Rarity was distinctly aware of a burning in her chest. Semi-conscious, she existed in a state that was not quite awake and alert but also definitely not the nothingness of oblivion. Was this to be her eternity? Forced to be trapped within her own mind with no chance of escape? "Of all the worst possible things, this is the worst possible thing!"

"No, the worst possible thing would've been if I hadn't caught you when I did."

Rarity knew that raspy feminine voice. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Oh good, you remember me. I was afraid your memory had been damaged at some point. Along with the rest of your brain."

"Now, now, Rainbow Dash. It's not very nice to call somepony brain damaged. Now, what precisely happened? Why is my chest sore? Why can't I see anything?"

"Your chest is sore because that's what happens when somepony crashes into you at near-supersonic speeds."

"Darling, you really need to learn to slow down..."

"If I had slowed down you'd be very, very dead right now. Had I hesitated for even a fraction of a second..." Rainbow choked on her words and trailed off. "We may not see eye to a lot of the time but...I don't want to lose you. None of us do."

Bits and pieces of memories were coming back to Rarity. "Oh...oh dear."

"'Oh dear' is right. Where do you get off doing something that stupid?"

"Now Rainbow, there's no need for that tone..."

"The hay there isn't. I'm mad at you, Rares. Madder than I've ever been at anypony in my life. As for why you can't see, I took the liberty of tying you up and blindfolding you with some fabric. Just so you can't do anything else stupid until I make sure you're okay. Now answer my question!" She reared and stomped her front hooves into the floorboards. "Where do you get off doing something this incredibly stupid?"

"Filthy Rich has taken everything from me. My business, my home, and even my dignity. I have...nothing left."

"You have your family. You have your friends."

"Well, yes, of course I do. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say you all have me. A horrible burden, leaching off of your hard-earned bits. No, darling, it would've been much better for all of us if you'd have just let me finish what I started."

"Don't you dare try claiming you did this for us. There's nothing generous about suicide, Rares." Rainbow poked Rarity in the chest. "It's the single most selfish thing you or anypony else could ever do."

"Ouch, I'm still sore there, thank you very much."

"Good, pain means you're still alive." She poked her friend in the chest yet again. "Your sorry flank is mine now. I own you."

"I belong to myself, thank you very much."

"Not any more, you don't. There's an obscure pegasi law based on an old code from our warmongering days. If a pegasus comes across a pony about to commit suicide and manages to prevent it from happening, that pegasus is entitled to claim the would-be victim as their own property. The reasoning being that the pony in question forfeited the rights to their own life when they attempted to end it. Since you saw no value in your own life, it's now up to me to give you some purpose...by serving me. As you can guess it really cut down on unnecessary suicides back in the day as indentured servitude tended to be a fate worse than death."

"I get the feeling I'm not going to like where this conversation is going..."

"Oh, I know you aren't. The only reason your head is still attached to the rest of your body is because I've been following you the last few days. I knew something was wrong when you gave me that dress and hinted I might have need to wear it soon."

"Perhaps I was a bit obvious, but considering the audience I thought that would be subtle enough to slip right over your head."

"Speaking of heads, I'm no Twilight Sparkle, but even I know that at the height you jumped from the force of your body hitting the rope would've taken your head clear off."

Rarity sighed. "That was the point, Rainbow dear. I wanted to ensure that the ordeal was over as quickly as possible. I certainly didn't want to linger for half an hour, struggling for breath. I considered overdosing on sleeping pills or slitting my throat but I didn't want to accidently fail or stop halfway because it was too painful. I've failed quite enough in my life, thank you very much. And I admit, I rather like the idea of Carousel Boutique being forever tainted with my blood so nopony would ever want to buy it. This place is a part of me, and I don't want somepony just moving in and destroying my legacy."

"So you'd rather destroy your own legacy instead."

"Not necessarily. By dying so young and tragically, before reaching my full potential, my existing designs would no doubt appreciate in value."

"I know you're a very prissy pony, Rarity, and I know how barbaric you think I am. I just want it noted that for the record I'm resisting the urge to beat the stupid out of you. But only just barely. Every time you open your mouth you tip the scale the other way. So choose your next words carefully before you speak them because the weight's shifted towards the middle."

"Fine then. I don't suppose there's any chance you'd be willing to release me and forget this silly ownership business? After all, slavery is quite illegal."

"Sure thing, Rarity. The other option is I blab this to Twilight, the mayor, and everypony else in town and you get to spend some quality time in a mental health facility. But there's no way I'm letting you out of my sight unless you're supervised. I'm not taking any chances."

The blood that thanks to Rainbow Dash's intervention wasn't currently spilled all over the floor of Carousel Boutique, and instead was miraculously still flowing through Rarity's veins turned ice cold. Of course there would be consequences to this failed suicide attempt. "I'm not going to Shady Pine. And you can't tell anypony about this. Especially our friends."

"I'm glad to see you've decided to see reason. You'll be moving in with me and Scootaloo. That way if I'm not around the Squirt'll be there to keep an eye on you."

"You want one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to keep her eyes on moi?"

"Yeah, I know it's crazy. She's not my first choice but she's all I've got to work with so we're just going to have to roll with it."

"Oh Rainbow..." Rarity completely broke down in tears and buried her face in Rainbow Dash's shoulders. "Oh Rainbow, I can't believe I did that. But what else was I to do? I couldn't move back in with my parents and share a room with my little sister. At this age? How pathetic would that be? My life is over..."

Rainbow Dash had never been the most empathetic mare, but having been friends with Fluttershy since they were both fillies meant she at least had some experience at consoling distraught ponies. She patted the unicorn's back and stroked her hair, something she never would have dared to attempt just a day earlier. Rarity in turn buried her muzzle deeper into Rainbow's coat and continued pouring her heart out. Every failure in her life, big or small, real or perceived, was recited to the prismatic pegasus as the unicorn covered topics ranging from poorly-designed dresses she made as a filly to relationships that were shot down before they even had a chance to begin. Rainbow Dash just stood there, holding her friend and taking it all in. She was amazed at Rarity's ability to remember even the slightest details from events that had happened over a decade ago, while Rainbow herself often forgot what she'd eaten for lunch the previous day.

When Rarity finished crying herself out, Rainbow knew her better than any other pony could ever hope to. "C'mon, Rares, time to go home."

"But I am home, darling. For another few days anyway."

"No way. This place is poison for you. You need a complete change of environment, you need to be around other ponies who care about you. There's no way in Tartarus I'm leaving you alone. You're coming with me." Rarity offered only token resistance as Rainbow Dash scooped her up in her well-toned forelegs. "So strong, yet so gentle to the touch," Rarity mused. "Just like the pegasus herself," she decided.

*************************************************************

Minty swallowed the lump in her throat and knocked on the door.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! Where every treat is chic, unique, and magnifique! Oh wait, that's Carousel Boutique's tagline. Silly me."

