Heat emanated from the flat iron as it cooled down, its duty complete. Idle humming and morning light livened the room as the girl pulled the black dress from the closet—buried in a sea of blue and pink as it was—and tossed it onto the neatly-made bed. The dress was quickly joined by other articles of clothing: a less-black shirt, knitted gloves, and a matching pair of thick winter stockings—in black, of course.
Every now and then, the girl's phone would chime as it notified her of a new message. Most people would have trouble rushing their wardrobe, but not a skilled can-assert-herself-into-any-style individual such as herself. As a proud, master-level multitasker should, she would tap out replies with one hand whilst dressing with the other.
Long, pink hair flowed with grace as she spun her way to the bed, a whirlwind of bright colors and varying shades of coal. Soon enough, she was dressed in a spectrum of unlight, strategically contrasted against the occasional stripe or splash of vibrant, pink skin. It all fit well enough—the dress was a little too tight, but oh well—but there was still the finishing touch.
Lively, crimson cloth wrapped tightly around her waist. Once she tied the trailing ends of the wide ribbon into a bow, she speared the knot with a simple brooch of polished, golden-toned brass. It caught light well, almost glowing on the dark ensemble. She looked once more into the mirror. The sash and brooch held her attention—it always did. Those were Sunset's colors, after all.
'Yesterday is not today.' She took a deep breath, inhaling gently, preemptively exhaling a tremor away. 'Yesterday is not today.' If only they could've helped Sunset truly understand—.
Energetic buzzing and chimes filled the air.
After a brief pause in their conversation—no more than half a minute, but longer than usual—her texting partner had finally responded. Shaking herself out of her mood, she hopped onto her bed. Using both of her hands to carry the gravity of what she was about to say, she typed her final response.
"Heart... you... Dash...ie!" Sent.
Gentle breathing was the only sound she made as she stared at her phone. Rainbow Dash would take an extra moment to respond; she never really knew how. Despite knowing this, she would wait.
A chime and a shake. "Thnx," Dash said. It was a simple and aloof response, but that meant that Rainbow saw it, read it. All that mattered was that her friends knew that she loved them. Even if she had to spam them until they read it on some days.
"Maud!" Pinkie hollered, stowing away her phone, leaping from her bed and skipping down the hall, "I'm heading out!" At the door, Pinkie slid into her thick, black, woolen coat, and started lacing up her boots. By the time that Maud had blearily stepped her way to the entrance, Pinkie was getting ready to wrap her favorite candy-striped scarf.
"Early morning?" Maud intoned in that way that only Pinkie could read so well, like how one would read a stone.
"Rainbow Dash called for an emergency meeting," Pinkie explained, stepping forward to meet her stoic sister in a good morning hug, "so I just need to get some stuff. I've been neglecting my emergency party reserves a little," she laughed, somewhat embarrassed. A beat passed. "We'll be meeting here at around five." Maud remained silent. "Oh, and I need to stop by Rarity's." Despite the silence and stillness, Pinkie didn't relent in her hug.
With sluggishly steady arms, Maud returned the embrace, twice as tightly as Pinkie gave. "Okay. Be safe."
"Don't worry, I will."
"I love you."
"Aww! I love you, too, Maudie!" Pinkie giggled.
The sisters allowed their embrace to linger a bit longer. Once separated, Maud's eyes lazily scanned Pinkie's appearance—.
Maud's eyebrow twitched. So did Pinkie's spine.
Uh oh.
Maud reached out with one hand and, with a light tug, unzipped a small line of Pinkie's coat. It was all that she needed to see.
"Isn't this my dress—?"
"Gotta go be back later bye Maud!" Pinkie blurted as she broke away, haphazardly wrapped her scarf, and sprung out of the door, trusting that Maud would shut the door behind her.
Pinkie's frantic run turned into a steady skip, then finally an energetic walk after she nearly slipped on some exceptionally invisible ice. There weren't that many people out and about that early in the morning, so she got to spend a little bit of extra time greeting the occasional friend and neighbor that she passed by.
They greeted her happily, and every now and then, they offered her their condolences for her friend. It was just a thing that you say to somebody in mourning, really. Most of them didn't even know anything about Sunset beyond that she was Pinkie's friend—of this, Pinkie was well aware. Even after two weeks they offered their condolences. Even after two weeks, she thanked them every time. The pattern continued down the street, around the block, on the bus, and at the store. Greetings were passed, smiles were exchanged, and hugs were shared.
During the moments between greetings, Pinkie updated the rest of The Rainbooms—well, former Rainbooms—on the situation and the meetup. Applejack was pretty quick to respond, as per usual around this time of day, with an affirmative. Fluttershy was only a few minutes behind Applejack, the two quickly coordinating to arrive together.
>Flutterzz!: 430 is fine. Ty!
>Ayy Jayyy!: K see u then
Wat abt u Rares
At that point, the conversation paused. Pinkie checked her phone again after five minutes. Then fifteen. Then thirty.
No response from Rarity.
About as expected.
As Pinkie made her rounds, she sent some messages to Rarity, just so that she could say that she tried before dropping in 'unannounced'.
>You: Rarity, emergency friendship—
Pinkie quickly deleted the word.
—magic meeting 5pm @ my hous!!
If Rarity did respond, it likely wouldn't have been for fifteen-to-twenty minutes. It was for that reason that Pinkie waited to check her phone again until after she checked out from the store, arms laden with bags. The shopping trip had taken about thirty minutes.
Rarity hadn't responded.
'Maybe she was in the bathroom or bathtub or something!' It was a nice thought, but Pinkie knew that if Rarity even saw the message, she wouldn't be responding at all today.
Better to have kept trying anyway.
>You: Think ur gonna make it?
A fifteen-minute wait at the bus stop. After exchanging smiles, trading words, and paying her fare, Pinkie took her seat and drew her phone, quickly switching over to the most recent string of texts she shared with Rarity's little sister.
>You: Gmornin Sweetie! Rarity home?
After only a few minutes Sweetie Belle replied.
>Sweetie Belle: Good morning Pinkie! Yes.
>You: Ok ty c u soon! <3 u!
Sweetie didn't respond. Pinkie switched back over to Rarity's messages.
>You: R u okay??
Ten minutes, and still no response. After a brief glance out of the window, Pinkie signaled the driver to stop.
>You: Ill b there 5min
Sent.
>You: <3 u, Rarity!
She disembarked from the bus and began walking down the street. It didn’t take long, though the bags did come close to weighing down on her. Only a couple of greetings and fifteen minutes later, she was in front of Rarity’s house, ringing the doorbell.
Click.
"Hey, Sweetie Belle!" Pinkie called before the door had finished opening.
"Hi, Pinkie," Sweetie smiled tiredly, holding the door open for Pinkie to enter. Pinkie did, dropping her shopping bags at the entrance and scooping up Sweetie in her arms, making her squeak as Pinkie gave her a hearty and extra-squeezy hug. "A-are you looking for Rarity...?" the young girl wheezed, quickly squeezing Pinkie back and frantically patting the bigger girl's arm in a plea for mercy.
