Peter," she said, laying on her chest in front of the Kindle, "I have no idea how to use this."

Peter chuckled lightly, his Book of Memes in his hand. "What? Oh, right. Just...slide to the left on the screen. Try using your nose."

Rainbow Dash nodded, and looked down at the screen, at the page she had already read. She swiped to the left, guiltily admitting to herself that she was intrigued as to what was going to happen to Will, Fared, and Royce.

A few pages in, she gasped, and Peter lowered his own book to smile victoriously.

"Enjoying it?" He asked, the cyan Pegasus turning to face him.

"I told you that I'm squeamish, Peter!" She shouted, incredulous.

Peter frowned. "Well, it's a book. It's not like it's a movie or anything, it's not nearly as gruesome."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yeah, but...oh, well. What was that thing, anyway?"

Peter smiled even wider. "No spoilers, Dashie. You've got to read it to understand them. Unfortunately, I only have the first five books of the series on there, and they're not explained, at least, not in depth, by the last of the five."

Rainbow Dash nodded, returning to the book. After a few more pages, she drew back. "Peter, this is awesome! Thank you so much for showing this to me!"

Peter smiled. "No problem! I'm sure Twilight would love to know that you enjoy reading so much."

The cyan Pegasus nodded, immediately returning to the Kindle.

For the next few hours,Peter laid back, relaxing as Rainbow Dash continued to read, roped into the literature despite herself.

Meanwhile...

Spike sighed, closing the membrane behind him. Rarity kay a hoof on his shoulder, and he turned, sadly looking down at his beloved unicorn...

"Sit," he said, gesturing for the unicorn to get on the bed. He followed her, putting an arm around her, fear coursing through him as he closed his eyes, thinking.

"Spike, are you okay? You're shaking like a leaf!"

The dragon sighed, and looked down at Rarity. "I love you, Rarity..."

The unicorn smiled, and rubbed up against him, under his arm. "I love you, too..."

Spike kissed her on the forehead, right above the horn. "I need to tell you something...about how you were injured in Pinkie's mane..."

The elegant pony winced. "I know what happened. A Stallion Eater got me from behind...but you saved me..."

Spike sighed. He wanted it to be true, but unfortunately...

"No, Rarity. I did it to you."

The white unicorn raised a hoof to her mouth, hoping that he was joking. However, the resignation in his body language, the truth in his voice...it made her believe it.

"But...but...why!?" She squealed.

"I was angry, that something, especially a bucking plant, was going to hurt you. I wanted to kill something, and, unfortunately, you were the first living thing I found...I just acted on the moment..." He began to sob, his heart heavy as hehe came to terms with himself. "I'm sorry, I'm a monster...I let my true self show...I should be dead, I don't deserve you..."

Rarity surprised him by kissing him, right on the lips.

"Never say that," she whispered, now sobbing as well. "Please...never say that. I love you, Spike. You were so honest with me...I love you. You told me, and you're crying...I know that you love me, and would never want hurt me. I love you, Spike..."

She said the last part as a whisper, throwing her forelegs arouns him as they both sobbed. Spike lay back on the bed, still kissing Rarity, his heart bursting with love.

"I'm so sorry, Rarity..." he sobbed. The elegant white unicorn kissed him again.

"I forgive you. And we'll just move past this. I love you, and I know that you would never hurt me. I love you Spike. And you don't deserve to die, please, never say that again.."

Spike sobbed, and hugged her tighter, his tears mixing with hers.

Eventually, Rarity fell asleep, her body still too shocked from Spike's slicing of her body.

Scene 3: Lunch

Rainbow Dash yawned in the silence. Peter snored lightly behind her, having fallen asleep about an hour before.

Using her muzzle to turn the electronic page, Rainbow Dash started to close her eyes, calmed and tired from the reading.

"This book is amazing..." she whispered to herself, just a bit too loudly.

"Rainbow Dash, are you reading?"

Rainbow Dash stifled a yelp, the lavender unicorn's voice shocking her back to the real world. She looked down at Twilight from the hammock, blushing sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah. It's a book Peter showed me, on his Kindle thingy. It's called Game of Thrones. It's got a lot of cool stuff in it, and a lot of death in it, too. Really bloody scenes."

The lavender unicorn chuckled lightly. "I thought you would like books like that..."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're athletic, and I thought you would like books about violence."

Rainbow Dash pouted, insulted. "There's more than that in this book! There's a bunch of planning, and talking, and really cool ideas! Like this midget, named Tyrion, and he's awesome. Like, he plans stuff out, and plays angles, and he always pays his debts!(

Now awake, Peter chuckled. "Ah, yes...a Lannister always pays his debts..."

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Yep!"

Twilight smiled. "Well, come on down when you want to order lunch..."

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, Peter's elbows shaking lightly as he supported his upper weight on them, his legs splayed out in front of him. Peter sat up, and so did Rainbow Dash.

"Well," he said, tracing the curves of her face with a hooked finger, lovingly. "Shall we?"

Rainbow Dash smiled, and leaned in for a kiss. Peter met her halfway, their mouths interlocking in a 'good morning,' Peter having just woken up. She smiled as they parted, nodding.

"Let's."

They descended, Rarity and Spike already down below at the table, the paper in the center filled with orders.

Fluttershy sighed at her food. She didn't know why, but-

"You okay, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, shocking Fluttershy out of her reverie.

Smiling, Fluttershy nodded, and started to eat away at her food. At the same time, something was eating away at her, deep inside...

Why did she feel like this? Why was it, whenever Peter smiled, she felt a burst of happiness? Perhaps she...?

She shook her head, returning to her food, politely eating up each bit of raviolli as she thought.

Peter kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead, smiling as she nuzzled him. Fluttershy felt a burst of...of...

Why am I so jealous?

She felt a burst of panic, and she almost choked on the pasts in her mouth. Coughing furiously, the pasta finally flew out of her esophagus, and onto the plate in front of her.

Everypony went silent, simply staring at the yellow Pegasus in shock. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and Fluttershy simply blushed. Within a few minutes, conversation had started up yet again. Except for one pony.

"...Hey, Fluttershy, are you okay?" She looked up at Peter, and felt a butterfly beat at her stomach. She nodded, blushing an even deeper shade of red as she averted her gaze.

"You sure? You're acting really weird..."

Fluttershy gulped, and dared to look up at him. She smiled sheepishly as their eyes met, the care and concern evident in her friend's eyes. "I...I'm fine..."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Don't mind her. It's just Fluttershy being Fluttershy..."

The yellow Pegasus wanted to shout out her feelings. She wanted to tell everypony why she was so afraid to look into Peter's eyes...

She felt a sudden surge of urgency. She wanted Peter and Rainbow Dash to stay together, but she had to tell the latter. She was getting married to Peter, and she deserved to know.

"Rainbow Dash...can I...can I talk to you for a second? Alone?"

She looked back, her pink mane obscuring her view of the world, except for Rainbow Dash's now concerned expression.

"Uh, sure, Fluttershy."

Rainbow Dash stood, smiling at Peter, who smiled back at her. Fluttershy blushed, feeling rather disappointed with herself for being.jealous.

Fluttershy stood as well, aware of everypony watching her with concerned expressions. Especially Peter...

Walking away from the lunch she had abandoned on the table, Fluttershy felt even more butterflies beating at her stomach. She had no idea how to tell Rainbow Dash, no that she thought about it...

But it was too late, as the world went dark as Rainbow Dash pulled the membrane closed behind herself and Fluttershy, the yellow Pegasus' compartment so open, yet so concealed...

"Well, whaddaya wanna talk about, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy gulped, and sat down on her bed, beckoning for Rainbow Dash to do the same.

"Are you okay, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked as she sat, throwing a hoof around Fluttershy's neck.

The timid Pegasus sighed. "...No."

Fluttershy plopped down onto her chest, scared that her friend would reject her for what she had to say.

"What's the matter?"

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy tried to explain. "I...I think I...I..."

Rainbow Dash rubbed her shoulder, now laying down as well. "C'mon, Fluttershy. If there's one thing Peter's taught me, it's how to be truly Loyal. Now, why are you down?"

Fluttershy gulped. She closed her eyes, and whispered. "I'm not down...I'm scared..."

"Of what!? There's nothing here that could hurt you! Now, come on. What's the matter?"

Fluttershy gulped. "I think I have a crush on Peter..."

Rainbow Dash withdrew her hoof. "Well, you stay away from him, okay? He's mine, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy sighed, and Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her side, making the timid Pegasus tremble like a leaf. "But you're still my friend."

