Rainbow thought that riding her dad’s police cruiser to school would be pretty fun, especially when she got to ride in the front seat unlike last night. However, both passengers in the vehicle could silently agree that they could do without the words coming out of Rainbow’s father’s mouth.
“Look at this idiot!” Bow yelled, pointing over the steering wheel and at a vehicle stopped harshly on the ramp coming out of the coffee shop. He began laughing, turning to look at Rainbow. “He was gonna pull out, see? And then he saw me n’ the cop car, and he stopped on the ramp!” He laughed again, shaking his head. “You get pretty used to people pulling dumb shit all the time.”
Rainbow merely adjusted uncomfortably in her seat, impervious to the crass language her father was spilling. Although Rainbow wasn’t good at hiding her discomfort, Applejack seemed to be ten times worse, visibly wearing her discomfort on her face.
“And that’s… bad?” Applejack asked, leaning forwards and putting her elbows on her knees. It seemed that no matter which way she sat, the police cruiser just refused to become comfortable. Perhaps it was designed that way, by a sadistic engineer who wanted arrested people to feel like they were living in a rat’s cage. Which was exactly the way Applejack was feeling right about now.
“Well- no, not really.” He said from the front seat, barely glancing at her in the rear view mirror. “He’s just panicking like a dumbass.” Bow explained.
“...right.” Applejack adjusted in her seat once more. Neither of the former ponies saw the humor in almost crashing.
Rainbow’s uncomfortable face turned to look out the window, trees flowing, dancing and playing with the early morning sunbeams. Canterlot wasn’t a small town, but it wasn’t exactly a city. There were lines of picture-perfect suburbs that extended far down, wrapping and wiggling it’s way into confusing circles. Rainbow should know, as after all, she and Applejack were the ones who got lost in that suburban hellscape.
“Gah!” Rainbow jumped back. “Fuck!”
“What? What’s wrong with you?” Bow asked, barely flinching at her daughter’s outburst. Applejack leaned forwards in the seat, looking more concerned for her friend than she did before.
“I just-” Rainbow looked back at the window. “My reflection scared me…” She raised a hand to her cheek, pulling at her skin in unfamiliarity. Bow creased his eyebrows, looking at her in confusion, but didn’t say anything else. There was a silent slap in the backseat as Applejack facepalmed. It was a few more minutes of driving until he spoke again.
“Here we are, kids.” Bow announced, turning his wheel into the parking lot. Rainbow focused her eyes further away from her own reflection, staring at the dominating structure of the school. There were kids rushing into the school by the dozen at a time. It wasn’t crowded by any stretch, but there was more than a few students that made Rainbow begin sweating slightly. What would happen if she met somebody she didn’t know? How would they talk? What would be her cover story? That she lost her memories? Maybe that wasn’t very believable...
All of her worries washed away, however, when the vehicle shuttled around the corner of the high school and pulled into the parking lot. Rainbow felt a swelling sensation in her chest as she realized that almost everybody was staring at them.
The slick exterior of the black and white police car seemed to grip the attention of most students in the school, the vehicle being known for authority, demanding attention. Rainbow felt a smile spread across her face as the car pulled in front of the huge statue that had delivered them here no more than twelve hours ago. Rainbow turned around in her seat, staring at Applejack through the bars.
“It’s showtime!” She said. Applejack resisted the urge to facepalm again, watching as Rainbow began scrambling to get out of the vehicle.
The oo’s and aa’s were enough to keep Rainbow up high for at least a week. She extended her leg, putting her hands on her waist, and giving a walk, the car door slamming behind her with a flick of the wrist.She could hear their voices as they talked amongst themselves about her.
“...I didn’t know Rainbow’s dad…”
“...Is she in trouble? No- that’s her dad, right?”
“Did you know her dad’s a police officer?”
“...I honestly thought she was an orphan, like that one freshman. The one with the missing leg…”
Rainbow reveled in the gossip. With confidence, she took a few steps forwards, making sure to give her hips a sway. Applejack also got out of the vehicle, Rainbow’s left behind backpack in tow around her arm. Applejack gave a quick wave at Bow, closing the door a little more gracefully than Rainbow had.
“Good morning, Canterlot.” Rainbow whispered with a smile. She could hear them clapping. People lining the streets for the amazing Rainbow’s autograph. They were cheering for her, because even if this wasn’t her body, she still thought she looked gorgeous.
Clunk!
“Omphh!”
