Pinkamenace II Society

by jmj

2:3 Yeah, Sure.

Segment 2: Chapter 3

Rarity had fed her visitors and then they had talked about different topics, safe topics. Twilight explained how advanced Sweetie Belle was for an untrained unicorn and the filly leapt at the chance to show her skills. She displayed a few minor cantrips before making a rudimentary image of Rarity before her sister. It had been quite a good show, but had left the filly exhausted. Sweetie had fallen asleep on the couch and Rarity had used her own magic to levitate the young mare up to her room. Rarity came back down after a few minutes and sat opposite Twilight and Spike.

Rarity worried about what Sweetie did at Sweet Apple Acres and she meant to pry some information from this unicorn. She smiled sweetly and reclined on her sofa. “I understand that you are Sweetie’s teacher in the ways of magic, Twilight. I do hope she’s an astute student. I suppose there is a call for magically gifted unicorns at an apple farm, though for what purposes I cannot conceive.”

Twilight shrugged, “I suppose there is. I’m training her because she is young and capable in the ways of magic. If she lived in Canterlot, she would have probably been one of the brightest in her class. I hate to think her talents would just go to waste because of a lack of educational opportunities in Ponyville.”

“Yes, I’m sure she would be. She is a very bright little filly. She is so intelligent that sometimes she gets bored and gets into trouble.” Rarity gave twilight a cold, withering glare as she spoke. It was the closest she could come to a threat without causing a commotion. “I do hope she is staying OUT of trouble.”

The sentiment was lost on Twilight. “Oh no, she’s a wonderful filly. I don’t think she causes any kind of trouble. I’ll keep my eye on her, though. I promise to keep her busy with magical study, that way she won’t get bored enough to get into trouble.”

Spike perked up a little. He had previously been happy to just stare and listen to the white unicorn. Her voice was like syrup and the way the light caught her hair set fire to Spike’s soul, but the way she spoke had become suddenly icy. He listened a little more closely.

“Oh, good. Thank you, Twilight. So, what are you doing in Sweet Apple Acres? Are you the one responsible for teaching Applejack how to cultivate her crops?” The white unicorn pushed a little. Everypony knew AJ sold drugs and Rarity wanted to know Twilight’s role in the operation.

“Oh, no. Spike and I are not from around here. We’re here from Canterlot. I was tasked with discovering the magic of friendship. I’m trying to use it to help Ponyville.” Twilight kind of sounded like a superhero. She chuckled at the idea of herself as a heroine—Brainiac, the paragon of good, empowered by knowledge!

Rarity looked a little dumbfounded, of which Spike took notice, and asked with more than a little doubt in her voice, “You are trying to learn the magic of friendship … from Applejack?” She was stupefied. Maybe everypony did not know AJ was a drug dealer. “How, exactly, did you arrive in Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight?”

“Oh, well … We were flying in a hot air balloon and these two ponies shot us down to sell the balloon for bits. Applejack rescued us from them and took us back to the farm. She was the one who taught me about Ponyville’s situation. I just can’t believe there are so many ponies that are so unfriendly.” The lavender mare sighed. “I hope I can help.”

Rarity couldn’t help but give Twilight a look of confusion. Did she really not know what went on at Sweet Apple Acres? Was she trying throw Rarity off track? She would play her game, for now. “Well, for a start, getting rid of those disgusting drugs would eliminate a large portion of crime. So many ponies are addicted to the vile stuff and will do almost anything to get it.”

Twilight listened closely to the mare for ideas. Drugs! If she could get rid of them, it would benefit Ponyville. “It sounds logical, but if you took all of the drugs out at once it would cause a mass panic. One would have to magically alter the mind of each pony or offer some method of weaning him or her from substance abuse. A difficult undertaking, but I suppose it could be a possibility.”

Spike continued to pay attention to what Rarity was saying. Was she implying that something fishy was going on at Sweet Apple Acres, or was he just reading too much into her tones and mannerisms?

