Chapter 9: Kindness
Rainbow Dash, captured via massive ambush consisting of half the gang, wasn’t sure where she was anymore. All she could say about the last fifteen minutes or so was that these gangsters were pushy and the first chance she got, she was going to crush the Cloud Crushers from the top down. That was a funny, though redundant thought. Crushing the Cloud Crushers. There was a certain irony about it, too. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when her captors swiftly removed her blindfold and shoved her onto a stone hard floor. It wasn’t until she heard a metallic slam that Rainbow Dash realized she was in a jail cell.
“Hey!” Rainbow screamed. “Let me out of here!”
“No can do. Boss and the mayor can’t have you causing chaos under their rule,” a Pegasus guard replied flatly.
“It’s no use…” a defeated-sounding male voice informed Rainbow Dash from the cell across from hers. In the cell was a Pegasus with a sea green coat and a forest green mane and tail. The jail was dimly lit, so Rainbow Dash couldn’t clearly see his eyes, but she knew that coat. “I just want to set an example for my daughter…and now she’s out there alone…”
“Is your daughter’s name Seabright, by any chance?” Rainbow Dash asked, feeding her curiosity.
“Yeah… My sweet little girl… She’s all I have left…” the Pegasus replied, sounding ready to sob.
“She’s okay! My friends and I actually met her earlier today! Gosh, what a sweet kid. She seems a little shy, but she’s a pretty strong flyer from what I’ve seen,” Rainbow Dash informed him. The Pegasus gaped at her, then crawled to the bars so she could clearly see his face. He had Seabright’s deep purple eyes. This stallion was, without a doubt, the little filly’s father.
“You’ve met my little filly…? Where is she?” the stallion asked.
“She’s safe. She’s hidden away in a mane therapy salon that my best friend’s brother works at,” Rainbow Dash informed him. She then chuckled sheepishly. “I know that sounds kind of convoluted, but you really can rest assured. She’s in good hooves. By the way, the name’s Rainbow Dash.”
“Sea Surge,” the weary stallion replied, his voice potent with relief. “Rainbow Dash, eh? Aren’t you that new Wonderbolt?”
“That’s me! Seabright recognized this striking mane on contact!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, showing pride in her vibrant coloring. “She’s a good kid. And from what I gathered, you’re a single dad. That’s not easy, so I’ve gotta give you props.”
“Thank you… We do our best because we have each other,” Sea Surge sighed thoughtfully.
“What a kind young mare,” an effeminate and oddly calm voice commented from Rainbow Dash’s left. There was another pony beyond the cell wall. Another captive citizen? “Bringing him peace was like a gift to him from Celestia herself.”
“Eh. I just told him what I knew,” Rainbow Dash replied, surprised at the modesty in her own voice.
“Even a small amount of kindness can leave a big impact,” the voice pointed out.
Kindness… That was something about Fluttershy that just seemed to rub off on everypony. Rainbow Dash smiled somberly, praying from the bottom of her heart that Fluttershy and Scootaloo were okay. Blinking a few times, she brought herself back to reality and kept up the conversation. “I learned a thing or two about compassion from a friend. You should see her with animals! She’s so sweet… Please be okay, Fluttershy…”
“Pardon? Did you say Fluttershy?” the voice asked, her face suddenly in the view of a window that had been carved out between the two cells. It was a yellowish-orange face with a graying orange mane. Her eyes were the color of a mystical sunset and shimmering with life and love. “Fluttershy… She was one of my patients…”
“You’re a doctor?” Rainbow Dash inquired.
“Psychologist,” the aged mare responded in clarification. “Cloudsdale General Hospital had called me in to speak with a filly with severe social anxiety and depression. She had apparently taken her father’s medicine…”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. Fluttershy had been in that much pain when they were fillies? Had she actually taken her father’s medication to commit suicide? The cerulean Pegasus felt her heart slowly, torturously being torn asunder by the anecdote. The thought made her shake like a leaf during the Running of the Leaves.
“I’d seen social anxiety and even some depression symptoms in foals her age, but never to that extremity. At first, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get through to her, so I brought a photo album with me—that was from I did a lot of travelling in college—and thought I could start a conversation with her about the places I’d been. She was captivated by the areas of Equestria… The meadows, the mountains…” the psychologist went on. “In due time, she grew to really love our chats. She always asked about the ground below. She even brought up a friend of hers who always stood up for her. Even helped her get her Cutie Mark. And judging by that mane, can I assume that was you?”