However, it seemed that Faust had decided today wasn’t Rainbow’s day, as the curb separating the sidewalk from the pavement had caught her foot off guard, leading to her slamming her face onto the ground. There was a collection of ‘Oooh’s’ as people cringed, all knowing too familiar the feeling of falling over. Her confident movements ended with her face on the floor. Unlike the other times she had fallen over in this body, she didn’t have enough time to extend her arms out in preparation. It was just concrete and her nose.
“Aw, shoot, Dash!” Applejack said, quickly rushing over. She let the bag fall off her arm as she wrapped her fingers around Rainbow’s shoulder, getting her into a sitting position. Rainbow was cringing, covering her nose with her hand. “Damn! You good?”
“I think so?” Rainbow said, removing her hand. “I-I meant to do that!”
“Sure ya-” Applejack looked at Rainbow in the face, her eyes widening as she realized her upper lip was smeared with blood. “Ah, dag-nabbit!”
“What?” Rainbow asked. “Is there something on my face?”
“Follow me, you lug.” Applejack helped Rainbow stand up, also grabbing her backpack and moving away from the curb and towards a nearby bush. Rainbow grabbed her nose again, scampering behind the farmer. “Here’s a nice spot. Away from the crowd.” She said, sitting down in the grass and reaching into the backpack. “Come. Siddown, would ya’?”
“Why?” Rainbow asked, but obliged anyways. The grass was slightly damp, but the rising sun was still shining bright over the hill, warming them up. It was a strange experience, one side of your body being warmed by the sun as the other side was blistering cold.
“Here.” Applejack pulled out a tissue- although it might’ve been an old rag in Rainbow’s backpack. “Clean ya’self.” She said. Rainbow hesitated for a moment, but took the rag and began wiping her forehead. “No- your nose!”
“What about my nose?”
“You’re bleedin’!”
“What?” She wiped her nose, looking down at the rag, now smeared with bright blood. “Oh, shit!” She pushed the rag into her nose harder. “Aw, dude! I didn’t know!”
“Ya’ smashed your face into the ground, and ya’ didn’t know?” Applejack asked, zipping back up Rainbow’s bag.
“Not my fault! These bodies are fragile!” She sniffed, rubbing her nose again.
“Tilt ya head back. It’ll help stop the bleeding.” Applejack reached forwards, pushing Rainbow’s head back until she was staring up at the sky.
“I could smash into a tree at Sonic-Rainboom speeds, and I’d be totally fine!” She complained. “Are you telling me that a little fall made me start bleeding? I’ve only broken my wing three times! Three times! And you were there for one of them!”
“Humans don’t got magic, ‘member?” Applejack said, watching Rainbow’s attempts to stop bleeding. Applejack crossed her legs, trying to get more comfortable. “Ponies are almost inherently magic creatures, Twi’ told us.”
“I don’t know what inherently means-”
“Ponies are magic creatures.” Applejack elaborated with an eye roll. “That’s why Tirek was so dang bad. We were useless without our magic. That also means us ponies are pretty dang durable. Humans had’a figure out a way to be more durable. Maybe that’s why they wear clothes everywhere.”
“In case they fall over?” Rainbow asked, counting the clouds above. “Didn’t work.”
“Maybe not, then.” She shrugged. “Ah’ dunno.” She let out a sigh, resting her chin on her hand.
The school was a big building. For Applejack, bigger than any school she had ever seen. She knew Twilight had come from a prestigious magic school- well, that was a lie. She more or less studied directly under Princess Celestia’s rule, as her personal protege. She knew that that school was large, even larger than this one, but they had a reason, right? That school needed a lot of room to breathe. Rooms for practicing spells in, entire halls dedicated just for the entrance exam. Why was this school so large?
Despite being a large, fancy, and beautiful building, Applejack still had a hard time finding a clock nearby. With a huff, she stood up.
“Where ya goin’?” Rainbow asked.
“Gonna find a clock. Ah’ don’t know when class starts, and ah’ don’t wanna be late.” Applejack said, walking towards a window. Rainbow shrugged, laying completely flat on her back. She approached the nearby window, and just like Rainbow before, was momentarily taken aback by her lanky reflection.
But she cupped her hands around her face, pushing closer to the window to minimize reflections. The classroom looked empty, and the clock above the blackboard told her almost nothing. The numbers were completely different than she knew, being just random lines and curves that made up something.
But there were twelve numbers. So Applejack could make a pretty good guess.
