At the same time Josh was prepping up his special training for him and Dash, a similar training session was taking place inside Apple Bloom's bedroom... or at least Gilda was trying to have it take place...

"How do ah know you haven't tried to do something to mah family's cider?", Applejack asked indiginantly, crossing her forehooves across her chest with a huff, "Ah STILL don't know if I trust you after you made me EAT through my own damn puke!"

"I thought you understood I was doing that for your own good!", Gilda protested, clutching at her feathers in frustration. She'd been arguing with the apple-farmer for nearly a half-hour now about the same thing... a refusal to drink up her family's cider to the point where she had to wet herself! It wasn't even the drinking part that she was angry at... it was being left alone with Gilda, a gryffin she wasn't even REMOTELY fond of after being forced to nearly consume her own vomit at her claws.

"Do you know how sick ah got after you made us eat all that pizza the other day!? AH THREW UP ON ONE OF THE NURSES!!! How do I explain THAT to Apple Bloom next time she goes in for a checkup!?"

"AJ, aren't there like 10 different nurses there? How would they know you threw up on one of them??"

"Gilda, the damn nurse ran out of the room with my dinner on her mane, screaming "OH MY GOD, APPLEJACK JUST RALPHED ON ME!". I think EVERY nurse knows it by now!"

"So I'll go to the hospital and get them to not tell anyone! Don't they have a patient confidentiality thingy anyways?"

"I DON'T tink it matters when the whole dang hospital hears one nurse screaming your name in bloody murder!"

"I doubt it was THAT bad, Apples!", the Gryffin groaned to herself, "C'mon, I told you all back at the hospital if I wanted to hurt your chances in this contest, I woulda done it already!"

"Answer me this, Gilda...", Applejack snarled, hopping off the bed and walking towards the avian-creature, "Why ARE you helping us?! I don't believe you're just doing it because this Champagne-fella bumped your wing... what, do ya have some sort of bet on this eatoff?"

"No! No, I don't have ANY bet!", Gilda growled, backing away from the pony approaching her.

"Admit it, Gilda... you're just using Dash and I to give yourself laughter as we suffer! Admit it!!". Applejack didn't know where this anger in her was coming from, but it felt so right. She'd been put through Hell underneath her, Twilight's, and Big Mac's exercises and she was finally getting a chance to tear one of them a new hole one-on-one.

"I'm NOT! I swear I'm not!!", Gilda insisted, getting noticeably more agitated at the pony coming closer to her.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?! MAKING US EAT THROUGH OUR PUKE, DRINK UNTIL WE PEE OURSELVES!? WHY? WHY?!"

"Krack!"

Before Gilda knew what she was doing, she'd thrown her fist back and punched a hole right through the center of one of the barrels of cider, causing half of its contents to come pouring out onto the bedroom floor, much to Applejack's shock. The gryffin's head was down so the apple-farmer couldn't see the unusual look of pain in her eyes.

"It didn't start out like this Applejack... I had come to help originally just out of spite for Champagne and yes, maybe to have some laughs watching you two suffer through this rigorous training... but now... I know things about him.... not just about him, but some of his friends.... he's a bad pony, a very bad pony. I remembered hearing about him back at the restaurant, but I couldn't remember where.... Last night I found out...."
---------------------------------------------------
*The night before*

"I'm somewhat of an insomniac thanks to my training sessions for the GFC, so I found myself up at midnight... so I decided to do some websurfing at Rainbow Dash's pad. I remembered that I still had a key to her castle, even after that party debacle."

As Gilda entered the bedroom of her former classmate, she gazed around the room and admired the Wonderbolts wallpaper, as well as the sleeping form of Josh's cat-pokemon friend in the giant bed normally shared by the human and Rainbow Dash. She knew Josh was still in the hospital, Dr. Whooves having asked the teen to stay an extra day or two just so they could run some more brain scans and that Rainbow Dash was at Sweet Apple Acres sleeping off vomiting all over the bathroom floor from an excess of chicken wings. No matter how much vomit the gryffin saw, none of it fazed her in the least. The things she'd been witness to in her life all but desensitized her to nausea and fear, pitiful feelings like that now meaningless to her.

"Dash, what is it with you and the wonderbolts...", she asked herself as she wandered around towards where the Pegasus' computer rested. One of her hobbies when she wasn't in the ring, exercising, or practicing aerial manuveurs was going online to surf and try to find out things about her opponents, bits of info that she could use to try and play mind games with them to give her an advantage. Her only self-imposed rule was that she would never use anything too personal against her foes like death or rape. She considered that going far past strategy and into being a complete monster, so she preferred to stick to smaller things like arrest records, rumored affairs, even stories about them getting hammered. She once even took down an opponent after one punch by learning they had just gotten attacked by a bartender unicorn and now nursed a damaged jawline. But right now, her mind was focused not on any opponent she would find in the ring, but the opponent Dash and AJ were going to be facing in less than a week and a half's time and it was to her pleasure that she found the tower already lit to the machine, leaving her to just push in the button on the monitor and allowing the faint light of the screen to shine in her face as she took a seat in the swiveled chair the pegasus used to rest her flanks.

"C'mon, Champagne... let's see what happened after the restaurant...", she murmured to herself, using the mouse to click on the icon leading to the Equestria Wide Web. Typing in the link to the Rutherford Times website, she quickly found herself looking at an article with a headline that made her do a double-take.

