Adorabella shakes her head as she wakes up, after an hour of sleep. The past 2 days had been the most stressful time in her life ever since running away from home and residing in the shack. She usually doesn't sleep for more than 3 hours at most, because she must sleep as little as possible. Somepony could break in and do something to her while asleep. But since Rainbow Dash knows where she lives, she must be awake for as much as she can.

The first thing Adorabella does is check that everything in the shack is still there. What if Rainbow Dash was lying about wanting to be friends? What if somepony already broke in and left without her even knowing?

The chest obviously hasn't been touched by somepony else, as she sleeps on top of it, which has the mattress, blanket and pillow. In the left corner at the front, the same side as the door, is the table that has various types of flint and scrap metal she found. None of that has been taken from there.

In the right corner at the back is a smooth wooden hook pinned to the wall that has a black cloak hanging from it, with holes on both sides for the wings. The cloak has not been taken.

Under the right-side window is a table, that has a diamond-shaped, shiny green shard attached to a silver chain necklace that's the same size as her hooves. She sighs of relief that the necklace is still there. It would be catastrophic if the necklace went missing as the shard's anti-magical properties stops unicorns grabbing her with their magic via telekinesis or casting spells on her. It also let her escape when Discord and Tirek went round stealing magic. Losing that necklace would mean that if she left the land surrounded by the moat which she embedded the other 8 shards, she would be vulnerable.

Then there's the 4 legged wooden chair and the shelf above in the right corner at the front. Nothing has been stolen, which is good. She then hears knocking on the door. She flinches and ducks down, as she feels herself going back to the past... mother and father arguing... their voices... echoing... ringing... screaming...

"Hey, it's just me Rainbow," The voice outside is definitely Rainbow Dash's. Adorabella relaxes slightly and walks to hook that has the cloak hanging on it. She takes the cloak off the hook and puts it on. She then grabs the necklace that's on the table under the right-side window. After putting the necklace around her neck, she approaches the door. She lifts the plank up until it's standing horizontally to the left of the door, and pulls it open.

"Hi," Rainbow Dash lightly smiled.

"H- h- hey..." Adorabella shyly stuttered back in response, lowering her head while keeping some eye contact. Although Adorabella remotely trusts Rainbow Dash, she's still shy and anxious. It has to be a setup for something. Nothing good ever happens. This can't be for real.

"Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"A- as good as I c- can be..." Adorabella sheepishly replied.

"Do you wanna chill somewhere? We'll go somewhere quiet, where there isn't too many other ponies nearby, it'll be just us," Rainbow Dash offered.

"B- wh- what if some- s... somepony sees us?" Adorabella quivered.

"It won't matter as I'm pretty sure you can fly away... and nopony will catch you, that's for sure," Rainbow Dash replied.

"I... I s- I suppose..." Adorabella murmured.

"So um, what do you say? Wanna come and chill with me somewhere?"

"S- sure..."

"Let's go to the clouds, yeah? Race you there!" Rainbow Dash immediately takes off to the air in a perfectly vertical line, pushing through the roof of leaves. Adorabella waits follows suit and takes off herself as well. She struggles to get through the roof of leaves, but after getting through and above, she immediately starts accelerating. She then hears a loud bang and sees above her a rainbow ring with a bright flash in the middle.


"Oh my gosh I may actually beat her!" Rainbow Dash's competitive side takes over slightly. But then all hopes are crushed when she hears another loud bang. Rainbow Dash is almost at the clouds. But then Adorabella flies way beyond Rainbow Dash, and reaches the clouds before her, leaving a pink trail. Adorabella lands waits patiently on the nearest cloud for Rainbow Dash. This cloud is large enough for many ponies to be on, and on both ends is a large bulge of cloud, with a valley of sorts in the middle.

"I'll say now, that was impressive, Adorabella. I was just about to win the race and you just took that dub from me. With some Wonderbolt training and going out to do some performances... you'd make one heck of a career as a Wonderbolt. You've got the speed, agility and stamina," Rainbow Dash complemented as she lands on the cloud.