Fluttershy stopped trembling, and the butterflies in her stomach stopped as well. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash..."

Rainbow Dash, nodded, and walked over to the membrane. "Well, let's go," she said softly, before clicking it open.

"I was joking, you crazy bitch!" Peter shouted from behind her.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, and she slowly turned around to see Peter, smashed into the table.

"What...What the buck just happened?" The cyan Pegasus immediately asked.

Scene 4: Weirdest Day Ever

Peter leaned back on the cushion, and sighed, fishing around for a subject.

With a smile, he found one, and blurted out a question.

"So, Twilight, what's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you?" He asked. He immediately blushed, remembering a certain...Act, she had walked in on.

"When you asked me to have a three way," Twilight responded without even blinking.

Peter leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said in a smooth tone, "the offah's still on, babeah." As soon as the words escaped Peter's lips, Twilight sat bolt upright, and her eyes began to glow.

Peter began to panic, as he was raised about two feet in the air, above the table, and...

Slammed right back onto it, ponies taking a few astounded steps back as he experienced some major whiplash, his body splitting the table down the center.

"NO, I DON'T WANT A BUCKING THREE WAY!!" Twilight roared.

"I was joking, you crazy bitch!"

Peter tried to sit up, but his vision doubled, and the shouts of furious ponies, locked in a heated verbal debate, turned into the water sound of a drum being beat as the pain in his back closed out all else. His eyes closed, and the darkness of unconsciousness enveloped him.

“Mmf?”

The words beat against his ear drums, and his pain-hazed mind heard only a watery thrum.

“Mmfer?”

The words-no, word-started to have some clarity. Peter opened his eyes, barely. However, the slits of the bright, gleaming sun he could see through the slits forced him to return his vision to the red darkness of his eyelids.

“Peter?”

He thought he heard his name. It sounded watery, and he couldn’t tell whether it was his name, or a simple word.

“Peter?”

Finally, the watery haze his mind was submerged in receded, and the words came through, clear, yet as a whisper. He opened his eyes, and the glare of the sun didn’t seem so bright anymore.

“Peter? Are you okay?”

It was the concern. The concern in the soft, adorable voice that gave him the will to look away from the yellow being in the heavens, to the yellow being that belonged in the heavens.

Fluttershy blinked, and smiled, and Peter smiled in return.

A smile that turned into a grimace of pain as he tried to get up.

“Oh, please, don’t try to get up…” Fluttershy whispered. “Your back, it needs time to rest…”

Peter looked beyond her, her image blurred out as he focused on farther objects.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight were sitting across from each other on the firm, yet comfortable, cushions that surrounded the, now destroyed, wooden table. Rainbow Dash was scowling, while all Peter could see of Twilight was the tip of her horn, and her mane, which lay down across her back, as she looked to the ground in evident shame.

Across the table, Spike held a furious Rarity in his strong, purple arms. Despite the obvious strain to hold the white unicorn down, Peter knew that Spike held her gently. Peter winced as Rarity’s shrieks reached him.

“So un-ladlylike, Twilight! Unclaw me, Spike, I must remonstrate her!”

Fluttershy smiled at Peter’s evident pain, and walked over to the sound-blocking membrane, pulling it shut. Where Fluttershy had been, Peter could now see Pinkie Pie and Applejack, the former bouncing in anticipation, the latter simply staring into space, a blank expression revealing nothing.

Just as Fluttershy pulled the membrane closed, Peter made eye contact with Pinkie Pie.

And then, her eyes were so close that they almost made physical contact.

“Peter! You’re awake!!”

He held up hands to his hears, wincing as the noise pierced his pain-riddled mind, and Fluttershy immediately rushed over, her pink mane covering her left eye, her words covered by Pinkie Pie’s shouts.

“Everypony, Peter’s awake!”

Peter almost strangled Pinkie Pie.

Damn it, stop fucking shouting!!!

However, he couldn’t bring himself to say that. Oh, he could say that to Pinkie Pie, easily. However, he just couldn’t say anything.

Twilight was the first to block Peter’s vision.

“I’m so sorry, Peter!”

Peter winced as Pinkie Pie continued to ramble on in the background, her words transformed into noises as his mind struggled to comprehend what was going on.

Twilight lay a hoof on Peter’s chest, the former close to tears.

“Peter, please, say something…I’m so sorry…I just freaked out, I’m so sorry…”

Peter nodded, and finally found his voice.

“Warn me next time…”

Twilight chuckled lightly, and Rainbow Dash gently lay a hoof on her shoulder. She immediately filled Peter’s vision, and, unlike Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight, her sudden entrance into his field of view didn’t cause him pain in his disrupt vision.

“How’re you feeling, Peter?” Rainbow Dash asked, smiling at her fiancé.

Peter took a deep breath, and forced out a few words. “It hurts like hell, Rainbow Dash…”

And, truly, it did. He couldn’t look anywhere, and all he could feel was pain. It was almost as though he had been slammed into a wooden table…

Oh, right. He had been slammed into a wooden table…

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Suck it up,” she said, jokingly.

Peter smiled back, remembering that night in the hospital as he lay there, unable to move his back without agonizing pain…

Peter lay a hand on Rainbow Dash’s cheek, and the cyan Pegasus smiled, remembering that night in the hospital…

The night in the hospital, when the shaft of light had enveloped Peter and Rainbow Dash in its mysterious glow. It had broken them down, and, by the play of colors across their features, it had enlightened them as to each other’s personalities. It taught them everything about each other.

For Peter, he had learned that Rainbow Dash’s confidence was a shell, and it held back a beautiful interior. Much like the cover of a book, it did not accurately depict the image painted by the words, or, in this case, the various parts of Rainbow Dash’s personality.

In the picture painted by the light, Peter saw Rainbow Dash’s aspirations, her goals, her likes, dislikes, and fears.

However, there was something that he never expected from the confident, athletic pony.

A fear that she would disappoint her friends, unless she kept up her shell of constant athleticism, and confidence.

A fear that, even if they weren’t disappointed by her lack of athleticism and confidence for at least one day, they wouldn’t love the pony underneath the shell like they loved the pony on the surface.

Those two things combined to create the shell of confidence she donned every day. If it weren’t for that, she would gladly sit in her room all day and mope.

Because, above all else, she wanted somepony to care.

Rainbow Dash wanted somepony to ask her how she felt. While she was unendingly Loyal to her friends, as it went along with her shell of confidence, she was tired of being the one who had to ask others how they felt. She was tired of being the one who had to solve their problems. For once, she wanted somepony to ask her how she felt, and she would gladly mope in her room and wait for that pony…

If it weren’t for her fear of disappointing her friends, or her fear that they wouldn’t love her confidence-lacking, love-seeking inner self.

And, knowing what he knew at that moment, it all made sense.

She felt as though she had disappointed her mother, and drove her to the bottle, as when she didn’t go to Flight School, and didn’t excel as a flyer, her mother had ceased to love her (or so it had seemed). So, that, along with her previous bullying in school, had culminated into a shell of confidence, which had already been present. It had already been there, yet it was fortified by her mother’s death, and by how the cyan Pegasus’ mother had scarred her, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

And at that moment, Peter felt a drive to show Rainbow Dash that she was cared for, and loved. He felt a drive to let her know that there were people who loved her for who she was, not for what she did.

So, when he said “I love you,” his mind snapping back to the train compartment, and the present, he meant each of the three words, as he wasn’t just talking about Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow Dash, as in, who she was.

And, when Rainbow Dash smiled and responded with an “I love you” of her own, she meant it.

She meant that she loved what she had seen that night, and loved everything about Peter, and loved how he cared for her, but loved him all the same.

By the light, Rainbow Dash had seen an unprecedented sense of caring for everypony considered a friend in Peter’s heart. And, while that care made her feel special and wanted, it made her feel like just somepony he happened to be comforting, as he would do this for anypony.

However, as the light shifted from green to blue, so did the light in Peter’s heart.

The care for everypony considered a friend remained.

However, a stronger, much more ferocious care for Rainbow Dash had risen.

It made her feel wanted, loved, safe…

It made her feel like she could be Rainbow Dash.

The Rainbow Dash she had hidden under the shell of confidence, which the cyan Pegasus had been fully aware of.

And it made her feel, above all, like somepony cared for her.

And that made her feel safe, safe enough to drop her shell of confidence.

Besides feeling safe, it also made her feel love. That night, when she saw how much Peter cared for her, Rainbow Dash had fallen in love, especially since Peter barely knew her, and yet cared for her unendingly.

