Rainbow's ears twitched to a dull ambient hush settling all around her. She shifted, and her muzzle rubbed up against a warm, plush duvet. A blanket was wrapped around the mare's petite body, and every shift of her limbs sent toasty waves of comfort rippling back and forth—as if her heart and soul was a basin full of warm water.
She was aware of a sharp pain, but it felt distant... like a black ship on the horizon. Rainbow didn't know how long she stood on the shore, staring at it. But every soft breath pushed the vessel at a distance, delaying its arrival at the harbor. Winds blew against a hard shell, whistling melodically between the cracks. It felt like a lullaby to Rainbow's pained skull. She would have smiled—if not for the fogginess cascading over her skull with the thickness of a glacier.
"Mrmmmfff..." she stirred, curling up into an even tighter fetal position. Her forelimbs instinctively reached out, feeling, clutching. A pillow slid into her grasp. Without questioning it, the mare hugged the pillow tightly with her whole body. She sighed with comfort, feeling the pain pushed even further away... especially as a warm, damp cloth was applied to her forehead.
"Hmmmm... some things never change," spoke a rich, velvety voice. "You still sleep like a little filly." A crimson shadow hung over Rainbow. "A clutchy... needy little filly. How in Tartarus have you managed these past few years?"
"Mmmmmm..." Rainbow squeaked. "...almost... as if you're... actually here..."
"Pining for the good ol' days, huh?" The voice rose and fell. "I doubt you're in any condition to be shrieking your head off, booger."
"... ... ..." Rainbow's ruby eyes flew open upon hearing the last word. A washcloth dabbed her forehead again. She looked up.
An athletic pegasus came into focus. Yellow eyes peered down at Rainbow from beneath an orange mane. Autumn leaves danced around the flank of a fire red coat.
"Now no sudden movements—"
"What the buck—?!" Rainbow Dash shot up, wings spread.
The mare sneered. "Dammit, Rainbow! Stay still—"
"OW!" Rainbow was barely hovering when she clutched her aching, throbbing skull. She hissed through clenched teet, her body crumpling in mid-air. "Ow ow ow ow owwwwww!"
The mare sighed, leaning back inside the cramped, dimly-lit quarters. Her yellow eyes were thin, lethargic. "I swear... you never listened to anything I told you..."
"Fuuuuuuuuuuu..." Thwump! Rainbow fell on her flank. Shey lay on a floor of randomly mis-matched bedsheets and pillows. Opposite of her inside the cramped compartment, a couch had been ripped out, replaced by satchels, saddlebags, a chair, and a tiny workbench. As consciousness came to Rainbow's figure, she smelled dust, mildew, and gallons of cheap perfume attempting to mask the rest of it. "My head... my friggin' head..."
"Yes, well, a bunch of scumbags in an alleyway kicking the shit out of you will do that," the mare said.
"Mrmmfff..." Rainbow clenched her eyes shut, fighting tears. The ship had slammed into harbor, and it felt like her skull was cracking and slicing into her brain. Every heartbeat registered like a gunshot. "The heck did they use on m-me? A jackhammer?"
"And on top of that, you must have drank a water tower full of liquor last night. Hrmmmff... some habits never die."
Rainbow squinted her eyes open. Sure enough, the world spun, and the mare stood at the far end like a flickering flame. "Las Pegasus... Hurricane's Harem..."
"Yeah. I know, right?" The mare made a face. Reaching over, she grabbed a water bottle and took a sip. "Mmmm... is that the best you've been able to do? I'm guessing shit didn't go well with that turkey vulture from Junior Speedsters Flight Camp." She finished sipping and held the bottle out to Rainbow. "But whatever. So long as she didn't yank your tongue out with that beak of hers."
"Hrmmmf... huh?" Rainbow looked at the bottle.
"Drink, booger."
"Rrrrgh!" Rainbow swatted the hoof away. "Back off!"
"It's dry out here," the mare said, frowning. "Don't be an idiot. You need water." She pointed towards her corner of the compartment. "You vomited—like—a truckload into the bucket over the past two mornings."
Rainbow's eyes bulged. "Two... m-mornings?"
"Place smelled like a friggin' petting zoo for leprotic elephants. Swear to Celestia..."
"I've been out for two days?!"
"Well, more like one and a half. Math was never my strong suit. That's why we... why I dropped out, remember?"
"Grnnngh..." Rainbow clutched her aching skull, shivering. "Mortuana Hotel. The girls..."
"Eh... so you had to give a bunch of lousy floozies the cold shoulder." The mare shrugged. "Not the end of the world."
"What are you even doing here?!" Rainbow snarled. "How in Luna's name did you end up in a place like Las Pegasus?"
"I'm trying to make a living. Doing pretty dang good at it, actually." The mare took another sip. She swallowed and gazed calmly at Rainbow. "Well, up until a week ago, that is. But who's keeping score..."
"And—what? You took time out of your busy schedule just to haul me to some goddess-forsaken dump?"
"Hey!" The mare frowned. "I saved your life, ya raspy little hump demon!" She rolled her yellow eyes. "Grnnngh... whatever. It was a stupid idea to follow you around."
"Huh?"
She murmured into the water bottle. "Should have just left old ghosts be. Buck my life..." She sipped.
Rainbow blinked. "Wait... Listing, were..." Rainbow squinted. "...were you the one following me all night?"
Listing Breeze finished sipping, gulped, and nodded. "Well, somepony had to look after you. Who were those jerks you were pretending to be hanging out with? Was that Lyra I saw in the bunch?"
"It was you!" Rainbow snarled, wincing from her aching head. "Dang it! Shoulda called the friggin' cops!"
"So they could do what?" Listing smirked. "Hold your hoof while you gawked at college mares shaking their tail to get by? Heh... I'm surprised you had enough feeling in your body to get a kick out of any of that."
"None of your dang business!"
"But it's true, isn't it?" Listing pointed. "You haven't gotten that shit fixed, have you? Hrmmff... I don't know what's worse, booger. Your stubbornness or your stupidity."
"Listing, you're the last pony I ever... ever want to see," Rainbow huffed. "If I was super beat-up, you should have just done the sane thing and taken me to a hospital."
"Yeah, right. The nurses would take one look at you and force you to undergo that dreaded operation you've always had nightmares about."
Rainbow paled, shivering in place.
Listing raised an eyebrow. "Still mortified of going out like your dad did? Face it. I know you, booger—"
"Stop. Calling. Me. That!" Rainbow's back hairs bristled like a dog's. "I swear... you are such a—" She froze in place, blinking. "Wait... where in the fudge are we?"