Celebrity praised as hero for stopping drunken human on live TV

"That... that can't be right....", the gryffin whispered to herself as she clicked on it, "It has to be a mistake."

But as the article popped up, she quickly realized there was no error made at all. It was the same human she'd seen nearly die... and now he was being made to look like an attacker... As she read the article, she felt her feathers starting to stand on end.

A world-renowned celebrity, known only as Champagne, was captured on a live broadcast defending a local Rutherford restaurant from a drunken, violent patron easily identified as Joshua James Rocket, 15, of Ponyville. Joshua, a human and alleged student of Princess Celestia, staggered into Bratwurst's Best Wurst on Tuesday afternoon and brandished a knife, threatening the eatery's cashier. The cashier, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Joshua appeared drunk and, when asked to leave the restaurant, brought out the weapon and threatened to "slit the faggot from ear to ear." Champagne, a well-known 10-time EWREC champion and member of the Black Thorn organization who happened to be giving an interview regarding his upcoming participation in the Equestrian-Wide Royal Eaters Competition, pulled the human away and tried to calm him down, but found the weapon pushed against his throat. Bravely, the unicorn subdued the human and knocked him unconcious against the table he was sitting at before throwing him out of the restaurant. "I was just doing my duty and protecting the citizens of Equestria.", was the only comment the always humble Champagne would give. He opted not to press charges, saying "his beating was punishment enough and that he hopes the human to find some peace.". Joshua, who later was revealed to be in league with miss Rainbow Dash and miss Applejack, ages withheld at the request of Celestia, is not expected to be arrested or charged with any crime, but could not be reached for comment. One can only wonder if Rainbow Dash or Applejack has become as unstable since the human's entrance into Equestria.

Gilda could only look in abject shock at what she was reading. It looked more akin to something out of a tabloid than legitimate news, but there it was in black and white....

"That.... bastard....", she seethed, clenching a claw in anger. It was then another part of the article rang in her head...

"The Black Thorn... where have I heard that name??"

Typing in Black Thorn into the search engine produced another article, detailing about an incident involving a recent match she'd been involved in back on the circuit... a match she'd remembered winning, yet never got a cent in prize money for.

Black Thorn involved in decision reversal of championship fight

Gritting her teeth, she clicked on the article and began to read what popped up, her expression growing angrier and angrier with each word.

It was discovered that a member of the Black Thorn organization, a local reformed mob group, was responsible for the tape showing Gilda Clawden's illegal moves on last Saturday's Featherweight Championship Fight. The gryffin had been declared the winner, but after a tape was produced revealing her using her claws to attempt to gouge out Manny Featherfield's eyes, she was stripped of the victory and forced to relinquish her title. Clawden, 19, vehemently denied attempting such a move even when shown the tape, claiming it to be doctored. But the officials were quick upon viewing it to award the Featherweight Title to Featherfield, 22. "All of the prize money that would have previously been awarded to Miss Clawden will instead go towards Mr. Featherfield's hospital bills.", a member of the GFC staff told us on condition of anonymity due to the circumstances regarding the incident, "She should consider herself lucky having her title stripped is all the punishment she'll recieve. Considering that this is a first-time offense, we feel that suspension and expulsion are not necessary actions to be taken at this time." The pony from Black Thorn has not had their identity revealed to the public, also on account of the circumstances regarding the tape.

"Black Thorn... those bastards...", the gryffin growled as she shut off the computer monitor. She couldn't look at any more articles, it was making her blood boil so much.. "I hate you all.... and I will make sure you are all exposed for the vermin you are...."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applejack could only look at the gryffin in shock at hearing all this. This Black Thorn group had helped Champagne make Josh look like a maniac after they were nearly responsible for his death... and they'd made a fool out of Gilda even worse than Pinkie Pie's party had!

"The Black Thorn is an ugly group of ugly underground ponies...", the avian snorted in disdain, "They're known for dealing in everything shady and corrupt in this world, even though they claim to be reformed and law-abiding citizens. They kept asking me to throw fights so their toadie fighters can get extra money for them to rule Equestria with and would threaten me when I invariably refused... How Celestia hasn't been able to take them out is a mystery beyond me.... I never knew Champagne was part of them and I guess my mind had tried to block out what I knew to allow me sanity... I went nuts when I found out I was having my prize money taken away, I needed that to pay off my rent.... It was only out of compassion from my landpony I didn't end up on on the damn streets! After I found out about their involvement with Champagne and what they did to your friend... I had a new reason to help you.... PAYBACK. It's not just about me anymore... it's about goddamn exposure!!!"

Finally Gilda lifted her face towards the apple-farmer and, for the first time in her life, Applejack could see Gilda's visage was struggling not to lose it's normally steadfast and stoic composition.

"Now do you see, Applejack? Now do you understand?!"

The cowpony was mentally torn as she looked at Gilda. Part of her wanted to believe the bird was just trying another trick to catch them off-guard and gain false sympathy... yet another part of her could see the genuine despair in her eyes, knowing they'd almost cost her a place to live. She'd seen homeless ponies on the streets of some of the larger cities and the sights were absolutely heartbreaking, a couple times even bringing the cowpony to tears.

"If this is all true.... why did Granny Smith say you were so calm about this here special exercise... why weren't ya'll more insistent?", she asked tentatively.

"You think I want to show weakness to Granny Smith? The mare's so old when she was a filly they didn't HAVE history in school... they had freaking current events! How would it look if a prizefighter like me lost it in front of Granny?!"

