The kitchen of Sweet Apple Acres was engulfed in an awkward silence as Braeburn and Big Macintosh sat and waited for their apple fritter breakfast. They occasionally glanced at each other, both blushing at the events that unfolded last night, and silently hoped that nopony knew. Braeburn felt the most guilt of the two. He always did feel he was kind of a colt cuddler, but tried to play it off, if only to keep the others in Appleloosa from looking down upon him. But alcohol always brought out those latent tendecies, and now he had revealed them to a family member! Not that he didn't think other ponies thought of the Apple Clan as a bunch of inbreeds anyway. But it didn't make him feel any better to prove those arguments right. But the strangest thing was, out of all the times he had done the same thing to other colts back in Appleloosa, he never really felt anything special towards them. They were just tossed away, never to be seen again. But now that he had done this with a family member, his own cousin, things were different. Not only could he bring himself to throw Big Mac away, he also felt a rush of guilt complied out of all the other times his conscience should've ate at him. His midnight cowpony routine finally netted a catch that he couldn't release.

Big Mac saw as his cousin rolled his eyes at his own terrible pun, but didn't know that's what it was about. The normally reserved stallion didn't really remember as much about last night as Braeburn did, not being as accustomed to the paint thinning levels of alcohol that Braeburn was because of his lack of exposure to Apploosian Moonshine. All he knew was he woke up with a headache and covered in a sticky substance. When he saw Braburn still partially impaled upon him, his mind registered that this was terribly wrong, and he quickly removed the passed out pony from on top of him, wondering if at all possible if he was the one who initiated that event.

“Eat up you two, Applejack can't wait to take Braeburn out on the town today!” Granny Smith placed the plates of apple fritters before the two, who could only weakly chuckle and mutter a thank you before returning to the uncomfortable silence of before. The thickness of the air was cut by the sound of the door opening, and both turned to see Apple Bloom come cantering inside, her head held high, eyes closed, and a smile on her face.

“You look in a good mood this mornin'!” Applejack commented, “Ya must've slept like a baby.” She didn't notice her sister frown at those words as she took her seat next to Big Mac and Braeburn. “An where was you last night, big guy?” she teasingly nudged Bic Mac with a hoof, causing the stallion to slightly choke on his fritter as his eyes scrabbled around for an explanation.

“He was drinkin' with me and we kind of passed out.” Braeburn hung his head in shame. It was the truth, but not the whole truth. Just enough to slip under the Element of Honesty's radar. Applejack thought this over when she saw her brother nod in agreement.

“That cider ya gave me was too potent! Ah still got a headache!” he placed a hoof to his still sore head, eyes spinning slightly.

“Oops, heh, sorry bout that. Sometimes ah forget those are down there and they sit a while.” Applejack lowered her head so her hat hid her blushing. She glanced up to see Apple Bloom giggling at her sister, and smiled. “An where was you, last night?” The filly stopped laughing, her eyes widened in terror.

Does she know?! “Spike was helpin' me study last night. Got a big test in Ms. Cheerilee's class comin up.” To her relief, Applejack nodded. Though she wasn't much into public education, she knew the importance of it. She may not have finished school, but she wasn't dumb.

  Big Mac waited a few moments before producing the bag he obtained from Rarity's handing it to Applejack, a grin on his face as he hoped this would change the subject. Applejack recognized the bag, and looked inside, her face blushing as she shot an angry stare at her brother. “An' what in the hay am I gonna use this for?” she asked, trying to sound upset but failing as she batted her brother's shoulder with a hoof.

“Well, ah figured ya would know what to do.” Big Mac nodded, causing his sister to blush further. Of course HE knows, he's my brother, she thought, rolling her eyes as her mind began to picture a certain rainbow maned Pegasus.

“What is it? Can I see?” Apple Bloom asked, playing off that she kind of already knew. She strained to try and see inside the bag but Applejack snatched it off the table and sat it on the floor.

“Sorry, sugarcube. Ya'll ain't old enough yet,” she shook her head, something Apple Bloom was all to familiar with hearing.

“Ah'm not a baby!” she protested, hoping that her common phrase didn't sound too different now that it was cold, hard truth. For once in her life, she was glad the adults ignored her like they always did when she said that. After those few strange moments, the Apple Family kitchen returned to normal with conversation about the day ahead.

No, no, no! This can't be right! I refuse to believe it! Twilight was pacing the floor of the library, desperately trying to convince herself that a certain pink pony didn't commit a horrible act of rape. At least, not on purpose anyway. The only way she was going to know for sure, was to ask Minty what exactly happened. She sighed as she looked over at the green earth pony, staring silently into her cup of tea as it began to cool. “Minty...” she looked up at her name being called, her pink mane hanging in her eyes slightly. “I know it still hurts, and that you don't want to think about it anymore. But I need to know.....who did this to you.” Minty looked back at her tea, saying nothing. Twilight gritted her teeth in a vain attempt to muffle her groan of frustration. Ever since the mayor had made her the somewhat 'official private investigator' of Ponyville, all she had to do was deal with easy things like lost pets or missing items. Now there was a serious crime ahoof, and all roads pointed to Pinkie Pie. How things spiraled out of control so quickly she had no idea, but she knew she had to hear it straight from the horses mouth, so to speak.

