DISCLAIMER: Profanity, violence, self-harm, sexual references.
I won't be doing these disclaimers every chapter. You've been warned.
~Two~
“You’re beautiful,” The man breathed, his hand on the white-skinned girl’s thigh as she held her red-wine gracefully, smiling endearingly at the much older man.
“I’ve been told,” Rarity teased, her high heel dragging up the man’s calf. The two were situated at the man’s- Silver Pocket’s- penthouse, on one of his plush sofas, sitting side by side. “What made you choose little ol’ me? There were many beautiful girls at that bar there tonight.”
Silver pocket stared intently at Rarity, his eyes trailing down her body until his eyes rested on his hand on her thigh. “You aren’t like the other’s, you’re glamorous, innocent…” He was almost drooling. Rarity begged to differ, this man had no idea who she was, and to be quite frank, it wasn’t pleasant to see him drool over her.
“Why, Mr. Pocket, you flatter a woman!” She laughed delightfully, placing her wine by the coffee table and shifting so that she was facing him. Her eyes locked onto his chest and her hand dared to grab his necktie, slowly twirling it around her finger.
“Call me Silver,” He managed, struggling to pay attention to anything this mysterious woman says.
“Well then Silver,” Her hands made their way to the buttons on his shirt. “Will we be spending the whole night talking?” She asked innocently, waiting patiently until Silver crashed his lips into hers. Immediately, Rarity shifted to position herself on his lap, tearing away at his shirt as her tongue wrestled to pin Silver’s. Silver’s tongue movements were sloppy and lazy, but he made up for it by running his hands through her hair- it felt terrific.
He broke away the kiss for a second to inhale, “You’re unworldly,” before diving back in. Rarity smiled into the kiss, hearing compliments always made her more excited. A buzz from Rarity’s phone grabbed Silver’s attention as he moved his head to the side, Rarity continuing kissing his ear. Rarity noticed the man go still.
“Class? You told me you work for a corporation!” The man panicked, pushing Rarity away from him. Rarity looked at her phone, mentally cursing herself for having notifications on. “How old are you really?” The man began panicking, the idea that Rarity may not be the 24 years she said she was, making all the alarms go off in his head.
FS~: Hello Rarity, I hope this isn’t a bad time, I was wondering if you have any classes tomorrow?
“I’m not underage,” She breathed, pulling herself off him and fixing her hair. The man waited for a proper answer. “I’m nineteen.” She sighed, already reaching for her purse and phone.
“Nineteen?!” The man began pacing around the room, “Do you know what could happen to a guy like me for messing with someone just of legal age?! If anyone sees me with you- I’M 30! Rumours will spread just talking to you!”
Rarity mentally shook her head, dread filling her gut as she realised she could have so easily messed this man’s life up. “I’m very sorry Mr. Pocket,” She started.
“Can it?” He felt disgusted at himself for even finding this girl the least bit attractive.
“I will let myself out.” Rarity left the apartment quietly, and ran to the bathrooms at the end of the hallway, throwing open the cubicle and collapsing in front of the toilet.
There she vomited out all of her dinner. A slut, a whore. Another heave caused more vomit to be let out. Rarity did not slutshame, she could never do that to another girl - what they do with their bodies was their decision. But Rarity herself? She felt like the biggest slut in the city. And what was worse was she loved it. The power she had over the men, no matter how much older, how rich they were, their position, their title- once she got her way with them, they were putty in her hands. And for the night, she could imagine two people in love, showing eachother how much desire there was between them.
Then morning came, and it was always the same story. I am not ready for that commitment, I just needed to relieve some stress, I am with someone else, and ‘You are not the type of girl i would spend the rest of my life with.’. The heavy truth Rarity faced was that in the end, no one wanted a passed around woman, a woman who held herself at little worth, and someone who could not give back that same love she received. Rarity lay her head against the toilet, a deep rooted tiredness washing over her.
She was who she was.
---
“Of course I’m free darling! … Why should you apologise, I will not stand for it!” Rarity huffed, applying her lipgloss for the day. “I’m only taking 2 classes this semester, Fluttershy, I have a lot of time on my hands… Worry not! I do not mean to…brag but dare I say I did actually ace Foundational Finance last year and I would love to help a dear friend!”