"I'm cold, I'm hungry. Take me in."

"I think I'm going to have to check with the Cakes first..."

"Please Pinkie. I don't have anypony else to turn to. I can't keep a job more than three hours. I haven't eaten anything other than grass in over a week. I got evicted yesterday and spent last night sleeping on the pile of trash bags that contains everything in the world I hold dear."

Pinkie dropped her voice to a whisper. "There's no room here. Between the Cakes, their twins, and me Sugarcube Corner is full."

"I could always share a room with you. I don't take up much space..."

"I've seen your sock collection, Minty."

"Oh yeah..."

"Look, I'm not going to leave you homeless. I mean I know everypony in town, so I can easily find you a place to crash until you get back on your hooves. Probably literally, knowing you!" Both ponies giggled at Pinkie's joke. "In the meantime, why don't you come in and get cleaned up. You've, uh, well, to be perfectly honest you've looked better."

"Yeah, well, to be honest I've felt better, too."

Pinkie led the way to the upstairs bathroom, and then returned to the kitchen to explain the situation to her employer/landlords while Minty let the relaxing warm water wash away the dirt caked onto her flank.

"Minty? Isn't that the mare who destroyed the school?" asked Mrs. Cake.

"And almost burned down Carousel Boutique?" added Mr. Cake.

"Well, yes. That's her. But she's one of my best friends and somepony's got to watch out for her."

"More like everypony needs to watch out for her... and stay as far away as possible to avoid becoming collateral damage."

Drips of water started splattering around the kitchen. "Hehe, I, um, I'll be right back," Pinkie said, as she flashed the Cakes her most confident smile. She dashed up the stairs and splashed her way into the bathroom. "What's going on?"

"Sorry Pinkie Pie! I was just sitting in this super relaxing tub and I fell asleep and the water was still running and um, I may have flooded the bathroom...and the hallway."

"Minty, Minty, Minty." Pinkie shook her head.

"I know, I know, I know."

Pinkie shut the water off and the two friends mopped up the overflow as best they could. Once they were done Pinkie insisted Minty meet the Cakes. "Be on your best behavior because they're the ones who get to decide if you can stay here or not."

"Got it."

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake, this is my friend, Minty. Minty, these are my employers and landlords, Dazzle Cake and Carrot Cake."

"Pleased to meet you!"

"Um, likewise," Mrs. Cake replied. "Pinkie was explaining your situation to us. We'd be happy to let you stay here..."

"Thank you both so very much!"

"...But only for the night. Think of it as, um, a sleepover."

"Oh." Minty's face fell. "Thank you."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run the twins over to my in-laws."

"But don't they live in Manehattan, Mr. Cake?"

"That's why I've got to leave now if I want to make it back home before midnight. But the only way we're agreeing to this is if they're outside the potential blast radius."

*************************************************************

Diamond Tiara was in pain. She opened her eyes. It was the almost four in the morning but she couldn't sleep. At the moment she was lucky to get twenty-five minutes of sleep at a time due to the pain. Making matters worse the doctors had told her she would likely be living with at least some of this pain for the rest of her life. She wouldn't even be able to walk again until she healed enough to start undergoing physical therapy. That would be a months-long process and she'd have to learn how to use her legs all over again. She wasn't looking forward to it, but at the same time she was desperate to walk, run, and do all the things she used to do. Staring at the same things every day was giving her a bad case of cabin fever. The eggshell white walls, minimum décor, and medical equipment made for a very depressing environment. Sterilized white and stainless steel. There was only word that summed it all up: dull. And the infernal beeping of those stupid machines was driving her almost out of her mind. If she had the ability to move they'd have been ripped apart long before now and thrown out the window.

Silver Spoon, was of course, still asleep at this hour. Her injuries were healing at a reasonable rate and it wouldn't be much longer before she was released from the hospital. That was another depressing thought, as long as Silver Spoon was still recovering she at least had a friend to talk to. Her father was doing the best he could, spending as much time with her as he could while still meeting his business obligations. He'd taken to sleeping in the chair next to her bed instead of going home. That he chose to rest close to her in a folding chair instead of the pillow-top mattress that he'd paid several thousand bits for meant a lot to her. Her daddy loved her. Even after everything she'd done.

Movement caught her attention. "Dad? Are you awake?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't wake me. Boop. Beep. Boop. Beep. It's hard to sleep in here."

"Those machines are monitoring you, making sure that everything's all right."

"I don't care, I can't sleep with them making these noises all night. Not that it matters. I'm in so much pain that if I so much as twitch it shoots waves of pain through my whole body."

"I'll check with your doctor about getting you stronger painkillers, pumpkin."

"Thanks, Dad. So what are you doing up at this hour, anyway?"

"I have a little errand to run."

"At four in the morning?"

"There was a bit of a delay with my supplier, but I finally got what I've been waiting for. Remember what those bad Apples did to you? Well, I'm making sure that all their apples are bad from now on." He held up a jar.

With the limited light Diamond Tiara couldn't quite make out what was inside. But she could see a changing pattern.

"Aphids. Hundreds of thousands of aphids. They'll destroy the orchard and put the Apples out of business permanently."

"You can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I've forgiven them. I've... I've had a lot of time to think about things. My fall was an accident, and I'm as much to blame for it happening as they are. They don't deserve your hate."

Filthy Rich leaned over the bed and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "I'm so proud of you, honey. That's why you're my little princess. You're already a much better pony than I'll ever be. Maybe someday when you're a parent yourself you'll understand why I've got to do this. But hopefully you'll never need to relate to this. Now I've got to get going or the Apples will be awake by the time I get there. You know how farmers are about getting up with the chickens."

*************************************************************

It was half past nine and Sweet Stuff was still in bed. With the police department short-staffed after Minty was removed from the force, this was the first day off she'd had in almost two weeks. It certainly didn't help that Ponyville was in the midst of the worst crime spree to ever hit the town. For a town that was used to only one major crime every three years or so, the last two months had provided them an entire decade's worth. She hoped with all her heart that this was a fluke and not indicative of a new trend.

Knock, knock, knock-knock-knock-knock-knock. She groaned. That was definitely Pinkie Pie's impatient knock. She debated her options. Option one: stay in bed, pretend she didn't hear it, and hope the persistent mare eventually grew bored and wandered off, or option two: answer the door, frazzled, and hope that Pinkie made it as short as possible.

"Hiyas!"

Sweet Stuff pulled the blanket over her head. Or she could take option three: spend so much debating options that Pinkie Pie decides to let herself in. "Um, hi Pinkie. What are you doing in my house?"

"Oh, I just had some questions for you. Is this a bad time?"

"Yes."

"Are you aware that it's after nine and you're still in bed?"

"Yes."

"Can Minty move in with you temporarily?"

"Yes. Wait, what?"

