"There's something you really need to know."

The detectives words buzzed in Rarity's ears as she watched him pace the tiny hospital room. Then he stopped and looked at her and she knew her world would never be the same.

"A few years ago," he began, his tone flat and brisk, "the Yard began investigating a series of murders." Ignoring her soft gasp, he continued. "At first these murders had very little in common other than the women were exceptionally beautiful and their last meals were always the same: beef Wellington, a side of greens, red wine and a few bites of creme brulee. When we began digging further, however, we discovered that nearly all of the women had made complaints to the local police about someone leaving a black rose on their doorstep every week for about a month or so leading up to the murder. Those who didn't complain, we discovered, mentioned the rose to someone in their inner circle." He debated on how much more to tell her. There was a fine line between arming someone with facts and overloading them with information. "We never released the information about the rose to the media, for several reasons."

"So what do we do?" Big Mac asked bluntly.

"We set up surveillance. He'll come back, there's no doubt in my mind. This is not the type of guy who's going to shrug off a setback like this. He'll come for you," he nodded at Rarity, "and he won't be happy when he does. Is there someone you can stay with until this is all over? Your mother, perhaps?"

Rarity considered for a moment, but quickly dismissed the idea. "Absolutely not. At the very least, I refuse to put Sweetie Belle in such a dangerous situation."

"She'll stay with me, at the farm," Big Mac declared.

"Mac, no. I won't even consider it. I said I won't put my own family at risk and the same goes for yours," Rarity argued.

"There's nowhere safer than Sweet Apple Acres, sugar. I may be a simple farm boy, but I know how to protect my kin. And we've got plenty of room, so don't you go worryin' 'bout that." He turned to Shield. "Whaddya ya'll think?"

The detective considered it. "Is it just your family there, or do you have workers?"

"We just hired some men last year. Orchard's gotten too big for jus' us to handle anymore."

"You trust them?"

Mac nodded. "Wouldn't have hired them if I didn't."

Shield addressed Rarity. "It may be your best option, ma'am. He's always gone after women living by themselves. All those people around may scare him off for good, if you stay there awhile."

She shook her head stubbornly. "I have cousins in Manehattan, I can stay there until you catch him."

"And what about yer business?" Big Mac shot back. "You can't just leave it behind for a few weeks, or however long it takes to catch 'im. And what if they never catch him? Will you just never come home then?" he argued.

"Big Mac, that's..." Ridiculous, she wanted to say. But she had to admit that he had a point. Was she just going to uproot her entire life over this?

"Ok," she conceded, holding up a hand when he grinned in triumph. "But onlyif Apple Jack is ok with it. I won't have this coming between the two of you."

He looked insulted that she'd even mentioned it. "Of course, sugar. I'll go talk to her and come back this evenin' so we can talk with the doctors 'bout gettin' you released." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips, soft and gentle. Even laying in a hospital bed recovering from a murder attempt the man could make her blood boil with a single kiss. How by Celestia's sun was she going to survive living with him?

"I'll walk you out," Detective Shield offered and the two men left together.

Outside of her room, Big Mac stopped him. "Seemed to me like ya'll were holdin' something back in there. What was it?"

The detective studied him a moment then turned to walk away, gesturing for him to follow. "This is no ordinary predator we're dealing with. He's unlike anyone we've come up against before and frankly, the Yard is rather lost at how to apprehend him. What I was avoiding telling Miss Rarity was exactly what he does to his victims that sets him apart. I can't tell you all of the details because of the highly sensitive nature of the case but what I will say is, if he ever left one of these women alive after he was done with them...I can almost guarantee they'd rather be dead."

He watched Mac closely as he spoke, impressed when the farmer's eyes hardened with resolve, even though his face had paled a bit.

"If you don't mind, Mac, I'd like to come by and check out your place. I'm sure you have good security, but another pair of eyes always helps in situations like this."

"Sure thing, detective. Can you come by in 'bout an hour? That'll give me time to talk to my sister about all this."

Detective Shield agreed and the two men parted ways.

Big Mac found her in the orchard, picking apples. It wasn't quite harvesting season, but there were always a few that ripened early. He stopped under the tree she had climbed into, watching her for awhile. His little sister, all grown up. There were moments, like this, where he missed the little girl she'd been. Begging to tag along with him and his friends on one of their "adventures" or challenging him to a contest to prove that she was just as big and grown up as he was.

She spotted him watching her before he had a chance to speak. She swung expertly from a strong limb and dropped to the ground in a move that would have made Rainbow Dash jealous. "Hey big brother," she greeted him, grinning the cockeyed smile he'd seen on her face countless times.

In that moment, he had his very first doubts about what he was suggesting. The idea of that maniac touching a hair on her or Apple Bloom's head filled him with dread. He felt strongly that Rarity would be safest with him, but maybe he should see about taking her somewhere, getting them both away from the people they loved. Maybe -

"Umm...did ya'll need somethin' or are ya just gonna stand there and stare at me like I've got three heads all day?" she asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He forced a smile and flicked her hat, causing it to fall backwards off her head. She clutched at it, glaring at him.

"I jus' got home from the hospital," he answered and her expression immediately softened.

"How is she?"

"Better. Awake, alert, talking." He hesitated, searching for the right words to explain what he was about to ask of her. "Thing is...she's gonna need somewhere to stay for a bit. She -"

"Say no more," AJ cut him off. "O' course she can stay here, as long as she needs! Not like we don' have 'nuff room. Maybe she can even keep Apple Bloom occupied durin' tha harvest this year." She chuckled. "Keep her from fallin' out o' a tree again."

He almost left it at that. Telling her the rest would just worry her. And with harvest season coming up, she didn't need to be distracted.

But then again, this was AJ he was talking about. The most honest person he'd ever known. If she discovered he'd lied to her, it would hurt her more than any knife ever could.

"I'm sure she'll be mighty appreciative AJ, but there's a bit more to it than that." Taking a deep breath, he explained the situation as best he could.

The emotions in her eyes shifted as he relayed the information the detective had shared, but her gaze never wavered from his face. When he finished, she continued to study him for awhile, as if searching for something.

"Well," she puffed out her cheeks and blew out a long breath as he finished. "Seems Rarity's gotten herself into quite the pickle, ain't she? Ya'll really think this is the best way? Bringin' her here?" He nodded. "All right. I trust ya, Big Mac, always have."

He nearly sighed with relief. He hadn't even realized that he'd been worried about her reaction until now, when he realized he'd never had a reason to worry. His sister was perhaps the most dependable friend a body could have. "Thanks, AJ. I'm gonna head back to the office for a few hours, work on the books a bit. Ya'll wanna head back to the hospital with me this evenin'?"

"Sure, jus' give me a heads up so I can wash up a bit. Rarity'll have a cow iffin' I show up all dirty-like," she teased, grinning.

He chuckled and turned to walk away. Hesitantly, he turned back to see her examing a different tree. "AJ?" he called.

"Yea?" she answered, not turning from her inspection.

"You know I love you, right?" He wasn't quite able to keep the emotion from creeping into his voice.

She turned then and smiled, full and bright. "I know. I love you too, big brother."