"I- I guess... b- but I'm not s- strong..." Adorabella stuttered. She didn't want to showcase how weak she really is.

"Nah, I don't believe that. Surely you have some strength. Wanna hoof wrestle? I reckon you stand some chance," Rainbow Dash offers a challenge.

"I'll u- use my whole b- body and you'd still beat me, h- hooves down... I'm the definition of a w- weakling..." Adorabella stated. She begins stuttering less though, which is a good sign. It shows Adorabella is starting to trust her more. This make Rainbow Dash have a very good feeling inside.

"Okay then, I'll use a quarter of my strength. I think you'd have a good shot then," Rainbow Dash insists.

"I- if I c- can use my whole body..." Adorabella compromised.

"Sure," Rainbow Dash agreed, getting onto her stomach and has her right forehoof sticking up, her weaker forehoof. Adorabella puts both forehooves onto Rainbow Dash's lone right forehoof. The 2 pegasuses look at each other.

"Ready?" Rainbow Dash asked. Adorabella hesitantly nods. The hoof wrestle begins. Adorabella pushes with all her might, but she barely moves Rainbow Dash's right forehoof at all.

"Are you even trying?" Rainbow Dash raises her right eyebrow. Adorabella doesn't answer and continues trying to push, but not making any progress. Rainbow Dash slowly decreases her strength being used to 10%. Then, Adorabella gives in and drops, Rainbow Dash's right forehoof slamming down.

"I- I told you I w- was weak... I- I can't even lift or open average things fillies can..." Adorabella sighed, and looks away.

"I- I can't stand up for myself- I can only f- fly away... what use am I -"

"Stop," Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"You may not be all that strong, sure, and you may be... a bit weak, but it doesn't mean you can't do awesome things. You shouldn't let these cons define you, only the pros... and you've definitely got some unique pros," Rainbow Dash firmly spoke.

"W- what can I do!? I'm not strong at all... I can't do b- basic things! Maybe the bullies were right..." Adorabella start to sound quieter.

"First off, those bullies are nothing, they're wastes. Secondly... you can fly faster than me, and I'm meant to be the fastest pony. Also, if you spent a decade living in the Everfree Forest, it shows you also have superb survival skills. You need to have a lot of wits to do that, which you've had those superb wits since such a young age," Rainbow Dash lists the things she's seen that Adorabella can do. Rainbow Dash then here's sobbing.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"A- all th- these co- complements... it's o- overwhelming... I n- never had compliments... everything was all just-" Adorabella sounds like she's about to burst out crying, but is also holding those tears back.

"Come closer to me," Rainbow Dash gently whispers to Adorabella, who walks closer and sits down right in front of the other pegasus.

"Now I want you to pull your hood down and listen to me," Rainbow Dash gives the next instruction in the same voice. Adorabella grudgingly pulls her cloak's hood down. Her face is now clearly visible. The waterfilled magenta eyes are visible. Adorabella is holding back tears.

"It's okay, everything from now on will only get better- come here," Rainbow Dash goes to pull Adorabella closer with her left forehoof. Unlike before when Adorabella flinched and got out the way, Adorabella lets Rainbow Dash, who starts to hug the white pegasus. Then, Adorabella puts both forehooves around Rainbow Dash, and let's out a thunderstorm of emotional tears. Rainbow Dash gently pats Adorabella's back. Rainbow Dash shook a little, surprised how cold Adorabella's body feels, literally.

"Cry for as long as you need to. I won't judge you or mock you. Just cry to me for as long as you need to," Rainbow Dash gently whispered.

"Th- thank you... thank you..." Adorabella repeated many times.

"There there, it's okay," Rainbow Dash kept replying in the same gentle whispering tone. For some minutes, Adorabella cries, then slowly stops crying. Then for a few more minutes, she stays hugging Rainbow Dash, starring blankly ahead at the other clouds.