Applejack tried to look annoyed at Gilda, but she couldn't help but snort back a laugh at the current events line. "Watch it, Gilda, that's my Granny Smith!"

Gilda sighed and sipped some of the spilled cider off her claw, although the way it was shaking made a good part of it get smeared around her lips. "Look... either way, I'm not sure if I'm gonna have to leave you guys before the contest in case I can do more research on them as well as prep up for my next fight. If that's the case, I just want to make sure you are all in good shape before I go so you can put that goddamn sicko in his place!! You can believe me or not, Applejack, and honestly I don't care! I'm just trying to help you guys and get a little retribution on a creep at the same time... But I need to know... do you trust me now, AJ? Do you trust me now?!?"

As much as the cowpony wanted to ignore the bird's story as pure horsefeathers.... something inside her wasn't letting her do that. The look in her eye, the shake in her voice, the uncharacteristically freaked out composure of the gryffin... they weren't things that could be faked... they were things that had to come from the heart... and as much as she hated to admit it....

She couldn't see any false logic in what Gilda Clawden had told her.... she knew she had no other option....

"Gilda...", she whispered, getting the avian's attention, "You know how to set up a tap in those barrels right? Big MacIntosh showed Joshua earlier and I could have him show you too... I'm not sayin' I still fully trust ya.... but..... I don't quite t'ink yer faking this anymore."

Gilda nodded in understanding as she picked up the tap and stein resting on one of the barrels and fastened the faucet to allow her to pour Applejack a thick frothy glass of the Apple family's legendary drink. As soon as the mug was filled to its brim, she gave it to the cowpony without even a moment's hesitation. Raising the mug to her snout, Applejack took in a deep whiff of the liquid, the scent penetrating her nostrils, and sipped the drink. Finding it didn't try to come back up, she allowed herself to drink it down more easily and give the glass back to the bird to refill.

"I gotta ask t'ough.", Applejack queried, still trying to discern any break in Gilda's facade, "How do ya'll know Zecora? Whose this Cascade? How long have you BEEN in this GFC thing???"

Gilda just sighed as she gave the full glass back to the apple farmer. "AJ, I just showed you a chink in my mental armor.... I am REALLY not up for answering any more questions.... not right now....". It was then a second thought came to her mind and she leaned into Applejack preparing to take a sip from the glass. "If you tell ANYONE about my breakdown.... you won't be having to worry about losing to Champagne... you'll be more concerned with learning how to talk through a wired jaw!"

Applejack gave the gryffin a small nod and drank down her second glass. As the blonde-maned pony took down mug after mug and stein after stein, the silence in the room began to grow uneasy. But as she watched AJ consuming the liquid, the gryffin found herself lost in thought, the crack in her stone gaze slowly spreading throughout her body. After three barrels, Applejack was able to pour herself the mugs and leave Gilda to her inner workings, the gryffin's mind swirling with troubled thoughts and not even idly watching Applejack pouring down stein upon stein of the liquid into her stomach could shake some of the troubled wonders coarsing through the gryffin's mind.

"How many people actually saw and believed that false report.... Does all of that town think that human's some sort of freak now? What else has Black Thorn helped Champagne do? I remember the stories.... all those horrible stories of bribery, assault, even murder.... and all their connections allowing them to do as they please.... but are they all true? Is this Black Thorn responsible for Champagne holding onto his title for so long.... all just so they can gain control of ponies lives?"

The more she watched Applejack downing barrels, the more the gryffin found her resolve to make Champagne fall grow. He'd made that human he nearly killed look like a monster all just to keep up the pretense of him being holier-than-thou. It was time someone exposed him... and let the darkness in his heart be revealed.

By now, the cowpony was down to her last barrel and as full and sloshing as her stomach was, she felt like she was making a lot of progress, nausea not even remotely hitting her.

"Maybe Gilda's trainin's doin' what she planned!", she whispered as she put the tap in the last keg and began to pour herself a nice frothy mug, "Ah've put away 9 full barrels of cider and Ah'm not even queasy!"

But when she took her first sip of the mug and swallowed, a sharp acidic taste filled her throat, one that didn't suit the liquid at all.

"Ugh.... ah think a bug or sometin' got into this batch...", she murmured as she cautiously took in another gulp. The second she swallowed it, a sharp stabbing pain hit her stomach and she dropped the mug to the ground, clutching her midsection.

"Urgh... Gilda, I'm not feeling so good..."

Looking at Applejack shaking in alarm, Gilda got up and made her way to the cowpony. "Dude, you looked just fine a second ago!"

"I FELT fine just a second---", the apple-farmer started to reply before she retched, covering her mouth violently with her hoof to the bird's alarm. She could feel her stomach instantly sending back up the cider, something in the batch not filling her with the usual sense of happiness the ponies would get from drinking the liquid, but instead the desire to evacuate the contents of her belly.

"Applejack, not on me!", Gilda squawked, backing away in fright, "Get to the bathroom!"

The cowpony nodded through her bulging cheeks and tried to find the doorway, but found her vision becoming a blur of colors instead. She almost lost her lunch on the bedroom floor right then and it was only through covering her mouth with BOTH of her hooves she was able to keep herself from launching a chunky wave along the wooden floorboards. Gilda could see Applejack would never make it to the toilet without spilling her guts and looking around, she found herself rushing towards the nearby bedroom window and flinging it open for the cowpony to spew out of.

"Just aim for the open space, AJ!", Gilda yelled, sheilding herself as if she was stuck in the trenches of a battlefield.