The white unicorn wasn’t quite sure if Twilight was being intentionally obtuse or if she was serious. Rarity sat perplexed for a moment and then decided to just blatantly ask the lavender mare. There was no use in beating around the bush with the answers she was receiving. “Twilight, darling, you do know that Applejack …” Rarity paused as she heard hoofsteps coming from the stairs, Sweetie must have woken up. Damn! She had almost gotten it out. She had to change her question so Sweetie wouldn’t get clued into the conversation. “… is a dear friend of mine. I’m sure she is glad to have you around. You are so … intelligent.”

Twilight blushed a little. “Thank you, Rarity. I’m glad to be here. I hope we can be friends. I would like to start working inside Ponyville more. I don’t exactly know where to start.”

Opportunity. Rarity beamed at the unicorn as Sweetie came across the room from upstairs yawning and rubbing her eyes. “Well you are more than welcome to come here whenever you want. Business is a little dull right now; if it weren’t for my online store, I would have a fiscal emergency. Therefore, I have plenty of time to spend if you would care to visit. Of course, my little knight is welcome to join us.” She indicated Spike, who turned a bright red.

“Of course, I would love to visit you again.” Twilight had hope for her task. If Rarity helped her, she would be able to make acquaintances with others in town and, hopefully, find a way to aid its citizens.

Sweetie Belle yawned loudly and point to a window. “It’s getting dark. We should probably head back to the farm. Sorry I fell asleep, Rarity. I was just so tired after this morning’s training. I’ll come see you again soon.” Sweetie looked cute with her mane disheveled and her eyes still full of sleep.

Rarity rustled her younger sister’s mane and kissed her on top of the head getting a squeak and a playful chuckle from the young filly. She really wanted to talk to Twilight more and press her for details. Maybe next time she would have more time alone with the lavender mare. “I suppose you should go. It’s not safe after dark.” She got up to see her guests off.

The front door opened and the green stallion immediately stood up from beside the door. He had an unpleasant smirk on his face as if he had enjoyed his time outside, odd considering his reluctance to come into town earlier that morning. “Well, you are all lucky I stayed this long. I was about ready ta head back alone.”

The group collectively rolled their eyes at JackSlap and said their farewells to one another. Rarity watched the group until they were out of sight and then sighed. She hoped Sweetie wasn’t doing anything bad. She suspected something was happening, felt it in her bones, but she didn’t know why. Sweetie had never shown any nasty qualities to her. Maybe she was just overreacting. She sighed again and looked at the sky as it faded to a dark pink. The sun would be down soon. Oh! She had to get to Sugar Cube Corner. She hoped she could make it before dark; being caught outside after dark was risking one’s well being. She dashed back inside to pick up a pair of small gifts for her former, and hopefully soon to be again, friends.

***

Pinkamena had baked for three solid hours and had constructed a veritable feast of sweet baked goods. They had been placed in the den on a table that was barely large enough to accommodate everything. There was an assortment of tasty snacks such as cupcakes, pie, cake, doughnuts, muffins, chips, a bowl of punch, and cookies. Most of the items were iced with a variety of colors and shapes to celebrate the occasion. The baker of the treats came into the room with a dusty boom box and a flimsy plastic container of sleeved discs. Across the room, a yellow pegasus showed signs of worry and peeked out of one of the boarded shut windows at the waning daylight.

“What music did you want to listen to, Shy? I haven’t looked through these in so long I forgot what I had. Canterlot Express, Wheatzer, Filly Joel, Green Hay, Maredonna … Wow … when did I listen to that? Costeed and Canteria? No, too serious. We need something lively! AH! Dj Pon3! This will be great!”

Fluttershy watched Pinkie set up the boom box and looked back out the window. The sun was almost down. If Rarity was coming she would need to get here quickly. That was stress number one. Number two was that if Rarity arrived what would Pinkie say?

Flutters had taken Pinkie’s sentiment about the present being now to heart, but the dread of “what if” situations had begun terrorizing the pegasus’ mind shortly after and her excitement had been curtailed due to her worries. She vaguely recognized the question Pinkie had asked and turned to her friend. “Oh, um, whatever you want is fine.”