Or rather, Peter knew her better than she knew herself, because Rainbow Dash knew that Peter had seen what she had swept away, under the shell of confidence.

However, that wasn’t all of it. It was everything about Peter that she loved.

His own lack of self-confidence, and yet only when talking to strangers. With friends, he could be himself.

His aspirations, interests, everything about him, and things that definitely made him a total egghead.

However, she loved that about him. That he was an egghead, yet not robotic like Twilight.

Also, he wasn’t athletic, but…

Peter would do anything to make Rainbow Dash happy.

And do anything to help her to see that everypony loved her.

So, when Rainbow Dash had responded to Peter’s “I love you,” she meant it sincerely, and with all of her heart.

Peter smiled, and Rainbow Dash let him drag her cyan body onto the bed and hold her protectively, his care and love filling her fear of disappointment and lack of love from her friends. Even the small “awww” emitted by Pinkie Pie couldn’t break her out of it.

“Applejack? Are you…okay?”

Peter didn’t lift his gaze from Rainbow Dash, but opened his ear to the surroundings, the haze enveloping his mind finally gone as Rainbow Dash kissed him on the cheek.

“Wh…What?” Applejack’s voice rang out.

“You’ve been standing there since lunch,” Twilight said.

“What? Ain’t a pony allowed to think fer a bit?”

Twilight sighed. “But even when Peter was smashed into the table, you didn’t do anything…”

“Peter was smashed into the table? When? How did Ah not see that?”

“Exactly! You’ve been standing there for at least an hour now, just staring off into space!” Twilight shouted, obviously somewhat aggravated.

“Ah’m sorry, Ah guess Ah’m just…y’know…”

A small silence followed Applejack’s beautifully descriptive, stammered sentence.

“No, I don’t know,” Twilight said, breaking the silence. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Rainbow Dash winced. Twilight cared about what Applejack was dealing with…

Stop that. She cared about you at Fluttershy’s house, when you were freaking out after those dreams… She thought to herself, feeling somewhat guilty. The cyan Pegasus smiled as Peter held her tighter, and shuddered as Peter began to preen her.

Peter took a deep breath, deciding that being bedridden wasn’t that bad…

“Ah’m just worried for everypony back home. Ah mean, what about Apple Bloom? And Big Macintosh? An’ Granny Smith? Will they be okay without me? Ah’m just a bit homesick, Ah guess…Ah dunno.”

A sigh. Then the sound of a whisper, and hoofsteps. Then the sound of a membrane being pulled shut, and an odd murmur spreading around the ponies by Peter’s bed.

The yellow Pegasus nodded off Pinkie Pie. “Yes, Pinkie, we all have the same suspicions…”

“What suspicions?”

The yellow Pegasus looked down at Rainbow Dash. “Why are you guys so freaked out by that? Twilight just wants to help Applejack.”

Fluttershy couldn’t think of a simple way to put it, especially since Rarity and Spike had arrived, (finally,) and the white unicorn was keeping up her no-swearing policy, especially after what she had just witnessed.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy whispered, “Peter wanted to help you, too. And look where you two are now.”

Realization dawned, and spread across Rainbow Dash’s face.

“So…you think that Twilight has a crush on Applejack?”

Rarity pouted. “So blatant!”

Fluttershy ignored the shout. “Yes, Rainbow Dash.”

Pinkie Pie shook with anticipation, and Fluttershy had to lay a hoof on her side to keep her from kicking Peter in the face. “Oh my gosh, that’s so cute!”

“But so weird!”

Peter frowned at Rainbow Dash. “How is that weird, Rainbow Dash?”

“They’re both mares!”

Rarity was about to start a furious attack on her, when Peter managed to keep the peace.

“So is our relationship. I’m a human; hell, I’m not even from this planet, nor this universe! I’m an alien, Rainbow Dash. And you know what?”

The cyan Pegasus pulled back, and Fluttershy could see that she was hurt.

“It doesn’t matter. I still love you. And I’ll never stop loving you, even though I’m a human and you’re a pony.

“So, what’s weird about a mare liking a mare?”

The cyan Pegasus smiled, Peter’s declaration of love making up for his earlier statement (at least in Fluttershy’s eyes, as Rarity was positively fuming).

Fluttershy took a deep breath, and walked away.

“Fluttershy, where are you going?”

The yellow Pegasus looked back at Spike, and smiled.

“I’m going to check on Twilight and Applejack.”

She cautiously pulled back the membrane in front of the compartment…

And immediately snapped it shut, and rushed back to sit in the corner of her room, where her bed once was before they moved it to the center to act as a medical bed for Peter.

Pinkie Pie knelt, concern etched across her face. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I…I think they might like each other…”

Everypony giggled lightly.

However, they wouldn’t giggle if they had seen what Fluttershy had seen.

I…I didn’t even know horns could be used like that…

Nor did I think that either of them would have that kind of reckless abandon…

She wrapped her wings around herself, and pushed herself further back into the corner.

“Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie said, as Spike and Rarity and Peter and Rainbow Dash were too wrapped up in each other to notice, “are you okay?”

Fluttershy nodded, but suddenly burst out what she had seen.

“Don’t worry, we’ll see them.”

“But what if they leave, Peter?”

“Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts are celebrities. They eat attention up! Besides, you won the Young Flyer’s Competition, didn’t you? I’m pretty sure they’ll stick around once word gets out that you’re gonna be there.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, but…I did something that they didn’t really like, y’know, when I got to spend a day with them…”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“I pranked them, publically. I just couldn’t help myself, y’know? It was hushed up, of course, because they don’t like being made fools of…”

Peter couldn’t help it. He burst out in laughter.

“You kidding me? You pranked fucking celebrities, publically!?”

Rainbow Dash blushed. “Y…yeah…”

Peter slapped her on the shoulder, and Rainbow Dash pulled back with a small yelp, as her shoulder was still somewhat sore from holding up both Peter and Twilight, when they escaped from the bookalanche…

“Peter…why would you hit me? Are you trying to ‘punish’ me or some crap like that?”

Peter shook his head. “No, of course not! I was just patting you on the shoulder!”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “That was more than a pat, Peter.”

“It was a slap, then. I’m sorry if it hurt,” he said, rubbing her where his hand had made contact.

Rainbow Dash smiled, and nuzzled Peter’s neck. “It’s okay…I know you wouldn’t hurt me…”

Peter smiled, and, in front of everypony, placed his hand on her flank, and squeezed. (Thankfully, nopony was watching.)

Rainbow Dash looked around, smiling. “Do that again,” she whispered, smiling mischievously.

He did, and this time, he started to massage it gently.

And then, he remembered that there were four ponies right near them, and he pulled his hand back.

“Why’d you stop?” Rainbow Dash whispered.

“Because we’re in public, Rainbow Dash. It’s not polite, and it’s kinda…bad, to do when there are people-er, ponies-around.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Peter, you’re such a drag!”

She brought her eyes back to his, and smiled. “But I still-”

“Twilight and Applejack were making out!!”

All conversation ceased.

“I…I’m sorry, what?” Pinkie Pie said, taking a few steps back.

“Twilight had her tongue down Applejack’s throat, Pinkie!”

Peter burst out in laughter. “Wow! Holy shit!”

Rainbow Dash joined him. “Fluttershy, since when were you so dirty?”

Fluttershy blushed. “I’m sorry, it’s just…I saw them so close together, and…”

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fluttershy, remember in the hospital, how you guys thought Rainbow Dash and I were having sex?”

He couldn’t see past his tightly shut eyelids, but Peter would have bet that Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Spike were all blushing.

Wait, does Spike even know about that? Ah, fuck it…

“Y…Yes, and I’m sorry for that, Peter.”

“Well, we don’t want that to happen again, do we?”

Fluttershy sighed. “No, we don’t.”

Rainbow Dash giggled lightly, stifling it in Peter’s shirt. “Oh, man...I have an idea. Let’s accuse them of making out, and see what their reactions are!”

Peter ran a hand through his hair. “Here’s an idea, let’s not do that. That’s a horrible idea, Rainbow Dash.”

The cyan Pegasus let out a small *humph*. “Thanks for your consideration…”

Peter smiled, yet gagged immediately, as he realized what was in his hair.

“Oh, God! I haven’t showered in about a week!”

He pulled his hand back from his hair, and could tell that his hair had stayed in the same position that his hand had pushed it into.

“I feel like a fucking Greaser…”

Rainbow Dash shook her head, smiling. “What?”

Peter shrugged. “Long story. Well, not really, but…ah, screw it.”

