Shining Armor left the house with Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich in tow on the backs of his guards. Thankfully for Shining Armor Celestia and Cadance had the foresight to send him two Pegasus guards who would be able to transport anypony who happened to need transporting. Shining Armor heard all the chattering and gossip before he'd even left the house fully and when he came outside he saw that the crowd that gathered had grown a lot more considerably than when he first went inside. He ventured a guess that perhaps the only ponies who weren't there at this point where Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Applejack and Fluttershy. The latter two were too far away to really get caught up in everything. Applejack lived on the outskirts of town and Fluttershy lived next to the Everfree Forest. Firefly ran next to the guard carrying Diamond Tiara when he saw the shackles on her forelegs.
“Is...is this really necessary?” he asked Shining Armor. He didn't care too much as to why Filthy Rich had shackles too. Diamond Tiara was still muttering to herself. Seeing her like that had brought back how she was before everything went wrong. Firefly felt concern for her again. Filthy Rich was still protesting but his words were falling on deaf ears.
“'Fraid so, but we'll get her out of them as soon as we get her to Canterlot and start official proceedings.” Shining Armor replied. Firefly reached out to Diamond Tiara and was not put off by the warning glare that the guard gave him. He carefully picked up Diamond Tiara. The guard moved to stop him but Shining Armor placed a hoof on the guard's shoulder to let him know it was okay. Shining Armor had read Diamond Tiara's diary and knew that Firefly was the pony that Diamond Tiara was closest to, and he had a pretty good feeling that those feelings were probably mutual. He made a mental note to tell Firefly what he read in the diary. Not how Diamond Tiara had seen him near the end, but how she had seen him before. That loving and sweet guy her daddy employed who seemed to care the most about her.
“Can I carry her? I promise I won't try anything, I just don't want her to go alone.” Firefly asked. Shining Armor nodded, taking pity on the pair. Firefly held Diamond Tiara close and then placed her on his back.
“I need to stay here for a little bit longer guys. I need to talk to Star Shine about something. Stay on either side of Firefly and go straight to Canterlot and the palace. If he tries to get away then take him down without hurting the filly.” Shining Armor instructed the other two guards. They saluted and took their positions next to Firefly. Firefly kept his calm when most others may have felt more than a little intimidated or even frightened after hearing those instructions. He had no plans to try and escape so felt he had nothing to fear. The three Pegasi took off after Shining Armor gave one last salute as a signal for them to do so. Pinkie Pie and Rarity came to his side as he watched them leave.
“Was it really okay to let Firefly go with them like that?” Rarity asked.
“We'd need to question him too anyway. He won't try anything while he's got Diamond Tiara on his back like that.” Shining Armor replied.
“So why was Filthy all tied up too? Has he been bad? He always seemed kinda nice too. I wonder who's going to sell Zap Apple Jam now if he's gone. I should probably go tell Applejack about that.” Pinkie Pie asked before her train of thought left the station and derailed the conversation.
“He was kinda nice, certainly didn't let the money go to his head, but he was a pretty lousy dad. None of this woulda happened if he'd just paid some attention to his daughter.” Shining Armor replied. He turned away from the sky as the Pegasi disappeared into the horizon. “Now, where's Star Shine?” he asked, scanning the crowd for any sign of the blue colt. Shining Armor quickly realised that Star Shine wasn't around. Neither was his sister Twilight.
“Oh Twilight took him to Rainbow Dash's. He stayed around long enough to see Diamond Tiara brought out and then left. I dunno what for though. He didn't say and they left pretty much straight away.” Pinkie Pie replied before Shining Armor's over-active imagination had a chance to really kick in. There was some information he wasn't privy to and Rainbow Dash and Star Shine's sort of relationship was one of those pieces.
“Any idea when he'll be back?” Shining Armor asked, looking back at Pinkie. Pinkie shook her head.
“Dunno. He's coming back though. He said something about wanting to get back quick. That's why he took Twilight with him. So she could get him back quick too. Poor guys more tired than he's letting on. I wouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep.” Pinkie Pie replied, sounding a little concerned for the wellbeing of Star Shine.