"Mhm!" Pinkie set her back down. "One of the girls called an emergency, so we need to rally the troops!" Pinkie snapped into an overly stern-faced salute, before allowing her body to relax. "But that’s later. For now, how have you been? It's been a little while since I saw you."
"It's only been three days."
"Yup!" Pinkie giggled at the exasperated sigh that Sweetie heaved, a more subdued—no, ‘less dramatic’—subconscious imitation of her sister’s.
“I’ve been...” Sweetie Belle’s brow furrowed as she opened her mouth to say something, only to hesitate and close it. “...I’ve been alright.”
“Are you sure?” Pinkie crouched down before the girl, bringing their eyes level. “You don’t sound alright...”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Sweetie couldn’t meet Pinkie’s eyes, preferring instead to look down to the floor. “I’m just tired is all.”
“C’mon Sweetie Belle, I can tell something’s bothering you.” Pinkie gave Sweetie her best smile, laying her hand on the girl’s small shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. “Go ahead and let it out. Tell Auntie Pinkie all about—.”
“I said ‘I’m fine!’” Pinkie pulled her hand away as though she were burned, shocked by the young girl’s acidic tone.
‘Uh oh.’
For the normally sweet and demure Sweetie Belle to snap at her like that, something must have been seriously bothering her. Something that Pinkie couldn’t help with. Or maybe Pinkie could...
No. No, it wasn’t her place—not yet. Hopefully, Rarity would get through to her. Was Rarity getting through to her?
Was Rarity even trying anymore?
“I’m sorry, Pinkie,” Sweetie whispered. “I just...”
“N-no no! No need to be sorry; I was being too pushy is all, ha ha...” Pinkie cleared her throat awkwardly. “I’ll just—I’m going to go catch up with Rarity.” She stood back on her feet, stepping forward to pull the girl into a more subdued embrace. “See you on my way out?”
Sweetie reciprocated, lightly wrapping her arms around the larger girl. But did Sweetie appreciate the hug and what it meant? Was she just doing what was expected of her, or what she thought would be polite?
“Yeah. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Alright, see you then!” Pinkie stepped away and Sweetie didn’t resist. After the barest moment of hesitation, Pinkie turned and skipped away.
Pinkie skipped to the staircase, sprinted on all fours up the stairs—like how everybody who is able to should—and spun the short distance down the hall to Rarity’s door.
Just three light knock, knock, knocks.
“Raaaarityyyyy!” Pinkie whisper-shouted through the door. Hopefully Rarity was awake.
A muffled thump sounded from within the shut room, something fell to the carpeted floor. Rarity was probably awake, then. Pinkie started counting the seconds.
One...
Two...
Five...
Fifteen...
...Thirty.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Psssst!” Pinkie hissed as though the whole house couldn’t hear her, “I have a message for you. It’s urgent!”
One...
Fifteen...
Thirty.
Knock-knock-knock.
“Rarityyy—!”
Click.
The door quietly cracked open just enough to reveal the unlit room, the curtains only allowing enough light to remind an onlooker that it was, in fact, day time. The most notable things that Pinkie could see, however, was the neatly made bed, the spotless carpeted floor, and the open and organized closet. Everything that she saw in the room was as spotless as when Rarity cleaned it over a week ago.
The same could not be said for Rarity. No, Rarity could only be classified as an absolute mess.
Only half of Rarity’s body was visible through the narrow gap in the doorway, but it was all that Pinkie needed to see. Rarity’s hair was tangled and unkept. Her nails were chipped, her face oily, her robes askew, her slippers on the wrong feet, and the smell wafting off from her lingered heavily somewhere between stale and ripe.
Rarity was as much of a mess on the outside as she was a week ago. Goodness knows how she was in her head.
Pinkie really needed to find a way to get her out of it.
“Hi, Rarity!” Pinkie waved from her side of the door, recognizing Rarity’s unwillingness to open the door any further for what it was.
“He—,” Rarity swallowed and cleared her throat, voice heavy with fatigue. Judging by the scent that struck Pinkie’s nose, Rarity had likely only just gotten out of bed. Judging by the way Rarity started holding her hand in front of her lips as she spoke, she also recognized the aroma that emanated from her mouth. “...Hello, Pinkie Pie.”
“H-hey, hi, Rarity! I uh,” Pinkie furrowed her brow in thought, trying to remember—, “Ah! There’s a magic emergency! The girls’ll be meeting up at my place at five. Can you make it?”
When Rarity sighed, Pinkie already knew the answer.
“I’m afraid not, darling. I still have some things I need to get in order, and...” Rarity shifted on her feet, going nowhere. “...Well, I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather as well. Surely, you understand?”
“Well, yeah, I get you,” Pinkie started, “because I’ve got a ton of stock to resupply and fix up, Applejack’s got her farm chores that spiked this season for some reason even though it’s winter, Fluttershy’s got her animal friends to feed, and Twilight’s Twilight—actually is Twilight even going to be there? I should’ve asked Dashie. But anyway—yeah, I understand, but this is important." Pinkie pressed herself against the doorframe, not mentioning how Rarity moved to hide herself further behind it. “We’re the only ones who can even try to take care of magic stuff in the whole city, so you gotta come! Will you pleeeeeease?”
“Pinkie, I—.”
“And besides, you need to get out of this house! I mean, when was the last time you left to go get groceries or anything, because I know you never go out without doing your hair and it looks like you haven’t brushed it in a while. I bet you’ll get the energy you need after some fresh air and some good ole T-L-and-C from your friends—!”
“Pinkie, please!” Pinkie stopped, already reading Rarity’s expression. There was truly no convincing her, but it was always worth a try. “Pinkie, just... I’ll see what I can do.”
Of course she would.
“Really? Because this could be important.” Did Rarity really get how serious this was?
“Yes, Pinkie. I’ll try.”
“Promise me.”
Suddenly, Pinkie’s heart was pounding.
Why did she say that? How could she box Rarity in like that? Isn’t that cruel?
More importantly, what would Rarity do? Would she backtrack? It’s alright if she wanted to lie, but how far would she go?
A beat of silence, uncomfortably shifting into two beats, then three.
“...I promise.”
Pinkie wanted to cry. She felt like she had just lost something precious.
“...Okay.” Pinkie sniffed, hoping the tears that were building beneath her eyes weren’t too obvious. “I-I’ll see you then?”
“Yes, of course. In case I can’t though, let me know how it goes.”
‘If’, she said, ha. 'Don’t bother with the jokes, Rarity; that’s my job.’
Pinkie pushed down the sudden surge of energy, stirred by... frustration? Anger? Even then, anger towards who? Towards what? Rarity? Herself? CHS? Everything?
The vague rush of feelings made her feel guilty, anyway.
“Okay. Just in case.”
“Right.”