Pinkamena cocked her head to Flutters and inserted the disc. She wondered why Flutters had been so quiet the last hour; this party was for her after all. She had pushed for it hard enough that she should be all laughs and smiles, but, instead, she was being kind of a deadbeat. Pinkamena picked up a cupcake and walked to her friend. “Hey, Shy. Eat this cupcake. It’s special, for you.” It really wasn’t, but maybe she could get the pegasus to lighten up a little.

“I’m not hungry Pinkie. Thank you, though.” Flutters looked away nervously and Pinkie knew something was up.

“What’s going on, Shy? You wanted this party. You worked for it and challenged your fears for it and now you are not having fun. It’s your party, Shy. What’s wrong?” Pinkamena’s voice was soft and soothing. The pink pony had true heartfelt interest in the pegasus’ welfare. All of which made the pegasus feel worse about inviting Rarity.

“Nothing … I’m … Pinkie, I need to tell you something. I did something that you might be angry with me about.” Fluttershy cringed slightly. It was time to tell the pink mare the truth.

Pinkamena’s expression was one of confusion, but her ears bent forward through some curving strands of mane. “What are you talking about, Shy?”

“I … I … invited …” A sudden knocking rang through Sugar Cube Corner and Pinkamena’s attention turned to that. Fluttershy was too late in confessing. She hoped it would be okay, that Pinkie would be happy to see Rarity.

“Stay here, Shy. Stay quiet.” Pinkamena moved towards the door, stopping to yank the long knife she had used to cut the cake free of the confection. Fluttershy tried to warn the party pony that it was only Rarity and that she was sorry she didn’t tell her, but her voice stuck in her throat.

Pinkamena raised the blade above her head and cocked it back to swing once she got to the door. She grasped the doorknob and stepped back so the door would open to nothing and then she would jump in front and swing her razor sharp knife into the pony fool enough to tangle with her and Flutters.

Pinkamena jerked the door open and leapt in front, bringing the knife arcing towards … Rarity!? Pinkamena barely changed the knife’s direction just as the unicorn screeched in surprise and horror. What the buck was Rarity doing here? Pinkamena hadn’t even spoken to her in years. “Rarity? Why are you here?” Pinkamena gave her an incredulous look.

Rarity was stunned; near death experiences were not her favorite hobby. She had galloped most of the way to Sugar Cube Corner to escape the streets before nightfall and had been welcomed by a sweeping kitchen knife. Fluttershy said Pinkie wasn’t the monster the rumors told, but this display was proving that statement false. The unicorn found her voice after a moment. “I was … invited to a party here, but I can leave, Pinkie. I don’t need to be here. I’m sorry I interrupted ...” The white mare started retreating backward from the knife-wielding party pony.

Pinkamena raised an eyebrow and then turned back towards the den and saw Fluttershy visibly shrink. It was sort of silly how the pegasus expected the worst of every situation. The dark pink pony turned back to Rarity and part of her suddenly jumped for joy at the thought of reuniting with another long lost friend. Another part of her wanted to scare the snooty white mare away and then assault the pathetic pegasus with foul language. Keeping things from her, after all she did for that yellow coward? Pinkamena’s smile faltered and her teeth gritted together. The first words were rushing up her throat when she heard the voice of the cupcake calling her from the other world, the happy refrigerator world.

“Not all the ponies have changed. You are not alone anymore, Pinkie. It’s party time! Let loose of your anger. Embrace the moment and feel complete once more.”

Pinkamena thought about it for a moment and suddenly all the bad emotions melted away from her as if they had never existed in the first place. “RARITY!” The pink pony pulled the unicorn inside and slammed the door, locking it, and turned to the purple-maned fashionista. “It’s SOOO good to see you! Where have you been? I’ve missed you! FLUTTERSHY! Rarity is here!”

Rarity faltered a pitiful smile, but when Fluttershy came into the room and Pinkie, almost magically, produced a balloon hat in the shape of a diamond, the worry dropped away and her smile spread. “Pinkie, I’ve … I’ve missed you too. I ran into Fluttershy today and she was kind enough to invite me to your party. I didn’t think you partied anymore, but I am so happy you do.”