"Thank you so very much, Sweet Stuff!" Minty jumped onto the blue mare's bed and embraced her through the blanket. "You won't regret this. Well, hopefully not much, anyways. I mean, I am pretty accident prone, but I'll be like totally extra special careful! It'll be just like old times when we were both on the force together! Won't that be fun?"

Sweet Stuff slid the covers off her as she wracked her brain for an escape route. As an ex-cop, Minty living with her could prove problematic. "But wouldn't you living with me create a potential conflict of interest?"

"Nah! Socks are interesting and as long as you don't try to steal them from me, there won't be any conflicts. Got any snacks?"

"You're totally reading my mind, Mints! I'm like starved and junk too! It's been eight whole minutes since breakfast." Pinkie bounced in place, thinking about all the sugary concoctions she wanted to munch on.

"You don't mind if we raid your fridge, do you? No? Thanks!" Minty bounded out of the room, Pinkie right behind her.

Sweet Stuff pulled the covers back over her head. It was too early in the morning to be dealing with this.

*************************************************************

Angel stood guard, waiting for his rivals to come back to their base of operations. Nobunny made a fool out of Angel Bunny and lived to tell about it. There was no sign of any of the slave laborers, or as Fluttershy preferred to call them, 'the nice Apple family that lives up the lane'." He rolled his eyes and gagged at that thought as he grabbed an apple to munch on while he waited.

Much to his irritation, the paintings weren't inside the clubhouse. Wherever they were stashed, the Crusaders had done a good job of hiding them. There was always the possibility that they were storing them in one of their homes. The two Apple brats were out, the Apple family was close-knit and he doubted there was any privacy in their farmhouse. Sweetie Belle's house was possible, Opal had droned on more than once about how dumb Rarity and Sweetie Belle's parents were. But Scootaloo seemed the logical choice. Rainbow Dash wasn't exactly the most responsible pony out there, and how she'd ever convinced anypony to let her actually adopt Scootaloo was a mystery to the rabbit. Probably because there weren't any other volunteers.

As Angel waited he heard the leaves rustle behind him. As sharp teeth snapped towards him he balled his paw and swung at the offending predator. A red fox spat out two teeth and cocked his head, looking at the rabbit. He slowly backed away from Angel but the bunny had no intention of living up to his ironic name and fell upon the careless vulpine. After beating the fox to within an inch of its life Angel offered it a choice: join up with his woodland mob or die. The fox chose life and one of Angel's lackeys escorted the injured woodland creature to Fluttershy's cottage for medical attention.

Finally, after hours of waiting the Cutie Mark Crusaders emerged from the apple orchard and climbed into the clubhouse. Angel grinned. It was finally show time. Harry, a bear living in the Everfree forest and a frequent visitor to Fluttershy's cottage, silently climbed towards the treehouse. With a mighty roar he lashed out with his muscular paws and started ripping the Crusaders' clubhouse to shreds.

"What the hay?" Babs poked her snout out the window and nearly had her head ripped off by the swipe of the bear's paw. "Yeow!" She quickly withdrew back inside the rapidly disintegrating clubhouse. "There's a bear attacking us. We need to get out of here. Now!"

"How do you propose we do that? It already took out the ladder!" Scootaloo opened the trapdoor and surveyed the damage.

"I don't know! It's your clubhouse! Isn't there an emergency exit?"

"The ladder was the only way out. We're trapped!" Sweetie Belle started panicking. "I don't want to die!" she wailed.

"Babs, grab that rope. Scootaloo, open the window on the opposite side from where the bear's attacking. Sweetie Belle, please stop hyperventilating. We need to work together if we've got any hope of getting out of here..."

"What's the plan?"

"I want you to jump to that tree over there, Scootaloo. It's not too far so you should be able to glide over without too much difficulty. Then you tie this rope around that tree and the rest of us can escape using our old zip-line equipment."

The pegasus filly wasted no time. She grabbed the rope in her mouth and then leapt from the window. Her tiny wings unfurled and she aimed for the nearest tree. Just as she thought she was going to make it she started losing altitude. She flapped her wings for all they were worth and barely grabbed hold of a branch as she was passing under it. She climbed up, tied the rope around the trunk, and motioned for the others to join her.

"I hope this works better than our first time zip-lining," Sweetie Belle said as she pushed off from the clubhouse. Babs and Apple Bloom followed the unicorn filly. Much to their dismay, as they neared the halfway point a woodpecker landed on the line and started pecking it.

"Shoo!" Scootaloo tried to brush the bird off the line but it stayed just out of reach. The rope snapped and Scootlaoo could only watch helplessly as the three fillies plunged to the ground below. "Noooooooooooo!"

*************************************************************

Beads of sweat dripped down Cheerilee's face, stinging her eyes. Pulling a wagon laden with apples wasn't exactly what she meant when she promised Big Macintosh she'd do anything to repay his family's kindness. Earth ponies may be stronger than pegasi and unicorns, but Cheerilee was used to spending the bulk of her time behind a desk. She just couldn't keep pace with the farmers who did this on a daily basis. She stopped pulling to take a drink of water. Two things were for sure: she wasn't cut out for manual labor and she had a new appreciation for those ponies who were.

Big Mac and Applejack were poetry in motion. Applejack bucked, both hind legs simultaneously striking the tree behind her. She was rewarded by apples falling neatly into the baskets at the base of the tree. She made a mental note to ask exactly how the apples always landed in the buckets. Big Mac didn't even need to buck. With his strength, all he needed to do was nudge a tree with one leg and it was eager to shed as many apples as it could give. Bucking required precision and strength, which is why she had been left with pulling the wagon for them instead.

The Apples were so grateful for any help that they could get, and they were going above and beyond to take care of her while her home was rebuilt. They wouldn't even take money for boarding her because, as Applejack had put it, 'Kin or not, friend or foe, the Apples help ponies.' It struck a chord with her, especially since they were in dire need of aid themselves. She wanted to help them as best she could, but farm work wasn't her thing. Muscles she didn't even know she had were aching and begging for mercy.

She looked at the path behind her. It had taken her nearly half an hour just to go one hundred meters. And there was another forty or so to go until she reached the barn. Then she'd have to find an empty cart and repeat the process all over again. It was going to be a long day...

*************************************************************

Sweet Stuff hadn't dared to venture out of bed until well after noon. And that was only because the smoke detector was blaring. She ran down the stairs, and when she didn't see her living room ablaze she decided to risk it and poked her head into the kitchen instead of running out the front door to safety. Inside her kitchen Minty was waving smoke out the open windows.

"Minty? What are you doing?"

"Just airing the place out, hehe. You know how, uh, smoky these old houses get."

"This house was only built three years ago."

"Heh, the time really flies! Depreciation sets in early these days... Chocolate mint cupcake?" She offered the a tray filled with cupcakes to Sweet Stuff, who took one hesitantly.