Pinkie didn’t know what to say. She just felt lost.
Apparently, Rarity didn’t know what to say either.
“Have a nice day, Pinkie Pie.” Rarity started closing the door.
“You too—oh!” Pinkie’s hand shot out and stopped the door from closing. From the other side, Rarity pulled it back slightly, returning the door to its previous ajar state. “Rarity, there’s one more thing,” Pinkie whispered, lowly, this time intending to not be heard by anyone else.
Rarity sighed at her antics. “Pinkie, darling, what is it this time?”
“It’s about Sweetie Belle.”
That caught Rarity’s attention.
“What?” she gasped, before lowering her voice to a whisper as well. “What’s wrong with Sweetie Belle? Is she alright?”
“I don’t know.” Pinkie shook her head. “Something’s bothering her. I remember she was devastated when... well, you know.” Rarity flinched, but nodded slowly. “She took it really hard, all of the little ones did, but she seemed to bounce back a bit. But Rarity, she nearly yelled at me today—.”
“What did you do?” Rarity wasn’t angry, just confused. “That doesn’t sound like her...”
“I’m not mad at her or anything. I pressed just a little bit too much, I think. She just looked so down, like she had something on her mind that was weighing her down. I just wanted to hear her out, maybe make her feel a little better. I figured it was still about Sunset—I know I still cry sometimes—but then...” Pinkie reached in and gently took Rarity’s hand in her own, softly rubbing her thumb over her knuckles. “I don’t know Rarity. Maybe I’m just being crazy ole Pinkie again, but I’m worried about her. I have a feeling it’s important.”
“I...” Rarity swallowed thickly. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Even if you don’t come today,” Pinkie whispered, trying not grit her teeth or bite her lip or let slip a tear, “please, at least talk to her about it. She’s hurt. Promise.”
“She’s my sister, of course I will. I promise.” Was Rarity being honest that time? Pinkie couldn’t tell. From now on, she would never be able to tell, not with Rarity.
“Okay,” Pinkie decided to say. “Thank you.”
“No, darling, thank you.” Pinkie really hoped Rarity was as sincere as she sounded. Pinkie gave Rarity’s hand a squeeze.
“I love you.”
She felt Rarity freeze in her hand, before giving her a reassuring squeeze back.
“I-I love you, too, dear. I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”
“You’re you. That’s all that matters.” A beat passed. “I’m heading back now.”
“Of course. Have a nice day.”
‘Not ‘see you later,’’ Pinkie noted.
“You, too.” Only a single moment later, the door clicked shut.
The weight of emotion dragged her down to a subdued pace as she descended the steps, turning into the kitchen. There she saw Sweetie Belle, indulging in a sandwich and a glass of milk.
“Bologna for breakfast?” Pinkie grinned, well aware that everybody knew that she wasn’t one to talk.
Sweetie finished her bite and swallowed. “I’m not allowed near the kitchen outlets, gas lines, or anything that connects to them. Except the fridge.” Sweetie grumbled behind her hand. That got a much-needed giggle out of Pinkie.
“Oh Sweetie, you’re so funny! I’m heading out now,” Pinkie said, spreading her arms wide and approaching the girl in her chair, “so c’mon, lemme get one last hug.”
“Okay.” Sweetie Belle set down her sandwich, turning to hop out of her chair, but was already engulfed by Pinkie’s arms before she could move. Comfortable enough, she wrapped her arms around Pinkie’s body, clutching the fabric of Pinkie’s coat. “Thanks, Pinkie,” Sweetie mumbled, into Pinkie’s shoulder. “I’m really sorry about before.”
“Don’t worry about it, Sweetie; you’ve got a lot on your mind. Just remember that I love you, okay?”
Sweetie hugged a little tighter, buried her face into Pinkie’s shoulder a little deeper. “Thank you,” Sweetie said, voice notably softer. “I love you, too. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Sweetie, we all are. One day, things will get better. Just do your best, okay?” Sweetie nodded into her shoulder and maintained the hug a little longer.
Pinkie pulled away, trying to discretely wipe the small well of tears that gathered in her eyes, only to see Sweetie do the same thing. “Look at us,” she giggled with a wet sniff, “we do this every time. Anyway,” she continued before Sweetie could respond, “I need to get going. Have a good one!”
Sweetie herself sniffed before getting up to follow Pinkie so that she could lock the door. “Have a nice day, Pinkie. Thanks again.”
“No problem! And,” she leaned down, bringing their faces close, speaking in a conspiratory whisper, “take care of your sister, okay? She needs you now more than ever.”
Pinkie didn’t miss the way Sweetie’s face fell a little.
“I’ll do my best, Pinkie.”
“Good.” Pinkie got up and picked up her grocery bags, stepping out of the now open door. “I love you!” she called over her shoulder.
“Bye, Pinkie; love you, too!” The door closed shut behind her. Finally on her return trip once more, Pinkie let her tears flow free.
On the way back, she was occasionally greeted by friends, friends of friends, and eventually neighbors. Occasionally, they offered her their condolences, just as they had for the past two weeks. Because she was still in mourning, she thanked them all.
With the steadily growing list of things she was losing, she would be in mourning for a long time.
The sun had set long ago by the time that Rainbow Dash had arrived. Rainbow simply let her bike coast down the lamp-lit stone path to Pinkie’s house, shivering no less than when she left Donut Joe’s Diner. Along the way she had stopped into a number of storefronts to warm up. Sometimes, she was greeted warmly, which was a nice break. She’d linger in those places for a little while, ordering hot water in restaurants or nothing at all. Out of compassion, the owners, managers, or workers would just let her hang out and warm up. She had a chance to sit down and clear her mind a little.
They let her breathe.
It was nice.
Otherwise, she only stayed in long enough to get feeling back into her fingers and left before anybody could say anything. Even then, they were somehow both stinging in agony and numb.
Ghosting fingers over the side of Applejack’s truck as she passed, Rainbow hopped the bike up to the porch, dropped the kickstand, and dismounted in a well-practiced procedure. She opened the door, quickly slamming it against the stiff breeze behind her.
With a stampede of movement, Pinkie-in-black was suddenly in the main corridor. Her face was bright with excitement, but dulled slightly upon seeing her. 'What’s with that?’
Whatever was ‘with that’ must not have been that important, as Pinkie had thrown herself into a hearty embrace just as she always did and thank goodness, Pinkie was really warm.
Hot, even.
‘No homo,’ she joked to herself with a chuckle as she burrowed deeper into the embrace. Gilda would’ve laughed at that one.
“Dashie, you made it!” Pinkie shouted in an almost-whisper.
“Well duh,” Dash replied, matching her volume and tone, “I’m the one who called it! Still doin’ the goth thing, huh?”
“Shhhh, Dashie, shhhhh—you’ll wake up Maud and Boulder!” As if Pinkie wouldn’t do that herself, right? “You’re really super cold! What happened? Where’s your jacket?”