The cyan Pegasus smiled. “I think you should rest a bit, Peter...go on to sleep…”

Peter smiled, and kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead. “Sure thing…”

Rainbow Dash smiled down at him, lovingly stroking the flat contours of his face with a wing as Peter closed his eyes.

As Peter relaxed, he started to absent mindedly hum a song he was all too familiar with, the lyrics that Tobuscus had put with the notes flashing through his mind.

Ian McShane shoots some fireballs sitting on a boat. Geoffrey Rush needs some lotion, or maybe some aloe?

Rainbow Dash chuckled as Peter hummed on, the fingers of his left hand bouncing to the tempo of the song in his head.

I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand him, despite knowing everything about him… She smiled, and kissed Peter on the forehead. I prefer it like that…this way I can learn more about him as we go along…

“Hey, could somepony get me my Kindle, and my headphones?”

Rainbow Dash was off in a flash, Peter’s groggy question her first priority. When she returned, his iPod dangled from the end of the headphones’ wire, and his Kindle rested on her back.

“Thanks, ‘Dash…” Peter mumbled, his tired tongue tripping over the words.

“Go on to sleep, Peter. I’ll just be talking to everypony, okay?”

Peter nodded, and checked his iPod.

Shit…it’s dead. How the fuck am I supposed to charge this…?

He shrugged, and put it on the bed beside him, and plugged the headphones into his Kindle. Peter immediately checked the power on his headphones, and was happy to see that they were not dead.

Pulling the headphones over his head, Peter waited for it to load, went into ‘Music’, ‘Artists’, ‘Rage Against the Machine’, and put ‘Bulls on Parade’ on constant loop.

By the tenth time the song was playing, Peter had fallen asleep.

“Peter’s right, you know.”

Fluttershy sighed. “I know, Rainbow Dash…”

The yellow Pegasus traced the knots in the wood of the small night table. Across from her, Rainbow Dash reclined on the firm, yet comfortable, cushion, leaning her back against the fake tree that was part of the wall, letting her head rest in the shade of the fake, yet believable, overhang of leaves.

“You can’t just jump to conclusions,” Rainbow Dash said. “First off, Twilight’s too smart to just…jump right into a relationship.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her shoulders, looking over at Peter, knowing all too well that Fluttershy would use that as a springboard.

“Well, what about you and Peter? You two barely even know each other, and you’re getting married.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. Here we go…

“We know each other better than we know ourselves, Fluttershy.”

“How is that possible, though?”

“Do you remember that night, when that giant shaft of light was in the sky?”

The small nod from Fluttershy was enough for Rainbow Dash. “When we saw it, we could see each other in a new…well, light.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, and Rainbow Dash continued. “Quite literally, actually. We saw…who we are. We saw everything about each other.”

Fluttershy smiled, but Rainbow Dash knew what she was thinking.

She probably realized that that means that Peter could never have feelings for anypony else.

“What’s his favorite color, then?”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh. “And we didn’t see things like that. We saw…our personalities. He saw everything about me…” She paused, smiling as she remembered when Peter had called her ‘beautiful’. “He said I was beautiful…and I saw everything about him.

“We know each other better than we know ourselves, Fluttershy. For example, I know that he cares for everypony, but there’s a special place in his heart for me, and only me.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Okay, then…I guess there’s really no hope for me, is there?”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and reached across the small table with a hoof, patting her best friend on the shoulder. “Not romantically, but you two can still be best friends, okay?”

The yellow Pegasus sighed, and looked down in evident shame. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash…You two are so happy together. I shouldn’t be thinking of myself…I want him to be happy, and I want you to be happy. I mean, he bust right through your shell of confidence…”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and nodded. “Yep, he did. I bet you didn’t think I knew I had one, right?”

Fluttershy giggled, but then shook her head in…Rainbow Dash couldn’t place her hoof on it. Lost hope? Depression? Anger? In what the Pegasus said next, it all seemed to rise into one mixture of emotions. “But...where will I find my special somepony, Rainbow Dash?”

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash whispered, placing her hooves on either of the timid Pegasus’ shoulders, staring deep into her blue eyes, “you’re an amazing mare. You’ll find somepony, trust me, you will.”

Something caught Rainbow Dash’s eye. She looked up, and saw Pinkie Pie, staring at Fluttershy like the timid Pegasus was a nugget of gold…

Rainbow Dash simply smiled. “I think Pinkie wants to talk to you, Fluttershy…”

Fluttershy turned around, and made eye contact with the pink party pony. As soon as she did, Pinkie Pie looked away, and walked back into her party-themed compartment.

“I…I don’t understand…”

Rainbow Dash smiled knowingly. “You will, Fluttershy,” she said. “You will. Just go talk to her, alright?”

Fluttershy nodded, and, shakily, stood and walked over to the party-themed compartment.

As soon as she entered it, a pink hoof quickly pulled the membrane shut.

“Hi, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy turned, and smiled at Pinkie. “Hey, Pinkie. Are you okay?”

Pinkie Pie sighed. Normally, she would greet a friend with an explosion of words.

However, for Fluttershy, all she could muster up was a ‘hi’, or a ‘how are you?’.

“Fluttershy, I…” Pinkie Pie looked away, down at the pink rug on the floor. She couldn’t say it to the Pegasus’ face. “No, Fluttershy,” she admitted with a sigh, sitting down, “I’m not.”

Fluttershy frowned, and sat down next to Pinkie Pie, placing a hoof on her shoulder. Pinkie closed her eyes, enjoying how close they were…

Stop that. You like colts. You…like…colts…

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Pinkie nodded, but didn’t answer right away. Fluttershy simply patted her on the shoulder repeatedly, waiting patiently for her words.

“Fluttershy, I-” Pinkie couldn’t force the words out. They were caught in her throat, like a sticky substance caught in an airway.

Fluttershy, I think I have a crush on you. Simple. Simple words. Why can’t I say them?

“Fluttershy, I…I…” She stammered, unable to get the words out.

“It’s okay, Pinkie…you can take as long as you want…I’m here for you…”

At that, Pinkie broke down. She leaned on Fluttershy, sobbing as Fluttershy hugged her, the yellow hooves holding her in place in the world, keeping her calm…

“Fluttershy, I…I think I…” Pinkie said, gasps and sobs interrupting her speech. “I think I have a….a crush on…”

Fluttershy shushed her. “It’s okay, I have a crush on Peter, too, if it makes you feel any better…”

Pinkie felt crushed, by the crush. Fluttershy has a crush on Peter…

“No, Fluttershy,” Pinkie sobbed, “it doesn’t. I don’t have a crush on Peter…”

Suddenly, amidst the dark feeling in her heart, Pinkie found the words she wanted to use.

“I…I have a crush on…on…” the words were in her throat, pushing their way up, silently yet thunderously.

After several long moments of silence, they fell out of her mouth like water from a bottle.

“I have a crush on you, Fluttershy…”

Pinkie shut her eyes even tighter, the lids hurting with how much pressure she applied to keep them scrunched up and closed. She heard Fluttershy gasp, and felt her remove her hooves from around the party pony.

“Pinkie, I…I…” Fluttershy stammered, blushing in shock. “I…I’m flattered…”

Pinkie knew what she meant. She could feel it, through every crack in her broken heart.

“Fluttershy, I love you,” Pinkie exploded, sobbing, flattened out on the ground. “I love you, because you’re Kind, and you’re calm, and you’re quiet, and you’re my exact opposite, and you help me to…to slow down, and to…to…to be calm, and only around you can I do that!”

Pinkie winced as she heard Fluttershy take a few steps back.

“Fluttershy, I love you, and I always have, ever since we first met…you’re cute, beautiful even, and you’re smart, you’re so amazing with animals, I mean…I mean…”

“Pinkie, I…I…” Fluttershy stammered out, her small voice almost completely drowned out by Pinkie’s sobs.

“I’m sorry…” She finally managed out, quickly darting out of the compartment.

Pinkie held in her gasp of woe and misery until the membrane had been completely closed once more. She was broken. Gone. Her heart…it was gone. She had told Fluttershy that she loved her, and all the Pegasus had done was say “I’m sorry”.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy…” Pinkie whispered, sobbing and gasping as she crawled onto her bed, “that I’m not as good as Peter…”

Pinkie hugged her knees, and started rocking back and forth until she fell into an uneasy, pillow-soaking sleep.

The yellow Pegasus bolted for her compartment, ignoring the strange looks from Spike and Rarity (now in their compartment) along the way.

“Fluttershy, slow down!”

The yellow Pegasus didn’t, and bowled right into Twilight on the way, landing on her back, her head throbbing in pain.