Sweet Stuff examined the cupcake. It wasn't burnt, it hadn't been dyed green (though the mint frosting was definitely green), and it wasn't as hard as a brick. Surprisingly, it appeared to be edible. "Okay? What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing! Sheesh, why does everypony think I can't cook?"

"My smoke detector is still going off."

"Details, details... Just try it already!"

Sweet Stuff closed her eyes and nibbled the cupcake. The nibble turned to a bite, and seconds later the treat had been devoured entirely. "That really is good!"

"I can't believe you doubted me. I can bake."

"In that case, why is my kitchen filled with smoke?"

"Because I got distracted and left the second batch in too long, okay? I'm not perfect." Minty sat at the table and rested her head in her hooves. "I'm so far from perfect it hurts. Usually literally. Look, I'm sorry for getting your kitchen all smoky, I'm sorry for just barging in on you like this." She started crying. "I'm a mess. All I ever do is fail at things. I'm homeless, jobless, penniless, and everything else-less. I...I try so hard. I don't want to mess everything up. I can't help it that I'm a klutz. I can't help it that my IQ is only 64. I just... I just want to be like everypony else. I want to be useful. I want to be needed. I....want to be loved. Is that so wrong?"

Sweet Stuff patted Minty's foreleg, comfortingly. "Not at all, Minty. I think you try too hard to fit in that you lose track of your own talents."

"Like what? Sock collecting? That's not a talent, that's a hoarding problem."

"Well, for one, you just made some fantastic cupcakes." Sweet Stuff helped herself to another one.

"Yeah, but I can only do it if they've got mint as an ingredient." She pulled the second batch out of the oven for Sweet Stuff's examination. They weren't so much cupcakes as they were hockey pucks. "These were supposed to be chocolate chip. Apparently I can't mess up mints because of my cutie mark."

"But that's a talent. You could make mint cupcakes, mint toothpaste, mint well, mints."

"I already tried Sugarcube Corner. They wouldn't hire me."

"So mint cupcakes are out. What about toothpaste?"

"Minuette's Colgate brand is really popular. And it really is good, too. It would be hard to compete."

"So mints?"

"Yes?"

"No, I meant you could make mints."

"I tried that too. I worked at the Fillydelphia Mint for all of two days... Right up until I spilled an entire wagon full of shiny new bits all over the place. I think they're still finding them every time they clean the machinery..."

Sweet Stuff couldn't help giggling. "If nothing else, you're good at making other ponies laugh."

"You really think so?"

"You've got this self-deprecating sense of humor that's hard not to like. As long as you don't mind ponies laughing with you, at you, then yes, yes I do."

Minty flung her forelegs around Sweet Stuff in an embrace. "Oh, thank you so very much!"

*************************************************************

Babs Seed opened her eyes. Her blurred vision revealed they had landed on the dirt path leading to town. She groaned as memories of what had just happened came back to her. As she regained coherency she realized the farm was quiet. There was no roaring of a bear, and no splintering of wood. Something white hopped into her field of vision. As her eyes focused she could see a small white rabbit. "Beat it, bunny. I'm not a carrot."

Angel rolled his eyes and smacked the insolent pony. As Babs rubbed her cheek, the rabbit scanned the other Crusaders. The youngest Apple was there, but she was thick as a brick, not to mention just as unconscious, so there was no point wasting time on her. That left the magicless unicorn. He grinned maliciously as he approached the quivering filly.

"Please don't hurt me..." Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and whimpered.

The white pony with the useless horn was timid, fully aware of her inferiority in light of her new lapine master. Just the way Angel liked ponies. He stuck a foot out for the frightened pony to kiss, but with her eyes clenched shut she didn't see it. There was only one thing to do in this situation. He smacked her. It was much lighter than the smack he had given Babs, and much, much lighter than the many he had applied to that idiotic vulpine that thought he'd make a quick and easy meal. A slap light enough not to sting, but firm enough to ensure that the point got across – cooperate and things would go smoothly, act defiant and his paws were more than capable of delivering pain. Wise ponies, like the yellow one whom he graciously allowed to share his domicile in exchange for her domestic services, quickly learned to fear his paws of death. Sweetie Belle was the most reasonable of the trotting disaster zone known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Surely she would come around to his way of thinking. Just like Fluttershy had.

Sweetie opened her eyes to a white rabbit's foot in her face. She glanced up to see Angel Bunny glaring down at her. He puckered his lips and pointed to his foot. Sweetie sighed and kissed his foot. Angel rewarded her by nodding, and motioning for the bear holding her down to let her up. Babs and Apple Bloom remained restrained.

"You're Angel, right? Fluttershy's pet rabbit?"

Angel facepawed. Why did ponies have to be so stupid? Fluttershy was his pet pegasus pony, not vice-versa.

Sweetie Belle continued, nonplussed. "I'd recognize those cute little ears anywhere. And that adorable tail, and....that death glare." Sweetie Belle withered under Angel's gaze. "Tell me what you want," she whimpered.

Intelligence, something he had never dared to dream he would find amongst this rival mob. There might even be an open position for Sweetie Belle in his organization – he was always in need of good, well-disciplined lackeys, after all. Having one that could actually talk would be a big benefit. He started drawing pictures in the dirt for Sweetie's benefit.

"You want a pony?" Angel pointed to the frame around the pony. "You were framed by a pony?" Angel facepawed. "You want a picture of a pony?" The rabbit nodded. "I can get you a picture of my sister's latest crush. She keeps dozens of pictures in the little room that she doesn't let me into." Angel shook his head.

"He wants the pictures we stole from the train." Angel nodded affirmatively at Babs' comment.

"Oh! Well that works out perfectly then! We need somepony to post the pictures for us! Do you want to do it?"

"That's fence, Sweetie Belle. Fence the pictures, not post the pictures. And he doesn't want to fence them for us, he wants to steal them from us."

"Oh, well, that's not very nice."

Both Babs and Angel struck their foreheads at the same time. Angel turned his attention to the Manehattanite. She was obviously the brains of the outfit, perhaps she could be made to see reason with the right application of force. He hopped over to her and smacked her on the nose.

"When I get out of this I'm gonna feed you to Wynona!"

Angel shook his head and nodded towards the bear pinning her down. He lifted his leg in the air and slowly brought it back down. The bear nodded in understanding and started applying more pressure to Babs. The filly struggled for breath as the bear slowly crushed her.

"Let her go!" Scootaloo announced her attack as she leapt from the tree and onto the bear pinning her friends. The net effect was similar to that of a butterfly pummeling a mountain gorilla. The bear swatted her off easily and continued crushing Babs until Angel gave him the signal to stop.

As the pressure was lifted from her barrel Babs gasped and sucked in as much air as her lungs could take in. Once more Angel filled her vision and he pointed to the pictures and then pantomimed a crushing action.

"Spare me the dramatics," Babs wheezed. "I get it. You want the pictures or you'll crush me." Angel nodded and grinned. "We don't have them here. The clubhouse is...was too drafty and exposed to the elements. You'll have to let us go if you want us to retrieve them."

