Sky scrunched her little white nose as something bumped against her. At first she thought it had to be some kind of forest animal sniffing her, and when it peppered her muzzle with little kisses, she reacted as any brave mare would; by shrieking like a scared little filly and socking it on the nose.

“Owww…” Rat groaned, rubbing his snout. His little scheme of waking Sky up in the most romantic way possible had been well and truly foiled, and he was left scrunching his muzzle and glaring at her reproachfully.

Sky’s eyes flickered open, catching sight of the sore little stallion and letting out a cute little giggle.

“Good morning,” she whispered affectionately, taking his cheeks in her hooves and smooching him on the nose in an effort to make him better.

“Some morning,” he grunted. “You reckon you can walk after what happened yesterday? You took one hell of a pounding.”

“Sure did!” Sky smiled dreamily, smacking her lips and stretching out her forelegs. “What are the chances of you carrying me if I can’t walk?”

“Depends. What’s in it for me?” Rat asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well...I mean...I could get you dinner when we get back to Canterlot…” Sky blushed, looking away.

“What, your cooking? You’ll poison me!”

“No, not my cooking. You know...er...a restaurant...with a chef and...and music and...stuff…” Sky trailed off, pointedly refusing to meet Rat’s gaze.

“You mean, like, you’ll take me on a date,” he asked, crossing his forehooves, “because you know that it’s okay for you to call it that, right?”

“Yeah, I mean, of course I know. I just...not in...quite so many words…” Sky chuckled nervously.

“Sky, you’re not making sense.” Rat deadpanned.

“Okay, okay! Cards on the table...I...want you to go on a date with me when we get back to Canterlot…” Sky sighed, “and I’ll pay for it.”

“Why?” Rat asked suspiciously.

“Well...er...isn’t that what ponies in a relationship do?” Sky frowned, pronouncing “relationship” as if it was a completely foreign concept to her.

“So you’re promising me free dinner if I carry your lazy ass?”

“Er...yes.” Sky nodded confidently.

Rat regarded her for a very long time, making a mental assessment of her health and wellbeing. On the one hoof, she’d been fucked so severely that she might really be crippled, but on the other hoof she hadn’t even tried to move her legs yet. Besides, there was something about Sky’s eyes, a certain fun-loving cheekiness that told Rat that she was taking the piss.

“So you’re sure that you can’t walk, huh?” He asked, trying to suppress the urge to grin.

“Absolutely.” Sky nodded. “I’ve got...er...low blood sugar!”

“Low blood sugar.”

“Yep!”

“You.”

“Yep yep!” Sky affirmed.

“So you’ve got a medical condition that hasn’t been mentioned or manifested in any way, shape or form, until I offered to pick you up?”

Sky nodded, beaming.

“You know something?” Rat chuckled, “I think anypony who keeps lying this hard probably deserves to get what she wants.”

“So you’ll carry me?”

“No.”

“Oh, the injuries, the lack of energy, my poor little broken wing!” Sky wailed melodramatically, putting a hoof to her forehead. “If only there was somepony who could help me in my time of need, but I’m all alone! However shall I go on?”

“It’s not gonna work, toots!” Rat smiled, nuzzling her cheek and starting toward the edge of the little clearing.

“You’re really gonna leave me out here?” Sky whimpered, tucking her forehooves up under her chin.

“No, but I’m not gonna be your personal chauffeur either!” Rat smiled.

“But...I thought you were gonna take care of me!” Sky squeaked, tugging on his tail as he tried to make his getaway.

Rat came to a halt, looking around at the crippled little mare. She fluttered her eyelashes once more, pawing at the ground with her hoof and slumping pathetically onto her side. She looked like a wreck. Moreover, she looked adorable, and Rat could feel her tugging at his heartstrings.

“That’s...not gonna work…” He grunted.

“Rat...I’m all alone out here…” Sky whimpered, twitching her forehooves and playing dead.