Rarity, with tears glistening in her almond-shaped eyes, gave each of them a small gift: a kazoo for Pinkie and a box of animal snacks for Fluttershy’s animal friends. Even though the gifts were small, they meant a lot to the ponies. This was the beginning of a new friendship for them, one they had thought long gone. The three realized that there was hope left in the town if they searched it out. Sometimes friendships could weaken, but with a little effort that same friendship could become stronger than it was before. It just took a little work, a little acceptance, and a little trust.

The three ponies made merry almost the entire night. Music blared, snacks were devoured, and much joy was shared between the three mares. The ponies had the best night of their recent lives playing together. They danced and sang and laughed into the small hours of the morning.

After a while, exhaustion began to drag the party to a halt. Pinkamena retrieved a blanket for Rarity, who had fallen asleep on the couch, and she and Shy retired to the bed. The bed had never felt better and the pair lay beside each other, still smiling as sleep came for them.

“I thought you would be mad, Pinkie. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Rarity. I didn’t want to spoil your good mood. I was afraid you would be mad. I met her in the grocery store and … Pinkie she was so lonely, just like us. I had to invite her.”

“She’s our friend again, Shy. I’m glad you invited her. I’m sorry I’ve been so unpredictable for so long. You shouldn’t be afraid of me. I feel bad about it.”

“You shouldn’t. I know you have had it hard for a long time. I’m just glad it worked out.”

“Me, too. I think this was the best night of my life. I feel like I finally know who I am again.”

Flutters could hardly see in the darkness, but she could make out Pinkie’s form just barely. Something as different about it. Something she couldn’t quite point out.

Pinkamena continued, “I’m so tired, Shy, but I wanted to thank you again for helping to open my eyes. Things aren’t so bad when you have friends you can count on. Thanks, Shy.” The dark form leaned over Fluttershy and kissed her cheek. “You are my best friend, Flutters.”

Fluttershy smiled in the darkness and watched her friend turn away and almost immediately begin snoring. In the pitch of night, Flutters finally identified the bizarre quality in Pinkie’s silhouette that had seemed so out of place. All at once, everything seemed whole again and the pegasus felt a burst of pride and elation.

Instead of the long, flat hair Fluttershy had come to accept on the pink earth pony, her mane was bouncy, poofy, and full.

***

Darkness had fallen, but the group had almost reached Sweet Apple Acres. The farm was in sight as they came through the dirt road towards the main gate. They had all had a good time. Sweetie, though she was happy to be back on the farm, had enjoyed showing off her skills; Twilight enjoyed making a new friend; and Spike, though wary and still thinking about details of the odd conversation that had occurred while Sweetie was napping, had spent the day enchanted by the beautiful Rarity. Even JackSlap enjoyed his day in Ponyville; he had caught Bon Bon and slapped her around, culminating in choking the mare until she fell unconscious.

Sweetie and Twilight talked back and forth about Rarity and the boutique. Twilight didn’t know much about the life of a seamstress, but planned on acquiring books on the subject as soon as she could get her hooves on them. Sweetie was happy that she and Twilight were getting along very well. The lavender mare was so smart and wise with magic and Sweetie hoped she would be that good some day.

They crossed the threshold to Sweet Apple Acres and JackSlap made some snide comment and wandered off, leaving the mares and the dragon to their own devices. They were not unthankful for his departure.

Spike yawned and Twilight chuckled at him. “Sweetie, I think we need to head to bed. Romeo here has had a long day.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault if she thinks I’m a knight in shining armor, Twilight.”

Twilight made a soft laugh and smirked at Sweetie. “I’ll wake you up for another lesson in the morning, Sweetie. Goodnight. Come on, Romeo.” The pair headed into the farmhouse.

Sweetie Belle wasn’t tired yet, as she’d had a long nap in the boutique, and wandered off to find a quiet spot to practice her mage creation technique. She hoped to refine the image until it was an exact match of her subject. With just a little more work and devotion, before long she would be able to conjure images of anypony at whim. She walked along a line of trees into the small central grove.

The night air wafted gently across the young mare, teasing her with a hint of coolness in the thick warmth of the summer night. Sweetie looked up at the new moon as it lifted into the heavens. She thought about her parents again. She hoped that if there was an afterlife they were happy and together ... and not looking down on her. She didn't want to think about what they might have seen her do.