“Heck yeah! I’m Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow Dash proudly introduced herself.
“Sunny Skies,” the psychologist returned the introduction. “It’s an honor to finally meet you, Rainbow Dash. Is Fluttershy well?”
“Very well, up until we got here,” Rainbow Dash reported hesitantly. “I don’t know if it was just the weather or everything else going on around here, but she seemed really down. When she’s in Ponyville, she’s always a free spirit, if a little reserved. I actually never realized she had depression… I don’t get much about it, but I love her way too much to let anything happen to her.”
“Love her, eh?” Sunny teasingly inquired, flashing her a sly grin.
“We kind of had a cliché confess-your-love parting before I gave her and a kid we were traveling with an opening to escape,” Rainbow Dash explained. “It was weird and sappy, but I really liked it. I really am in love with her…”
Sunny smiled fondly at Rainbow Dash. Her next words surprised the younger mare. “Thank you.”
Rainbow Dash hesitated. Why was she being thanked? “‘Thank you’? For what?”
“Fluttershy’s needed a friend and lover like you. I’m glad that you’ve been a part of her life for so long. You’ve been a big influence on her life, and I can never thank you enough. Even these days, I wonder how she’s doing,” Sunny explained, tears shimmering in her eyes and threatening to trickle out. “She hasn’t been my patient in years and yet, I think she’s been the most memorable one in my career.”
“I gotta wonder what Fluttershy’s old psychiatrist—” Rainbow Dash began.
“Psychologist,” Sunny corrected. “Sorry; the difference is pretty important.”
“Psychologist. Right. I gotta wonder what a psychologist is even doing in a place like this,” Rainbow Dash pondered aloud.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you that, too,” Sea Surge spoke up once more, seemingly at ease with the knowledge that his daughter was safe.
“Well, I’m looking to retire soon, so I’ve been looking to sell my office space. Those thugs have made the area undesirable, though. I wasn’t going to put up with it. Why would I? So I took my skateboard—I figure it’s never too late to learn—and cruised down to town hall and gave the mayor a few choice words. I suppose you know the rest,” Sunny explained with a sigh.
“Where are you looking to go?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
“Honestly, I was thinking Appleloosa at first. Then, I got a card from Fluttershy one day and we started sending letters back and forth. She told me about Ponyville and it sounds like the most amazing town! It’s lively, but not chaotic. I want to have fun when I retire, and her friend Discord sounds like a hoot at Tuesday tea.”
“It would be awesome if you moved to Ponyville! I’ve only known you for five minutes and you’ve already shown me how cool you are! You help ponies with their problems and you’re a skater? That’s awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, gushing with intrigue.
Before Sunny could reply, the door to their corridor swung open with a loud thunk, and the commanding hoof steps of the gang boss, Heat Burst, rung loud as she approached Rainbow Dash’s cell. The two glared at each other and the air in the corridor was thick with a suspenseful silence.
Heat Burst was the first to speak, but she didn’t break the tension. “Do you have any idea what you’ve nearly done?”
“Can’t you see what these ponies are going through?” Rainbow Dash retorted coldly, her cerise eyes focused on her captor.
“So what? They’re living every day in fear. That’s how life was for us. It’s just their turn, thanks to Squall cutting a deal with us. Why should I care about the society that wouldn’t bat an eye if my stallions and I suddenly disappeared?” Heat Burst demanded.
“You can be the bigger mare here. You could do so much more than this. Honestly, I think you’re wasting your time and your potential. Let Sea Surge go back to his filly and Dr. Skies retire in peace. They’ve done nothing to you,” Rainbow Dash tried to reason with the fiery colored Pegasus, hoping that she would see the pain being caused by the Cloud Crusher Crew’s antics.
“After all Squall promised us? Get real,” Heat Burst mocked Rainbow Dash’s sentiment.
“You think he won’t have you in here after he’s done with you?” Rainbow Dash inquired, earned a quizzical expression from the pony on the other side of the bars. “Seriously, once he’s tired of you, he’ll send the entire police force after you guys. I know you’re not a bad pony and you’re just trying to survive. I can get the princesses on your side. Help me help you.”
Heat Burst just stared darkly at Rainbow Dash, contemplating her thoroughly. All Rainbow Dash could do now was hope that she could get through.