Angel pulled out a pocket watch and pointed to the 5. "Five o'clock." Babs looked to the darkening sky. "It's already past that, so I presume you mean tomorrow afternoon?" Angel nodded his head. "Where are we to meet you?" Angel motioned for them to follow him and the bear scooped up the two Apple fillies, leaving Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to follow under their own power. Angel led them to a spot deep in the apple orchard. Recently bucked, there would be no reason for any of the older Apples to intrude upon their activities.

They returned to the ruins of the clubhouse where Angel directed a beaver to use his tail to rub out the pictures he had drawn in the dirt. His tail eradicated the images from the ground, kicking up a dust cloud in the process. When he was done, Angel motioned for the gang to leave.

"You'll never get away with this, Angel!" Scootaloo shouted, shaking a hoof at the fleeing bunny. "Just wait 'til we tell Applejack what you did to our clubhouse!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom each bit onto her tail to restrain their winged friend.

Angel held up a paw and his gang stopped their silent retreat. He pointed to the beaver, and then to the tree that had previously housed the clubhouse. The beaver nodded and gnawed through the bark, dropping the big tree in a matter of minutes. He grinned as if to say 'There goes your evidence.' With their job completed, Angel's gang returned to their base of operations and left the four Crusaders staring at the pile of debris that had once been their home away from home, or in Scootloo's case, her home after she ran away from the orphanage and up until Rainbow Dash adopted her.

"I think we have a real problem on our hooves," Babs said, fuming.

"How can a bunny that cute be that mean?" Sweetie Belle wailed.

*************************************************************

Cheerilee stood looking over the destruction. Having been their teacher for so long, she'd expected to come across a few disasters while she was staying on the farm that just happened to contain their clubhouse. A clubhouse, she noted, that had a nickname around town as 'ground zero' and with good reason. Still, nothing had prepared her for this.

The clubhouse that had been the birthplace of so many schemes lay crushed, the tree that it had rested in now smothering its remains. Sweetie Belle lay on the ground, bawling while the other Crusaders tried to console her. But most surprising of all, it appeared that for once the fillies hadn't caused the disaster personally. She was pretty sure nopony had 'destroyed by a beaver' in the 'how will the CMC clubhouse be destroyed' betting pool. Not that such a thing existed, of course, and Cheerilee definitely had not wagered on fire in this imaginary betting pool.

It broke her heart to see her perpetually happy students this miserable. She sighed. Too many bad things had happened in Ponyville recently. And the Crusaders seemed to be right smack in the middle of most of it. The Apples might not let her help out financially, but she knew they'd never object to her treating the fillies. "Come on, kids. Ice cream's on me."

"You'd look cool sporting chocolate sideburns!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Wouldn't it be more fun if we ate th' ice cream instead of wearin' it? Less messy too."

Sweetie Belle stopped bawling, hiccupped, and said, "She means she'll treat us to ice cream."

"As long as we don't have t' wear it."

*************************************************************

With so few remaining belongings, it hadn't taken long to move Rarity into Rainbow Dash's Ponyville home. What she was most thankful for was that she hadn't given away the tools of her trade. Despite initial protests, Rarity had finally agreed to Rainbow's demands that she make at least one new outfit each day, regardless of how uncreative she was feeling that day. The first few were simple designs, amateurish at best, and laughable attempts for a seamstress of Rarity's talent. Today, however, inspiration had struck and she was completely absorbed in the project. So much so that she was completely oblivious to the dozen times Rainbow Dash checked up on her throughout the morning.

When lunch rolled around, however, Rarity was nowhere to be found. Rainbow started searching the house in a panic, fearing the worst. She was completely unprepared for what she found. Rarity was dusting. That in and of itself wasn't abnormal, Rainbow had indicated cooking and cleaning were to be her indentured servant's duties, after all. No, it was the fact that she was wearing a Prench maid uniform that caught her attention. Her wings fluffed out in surprise.

"Oh, is it lunchtime already?" Rarity batted her eyelashes. "I left your meal in the fridge. If you'll pardon me, I need to make sure my master's bedchambers are thoroughly cleaned." She turned away and glided sensuously across the floor, swishing her tail back and forth the whole time.

Rainbow hadn't seen that swagger in her friend since the runway disaster. She gulped down her lunch, but her thoughts kept returning to Rarity. Even when she returned to work she couldn't keep her mind off her unicorn friend. "What's gotten into her? For that matter, what the hay is wrong with me? She's a friend, nothing more. And she likes stallions. Hay, I like stallions." Once more the scene of Rairty turning and sashaying away played through Rainbow's mind. "Don't I?"

*************************************************************

The morning of the real estate auction dawned overcast, and stayed that way the rest of the day. It was the most Rainbow Dash could do for her friend, since she hadn't the bits to buy the boutique any more than Rarity had. Rarity stayed in, as she had every day since moving in with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Dash had to work, but without needing to break up the clouds, that meant her whole day would be spent filling out paperwork and scheduling the weather for the next two weeks. Of course, the upside to that meant she could stop by Sweet Apple Acres on the premise of 'consultation' and spend a few hours lounging in the apple trees and chatting with Applejack and as long as they at least covered the topic of what days she needed rain, it was technically work-related.

As soon as her adopted big sister was out the door for the day, Scootaloo dashed out the backdoor towards Sweetie Belle's house. Ever since the destruction of their clubhouse Sweetie's room had become their new meeting area. It was the only place in town they could be reasonably sure of that Angel didn't have covered by one of his animal spies. As usual, Scootaloo was the last of the Crusaders to arrive.

"You're late."

"I had to wait 'til Dash left. And it only takes her two seconds to get to work because of how awesome she is."

"Time's wasting. The auction starts in less than an hour! We're never going to get it for her," Sweetie Belle moaned.

"We're never gonna get it for her, anyway. Not with a grand total of 583 bits. Unless we can sell those paintings in th' next few minutes we're out of the running before this auction even begins." Apple Bloom dumped the bits out in front of her to emphasize her point.

"Besides, how are we supposed to place a bid, anyway? They won't let a bunch of fillies into the auction."

"Don't worry, I've got an idea." Babs flashed them all her biggest grin. "Sweetie Belle, you're in charge of finding a pony to bid for us by proxy."

"What's proxy mean?" asked Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in unison.

"It means somepony who can act as a substitute for us," Sweetie Belle replied.

"Exactly. You give her all our bits and then stick to her side until the auction's over. You should pick someone who's trustworthy but not very bright."

"Got it!" Sweetie Belle beamed at the others. She bounced out of the room to start her search.

"Okay, now that Sweetie's gone, here's the plan. When the proxy gets there, I want that pony to be the only bidder."

"And how are we s'pposed t' do that?"