The filly sighed as the thoughts dominated her mind. Sweetie needed time alone and she knew just the place. Sweetie had discovered her hiding place accidentally. The whole of the crusaders had been playing in the stream that day, searching for a way to acquire their cutie marks. They had already tried fishing, swimming, damming, and had been turning rocks over in pursuit of crawdad catching. Scootaloo, the buffoon, had gone after a large one and thrust her head under the water. Sweetie, coming from behind the pegasus in interest of her attempt, was surprised when Scoot's body tensed tightly and she jerked her head free of the stream with a loud squeal and a large crawdad with its big pincer clamped angrily onto her nostril.

Sweetie had started to laugh at the sight when Scoot kicked with her back legs and caught the unicorn right in the chin. The world went black for Sweetie and she barely recognized the cool water surrounding her as she floated down stream. Somewhere she heard Apple Bloom, but her voice was distant.

"Scoot, Sweetie is floatin' away! We gotta save her; she could drown!"

"Apple Bloom, get this thing off me! We'll get Sweetie in a minute. Yank this thing off!"

"EAAAAGHHHHH!!!"

"Ah'm comin' Sweetie! Wake up! She's goin' over the fall, Scoot! We gotta get'er! SWEETIE! WAKE UP! SWEETIE!"

Sweetie Belle hadn't become aware until her whole body was underwater. Thinking back on it, she must have been pulled underwater after going over the fall, gravity gaining the advantage over buoyancy with the help of the drop. Her lungs burned and she was choking. The filly thought she may have drowned herself, but kicked her little legs and, after what seemed an eternity, surfaced the stream and retched a throat full of water out of her body. She found it difficult to suck in fresh air, but fought to breathe and kicked her way to the shore. She collapsed on the bank of the stream, hacking and coughing for a short while to clear her throat of water.

Once recovered from her panic and breathing normally, she tried to figure out her location. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious. She touched her aching chin and pulled back some blood. That moron had knocked her out. She probably meant to do it and disguised it as an accident. She climbed the short bank looking for landmarks and came upon a small bed of flowers.

Sweetie’s couldn’t help but gasp aloud, as she had never seen so many flowers of so many colors growing together. There were many colors, all the colors of the rainbow, in fact, and they lay between a semicircle of stones, hiding them from all directions but the river. The young mare stopped to smell them, attracted to their beauty and innocence. Sweetie sat in front of the flowerbed and smiled at them. Flowers were a rarity in Sweet Apple Acres. Very few grew in the forest since the Flim Flam's machine exploded, but somehow these flowers stood defiant and grew in a secluded place, just surviving in a hostile environment. All their friends had died, but yet they carried on, making the best of their situation.

Sweetie felt at peace among the flowers. The filly dared not touch them for fear they may wither and die, but smiled and watched them until she could hear Apple Bloom's voice in the distance.

"And she went over the waterfall, Applejack! Ah hope she's okay."

Sweetie tensed at the sound of the small earth pony’s concerned voice; she didn't want anypony to know about the flowers. She had to protect them so they could grow. Maybe they would blanket the whole forest someday if they were kept safe. Sweetie stood quickly and with a quick look back at the flowers, her flowers, ran to meet her friends.

Sweetie had gone back to her flowers several times, always alone, afraid others might hurt the delicate things. She liked to look on them when she felt down and this night she very much wanted to gaze on their colors and smell their sweet fragrance.

Sweetie followed the river for a short way; all she needed to do was cross the barren field and meet the stream on the other side. She stepped out into the field and stopped, as there were two ponies out there in the open area. She crouched before they spotted her and listened for them. She wasn't able to make out their identities in the darkness, but she could hear them.

"Excellent, Squirt. If you keep working your wings like that you will be flying in no time." The scratchy voice had to belong to that loser Rainbow Dash. Somehow, that addict had stopped using Sweets and now spent lots of her time with Scootaloo. That's all that wannabe bully needed, a trainer. She was sort of useless on her own, but if somepony who really knew what they were talking about, and she had to admit Rainbow did, it would aid her growth and confidence. Sweetie wanted Scoots to be less of a threat and this was not making that easy for her.