"You trust me now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Y- y- yes..." Adorabella sheepishly stuttered. Rainbow Dash feels Adorabella trying to pull away, so she lets go.

"I- I hesitated to trust you at first... the popular ponies at m- my school... they picked on me... and I thought somepony... as respectable as you would do the same..." Adorabella starts stuttering less.

"I won't betray you, I wanna help you. You've suffered for far too long. We're friends, Adorabella, and friends help each other," Said Rainbow Dash.

"I- I um- I... uh..." Adorabella stammered a bit. Rainbow Dash is the light at the end of this dark tunnel of suffering, which Adorabella is skeptical of. There isn't meant to be any 'light' in her life. But Adorabella deep down knows she can't continue like this, and because Rainbow Dash is going all in to help, it opened Adorabella's eyes to see how far down the rabbit hole of pain she got trapped in.

"I now understand why you were scared of me..." Rainbow Dash puts her right forehoof on Adorabella's left shoulder.

"...but you don't have to continue suffering like this. I'm here for you... and if anypony wanna cause you trouble, you leave em for me to deal with," Rainbow Dash smiles lightly and winks.

" I- th- thank you... I uh- I- I d- I don't know how I'll repay you..." Adorabella stuttered. She feels more comfortable with Rainbow Dash. She never felt this feeling with another pony, comfort. She didn't even know what comfort is like, it's all brand new to Adorabella's system and life.

"I don't expect anything in return. I just wanna help a friend, because that's what friends do," Rainbow Dash responded, lightly patting Adorabella on the back before returning her right forehoof.

"Can I introduce you to another friend? Hear me out, this friend is very kind and I think she will greatly help you too. I promise you, she's one of the kindest ponies you'll ever meet," Rainbow Dash sincerely brought up.

"I- I don't kn- know- what if she does something-"

"I'm tellin' the truth- wow I sounded a bit like AJ there- that's not the name of this specific friend by the way. This friend I'm specifically talking about is a pegasus, just like us, and she's really really kind and friendly," Rainbow Dash further insisted. Adorabella weakly and hesitantly nods.

"Follow me, I'll take you to her cottage. Again, she's really friendly and kind," Said Rainbow Dash, flapping her wings and gently taking off, Adorabella doing the same. While doing so, she went to pull her cloak's hood back up, but Rainbow Dash gets close to her and pulls it up for her.

"I know you struggle with that sometimes," Rainbow Dash lightly spoke, having a light smile.

"Th- th- thanks..." Adorabella nodded. Rainbow Dash can just barely see a very weak and faint smile on Adorabella. Unfortunately it's hard to see that because of the shadow being made over her face by the hood.

While Rainbow Dash flies and Adorabella follows, they start to talk.

"How did you become so fast anyways? Did you go to go to flight school or did it come naturally?"

"I- I don't know... it- it's one of the only thing I cannot remember..." Adorabella shrugs her shoulders slightly.

"Okay... well, you have heard of the Wonderbolts, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. Not everypony necessarily knows about them, as she once had to explain what the Wonderbolts were to Starlight Glimmer.

"I- I do know about them... b- but I don't want t- to be one..." Adorabella replied. She would have to work with new ponies everyday, and new ponies meant anypony, and anypony may want to do something to her.

"Why not-" Rainbow Dash quietens her voice, she accidentally spooked Adorabella by loudly speaking.

"Why not be a Wonderbolt? Everypony will appreciate you and- Wait until you beat my record, you'll get a whole load of fans," Rainbow Dash goes on about the Wonderbolts.

"Exactly..." Adorabella sighed.

"Then everypony will want me... they'll stalk me and- I don't know what else they'll do..." Adorabella quivered.

"I trained myself alone... I worked on being this fast not to be a W- Wonderbolt... but in order to survive... to escape... to flee... to hide..." Adorabella added, quivering less.

"I understand," Rainbow Dash nodded.

"It all started after the day I flew away from my home... in Fillydelphia... wh- when I escaped from home... after being b- beaten by my father, my mother came in, they clashed and they fell..."