“We gotta’ bout thirty minutes ‘till class starts.” Applejack said, sitting back down next to Rainbow. She was still laying flat, blood stained rag discarded to the side, watching the clouds as they traveled to and fro.
“Nice.” Rainbow said. She took a deep breath. “Can you imagine this? No weather ponies? Just all wild clouds?”
“Sure can, Sugarcube.” Applejack said.
“What do they do when it gets too cold during a summer month? Do they just-” Rainbow made a strange motion with her arms in an attempt to explain her words.
“I reckon they bundle up.”
“But-” Rainbow sighed. “This place is weird.”
…
…
…
“Bit for thought?” Applejack asked. Rainbow glanced down momentarily at Applejack’s thinking face. She let out another dramatic sigh, even louder this time.
“I don’t know.” She said, pushing her arms behind her and forcing her torso into a sitting position, her legs still splayed out as if she was laying down. “Did my parents seem… different to you?”
“Hm.” Applejack tapped her knee with a finger. “Ah’ve never met your folks before. Ah’ might’ve met them at the wedding, but ah’ don’t remember.” Rainbow began observing her finger nails, picking at them idly. “Ah don’t got no reference. Can ya’ tell me ‘bout them?”
“They’re… too supportive.” She said slowly. “They give me trophies and act like everything I’ve done is the greatest ever.” Applejack snickered lightly.
“Guess ah’ know where ya’ get it from.”
“Shut up.” Rainbow said, reaching behind her and chucking a blood stained rag towards Applejack. She batted it away.
“Eew! Gross!” Applejack said, wiping her hand on her shirt. “That’s your blood and boogers, Dash!”
“Says the pony who has to deal with pig poop all day!” Rainbow raised her voice. She cleared her throat, settling down. “Anyways… no- my parent’s- my parent’s used to take photos of me doing anything, and them frame them like I was a superhero or something. I think they even have my first manecut on the wall.”
“Are ya’ gettin’ sentimental with me, Dash?” Applejack asked, a smile spreading across her face. “Ah ain’t never seen this side of you, before!”
“Shaddup.” Rainbow shook her head, chuckling lightly. “I don’t even know what sentimental means…”
“Did you ever go to school?”
“My parents… my parents over here are just… well, it’s hard to explain, but- when he pretended to get mad last night to screw with us? They’re like… meaner? Or- no, not meaner, but- aggh.”
“Shoot, he was just joking with us, ain’t he?” Applejack asked. “Ah’m not real good with this parent stuff. Ah’ mean, you’re lookin’ at a girl who lost her parents a decade ago.” Applejack found satisfaction as she watched Rainbow suck air between her teeth, cringing herself as she did so.
“No- you’re right.” She said, turning away from Applejack and awkwardly rubbing her head. “I guess I’m just narcissistic. Or- no, not that word. I’m being…”
“How do you know what narcissistic means but not sentimental?” Applejack shook her head. “Do ya’ mean ungrateful? Ah’m sure when ah’ was younger, ah’ had my fair share of quarrels with my folks, too. Ah lotta ponies say you only remember the bad when somepony’s gone, but… Ah’ only remember the good. Sittin’ on the front porch with mah’ Daddy. Runnin’ the stall with Mah. When they’re gone, you just can’t help but think how empty life is without them. No more runnin’ up to your Mah after school. Come back to a quiet house, the only sound bein’ Granny rockin’ in her chair, and sometimes Bloom crying in her crib. Ah’ve been mad at mah’ parents, sure, but once they’re gone… Ah’ mean, they’re gone. It’s empty. Ah’ feel empty.”
Applejack realized Dash was staring at her.
“Shoot- ah’ was ramblin’ weren’t I?” Applejack said. “Ah’m sorry. About being ungrateful- well-”
“I think that was the most you’ve ever opened up to me.” Rainbow interrupted. Applejack blinked.
“Was it?” She asked. “Sorry. Ah’ jus’ got caught up in my own dang world for a minute. Ah think it’s good ya’ haven’t gone through that yet.”
“You just…” Rainbow looked away again, picking at her fingernails once more. “You made me think… maybe I should visit my parents again. Say hi.” Rainbow flinched when Applejack laid a hand on her shoulder.
“You still got that privilege.” Applejack said. “You can say ‘hi’ still. What ah’ wouldn’t give up to say ‘hi’ to my folks one last dang time.”
She sighed.
“One last time.”