“I dropped it. I’ll explain in a bit.”
“Dashieeeee, you shouldn’t drop things that you need! What if you need them later?!”
Darn it, why did Pinkie have to be so annoying?
‘Ah, whatever,’ Dash thought with a smile.
Knowing that Pinkie wouldn’t be letting go any soon—not that Rainbow was complaining—Dash deftly kicked off her shoes and began leading the four-legged mass of black, blue, pink, rainbow, and hugs back into Pinkie’s room. Carefully maneuvering into the doorway, she saw Fluttershy and Applejack, chatting. Then they caught sight of her.
“Well howdy, Dash! Been a while.”
“Hello, Rainbow Dash! It’s nice to see you again.”
“Hey girls, it’s good to see you. I mean it.” She really did. She called the meeting out of fear and excitement, but never expected to be that happy just to see them. Something like the joy in hanging out with them normally, but somehow more? She couldn’t explain it.
Her arms found the energy to give Pinkie a squeeze.
“So Dashie, why’d you call the meeting, huh?”
Rainbow blinked, leaning her head back to maneuver around Pinkie’s. “Wait, but where’s Rarity—?”
“Where d’ya think, Dash?” Applejack crossed her arms with a grimace. Dash felt Pinkie sag in her arms.
“She couldn’t make it,” Pinkie murmured over her shoulder, strangely subdued. “She tried, though.”
Right, of course she did. Dash should’ve known better, but it never killed to hope. Sometimes, it just hurts.
“...Right. Well,” Rainbow cleared her throat, “I don’t think it would matter too much if she were here anyway.”
Oh yeah, that got their collective attention in a bad way.
“W-uhm,” Fluttershy murmured. fidgeting in her seat, “w-why would you say that?”
“Well I’d love to explain, but I think I’ve got something that I need to get off my chest first.” That got a chuckle out of the farm girl.
“Go on, Dashie,” Pinkie cooed, patting her head, probably the same way she pet her lizard, “go ahead and let it out.”
“She’s talkin’ about you, Pinkie.”
“...Oh, fine.” Finally getting the hint, Pinkie let go of Dash and moved to step away.
Dash was pulled along with her.
Rainbow’s arms were still locked around Pinkie’s back.
‘Huh?’
“Uh, Dashie? I already let go you know...”
“H-huh? I—yeah... I just, uh...” Dash was lost. What was she doing? “I, lemme just...” She couldn’t bring herself to let go. Why couldn’t she let go? She tried to relax her arms, but they stayed firmly wrapped around her friend and she couldn’t work up the will to force them off. Fluttershy and Applejack both stood up, eyes wide with alarm.
“R-Rainbow Dash, are you... alright?” Fluttershy hesitated. Why did she hesitate? What was she afraid of?
“Yeah, g-great. W-why?”
“I-I mean, well...” Fluttershy shuffled her feet nervously the way she always did; she knew what to say but didn’t know how she should say it. “Y-you’re... uh...” Rainbow wished that she’d just blurt it out, because she was kind of starting to freak out—.
“Dash, you’re cryin’.”
‘What?’ Now that Applejack mentioned it, her cheeks were a little wet. Ah heck, another one just rolled down her cheek didn’t it—it did, she felt it.
“O-oh.”
Warm arms wrapped around her chilled body again. Pinkie’s hand resumed its petting of Rainbows head, the playful condescension from the previous time replaced with concern and care. “Dashie? You’re shaking, are you alright?”
She was crying, wasn’t she? She could feel them—the tears just came faster and faster until they were streaming down her face. How many of those did she even have left?
“D-darn,” Rainbow Dash chuckled hoarsely with a wet sniff, “I-I thought that, that I already ran out of these, heh...” She tried to shakily laugh it off, but her situation was unsalvageable. Well if she was going to fall apart, she could at least do it with dignity. “H-hey, girls?”
“Um, y-yes?”
“What’s up, Dash? You’re scarin’ me.”
“Could, uh,” Rainbow swallowed a lump in her throat, arms tightening around Pinkie’s warm body. She refused to lower her head. Her artificially easy smile trembled. “N-not gonna lie, girls, I think I could really use some hu-some hugs right now. C-could you, I, uh, uh...”
Not another word was said as Applejack and Fluttershy stepped around Rainbow Dash. Without pause, Dash felt their bodies press against her sides and back. She felt the warmth of her friends and the subtle pulses of their still-beating hearts. She felt their hands petting her head, rubbing circles on her back, massaging her shoulder, and Dash’s chest heaved.
“Dash, what happened to you—?”
“Shh, Applejack,” Fluttershy cut in, “j-just let her get her thoughts in order, okay? It’s okay, Rainbow,” she whispered against Rainbow’s shoulder. “Take your time. We’ve got you. We’re here...”
Dash kept her head held high against Pinkie’s as her newfound tears flowed down her face. She’d be running out of those again soon enough. Her chest trembled with shuddering breaths but she didn’t dare give her cries a voice. She was determined to remain silent until someone—Applejack? Fluttershy? Didn’t matter—gave her body a squeeze, forcing air to escape her mouth in a small whimper. That one whimper was followed by many, many more. Dash grunted and growled as she tried to strangle the pathetic sounds down, but they just kept coming and Dash was so tired.
‘Screw it. Screw it—screw everything.’ If she was going to make noise anyway, she was going to be as loud as she wanted. Whimpers grew into sobs grew into wails and she was gasping and wheezing. But then she remembered something about Pinkie’s sister sleeping but she was already in too deep and couldn’t stop crying but she needed to calm down—to keep her head. She hunched over, burying her face in Pinkie’s shoulder to muffle her wails. The puddle on Pinkie’s clothes wouldn’t be getting any larger—she had already cried herself dry once more—but the act itself wouldn’t let her escape its momentum.
Rainbow’s legs lost the will to stand, but her friends were there to collectively ease the huddle to the ground. Seated on the soft carpet and surrounded by warmth, Rainbow felt her body start to relax and unwind. Faster than she could realize, one minute turned into two, then five, then thirty. Eventually, her wails softened into sobs, then into sorrowful moans against Pinkie’s shoulder. Her eyes, face, neck and joints were sore. Her throat was raw. Her fingers still stung the pain of a thousand needles.
Somehow, that was the most comfortable she had been all day.
‘What a heck of a day it’s been, too,’ she reflected. It was just supposed to be another routine day: visit Sunset in the morning, look for leads on either her killer or Anon-A-Miss, and when—if she failed that, she’d just... Do something. Check in on the squirt, or hang out in front of Rarity’s door. Maybe visit Gilda, since she just got done with her municipally mandated sleepover. That could’ve been fun.
But then Twilight had to bring Sunset back from the dead.
She turned that over in her head for a while. How could that be possible? Why would that be possible. As the day went on and she dug deeper, everything she learned made less sense.
How could she possibly explain this?
‘From the beginning’ would have to work.