Adorabella glared at both of her parents, struggling to get up. She darted for her bedroom window and slide it open, which she struggled to do, but eventually managed to open it, sliding it to the right.

"Today'll be the last that the fillies bully me... today'll be the last that the colts harass me... today'll be the last that my parents mistreat me..." Adorabella flapped her wings and slowly hovered out of the window. She hovered up higher and flew over the roof, heading over back to the garden. Once above the garden, she landed down gently, into the tall overgrown grass. She walked to the spot she remembered burying her backpack at.

All Adorabella needed to do was wipe the ground. She did so, and the backpack is revealed. She then put the backpack on. She looks into the sky and starts thinking.

"I couldn't of been unconscious for too long that the moon would be setting..." Adorabella then thought about how long she went unconscious for.

"The sun and moon is raised by Celestia from the east. The Everfree Forest is westwards from here..." Adorabella faces the opposite direction to the moon. She starts flapping her wings, hovering 12 metres high.

"Earlier than I planned to escape..." Adorabella thought to herself.

"Today'll be the last time I'll ever be hurt... nopony will miss me, I'll be better off being alone-" Adorabella flinched, hearing the back door slam open, both of her parents charging out the back door.

"Come back here!" Her mother yelled angrily.

In shock and panic, Adorabella sped off, flapping her wings as hard as she can. She is too far for the mother to use her magic to grab her. But the father got airborne and chased after her.

Adorabella started flying diagonally up, and puts her forehooves far in front and her rear hooves far back as possible. She feels pressure on her forehooves from how fast she is going. The g-forces get stronger and stronger. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself to fly faster, blinking both of her eyes. She has already pushed passed and broken her limits in speed.

Adorabella focused on her inner self. When she does, she felt the g-forces no longer holding her back. Immediately she started going faster. Different shades of pink starts pulsing from the front of her forehooves which go down the sides of her. Sparks also started appearing at the side of her. Then, a loud boom is created as she increased dramatically in speed. Behind her she created a ring-shaped burst that has multiple shades and different types of pink. In the middle of the rings is blinding light, which dazzles the father who was still chasing her. Blinded, he was forced to stop chasing after her.


"... then after that that... I cried on a cloud a- and worked out where I was... remembered my plan... then I got my cutie mark and th- then I went to the Everfree and... and now we're here... I remember everything... in vivid detail... my cutie mark is more of a curse than a blessing..." Adorabella sighed.

"Wait, so your talent is being able to remember things really well?" Rainbow Dash wanted clarification. Adorabella nodded.

"A- And being able to work out my whereabouts... y- yeah..." Adorabella added.

"I do see why you think your cutie mark is a curse. Although, being able to remember things and know your way around is really useful. B- but why did your dad do what he did though? Why... why? It makes me feel so sick when hearing stories about abusive parents..." Rainbow Dash responded. Abusive parent stories always sends a shiver down her spine. Parents are meant to do everything for their foal. Foal abuse stories always makes Rainbow Dash's stomach churn.

"I- I took four of his empty glasses of alcohol... and he thought I drank them all..." Adorabella replied. She shivers and trembles when her mind goes back to that day she was whacked all the way to the other side of the room.

"Why did you need the bottles?" Rainbow Dash is confused why Adorabella needed 4 empty glass bottles, especially when something like that puts Adorabella at risk, putting her at the mercy of her father.

"W- with the four empty bottles... I- I filled them with the love potion... in case somepony caught me... and tried drugging me with it..." Adorabella takes a breather. It is very difficult for her to talk about the events of the day she escaped.

"I almost died... but I got better... and I became immune... I overdosed on the potion to become immune..." Adorabella explained the intention.

"I see, so let's say I tried bringing us two together with the love potion, you would not be affected by it?" Rainbow Dash is slightly confused. Adorabella nods, clarifying that she's immune to love potions.

"How do you know you're immune though? Somepony would have to be very creative in order to catch you, let alone make you drink it," Rainbow Dash asked.