Rarity was happy today, it felt validating to have someone ask for help, as though to say you are needed here, and best of all it was Fluttershy, her dearest, shyest friend who she missed not having classes with anymore.
“RARITY!” a shout from downstairs was heard, to which Rarity refused to yell back in such an uncouth manner. She simply waited until her little sister made her way up the stairs. “Hey sis! Have you seen my cashmere sweater? The one you bought me for my birthday, I want to wear it to school, but mum’s at work and dad doesn’t know.”
“What a surprise that father isn’t aware,” Rarity scoffed, packing away her make-up. “Check your clean basket, mother did some washing yesterday.”
“Thanks Rarity! Love you!” Sweetie Belle rushed away, but not before giving her sister a kiss on the cheek.
“I love you too.” Rarity smiled.
Rarity made her way down the stairs, unsurprised to see her father lazily watching television on the couch. “I see you're finally awake.” Her father greeted.
“Yes, good morning father.” Rarity replied, a forceful smile on her face as her father simply grunted in reply. It would seem father still hasn’t gotten bored of his own laziness.
“Are you dropping your sister to school?” He asked, turning his head backwards to look at Rarity in the kitchen sorting out Sweetie Belle’s school lunch.
“I can’t today father, I’m running late. I’ve sorted out her lunch, she could simply take the bus to school or…you could drop her.” Rarity said slowly, unsure of her fathers reaction. He simply huffed, deciding it was better to turn his attention to the television.
“If I had a son he would have taken her.” He mumbled, making Rarity grit her teeth. Her whole childhood, she felt as though her father held a sort of resentment towards her. He had always wanted a son and when instead he was gifted with two daughters, he always had made little quips at them, comparing them to his non-existent sons, how much more fun it would be if he had someone he could talk to about soccer or cars with, or play catch and care for him when he’s older. Rarity decided from very little that she would be exactly like her mother, and in some way began feeling a sort of resentment towards men.
Sweetie Belle on the other hand had always tried to adhere to her father’s interests in an attempt to bond with him more. “Hey Dad! Did you see the Manhattan versus Crystal Empire match last night?” Sweetie asked, hopping down the stairs.
“I did Belly,” He smiled, “It was a tough game for Manhattan but they pulled through.” He tousled her hair before going back to his show. Rarity held a deep sympathy for her little sister, as she watched her grow up with very less of her own personal interests and feelings, instead attempting to mould into the ‘son’ her father always wanted to have. “That’s a pretty girly sweater you're wearing, ain’t it?” He commented, looking at the pink sweater Rarity gifted her with distaste.
“Oh I thought-”
“It’s a wonderful sweater, darling. I should know, I picked it.” Rarity winked at Sweetie, happy she could brighten her up again. “You wouldn’t doubt my fashion sense now would you?!” Rarity gasped in mock hurt as Sweetie Belle giggled and shook her head.
“Someone should doubt it. How they let you into that fancy fashion school is beyond me.” Her dad laughed, picking up his coffee cup for a sip.
Rarity huffed, ignoring her Dad’s very lame jokes. “Come on Sweetie Belle, I’ll drop you to the bus stop.”
---
After Rarity bid farewell to her sister, she made her way in her white car to ‘Cloudsdale’s College of Aspiring Students’ to meet with Fluttershy. Once there, she decided to find a table outdoors to finalise a few of her sketches to pass the time. After a while she noticed Fluttershy, in one of Rarity’s favourite floral maxi-skirts and a beige sweater. After Fluttershy saw Rarity, she did a little jog towards her to keep her from waiting.
“Good Morning Rarity, I hope you didn’t wait too long.” Fluttershy said, leaning over slightly as Rarity got up to give her two cheek-to-cheek kisses. It was a habit Rarity had gained from her Mother’s side of the family , and Fluttershy was the only one who let the fashionista greet her that way every time they met.
