//------------------------------//
// Rainbow Contemplates Everything 
// Story: Revenge Solves Everything 
// by LoZLttP13 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow's heart was pounding, sending adrenaline through her body as she walked back to Fluttershy's cottage. Her hooves were bloody, and she had more blood splattered several places all over her fur and mane. Her expression was still frightening, even now that she had finished punishing Noir. One would have been forgiven for thinking she was a serial killer, if they saw how she looked now.

Rainbow had left Noir in the alley, bloodied, broken, and whimpering. She had never imagined she could gain so much pleasure out of so utterly destroying somepony; every blow she had delivered to Noir fed an exhilarating high of elation that drove her to continue going at him. It was almost like a drug; the longer she went, the better it felt, and the greater her thirst was for more. It felt short, but Rainbow was sure that her beating of Noir went on for a while; she had had enough time to knock more of his teeth out, break two of his legs and several of his ribs, and pummel his face into a bloody mess.

When Rainbow had seen Noir begin to grow weak and unable to continue attempting to fight her off, she realized that if she went much further, she would kill him. It took every ounce of her self-discipline to prevent herself from torturing Noir until he died in agony, but with tremendous effort she had stopped her own blows, stepped away from him, and calmly muttered to him as he wept, "Now go turn yourself in, and tell them what you did. If I see your sorry flank anywhere but a prison cell ever again, I'm gonna finish the job." And with that, Rainbow turned around and began walking back to her girlfriend's home.

Oddly, Rainbow didn't feel satisfied, though she had thought she would. She found that her thirst for vengeance still wasn't quenched, and her overwhelming desire to go to Noir and snap his neck was as powerful as it ever was. Rainbow gazed down at her bloody hooves and muttered to herself, "It's not enough, it's not enough..."

Rainbow took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. She would have liked nothing more than to go back to Noir so she could finish murdering him, but she muttered to herself, "Fluttershy needs you, Dash. What if you got caught? Are you really such a selfish bitch that you'd leave Fluttershy to raise a little foal all by herself?"

Rainbow took another breath. As she continued walking, a slow, sinking feeling began to roll down her throat and into her stomach. She felt nauseous. What... she thought, tears welling in her eyes. What if... What if Fluttershy's kid would... would be better off... without me?

Tears rolled down Rainbows cheeks as she stopped walking and sat in the middle of the road. All of her self-loathing and guilt came crashing down upon her at the same time.

Before they were girlfriends, Rainbow had treated Fluttershy like a cheap toy. Fluttershy had been just one of many girls that Rainbow used to satisfy her own sensual cravings; however, though Rainbow had bedded many other girls, Fluttershy had had eyes only for her. Learning that Fluttershy had been in love with her since they were fillies was one of the most devastating things that had ever happened to Rainbow; she came to realize that every other girl she flirted with or had a one-night stand with had been like a dagger piercing Fluttershy's heart, but Fluttershy had loved her so much that she let her do it, determined to make any sacrifice to keep her happy.

Rainbow wished desperately that she had known that Fluttershy was in love with her; after all, Rainbow had been in love with Fluttershy since they were fillies, as well. They had both believed that the other would reject them if they confessed their feelings, as Rainbow and Fluttershy had both believed that the other liked them only for their physical beauty and could never want them as anything more than a bedmate. Though this was a mistake that both of them were guilty of, Rainbow placed the entire blame for the hurt they had suffered squarely on herself, as she had been the one who had suggested having a sexual relationship in the first place. In addition, Fluttershy had taken no one but Rainbow, while at the same time Rainbow had treated Fluttershy as merely her favorite plaything from a pool of many; for this, Rainbow viewed herself as selfish and unworthy of Fluttershy.