From her place in the center of the huddle, head on Pinkie’s shoulder, she told them everything. She told them about the mementos, how they were many and that some of them she had placed into Sunset’s coffin herself. She told them that she recognized each one, including her lucky pick. She told them that of all of the things that were there, Sunset’s magical journal wasn’t, so of course she was going to try and hunt the grave-robber down.
She did not tell them about how she wept on Sunset’s grave.
She probably didn’t even need to.
She told them about the old man who told Rainbow about Watermelody and some girl named ‘Sunny Song’. Her voice hitched when she told them that Sunny Song was actually Sunset’s reanimated body.
She could feel the Pinkie’s and Fluttershy’s ministrations on her body twitch or pause.
Applejack froze.
“D-Dash,” Applejack began, voice carefully even. Rainbow knew that she’d be the hardest one to convince.
“Applejack, um,” Fluttershy tried to head off the storm, “m-maybe we should just let her... I mean she probably didn’t, uh...”
But Applejack stayed firm on the matter, releasing herself from the huddle. Dash couldn’t see her, but she could hear and feel Applejack circle around so that she could face her from behind Pinkie.
“Sorry, Fluttershy, but I need to hear this. Dash, tell me what you just said again.”
Taking a breath, Rainbow lifted her head just high enough from Pinkie’s shoulder to be able to meet Applejacks blank stare with a defiant one of her own.
“I said,” Dash murmured through a clenched jaw, speaking lowly and slowly to try keep the trembles in her voice to a minimum, “that the old guy pointed me to a girl named Sunny Song, who I thought was just somebody disguised as Sunset. But after I saw her, I realized it was actually Sunset’s body.”
Rainbow could hear and feel how Pinkie’s breath hitched, as well as how Fluttershy pulled back. Applejack held Rainbow’s gaze for a moment, analyzing her, then slowly nodded her head.
“Sunset’s dead body.”
Rainbow nodded.
“Just up and walkin’ around.”
Rainbow ground her teeth, but nodded.
“D-Dashie...” Pinkie didn’t loosen her embrace, but did lean her tear-streaked face away to see Rainbow’s. “...you’re not... I mean, this isn’t—I know you never would, not about something like this. But you... this sounds like a really mean prank. I mean,” Pinkie chuckled, unsure, “you’re telling us our best friend is a, a zombie or something! That’s, that can’t be real, right?”
“It is real, Pinkie. I...” Rainbow couldn’t help the shudder as the memories flowed through her. “She was so cold, Pinkie. So cold, and her makeup was all wrong. She was even wearing Rarity’s dress—the same one she was buried in. Her eyes, her hands—everything. I’ve never felt a d-dead body before, but if I did, then it would feel just like hers.”
“Dash, you need to stop.” Applejack put a hand on her shoulder that she probably thought was supposed to be reassuring. “I’m worried about you, Dash. I tried not to get on your case too much about this wild chase you’ve put yourself on, but this—this delusion’s gone too far—.”
“I took a picture of them to make sure. I needed something to prove it to myself, too.” Rainbow Dash hesitantly released her hold on Pinkie, who sluggishly slid into a more comfortable position. Fluttershy, similarly tear streaked but notably more dazed, moved away as well, resulting in the girls forming a misshapen circle upon Pinkie’s carpet.
The hug was nice while it lasted.
Rainbow drew out her phone and unlocked it, quietly searching for the latest photos. They weren’t too hard to find; she put them into their own album just to convince herself that she didn’t imagine it as well.
“Here. I took this before I left the diner.” Handing the phone over to Applejack, she just watched as the others shifted to stare at the screen.
There was a gasp from Fluttershy and a soft curse from Applejack. Beyond that, the room was silent.
Fluttershy leaned in, pressing fingers to the screen. Zooming in, probably. “S-she looks just like her...”
“W-well, what you can see of her, anyway,” Applejack hesitantly nodded. Rainbow snorted.
“Look, I was shivering alright? And that guy kept getting in the way.”
“Wait a sec’,” Applejack squinted, “is that Twilight?”
“Yeah. She was sitting with Sunset—’s body, Sunset’s body—when I got there. She, uh...” Rainbow rubbed her arm where one of the girls did so before, “...she wasn’t happy to see me.”
“Um, who’s that man?”
“He called himself ‘Shining Armor’. He was there with Twilight and... yeah.”
“Right, but who’s he supposed to be?”
Rainbow Dash sighed and shrugged, watching with something close to amusement as Pinkie kept leaning in closer and closer to the phone. “I don’t know. He seemed pretty close to Twilight, though. I was thinking maybe her bodyguard or boyfriend or something.”
“B-boyfriend? Really? Um, but what about—?”
“Don’t know and don’t care—he could’ve been Crown Prince of Ponyland for all the good that is. All I know is that he was in my way.”
“Yes, I guess it’s not too important. But wait, if he were a soldier, you would have been in real trouble—!”
“That’s not Twilight,” Pinkie cut in, staring intently at the phone. “Not our Twilight, anyway.”
That got her some stares. Dash knew if she let her, Pinkie would do her cryptic mystic thing. “What are you talking about, Pinks?”
To Dash’s surprise, Pinkie was pretty forthcoming this time. “I’ve seen her before. At first I thought that she lived in the city, because I saw her one day earlier this year when she was walking her dog around the estates; the ones near the inner-city rim. I—,” Pinkie interrupted herself with a deep gasp. “Was Twilight acting weird?”
Dash raised a brow and nodded. “She... She hated my guts. She didn’t want anything to do with me. She probably...” Dash wanted to say that it finally hit Twilight how much Rainbow could have done.
She thought better of it.
“...nevermind. But what’re you talking about, Pinks? ‘Not our Twilight,’” Rainbow shook her head, “it’s not like we had any spares to give away.”
Pinkie’s hands played with the trailing ends of her hair, eyes wide. “When we first met, Twilight said that she had a twin sister with a twin dog named ‘Spike’ in the city, but obviously that was a lie since she only just got here from the portal, but what if it wasn’t?”
“W-wait, so there could be two Twilights?”
“My head’s startin to hurt.” Applejack’s evidence only seemed to make her more confused. “So does that mean the guy lives somewhere around here, too?”
“I don’t know,” Pinkie shook her head, brow furrowed in thought, “but I think I’ve seen him somewhere...” Pinkie blinked. “Yeah, I did! I was one of the people who donated some cupcakes to the Responder Appreciation Party. I saw him there!”
Applejack raised a brow. “Which uniform was he wearing?”
“Police, I think.”
Dash’s headache was flaring up again, too. “Wait, you’re saying he could be from this world, too?” Pinkie nodded her head, much to Rainbows frustration. “Then what, they’re some kind of secret wizards or something?”
“I don’t know about all that, but I know one of them is a cop!” Pinkie grinned.
“Let’s just slow down a sec’, girls.” Applejack leaned back, setting her hat to the side and massaging the building stress from her forehead. She offered Fluttershy the phone, who took it reverently, staring through it in wonder, horror, and sorrow.