“Uft-pfft-tch!” Rarity scoffed, waving a hand. “Nonsense darling, It gave me plenty of time to finish some designs i’ve been working on lately”
Fluttershy released a breath of relief, “Oh, can I see?” She leaned back suddenly, remembering unfortunately it might not be in her place to be so confident with her. “If it’s okay with you.”
Rarity beamed, turning her notebook over to her and explaining each and every one of her sketches. Fluttershy watched the beaming girl in wonder as she explained her drawings in exquisite detail, her smile never leaving her face. Fluttershy’s heart warmed at how passionate her friend was about her career, reminding her of herself and how badly she would like to become a Vet.
“Okay, enough about this, I want to hear about you,” Rarity said, closing her sketchbook and placing her head in her hands as she waited for Fluttershy to speak up. “Has any beautiful girl caught your eye as of late?” Rarity asked slyly, tracing her finger across the table. Fluttershy sighed, about to respond before Rarity gasped. “Tell me! How was Saturday night? I’m guessing you and Dash got home safe~”
“Rarity please, Dash is like a little sister to me. I don’t see her that way.” Fluttershy insisted, embarrassed. Rarity still believed she had a crush on Rainbow Dash. Ever since sophomore year when Fluttershy confided in Rarity about her dating preference, she couldn’t stop pairing her up with every girl she was friends with. Rarity always seemed to especially insist that she liked Rainbow Dash, and that was mainly because of how close they were. Of course, Fluttershy had never viewed it that way and never will.
“Yes, of course of course.” She was silent for a while. “Where did she sleep?”
“Rarity!”
The two girls continued on talking about their days, Rarity mentioning a couple of the dates she had gone on - never so in depth about what occurred on said dates. Fluttershy always heard of one nameless man or another; about how they were either too ill-mannered, or too brash, or too mean. She wondered when Rarity might find the perfect match. Rarity was beautiful, graceful, and well-spoken; she was everything Fluttershy wasn’t so it shouldn’t be so hard for her to find a man for herself, Fluttershy thought.
After a bit, Rarity began explaining the assignment to Fluttershy who, embarrassingly, was not very good with the financial aspect of mathematics. They sat in front of each other for a while, summarising key concepts- their hands always too close or too far apart - Fluttershy thought, noticing how smooth Rarity’s hands looked. I wonder how it feels to hold her hand. Fluttershy blushed at the sudden thought that passed her mind, but brushed it off as just her appreciating a girl’s beauty.
---
The Thursday morning air was crisp- perfect for an early training session with the soccer team. “Morning Cap’” Rainbow greeted, jogging over to place her duffel bag by the benches. “Am I early?” She asked, looking around at the empty field.
“More like everyone else is late. The team is too lazy for morning training in the cold,” The girl with the fiery orange hair rolled her eyes as she sat on the silver seats. Rainbow placed her hands on her hips, Amateurs. Rainbow Dash knew she was the best player on Cloudsdale’s team, and she knew she would make the best captain - she did lead every single sports team in Canterlot High afterall. Unfortunately what she didn’t account for was that CCAS already had a Captain and she was here to stay. No way to kick her off that position.
Rainbow and Spitfire made some idle chit-chat for a while longer as the rest of the team came in one-by-one each looking more hungover than the next. The rainbow-haired girl snickered at them. The team had all gone out for drinks last night with Rainbow wisely declining the offer. They sure are gonna eat it now.
“What a bunch of pussies,” Spitfire commented, purposely loud enough for them to hear. “Don’t fucking drink if you babies aren’t able to handle it the next day. As punishment, twenty laps now. GO!” She shouted, blowing her whistle. Rainbow chuckled as she sped off, a morning run one of her favourite things in the world. She spotted Soarin a few people behind her, seeming very puffed out so she decided to slow down to keep pace with him.
“Lightweight.” She teased.
“Don’t…make…me…phew.” He exhaled, stopping suddenly to take a puff from his inhaler.
“Woah dude, you alright?” She asked, a hand on his back, looking at Spitfire who seemed a bit worried at his condition. She guided him to the floor so he could take a break.