Of course, there was also Scootaloo. Last autumn, Scootaloo had romantically courted Rainbow, stolen a kiss from her, then attempted to lure her into bed. This immensely frightened Rainbow, as she wasn't completely sure that she never would have done it; after all, she would have been lying if she claimed that Scootaloo's feelings towards her weren't returned even a little. Twilight had assured Rainbow that the amount of attraction she had towards the filly was normal, however, but nonetheless a part of Rainbow still believed herself to be a deplorable pervert for harboring any attraction to Scootaloo at all. Though her friends trusted her and assured her that she wasn't, Rainbow still often worried that deep down she was a pedophile who wasn't to be trusted around any little fillies; including, perhaps, Fluttershy's foal, if it turned out to be a girl.

But the thing that caused Rainbow to endure the most weight of her guilt was the fact that she had attempted to convince Fluttershy to abort the foal she was pregnant with. Rainbow was suspicious of her own motives; did she really want Fluttershy to abort her pregnancy for the sake of her well-being, or did Rainbow merely wish to remove any obstacles that would potentially impede her her sexual relationship with her astonishingly beautiful girlfriend?

Another fact also began to clarify before Rainbow: if she continued to be Fluttershy's lover, and Fluttershy decided to keep her foal, then Rainbow would have the obligation to help Fluttershy raise it and act as its other parent. After all, it would be immensely, incontestably selfish and nothing short of disgusting if Rainbow maintained her physical relationship with Fluttershy, but left her to for all other purposes act as her foal's only parent. After all, though Rainbow had no doubt that their friends would help Fluttershy raise it, she knew that Fluttershy would still need a partner who would be with her and support her so she could give her attentions to her baby, especially during its first years when it would require constant care.

But even if she could sacrifice her own freedom for the sake of Fluttershy and her child, Rainbow still doubted her ability to be a good parent to it. She didn't have even the slightest idea of how to raise a foal, and she immensely doubted her own morality and ability to install good values in another pony. Though Rainbow deeply loved her own father, she didn't want to follow his example and teach Fluttershy's child to be promiscuous and irresponsible. But most of all, Rainbow doubted her own ability to raise and look into the eyes of a pony that she had asked its mother to kill.

Rainbow began sobbing. As much as she loved Fluttershy, all of her thoughts compelled her to give her up and allow somepony else to step in and be there for her. Any of their other friends would be a better partner to Fluttershy and parent for her child, Rainbow thought. Twilight, for instance, had already raised Spike, and could rear Fluttershy's foal with great care, intelligence, and compassion. Pinkie, too, seemed a better choice; thought she could be erratic and at times even a little frightening, she had demonstrated herself to be a capable caregiver to the Cakes' foals Pumpkin and Pound Cake. Even Rarity, Fluttershy's closest platonic friend, could potentially grow to love Fluttershy and care for her foal with the same affection she had shown to Sweetie Belle.

Rainbow, in contrast, had stomped on Fluttershy's fragile heart, told her to kill her baby, and considered sleeping with Scootaloo, her own surrogate little sister.

Rainbow's tears flowed over her cheeks as though she were standing in a rainstorm. She quietly, but violently sobbed, and was immensely grateful for the privacy that the late night allowed her for her weeping.

Rainbow had never felt more hatred and shame at herself than she did now. She felt an overwhelming urge to write a letter to her friends, apologizing for everything she'd ever done, then leave it at her house and run away. She'd go work at some brothel; that way, she could have all the meaningless, empty sex she wanted without hurting anypony else. She didn't even care that most of her customers would be Stallions if she did; as far as she was concerned, she deserved far worse anyway.

"It should have been me..." Rainbow tremblingly whispered as tears continued to drip from her chin. "I should have been the one that monster got his hooves on... Fluttershy never did anything to deserve this, but I've done everything to..."

Rainbow continued silently weeping for a few minutes. Once she had used up all of her tears, Rainbow dried off her face with her forelegs, took several deep breaths, then began walking again.

Shortly thereafter, Rainbow returned to Fluttershy's cottage. She saw that the living room lights were still on as she approached it, and upon entering it she saw Fluttershy lying on her couch, reading a novel.