"There was an incident... while searching for food... a stallion threw a molotov-like bottle with the potion in it... he hit me and I was not affected... and I got away... but not because I wasn't affected... not because I was fast either... but two magic-absorbing creatures came and stole his magic while I got away..." Adorabella shivered. She didn't want to think back to that day either. She looks at the shard on her necklace. She knows that is the real reason she got away from the 2 creatures.

"Oh we're here at the cottage- I didn't realize... eh heh," Said Rainbow Dash. While the 2 pegasuses were talking away, they only just noticed they're at a cottage that's near the Everfree Forest. The roof is made of green leaf-like materials, where there are 2 yellow windows coming out from. There's more yellow windows around the stone exterior walls as well. Then there's a pale-coloured stone and pebble path to the cottage's tanned red door. There's also many, many birdhouses around the place.

Rainbow Dash and Adorabella walk on the path that leads up to the door.

"C- can I ask you s- something?" Adorabella asked.

"Anything Adorabella, ask me anything," Rainbow Dash nodded.

"C- can we keep m- my speed a s- secret... p- please? I don't w- want anypony to find out- then they'll know how f- fast they need to be to c- c- catch me..." Adorabella requested while stuttering.

"I'll try to keep it between us two," Rainbow Dash nodded. She feels gutted at the attitude. When Rainbow Dash climbed to the top, she was so thrilled and full of pride, and wanted to show everypony what she can do, she was so proud. Adorabella did climb to the top, not publicly but in secrecy. She doesn't take any pride in having such great feats and is very reserved about letting others know what she can do.

The 2 pegasuses reach the door. Rainbow Dash knocks on the door with her right forehoof. Adorabella starts getting anxious, she shakes uncontrollably, scared of who may be behind that door.

"Hey we have a guest," Rainbow Dash said aloud.

Meanwhile, Adorabella is nervously shaking. What if this is a trap all along? A well-thought out trap which she can no longer escape from? What if behind that door is a horrible pony? What if that horrible pony does what they want to her with the help of Rainbow Dash? What if that pony has evil horrible intent, stallion or mare?

The door opens slightly, and Adorabella leaps back, extending her wings. The head of a yellow pegasus with a long, neat pink mane nervously peaks their head out, Flutterehy. The pink in Fluttershy's mane is much less vibrant and much smoother than the pink in Adorabella's long, thick mane.

"Oh um, hi there..." Fluttershy shyly replied, mainly to the cloaked pegasus, which is Adorabella. Although Fluttershy became much better at talking to ponies over time, she still gets shy around ponies she never met before. What also didn't help is that she remembers that pegasus. It is the same cloaked pegasus she saw 2 days ago.

"May both of us come in?" Rainbow Dash requested.

"Sure... I'm not very busy. Discord cancelled the tea party because he's so ill he can't make himself better with just a snap," Fluttershy sheepishly agreed. Rainbow Dash enters the cottage. Meanwhile, Adorabella hesitates to enter.

"It's okay Adorabella, my friend here is very friendly, and kind," Rainbow Dash reassured. Adorabella is busy scanning the inside of the cottage, scanning for potential booby traps, scanning for potential escape routes if things do go wrong.

To the left are stairs made of wood which have wooden banisters and railguards. Adorabella doesn't know where that leads to, as it could lead to a dead end and get trapped, so she can't go upstairs to make a potential escape. At the bottom of the stairs, to the left is an entrance to another room, and again, she doesn't know where that leads to, so she can't escape through there either. To the right at the end is another entrance, to another room. Again, she doesn't know where it takes her, so she can't escape that way either. Also, other ponies could be waiting in these areas. She must scan for a place where she can definitely escape through. She already scanned for all potential hazards.

All the way at the other end of the cottage behind a long sofa, a round table and a chair is a window. Adorabella has found an escape route if she needs to get out of the cottage. She will jump through the window if she has to.

"Adorabella, is everything okay?" Rainbow Dash quietly asked as she walks up to her while shutting the door.