On the other hoof, Sweetie knew she had more brains in her hoof than Scootaloo did in her whole head. Maybe she could just use the pegasus. Having her as a brute might not be such a bad idea. Sweetie stayed hidden and listened.

"Rainbow, thanks for helping me. I feel stronger. When we’re both flying, we’ll have so much fun together. Do you think you can help me learn a Sonic Rainboom?" Scoot's voice was cheerful and full of satisfaction and admiration.

Sweetie wanted to puke.

"Scoots, I'll teach you everything I ever learned. I don't know if I will be able to perform like I used to, but I'll make sure you can."

Sweetie fought to think rationally through the shroud of annoyance and disgust at overhearing Scootaloo and Rainbow’s touching moment. She could use the bully later on, surely, and, in the mean time, patch some of the holes between the two. There was really no reason to push Scootaloo. Maybe they could even be friends again. As long as she never used that wet noodle inside of her head, Sweetie had nothing to fear.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, Scoot. Keep exercising and I'll be right back."

Sweetie stuck her head up and watched Rainbow Dash disappear into the woods, probably finding a place to relieve herself. Scootaloo was flapping her wings back and forth as fast as she could. Sweetie stood and began walking towards the exercising filly. She realized as she closed the distance that Scoots had small sacks tied to her wings. Sweetie thought that being nice to the pegasus would be a good start. "Hi, Scoots! You sure are training hard. I bet you will be flying soon."

Scootaloo jumped at the voice of somepony other than Rainbow Dash. She looked over at Sweetie and made a dismissive grunt. "What do you want? Spying on me again? Get out of here. You won't find anything to use against me here."

"Scoot, I don't want to use anything against you. I thought that we were going to be nice to each other?" Sweetie recalled their last conversation, the one where she threatened to go to Applejack about Scoots’ food theft for Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, right. You don't want to be nice to me anymore than I want to be nice to you. Let's stop pretending. You hate me. I hate you. We can hardly stand to look at each other." Scoot looked angry at the filly, as if she suspected Sweetie was trying to trick her.

"I'm serious, Scootaloo. We used to be friends. I want to be friends again." Sweetie’s voice sounded almost desperate, but she suddenly didn’t care about appearing vulnerable. Her parents would be proud of her if she could salvage this relationship. Twilight would say that it was the right thing to do. Her lavender mentor was trying to do the same thing for all of Ponyville. If Sweetie could make amends with Scoots, it would make Twilight proud of her, as well. She didn't like Scootaloo now, but maybe they could stop their rivalry before one of them got hurt.

Sweetie’s large, pleading eyes were full of innocence and, for a moment, Scoots thought she saw a glimmer of the old Sweetie Belle coming through. The pegasus scoffed; the little snot was getting good at deception, too good, in fact. Scoots wouldn’t let herself fall prey to it. "I don't want to be your friend! I don't care about Applejack or you. I have Rainbow Dash now. She's teaching me how to fly and that's all I ever really wanted. Leave me alone, Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie tried to be nice to the filly. She thought maybe if they were both being taught they could bond over the experience. "I think it is great that Rainbow is teaching you. Twilight is teaching me how to use magic too so the both of us ..."

"Twilight?" Scootaloo interupted with a laugh. "That Canterlot spy? I guess that makes sense. You spy on others so much, I bet you can learn a lot from her. I bet she is just using you for information, though. You are getting Applejack in trouble associating with the spy." The pegasus filly smirked at Sweetie.

Sweetie felt her temper ignite. Twilight was her friend, and a good one; she wasn't a spy for Canterlot. She wouldn't use Sweetie like that. They were friends, real friends. "She is not a spy Scootaloo. Shut your mouth."

"Yeah? What if I don't?" Scootaloo grinned at Sweetie. She wouldn't let Sweetie trick her and spy on her. The little bitch had been trying to get her in trouble for too long. Friends? Yeah, whatever. “Go jump in the stream, Sweetie. Maybe we’ll get lucky and you’ll really drown this time.” Scoots smirked at the apparent, and surely phony, hurt in her former friend’s eyes and refocused on her exercises. Rainbow would be proud that Scoots hadn’t let the arrogant unicorn push her around.