“I'm sure he knows his limits and won't try and go past them dear.” Rarity said reassuringly, patting Pinkie on the back. Pinkie smiled at her and Shining Armor went back to waiting for Star Shine to return. There was something that he needed to discuss with him.
***
“Any time now.” Star Shine had said as soon as he had seen Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara in shackles. He was curious about why Filthy was chained up too but his concern for Rainbow Dash trumped all, except perhaps his concern for Scootaloo. Twilight had nodded, lit her horn, and that was how the pair found themselves where they were now; outside Rainbow Dash's house. Twilight had the foresight to apply a Cloud Walking Spell to herself before teleporting them and so stood on the cloud layer next to Star Shine. “Rainbow, Scootaloo, I'm home! Again!” Star Shine called, opening the door. Scootaloo jumped on him in a second and gave him a big hug. It was pretty much a repeat of his earlier visit to the house. He laughed as he nuzzled Scootaloo and Twilight walked in the house too. She was blushing a little at the display of affection. It was rather quite cute and intimate. She almost felt like she was intruding on a very private moment.
“Uhhh...hi Rainbow, hi Scootaloo.” Twilight said simply. Rainbow Dash ran up to her and gave her a hug.
“Hey Twi, what are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked across curiously.
“I asked her for a ride.” Star Shine replied on behalf of Twilight.
“How are things in town? We got a letter from Shining Armor.” Scootaloo asked, looking up at Star Shine.
“That's why I'm here. Diamond Tiara and even Filthy Rich are in custody and on their way to Canterlot. I don't know what Shining Armor found but it must have been something big.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash gasped at the news. “I was wondering why you two didn't come so I asked Twilight if she could bring me home. I was a little worried.” he added to explain what he was doing back at the house.
“She's...gone? Both of them?” Scootaloo asked. She could hardly believe that after everything Diamond Tiara had done and put her through it could all be over so quickly. Diamond Tiara had always bothered her and upset her. Not just in the past few weeks, but for most of the time she'd been in Ponyville. It was taking a second for it to all sink in. Star Shine nodded and smiled.
“That's right sweetie. It's all over now.” Star Shine replied.
“Well maybe not all.” Twilight said, dampening the happy atmosphere a little. The three Pegasi looked at her. She shied away from the attention a little. “It's just that Scootaloo might need to testify in court or something.” Twilight explained. “But for the most part it is over yes.” she added, smiling at Scootaloo.
“We can worry about that later. She's gone!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly. She grabbed Scootaloo out of Star Shine's grip and started throwing her in the air and catching her. Star Shine and Twilight watched the display for about a minute or so.
“So why weren't you guys there? I thought you'd want to see that.” Star Shine asked after letting them enjoy their celebration for what he felt was long enough. Rainbow Dash caught Scootaloo and didn't throw her back into the air. The fun was kind of over now. Instead, Rainbow Dash chose to hold Scootaloo close to her chest.
“Scootaloo was too nervous to go. She didn't want everypony looking at her.” Rainbow Dash explained. Star Shine walked over and hugged them both.
“I get that, don't worry. I hadn't really thought about that.” he said. He gave both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo a kiss on the cheek and turned his attention back to Twilight. “Seems I need to go back after all.” he said to her as he made his way next to her.
“Wait? What for?” Rainbow Dash asked him. Star Shine whispered something in Twilight's ear. She giggled and nodded, her horn glowing.
“There's something I need to take care of back there.” Star Shine replied. “Scootaloo, do me a favour and put your brace back on!” he called as a magical circle surrounded both him and Twilight. Twilight was taking her time casting the spell, as per Star Shine's whispered request.
“What for?” Scootaloo called back to be heard over the wind that had suddenly whipped up around Twilight and Star Shine. Theatrics were also in the request. Every colt secretly wanted to do something cool at least once in their lives and this might be one of the few chances he got to look awesome. He was relishing in it.
“You'll find out later! Just do it!” he called back. He nudged Twilight and she finished the spell. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo watched in confusion as Star Shine and Twilight disappeared into nothingness.
“You remember where the brace is?” Rainbow Dash asked, still quite confused. Scootaloo nodded dumbly and hopped out of Rainbow Dash's grip, setting off to find the brace and put it on.