Pursing her lips closed, Applejack tried desperately to keep in the wave of contents that wanted to erupt from her stomach and filled her dodgeball-sized cheeks, unsure WHY she suddenly felt so awful! Her nostrils were flaring as she tried to breathe in the night air to soothe her stomach, but it was to no avail. The sudden throe of nausea that had consumed her was winning its vile battle and she knew she had to purge her lunch. Staggering her way to the open window, Applejack braced herself, leaning into the open air, opened her quaking mouth and...

"BBBBLLLEARRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!"

A thick yellow and amber wave of puke found itself spraying out of the cowpony's mouth and snout and splattering outwards with the force of a fire hose. Gilda could only watch in shock as Applejack loudly threw up all the cider and the plates of mac and cheese and cupcakes she had snuck in as an afternoon snack.

"What the hell just happened?!?"
---------------------------------------------
Back in the hayloft, Josh was finally starting to get to sleep for the first time in nearly a week, the smell of his lover's honey and sweat next to him coaxing him into a warm slumber as he held his cyan sweetheart close, humming the same lullaby that he'd sang to her after that dream of her in the real world.

"Hush now, quiet now, time to lay your sleepy head... hush now, quiet now.... time to go to-----"

"BBBBLLLEARRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Hearing the loud ugly sound of somepony tossing their apples woke both pegasi from the slumber they were just starting to fall into, Josh sitting straight up in the bed and Rainbow Dash's eyes shooting open in shock as she looked at the human before they both looked down at the urine-soaked sheets and realized in unison that the vomiting hadn't come from the rainbow-maned pegasus.

"Josh, what the heck was that?!", the mare asked, placing her hoof onto Josh's hand in worry, "Was that AJ???"

"I don't know...", the teen muttered as he climbed out of the bed and slipped back on his jacket, "But I'm going to find out....".

"But what about your pants??? They're soaked in my pee!"

Sighing, Josh lifted his hand and punched a hole in one of the remaining barrels of drink, allowing the cider inside to pour onto his pants, masking the faint scent of urine with the strong cidery aroma.

"I'll be back soon, Dashie. Just try to get some rest, ok?"

As she watched Josh head out the barn doors, Rainbow Dash rested her head back onto the moistened pillow and let her eyes shut... although she couldn't help but wonder what pony was busy giving a technicolor yawn....

Although she had a strong feeling she knew who it was...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As he walked out of the hayloft, Josh couldn't help but stifle a small yawn. He'd finally been close to a good sleep for the first time in nearly a week and now his rest was being disturbed yet again.

"For fucks sake...", he grumbled as he made his way to the big red and white building the Apples called home, "I'm finally getting a SLIVER of sleep in with my sweet Dash and now this... I helped her with a fantasy and I CAN'T EVEN GODDAMN ENJOY THE AFTERGLOW! This had better be----"

"BLLUURRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!"

Hearing the retching sound above him, Josh was BARELY able to backpedal in time to avoid being hit by a thick yellow spray of bile splattering all over the ground. Gasping in shock, he looked up and found himself looking upwards and seeing the faint form of Applejack tossing her apples into the night air. He could hear the rest of the Apple family coming out to examine the noise and the whole thing boggled him! What shocked him the most was the thick river of vomit that ran down the side of the wall outside the home leading from only a few inches below the window to Apple Blooms room. It took all of 20 seconds for Apple Bloom, Big MacIntosh, and Granny Smith to come outside and the sight in front of them all made them all wince.

"Good sweet heavens!", Apple Bloom spurted out at seeing the jets of bile spraying out her bedroom window, "What's going on up there?!"

"It's like some damn horror movie!", Josh yelled, shielding his head and looking up towards where Applejack was throwing up, "Gilda, what in Celestia's name is goin' ON?!?"

"I don't know!!", the gryffin shouted back, "One minute she's guzzling cider just fine and the next she's puking her guts out!"

"Gilda, I swear to all that is holy if you did something to that cider, I'll be serving roast gryffin to the ENTIRE town!!!!!", Granny Smith roared.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO---", Gilda started to shout back.... before something in the puddle that had spilled out of Applejack's mug caught her eye. Easing her way over to the puddle, Gilda looked down and found herself staring at what looked like half of a small pink pill. With a wince, she gently picked up the tablet and examined it, her enhanced avian-vision allowing her to make out the microscopic black writing still faintly visible before she yelled out the window in between breaks of Applejack spewing her stomach.

"Any of you heard of something called Capicec?"

"That's a vomit-inducer for evacuating poisons, why?", Josh called back before turning to Big Mac and adding, "I learned a lot about medications back in the hospital... plus they have something similar back in my world.."

Gilda's expression darkness and she sullenly dropped the small pill out the window. "I just found this in Applejack's mug....", she called back.

Holding out his hands, Josh watched the pill drop into his palm and when he released what he was looking at, only one thought went both his and Gildas' minds

"Champagne.... you fucking bastard...", he growled before turning to Granny Smith, "Can someone get me a mop and bucket while you all check on Applejack.... me and Gilda will take care of cleaning off Applejack's breakfast from the house... As well as have a nice... long... talk."
-----------------------------------
It took less than 5 minutes for a bucket of soapy water and a big wet mop to be produced as Apple Bloom, Big MacIntosh, and Granny Smith all helped get Applejack to bed while Gilda and Josh took up the task of cleaning off the smelly remains of Applejack's stomach off the side of the Apple family home. The silence that filled the air as they got to work was inpalpable, although one look in each others eyes made it clear that they were both thinking the same thing, a thought that was voiced out by Josh finally breaking the silence.

