//------------------------------// // Family // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash and Barnaby currently walked through the streets of a residential area of the Copper Section. It was inside the massive cavern that housed the major parts of the city but more along the western side, out of the way of the busy streets and huge office skyscrapers. If any of the city could be described as “the poor part of town” then this would be it. The homes and small apartment buildings around her weren’t run down or anything but they weren’t anything special to look at either and she didn’t exactly see anything valuable outside or when she caught a glimpse of the interiors through any windows. Some stray graffiti and trash littering the ground every now and then only reinforced her opinion. Apparently Dolph lived—or used to live—in one of these homes or apartments. Crom had given Barnaby all the information he had on the miner and now the two of them were going to find out whatever they could about the supposed bomber. “So uh, how much does his family know about what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked Barnaby as they walked down the street. “They know he’s been missing for a few days. That’s it,” Barnaby answered. Rainbow Dash awkwardly grimaced. “Are we going to tell them that we’re investigating him for setting off a bomb in the mines? And your home?” “I don’t think so… I don’t want to alarm them, or perhaps if they’re secretly still in contact with him I don’t want them to send word along to him about what we’re doing,” Barnaby said. “Though I doubt they are.” “Yeah, me either. I guess there isn’t a point to telling them, they’re probably worried enough about him, why make it worse?” Rainbow sighed. “Unfortunately when we do find him they’re going to hear about all of this anyways...” Barnaby said. “Not looking forward to that.” Barnaby took a turn down a sidestreet that led into the courtyard of a small two-story apartment building. A group of fillies and colts were outside kicking a ball around and they all stopped to stare at Rainbow Dash as she went by. She put on her best smile and waved at them and a few shyly managed to wave back, as soon as she turned her head the whole group started whispering to each other about the strange looking pony. She was kind of disappointed none of the kids were curious enough to come up and talk to her, but she and Barnaby were busy anyways so it was probably for the best. “Room 204...” Barnaby muttered and took the two of them to a stairwell on the left side of the courtyard. The two trotted on up to the second floor and made their way down the railed walkway past door 200 and then 202 before finally stopping in front of 204. Barnaby took a deep breath and knocked on the door while Rainbow Dash stood beside him. Together they heard the somewhat frantic movements of several different ponies inside as well as the muffled voices of a few children. Rainbow and Barnaby both shared a somewhat uncertain look before the door was pulled open and a disheveled mare stood in the doorframe. “W-What is it?” She asked between breaths. Rainbow Dash took notice of her poor appearance. Her light brown coat and dark brown mane were both messy and her bloodshot eyes had deep bags under them. A dirty apron was tied around her body, wet spots on it that may have been from water or from tears. “Your name is Eleanor, correct? Your husband is Dolph the miner?” Barnaby asked her. Her eyes widened and she immediately grabbed the front of Barnaby’s suit. “Do you know anything about my husband? Where is he? Is he okay? You’re a constable, aren’t you? Please tell me my husband’s okay!” “I-I’m sorry,” Barnaby apologized as he gently pulled the mare off him. “We don’t have any news pertaining to your husband’s location or what may have happened to him. We came here to ask you about him.” The light in the mare’s eyes went out and she dropped her hooves to the ground, looking like all the life had just been drained right out of her. “Oh...” Rainbow Dash winced and brought a comforting hoof up to her shoulder. “C-Can we come in? If that’s okay.” She looked up at Dash with empty eyes before nodding and walking back into the apartment. “Come in, I’ll get you something to drink.” Rainbow Dash and Barnaby sat on one side of the kitchen table while facing Eleanor on the other. Three rambunctious foals ran around in the messy living room, chasing each other and knocking things over, while an elderly mare sat asleep in a rocking chair. Two untouched glasses of water sat on the kitchen table and Eleanor had her face propped up on her hoof, her eyes closed and seemingly trying to block out all the noise. Neither Barnaby nor Rainbow Dash knew exactly how to start. One of the foals (all three of them colts) rushed from the living room and into the kitchen, poking his mother in the leg. “Mom, mom! When’s dad coming home? Mom?” “I told you he’s doing an important job in the mines,” Eleanor responded without opening her eyes. “He’s very busy and I’m not sure when he’s going to be back.” “Aww, okay. I just wanna play ball with him again,” the colt said before running back to his two brothers and engaging in a bout of wrestling. “Miss Eleanor...” Barnaby started. “If you would like to be able to speak without your children hearing...” She held up a hoof and stopped him, finally opening up her eyes and looking over at the sleeping pony in the chair. “Mom! Grandma! Wake up!” The elderly mare jerked awake with a start, a trail of spit dripping from her mouth. “Whazzat, dearie?” “The kids, mom. Can you… can you take them outside for a bit? Have them play in