Sweetie was furious, but the hurt in her eyes was genuine. She wanted to lash out at the sneering pegasus, to get the last word, but thoughts of her parents and Twilight kept her silent. She started walking away, her mind racing. Maybe she could still salvage this. She could try again after a while, after she hadn’t done anything to anger Scootaloo. Maybe she could regain her trust over time. She would try, for parents, and for Twilight…

Sweetie’s thoughts were interrupted by Scoots’ parting shot, "Oh, and Rainbow says Twilight is a spy and a slut. Is she teaching you that, too? Is that why you went into town? To practice lying on your back?"

Sweetie spun around, snarling; she had taken enough verbal assault from the stupid bitch. She started back toward the larger filly, fuming. Nopony called her mentor a slut and got away with it. Twilight was nothing like those nasty streetwalkers, Moon Glazer and Sweet Snacks. "Buck Rainbow Dash. That addict is still as useless as she ever was. Let's see how well she teaches you to flop around on the floor needing a fix!"

"Buck you, Sweetie! If you don't shut up on your own I'm going to shut you up!" Scoots was on the edge of lashing out at the unicorn filly.

Sweetie grabbed the sack of sand on Scootaloo's wing with her magic and yanked it loose, bringing it around to strike the pegasus in the face. Sweetie wanted to shut her up. She had come to the pegasus under the banner of friendship, something Twilight was trying to do in town, and had seen it torn down and thrown in her face. Enough was enough.

Scootaloo shook the attack off and showed her teeth angrily. Without a hint of warning, Scootaloo leapt at Sweetie, knocking her onto her back and pinning her down with her hooves. She snarled as Sweetie gasped, her breath lost from the impact with the ground and the realization that Scootaloo had just pinned her, and easily. Scoot growled and raised her hoof to strike the white filly.

Sweetie tried to get her hooves up for defense, but she was unable to free them from Scootaloo's weight holding her down. She watched the hoof go up and clenched her teeth and eyes in expectation of the blow. It was going to hurt. Maybe using the sandbag to hit Scootaloo wasn't the smartest idea. It was an act of anger. Sweetie had to be smart and losing her temper dragged her down to Scoot's level. And, on her level, Sweetie would get harmed. She braced for impact.

Scootaloo finally would get a little revenge on the uppity snot. She was going to mess her pretty little face up. She would remember not to mess with Scoots again for weeks as her face healed up, hopefully not completely; Scoots hoped she would leave the haughty little know-it-all with a few scars to remember the experience. Her hoof began its descent, but somepony grabbed her from behind and pulled her off of the unicorn. "No! Let go!"

Rainbow Dash struggled with the filly to keep her off of Sweetie Belle. "Scootaloo! Stop! Calm down!"

"Rainbow! Let go! I'm tired of her always being so smart aleck and hateful to me. She hit me with a sandbag! She started it!" The angry orange pegasus fought to get loose from her hero.

"Scoot! It's not right to fight your friends. It's okay. Just calm down."

"She's not my friend! I hate her!"

"I won't train you anymore if you don't stop. You are better than this. I know you are." Rainbow was still weak from her addiction. Her body was mending but slowly and keeping the struggling Scootaloo was quickly sapping her strength.

Scootaloo growled but stopped fighting to get free of her hero. "Fine. Let me go."

Sweetie had opened her eye cautiously when the weight had been taken from her body. She watched Rainbow hold Scootaloo back from beating her up. She was glad of it. Scoot had goaded her into becoming angry. It was intellect, not brawn that would win out against her rival.

Rainbow released her friend and moved between the fillies. "Say you’re sorry, Scootaloo."

"What? She started it! She said that you were ..." the filly angrily spouted, but was shut down in mid-sentence.

"I don't care what she said! Tell her you are sorry! If you want to be like me, you will listen to what I tell you." Rainbow eyed the pegasus angrily. She looked serious and strong, just like Scoots remembered.