"Gilda, correct me if I'm wrong.... but don't you need a special note to be able to purchase Capicec due to its possibilty of abuse."

The gryffin nodded resolutely. "You need to either be some sort of doctor or con man to be able to pick it up, things which I am not.... Sounds like you're thinking the same thing I am..."

"That somehow Champagne got someone to taint one of the barrels.... Somehow I'm not surprised he'd resort to goddamn murder.... especially after what he did to ME!", Josh seethed as he wiped at another splotch of Applejack's puke.

"Josh, you're not gonna like this.... But I think we need to go to Champagne's mansion and try to find out how much he knows about our helping Applejack and Rainbow Dash train to kick his flanks!"

The teen just sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "It'll never end, will it Gilda? Even IF we're able to defeat Champagne, there's just gonna be more creeps like him and Thoroughbred... never able to just get a day of rest.... Wether it's training for some competition or uncovering another part of Equestria's history or even trying to find out if my parents are still alive.. I'm never going to be able to rest.."

Gilda just lowered her head in remorse. Rainbow Dash had told her that Josh's family had disowned him after his parents had vanished under the belief he had killed them. She also knew Dash's past was a mystery, the pegasus rarely talking about her life before flight school. Even at Dash's young age, she was very tight-lipped about what her own mom and dad had been like or if they were even still IN Equestria. She couldn't help but wonder if that was one of the things that attracted them to each other.

"Josh look.... at this point, I'm NOT gonna be able to stay here much longer... I want to find out what else Champagne and his friends have done.... But before I go... I want to make sure Rainbow Dash and Applejack are ready to handle anything or any dish Champagne throws at them. For all we know, he could be trying to change the menu for the contest into things NO SANE PONY WOULD EVER EAT!"

Josh nodded sadly and kept wiping down the traces of vomit from beneath Apple Bloom's window. Gilda could tell the look in his eyes was one of exhaustion and sadness and she had an idea how to at least lift his spirits a little.

"I tell you what... you help me snoop on Champagne and I'll let Dash and AJ take tomorrow off of the training... give you a chance to just be with her."

"You'd... you'd do that??", Josh asked cautiously.

"Yeah! I'll give you two a day just to be together, no training or worries... you can sleep, eat, see a movie, whatever! I'll even throw in a couple extra bits for you both to go check out a movie and get a nice dinner afterwards!"

Even through the growing darkness, the smile of gratitude that Josh gave the gryffin glowed. "Thank you, Gilda."

"No sweat, dude... but we may need one other individual to help us out with our spying.... someone with natural stealth and agility...."

"Who... did you have in mind?"
--------------------------------------------------
"I still t'ink you two are nuts!"

That was all Meowth could say as him, Gilda, and Josh flew in the night sky towards Seaddle where they knew Champagne's estate rested. Even though he'd been willing to accompany them on their misson of secrecy after hearing about Applejack being poisoned, the cat-pokemon was still in a state of disbelief that they would not only attempt to spy on Champagne, but that they would think he'd be of much help in pulling this off.

"You don't think I know that?", Josh muttered irritably, "I just want to be resting with my Dash.... but Gilda's right, we need to see if Champagne's got anything else planned. He tried to kill me, he tried poisoning Applejack... what ELSE is he gonna try?!"

Gilda didn't say anything as they flew side-by-side. She hadn't even told Josh about that news article she found, knowing if he discovered that Champagne had tried to make his death look warranted, either he would have attempted to take the unicorn's life or just gone back to his world permanently, leaving Rainbow Dash all alone.

But even as they approached the massive estate, the white fortress below them resting upon the grassy plains, Gilda's silence grew all the more frightening. She hadn't said a word since they'd left Dash and Josh's cloud castle and the fact that not even Meowth trying to rile her up had produced so much as a snarl terrified the cat-pokemon to no end. All the gryffin did as they flew was look down searching for Champagne's domicile and occasionally glance at the big satchel she wore around her neck and as they made their descent on an oak tree less than a few inches above the roof of the mansion, Meowth found his nerve finally starting to break.

"Gilda, will you say SOMETIN'?! Fer Celestia's sake, an INSULT would break da tension at dis point!!! Make fun of my curled tail, my gold charm, my seasickness!!"

"Meowth, you don't get seasick.... do you?", Josh whispered back to his friend.

"I'm grasping at straws, Josh, just work with me...", Meowth pleaded.

Gilda didn't reply other than to open up her satchel and pull out a tape recorder, a 2x4, a small microphone, and a set of walkie-talkies before she finally broke her silence, her words coming soft and rushed as she gave the cat-pokemon all but a single walkie-talkie.

"Meowth, take the recorder, mic, and one of the walkies and place them in the vent right above Champagne's dining room... I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that he's in there gloating about trying to take Applejack out. There's a fan shielding the vent, but the 2x4 should block it and give you enough time to squeeze in without being sliced. Josh and I will make sure the 2x4 stays in place and I'll let you know when we've gotten all the info out of him we need. Then we can get outta here and go to the police with the confession... Got it??"

"I don't really have much of a choice, do I?", Meowth gulped as he took the equipment and prepped himself for his leap.

"Not unless you want to be dropped screaming into the fan itself.", the gryffin replied bitterly, "Just set the mic down when you get to where he is and the tape recorder will do the rest."