"Easy, cous." Babs hoofed her a baseball bat. "The three of us are having a friendly little game in front of the boutique. But if anypony gets too close, we delay them, or distract them. If they're persistent, we threaten to bust kneecaps. If the cops come calling, it's their word against ours."

"The cops are already suspicious of us, though. I think they're more apt to believe the other ponies we're threatening than us at this point."

"Scootaloo's got a point."

"Then we just need to make sure the cops are busy elsewhere. And I think I know how we can do it..."

*************************************************************

Filthy Rich stepped out of his house rolled his eyes. "Overcast. Yes, boo-hoo, your little unicorn friend's home is going up for sale so let's make everypony in town mourn along with the two of you. Egotistical maniac." He glanced at his watch – there was still enough time to check the Weather Bureau's weather charts to see if this was a scheduled overcast day or if Rainbow Dash was abusing her powers. It wasn't like he needed to arrive early – he'd made it a point to put word out that he intended to bid on the property. Everypony in town knew he had the deepest pockets around so that it would be futile to bid, and nopony wanted to risk getting on his bad side by jacking the price up. Sure, there'd probably be one or two ponies there who hadn't heard the word, but they'd get the news the minute he walked through the door. What Filthy Rich wants, Filthy Rich gets.

"Hi! May I help you?" Cloudchaser greeted him as he arrived at the office.

"Yeah, I want to see the weather schedule for this week. Now."

"Right away, sir." She reached into one of her drawers and pulled out a copy. "You can keep that copy if you like."

He stared at it and finally demanded to see the weather manager on duty. Flitter led him to Rainbow Dash's office.

"What is the meaning of this?" He threw the schedule down on her desk.

"Well, the little sun symbol here means that it's going to be sunny tomorrow. These raindrops mean it's going to rain Thursday night, and this little cloud here means it's overcast today..."

"And why is today overcast? Why isn't the sun shining?"

"Because the schedule says it's supposed to be cloudy today, sir." Rainbow continued answering his questions in a bored monotone. The official answers were recited from memory, so often had she quoted them to frazzled parents looking for any excuse to get their cooped up fillies and colts out of the house.

Filthy Rich took a deep breath and sank into the chair across from Rainbow. "You know, I don't really have a problem with you, Miss Dash. My bone to pick is with your adopted daughter..."

"Sister."

"...I don't think it works that way."

"I'm not old enough to be her mother."

"Point conceded. As I was saying, my issue is with your little sister, Scootaloo, not you. I'm willing to make you a little deal. As you know, I now control who is, and who isn't, hired for the Wonderbolts. I can have you on the team this afternoon if you'd like."

"Whatever you're going to say next, I don't want to hear it. Just get out of my office."

Filthy Rich stood up. "If you should ever change you mind, all you need to do is drop Scootaloo off at the orphanage. You wash your hooves of the little brat and there's an open spot on the Wonderbolts waiting for you. She's cramping your style and you know it."

Before Filthy Rich could make it to the door a blue blur rushed past him. "What. Was. That?" She snorted and dared him to pass.

"You heard me, Miss Dash. Now I recommend you step aside and let me pass before you do something stupid you'll regret for the rest of your life. I have an appointment to get to. There's this little piece of real estate in town I've had my eye on for a new retail property. I'm thinking of opening up a new line of boutiques called 'Diamond Dazzle Tiara's Fashion Emporium'. What do you think?" He smiled at her.

Rainbow Dash's snarl slowly morphed into a grin. "You know what? Maybe we should talk things over. I think right now would be the perfect time to do so, don't you? Unless you think you can get past the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria?"

"You realize that if I miss this auction thanks to your interference my offer's off the table, permanently?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. You can take that insulting offer of yours and..." Rainbow Dash trailed off as she remembered she was still at work. "...and shovel it... into a furnace."

"Nice save, Miss Dash. But mark my words, I will bury you for this, one way or another. You've done nothing here except bite your snout off to spite your face. Your little friend's boutique is going away forever whether I'm there to bid on it or not. All you're doing is enraging me. And I'm not the kind of pony you want to get angry."

"Neither am I. And you crossed that bridge about five minutes ago. Right before you doused it in gasoline and threw a match on it." Her nostrils flared and she adopted a crouching defensive position in front of the door.

Filthy Rich waved a hoof, dismissively. "Seriously, Miss Dash, if you think I'm going to resort to fisticuffs you're sadly delusional."

"Yeah, I guess that would require getting your hooves dirty. I bet you have ponies to do that sort of thing for you."

"I'm impressed, really I am. I'd heard that your attention span only lasts ten seconds before you need a nap."

"Color me impressed you actually grasp the concept of sarcasm."

"I'd do that, but it appears somepony has already colored you. Poorly at that. Your hair looks like a five year old filly colored it...after a three year old cut it."

"At least my colors are vibrant, like my personality. Not dull like your colors... and your personality."

"I'm going to be the bigger pony and ignore that."

"Ha! You the bigger pony, that's a laugh. Unless you're talking about your hindquarters, that is. You're trying to steal the home of the very Element of Generosity herself. That's real big of you."

Knocking on the door to the office interrupted their war of words. "Um, Rainbow? Is everything all right in there?"

"Everything's fine, Flitter."

"Okay, I heard shouting and I just wanted to check."

"Appreciated. Hey, while you're out there would you mind doing me a favor?"

"I guess. What?"

"Would you mind stopping by Carousel Boutique on your lunch and check to see if the real estate auction is done yet?"

"Sure. Should I take lunch now?"

"Absolutely."

"On it, boss."

"Thanks, Flitter."

"Nice way to abuse power without actually abusing power."

"Just taking a page out of your book. The sooner you get out of my office the better I'm going to like it."

"Makes two of us. You know I'm just going to buy it from whoever purchases it at the auction."

"Well at least you'll have to pay more for it!"

*************************************************************

"Dumb and trustworthy. I wonder who I can find to fit that bill?" Focused on thinking, and not watching where she was going, Sweetie Belle ran smack into Minty. "Sorry about that. Oh, hi Minty. I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"

"Well, it's been up and down the past few months, but I think things are starting to look up."

"Well that's good to hear." A light bulb slowly brightened over the filly's head. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be free for the next hour or so, would you?"

"Sure! What's up?"

"I don't know if you heard, but our clubhouse got destroyed a few days ago when a beaver chewed through the tree supporting it. So we were hoping to buy this old boutique at the public auction today to replace it, but they won't let fillies in to bid. I was on my way to go get my parents but I don't know if I can make all the way home and back in time. Would you mind...?"

"Of course I don't mind! Come on, let's get in there and get bidding! Now don't get your hopes up, there are a lot of high rollers in town that'll probably drive the price out of your range, but it never hurts to try, right?"

"You're right!"

"How much do you have to spend?"

"583 bits."

"Not bad, kiddo. That's way more than I've got to my name. Like 582 and a half bits more. But I found a half-bit earlier. I was going to use it to get lunch, but how about I treat us to ice cream after we're done instead?"