the courtyard?” Eleanor said. She sighed and placed her face in her hooves, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. Eleanor’s mom briefly looked at Barnaby and Rainbow Dash before nodding and trying to herd her grandchildren together. “Of course, dearie. You have a nice talk with your guests.” She gently patted each of the kids on the flank and motioned them to the door. “Come on, come along now, mommy needs some private time.” The cheering kids went out with their grandma and the door shut closed behind them. Rainbow and Barnaby could both hear them scamper along outside towards the stairs. And now the three ponies had some privacy. “So what did you want to know about my husband?” Eleanor asked them. Her eyes stalled on Rainbow’s bandages and strange appearance for a moment, but it was clear she just didn’t have the energy to care or ask about them. Barnaby took a deep breath. “Miss Eleanor, please believe me when I say that we’re doing everything we can to find your husband.” “Uh-huh, and do you know where he might be?” She asked with a bit of acid in her voice. “No, unfortunately,” Barnaby said and Rainbow Dash had to wince as well. Eleanor didn’t even know why they were truly looking for Dolph in the first place. “But I’m not just a constable, I am Chief Constable Barnaby, and I am taking this investigation as seriously as possible.” “The Chief Constable?” Eleanor said, some life coming back into her eyes. “I read in the news that your apartment was blown up.” Her eyes again found Rainbow’s bandages. “Were you there too? D-Does this have something to do with Dolph? He went missing on the same day of that explosion in the mines but-” Barnaby raised a hoof. “Please, calm down. We’re not sure of anything right now, we just want to find your husband and make sure he’s safe.” Rainbow Dash bit her lip and discreetly glanced at Barnaby. That wasn’t entirely true and now Eleanor might be suspicious of why they were here. She thought they had agreed not to let her know that they thought Dolph was responsible for both bombings? And it was clear as day to Rainbow that this mare definitely didn’t have any contact with her husband or know what was going on either. Her despair and exhaustion were too genuine. It looked like she was dealing with Tartarus itself right now. “Um… how are you holding up?” Rainbow asked in an attempt to get the wife to warm up a little. Eleanor looked at her with a quivering lip and red eyes. “Not… not great. It’s been horrible not even knowing what’s happened to him. When I heard about the explosion and that he was missing I-I thought that meant he was blown up or buried alive down there or something! But then I got the notice from Crom and heard from the news that nopony was hurt… s-so why’s he missing? What happened to him?!” She grabbed her mane in her hooves and slumped over in her seat, collapsing onto the table and crying. She calmed down after a minute with Barnaby and Rainbow Dash both awkwardly fidgeting in their chairs. Eleanor sat back up and sniffled, wiping away her tears with her hoof. “I asked my mother to come help me out… she’s doing what she can but...” she gestured to the living room. “I can’t keep lying to my kids either.” “I’m sorry for what you’re going through,” Barnaby said and reached a hoof across the table to grasp hers. “So you truly haven’t heard anything from him since the explosion in the mines? And you have no idea where he might be?” Eleanor slowly shook her head. “No. I’ve been praying that he’d show up or I’d get a letter from him or something but there’s just been nothing. He has a cousin in Silver Section who hasn’t heard anything from him either. I’ve asked and looked around all I could but he’s just vanished.” She looked up at Barnaby. “After hearing about what almost happened to you, I know something has to be happening in this city. I-Is my husband involved?” Rainbow Dash saw the desperation in Eleanors eyes, the worry that he might be and that’s why they were here, but also the worry that he wasn’t and still nopony knew anything about what was going on with him. “I really can’t say,” Barnaby sadly frowned at her. “I’m sorry but we just don’t know enough for sure right now.” Eleanor sniffled again and gave a shaky nod. “A-Alright.” Barnaby sighed. “I do want to ask though; before he disappeared was he acting strange? Doing anything differently than normal?” “Yes, he was,” Eleanor nodded. Rainbow Dash was surprised she was still talking to them, her voice came out choked and her eyes were red and puffy. “Dolph had been q-quieter than normal the week following up to his disappearance. He didn’t talk as much with me or play with the kids as much. W-Whenever I tried to ask him if something was wrong he just said he was stressed from work and things were busier than normal down in the mines. I… I knew he was lying about that. He really, really loved his job, nothing ever upset him about it. If things really were busier down there he should have been happy. But I never said anything. I was worried about him.” Eleanor sniffled and rubbed her hooves together. “I should’ve been more direct, I-I should’ve made him come clean so we could get through whatever was bothering him together...” Rainbow Dash didn’t think that would’ve gone anywhere. Whatever had led to Dolph bombing the mines (and then likely bombing Barnaby’s apartment) was probably too much for him to reveal to his wife. He seemed like somepony that truly loved his family—loved them too much, and that might’ve been his weakness that Lord Copper or whoever it was exploited. She looked around at the living room and noticed a number of framed photographs