With a solemn nod, the cat-pokemon took his leap off the branch and landed on the rooftop before heading to a nearby ventilation pipe. Sure enough, he could see a large fan covering the entrance and he knew if he tried to go in without stopping the blades, he'd be reduced into cat food. Swallowing back the wave of nervousness and nausea threatening to come up his throat, Meowth carefully slid the large plank of wood into the fan and sure enough, the sharp spinning fan blades ground to a halt, jammed by the block of wood preventing them from making their deadly spin. Hearing Gilda and Josh coming from behind him, Meowth climbed into the opening now given by the fan and crawled through the shaft of the mansion. It was mercifully a big enough shaft that he could maneuver his way through without much discomfort. As the pipes went through the width of the giant mansion, Meowth found himself able to look through the narrow ventilation holes into each of Champagne's rooms, inwardly whistling to himself at the majesty of the unicorn's fancy domicile. There were rooms full of antiques, paintings, electronic equipment, all looking like they'd cost a hoof and a tail to own. The temptation for the cat-pokemon to break into one of the unguarded rooms and make off with a little something to help himself and Ponyville was strong, but he knew he was there for a special purpose, not to rob Champagne blind.... even if inwardly he couldn't help but feel like he'd deserve to be burgled clean. But soon enough he found himself looking down through the narrow slits at Champagne sitting at a fancy dinner table and being attended to by, from what he could make out to be, a pony with shades, another unicorn with a blue coat and decked in a sharp black tuxedo, and a gryffin with a mustache that could have rivaled that of any villian on one of those old black-and-white cartoons Granny Smith had made him and the Cutie Mark Crusaders watch in an attempt to show the youngsters "Good-quality television!". None of them had made it through one picture before they'd all fallen asleep. Taking a deep breath, Meowth placed the mic down and pressed a button on the recorder, allowing the tape to start copying the dialouge in the room below.

"Sir, we just got word that Applejack has been incapacitated. Looks like those pills you got from Ponyville Urgent Care did the trick!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho! Excellent! I knew Nurse Neighbourne and Elano wouldn't let us down!"

"Unfortunately, it doesn't appear she got enough of a dose to take her out completely.... A day of rest and she'll be back to normal..."

"Zat is such a shame... such trash deserves to be shown their place..."

"I know, Gustav... Those two ponies are growing to be thorns in my side!!! Hell, if I could I'd just have Diegaldo put a bullet in their heads! I know that damn human is going to be even more on guard! If that gryffin hadn't been there with her potion, he'd be pushing up roses by now...."

"At least you were able to get that report out that he was threatening the place, monsueir, that should help spread some panic and distrust and maybe even turn the town against him!"

"But it's not enough, Buttle! We need to make sure not just Ponyville, but ALL of those challengers fail! Equinox would not be at all pleased if even one city was spared from the vines of Black Thorn! He wants all of Equestria under his thumb! That damn human... I know Celestia just brought him here to stop us! Teaching wisdom to a bunch of mouth-breathers, HAH!"

"Zat's Celestia for you, always thinking about trying to help ponies learn... Pitiful, really."

"Er... if I may make a suggestion... why not just rig the contest itself?"

"Explain..."

"Well, why not make it so the dishes aren't consumable by anyone but you. We know you have nearly no gag reflex, Equinox's surgeons made almost certain of that!"

"Continue, I'm liking where you're going with this!"

"Well, some of the company has done research on dishes that no sane pony would ever be able to consume! While we can't replace all 10 dishes, we can make half of them more to your pleasure, heh heh."

"Sabotage.... I like it! What kinds of dishes did you have in mind?"

"Casu Marzu, Balute eggs, Durian, Escamoles, even a liquid known only as Kumis... emphasis on that first part, gee hee!"

"That sounds horrible... grotesque!!! I LOVE IT! Contact the EWREC chef at once, Buttle!"

"But of course, sir... I'm sure he'll be more than willing to alter the menu to our.... specifications, heh hee."

"Of course he will! He knows where his bread is buttered and he wouldn't dare go against Equinox... Not unless he wants to end up like Mayor Hareris."

"Monsueir, if I may be zo bold as to be asking... what if Ponyville catches on and refuses to give up their town after you beat them, claiming that the dishes weren't edible?"

"Oh ho ho ho.... You forget, Gustav... Mayor Hareris tried to resist our might and now he's resting with our deeds in a rotting grave! As far as anyone knows... that pathetic mule offed HIMSELF when I defeated his contestants like the coward he was! Ho ho that was a day I'll relish until the day I die... when I proved Black Thorn's strength!!! IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!!!"

By now, Meowth felt himself wanting to be violently ill at hearing the cold uncaring tones of Champagne and his staff and from the tone in Gilda's voice crackling softly through the walkie talkie, she felt the same way...

"That'll do Meowth... I can't listen to anymore... c'mon back..."

"With pleasure...", he muttered as he picked up the mic and recorder and journeyed back through the vent and onto the roof, Gilda removing the block as soon as Meowth had climbed back out of the fan and allowing the blades to resume their spin. But the faces that greeted him were not happy in the slightest, Josh's face looking close to cracking, "Josh... I'm so---"

"Give Gilda the equipment and go back home, Meowth... just... go....", Josh replied sullenly, cutting off the cat-pokemon "We'll be there shortly...."

With a nod and a sniffle, Meowth gave Gilda the equipment back and Josh a tight hug before taking to the sky on his way back to Ponyville. As she watched the cat-pokemon disappear out of sight, she gave the teen next to her a look and saw his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were close to breaking through his flesh.