"Okay!"

Minty chuckled to herself. It might not buy them a new clubhouse, but ice cream was a surefire way to put a smile on any filly's face. They trotted into the former Carousel Boutique and waited for the auction to start.

Outside, the other Crusaders took their positions. Babs gripped a baseball bat firmly between her teeth, while Scootaloo tried balancing the ball on her head. Apple Bloom just griped about how uncomfortable the glove felt on her hoof.

"And just what do you three think you're doing?"

"Cutie Mark Crusader baseball players, yay!"

Paradise looked at them, they were certainly dressed the part. "Perhaps you could find a safer place to play? You know, away from other ponies and windows that might get broken accidently?"

"Oh, we weren't planning on playing here. We're just waiting for Sweetie Belle to arrive and then we're going to head over to the park."

"Sounds good. Have fun!" Paradise trotted off on her patrol. With Sweet Stuff taking a day off, she'd had to cover her normal beat today. That meant she couldn't stand around foalsitting them, she needed to get over to Sugarcube Corner to check to make sure it was still standing. And to get coffee. And a doughnut. Or maybe a dozen...

Lyra Heartstrings trotted past the fillies and headed towards the boutique they were guarding.

"Hey Lyra! Where are you going?"

"I was going to place a bid on the old boutique. I'd like to open up a music store here in town. Wouldn't that be great?"

"I guess," said Apple Bloom. "But Noteworthy's already got a music store here. Do ya really think Ponyville's big enough t' support two music shops?"

Lyra paused in her tracks. "No, I guess not. Well phooey. Thanks! You just saved me from making a big mistake."

A few minutes later Roseluck tried to pass them. Before she could enter the boutique, Scootaloo chomped down on her tail. "What is the meaning of this?"

The pegasus filly spit out a few tail hairs. "We just wanted to ask you why you'd be interested in a tacky old building like this."

"Tacky? I was going to buy it so I could move my flower shop to a new location. I think this street gets more traffic, and it's a bigger building."

"Bigger just means there's more t' heat in the winter and more t' cool in the summer. Higher bills. Do you really need that much space?"

"Well, now that you mention it, no."

"And your current shop is so quaint and picturesque. It would be a shame to leave it. Especially for this ugly old eyesore."

"You know, I never noticed just how awful Carousel Boutique really is. You would think Rarity of all ponies would have better taste. Ha! That's probably why she went out of business in the first place. Thanks kids, you saved me some money. I appreciate it! Why don't you all stop by later and I'll give you each a rose."

"Sounds good, thank you," Scootaloo called after the departing mare. "Hey, I thought we were gonna get to bust some kneecaps. So far we've just talked everyone out of buying it."

"Violence should only be used as a last resort, girls." Apple Bloom sighed. Memories of what had happened to Diamond Tiara (and her own role in what had transpired) came back to her. "Or better yet, not at all."

It was at this point that Sweetie Belle burst out of the boutique. "We won! We won!"

Minty followed her. "There were no other bidders, so we got really lucky! The bank's not going to be happy, but that's their own fault for not advertising it better." The fillies all giggled and decided not to tell Minty they'd ripped down all the posters that had been put up. "There's just one unfinished piece of business. They need a name to put on the deed."

"We can't use one of ours, we're too young to own property."

"Don't look at me," replied Minty. "I helped you bid but if I put my name on this deed I'm moving in myself."

"We could form a company to jointly own it between the four of us," Babs said.

"That would work. See! I knew you fillies could find a solution."

"Now we just need a name..." Babs continued, ignoring the mint mare. "If we take the first initial from all our names, we get SABS. Or ABSS. Or BASS. I guess the last one is the best."

"I don't want to be named after some stinky old fish," Sweetie Belle argued.

"You're such good fillies," Minty continued.

"That works," Babs said. "We'll call our new company Goodfillies!" The five ponies all jumped up and down, cheering. She turned to Minty. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to reserve a post office box for us? We're going to need a mailing address, after all."

"You're right! I'll go do that for you right now!"

"I can't believe that worked!" Sweetie Belle was still bouncing up and down. "Now what?"

"Now we incorporate Goodfillies in the Grand Shetland Islands..."

*************************************************************

It had been a long day for Rainbow Dash. By the time Flitter finally returned to the Weather Bureau it was just before 3 o'clock. After Filthy Rich received no answer from her regarding who had purchased the boutique he finally left the office, swearing that Rainbow would live to regret her treatment of him. Once he was gone she'd needed to spend hours catching up on the paperwork she was supposed to be doing during working hours. Now that she was home all she wanted to do was collapse into bed and sleep. Without turning on the lights she stretched, climbed into bed, slid under the covers and rolled over... straight into another pony. "What the hay?"

"Rainbow, darling, you're finally home. I must've dozed off while I was waiting for you."

"What in Celestia's name are you doing in my bed, Rarity?"

"Well, I did some research on this pegasus law you mentioned, and I discovered that it doesn't actually exist." She batted her eyelashes. "So I got to thinking, why would you want to keep me here, all to yourself? In all the time I've known you you've never once mentioned having ever had a coltfriend, even upon my repeated inquiries."

"That's because I haven't."

"So it only seemed logical that perhaps mares were more your style, and I just happen to be a mare. And a lovely one at that. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess. You're probably the hottest mare in Ponyville. At least Spike certainly seems to think so."

"Ah yes, my little Spikey-wikey. How's he doing?"

"Fine, I guess. You know, nothing says you need to stay cooped up here all the time. Just because I own you doesn't mean you can't leave the house..."

"Oh, but you were quite insistent that somepony needed to keep an eye on me at all times." Rarity slid a hoof along the cyan wing closest to her. "And I noticed how excited you were to see me in that little Prench maid outfit I whipped up to do your housecleaning in."

"My wings only poofed out because I was surprised."

"A likely story," Rarity said as she nibbled on Rainbow's ear.

Rainbow's wings unfurled and she shot out of the bed and into the air. "What the hay has gotten into you, Rarity? I thought you liked stallions!"

"I thought so too, but then I realized that every stallion I've ever been interested in has ended in complete and utter failure. From the time I asked Big Macintosh out in elementary school and he said 'ee-nope' I've not had a single stallion go out with me. You remember the disaster with Prince Blueblood at the Gala. All of my potential love interests have ended just like that. So I thought that perhaps I would try a real stallion on for once, even if that stallion just happens to be a mare. A beautiful mare with the most divine hair I've ever seen."

"I...uh....wow. I'm not sure how to reply to that. So I'll leave it at this: I really do like stallions."

"Then why the complete lack of success, hmn? A mare as beautiful as you should have no trouble attracting a handsome stallion. Perhaps they're all intimidated by you?"

