(EGW)
“ Please don’t make me explain who he is again.” Sunset Shimmer seemingly mumbled to herself.
“ No one ya need ta worry yerself about, Rainbow Dash.” Applejack replied, having just gotten off the phone and noticed the look on Sunset’s face.
“ Aw, come on guys.” Rainbow Dash pleaded, rolling back a little. “ Don’t leave me hanging.”
“ No, Dash.”
“ They’re just bad people that everyone would be better off not knowing about.”Fluttershy supplied softly in an attempt to help.
Unfortunately, it only got Rainbow Dash worked up. With even just a passing glance around the kitchen, the immediate thought of some tough guy family coming in and trashing Sunset’s house came to mind. This, in turn, made her angry; thinking that it was something like that which had forced Sunset Shimmer to live how she did now. Regardless, no one was expecting what came out of her mouth next.
“ No one got hurt, did they? Because if I find out that this Tanker fella was hurting my friends, I’m gonna get some speed up and run him over with my wheelchair, then I’m gonna to get Butterscotch and trample the guy and I’m gonna make him hurt so bad that he would never even think about hurting anyone else again!”
All the others could do was stare at the ferocity of the chair bound girl in front of them. It was true that their Rainbow Dash had one heck of a loyalty streak, but this Rainbow Dash seemed to match her amount of loyalty if not surpass it. And the determined, borderline murderous, look on her face proved it.
Sunset was the first to break free from the shock.
“ No one is going to be hurting anyone.” She said, calming Rainbow Dash down before she charged out of the building. “ I’m not hurt and neither are the others. You don’t need to go after Tanker. We all just need to calm down, have a drink or something to eat, make sure we have everything in the minivan and get the heck out of here.”
It took a little bit of convincing – mainly from her grumbling stomach – but eventually Rainbow Dash decided that food was a much better alternative to hunting someone down without proof of them hurting or destroying the lives of her friends in some way. She wheeled herself over to the table where she noticed an almost empty packet of biscuits, a fruit bowl with some apples in it, and the jam roll from earlier. Despite the apples tempting her, she took the last three biscuits while Sunset got her a glass of water from the tap.
“ Sorry there’s not much.” Sunset apologised as she placed the cup down in front of Rainbow Dash. “ I actually need to go shopping again soon.”
“ It’s cool.” Dash replied.
“ Well, I’m going to make sure that everything’s in the minivan. If you need me, just give a holler.”
Replies of confirmation echoed through the house as Sunset Shimmer left the kitchen in search for any pieces of equipment that needed to be put back into the minivan before leaving. Finding nothing within the house, she turned to the minivan itself to make sure that everything was still there. And the hum of conversation coming from the kitchen followed her every move, not even managing to penetrate her mind as she counted and recounted everything that had been packed into the minivan back at the school.
In fact, she was that focussed in her work that Sunset failed to notice the form of someone leaning against the doorframe of the garage.
“ Ya know you can keep that table if ya need it, right?” The sure, accented voice of Applejack easily broke the train of thought that was running through Sunset Shimmer’s mind. “ It’s jus’ an old table from around the barn. Big Mac an’ I have been thinkin’ of getting rid of some of the old things ta make room for more of the new things we need. Besides, there’s more where that one came from.”
It took a few seconds for Sunset to overcome the slight shock at the arrival of one of her friends, but it was nothing a deep breath couldn’t handle. And as soon as that breath was released, she turned her attention to the table in question.
“ Are you sure?” She found her own mouth asking.
“ Darn tootin’ Ah’m sure. Judging from the story you’ve given us and the way this place looks, you darn well need it more than Ah do.”
“ What are we going to use in the meantime?”
“ Well, there are bales o’ hay we could use as well as some boxes and other tables that are stored away in the barn.” Applejack stopped herself when she noticed the worried look on Sunset’s face. “ But I’ll tell ya what. If ya what worried, we’ll still use that table. But right after all this is over, you an’ me are gonna go through the place, pack everything ya need into the truck and bring it over here for ya.”
“ You don’t have to do that you know.” Sunset sighed.
“ Yer our friend. It’s what friends do.”
Sunset Shimmer opened her mouth as if to say something more, but the second she did so, she quickly shut it again knowing that she was going to be fighting a losing battle if she continued to argue the point. And with that glint in Applejack’s eyes, she knew her friend wasn’t going to let her drop the subject so easily. Looking back at the minivan and closing the boot door, she let loose a small sigh.
