//------------------------------// // Rainbow Therapy // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash stood outside apartment 204 with her hoof halfway raised to the door. She had been like that for a solid minute, hesitant to finally knock. This isn’t the kind of thing she was used to. Normally Rainbow Dash came bearing good news and telling ponies how she had just saved the day. Not coming to tell newly widowed wives that she had completely failed to uphold her promise. Eleanor didn’t even know she was a widow yet. Her kids didn’t even know that… that… The blue pegasus shook her head and took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. This wasn’t getting her anywhere. She didn’t want to do this but that wasn’t the point—she had to do it. And she had to just make herself do it already. Rainbow Dash first ran her hoof back through her mane before at last gently knocking on the door. She ended up standing there awkwardly for a moment before she heard the door handle being turned and it was slowly pulled open. Her ruby eyes widened in shock at what she saw. Eleanor, dressed all in black, with a veil over her face to hide her despair-twisted face that was covered in dry tears. Behind her the small apartment was full of similarly dressed ponies, including her children who were all huddled together and looked like they had been crying on and off as well. Eleanor’s mother was seated in her rocking chair and slowly going back and forth while some of the other guests greeted and spoke to her. Rainbow’s eyes took this all in and she stiffly looked back at Eleanor with a quivering jaw. “Y-You… already, I...” “We were told yesterday,” Eleanor’s voice was quiet and dull. “A messenger from Lord Silver came, shortly after the administrative building was bombed. He told us everything.” Rainbow felt her eyes tearing up. “I-I’m sorry… I was s-supposed to… I was going to be the one to tell you what happened.” Eleanor shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize.” “But I do!” Rainbow’s voice cracked. “N-Not just for that, but for promising you-” She paused as the others in the apartment had all turned to look at her, wondering what was going on. Rainbow realized she recognized a few of the guests as Dolph’s friends from the mines. “I...” “Would you like to come in? It’s a memorial service before the official funeral,” Eleanor asked and held the door open. Rainbow’s lip quivered but she nodded and stepped inside. It seemed about ten others in addition to the rest of the family were here, and Eleanor’s kitchen table was full of food and drinks. A small table had been set up in the middle of the living room with numerous photos of Dolph and his family on it. Rainbow tried to avoid looking at it. Eleanor stood with her while a couple of the other miners nodded to Rainbow Dash, she wasn’t sure how much any of them really knew how involved she was in the investigation and Dolph’s death. “Do you want something to eat or drink?” Eleanor asked, her voice like a phantom cutting through Rainbow’s thought. Rainbow stiffly shook her head. “No, no thanks.” Eleanor stood there and stared at her for a second. “I don’t blame you.” “Huh?” The startled Rainbow Dash took a step back. “I don’t blame you for not bringing him back to me. Learning about everything that happened… what he had been involved in… it was never going to be a happy ending. In fact I want to thank you for giving me that little bit of hope before it all ended,” Eleanor said. “I’m not left wondering or lost now anymore am I? I know what happened and why. I can make peace with that, so thank you.” “But if it wasn’t for me—I was there when he-” Rainbow tried to explain before getting cut off. Eleanor shook her head. “I already know. And I don’t blame you.” A softer look came over her face as her eyes sparkled with fresh tears. “But… what did he say? Did he say anything?” Rainbow winced and put her hooves on Eleanor’s shoulders. “He said he did it all for his family.” “I-I see...” Eleanor quivered and sniffled, bringing up a hoof to rub her eyes, but it didn’t stop the tears. “Thank you… t-that idiot.” “Uhh, l-let’s uh, you know something to drink actually does sound good!” Rainbow quickly tried to change the subject. She looked over her shoulder and saw everypony else in the apartment still watching her and probably listening in too. “Aw geez...” “Okay...” Eleanor nodded and she and Rainbow Dash walked over to the kitchen table. Eleanor grabbed a bottle of wine and quickly poured two glasses—making Rainbow wonder if this wasn’t her first of the day—and hoofed one over to Rainbow. The dark red liquid swirled around in the glass and Rainbow Dash downed it all immediately in one gulp. Not exactly her preference but it still tasted good and the mild warmth it spread in her body felt nice. Eleanor was much slower with how she drank, either not being able to handle so much at once or wanting to savor it. Rainbow Dash stood around silently with her in the kitchen as the other guests in the apartment got back to talking with one another. The three colts of Dolph and Eleanor were standing in the corner and talking together, Rainbow kind of wanted to talk to them too but she had no idea what to say. Did she ever ask Applejack what it had been like when she lost her parents? No—that would’ve been rude. Now she was stuck here not knowing how to act though. She had cheered up Scootaloo and other kids tons of times for a myriad of reasons but she didn’t have the experience for something like this. Eleanor poured herself and Rainbow another glass once she had finished. “What are you going to do for the funeral?” Rainbow asked. “Hm?” Eleanor seemed not to reach what Rainbow was getting at. “I mean… there isn’t a body… to bury. Is what I’m getting at,” Rainbow awkwardly looked at the floor. “We don’t bury our bodies in Oreville. Is it different in Equestria?” Eleanor asked. Upon seeing Rainbow’s look she elaborated: “I’ve read about you in the news since you left, and heard about you from others.” “Oh, well, yeah. We bury our dead in coffins and put them in graveyards where anypony can go and visit them,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. Why did she bring this topic up? All it did was make her uncomfortable. “I see,” Eleanor nodded. “In Oreville we cremate the bodies of the dead and spread their ashes in the deeper tunnels. Since Dolph is… since his body already… we’ll just have a funeral for formality’s sake.” “Sorry...” Rainbow