“Okay, now lemme get this straight. Y’all are sayin’ that there could be two Twilight’s runnin’ around?”
“I’m still pretty sure that this Twilight is ours.”
“But Dashie, I already saw that Twilight! That can’t be ours.”
“But who else but Twilight could possibly bring back the dead—?”
“Girls, please,” Applejack groaned. “Rainbow, you got any proof that’s our Twilight?”
What the heck?
“Applejack, what—?”
“Please, jus’ answer the question, Dash.”
“Well, no... But she—.”
“Pinkie.” Applejack was really starting to piss Rainbow off. “Do you got any proof that this Twilight’s different?”
“Nope,” Pinkie chirped with a pop, “but if you give me a couple of days, I can try and get her address.”
“’Days’? So, we don’t have any—.”
“Hold up, AJ, what about me, huh? I can find proof that this Twilight’s ours, too!”
Applejack raised a brow. “And how’s that?”
Rainbow grit her teeth at the challenge, wracking her brain for—ah, there’s something. “We stashed a care-package for when Twilight comes through the portal. It’s got stuff that Twilight would need for winter, like a jacket and gloves and earmuffs and a scarf. Me and Twi-uh, Twilight,” she corrected herself, “stashed it in some bushes by the portal. I’d be willing to bet they’re gone, now.”
“What if she brought her own from her world?”
“Why would she?”
“What if—?” Applejack shook her head. “Well whatever, that’d be somethin’, at least. I’m not stoppin’ you, Dash. If I could get somethin’ one way or the other then...” Applejack froze, brow furrowed. “...Wait, so there could be copies of people from there over here. Does that mean that Sunset could be a copy, too?”
What?
Applejack did not just imply that...
Fluttershy’s attention refocused at the mention of Sunset’s name. “W-what?”
“Well, if we’re considerin’ it... that makes sense, right? So, what if the one that was with them—?”
“Applejack, the cards and tributes and pictures.” Rainbow kept her voice carefully low. It was getting pretty hard to do. “All those fire lilies—most of them wilted. Everything, AJ. If that stuff got out of her g-grave, then why not her body?”
“W-well, I mean,” Applejack shook her head again, coughing into her fist, “I don’t even know if those are actually, uh...” Applejack fidgeted. “Well, you’ve been running yourself ragged on this chase of yours. You're always out in the cold a lot, and you felt like you were burnin’ up somethin’ fierce. Are you sure you’re not just, I don’t know... overworkin’ yourself or—?”
Oh hell no.
“First off,” Dash cut in with a gesture, “you don’t get to say that. Second, what the heck kind of fever dream could even get me to zombies and evil princesses?”
“I don’t know,” Applejack snapped back smartly, “what in the hay kind of song makes you sprout wings and fly?”
"So that’s something you’ll take, but not—?!”
“Waitwaitwait, hold on, girls,” Pinkie interjected, “Let’s just...” Pinkie rolled her hands, shoulders and body as though trying to summon the words in some dark ritual. “Okay, so let’s assume that Dashie’s story is all true—,”
“It is.”
“—what do we do about it? I’d guess that the only people who can stop evil necromancers are on the other side of the mirror, right?”
“Uh Pinks, we’re sitting right here.”
“B-but, um, Pinkie’s right.” Fluttershy adjusted her legs closer to her body. She still gazed through Rainbow, Applejack, or Pinkie, depending on who was talking at the time. “W-we don’t know if we can still do, uh... whatever we do. I... think...?”
“Especially if our person from the portal is the necromancer—.”
“Girls, no,” Rainbow crossed her arms, “I’m not dropping this—not here. What the heck do you want me to say, AJ?” Dash had to work hard to keep her voice down. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“No, I—!” Looks like Applejack was having the same problem. With a cough, she tried again, voice lower. “No, I aint callin’ you a liar, but...” Applejack chewed her lip. “...Darn it Dash, I’m just askin’ you to help me convince myself. I know you wouldn’t joke about somethin’ like this, but how the hay am I supposed to just believe that?”
"The stuff from the grave, Applejack. Like I said.”
“Dash, I get what you’re sayin’, but you also done went and left it all behind! It might not even be there when you come back for it, either. You say it’s there but I can’t see it.”
Rainbow Dash wanted nothing more than to scream at her. But what could she say? There had to be something that—
Wait.
“I do have something.” With shaky fingers, trembling with frustration, anger, and lingering cold, Rainbow Dash slipped her hand into her pocket. Her fingers dug, searching the space between her leg and her wallet—'Found it.’ Carefully, reverently, she pulled the small piece of plastic into her palm and presented it to the group.
Fluttershy gasped. Pinkie Pie’s mouth gaped.
“No way...”
“Uh,” Applejack’s mouth screwed up in thought, eyes squinting at the pick. “I’m sorry Dash, but I don’t get it. What’s—,” she blinked, eyes wide. “W-wait, is that—?”
“Rainbow’s lucky pick...” Fluttershy reached out to touch it, only to hesitate when Rainbow flinched. With a deep breath and a nod, Rainbow allowed Fluttershy to examine it.
“I was there when Rainbow gave this to Sunset. At the funeral.” Tears welled up in Fluttershy’s eyes as she cradled it in her palms and stared. “I watched her place it in the coffin. I saw it.”
“R-right.” Applejack ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath. “And, uh, you definitely didn’t have another—?”
“No,” all three of them responded.
“R-right. I just...” Applejack leaned back until she was practically laying on the floor, sighing heavily. “...I just, I don’t—I need to, uh... process this.”
“So, you finally believe me?”
“You’re not a liar, Dash,” Applejack affirmed. “A joker sometimes, sure, but not a liar, I never questioned that. I just... Okay.” Applejack sat up. “Okay. So, there’s a strong possibility that that Sunset is ours—.”
“I already told you that—.”
“Dash just let me keep our options open—.”
“There’s no point, though!” Dash knew that Applejack has always been thick, but this was starting to get stupid. “I’m telling you that there’s no denying that that was Sunset’s body—it was wearing Rarity’s dress, it was caked in that stupid makeup, it was her.”
“Fine,” Applejack gritted out, leaning forward, elbow on her knee. “But then there’s still Twilight and that ‘Shining Armor’ guy.”
“Twilight’s ours, too!”
“But the only ‘proof’ you have of that is waiting for us to find it—!”
“Wait! Girls, wait!” Pinkie waved her hands in the air to get their attention. “If this Twilight is our Twilight, then why is Princess Twilight resurrecting her friend with a cop?”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to shoot down the idea, but stopped. ‘Could that be it?’ Rainbow’s head was throbbing and eyes wanted nothing more than to just shut and not open until spring, but still she afforded some energy to the thought. What if Twilight brought Sunset back to help the police find out who killed her? Would Rainbow do that to her friend if she had that kind of magic?
She would, Rainbow decided.
Wait.
