"There you go... that should help calm your bellies..."

The two mare were resting in Applejack's guest bedroom, tucked nice and warm into the big spare bed and as Fluttershy gave Rainbow Dash and Applejack hot cups of her famous herbal tea, the yellow pegasus smiled at her friends, cooing to them like they were her singing birds or her precious bunny Angel.

"Thanks...", Dash quivered, taking the tea and sipping it cautiously, not wanting to drink it too fast and have it end up making a second appearance. She had to admit it tasted pretty good and the smell of honey and jasmine wafting into her nostrils wasn't bad either.

"Fluttershy, you don't have to do this... I could always just make us some tea when our stomaches feel up to it...", Applejack said. But Fluttershy would have none of it.

"Nonsense.. you two are doing Ponyville proud by putting yourselves through this to stand up to that... that... meanie.", she whispered gently as she fluffed the cowpony's pillow.

"Rainbow Dash..", Applejack asked, "If we do manage to wi---"

"Not if... WHEN, AJ.", Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grin to her cowpony friend. Even with an uneasy stomach, her competitive attitude was still at its maximum peak.

Applejack and Fluttershy couldn't help but grin before the former spoke again. "Ok, WHEN we win this competition-thing, what do you plan on doing with your share of that 50,000 bits?"

"Share?", Fluttershy asked, "You mean you guys would be dividing the prize?"

"Of course!", Rainbow Dash replied with a grin, "I'm the element of Loyalty after all... You know I wouldn't hog all the bits for myself!"

At this, Fluttershy gave them both a big hug and a squeal of joy. She loved it when her friends were not only getting along, but planning to team up against adversaries!

"That's just so wonderful!", she squeaked, hovering in the air and clapping her hooves together, "I'm so relieved you gals aren't gonna fight over that prize..."

"Fluttershy, I think you've been watching too many cartoons with the Crusaders...", Rainbow Dash quipped, "Not every bond can break thanks to greed!"

At hearing something so wise come from the streetwise pegasus, Fluttershy and Applejack couldn't help but give their friend a puzzled look as she sipped her cup of tea, the liquid doing a lot of help to settle her quaking stomach. Finally, she set the cup down and looked at both the starers.

"What?? You hang around an egghead like Twilight Sparkle long enough, you're bound to pick up some of her wisdom!"

The two other equine had to concede that this was a very valid point. Twilight had a way of spreading her intelligent demeanor around, even in the most subtle of ways. Whether by just her logic or even through her sagely sayings, it was like listening to somepony let out a big healthy yawn, equally as catching.

"That's true indeed!", Applejack agreed before letting out a nice big yawn herself. The tea had done wonders for helping her stomach settle, but right now she wanted a nice rest... a way to let the last few throes of illness disappate. Fluttershy could see both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were looking a little sleepy and she calmly flew to the closet and fetched a couple of buckets.

"These are just in case... well..", Fluttershy blushed, letting the growing redness on her cheeks say the words for her.

"In case we need to revisit a little bit more of the food?", Rainbow Dash asked, getting a shy nod in return.

"This way, you don't have to travel to the bathroom... you can just rest in bed and let nature run its course."

At hearing this, something clicked in Applejacks head and she turned to her rainbow-maned companion. "Dash, why DIDN'T you just go upstairs when the downstairs bathroom was stuck?"

Rainbow Dash grimaced as she rubbed her gurgling belly gently. "AJ, if I had tried to get up those stairs... a lot more than just a hallway would have needed to be mopped up."

Again, Applejack had to concede Dash had a point. Trying even to FLY upstairs on a sick tummy would have been akin to just putting her on a tilt-a-whirl! But at the moment, she just wanted to get some rest...

"Are you two going to be ok if I head downstairs?", Fluttershy asked softly.

"Yeah, we should be good. Ah just wanna get some rest right now. I'm just glad Caramel is able ta take o'er the farm while we train..."

Smiling, Fluttershy started to fly out of the bedroom, but Rainbow Dash's voice stopped her.

"Fluttershy?"

Turning around, the yellow pegasus could see Rainbow Dash gently sitting up against the bedframe. "Yes, Dash?"

"Can... can you tell Josh I'm ok... and tell Rarity I'm sorry?"

The timid flyer couldn't help but let out an audible gulp at the second request. She'd seen how frantic the white unicorn had gotten after Rainbow Dash ralphed on her and she also knew that, while she had a habit of being overly theatrical at times... when a legitimate problem arose, she could become very very unstable.

"O...ok...", she whimpered as she flew out of the room, leaving Dash and AJ resting in the bed. Slowly, Rainbow Dash let her eyes shut and her head sank back into the warmth of the big pillow. The exhaustion from the combination of eating mass quantities and throwing up made it so it took little time for the two ponies to drift off to sleep. But deep in the back of their minds, they couldn't help but wonder....

What the heck had they gotten themselves truly into...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even in the crisp moonlight and starry sky, Fluttershy never felt so scared... She was only steps away from the Carousel Boutique and she was terrified at how Rarity would react after what happened back at Sweet Apple Acres. Even though Josh was waiting only a few feet away, the teen agreeing to go with her as everyone else got the place cleaned up from the first days session, she felt uneasy and wished someone else could have gone to the unicorns house in her stead.