Once Rainbow closed the door, she said quietly, "Hey, Flutters."

Fluttershy looked up, then smiled. "Hi, Dashie," she replied.

However, Fluttershy quickly noticed Rainbow's puffy eyes and tearstained face, and worriedly said, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Rainbow replied.

Fluttershy looked down at Rainbow's bloody hooves. Her eyes widened a little, and she stared silently at them for a few moments.

"I didn't kill him," Rainbow assured her. "He won't be walking anytime soon, though."

Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow, and Rainbow could see sorrow and concern in her eyes. "Do you feel better now?" Fluttershy asked, her tone telling Rainbow that she already knew the answer.

After a silent moment, Rainbow shook her head. "No. No, I... I don't..." she muttered.

Rainbow sniffed, wiped at her eyes again, then walked up the stairs to Fluttershy's bathroom, saying, "I'm gonna go wash up."

Rainbow took a quick shower, in which she disgustedly ensured that every droplet of Noir's blood was washed down the drain. Once she got back out, she went to Fluttershy's bedroom, where Fluttershy was already fast asleep in her bed.

Tears began rolling down Rainbow's cheeks again as she climbed in beside her girlfriend and held her close. Rainbow hugged Fluttershy tightly as she wept, as though it would be the last time she ever did.


*	*	*


When Rainbow Dash woke up, she was greeted by the sound of Fluttershy cheerfully humming and the sound of sizzling oil. She stood up, walked downstairs, and went into the kitchen, where she found Fluttershy frying some pancakes over her stove.

"Hey, Flutters," Rainbow said.

Fluttershy turned with a smile to Rainbow. "Good morning, Dashie," she replied. "I've made breakfast. Would you like some pancakes?"

"Actually, um..." Rainbow said, gazing at the ground.

Fluttershy said concernedly, "Yes? What is it, Dashie?"

Rainbow gently dug at the floor for a few moments before she said, "I need to tell you something."

Fluttershy blinked, was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Okay," she said. "What do you need to tell me?"

Rainbow was silent for what seemed an hour before she said quietly, almost in a whisper, "I... I think we should split up."

Fluttershy blinked again. "What?"

Rainbow began trembling. "I... I said..." she began, her voice cracking. "I said that I think we should split up."

After a few moments of silence, Fluttershy's eyes widened with horror. "W-what?" she said. "You think we should... split up?"

Rainbow fought back her tears as she slowly nodded.

Fluttershy stared in astonishment and terrified disbelief at Rainbow for a few moments. "... But... why, Rainbow?" she said, her own voice beginning to shake.

Rainbow turned away and tightly closed her eyes as she replied, "It... it's just better this way."

Before Fluttershy could respond, Rainbow whispered, "I'm sorry," before turning around and galloping towards the front door. "Wait- Dashie!" Fluttershy desperately called after her, but Rainbow never turned back as she sprinted out, feeling more tears roll down from her closed eyes as she ran.

Once Rainbow was outside and a good distance away from Fluttershy, she spread her wings and took to the air. She soon found her own cloud house, which she flew into before she ran to her bedroom, collapsed on her bed, and despairingly sobbed into her pillows.

Rainbow wept for several hours, after which she pulled one of her barrels of cider out of her cellar and heavily drank from it. She was absolutely miserable, and she wished desperately that she could curl up in a corner and refuse to move until she died.

Rainbow continued to drink until at last she passed out.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, stood absolutely still as she gazed out of her front door for several minutes. She then sat down, let out a small sob as tears welled in her eyes, then crumpled to a heap in the middle of her floor and loudly sobbed into her forelegs.

"Why, Dashie?" she whispered between her sobs. "Do you just not want me anymore?"

Fluttershy wept some more, but suddenly stopped as a realization fell upon her. She looked up from her forelegs, her cheeks damp and her eyes bloodshot, and gazed again up at the door that Rainbow had just fled through.