Were Shadow visible to Rat, she’d be screaming in his ear to never trust a pony who could cry on cue, but he probably wouldn’t have cared anyway. There was something about the faux despair and cheeky light in her eyes that compelled him. Reluctantly, the stallion pulled Sky onto his back, and a realisation hit him.

This was a test…

Sky wrapped her forelegs around his chest, giving him a great big squeeze and smooching him atop his head. “Thanks...you really saved my bacon back there…”

“What, from the tentacle monster or from your bullshit low blood sugar?” Rat chuckled, venturing deeper into the woods.

“Can’t we just say that you saved me from my own sex drive and laziness and call it good?” Sky offered.

“That sounds about right.” He snickered, bouncing his flanks just a little to give her an uncomfortable bump. “Guess I should’ve listened to my mom when I was a kid.”

“Yeah? What did she say?”

“Never ever pick up compulsive liars.” Rat grinned. “Course, I promised that I wouldn’t, but then again, I’m a compulsive liar, too.”

“Yeah, well...here’s a little truth for you…” Sky sighed, “I...just like being around you. I think you’re getting in way over your head with your whole “trying to help me” bullshit, but...I appreciate it.”

“That’s the closest I’m probably going to get to a “thank you.” I’ll take it.” Rat conceded.

“Well, I’ll tell you what,” Sky suggested as she nuzzled his ears, “if you’re not totally bonkers. If you can really help me...then I’ll say thanks every single morning, for the rest of our days together.”

“See, that’s what I’m talking about.” Rat said with a smile. “If you really have to say thank you, I want you to say thank you by waking up next to me in the morning, by having breakfast with me, by running jobs with me and laughing at all of my jokes…”

“That’ll be a stretch…” Sky muttered.

“The point is,” Rat continued, cutting her off, “that I’ve been thinking about it, and...this may seem crazy, but I want a future with you, Sky. I wanna be with you until we’re sick of one another. I wanna give you somepony to live for, to love, to care about so that even if Shadow went away, you could hold on. I wanna give you something that you’ve needed and looked for all of your life.”

“What’s that?”

“Love.”

Sky lay in silence for a while, frowning. When she spoke again, her voice was ragged and uncertain.

“Rat...I’ve been with a lot of guys in my life…”

“This isn’t about sex, Sky.” Rat grinned. “You’re good at it. Hell, you’re the best. I’ve never had a mare turn the tables on me in the bedroom so damn quickly, and nopony’s ever made me want it before. This is about...love. Real love. Not sex. That shit’s fleeting. It doesn’t mean anything to you, I can tell.”

“Well, so what if it doesn’t? It’s just a bit of fun…” Sky began.

“And is that all it’s supposed to be?” Rat asked. “Sky...I know why you do it...same reason I do. Sure, it’s just a bit of fun now and then, but you do it...and I do it...because we want to feel...close to someone. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, that moment when your body’s pressed close to somepony else’s...it’s almost like they really love you, like they care about you…”

“Is this why you let me ride on your back?” Sky sighed, rolling her eyes. “I dunno if this is motion sickness or just you being sappy.”

“But you know it’s true, right?” Rat pressed.

“Well...yeah, but…”

“But nothing. If you really want me as a coltfriend you’ve gotta realise that that means I’m gonna take care of you, just like I’d expect you to take care of me, right?”

Sky opened her mouth to protest, but no incredible counter-argument presented itself.

“The truth is...and you’ve gotta believe me here...I’ve seen...I’ve seen what happened to you, but that’s not why I love you.” Rat whispered. “I love you because you’ve got a great sense of humour. I love you because you’re kind and motherly and strong and brave. I love you because even after all of the shit that’s gone down, you’ve still got life in you. Basically...I love you because you’re you.”

“Huh…” Sky said, finally. “You know...that might be the sappiest shit anypony’s ever said to me.”

Rat’s ears flopped down.

Well, I tried…

“But…” Sky continued, nipping at his ears and pulling them back up, “it may also be the nicest thing anypony’s ever said to me. I just...dunno how to give you the right answer right now, but when I know for sure...well...I’ll tell you.”