"Josh?"

"How long have you known about this article Gilda.... tell me....", he whispered.

"Just a day... I found out about it last night...", Gilda stammered. For the first time in her entire life, Gilda Dellarosa Clawden was afraid. The aura that surrounded him was one she could only describe as being pure anger, like he was a powder keg on the verge of an explosion.

"So all of Rutherford or whatever that damn town is thinks I'm some sort of a lunatic... even after they saw what happened...."

"I don't know how many of them actually believe that garbage... I mean... they all saw you on the news get killed."

"And yet, they still print shit on me... They still see it fit to degrade me... just like EPA did. They don't care... none of them do.."

"Josh, relax...", the gryffin said, trying to place a claw on Josh's back soothingly, only to have him push her away.

"I'll leave..... I'm gonna pack up my things and head back home.... I'm never going to escape the ridicule... I might as well just accept it..."

"Josh, don't say that! Look, I'm gonna head to Zecora's place in the Everfree Forest... she may know where I can pick up some of those foods they were talking about.... There's no point in trying to take any of this to the police... they've probably got ponies or whatever working there ready to destroy any evidence against them... So we may as well beat them at their own game... Why don't you just get some rest w--"

"Do what you want, Clawden...", Josh growled, cutting off the gryffin, as he readied his wings to take to the sky, "I'm out... Fuck Champagne... Fuck Equestria... I know I'm not welcome here... I'm not welcome anywhere.."

Before she could say anything else, Josh leapt off the rooftop and took to the air, quickly vanishing out of sight. As she watched him leave, Gilda felt tears of anger welling up in her eyes. Anger at herself for leaving Ponyville in the first place, anger at Champagne for breaking Josh's spirit, anger at Josh for wanting to give up... Before she knew it, the tears had escaped her eyes and were running down her cheeks, matting the white feathers in their wake... and this time...

She didn't try to hide them. She let the tears come out, burying her face in her claws and letting out a few choked sobs before she cleared her throat and took to the skies herself on her way to the Everfree Forest.... letting her tears fall for the first time in 19 years.
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As Josh landed back in front of the spare hayloft, he felt like he was taking the dead man's walk to the electric chair. He was prepared to say goodbye to Rainbow Dash and leave Equestria... but he knew the pegasus deserved at least a proper farewell... But his heart, his soul... it all hurt him to the core. He didn't know how many ponies in Equestria trusted him now.... nor if any of them would want him there anymore after that report. He'd made a stop back at Dash's home and checked out the report for himself... when he'd seen what had been written not just about him, but about Dash and Applejack, his heart all but crumbled. He was nothing more than a joke now.... he wouldn't be able to teach the ponies jackshit about friendship... in fact he was unsure the ponies would even CONSIDER him a friend anymore... He didn't even want to take his clothes or presents, not even bothering to turn off the screen after viewing the article. His whole body felt numb, like all his movements were pure automation...

He'd even written a few notes before he left, one to Princess Celestia asking for her to transport him back home permanently and one to Rainbow Dash explaining why... he only hoped she was asleep so it'd be a lot easier to leave her.

But as he opened the barn doors, he knew he wouldn't be afforded such a luxury. A few lanterns illuminated the room and allowed him to see Rainbow Dash sitting up in the bed, rubbing her hooves anxiously.

"Josh? Are you ok?"

Josh just spat on the ground before he spoke. "Does it matter, Dash? Does it? It's best that I leave..."

"Leave?!? Why?!", Rainbow Dash yelled, throwing off the covers and hovering in the air before zooming towards the human and getting so close in his face her snout was touching his, "What happened?!"

Josh just sighed softly, "It doesn't matter... I just want to go...."

"Tell me!"

"Dash, don't push me....", he warned shirking underneath the flying pegasus and heading to the lanterns to dim them.

Tell me, Josh! I thought you loved me! Tell me what happened! It can't be THAT bad!"

That was all it took for all the anger, all the rage Josh had been suppressing that night to come out...

"Can't be that bad???", Josh spat before he roared and threw his fist into one of the empty barrels before picking it up and chucking it all the way to the other end of the barn, watching it shatter against the wall, "THE WHOLE FUCKING TOWN THINKS I'M A GODDAMN PSYCHO!!!!! CHAMPAGNE USED HIS FUCKING CONNECTIONS TO GET A MAJOR NEWSPAPER TO SAY THAT HE SAVED THAT RESTAURANT WHEN I BECAME SOME DRUNKEN PSYCHOPATH! HE SAID THAT I WAS THREATENING TO SLIT SOME PONY FROM EAR TO EAR! HE'S GOT ALL THOSE PONIES BACKING UP HIS STORY AND MAKING ME OUT TO BE A FREAK!!!!! ALL I SOUGHT TO ESCAPE... ALL I THOUGHT I COULD GET AWAY FROM... IT'S ALL COME BACK TEN-FOLD!!! I'M NEVER GOING TO ESCAPE!!!! I DON'T BELONG HERE.... I DON'T BELONG IN MY OWN WORLD..... I'M BETTER OFF GODDAMN DEAD!!!! NOW TELL ME THAT IT CAN'T BE THAT FUCKING BAD!!! JUST TELL ME!!!!!!!!"

Having spent all his energy in his rant, it was then that he felt an odd sensation beneath his snout and noticed Rainbow Dash looking at him in pure shock. Brushing his hand beneath his nose, he pulled it away to find it stained with blood. The stress and energy that had come out in his speech had broken a blood vessel in his nose and now tiny streams were pouring out of his sinuses.