"Is it... because I'm pregnant?" she muttered. She slowly climbed back up to her feet, and her eyes began to narrow. "You always said I was the hottest girl you knew, Rainbow. Did you leave me because my beauty's going to be ruined by childbirth?"

Angry tears welled in Fluttershy's eyes and she began to tremble as she continued, her voice gradually rising in volume, "Or did you leave me because I'd expect you to help raise my foal if I keep it? Is that what's going on, Rainbow Dash? Do you want me to be nothing more than your toy?!"

Fluttershy pounded the floor with her hoof as her rage continued to mount. "Is that why you wanted revenge on Noir, Rainbow Dash?! Because he violated your property?! Because he ruined your favorite bucktoy?!"

Fluttershy began screaming as furious tears continued to flow down her cheeks and rain down on the floor at her feet, "WELL, FINE, RAINBOW DASH!! SEE IF I CARE, YOU SELFISH, SHALLOW WHORE!! You know what?! I'm glad you're gone! I'm better off without you anyway! I should've broken up with you years ago! All you've ever done is hurt me and abandon me and... and..."

Fluttershy looked down and sniffed as she tremblingly whispered, "And... and protect me, and walk me home, and hold me when I was scared, and be there for me whenever I needed you, and... and..."

Fluttershy collapsed to the ground and began sobbing into her forelegs. She realized that as furious as she was at Rainbow, she still loved her with all of her heart. She'd never felt so conflicted before; she still felt tremendous pain at having just lost her girlfriend, while at the same time she felt untold hatred and anger towards her. Ironically, she wanted to never see her again, but at the same time she would've given anything to have Rainbow in her arms again.

But ultimately, Fluttershy sank into deep despair; not only had she forever lost Rainbow as a lover, but likely as a friend as well. In her despair Fluttershy cried herself to sleep.


*	*	*


As Twilight trotted to Frappe's, she gazed down at her feet worriedly. She hadn't seen Rainbow or Fluttershy in a few days. As far as anyone she had spoken to knew, neither of them had left their homes during that time.

Twilight was deeply worried about her friends. If she remembered correctly, they had gone to the hospital the day she'd stopped seeing them to have Fluttershy checked up. What happened in there? Was Fluttershy just diagnosed with a terminal illness? Had Noir caused her some permanent injury?

Twilight hoped to get some answers from her friends. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were meeting her at the cafe for a light lunch, so she had let Spike have the afternoon off to do as he pleased while she was there.

When Twilight reached the small corner shop and entered, she found Pinkie and Rarity sitting at a booth together. They were speaking concernedly over mugs of coffee, so Twilight made a small smile as she sat beside them. "Hey, girls," she said.

Rarity and Pinkie turned to her, then smiled, as well. "Hey, Twilight," they said together.

"Have either of you seen Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash lately?" asked Twilight.

Rarity shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee. "No, I haven't," she replied.

"We were just talking about them," Pinkie added. "I hope they're okay."

"Do you two have any idea what happened?" asked Twilight.

Rarity sighed as she muttered, "Well, I heard a couple of guards say that Noir's disappeared while they were monitoring him, and nopony's seen him since. Maybe that has something to do with it."

Twilight's eyes widened. "R-really?" she said fearfully.

"Fortunately," Rarity continued, "nopony has seen him. Not even those bums he always got in fights with. Things seem to be a bit more peaceful since he's vanished."

Twilight sighed. "Alright..." she said. "Well, I'm going to see Fluttershy and Rainbow anyway, just in case." She then stood up from the table and walked back to the door, crying to her friends as she left, "Bye, girls!"

"Bye, Twilight!" Rarity and Pinkie called back.

Twilight made her way to Fluttershy's house, walking significantly faster than she usually did. Was Fluttershy worried that Noir was going to come after her? Or had something even worse happened since last she'd encountered him?

Twilight was so busy worrying that she didn't realize that she had walked right up to Fluttershy's front door. With a wavering breath, she raised her hoof to knock on the door.