"Fine ... I'm sorry we had a fight, Sweetie Belle. I said some mean things. I'm sorry." Scootaloo grudgingly apologized. She could barely hold eye contact with Sweetie.

Sweetie got to her hooves and made a sour face. She would make sure Scootaloo got what was coming to her. Rainbow's glare fell upon her and she wilted under it. She would play along for now. Some ponies just couldn't be treated as friends. They would just walk all over you. Or, were too stupid to understand. "I'm sorry too, Scoot. I really want to be your friend. I think I should go for now. I hope we can play together tomorrow and have fun again." Sweetie spouted niceties and turned away, walking back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Sweetie hadn’t been able to enjoy her secret place and had failed at her attempt at being nice, of which her parents would have disapproved, and Twilight, too. It really hadn't been a good night.

***

Rainbow watched the filly walk out of sight towards the farmhouse and turned back to her friend and fan. She could see the anger still seething in Scootaloo. She reached out and tussled the short purple mane on the orange pegasus and chuckled at her. "You’re cute when you’re mad, Scoots."

"She said bad things about you and me. She's always like that. She thinks she's so smart and wants to make Applejack notice her." Scoot's forelegs were crossed and her face was screwed up in a scowl.

"You are better than that, Scootaloo. You are a good, sweet filly. This place ... this place has messed with everypony. I don't want you to be like the others. One day you will fly with the WonderBolts and you won't have to stay here." Rainbow put her leg around the filly and pulled her close.

"I used to want to make Applejack notice me, too. Not anymore. I don't care about her. I just want to be with you. We could make it, Dash. If we left together, we could make it. I would feel bad about abandoning Apple Bloom, but I just want to be happy with you."

Rainbow sighed. She still hadn't talked to Applejack. The cow-mare was still spending her free time with Twilight and hadn't spoken a word to Rainbow. She did like the idea of just leaving with Scootaloo. Going somewhere far away ... but she wanted to try and change Applejack. She loved the mare and if it were possible to bring her back from the horror of herself, she had to try. Rainbow would admit her feelings to the earth pony shortly, but she had to get healthy first. She had to prove she was finished with the drugs and worthy of Applejack's love. If that attempt failed, then leaving would be an option.

If Applejack wouldn't change, Rainbow would give up on her friend and leave her to her own private Hell. It was cruel to abandon one you loved, but sometimes they simply could not be changed or reasoned with. Rainbow owed herself one good try. She had to admit her feelings and offer her help. "Scoot, I want to be happy, too. Just give me a little time; there's something I have to do. If I fail, we'll go away together. If I don't, then maybe things around here will change. Please give me a little more time."

Scootaloo snuggled into her hero's side and nodded. "Okay, Dash. I hope your plan works. I'd like to see you happy."

"Scoot, I'm happy with you. Whatever happens, I'll be happy." The multicolored mare stroked her closest friend and leaned down to kiss her head. "Let's go home and go to bed. We'll exercise more tomorrow. I think tomorrow I could use some stretches too." The cyan mare’s wings were attempting to repair themselves and she yearned to feel the wind under her again, to look down on the miserable world from the untouchable sky.

Comments

[Magnum the Critic]

Another awesome chapter. I can feel warmth returning to this cold, desolate world caled Ponyville.

[Locklen]

Looks like the bonds of friendship may be starting to appear, but are quite fragile. I like what is going on with the CMC currently. Also, Rainbow has some self-confidence issues to get over, from what I can tell.

[MellowMabari]

Aw! Loving all the character development. I'm glad that even though Rainbow's not Twilight's biggest fan, she's still trying to do the right thing with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and to an extent, Applejack. Her lack of self esteem is clearly holding her back (but after what she's been through, that's understandable) if she thinks she has to earn Applejack's love. Should be the other way round, really. But it makes sense that Dash wants to help her - its all she's ever really wanted from the beginning of the fic. I do quite like that she'd be willing to leave with Scootaloo if things don't work out, though. Hopefully Scoots and Sweetie Belle will start to get along, but I like how not everything seems to have a quick fix. Also yay, Pinkie's hair poofi-ness is back! Here's to hoping that the excrement doesn't hit the fan too hard in future chapters - onward!