"J- just a bit sc- scared..." Adorabella admitted.

"It's okay I'll stay with you," Rainbow Dash reassured. The 2 pegasuses walk to the long sofa and sat on it. Adorabella gets surprised by how soft and dry the sofa is. Her bed back at home is nice, but no where near as nice as this sofa. Adorabella relaxes her wings, folding them back in place.

"Oh um... can I uh... help you? My name's Fluttershy..." Fluttershy shyly asked the cloaked pegasus while having a genuine innocent smile.

"H- hi... I know a- a bit about you..." Adorabella quietly stuttered and withdraws her head back slightly.

"What's your um, name?" Fluttershy gently asked, stepping back to give the cloaked pegasus some space. Fluttershy notice them moving their head back. She can tell that the cloaked pegasus is very shy. Being shy herself, Fluttershy knows how to approach somepony else that's shy.

"A- Adorabella..." Adorabella shook and become rigid as she said her name to another pony. Her wings jolt, as if they were going to extend.

"That's a lovely name. Your um, cloak, would you want me to um, wash it for you... Adorabella?" Fluttershy sincerely offered.

Adorabella thought to herself for a minute. She doesn't feel comfortable taking her cloak off. But having it washed would be really nice. It would also help her know whether these 2 other pegasuses are able to be trusted. Adorabella gets off of the sofa and thrashes about, shaking the cloak off of her which falls to the ground. She then immediately sits back down on the sofa.

Adorabella feels very insecure now. She's no longer concealed by the cloak. She can be seen. What if somepony looks through the window and recognizes her? What if Rock and Catch happen to be nearby? But again, Rainbow Dash is nearby, she'll protect her, right?

Fluttershy bends down and grabs the cloak with her mouth and trots to the stairs and goes up.

"W- what are you looking at?" Adorabella questioned Rainbow Dash.

"Your cutie mark, it's unlike any other cutie mark I've ever seen," Rainbow Dash commented, taking an interest at the cutie mark.

On the side of Adorabella's flank is a pink-coloured map. In the pink map is a purple symbol that looks like a Z. At the top of this Z-looking symbol on the end is a circle. On the bottom of the Z is a line with another 2 circles on the top and on the bottom. On the end at the bottom of the Z is a curve.

"I prefer... you don't look..." Adorabella shuffles, to face Rainbow Dash.

"The colts at my school... they kept eyeing me up... and I don't feel comfortable with anypony looking at my flank..." Adorabella explained why she didn't feel comfortable.

"Oh my- I'm so so sorry Adorabella- I uh didn't mean to-"

"It's okay... I know you didn't intend to. You took interest in my cutie mark," Adorabella nodded, interrupting Rainbow Dash, who sighed with relief now knowing Adorabella didn't take it the wrong way. That's a good sign, because it shows Adorabella trusts her. Adorabella is also starting to stutter a lot less around Rainbow Dash. These are significantly positive improvements from when Rainbow Dash and Adorabella first met.

"The Z symbol represents my good memory. The map represents my skill in working out my whereabouts," Adorabella explained to Rainbow Dash.

"I see," Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Sorry it um, took me longer than expected. But your cloak is now clean Adorabella," Fluttershy apologized as she came back downstairs with the cloak in both her forehooves as she hovers to Adorabella, then drops it in front of her.

"Th- thank you... I don't know wh- where I'd be right now... without you two..." Adorabella stuttered, having a faint, but seeable smile. Seeing Adorabella smile, despite going through all that she has been through, is so wholesome.

"I'm so used to ponies just bullying me... or harassing me... it's so overwhelming... feeling comfortable... or safe... I never felt comfortable or safe... ever... until now..." Adorabella sheepishly spoke.

"I was bullied too, Adorabella. But Rainbow stood up for me. She'll do the same for you," Fluttershy relates with Adorabella, and sits down in front of her.

"You can trust me and Rainbow to look out for you," Fluttershy reassured.