There was no answer. After about a minute, Twilight knocked again.

Twilight was beginning to panic when the door suddenly creaked as it slowly opened. On the other side stood Fluttershy, who looked enormously disheveled and depressed, but otherwise alright.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight said relievedly.

"Hello, Twilight," Fluttershy muttered back.

"Thank Celestia you're safe!" Twilight cried. "What's happened? Are you okay?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "I wish I could drink," she monotonously replied.

Twilight's eyes widened. "You... you can't drink? Why not?" she asked.

Fluttershy gently ran one of her fore hooves over her belly. "It could hinder the baby's growth," she answered simply.

Twilight blinked. "The... the baby?" she said.

Fluttershy nodded.

Twilight stood absolutely still, uncomprehending for several moments. Realization eventually struck her, however, then her eyes widened as she made an enormous gasp. "You mean- you're... you're pregnant?!" she said astonishedly.

Fluttershy nodded.

"But-" Twilight said, staring disbelievingly at Fluttershy. "If- if you're pregnant, then- Fluttershy! Let's get you to a clinic, right now! We can-!"

Fluttershy shook her head and interrupted Twilight, "I appreciate your concern, Twilight, but I'm not aborting it."

Twilight blinked confusedly. "Why not?" she said.

"It doesn't feel right to," Fluttershy replied.

"But- Fluttershy..." Twilight said worriedly, "it wasn't your fault. It shouldn't have happened in the first place. You weren't irresponsible or anything; you were the victim of a crime. That Stallion has no excuse for what he did, so you don't need to feel guilty-"

"I don't feel guilty," Fluttershy said gently. "This has nothing to do with what Noir did to me. I just don't think it's right to kill somepony."

"But you're not killing somepony," Twilight replied. "You're just removing a fetus."

Fluttershy shrugged. "Okay. Whether or not it's a pony yet, it's still a defenseless living creature. It's all the same to me. I'm not going to kill it."

Twilight blinked, was silent for a few more moments, then said, "Okay, but Fluttershy, what about you? You are also a living creature, and your life and happiness also matter. Noir has already harmed you; if you give birth to his foal, it might harm you even more. You might have to relive what he did to you."

Fluttershy nodded. "I understand that. But I couldn't live with myself if I punished something for a crime it didn't commit. It's not my foal's fault that it was conceived the way it was; it shouldn't pay for the sins of its father. I'm going to be better than him."

Twilight opened her mouth to begin arguing more, but could see by the determination in Fluttershy's eyes that to do so would be utterly futile. She contented herself with a sigh as she muttered, "Just... I want you to be okay, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy nodded and smiled. "Just support me and be there for me. That's all I ask for," she said.

After taking another breath, Twilight asked, "Is this why I haven't seen you or Rainbow recently?"

Fluttershy's smile faded and she morosely gazed and dug at the ground. "Well... no..." she muttered.

"What is it, then?" Twilight asked concernedly.

Tears welled in Fluttershy's eyes and she sniffed as she quietly replied, "Dashie... um, Rainbow... she... broke up with- me." Her voice cracked as she spoke these words.

Fluttershy began trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped from her chin. Twilight gaped at her for a moment before she said, "She... she broke up with you?"

Fluttershy whimpered as she nodded.

"But- why?!" Twilight said, equal parts fearful, angry, and shocked.

Fluttershy sobbed as she shook her head. "I... I don't know..." she said. "I just don't know..."

Fluttershy sobbed some more as Twilight silently gazed at her. After a few moments, Fluttershy whispered, "I... I'd like to be alone, if you don't mind..."

Twilight nodded. "I understand," she said. "I'll see you later, Fluttershy."

Nodding, Fluttershy closed the door.

After a few seconds, Twilight spread her wings and took to the air. As she climbed into the sky, her face burned with anger.

She was going to have a very, very long talk with Rainbow.