“Y’all okay?” She heard Applejack ask, obviously much improved from her state of anxiety now that she and Twilight had…‘spoken’.

Fluttershy stood, and so did Twilight, the both of them slightly shaky. “Y…Yeah. By the way, I saw you two kissing.” Fluttershy almost kicked herself.

Geez, I really need to learn how to operate under pressure…

Twilight and Applejack exchanged a glance of utter confusion, and Fluttershy immediately felt ashamed.

I really need to listen to Peter more...

“Fluttershy, we weren’t…makin’ out. Ah think that bump got t’ yer’ noggin.”

Rainbow Dash walked over, chuckling. “So, I see you used my idea anyway, huh, Fluttershy?”

Twilight immediately plowed them with questions. “What idea? And why did you think we were making out, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy looked up, and hastily explained the current situation.

“Rainbow Dash wanted to blatantly confront you two about it, and I saw you two right in front of each other, and your faces were so close, I just assumed that you were kissing.”

Twilight and Applejack exchanged a glance, and started to chuckle. “Fluttershy, Ah knew you had a dirty mind, but…this is goin’ just a bit too far, dontch’ya think?”

Fluttershy blushed, and looked down to the ground, chuckling a small bit herself.

“Yeah, I guess…sorry, you two…”

“Well, if you two weren’t kissing, then what were you doing?”

If only Fluttershy wasn’t so timid, she would have slapped Rainbow Dash then and there.

It’s their private business, Rainbow Dash… she thought to herself, somewhat glad that she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. She had a bit of private business she meant to share with Rainbow Dash herself.

“Well, Ah was worried about everypony back home,” Applejack explained. “Ah was just constantly thinkin’ about them, and worryin’ besides. You saw the apple trees, R.D. They were dyin’, and Ah’m worried that, if they start dyin’ again, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom won’t have a Pegasus around t’ help them. Ah’m also worried about Winona, and if them three Cutie Mark Crusaders are gonna get int’ trouble...Ah know that you and Rarity have been goin’ through the same thing, Rainbow Dash, seeing as how Scootaloo and you are so close…”

Fluttershy looked up, and saw Rainbow Dash nod, proudly.

Huh…they are pretty close, aren’t they…they could be like mother and daughter…

“And, well, it all just got t’ me…and I started to cry when Ah spoke about it, and Twilight hugged me...” Applejack looked down, ashamed to admit that she had shed a single tear. Fluttershy smiled as Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on her side.

“There’s nothing wrong with crying, Applejack.”

Fluttershy had heard what she needed to hear. That Twilight and Applejack hadn’t been kissing.

Good…but what about Pinkie? Why does she like me so much? I mean, she always kind of struck me as a fillyfooler, but why me? She knows full well that I’m not attracted to mares…I guess she just needed to get it off of her chest…

Fluttershy turned, leaving everypony to their own conversations as she walked through the branch archway leading to her compartment, sitting down on the somewhat spongy root that served as a cushion, which was placed in front of the small, fake stump that served as a night table.

Maybe I shouldn’t have just said ‘I’m sorry’...Pinkie Pie poured her heart out to me, and now, I just broke it, into millions of pieces...I’m the worst friend ever…

Fluttershy looked down at the table, and started to trace the same knot in the wood that she had been tracing before.

“Hey, Fluttershy, what’s the matter?”

Fluttershy looked up with a small yelp of surprise. She hadn’t even seen Rainbow Dash walk into the compartment, let alone sit across from her.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, you surprised me…”

The blue Pegasus simply smiled, and Fluttershy looked back down at the night table, ignoring the chatter coming from the library compartment next to her garden compartment.

“Rainbow Dash, Pinkie told me that she has a crush on me...”

“I knew it!”

Fluttershy looked back up, surprised. “What do you mean, you knew it?”

“I saw her looking at you, when you asked where you would find your special somepony.”

Fluttershy nodded, and looked back down towards the table. “But she’s not my special somepony...I’m not attracted to mares, Rainbow Dash. At all.”

“Yeah, but you could at least give it a try. For her.”

“That’s just it!” Fluttershy shouted, standing and leaning forward in exasperation, her face almost right up against Rainbow Dash’s. “She told me that she loves me! And all I said was ‘I’m sorry’, Rainbow Dash!”

Fluttershy returned to her seat, staring down at the night table. “I’m the worst friend ever...”

Rainbow Dash immediately walked around the table, and sat next to the yellow Pegasus, wrapping a foreleg around her.

“Fluttershy, I’m going to tell you something that Peter told me: being a good friend isn’t based on your actions, it’s based on how you act.”

Fluttershy started to cry. “That doesn’t help, Rainbow Dash...I’m sorry...I just...I just let things scare me, and get in the way of my friendships...and when Pinkie told me that, I was scared. I don’t love her, I don’t even like her as anything more than a friend...and I should have said more than ‘I’m sorry’, but I didn’t, because I let my fears take top priority over my friends...”

Fluttershy leaned against Rainbow Dash, now crying in earnest.

Rainbow Dash is like a sister to me...

Perhaps...I should tell her...

Is now the right time?

“Fluttershy, that was an action. It’s how you act that determines whether you’re a good friend or not. Hey, think of it like the Elements of Harmony:

“If you’re Loyal, Honest, Kind, and Generous to your friends, and you always share Laughter with them, then you’re a good friend. You’re all of that with us, Fluttershy...You’re a great friend.”

Fluttershy sighed. “Well, I haven’t been Honest with you, Rainbow Dash...”

Fluttershy cringed. Why did I say that!?

Rainbow Dash rubbed her shoulder. “Sure you have, Fluttershy. You told me about your crush on Peter!”

The yellow Pegasus shook her head. “Rainbow Dash, that was only one thing. There’s something that I’ve known for a long time. My mother told it to me, and I should have told you earlier...”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Your mother? What has she got to do with this?”

“She was never married.”

The cyan Pegasus patted her on the back. “Okay. A lot of mothers haven’t been married.”

“But my father was. And he cheated on his wife.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy whispered, butterflies threatening to tear her stomach to shreds, “I’m your half-sister...”

Rainbow Dash pulled back, horrified and enraged.

“W…What!?”

“Rainbow Dash, please, don’t be mad...”

The cyan Pegasus rushed to get the sound-blocking membrane closed.

I don’t want to blow Spikes’ super sensitive ears out...

“You’re lying!” She shouted, in a voice almost as loud as the Royal Canterlot Voice, as soon as she had closed the membrane all the way.

Fluttershy pulled back into the corner. Rainbow Dash felt unending hate for the yellow Pegasus at that moment.

“You’re lying, you Pegaslut!”

Fluttershy started to sob even harder. “Rainbow Dash, please, don’t call me that...calm down, please...”

Rainbow Dash had begun to sob as well. “My father would never cheat on my mother, you lying cunt!!”

Fluttershy had her face in her hooves, and was sobbing unendingly.

“Rainbow Dash, please-”

“No! Don’t you dare ‘please’ me!”

“What’s all the shouting about?”

Rainbow Dash swore under her breath. Peter, stay out of this...

“Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash, what’s going on?”

Rainbow Dash turned on Peter, rage and fear coursing through her, enough to block out how Peter drew back from her in his own fear. “Fluttershy lied to me! Told me that...she’s my half-sister! That my father cheated on my mother, bucked some slut, and that that slut is Fluttershy’s mother!”

“She is not a slut!”

Peter drew back, and sat down on the bed. This isn’t my fight...they need to settle this one on their own.

“Yes, she is! She seduced a married stallion!”

“So, you believe that you’re my half-sister now?”

“Yes! I believe that she seduced my father, and had her way with him!”

“She did not! They met at a party, and they both got drunk, and I was born!”

Rainbow Dash shook her head in rage. “My father was always too busy to see me.”

“But he was never too busy to see me…he was with me almost every day...”

Peter ran a hand through his hair. He was seriously considering putting on his headphones, and blocking out the fight altogether...

That is, until Rainbow Dash hit Fluttershy, hard, in the chest.

“Rainbow Dash, stop!” He shouted, immediately grabbing her before she could damage Fluttershy any more.

“Let go of me! I’m gonna kill that lying Pegaslut!”

Peter held Rainbow Dash close to his heart, just as Fluttershy stood, her fear gone and replaced with spite. Peter’s heart filled with dread.

Oh, shit...Fluttershy’s going to try to hurt her...

“Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry if our father visited me more than he stayed with you. His brother owned the Rainbow Factory a while ago, which I know you know. He would always tell me that he was given a pension by his brother, which was true. Our father got his brother to cheat the system, and give him enough money to supply for you and your mother, while living with me and my mother. That is, until my mother found out he was married.”