"Easy, Fluttershy...", she told herself over and over, "You've talked to her dozens of times... this isn't gonna be any different... just because she got thrown up on isn't gonna make her mad at you...."

Before the timid yellow pegasus knew it, she was at the door of the boutique. Taking a deep swallow and feeling goosebumps all over her body, she raised her hoof and gently tapped on the door.

"Rarity?", she squeaked, "Rarity are you th---"

"GO AWAY!!! I'M NEVER COMING OUT!!! NEVER!!!", a crazed and angry voice bellowed out from the other side.

"Uh... um... Rarity please... it's Fluttershy..."

"FLUTTERSHY?!? WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT ME????"

"Um ... it... it all happened so fast...."

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!! MY BODY IS TARNISHED FOREVER!!! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU AND THAT RAINBOW DASH!!!"

Hearing Rarity's harsh voice screaming at her, Fluttershy found herself close to tears. But the pegasus forced herself to keep trying to reason with her friend.

"Rarity, please... she's really so----"

"I NEVER WANT TO TALK OR SEE EITHER OF YOU AGAIN!!!!! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!"

"But... but..."

'ALL YOUR FAULT!!! GO AWAY FROM HERE AND NEVER COME BACK!!!"

That was all the shy pegasus could take and before she knew it, she was sobbing uncontrollably and rushing away from the boutique door past where the teen was waiting.

"Fluttershy, wait!!!", he called out. But the pegasus was deaf to all but her wails and she flew off without saying a word to her friend.

Josh felt a mixture of sorrow and anger. He'd heard everything Rarity had yelled, in fact he was sure the whole TOWN had heard! He didn't care WHAT Rarity had gone through, Fluttershy didn't even remotely deserve to be screamed at.... but he knew he couldn't go after Rarity alone... he had to go after the one pony who could get just as angry as her....

It took him all of 5 minutes to go to Sugarcube Corner and fetch Pinkamena Diane Pie. As soon as she heard what Rarity had roared at her, her OWN voice took on an enraged pitch and she had DEMANDED Josh lead her to the boutique. The minute they were at the doorstep, Pinkie Pie knocked rapidly on the door, using her head, and called back to the unicorn on the other side.

"RARITY!! YOU COME OUT HERE NOW!! NOPONY TALKS TO FLUTT---"

"GO AWAY, PINKIE PIE!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU!!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE!!!"

"FLUTTERSHY WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP YOU!!!"

"I SAID GO AWAY!!!!!! THERE'S NO PARTY THAT WILL TAKE AWAY MY SHAME!!!"

"RARITY!!"

"I SAID GO AWAY.... NOW!!!!!!"

Pinkie Pie was left speechless and she found herself close to tears as well. She had never heard ANY pony so angry... not since Thoroughbred.

"Rarity! Please!!!"

"GO AWAY!!!!! GO THE HELL AWAY!!!!!!!"

In a mixture of frustration and fear, Pinkie Pie sat back on her haunches and looked at the boutique door, holding herself. Josh knew she was trying to hide what was happening, but that shaking back and those choked whispers said it all...

Pinkie Pie was crying. She was crying like a waterfall had burst from her eyes. It broke Josh's heart to see two of the gentlest ponies he knew now reduced to tears and he wasn't gonna allow it one more second.

"Ok, THAT'S it!!!", he growled before stomping up to the boutique door and pounding on it so hard he thought his fist would break through the wood. "RARITY!!! OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!!!!!!"

"NEVER! I'M NEVER COMING OUT!! GO AWAY, JOSH!! I'M STAYING HERE FOREVER!!!!"

"You've got until I count to three to open this door, or I'll BREAK it down!!!"

"...You wouldn't DARE!!!"

"You want to take a bet??", he growled before stepping backwards, "1....... 2........"

At seeing no response come from Rarity and looking down at Pinkie Pie... it was all the resolve Josh needed to charge forward.

"3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As strong as the door was, it was no match for the 150-pound human ramming into it and the wooden swing door burst open, leading Josh into the Boutique interior. Looking around, the teen couldn't see Rarity anywhere, he could feel her presence. The droplets of Rainbow Dash's vomit and shower water on the ground led a trail into the sanctity of Rarity's luxurious bathroom and, sitting upon the toilet seat and cowering as if trying to shield herself, was the fashionestra unicorn. Her mane still had a lot of splotches of where the multi-colored liquid and half-digested chunks clung to her purple hair and her white coat still gave the appearance of her being a mix of a pony and a dalmatian. From the steam on the large mirror hanging above the marble sink, Josh could tell the unicorn had been in the shower and the telltale marks on her body where she'd scrubbed way too hard were more indications that something had broken inside Rarity.

"Rarity Allison Unicorn... what the heck is WRONG with you!??", he yelled, banging his fist down on the sink, "Where do you get off screaming like that at poor Fluttershy???"

Hearing someone actually call her by her full name caught the unicorn off-guard, but she refused to look at the human staring at her. "SHE DIDN'T PROTECT ME!! SHE DOESN'T LOVE ME!!"