winced. Eleanor chuckled briefly in sad amusement. “Stop apologizing. That’s all you’ve been doing since you came here. Everypony here is so morose—me included—but I want to celebrate Dolph’s life, not agonize over his death anymore. Me and the kids did enough crying when we first heard the news. I want to remember all the happy times we had, his smiling face, how he played with our kids, all the fun stories he told about hanging out with his friends.” “He seemed like a really good guy. I may not have gotten to know him but anypony willing to do all that for his family can’t be a bad guy,” Rainbow said. Her eyes eventually roamed over to one of the pictures of Dolph and Eleanor. “You really had a great thing with him.” Eleanor sniffled and took another drink of wine. “I did. W-Why don’t you talk with some of his friends from the mine for a moment? I’m sure they’d like to hear from you what exactly happened. Excuse me.” The widow quickly set her glass down and walked past Rainbow, heading down the hallway towards the apartment’s bedrooms. “Shouldn’t have said that...” Rainbow groaned and rubbed her forehead. “Your name is Rainbow Dash, right?” A voice said from behind her. Rainbow turned and saw one of Dolph’s friends from the mine, she remembered him from that first brief investigation. “Uh, yeah. And you were Kent, right?” “Oh, you remember me?” He seemed surprised. Rainbow nodded. “Totally. It was a pretty big deal being down there, and I think you talked the most. How uh, how are all you guys doing?” Kent’s eyes drifted to the pictures as well. “We miss our friend.” “Yeah...” Rainbow sighed. “Do you… do you know who threatened him into doing all of this?” Kent asked her. “I-” Rainbow Dash bit her lip. Did she say anything about Lord Copper? Did she give them false hope? Either way the investigation had totally stalled and she and Barnaby had nothing to go on. “I don’t know. We haven’t really figured it out yet. There’s just guesses, really.” “I’m sorry that Dolph blew himself up like that, it could’ve killed you too couldn’t it have?” “Yeah but he didn’t see any other choice. He was only thinking about his family, all the way to the end. I just wish he had talked to me. If he knew me better he knew I could’ve protected him and his family and brought down whoever is behind all this,” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Kent. “Which I still intend to do. Cause it just wouldn’t be awesome leaving this place like that.” Kent’s eyes widened. “You’re every bit as interesting as the papers say. Is everypony from Equestria like you?” “Nopony is like me. I’m totally original,” Rainbow grinned. “Well, thank you for caring. I didn’t want to voice this to other ponies but I just don’t think Oreville is good at handling what’s going on right now,” Kent said. “It’s still amazing that so far the only pony that has died is Dolph, and that was because he, well, you know. But it just makes me think of how much worse it could be. Imagine if more bombs went off in the mines, the damage they could do, the safety that would be ruined in this city. Even if nopony died I think things would change a lot here.” “Yeah… I just wish I knew why all this was happening anyways. That’s still something neither Barnaby or I can figure out. Why is the pony who’s doing this doing it at all?” Rainbow asked. Kent shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you.” “I feel like if we could just figure that out we’d be able to solve this whole thing,” Rainbow said. “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about any more bombs going off in the tunnels—or anywhere else for that matter—things are back to being safe in Oreville. Maybe not perfect, but safe for now.” “I’m going to enjoy being able to work in peace. Just so you know, a lot of miners were pretty worried ever since the first bomb went off. Ponies have been afraid and taking extra special care of where they’re working and what’s going on around them,” Kent said. “Really don’t blame you.” “On that topic, are you ever going to be coming back into the mines?” Kent asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Dunno. Mostly still letting Barnaby show me around and following what he’s doing. We were sidetracked by the investigation for a while too so I’m not sure what he might want to do next. He’s been kind of depressed ever since yesterday.” Rainbow poured herself another glass of wine and took a drink. “I wouldn’t mind going off on my own but I feel like I’d get lost—and I’m not sure if Barnaby would think that’s totally safe. Plus, I get the feeling most of the ponies here still wouldn’t really act normal around me. I mean, even though you’ve read about me I haven’t really been like super visible around Oreville, you know?” “I understand. I feel like most ponies wouldn’t know how to talk or act around you, unfortunately,” Kent nodded. “Yeah...” Rainbow finished her drink and set the glass back down, looking at the other guests and members of Dolph’s family crammed into the small apartment. “Hey, when Eleanor is back can you tell her thank you? And that I wish her well?” “Of course. Are you leaving?” Rainbow nodded. “Honestly I don’t know if I should have even come in. I hope she’s doing okay, but I have to get back to Barnaby anyways. Just one last thing to do before I go.” Rainbow said and walked over to the three colts in the living room, all the eyes of the other ponies were on her. “Uh, hey.” The three kids looked up at her, the oldest looking one venturing to say something. “You’re the pony who came by before, you’re from that other place, right?” “That’s right.” “Are-” the youngest one started. “Are we going to get to see our dad again?” A knife stabbed into Rainbow’s heart and she slowly let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry...” The three colts started crying together, the oldest one holding his younger brothers. “Mom told us that-that...” Rainbow reached out to pat him on the head. “You had a wonderful father who loved you very much. Never forget that. He’s wishing the best for you too.” Rainbow took her hoof away and backed off. “You kids need to be strong, for yourselves and your mom.” Her mouth opened and closed a few more times but Rainbow couldn’t decide on anything to say. She looked at Eleanor’s mother and gave her a curt nod, and then another nod to the other guests before she stepped to the front door of the apartment and left. None of this was how she wanted things to go here at Oreville.