Rainbow Dash was shaking in Peter’s arms, whispering to herself that it wasn’t true, that her father loved her.

Peter looked up from Rainbow Dash, into Fluttershy’s eyes, and started pleading. “Fluttershy, please, don’t. Her childhood was scarring enough, please, don’t make it worse.”

Fluttershy shook her head, tears streaking down her face. “No! She told me to be Honest, so I’m being Honest! Our father visited Rainbow Dash! He lived with me! And then, when my mother found out he was married, she poisoned him! My mother poisoned him! She murdered him, and covered it up as food poisoning!

“Then, you know what else happened? A few years later, she found his wife, and told her. All I knew at that point, was that my father had been married, and had a foal with his wife, and with my mother. Apparently, my father’s wife drank herself to the grave!”

That was all Rainbow Dash could take. She stopped quivering, and looked at Fluttershy.

“Then it’s your fault. All these years, I thought that it was my dropping out of Flight School that made my mother drink herself to the grave...”

Rainbow Dash tried to stand, but couldn’t. Instead, she remained on Peter’s lap, staring at Fluttershy, ignoring his pleadings to “not make it any worse”.

“And it was your fault that my father died. The reason as to why my life was so horrible...it was because of you.”

Fluttershy pulled back, fresh tears in her eyes as Rainbow Dash said something that broke the both of them.

“I hate you, Fluttershy. Because of you, my life was horrible. Because of you, my family died...”

Peter watched as Fluttershy collapsed, a waterfall of tears cascading from her blue, watery eyes, and as Rainbow Dash collapsed as well, her own waterfall of tears joining Fluttershy’s.

Rainbow Dash immediately felt regret for what she had said, and Peter helped pile on regret.

“Rainbow Dash, the both of you are victims,” he whispered. “If you should hate anyone, it should be your father. He cheated on your mother, drunk or not. Fluttershy and you are victims of this. Don’t make it any worse than it is. You say that your entire family died. But you still have her. She experienced just as much pain, if not more. Can you imagine how much guilt she must have felt, when she found out that her father had a wife and a foal? When she found out that she had practically been stealing him from you?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, and pulled herself off of Peter’s lap. She knew that her legs couldn’t support her.

“Here, let me help you, Rainbow Dash,” Peter said. Rainbow Dash waved him off.

“No,” she replied. “I need to do this on my own...”

As she dragged herself across the floor, she noticed how much pain Fluttershy was in. Not only physically, from when Rainbow Dash had hit her, but emotionally, from when Rainbow Dash had blamed her – Fluttershy, her best friend – for ruining her life.

As soon as Rainbow Dash reached the yellow Pegasus, she placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” Fluttershy spat. Rainbow Dash ignored it, and dragged herself, and Fluttershy into a hug.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash whispered through sobs. “I’m so sorry...it’s not your fault, it’s my father’s. You’re just a victim of this...”

Peter started to cry, gently. He could feel all of Rainbow Dash’s pain.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy sobbed, “I’m sorry, too...”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and said something that immediately gave them the strength to look each other in the eye.

“Fluttershy, I...I accept you as my half-sister.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, inwardly, at how oddly she had phrased it.

Fluttershy didn’t chuckle, at all. Rather, she managed to sit upright, and so did Rainbow Dash. They immediately hugged; their first real hug as sisters.

“I love you, Rainbow Dash. I always have...as a sister, of course. And I’ve always known this, and I’ve always been too afraid to tell you...”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed her newly realized sister on the cheek. “I love you too, Fluttershy.”

Peter smiled, and joined the hug. “I guess we’re all gonna be family now, huh?”

Fluttershy chuckled. “Yeah, I guess...”

Peter smiled, and ruffled his (soon to be) half-sister-in-law’s pink mane.

“When you two are ready, let’s go tell everypony, okay?”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed him on the cheek, but immediately pulled back, smiling.

“Peter, are you crying?”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash. I am.”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and nuzzled him on the neck. “Cool.”

Peter smiled, but Fluttershy frowned. “What am I going to do about Pinkie Pie?”

Peter pulled back from the hug, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“She told me that she loves me, and all I said was, ‘I’m sorry’, because I’m not attracted to mares. I think she went to sleep...”

Peter nodded. “I’ll try talking to her, later. For now, let’s just let her sleep.”

Fluttershy nodded, and the three of them stood, wiping tears away with arms and legs.

Peter pulled back the sound proof membrane, and Rainbow Dash put an arm around Fluttershy.

“Are you ready, Fluttershy? You sure you don’t want that free kick?”

Fluttershy smiled, her chest still hurting a bit from when Rainbow Dash had hit her. “No, Rainbow Dash, it’s fine. I could go for another hug, though...”

The cyan Pegasus smiled, and instantly drew Fluttershy into a hug. “We’re gunna have to hang out a lot, Fluttershy...” Rainbow Dash commented, glad that she and Fluttershy were friends again.

Fluttershy smiled. “Yep, we are...”

Peter smiled as well. “You guys wanna stay here, and I’ll get everypony?”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash smiled at each other, Rainbow Dash protectively holding Fluttershy against her heart, trying desperately to make up for her outbursts, and not being there for Fluttershy with her insane mother.

Rainbow Dash nodded, not wanting to let go of Fluttershy as she remembered what the yellow Pegasus had told her.

I still can’t believe that her mother would try to kill all of Fluttershy’s pets...I had it way better off, even when my mother turned to alcoholism...

Rainbow Dash kissed Fluttershy on the forehead. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy...”

The yellow Pegasus smiled, and nuzzled Rainbow Dash’s cyan chest. “It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. We’re sisters now, and we both know it...”

Rainbow Dash smiled, stroking Fluttershy’s mane. “No, Fluttershy,” she whispered. “We’ve always been sisters...and with Celestia as my witness, I swear that I’ll make up for every year I haven’t been there for you, every time your mother’s had a fit and I haven’t been there to hold you...”

Fluttershy giggled in ecstasy, rubbing her cheek against Rainbow Dash.

“Uh, Ah don’t get it. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are huggin’? What’s so special about that?”

Rainbow Dash looked up to see Peter, with everypony (but Pinkie Pie) behind him.

“It’s not because they’re hugging,” Peter said, “it’s why they’re hugging.” He nodded to Rainbow Dash as he spoke, leaning against the synthetic bark of the arched entry.

“Everypony,” Rainbow Dash said, swallowing back tears, “Fluttershy and I are sisters.”

Everypony there gasped, and looked between each other.

“But, how?” Applejack asked, obviously rather envious that they had their sisters with them.

“My dad...he cheated on my mom, with Fluttershy’s mom. Fluttershy’s mom was a bit...out there, and when she found out that my dad was married, and had a foal – meaning me – she poisoned him, and blamed it on food poisoning.

“When my mother found out about it, she turned to alcoholism. And, because my dad cheated, we’ve both suffered...” Rainbow Dash kissed her little sister on the forehead. “What’s really bad about it, is that he cheated on my mom two years after I was born...”

So, Fluttershy’s twenty... Peter mused, smiling at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“Oh, Peter! I see that your back is better!” Twilight shouted, as Peter had shocked her with the declaration of “important news, follow me everypony.”

The human simply looked at Twilight. “Ya don’t say?”

Twilight pouted. “I was just trying to – Rarity?”

Peter looked around Twilight, to see that Rarity was sobbing in Spike’s arms.

“This is…so…so beautiful! The reuniting of sisters after years…this is amazing!”

Rainbow Dash smiled.

“Alright, Ah’m goin’ in for a group hug!”

The smile broadened, as everypony gathered around the hugging sisters, and wrapped their arms/forelegs around the pair, each of them smiling as wide as possible.

Peter was the first to back out, as he had just seen, out of the corner of his eye, a pink tail dart back into the frosting-coated archway, and slip behind the glazed membrane.

“I have to go talk to Pinkie Pie,” Peter said, matter-of-factly, so as to not raise suspicions. “Be right back...”

With a nod to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Peter walked through the large oval that made up the train, finally taking note of how it was shaped.

In the center of the oval was an oval table, with eight cushions surrounding it. Of course, the table was in splinters.

Facing the table in the center, were seven large archways, each with their own spectacular and unique design. Between two of the archways was a large space, in which the door frame was bolted in. Directly across from the large door, a large window spanned the wall, with a couch right underneath it. Above the table, were three hammocks, (one of them torn to shreds by Pinkie’s earlier…tailsplosion,) and a large sunroof.