Rat couldn’t help but smile at that, leaning his head back to rub his mane against her chin. “You’ve got it, toots.”

The two ponies held one another tightly as they ventured further into the woods, passing increasingly strange trees and bushes. In time, the trees were gone completely, replaced by some naturally-formed candy cane abominations. Monstrous lollipops grew out of the ground, stretching as far into the air as the forest canopy.

“Oh Luna, what now?” Rat groaned, as he stopped at the edge of yet another clearing. Enormous pools of some strange beige fluid stretched out in front of him, bubbling from time to time. They looked disgusting and yet smelled...very pleasant indeed.

Rat dipped his forehoof into one of the pools, licking the goo off of it and smacking his lips.

“That’s...butterscotch pudding.” He muttered. “Hey, Sky, good news! I think we’ve found a way to cure your low blood sugar! You can walk again! Isn’t that great?”

“Really?” Sky sighed in disbelief, “you mean that the weird candy-coloured clearing really is just made of actual candy?”

“Looks like.” Rat chuckled. “Course, I love butterscotch, but it never quite looked right to me.”

“Yeah…” Sky mused. “With that colour, I always thought it looked a little bit like…”

“STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!” Came a very familiar voice. Sky promptly leapt off of Rat’s back with a startled yelp, splashing her fetlocks with pudding. After a while, she caught the look that Rat was giving her.

“Wha...what?” She panted, placing a hoof over her chest to calm her beating heart.

“Yeah, low blood sugar. Whatever.” He grinned, blowing his mane out of his face as he turned to face the interloper.

Daybreak pulled herself out of the undergrowth, her armour dented and mucky from her own adventures through the Everfree Forest. On her back sat a little dragon that Sky immediately recognised, glaring daggers at the two burglars.

“Really?” Sky sighed exasperatedly. “After all this, he sent you after me?”

“After both of you!” Daybreak corrected her. “I’m here to take you two into custody, and if you resist, I have ways of...punishing you.”

“Oooh, are whips and chains involved?” Sky giggled, suddenly very interested indeed. “I have been a pretty naughty pony…”

“Well yes...yes you have…” Daybreak smirked, swaying her flanks just a little as she made her way towards her. “You know, naughty ponies deserve a good punishment…”

Rat shot Sky a sidelong glance, shocked and horrified that this was how she intended to get them out of trouble. That was nothing, however, compared to the horror of it actually working.

“I’ve got all sorts of awesome little toys back in Canterlot…” Sky whispered huskily. “Maybe after all of this is over, you can come back with me and...teach me a lesson…”

“Maybe I wi…” Daybreak began, trailing off as Silver nudged her in the ribs.

“Focus! You’re here to apprehend her, not fuck her!” He growled.

“Oh, yeah, right…” Daybreak smiled, shaking her head clear of sinful thoughts. “Er...yeah, you’ve got to come with me, both of you.”

“That was half-hearted.” Sky huffed. “Are you sure you don’t wanna play with me just a little?”

“Look, Sky, if it was up to me you’d be kept in a latex harness and forced to call me Mistress all the way back to Canterlot, but it’s not up to me.” Daybreak shrugged. “I just want to take you home, that’s all.”

“And has Stronghooves told you what happens to me when I go “home?”” Sky asked, smiling sweetly.

“Yeah, he helps you get better, and…”

“Get real, Daybreak. You can’t possibly believe that unless...oh, wow, he really got in your head, didn’t he?” Sky groaned. “He’s gone and fed you his bullshit about how much he loves me and how I’m not in my right mind, and you’ve just eaten it all up!”

“He’s got inside more than just my mind, if you must know.” Daybreak snickered mirthlessly, strutting just a little as she paced around the two ponies.

“What…really?” Sky squeaked. “You went and rode on his disco stick? You?”

“Yeah, me.” Daybreak nodded. “If we’re really lucky, you might even be my new sister in law! Won’t that be nice?”