“Yes,” he took a puff, “I’m just extra asthmatic today because,” another puff “of my hay fever.” Once more. Rainbow had known Soarin for just over a year now and he had only taken out his puffer twice since then. Once at the end of a beep test- the very end - and the other time is this time.
“It's Autumn, dude.”
“Lots of leaves falling… or something, I don’t know Crash, why don’t you ask my lungs they’ll have a better answer for you.” Soarin said, making a face at her.
She rolled her eyes, wrapping his arm around her neck so she could take him back to Spitfire. “Come on big guy,” She heaved. In return, Soarin merely grinned, immediately putting all his weight onto her and dragging her down to the ground. She eyed him exasperatedly. “Seriously?”
He looked back at her innocently, “Are you losing muscles? You seem much weaker than last y-OW!” He grabbed his shoulder where Dash had just punched him for his childishness.
“I’ll just leave you here.”
“Wait no come back! Dash!” Soarin grunted, picking himself off the ground and following the girl who was already talking with Spitfire.
“You didn’t run the laps.” Spitfire said pointedly.
“I also didn’t drink.” Dash smiled, making the Captain raise her eyebrow.
“Touche,” She turned her attention to the fourth year boy. “And you?”
Soarin reached the two at the benches. “As you probably would have seen, my honourable and glorious captain, I was having an asthma attack. But if it pleases you, I can continue my laps.” He said sarcastically.
“Okay, okay go sit down.” Spitfire said. “I swear I'm surrounded by a bunch of girls.” Rainbow raised her eyebrow at the irony of that statement, making Spitfire sigh in annoyance, “Yes I know Crash, leave me alone.”
Rainbow made her way to Soarin as he took a swig of the bottle of water. “I hope that asthma attack wasn’t because of me.” She snickered, taking a seat next to him.
“What?”
“Because I took your breath away.” She said with a completely straight face. To Rainbow’s credit, she did find it funnier in her head.
“You’re a comedian, did you know that? How did you come up with such an amazing line?” He flattened his eyebrows, continuing to slow clap as Dash slouched against the wall. She had to listen to Soarin going on about that joke for minutes now.
“So what are your plans for next year? If you aren’t scouted out for nationals?” Rainbow asked.
“Well i’ll probably join the air force then, I don’t have much lined up for me after college.” He said, frowning. “What about you?”
“ I still think it's too early for me, I have two more years before I’m forced into anything.” She looked up at the clouds. “But I’m studying aviation. If soccer doesn’t work out you would probably spot me flying a plane throwing some near misses at you.” She glanced sideways at him smirking.
He smiled back nudging her shoulder with his. Rainbow returned the gesture before they fell into a comfortable silence. Rainbow’s smile faded as she thought again of her future. She loved soccer with her soul. If she didn't go all the way, who was she? A pilot? Flying commercial airlines, half her life in a plane she would barely fly herself? Not now with all the technology- what would she need to do? Pull a lever and press a few buttons? She would hate her life. Soccer was her life, and she was determined that no matter what, she will make it worldwide.
A few moments later the rest of the team made it back to their starting positions and training started, with the exception of Soarin sitting this one out. By the end of it Rainbow was sweating like crazy and went to sit next to Soarin who scrunched his nose in disgust, “You smell nice.” He joked.
“Next time you train I'm going to collect a sample of your sweat and show you how much worse you smell.” She fired back taking a swig of her water, elbows on her knees. Soarin merely blinked at her. She sighed, “Not my best line. Sounded weird. I know.”
Soarin watched how Rainbow always kept an eye on the locker rooms. She had always insisted on showering and changing last and he never understood why. If he brought it up, Rainbow waved it off saying something like, “Why do you wanna know what I do in there so bad?” Making Soarin fluster at the double meaning. Still, he held some rumours about why she might not want to go in there with the other team members. For one, Rainbow is bisexual, so maybe she finds sweaty girl bodies really hot and she would pass out if she was between eight of them. But Soarin had never noticed Rainbow showing any signs of crushing on the team. Second, maybe she was just really embarrassed of her body. But that didn’t make sense to Soarin since Rainbow’s body was killer hot and if anything she should be proud to flaunt it. Third theory was probably that she valued her own privacy and that seemed the most tame of reasons.