"I get offers all the time. It's just that like you I'm career-oriented. I want to be a Wonderbolt, though with that dream shattered perhaps I'll consider starting a family after all. Especially now that I've adopted Scoots. The main reason I've shot every stallion down is I never wanted to risk getting pregnant and destroying any chances of getting on the team. Think about it for a second. I'd lose months of training, I'd have lots of additional fat to work off once I gave birth, and it's exceedingly tough to be out on the road all the time with a foal. No, it was just easier to pretend I wasn't interested. Soon offers turned into rumors I was a filly-fooler. And quite frankly, the rumors don't bother me as it just means fewer stallions asking me out."

"Well, there's no chance of you getting pregnant if you do a little filly-fooling, you know." Rarity winked and rolled over on her back. "And I'm all yours for the taking, master."

"You know what, I'm suddenly not feeling very tired at all. I think I'll go get the mail at my house up in Cloudsdale. Feel free to sleep in my bed tonight..."

"While I applaud you for sticking to your morals and not taking advantage of a vulnerable mare such as myself, I must insist you stay here. I'm quite lonely, Rainbow Dash, and still very depressed. Would you at least hold me? Please?"

"I...uh...sure." Rainbow remembered the reason why Rarity was now living with her in the first place. Leaving her alone was the last thing she wanted to do. The pegasus settled back into the bed and wrapped a foreleg around the unicorn, cuddling her.

"Mmmmnnn, yes, I like that. I feel safe in your embrace, darling. Strong, brave Rainbow Dash is here to protect me. Perhaps its because you've saved my life so many times now, but I just feel like everything's going to be all right as long as you hold me. Good night, Rainbow. And thank you."

"You're welcome, Rarity." Rarity soon nodded off to sleep but Rainbow Dash found that she was no longer tired. Her mind was racing a mile a minute wondering what had gotten into Rarity, then asking herself some questions that cut to the core. "Do I like mares? Could I like mares? If so, could I love Rares?" One thing was for sure, Rainbow wasn't the type of pony who was interested in flings or experimentation. If she was going to love somepony, she intended to love that pony for life. She'd always assumed it would be a stallion, but if it was a mare that captured her heart, so be it. You couldn't ask for a more loving or more loyal partner than Rainbow Dash. That much was certain. No, the question that was keeping the cyan pegasus up was whether a mare well-known for changing her mind on a whim could be the faithful and loving partner she'd always hoped to find...

Author's Notes:

First up, I want to apologize for the long delay in getting chapter 9 posted. As you can see, chapter 10 was written with 9 and both were intended to be posted a week apart so as not to leave Rarity's fate unknown for a long period of time.

While I won't apologize for this controversial scene, I'd like to offer an explanation to those willing to listen, and hopefully keep reading. The loss of one 'insignificant' reader would be a shame, in all honesty. I just ask you to have some faith in the author (and the editor). If you've liked the story up through the first eight chapters, you're going to keep liking it on the whole (the game's not changing halfway through). A story exists not just as an outlet for the writer's creativity, but also for the audience's enjoyment. None of you are insignificant and we thank you for reading, even if you don't continue on. We may not reply to the comments but we definitely read them and take them into consideration when writing future chapters.

This fic does have a dark tag, and while Rarity was never actually in danger of being killed off (note the lack of a tragedy tag – I'm not saying that nopony's going to die, this is a mob story after all, but I think Diamond Tiara's scene earlier set the precedence for the tone of the fic) the subject matter at hand does require a certain amount of bloodshed. There's a delicate balance between providing a good mob story and a good MLP fanfic. One requires violence and death, while the other's usually sunshine and rainbows. There are going to be near misses. Reading the comments there were a number of folks really hoping Diamond Tiara would die, while at the same time the majority were hoping for some miraculous save for Rarity (and on both, there was a minority wanting the opposite). No one story can please everyone, but as crazy as it may be, we're trying to because as stated previously, no one reader is insignificant. With a story this long and treading this many emotions, there are going to be parts that aren't your particular cup of tea. We just hope the parts that are up your alley are written well enough to make up for the parts that aren't. Believe it or not, there are parts that aren't up either of our alleys, either.

There was a very subtle hint at the end of chapter 9 that Rarity wasn't actually dead, but it requires reading between the lines: With that sickening, bone-snapping sound the air was forced from Rarity's lungs and everything went black. If she had reached the end of the rope, no new air would be able to be taken in and the existing air would be trapped inside her lungs (and hence unable to be forced from them). At first glance this could easily be dismissed as a case of "Did Not Do The Research" but I'm surprised no one pointed it out in the comments. Also, and this was something I didn't know until I did the research when writing the scene, but drops of more than ~eight feet will decapitate the victim. Something Rainbow Dash touches on in this chapter while berating Rarity.

There are some overarching themes to this story, not the least of which is bullying and the responses various folks have to it. We've seen the Crusaders band together and lash out at their tormentors (becoming bullies themselves at times). What Filthy Rich is doing is also bullying, just in a very different way than what Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were doing. This was Rarity's response. Rarity's a very dramatic character, often prone to 'whoa is me, my life is ruined' moments. Break her far enough and she's probably the cast member most likely to commit (or at least attempt, possibly as a cry for help) suicide. Thankfully she had a friend to catch her when she was falling. Many in real life are not so fortunate.

What I will apologize for is if the subject matter was not handled tactfully. Suicide is a very sensitive subject, and one that shouldn't be taken lightly. From the responses, I gather it was written realistically, but not necessarily written well. And for that, I'm sorry.

And finally, a question for those out there still reading. While writing this chapter a rather unexpected potential romance between Rarity and Rainbow Dash popped up. Despite her last second rescue, Rarity's still not "right" after all that's happened to her. She's embracing her current situation because she's desperate to cling to something...anything. And that something just happens to be the pony who's just saved her life for the fourth time (they've definitely got a Superman & Lois Lane thing going on at this point). As for Dash, she's making up the whole indentured servitude thing to keep Rarity close so she can help. As another pony obsessed with the limelight, she also understands the need for discretion. And that's the only reason why Rarity isn't currently in a mental health facility (which would, in fact, be the best possible scenario for her). Had almost anypony else saved Rarity (Twilight with magic, Fluttershy in a similar aerial rescue to Dash's, Pinkie using her Pinkie Sense, etc.) there's no way she'd talk her way out of getting professional help (maybe Pinkie).

Author and editor have discussed it and we can go either way on it (seriously, this just happened while writing, it wasn't in the plans, and yet Rarity developing a crush on her savior worked too well to dismiss outright – in addition to being a dramatic character she's also a hopelessly romantic one as well). Neither of us really writes romance but we don't have any objections to it, either. So RariDash shipping: yay or nay? Either way she's going to get put back together, and that's the important thing. In one case she gets a marefriend and in the other she becomes stronger, and realizes she doesn't need to base her happiness on somepony else. Whichever of those two ideas is more appealing, let us know in the comments or in a private message. I just wanted to mention this in advance because she's definitely acting out of sorts this chapter.