“Oh...oh Luna...I don’t wanna throw up in a pool full of butterscotch…” Sky choked, staggering around before promptly pretending to barf into Rat’s saddlebag. The stallion jumped, actually checking the contents before getting the hell out of the way of the two mares. He figured that there really wasn’t much that he could do to help the situation right now.

“Yeah, yeah…” Daybreak huffed, rolling her eyes. “So what if you don’t like him? He’s special...and misunderstood…”

“You ever met somepony’s who’s actually misunderstood?” Sky inquired, stepping forward and looking her dead in the eye. “Way I see it, there’s not a lot of ponies in the world that are misunderstood. Sometimes they’re just assholes.”

“And what are you, then?” Daybreak asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Leaving. You may not like the idea of me just waltzing out of here without you, but you’ve come all this way for nothing. I’m gonna get away, we’re gonna blow the lid off of your whole Operative thing and I’m never ever gonna see that monster again.”

“If you’re trying to avoid monsters, you’re gonna have to keep away from reflective surfaces for the rest of your life.” Daybreak pouted. “Now, come on, come with me and nopony needs to get their ass kicked.”

“I’m sorry, was that meant to be an insult?” Sky asked, smiling as sweetly as she possibly could. “Wow, for somepony who can tear doors off of their hinges, that was some weak shit. Tell me, what kindergarten taught you that one?”

“Kindergarten? Please, I was bitching out better ponies than you when you were still in diapers.” Daybreak huffed dramatically. It was the dramatic huff of a pony who fully intended to make a scene.

“Yeah, considering your choice of fuck-buddy, I dunno if I really trust your opinion on what makes a pony good.” Sky grinned. “Speaking of which, when’s the wedding? You met his parents, yet?”

“I’m sure they’ll be perfectly nice po…” Daybreak began, but Sky exploded into giggles before she could finish her sentence. “Hey! Just because they didn’t like you doesn’t mean that I’m gonna be on their shit list!”

“Daybreak...sweetie…” Sky snickered, wiping her eyes, “no wonder you needed that magical super-strength bullshit. You’re one hell of a dumbass…”

“What, because I get along with your big brother and you don’t?” Daybreak laughed a little louder than necessary, prancing around her with the little baby dragon on her back. “You know, I’m starting to wonder why they threw you out. Was it because of your attitude or your great big fat flanks?”

Sky spread her wings, covering her ass self-consciously. “H...hey!”

“Oh yeah, did you tell your horsebando over there what happened when we first met?” Daybreak grinned wickedly, nodding her head at Rat.

“Wha...what happened?” Rat asked stupidly, resigned to his place in a pure spectatorial role.

“Your little marefriend here got her ass stuck in a sewage outlet!” Daybreak announced, giggling triumphantly as Sky went bright red.

“Y...you got your head stuck in it, too!” She countered.

“Yeah, but you don’t get a big head by eating all the pies!”

“No, you get a big head by being an arrogant, stuck-up bitch!” Sky replied with a giggle. “I’m surprised you even managed to fit between those bars in the first place!”

“The feeling’s mutual.” Daybreak replied, setting Silver down and bumping him with a forehoof. “Go on, Daybreak Junior. Go and keep an eye on the other scummy little burglar while I teach this one some respect.”

“Respect?” Sky scoffed. “Bitch, nopony teaches me respect. Not you, not your dumb-shit coltfriend, not anyone.”

“Yeah, I can tell. So, Sky, how does it feel to have ponies only like you for your body?”

“Pretty good, actually!” Sky beamed, giving Daybreak a less-than-friendly shove. “In fact, I could show you things that your vanilla-ass fucktoy probably hasn’t even heard of.”

“So you’re a slut, then?” Daybreak asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Pretty much, but I’m the best damn slut in Canterlot.” Sky said proudly. “You look like the kind of mare who thinks a blowjob means three licks and a quick rub.”

“Oh, please. I can turn a great big stallion into my whimpering, begging little bitch.” Daybreak snorted.