“What?” Rainbow asked as Soarin realised he’d been staring at her for too long. He blushed looking away.
“Just thinking is all.”
Rainbow nodded, then noticing the last girl walking out of the lockers, she grabbed her duffel bag and waved goodbye to Soarin.
The lockers were sparse now, with the floors wet and mirrors fogged up from the steam of the showers. Rainbow placed her bag down on the wooden bench before stripping down and making her way to the shower stall.
As she shampooed and rinsed herself, she found herself thinking back to her savings. They were running low and her part-time job at the sports shop didn’t make nearly enough to cover for school expenses and travel fees. Not to mention Aviation being a much more expensive degree to study. Rainbow never wanted to go to school, but she knew if she wanted a chance for her skills to be recognised, she needed to get into CCAS. Thankfully, they accepted her eagerly into the team on the condition that she studies a subject under the school itself. Tuition fees were high, and now that her money from her mother’s savings account was running low she had no other way to pay for college. Panic bubbled inside Dash at the thought of having to defer school, making her highest chance at achieving her dream as a soccer star almost close to zero.
Last year’s graduates from CCAS’s soccer team had 6 people scouted and accepted into the country’s national academy, with Misty Fly immediately placed on the pitch to perform. And Rainbow knew that if anyone was scouted, it would be her. She just needed to make sure she remained at the school, and finish her degree. Whatever it takes. She told herself, remembering one of her mother’s final words, ‘Don’t let anything keep you from that field, there is always a way.’
Rainbow finished her shower with a heavy head making her way over to the mirrors. As she stared at her reflection, a familiar feeling of self-loathing rose up from her stomach. She turned her hip to the side, stretching to see if the bruise Fluttershy noticed was fading any quicker. It was lighter than the day before so she pressed a finger to it, frowning as the pain still remained. Fucking weak ass body.
Sloppily, she threw on her leggings and hoodie and ran for her 9am class.
Rainbow ran through the hallway not in the slightest careful where she was stepping until she bumped shoulders with someone. “Fuck shit, sorr- AJ?!” Rainbow said, looking surprised to see Applejack around, she never bumps into Applejack on campus. “What are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you too.” Applejack grunted, mildly annoyed at how careless Rainbow was with manoeuvring around students. Rainbow smiled at seeing her long-time friend again after this weekend. She was sort of under the impression that after that night she would probably not see most of them again until at least a few months later.
“I was just heading for class.” Rainbow said. Applejack looked at her quietly. Okay…the athlete rocked on her heels. “Soo, how are you? We didn’t really get a chance to, you know…catch up that weekend.”
“Lots a’ friends to be catching up with.” She replied as a matter-of-factly. Rainbow furrowed her eyebrows, confused on why Applejack was acting so unfamiliar- I mean sure they haven’t really been close friends in a while, but they were fine just a few days ago. Applejack didn’t really show any animosity then, did she?
“Uh, you chilling AJ? You sound pretty pissed.”
“I ain’t pissed Dash,” She sighed, leaning down slightly to look the smaller girl in the eyes. “I’m mighty fine. Pleasure seeing you.” She tipped her hat at the smaller girl before continuing on her way. Rainbow twisted her neck to follow Applejack’s figure confused on why she was so weird just now. But before she had time to dwell on it, she remembered why she was running in the first place.
As Applejack passed Rainbow Dash after their accidental bumping in the hallway, she breathed a sigh of relief, as though if she breathed too loud in front of the athlete, she was able to read her thoughts. Rainbow Dash, who at some point in the past Applejack considered as her best friend, seemed almost impossible to talk to anymore. Every time she looked at Dash now, she didn’t know what to say, how to act, or what to bring up. She didn’t even know what page she stood on with the athlete. Although Dash seemed completely okay with Applejack, the farmer did not want to make that same selfish mistake twice, and decided to keep her friendship with Rainbow Dash distant.
Besides, it shouldn’t be too hard. The girls see each other, what like, once every three months?