"Rarity, it happened too FAST for anyone to shield you! It was an honest accident!"

"MY COAT STILL SMELLS LIKE... LIKE... UGH!!", she screamed, "WHY COULDN'T SHE HAVE JUST TURNED HER HEAD??"

"Rarity, enough! Yeah it was gross what happened, but you have NO right to act like such a... a CHILD!"

At this, Rarity actually turned towards the human, but with a face full not of kindness... but full of unbridled anger and disappearing sanity. "A CHILD?!? I JUST GOT PUKED ALL OVER BY A PEGASUS!!! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I DIDN'T WANT ANY PART OF THIS!!"

"We ALL get messy at some point! Hell, you saw what happened to ME!"

"You just got cut!! I GOT PUKED ON EVERY INCH OF MY BODY!!!! A CUT DOESN'T LEAVE YOU SMELLING LIKE THE BACK ALLEY OF-----"

That was as far as Rarity got before Josh walked over and did something she never expected....

He slapped her. He reared his palm back and gave her a big slap on the cheek. The shock of such an action actually made the words the unicorn was screaming get caught in the middle of her throat and as she turned back to the teen, the look in his face genuinely frightened her. He looked almost inhuman, his teeth gnashing in rage and his fists clenched so tight it was miraculous that there wasn't blood pouring from them. The hand that had caught her face had small traces of the ugly mess of water and vomit, but none of that seemed to even faze him. It was almost as if a whole new human was standing before her and for the first time in a LONG time.... Rarity felt like she had gone way too far in her drama.

"Josh....", she quivered, but the teen raised his palm and motioned for her silence.

"Rarity, don't you EVER compare getting puked on to what happened to me! All it takes to recover from being covered in someone's lunch is just a shower.... Being SLICED takes FAR more than that!! You have no RIGHT to ever compare something like being vomited upon to being left to fucking DIE!!!"

"Josh... I'm so---", Rarity tried to speak up, but Josh was far from done.

"Oh ho ho, now it's MY turn to talk... and WHERE'S your sister!!! Did you scream at her too?!?"

All Rarity could do in response was nod fearfully.

"Unbelievable.... You get a LITTLE messy and you throw a temper tantrum?!? Pitiful.... You've made Fluttershy cry, you made Pinkie Pie cry, you probably made Sweetie Belle cry.... All because you get a LITTLE bit dirty! On top of all that... you have the GALL to compared what you went through to being left tied to a bunch of trees and having your flesh burned off!!!! Rarity, are you NUTS!?"

Rarity couldn't do anything but look at the human pegasus before her, tears welling up in her eyes. "But... I got so dirty! My beautiful coat... covered in rancid chunks and stomach juice! I took 5 showers and I STILL can't get rid of the smell!"

"That DOESN'T excuse you screaming like a Banshee at those poor ponies!"

"I... I just lost my head..."

"Lost your head.... THE WHOLE TOWN HEARD YOU YELLING!!!"

"I.. I'm sorry..", Rarity whimpered

"Louder..."

"I'm sorry!", the unicorn repeated.

"LOUDER! I want Pinkie Pie to hear you!!!!"

"I'M SORRY, OK?!", Rarity wailed, covering her face in her hooves before Josh took her in his arms and sighed. He felt bad about slapping the unicorn, but he knew it had to be done to get her to come to her senses. He'd never actually done that before and it surprised even him! One minute he'd been standing there and the next his hand had made hard contact with the side of Rarity's face.

"That's better...", he sighed, patting her on the back and ignoring the mess coming off onto his clothes. He knew a quick wash would take care of getting it all clean and he remembered that Soapsuds Laundro-mat was open 24/7 right near the boutique. "I'm sorry I slapped you... but I had to get you to stop screaming like you were being attacked!"

"I just... I lost it....", Rarity whimpered again, "When my coat got so filthy... it all went red!"

Josh just shook his head in silence before he released the unicorn from his grasp and placed his hands on the tops of her forelegs.

"Look... I know it was a shock, but I think you need to go apologize to Pinkie Pie.... right now.", Josh remarked calmly, but coldly.

Rarity merely nodded before she looked back up at the teen holding her shoulders. "What about you?"

"I'm gonna go look for Sweetie Belle, then try to comfort Fluttershy. You KNOW how sensitive she is! You ought to be ashamed...", the teen growled in disgust, "If she hurt herself from you screaming at her..... being vomited on will be the LEAST of your troubles!!! ARE WE CLEAR?!?"

A loud gulp went down the unicorns neck, but she managed to give the teen a nod before the two of them finally left the bathroom. As they approached the broken down doorway, the two of them could see Pinkie Pie wiping her eyes and sniffling. Giving a curt nod to the unicorn, Josh walked past the two equine and took to the sky. He knew that Pinkie Pie would easily forgive the unicorn, not having it in her to carry a grudge. But from the way the yellow pegasus had been sobbing, calming her down would be an entirely different matter.

But first... he had to find a small blank-flanked unicorn... and he had the feeling he knew where she was....