“Sweetie, the only kind of stallion you’d leave whimpering is one who’d smelled your rancid-ass pussy.”

“At least I don’t have a coat that looks like I was on the wrong end of a bunch of horny sick stallions!”

“At least I don’t have a coat that looks like I rolled around in the mud for three days!”

“Awww, is that the best you’ve got? Face it, Sky. You’re just mad because I’m too much of a mare for you to handle!”

“Yeah, me and a team of steroid-abusing minotaurs.” Sky replied evenly. “Did you really come looking for me, or were you just hungry for dessert after eating the rest of the Everfree Forest?”

Rat and Silver cringed as one. Daybreak blinked. Sky had just gone far beyond the point of no return.

“Bless your heart.” She spat. “You must’ve been working for weeks just to trash-talk like that. I guess you had to be doing something whenever you weren’t taking a dick in the ass.”

Daybreak’s eyes rested on Rat, who took a reflexive step backwards.

“Speaking of which…” she added, “hey, hot stuff! How would you like to hang out with a real mare for a change? You don’t need this poser.”

“Alright, that’s it,” Sky growled, giving Daybreak a shove, “that’s enough out of you, bitch! Leave Rat out of this!”

“Yeah, leave me out of it!” Rat nodded, trying to control his sparking horn.

“Shut up, Rat!” Sky and Daybreak shouted together, striking the stallion dumb with shock.

The two mares locked eyes, shooting each other glares of deepest hatred...and perhaps the tiniest hints of amusement. Sky spread her damaged wings, dragging her forehoof across the chocolate-wrought ground with a deepening growl.

“Don’t you dare talk to him, slut.” She hissed. “He’s mine.”

“Wow, you’re getting pretty defensive. Worried he’s going to slip out of your gimpy little grip and come running to a real pony?” Daybreak giggled, settling into a ready stance with her legs apart.

“Oh, you are so dead.” Sky snarled.

And with that, she tackled Daybreak into a pool of butterscotch pudding.

Silver and Rat looked on with a strange mix of horror and arousal at the sight of the two mares wrestling. Neither of the unfortunate males said anything for the longest time, until Silver took it upon himself to break the silence.

“Does...does this sort of thing happen often?” He asked uncertainly.

“With Sky? Yeah...yeah, it does.” Rat sighed. “You get used to it.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen Daybreak so mad.” Silver commented. “She must’ve really touched a nerve. I suppose Miss Runner’s quite proficient at that.”

“Yeah, she really knows how to get you where you’re sensitive.” Rat replied, the corners of his mouth twitching just a little as his horn sparked again. “You’re Silver, aren’t you?” He added after a moment’s pause.

“Finally, somepony who can tell who I am!” The tycoon gasped, exasperated. “How did you know?”

“I recognised your voice and colours.” Rat shrugged. “I took the liberty of showing up at your wedding. You clean up pretty nice.”

The two of them stood in silence as Sky pushed Daybreak’s head into the pool of pudding, screaming something incomprehensible. Neither one looked away for one second, concerned that they might miss something.

“That mare’s cost me a lot, you know.” Silver said. “My father, my freedom, my fortune, my species...even my privates...simply because she couldn’t lay down and die.”

“Must be looking like a pretty fucking stupid plan in retrospect.” Rat replied, glancing sidelong at Silver with a little smile.

“Maybe.” The little dragon sighed. “You were a factor I hadn’t anticipated. You went up against my Operatives with her, helped her break into my facility and make a fool out of me in front of everypony in Canterlot...and yet you don’t seem so keen to help her, now.”

Rat said nothing, letting his mouth hang open as Daybreak pulled Sky onto her lap. She pulled the little mare’s tail out of the way, dunking Sky’s head into the pudding as she flailed her hind legs pathetically.

“Yeah, you know something? I think she can handle herself this time.”

“Agreed.”

Sky wriggled and squirmed upside-down as Daybreak held her in the air by her flanks, dunking her head into the butterscotch pool over and over again.