"An' now I've got a bloody fucking nose.... A BLOODY GODDAMN SNOUT!", he yelled, punching a hole in another barrel. By now his anger was at a feverish pitch and Rainbow Dash knew what she had to do to calm him down....

"JOSHUA JAMES ROCKET, CALM DOWN AND LISTEN TO ME!!!!!", she screamed as loud as she could. Miraculously, the bloodied teen actually turned towards her, his face crumpled as if on the verge of a total collapse and blood pouring out his nose and down his lips. Seeing she had his attention, she pointed with her forehoof for the teen to take a seat on their urine-coated bed, the scent of her golden honey faintly emanating from the sheets before she spoke.

"Josh before you came here, I just believed in striving for speed. My only goal was to become a member of the Wonderbolts! I didn't care about things like love.... but ever since you showed up, I've realized there's more to life than just living fast and dying fast... I've learned you can love too.... I didn't know how deep I felt until I saw you on that news report.... when I saw you dead, I felt like my mind went numb... and when I saw you alive again... I felt happier than I'd ever felt before.... Soarin' and Spitfire... they have nothing compared to the feelings I get when I'm with you.... and I want those feelings to continue forever.... I don't want you to ever leave, Josh..... YOU CAN'T LEAVE!! I NEED YOU HERE!!!"

Josh only stared at the pegasus in front of him for a few moments before he took out the letters in his jacket and looked at them, repeating to himself sullenly what he had written before turning back to Dash, his voice choked up.

"They're going to come after you two.... they tried to kill Applejack and they're going to do the same to you too...."

Rainbow Dash wanted so dearly to be able to scream at that part and curse Champagne's name, but she forced herself to remain eerily calm for the human in front of her, knowing he needed her to remain docile for the moment. "Then let them... I'd rather die fighting than run... I know we can take them down... starting with this eatoff! I don't care how much barfing I have to go through, it'll all be worth it in the end... I know it will... especially with you by my side..."

"Why do you keep saying that?!", Josh yelled back, "How can you trust me like that?! How do you know I won't be like him!?!"

"Josh, what are you talking about???", Rainbow Dash asked, puzzled to what Josh was getting at.

The human pegasus sighed and placed his head in his hands before he spoke. "My mom always told me a person's eyes were windows to their soul.. and when I looked in Twilight Sparkle's eyes and saw her inner wisdom, I knew the same applied to ponies as well.... But when I looked into Champagne's eyes... I saw nothing but my own reflection... There was no warmth, no compassion, no wholeness in him... just a vacant black hole.... and seeing my image staring back at me.... how do I know all I've seen... all I've been through... how do I know that's not going to turn me cold like him!?"

"Josh, the fact you even HAVE those feelings gives you a step up on him! All we've seen proves Champagne is just a cold, empty shell. All he cares about is his own personal glory... just like Thoroughbred... But YOU... You literally gave your life trying to defend my name!"

"Well, isn't that what you do for someone you love???", Josh asked, getting a hoof placed on his shoulder in return.

"It's EXACTLY what you do...", Rainbow Dash whispered before pulling the teen in for a hug and rubbing his back gently, cooing to him just as he had for her when she had to barf up her lunch into Applejack's toilet after that nightmare.

Josh just rested his head on her foreleg gently for a few minutes, letting Rainbow Dash just rub him, before he finally spoke.

"How... how are you so perfect, Dash? You're kind, funny, cute, intelligent.... you've the perfect package..."

At this, the pegasus couldn't help but chuckle. "I guess when you hang around eggheads like Twilight Sparkle long enough, you tend to pick up habits. But I bet if you got a good sleep, you'd feel a lot saner... I know you probably didn't sleep much in the hospital..."

"Dash, I didn't sleep at ALL.... Every time I shut my damn eyes, all I could feel was the throbbing in my skull and all I could see was that cold, unfeeling glare....."

Rainbow Dash just sighed before she laid down on her stomach onto the urine-soaked bed and waved the teen on over.

"C'mon, rest between my flanks. They're big enough to provide a cushion for you and you can listen to my bellys rumbling."

"Dash, what the heck does that have to do with my insomnia..."

"Trust me, Josh... I know what I say.... now lay your head down between my buttcheeks... they're waiting..."

"You're nuts, Dash...", Josh sighed before turning around and getting his head rested firmly between the warmth of her two giant cheeks. All the food and drink that had stayed down had helped to make her already big rump the size of two pumpkins, her rainbow tail looking more akin to the flag on a set of handlebars. He had to admit it was actually a very cozy pillow and the scent of urine and sweat still clung to her, filling him with a sense of comfort. As he listened close, he could hear the sloshing and rumbling of Rainbow Dashs tummy as it turned more of the cider and food that she'd managed to keep in her stomach into fat among other things.... and he didn't know whether it was truly the sloshing sounds acting like a wave machine or his exhausted mind finally giving in....

But he had fallen asleep before he could even say another word....

And as Rainbow Dash looked behind at the human now resting on her rump, she gave a small sigh of relief and smiled.

"Good night, Joshua... sweet dreams.."

With that, she gave him a small gentle kiss and rested her own head onto the pillow, quickly joining him in dreamland....

All the while the two letters Josh had written lay in the dampness of the bed, the ink becoming runny and unreadable....

Not like he really needed them anymore....