“ Let’s just focus on getting these two Rainbow Dashes back where they belong.” The fiery haired girl finally said, turning to face the farm girl.
It wasn’t long before the girls were back at the Apple Family Farm and with full bellies thanks to Granny Smith feeding them course after course of delicious tasting meals. The old woman even said herself that she wasn’t going to stop until either she was satisfied with ‘the amount of meat on those bones’ of they were practically rolling out the door to the barn. And that was pretty much what Rainbow Dash did; rolling after the others in her wheelchair despite having a matching appetite to the girl that was so much like herself.
There was just one little thing that the girls hadn’t counted on once they got back to the barn.
“ Now Ah know those pencils are in here somewhere.” A young accented voice called from beyond the barn door.
Applejack stopped walking at the sound of her sister’s voice.
“ What in tarnation is Apple Bloom doin’ looking for pencils in the barn?” she asked herself aloud.
“ Don’t you remember, Jackie? Dashie used them to create that amazing picture of all the weird coloured people that look a lot like us but aren’t us and their pets which look a lot like our pets at home.” Pinkie supplied, bouncing over to her friend and tapping at her head as if that would force the memory to the front of Applejack’s brain.
The farm girl merely swatted her friend’s hand away.
“ But why would they be in the barn?” the sweet voice of Sweetie Belle asked from inside the barn.
“ Because Ah gave them to Rainbow Dash so she could borrow them for some reason.” Apple Bloom replied.
“ Apple Bloom, Rainbow Dash doesn’t draw.” The scratchy sound of Scootaloo’s voice was filled with uncertainty.
Wheelchair bound Rainbow Dash was shocked to hear that come out of her little sister’s mouth, forgetting for a few minutes that she was actually in a different world and this world’s version of Scootaloo quite possibly didn’t even know that there had been a magical mishap concerning the Rainbow Dash she knew. In fact, she was that affronted by Scootaloo’s words that she forced her wheelchair to the barn door.
“ Rainbow Dash, wait.” Applejack called softly.
The farm girl didn’t want to speak too loudly in case she alerted her sister to the fact that they were back. But she also knew that Scootaloo would totally freak out if she saw this Rainbow Dash in front of her. Of course, there was the problem known as Rainbow Dash herself, who was currently giving Applejack a questioning look as she lowered her arms back to her sides from where they were about to push open the barn doors. If she charged in there like she was planning, all sorts of things could happen.
“ What’s up, AJ?” the wheelchair bound athlete asked softly.
“ Ah don’t know how ya managed to get mah little sister ta lend ya her colouring-in pencils, but if Scootaloo saw ya like this, it’ll freak her out something fierce.”
“ How so?”
“ She looks up to ya almost like she’s her big sister. Wants ta be just like ya; winning just about every sport there is in the school, as well as being the top soccer player in the school’s junior team.”
“ What’s so bad about that?”
“ The last time Ah reckon she saw ya, you were on yer feet. She doesn’t know that you come from another world. So seeing you in a wheelchair could well hurt her.”
“ No offence, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle butted in “ But unless we somehow figure out how to get Wheelchair Dash back into her own world overnight and get her there by tomorrow, most of the school will see her in a wheelchair. And those who don’t see her will most likely hear it at some point. Especially with Lightning Dust and Indigo Zap knowing about the issue already.”
“ In other words, come Monday, the entire school will know that Rainbow Dash is in a wheelchair.” Sunset surmised. “ Two, if you count Crystal Prep.”
“ The way I see it,” Rainbow Dash said after a few minutes of silence were spent soaking in the words between the friends, “ if Scootaloo’s going to find out about the wheelchair, she may as well find out the truth. As long as she keeps it between her and her two friends only.”
“ Keep what between the Crusaders?” A small yet scratchy voice asked,
The older girls all turned to face the now open barn doors. And standing in the doorway were three young girls, one with a packet of pencils in her hands. It seemed that the three of them had found what they had entered the barn for while the older girls had been talking. Unfortunately, with the confused expressions on their faces, it was hard to tell if the confusion was thanks to what they had heard or what they were now seeing.
After a few more minutes of strained silence, Applejack finally spoke up. “ Apple Bloom, Ah think you and yer friends should stay in the barn with us tonight. We have a long story to tell ya’ll.”
“ Does it explain why Rainbow Dash is in a wheelchair?” Scootaloo asked.
“ Yes, Scootaloo. Now go get yer sleeping bags and yer pyjamas and come right back here.”
“ Yes, Applejack.” The youngest Apple said before practically herding her friends towards the farmhouse.