Peter stopped for a second, and looked at each of the archways in turn.

Fluttershy’s compartment had two fake, oak trees, whose branches formed a synthetic bark archway. Her compartment was curved, and to the left of the door.

To the left of the bark archway, was a mahogany archway, which looked like the entry to a rustic library, which was obviously Twilight’s compartment.

To the left, once more, was an archway with elegant, round, purple columns, sprouting from a white base, leading up to an elegant white archway, which Peter immediately decided was Rarity’s compartment, which was also curved, and stopped at the large window.

Only three compartments were on the left side, (when facing the door,) and Twilight’s was (predictably) the largest, as it held a small library inside of it. To the left, four compartments spanned the wall.

The first, left from the window, had a tree archway as well, only these trees bore the bark of apple trees, not oak. The leaves bore four plastic apples, each a different color. Peter decided that it was Applejacks’, as he had been in it before, and knew that it was a curved compartment as well.

To the left of it, were two columns made of simple wood, and a simple wooden archway. Peter guessed that it was his compartment, even though he had never been in it.

Once more, to the left, were two pillars that resembled cloud, with a cloud archway. Peter knew, without even studying it, that it was Rainbow Dash’s.

Finally, to the right of the door, and the left of Rainbow Dash’s compartment, stood Pinkie Pie’s compartment, the archway and columns covered in frosting. The membrane was pulled shut, and it seemed to be made of chocolate.

Peter carefully pulled back the membrane, only so much, and slipped inside. The kitchen was devoid of a stove, and a Pinkie Pie, so Peter assumed she was back in bed.

He tip-toed over to the bed, to find Pinkie Pie sobbing, on her side, her mane and tail totally flat. Peter sat on the edge of the bed, and waited patiently for the distressed pink pony to address him.

After several moments, silent except for Pinkie Pie’s sobs, the pink pony spoke up, in a small voice.

“I told her that I love her, Peter...and she just said ‘I’m sorry’...”

Peter lay a hand on her side. “Come on, sit up.” Pinkie Pie sat up, and gratefully accepted the hug. “Fluttershy feels horrible about that, you know,” he whispered, rubbing her back as he spoke. “She feels like she’s a horrible friend.”

Pinkie Pie dug into Peter with her hooves, but Peter didn’t mind. Anything to help a friend.

“Peter, I told her that I love her. She didn’t even give me a chance...”

Peter rubbed Pinkie Pie’s back, and took a deep breath.

“Pinkie,” he started, “sometimes, your heart will get broken. And when it does, you just have to push on, and find somepony else.”

Pinkie Pie pushed him off of herself, ire in her irises. “Peter, you think this is a joke? That I can just push past this? I love her. I can’t let go of that love, and I’ve always known it. I’ve loved her for two years now, Peter, two years. It’s not like I had a random crush and told her, no, I’ve been in love with her for two years, okay!?”

Peter released her from the hug, and ran a hand through his hair. He took a deep breath, before putting all of his Brooklyn ‘no-nonsense’ mask into what he said next.

“Well,” he said, “What do you want me to tell you? That loving her for two years will make her love you back? That telling her this will make it hurt less? Pinkie Pie, you have to move on. You will find somepony new, hell, that somepony might be on this very train!”

Pinkie only cried harder. “But who!?”

Just then, Twilight walked into the compartment, lighting the darkness with her horn. When Peter saw her nod, Peter patted Pinkie on the back, and stood. Twilight immediately took over, wrapping a blanket around the pink party pony.

She’s obviously much better at this than I am...

Peter slipped out of the membrane, and Twilight started to slowly comfort Pinkie Pie.

Twilight simply sat by the pink pony, and held her close to her side, waiting for the tears to slow. When the tears had finally slowed, (but not stopped,) Twilight took a deep breath.

“Fluttershy told me what happened,” she said, softly.

Pinkie Pie nodded, whimpering as Twilight held her.

“It’s just...I guess I’m scared, because...because, I don’t know why I like her...I mean, I know why, just not...why!”

Twilight nodded. “I understand, Pinkie. You know what you like, or even love, about her, but you don’t know why you like mares,” Twilight softly stated. She gulped, and picked her next words with care.

“But you have to let her go, Pinkie. You will find somepony special, somepony new. We’re going to be in Las Haygas, and you could-”

Pinkie Pie sat up, and turned her back on Twilight. “No. I can’t. Only Fluttershy...I love her, Twilight.”

She sighed, and ran a hoof through her flat hair. “I don’t expect you to understand...”

Twilight shook her head. “I understand. I love Spike, as my son, and he-”

“That’s different. That love...is normal. This love, though,” she spat out, raising her hooves to her face, “this love is weird. It’s different. It doesn’t make any sense! I can never be with her, ever! Never, ever, ever! And I know she doesn’t like mares! I can never be with her, and I can never kiss her on the forehead without it being weird, without it being some sign of love!”

The pink party pony started sobbing, and, just as Twilight reached a hoof towards her, Pinkie Pie regressed deeper into her depression. “Just, leave me alone. I just need time to think...”

Twilight nodded, whispering a small “okay”.

“Call me if you need anything,” she called over her back, slipping between the sugar-coated column and the chocolate membrane.

She looked around the room. Spike and Rarity were making out in Rarity’s compartment, Peter and-

Twilight’s eyes contracted to slits.

What.

The lavender unicorn fought hard not to break the moment.

She has her tongue down my son’s throat...

Twilight forced back a twitch. It wouldn’t do to have a mental breakdown, not with Pinkie Pie in this state...

She forced her gaze away from Spike and Rarity, to Peter, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, who were all sitting together in Fluttershy’s compartment. Twilight walked over, and sighed.

“Pinkie Pie’s not doing too good...Fluttershy, I think you should talk to her.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, Twilight. I refuse to.”

Twilight shook her head as well. “Come on, Fluttershy, there’s no reason to be afraid...”

The yellow Pegasus sat straight up on the bed. “I’m not afraid,” she said, with a small air of authority. “I simply do not want to talk to her.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “But how else will she get better?”

“By moving on. She needs to understand that I am not into mares.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Then tell her that, Fluttershy!”

“No. I don’t want to give her the impression that I might turn around, because then I’d just break her heart more...”

Peter sighed from beside Fluttershy. “Well, shit...”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “What now, Peter?”

“This vacation just got a whole lot more awkward.”

Twilight blinked. Oh, Celestia...

The awkward moments, where Pinkie and Fluttershy might just enjoy themselves...

“Buck!” The lavender unicorn shouted, stalking off to her compartment.

“Uh, excuse me? I was just making a joke!”

Twilight shook her head, and shot Peter a glance of ire. “Peter, I’m going to have to sit through the awkward now. Thanks a lot.”

Peter frowned at her. “Well, we’ve all got to sit through it, so fuck you!”

Twilight shut her eyes tight.

“Ow!”

She smiled, and walked into her compartment.

You tell him, A.J…

“Okay, I’ll admit...that was a bit uncalled for...”

Applejack nodded with a small *hmph*.

“But did you really have to hit me? It hurt like shit...”

Applejack smiled down at Peter, who was rubbing his head, feeling a bump already forming. Rainbow Dash finally lost her grip, and let out a small snicker.

“And what are you laughing at?”

The cyan Pegasus gave a final chuckle, and rested her head on Peter’s shoulder. “Oh, nothing...”

Peter smiled, and put an arm around her. “Yeah, sure...”

Just then, Rarity and Spike appeared. “You two, out. Shoo!”

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, then looked back to Spike and Rarity, the latter of whom was attempting to wave them away.

“Uh...why?”

“We need to talk, and you two can’t be in here! I am sorry, but you will have to move!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and sandwiched Peter’s hand in between her hooves. “Well, come on, Peter...let’s go check out my compartment, huh?”

Peter shrugged. “Fine by me...”

As Peter and Rainbow Dash walked away, Rarity sat on the bed, and Spike pulled the sound proof membrane closed.

“Now, as all of us know, Peter proposed to Rainbow Dash earlier this week!” She announced, looking around at the ponies before her. Suddenly, the absence of Twilight became apparent to her. “Uh, Applejack,” she said, “would you be a dear and go get Twilight Sparkle for me?”

The orange work pony nodded, and left.

“Well, I cannot give my speech without all present and accounting for! We shall wait until Twilight’s arrival!”

At that moment, Applejack slipped back into the compartment, Twilight in tow.

“Sit down, Twilight,” Rarity commanded, sitting up tall, back in command. Just as she should. “As we all know, Peter proposed to Rainbow Dash earlier this week,” she said, with an air of self-assumed importance. “Now, we must buy the both of them some gifts! Ideas, please? Anypony? Ideas?”