Glancing back at Minty, she could see the tears in her eyes. It pained Twilight to be so helpless, especially in a situation like this, and that drove her all the more to find answers. But first things first, she needed to find Spike. “Spiiiike?” she called, waiting for her special assistant to come downstairs and begin his daily duties. “Spiiiiiike?!” she huffed in frustration when there was still no response. What is going on here? First Minty, now Spike is missing. her eyes widened at the brief thought that maybe Spike was the one behind this crime, but she immediately shook her head at how stupid that notion was. Spike would never do something like that! He probably doesn't even know what sex is all about. Minty began to sob once again, making Twilight's stomach knot that maybe the mention of Spike's name was the one that triggered it. But, then again, if Pinkie was the one behind this, it would be a bad idea to bring her along because of the emotional trauma it could cause. She needed somepony that could keep a watchful eye over her, and provide a level of comfort that a bookish pony like her had no idea about.

She needed Fluttershy...

A rainbow maned Pegasus peered from over the edge of the cloud she was resting on, smiling at the fortune brought upon her when she saw Applejack and Braeburn walking through Ponyville Square, Braebrun taking in the sights of the elaborately structured buildings especially the one that looked like it was made of candy. Oh, how Rainbow Dash enjoyed raining on that earth pony and her parade. It was all in good fun, and it wasn't her fault that Applejack didn't keep tabs on the weather. Giggling to herself, she got into position and licked her lips, her hooves sinking into the soft cloud material. Ever since Celestia had ordered Pegasi to control the weather to avert natural disasters  and to help prevent droughts and flooding, Dash had began to appreciate the weather that used to ruin her childhood days of flying practice. Now she was about to ruin Applejack's day. Once she felt they were close enough, Dash began leaping up and down on the cloud, water seeping around her hooves as if she was stomping on a sponge. Soon, the cloud released its contents onto the two hapless ponies, and she could hear them reacting to the sudden rush of cold.

“GOSHDANGIT, RAINBOW DASH! AH'M GONNA GET YOU FER THAT!” Applejack shouted up at the cloud. Braeburn looked over at his cousin, confused why she was shouting at the cloud, when he followed her gaze up to see a small bit of rainbow fringe over the edge, moving wildly as Dash held her sides in laughter. Soon her wide eyed face appeared, and Braeburn recognized her.

“Sorry, I just couldn't resist!” Dash chuckled, trying to catch her breath. She flapped her wings arrogantly as she lept off the cloud and glided down to land before the two soggy ponies, enjoying the feel of the rain through her feathers as she got herself soaked to make amends.

Applejack laughed at this gesture, then frowned. Dash began to worry as the earth pony approached her then whispered in her ear. “I got something for us, later.” she pulled away in time to see Dash turn her head to face her, confusion in her violet eyes.

Does she know? Dash bit her lip. She had been having strange feelings around Applejack lately, as well as Pinkie Pie of all ponies. She also had a few butterflies around Twilight Sparkle. Now the one that she thought she would never accept, was dropping hints? She shook her head in disbelief until a reassuring wink from the earth pony confirmed her suspicions. This matter would have to be explored later as Dash began crafting a long list of questions to ask. She blinked as she watched Applejack walk away, her head high and a smug smile on her face, eyes closed in a cool manner. Braeburn tipped his hat and gave a formal bow. “Nice to meet ya again ma'm.” then replaced his Stetson and hurried to join his cousin. A smile splayed across Dash's face. This was going to be fun.

Twilight stood in silence as she watched Fluttershy look over the mint green pony, her cyan eyes ensuring that there was nothing physically wrong. She nodded in satisfaction then looked at Twilight. “She just needs some time to heal. I can take care of her for you,” she nodded, eyes closed in confidence.

“If anypony can help her recover, it's you.” Twilight smiled. Fluttershy noticed the smile fade and her eyes drift over to nothing of importance. There was something on her mind, but she didn't want to be rude and encroach. The unicorn finally sighed and looked back at the yellow Pegasus, hanging her head. “Have you seen Pinkie Pie anywhere?”

Fluttershy thought for a moment. “Well, she did say she was babysitting Sweetie Belle since Rarity kicked her out of the boutique.”

“Rarity did what?!” Twilight gasped, her forehooves leaving the ground as she jolted back. “You're kidding?”

“Oh...no....” Fluttershy replied, hiding her face behind her pink mane in fear that she upset her friend. “She said it was only temporary until Rarirty put in a door with a lock on that room she has,” she paused and glanced up at her friend. “What is back there anyway?”

Twilight blushed, now wasn't the time to be talking about such things, especially not with a mentally scarred pony standing between them, her tail pressed firmly against her hindquarters in natural defense mode. Fluttershy's scanning eyes, as well as those of Nurse Redheart, only made her more uncomfortable as she felt she had done something wrong. “Just....things.....” the unicorn finally replied, hoping her frantic glancing at the mint pony would give Fluttershy the hint to drop the subject. To her relief, the Pegasus nodded, deciding instead to offer Minty some lunch. Satisfied that she was in good hooves, Twilight set off to find Pinkie Pie and get to the bottom of this.