"I- I already do... uh I already do..." Adorabella stammered.

"Would you like me to get you something to eat? I have food originally meant for my tea party with Discord, until he fell ill," Fluttershy kindly offered Adorabella.

"I- I'm okay... b- but thank you..." Adorabella shook her head, getting off the sofa to put on her cloak.

"If you ever feel unsafe or you want to go somewhere to calm down, you're more than welcome to come to my cottage," Fluttershy sincerely offers her hospitality, with open hooves.

"Th- thank you..." Adorabella stuttered while finally getting her cloak on properly.

"I haven't made you uncomfortable or anything, have I?" Fluttershy inquired, having a guilty look on her face.

"I remember seeing you two days ago in the forest and I scared you. I wasn't sure if I did anything in the past or I hurt you unintentionally," Fluttershy added.

"N- no, it's o- okay... thank you... both of you- Fluttershy and Rainbow... th- thank you..." Adorabella gratefully spoke, sounding very emotional. She now has friends. She feels respected, and safe. She has somepony to turn to for help. No longer is she alone in her battle against the haunting memories of the past.

"I uh- I uh- I wanna to go home now," Adorabella requested, stammering slightly at the beginning.

"Oh okay, um, it was really nice to meet you, Adorabella," Fluttershy nodded, smiling. Adorabella nods back.

"Y- you too..." Adorabella responded. She sounds much more comfortable in the cottage than at first.

"I'll see you around Flutters. Thank you for letting us come in," Rainbow Dash gratefully thanks Fluttershy.

"No need to thank me Rainbow. I'm always happy to help," Fluttershy nodded, smiling. Rainbow Dash and Adorabella start walking to the door. Rainbow Dash opens it and Adorabella walks out. The light blue pegasus waves her goodbyes to Fluttershy before walking out and closing the door behind her.


Rainbow Dash and Adorabella are back in the Everfree Forest, outside the shack surrounded by the moat. Adorabella walks to the door and pushes it open. Before she walks inside, she immediately swings around and puts both forehooves around Rainbow Dash, who gently pats her on the back with her left forehoof.

"It's okay, it's okay," Rainbow Dash feels so happy. She has helped improve somepony's life, who had been suffering alone. But she knows there's still a lot of work to do.

"D- do you mind if... if you stay over? For the night? I'm- I'm sorry... I still fear somepony had seen us and they're gonna come here..." Adorabella requested.

"I can come over later, but I need to go back to my place. The best construction slash maintenance worker in Equestria, Ralph... he's doing some repairs inside my home," Rainbow Dash replied.

"W- who's he?" Adorabella stuttered.

"Oh, he's new to the trades from what I know. But damn he's already doing a damn good job. The main reason I know about him is because I heard of a story when he held his ground against Bulk Biceps in a hoof wrestle, which ended in a draw- impressive but nothing really important, now, back on topic... I asked him to work on some repairs and I need to quickly pop back to my place and check how the repairs are getting on though," Rainbow Dash explained.

"O- okay..." Adorabella nodded. She's a bit scared, because Rainbow Dash could be going back to send this random stallion after her. But after everything Rainbow Dash has done for her, and introduced her to Fluttershy who's another pony she can talk to, Adorabella doesn't think Rainbow Dash would do that to her. Adorabella trusts her, she feels safe, she feels protected, protected from the darkness of the past still affecting her.

""Trust me, I'll be back as soon as I can," Rainbow Dash promised. Adorabella reluctantly let's go of Rainbow Dash. The light blue pegasus waves to the white pegasus, who waves back. Rainbow Dash flies off while Adorabella walks into her shack and closes the door.


So... if any of you are wondering who 'Ralph' is, he's another OC, but he isn't my OC. This OC belongs to a guy called Violet Ranger#6119 on Discord, so thank you to him. I also want to thank him for helping me, as both of us brainstormed ideas for the other chapters later on in the story. Now with the credits said... keep an eye out for Ralph, because he's gonna appear more in the story and have a later role, no spoilers though :o