Applejack tentatively raised a hoof, but Rarity ignored it.

“Well, I had an idea,” the elegant unicorn announced, Applejack putting her hoof back down with a *humph*. “First off, we should buy foal material for the both of them! A cradle, diapers, everything they need to take care of their bundle of joy!”

Rarity closed her eyes, and basked in the light of her idea. “Yes, and extravagant dresses – which I shall provide – and a rather large piece of real estate, right off the Las Haygas beachfront!”

“Uh, Rarity?” Twilight said. However, the words fell on deaf ears.

“And a bouquet of flowers, no, a whole orchard! And signed Wonderbolt images, furniture for the house I shall buy them...”

“Rarity, let’s not buy the beachfront real estate...”

The music in Rarity’s mind stopped. “I’m sorry, what did you say, Twilight?”

The lavender unicorn sighed. “We shouldn’t get them real estate. And we shouldn’t get them any things for foal, that can wait for the Foal Shower.”

Rarity crossed her arms with a small *humph*. “Well, then, what should we get them?”

“A dowry,” Fluttershy suggested. “I mean, she is my sister...I can chip in for that...”

Rarity shook her head. “Oh, don’t be silly, dear. Rainbow Dash lives in a mansion in the clouds! I believe that’s enough.”

“Yeah, but Peter ain’t a Pegasus,” Applejack pointed out, rather helpfully. “He can’t stand on the clouds. He wouldn’t be able t’ live wit’ Rainbow Dash.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Fine, then. Any bright ideas, cowmare?”

Applejack frowned. “As a matter of fact, yes, y’ stuck up...

“Anyway, Ah think we should get them a house. A nice house, down on the ground in Ponyville. That could be the dowry.”

Rarity gasped. “And we can decorate the house, and put beautiful furniture in it, and make sure their foal can have a wonderful life!”

Applejack rolled her eyes, yet smiled nonetheless. “Yeah, mah thoughts exactly!”

Fluttershy chipped in. “Uh...excuse me? How would we afford a house?”

Just then, Spike finally spoke up. “Twilight’s the personal protégé of Princess Celestia. I’m pretty sure we can work something out.”

Twilight let loose a small sound of irritation. “Spike, I thought I taught you better than to use ponies and your connections with them!”

The dragon shrugged. “What? It’s just a wedding gift!”

Twilight sighed. “I guess...I dunno. I think we should, perhaps, wait to be in Ponyville before we buy anything.”

Applejack nodded. “Yep. Then, we can go house huntin’!”

Rarity nodded, and raised a hoof to her chin in thought. “Hmmm...but what can we get them, as a wedding gift...”

“A wedding?”

Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, and Spike all simply stared at Fluttershy.

“No shit, Fluttershy,” Spike muttered, under his breath.

“Uh, Fluttershy, dear,” Rarity said, waving a hoof in front of the yellow Pegasus’ face. “They’re already getting married, remember?”

“Yes, but we can make it a beautiful wedding. Perhaps...a giant cake? Like, a really giant cake?”

Rarity smiled with delight. “Ah, Fluttershy you’re a genius! Pinkie Pie! Pinkie Pie?”

The compartment fell silent, and Rarity blushed. “Oh...right...”

All of them let out a large sigh. “Ah just hope she can get back to her normal self...Or, as Peter said...”

“This is going to be one awkward vacation,” Twilight muttered, finishing Applejack’s sentence.

“Well, Ah need mah sleep,” Applejack said, stretching and yawning as she did so. “If any of y’all have an idea for a weddin’ gift, don’t wake me. Just tell me in the morn’, ‘k? G’night, everypony!”

And with that, Applejack left.

“I need my sleep too, so...if you guys could just...yeah...”

Rarity smiled at Fluttershy, and climbed down from her bed. “Go right ahead.”

“By the way, I just had an idea for a wedding gift...if that’s okay with you...” Fluttershy whispered. Rarity nodded, and pressed her ear up to Fluttershy’s mouth, so as to catch the whispers.

“Synthetic clouds. For her home in Cloudsdale. Without them, Peter would just fall right through the clouds...”

Rarity nodded, and departed. “Come, Twilight. Fluttershy must have her sleep, and doubtless you must, too. Come, Spike.”

Spike nodded, and Twilight went to her compartment as well, leaving Fluttershy in the dark, with her comfortable bed, and Peter’s iPod, Kindle, and headphones, which she simply put on her night table, before climbing into bed.

Within a few minutes, Fluttershy was curling up on her bed, sound asleep, a single word resonating through her mind.

Sisters...

Peter stroked Rainbow Dash’s mane, running his fingers through the rainbow fibers, the cloud membrane blocking out the sound, and light, of the rest of the train.

“I love you, Rainbow Dash...” he whispered into her ear, wrapping an arm around her.

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed Peter, straight on the lips. “I love you, too, Peter.”

Peter smiled, and pressed himself as close to Rainbow Dash as possible, her wings tightening around him.

“Another day of the ritual,” he whispered. “And to think, I was dead, and now, we’re doing the ritual again...it truly is a blessing”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, and adjusted her weight on the bed. “Peter, have I ever told you what I really think of you? Like, what I saw in the hospital?”

Peter smiled. “That it’s different, but in a good way?”

“But there’s more than that...”

Peter cocked his head in curiosity. “Do tell.”

“I think you’re amazing, Peter. And, quite honestly...you’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. You love me for who I am, which is something I never thought anypony would do...”

Peter smiled, and cupped her muzzle in his palm. “And I think you’re beautiful, Rainbow Dash. In every sense of the word...”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, and rubbed her cheek against the soft pillow, made of cloud.

“So, how do you like the bed, Peter?”

“I have no idea how I’m staying on top of it, but it’s awesome, nonetheless.”

Rainbow Dash giggled, and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m glad you like it...I think it’s a synthetic cloud, by the way. They’re very common nowadays. I’m thinking of getting some for my house, up in Cloudsdale, so that you can live in it with me, and the foal, if it’s not a Pegasus. But they’re really expensive...”

Peter shrugged, and was about to answer when Twilight burst into the compartment, immediately thrusting a paper, quill, and oil reserve into Rainbow Dash’s face, poking her in the eye with the feather in the process.

“Ow!”

“Sorry. We need to write the apology letter. And ask for a new table.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, a hoof pressed to her eye as she took the quill, and wrote out her part of the letter.

“Your turn, Twilight.”

“Okay, thanks, bye!”

And with that, Twilight left, scribbling stuff down on the paper.

As soon as the membrane closed, Peter burst out laughing.

“What in the hell was that!?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged, the pain in her eye receding. “Just Twilight being Twilight...well, I’m pretty tired, Peter. Let’s go to sleep...”

Peter nodded, and Rainbow Dash returned her wings to their rightful spots-around Peter’s body. They curled up together, Peter preening her wing as they lie there.

Within a half hour, the both of them had fallen asleep.

The lavender unicorn wearily reviewed the letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m sorry for cursing you out, please don’t smite me.

Sincerely, Rainbow Dash.

P.S. (from Twilight):

I am sorry for refuting you as my mentor, but I was lost in the moment.

On another note, can you lend me a book titled "Souls and Their Paths", by Starswirl the Bearded? It's strictly as a reference book.

Also, we need a new table. Don’t question it, this day has been...Weird.

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight shook her head, and scratched out the “(from Twilight)” bit. Redundancy was one of her pet peeves, of course.

When she was pleased with the letter, she walked over to Rarity’s compartment, pushing aside the fancy, velvet membrane.

“Spike, send this, please.”

“Sure thing, Twilight...”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Oh! You’re awake!”

“Yeah, but Rarity isn’t, so keep it down, okay? I don’t need to sleep that much anymore. I’m barely ever tired,” he explained, his arm snaking through Rarity’s forelegs, his claw resting on her muzzle. Twilight nodded, and gave him the letter, and left with a groggy “good night,” smiling as the trail of smoke left the train.

As soon as she was back in her compartment, Twilight pulled the membrane shut, collapsed on her bed, and passed out.

It had been a long, long, longlonglonglonglonglong day.

A LONG FUCKING DAY.

I’m serious, this took forever to write.

But I still love you guyz.

As friends.

I think.

Maybe as rivals.

Or maybe even as...

FRIVALS.

BTW originally it was Twi x A.J., but I scrapped that. I don’t like the idea of it.

Also, do you see now why I had to make the previous vacation styles script chapters? It's just too damn confusing!