sitting on a small table next to the rocking chair, all of them showing various happily smiling members of the family. In the middle of them was one picture with Dolph and Eleanor’s faces pressed together and wide grins splitting their cheeks. Rainbow was starting to feel sick. Eleanor was now almost openly sobbing again. “Please… anything… I’ll do anything just to see him again. Please find my husband...” “Miss Eleanor, I-” Barnaby started before Rainbow Dash cut him off. “We will,” she resolutely said. “I promise we’ll find your husband.” Eleanor looked up at her with wide eyes while tears continued to gently flow down her cheeks. Barnaby grimaced and whispered out the side of his mouth to her. “Rainbow Dash...” She cut him off again. “I-I can’t promise everything… or that things will be happy and normal again for you and your family. But we will find him.” Eleanor hiccuped and wiped away her tears to the best of her ability once again. “T-Thank you...” Barnaby sighed and lifted up a hoof to pinch the space between his eyes. “I promise you as well. This investigation will not end until your husband is found.” “That’s all I need… I think I already know that things aren’t g-going to be as happy as they were. I just want my kids to be able to see their father again,” Eleanor said. “I’m not sure we have anything else to ask of you today. It’s obvious you don’t know where your husband is—or have any ideas of where he could be. We won’t bother you any longer,” Barnaby said and politely nodded, sitting up from his chair. “I wish you well, Miss Eleanor.” “Me too, sorry we didn’t come with happier news or anything,” Rainbow Dash said as she stood and rubbed the back of her neck. “Dolph seems like a really great husband, and you have a really happy family. Just uh—try and keep your chin up, okay?” Eleanor nodded but didn’t respond otherwise. Rainbow honestly wasn’t sure if they were leaving her in a better or worse state after their visit. The housewife got up from her seat as well and led the two guests out of the kitchen and back to the front door. Finally as she pulled it open for them she offered up a weak smile. “Could you tell my mother and children they can come back inside when you get to the courtyard?” “Of course,” Barnaby said and gave her a small bow before he stepped out the door, Rainbow copying him and following along. Eleanor’s smile wavered slightly but she managed to keep it on her face while she slowly closed the door on them. Rainbow Dash let out a deep sigh and shook her head as she stepped forward to the railing and looked down at the courtyard—there was Eleanor’s mother and children down there, playing around without a care in the world. Barnaby came up beside her. “You know you shouldn’t have said that, right?” “I know. I know, okay?” Rainbow frowned. “But I just had to, she was...” “I understand. I’ve had similar moments in my career here in Oreville,” Barnaby nodded with a far off look in his eyes. “Sorry… even if we do find him he’s just going to be arrested and, ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.” Rainbow shook her head. “We didn’t really learn anything as to where he might be either,” Barnaby said. “Yeah but… I’m sure of something now,” Rainbow said as she narrowed her eyes, anger forming behind her brow. Barnaby raised an eyebrow at her. “What?” “Somepony is threatening him. His family. That’s how they got him to do this, it’s the only thing that makes sense after seeing his home and hearing his wife talk about him,” she looked at Barnaby with a fiery expression. “I know it’s not going to make things all squeaky clean but he’s just as much a victim, isn’t he? He shouldn’t be punished like whoever it is is manipulating him.” “No, he shouldn’t be,” Barnaby shook his head. “But we don’t have all the facts yet and I can’t say for certain what his fate will be until then.” “Yeah...” Rainbow Dash felt some of her fire die down, replaced by exhaustion. She hated not being able to just do something. “Let’s go tell her kids they can come back up.” Barnaby put a hoof on her back (careful to avoid any spots still painful) and led her to the stairs. “You’ve got a big heart, Rainbow Dash.” “Really don’t need to make it sound so girly and mushy, you know?” The two headed down into the courtyard and Rainbow Dash gave a big smile to the playing colts. “Hey, squirts! We’re done talking with your mom, go on up and give her a big hug, okay?” The three colts cheered and swiftly ran past Rainbow Dash and Barnaby without a second look, making Barnaby snort in amusement. The grandmother was much slower as she walked past them, a grateful smile on her face. She paused for a moment in front of them and Rainbow Dash tilted her head at the older mare. “Thank you, for whatever it is you’re doing. She needs anything that can help right now,” the grandmother said and then headed to the stairs as well. Rainbow Dash watched her go with an impregnable look on her face. She stood there until she heard Eleanor’s grandmother walk all the way back to the apartment and close the door. All the other kids were gone from the courtyard now too, Rainbow Dash blinked a few times and looked over at Barnaby. “Now what?” Barnaby huffed. “Tomorrow we’re going to pay an unexpected visit to the warehouses that store the TNT that’s used in the Copper Section mines. I have the distinct feeling that that’s where the TNT used for the two bombs came from. I did some researching of my own into the warehouses recently and uncovered some disturbing facts regarding them and Lord Copper. I think that we’ll finally get some answers there.” Rainbow Dash punched her hooves together. “Good.”