“Pinks, why would she wait until two weeks after the funeral?”
“I don’t know, I’m just tossing horseshoes at the dartboard right now. But it could have been some ritual she had to prepare ahead of time? Or consult her shamans and clerics and gather the right kind of gems? Or maybe she had to make friends with an officer that would actually believe her so they could work things out in secret! Can zombies even be witnesses in investigations—?”
“Alright, Pinkie, you can stop now.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks. But Pinkie, I think that you could be onto something.”
“Wait, really?”
“You’re jokin’, right, Dash?”
“No, I’m serious. What if she brought Sunset back long enough to help with the investigation?”
“Well why wouldn’t she tell us she was doin’ that, huh?”
“I’m sure she has her reasons...” Dash’s mind was once again whirling. This could be it. Maybe Twilight was getting a lead that Rainbow couldn’t find. Yeah. Yeah! And what if she needed to keep some kind of cover or something in order to get in good with the police? Okay, that sounded weird, but it’s not impossible!
Or if she’s not, maybe Dash could get a lead out of Sunset herself—
Sunset wanted to talk to her.
Sunset wanted to talk to her.
Rainbow Dash never felt like more of an ass in her life.
“I need to find Sunset, too.”
“What’re you on about?” At Rainbow’s sharp glare, Applejack raised her hands defensively. “I mean, of course we do, but what are you thinking?”
“Think about it. If Twilight had to pretend to not be our friend, she’s probably got a mission or something that demanded it. I mean, that Shining Armor guy knew that me and Sunset were close, but not that I knew Twilight...” Crap. Dash really hoped that she didn’t blow Twilight’s cover or something. “...But still, Sunset wanted to talk to me. To me.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Yeah. ‘Why,’ dumbass friggin Rainbow...
“I couldn’t. Everything was just...” Rainbow rubbed her sore eyes, doing nothing to keep her eyes from getting sorer. “I don’t know. It was just... too much.”
“It’s okay, Rainbow.” Fluttershy slid herself across the floor to sit next to Dash, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Nobody can blame you for that. Everything was so sudden.”
“But I should’ve—,” a quick squeeze to her shoulder made her abandon that train of thought. “...Right. W-well, anyway,” Rainbow cleared her throat, “I still want to talk to her. She could tell us who killed her—that would be big. Even if we couldn’t do anything to them,” yet, she mentally added, “we’d still be able to keep eyes on them in case they... What’s that look for, Applejack?”
Something told Rainbow that she already knew.
“Well, it’s just... ah nevermind. You wouldn’t want to hear it.”
“Right, but you want to say it, so say it.” Oh yeah, Dash knew.
“I don’t... Dash, I don’t think that Twilight would do that. She already knows darn well what happened to Sunset.”
“Yeah, Apple,” Dash growled, “Twilight knows that somebody killed Sunset.”
“Dash, please. The police investigation is ongoing, but everybody here knows what happened. You’ll see, in less than a week, the investigation’s gonna be over and they’ll declare her death a—.”
“Yeah, you can say that all you want because you apparently don't give a damn.” Rainbow spat, glowering at Applejack.
“And what in the hell, is that supposed to mean.”
“Um g-girls? Hellooooo?” Pinkie desperately waved her hands in the air, trying to break the glaring contest between the two most stubborn people in their current group. “Shouldn’t we be talking about—?”
“You know what I mean. You’re not fooling anyone with this ‘Ah gotta werk the farm!’ crap.” Applejack’s eyebrow twitched and frown deepened. “You just ate up the first thing you were told, and now you’re just distracting yourself so that you don’t have to think about it. You just, just... threw Sunset away like yesterday’s garbage.”
“Alright, Dash, you need to shut your mouth.” Applejack set her hat far back on her head, keeping the brim tilted up so that she could glare at Rainbow with no obstructions. “You know damn well that I loved Sunset like family, but I’ve got everybody else to think about, too. Yeah, I work the farm to keep my mind in focus, but at least I’m doin’ somethin’ productive. Not like you,” she verbally jabbed with a light twist of her head and a raised brow. “Ohoh no—you’re content to keep holdin’ onto what you think happened with Sunset. All this runnin’ around and ‘huntin’ leads’ stuff you say you’re doin’ is actually just you runnin’ away from the truth, just like—.”
“So what, that’s it? I’m wrong because I can actually see what’s going on here? That the way that everything lines up—the sirens, Anon-A-Miss, getting Sunset alone—is just too convenient, and you just ‘not thinking about it’ is going to make everything better? What if whoever did this is coming for one of us—?”
“That ain’t happening because nobody killed Sunset!”
“What happened to that ‘keeping your options open’ stuff, huh—?”
"Darn it, Dash, just listen to yourself! You know damn well that the only person who could’ve thrown Sunset off that roof was herself."
"Don't you dare talk about her like that, Applejack.” Rainbow spat, jumping to her feet. “Sunset would never have k-ki—never would have, have done that. She’s so much stronger than that. She’s never had any reason to—.”
“Yes, she did,” Fluttershy urgently whispered, freezing Rainbow’s throat shut. Her voice as watery and thick with emotion as the tears in her eyes, but Rainbow couldn’t hear or see that through the shock that Fluttershy—Fluttershy, of all people—would stand against her on this matter. “She, she k-killed herself because of us—.” Fluttershy bit her tongue and flinched as Rainbow whirled to face her.
“Fluttershy, shut up.”
Rainbow’s hushed growl may has well have been shouted in the suddenly small room, echoing and ringing painfully in her ears, shaking her to her core. Tears unbidden poured freely past tightly shut eyelids down Fluttershy’s cheeks. She did her best to muffle her sobs behind clenched teeth and sealed lips, escaping as only shuddering breaths from her nose. They were no less noticeable than if she were screaming in the agony that Rainbow knew that her careless betrayal had caused.
“O-okay,” she whispered, and suddenly Rainbow was drowning in ice again. “I’m... I’m sorry...”
Another rash, impulsive, stupid action to add to her growing pile of regrets.
“Wait, wait,” Rainbow knelt down again, wrapping her arms around Fluttershy’s shoulders after only a moment of hesitation. “No no, Fluttershy, don’t apologize. I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have snapped on you like that, I...” Could Rainbow even salvage this meeting? “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. Please don’t cry...”
“It’s just,” Fluttershy sobbed, over her shoulder, arms weakly wrapping around Rainbow’s sides, “it’s just that-that there’s so much going on, and, and Sunset is d-dead because of us and I... and everybody’s fighting but I’m still confused but she...” Fluttershy buried her face into Rainbow’s shoulder. “I just—now she’s back? B-but why? Why did she have to come back now?”
Rainbow’s heart twitched painfully. ‘What did she mean by that?’
“I just... I just...!” Fluttershy was wailing now. She was bawling her eyes out, and it was all Rainbow’s fault. “...I—I only just got used to her b-being gone and she’s back? I still—,” she sobbed and sniffed wetly, deeply, “—I still t-text her sometimes, but I f-f-finally, finally got used to kn-knowing that she wouldn’t text back, but now she... she... Sunset... Sunset...!”