“Yeah, not so funny now, are you?” Daybreak chuckled, pushing the struggling mare’s face into the pudding until Sky wiggled and screamed to come up. “Come on, little pegasus! Just submit and come with me, okay?”

“Ma...make me!” Sky squeaked as Daybreak pulled her head out of the pudding. She gasped for breath, realising that she might have just tempted fate once too often.

“Make you? You want me to make you?” Daybreak screeched, adjusting her grip around Sky’s midsection to hold her flanks in the air. “Fine, you asked for it!”

She brought her hoof down on Sky’s rump, striking her with a slapping noise that echoed across the clearing. Sky squeaked in pain, stuffing a hoof in her mouth and whimpering as a bright red mark appeared across her flanks.

“Are you going to submit now?” Daybreak asked, smiling sweetly.

“Ha...harder…” Sky gasped, squeezing her eyes shut as her wings sprung out. Both mares blushed as they both caught on simultaneously. Nonetheless, Daybreak wasn’t the kind of pony to back down from a challenge, and smacked the little burglar’s ass once more. Sky’s shriek was cut off by the butterscotch pudding as Daybreak forced her head back into it once more, stifling her. All that Sky could do was twitch and moan, her voice muffled by the delicious sticky dessert.

This isn’t what I’d expected when I first came into the Everfree, but hell, I’ll take it… She thought to herself, wrapping her forelegs around Daybreak’s midsection. She pulled with all of her insignificant might, completely failing to make the great big mare budge one inch.

Daybreak brought her up out of the pool once again, spanking her more rhythmically this time. She didn’t stop until Sky’s left cheek was dark purple, before moving on to her right.

“Okay...okay...I give…” Sky whispered, mane dripping with butterscotch. “Just...don’t...not my ass...I wanna be able to sit down…”

“Do you submit?” Daybreak asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Ye...yes...mistress…” Sky whimpered, nodding and clutching her rival a little tighter.

“Do...don’t call me that! I’m arresting you...not...not…dominating…” Daybreak trailed off, realising for the first time how suggestive this arrest really was. She dropped Sky, backing away with her hooves raised. “Um...okay...don’t go telling Hoovesie that I used police brutality, all right?”

“Oh, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind…” Sky grinned, splashing around in the butterscotch to coat her whole body, “in fact, I might keep misbehaving if that’s how you treat your prisoners.”

“You’re really into this, aren’t you?” Daybreak sighed. “Look Sky, I like you, and if we’re lucky we’ll get to do this again sometime, but right now I’ve got to take you back to your family where you belong, okay?”

“Really? Are you sure you can’t pay a little attention to my other flank, maybe at least make me symmetrical?” Sky asked hopefully, laying down in the pool and fluttering her eyelashes up at her. If she didn’t look like a mare on the wrong end of a bukkake cannon before, she sure as hell did now.

“Not if you’re getting off to it!” Daybreak whined, pulling a pair of hoofcuffs out of her saddlebag. “Now come on, let’s get you back to Canterlot before…”

She stopped, freezing in place and staring at Sky with wide eyes. She blinked once, then twice, legs shaking underneath her. Daybreak’s body dimmed in colour, her eyes returning to their normal colour and brightness as her enhancements evaporated completely. Finally, with just the tiniest little pathetic squeak, she collapsed in the middle of the clearing.

“Er...Rat...did you…?” Sky began, eyeing the empty dart capsule sticking out of Daybreak’s neck.

“Nope.”

“Shadow, Fox?”

No reply whatsoever.

Of course, Sky thought to herself, we left those two back where we’d been sleeping. I’m sure they’ll turn up again once they can pull themselves apart.

“Then...who did…?” Sky began, glancing up at some movement at the edge of the clearing. There, holding a crossbow exactly like Sky’s, stood a big zebra stallion with a long, messy mane.

”I think you’ll find that it was me.” he intoned in a deep Zebrican accent, “Hello, my name is Makali.”