Fluttershy was screaming. It wouldn’t have been any more than a distant shout for others, but everybody in that room knew that Fluttershy was screaming as hard as her body would allow. As she was screaming her heart out in grief and misery, the girls had quietly reformed the huddle with Fluttershy at its center. Yet, even as Rainbow Dash contributed her arms, body, and warmth, she still couldn’t help but feel useless. Like all that she could do is just sit there, hold still, and watch.
She could only ever watch people suffer for her mistakes.
Where the last group-hug made her feel somewhat rejuvenated, this huddle only left her drained. And as they separated this time, Fluttershy took it upon herself to find a corner and quietly lean into it.
“Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie began, low and unsure, eyes red because who wasn’t crying in this room, darn it, “you... that wasn’t...”
“Pinkie,” Applejack softly interrupted, “she knows. I’m in the wrong here for rilin’ her up, too. We don’t need to press her on it.”
Why did Applejack have to be like that?
“No, no. Let Pinkie say her thing. I’ve been...” Rainbow coughed. “...yeah. Go ahead, Pinks.”
“Rainbow Dash, I’m worried about you,” Pinkie murmured into the uncomfortably quiet room. “You’ve always been an impulsive hot-head, so I’m not too worried about that part of you...” Gee, thanks, Pinkie. “...but you’ve been different ever since Sunset—uh, well... since... yeah.” Pinkie cleared her throat. “Are you okay? I’m really, really, really worried about you. I feel like I’m losing you.”
“W-what?” Losing her how? “No, no Pinkie, I’m not going anywhere. What’re you—?”
“N-not like that! Just, uh,” Pinkie scratched her head, wiped her face, and reached for parts of her hair which were now several inches lower due to its newfound adherence to gravity. “You seem so tired all the time, like something’s weighing you down. You’re getting distant, somehow. I don’t want you to stop being my friend, is all. But I also want you to be healthy, okay?”
Phew, was that all?
“Pinkie, I’m fine.” Rainbow sighed hard, as though to blow away all the crap that the last several hours subjected her to. “It’s like you said, I’m tired. And today was a really crappy day.”
Applejack chuckled mirthlessly. “Yeah, that’s a word for it.”
“Most polite one I know.”
“That’s not sayin’ much.”
That brought a tired grin to Rainbow’s face. It looked like she wasn’t the only one sick of being mad.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, mudlicker?”
“’Mudlick—’ did you just come up with that one?”
“Nah, I’m pretty sure that was your idea.”
“Probably on the thirtieth time I watched you eat dirt.”
“It’s okay, AJ,” Rainbow sighed wistfully with a sagely nod, “not everybody can be me.”
“Friggin Dash...” Applejack shook her head and laughed. Maybe she was also faking it.
Whatever. Knowing that they both were sick of it and faking it made her feel a little better. Not by much, but still better. Didn’t change the fact that she kept on hurting her friends.
That’s the only thing she’s actually accomplished since Anon-A-Miss.
Rainbow stood up.
“I’m gonna go get some air, blow off some steam.”
“I’ll be in here.”
Rainbow Dash stepped out to the hall, letting her face fall as she did. It was such long day, but it was only seven o’clock. It was going to be a long ride home, as well. Long and cold. Should she ask Applejack for a ride?
Nah. Dash already bothered her enough. This was her own problem, anyway.
“Dashie?” As Rainbow Dash was slipping on her shoes, Pinkie approached the entryway with her own coat in her arms. “Here, wear this. It’s freezing out there.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks.” Rainbow Dash took and donned the woolen coat. Shoulders preemptively hunched against the inevitable breeze, Rainbow opened the door and stepped outside. Squinting her eyes against the stinging breeze, Rainbow shut the door and stepped fully onto the porch, leaning against the railing. For a while, she just stood there, breathing deep the cold air and basking in winter’s bite as both a balm and a punishment.
She let the air escape in a harsh sigh, watching as her breath formed clouds in the dark winter air. “Damn it Dash, you really screwed things up this time...”
“I wouldn’t say all that.”
Rainbow snapped her head to the side and flinched when she saw Pinkie leaning on the railing beside her. After the initial shock wore off, Rainbow wiped her face in exasperation.
“You know,” she began, “I meant to come out here to be alone to my thoughts.”
“Yeah, I do that sometimes, too. Sometimes you just want to take a break about thinking about one thing, so you focus on another. And sometimes you don’t really want to focus on anything, but then you wind up focusing on everything and that’s not all that comfor—.”
“Alone, Pinkie.”
“What do you mean—oh.” Pinkie sighed. “Okay.”
“Sorry, Pinks. It’s not you, I promise. I just... I don’t know. I need some space.”
“It’s okay, that’s fine. Just, uh, quick question, though.” Rainbow raised a brow in question. “I was just wondering if you wanted to sleep over. It’s been a while since we had one. A slumber party, that is.”
“What, today?”
Pinkie nodded. “It’s just that, uh, things were really tense and I don’t want us to leave like this. I’d rather everybody have pancakes and whipped cream and fight over the last quarter-bottle of syrup before we leave, you know? End on a high note. Smiling.” Pinkie ran a hand over the railing, tapping her black-painted nails against the wood. “I don’t want things to end like this.”
“Stop talking like that, Pinkie. it doesn’t suit you.”
“Oh yeah?” she smirked, brow raised. “Like how black doesn’t suit me?”
“Hey, I’m allowed to be wrong if it’s about fashion.” A beat passed. “I don’t have any pajamas. Or a toothbrush.”
“I’ve got spares.”
“Underwear?”
“Go commando.”
“Pinkie.”
“What? Everybody does it sometime. And if you haven’t, you’re either a liar or wrong.”
“Darn it, Pinks...” Rainbow shook her head. Checking her phone, she did some mental math between the time and her battery-life. “I’ll call my parents and let them know. They’ll be okay with it.”
“Really?! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Pinkie was practically vibrating with excitement, wrapping Rainbow up in an energetic hug and shaking. “I’ll be sure to let the others know—oh!” Pinkie let go, stepping towards the door. “Applejack said that, in a few, she wants to drive over to check if that stash is still there. The one by the school?”
“Yeah, okay gotcha. I’ll be in in a sec, or I’ll be out here when she comes out.”
“Okay. Thanks again, Dashie. I love you.”
Rainbow’s cheeks flared, mouth twitching downward in embarrassment. “Pinkie, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Just in case!” Pinkie smiled, before slipping back in through the door. Left alone once again, Dash shivered despite the thick, woolen coat. She didn’t know what the heck was happening, or why it was happening. She just hoped that whatever happened worked out.
No, hoping wouldn’t do anything. She was going to make it work.
But the rest of that could wait until tomorrow. For now, Rainbow just couldn’t wait for the day to be over.