---
By the time Rainbow Dash got home, the sun was setting in the horizon. Thursday’s were always her longest days, and most of the time she got home exhausted. As she opened her family’s front door, the strong smell of alcohol made its way through to her nose causing her to crinkle it in disgust.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Dad?” She snarled as she stomped her way to the kitchen island throwing two bottles of empty whiskey into the bin. When no response came, she looked over at the couch noticing her dad, Rainbow Blaze, sitting lazily on the couch with another bottle of gin in his hands, drunkenly hiccupping as he watched some sort of baseball on the TV. Rainbow walked over until she stood in front of him, hands on her hips. “Dad, do you realise we are running out of money?”
“Don’t yell at me, kid” He slurred, struggling to stand up and using Rainbow’s shoulder as balance. As his eyes met Rainbow’s it seemed to widen, as though he had seen a ghost. “Windy…” He whispered his hand suddenly against his daughter’s cheek.
Rainbow felt a wave of pity and sadness overwhelm her as she watched her Dad helplessly pine over her mother’s ghost. Her dad wasn’t always like this, and especially after Rainbow’s mum died, he did everything he could to keep his daughter happy. Then a few months in she noticed him becoming more tired, withdrawn. He began drinking soon after that and once he was addicted she rarely saw her old dad there anymore. When he was drunk, he saw Rainbow Dash as Windy Whistles - with the same eyes and skin tone, she was almost a splitting image. And when he was sober he never looked her in the eye, too afraid to see his wife in them and mourn her loss all over again. She had lost her dad just months after she lost her mum.
Rainbow pushed her dad against the couch, ready herself to call it an early night. She fell asleep with thoughts of her mother on her mind.
The next morning Rainbow woke up early, her dad on the end of the bed staring at the wall. Rainbow started, scrambling to the edge of the bed head. “Morning?” She said tightly, suspicious of why he was in her room for the first time in over a year.
Her dad didn’t say anything to that, he just hung his head low. A loud silence entered Dash’s room then. She watched her dad cautiously. He opened his mouth then. “I’m sorry,” He started and Rainbow’s heart jumped, shocked and confused. It’s been too long since he had said anything but curses at her. He tilted his head at her, motioning to her hip with a glass of gin she just noticed in his hand now. “About that…that night.”
Rainbow felt her throat close up, relief flooding through her at the possibility that maybe-just maybe- her dad is making the effort to better himself. “It’s no big deal.” She chuckled. “Hurts like a bitch though.”
She watched her dad smile at that.
“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Rainbow’s dad yelled, moving clumsily over the furniture as his daughter broke the bottles of alcohol in the kitchen.
“YOU’RE FUCKING CRAZY ENOUGH AS IT IS, YOU ASS!” She screamed back, smashing another bottle on the island. Rainbow felt like she couldn’t breathe, a sort of anger she hadn’t felt in a while exploding through her chest as she stared at her worthless father’s flushed face. “DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW HARD I WORK TO KEEP US AFLOAT?!” She cried, eyes wide and hair a mess. She looked fucking crazy. “IT’S MEANT TO BE YOUR JOB! YOUR MY DAD AND ALL YOU DO IS SIT AROUND AND FUCKING ATTACK ME FOR LOOKING LIKE MUM!”
The house was dark. A mess. Glass scattered the floor and alcohol breezed through the air, the smell clinging to both of their clothes. It happened fast. Rainbow heard the crash right next to her ear as a bottle smashed against the wall right beside her head. It could have killed her, a bit to the left and it would have. Rainbow felt a new level of fear strike her as she watched her father stalk closer to her. The fact that her father didn’t draw the line at mere punches but would also easily have liked to kill her too.
She felt the wind get knocked out of her lungs then and there as her dad threw her against the counter, the corner of it stabbing right into her hip making a sharp pain cascade up her spine. She screamed in pain as she fell to the floor, breathing heavily.
“Keep her memory out of your mouth.” He spat, walking out of the front door and leaving her crying on the glass covered ground. Rainbow had never felt hatred for her dad before, but at that point she wanted nothing more than to pick up that half shattered alcohol bottle and stab it through his neck. She vomited.
“I cleaned up that mess you left me. That Saturday you didn’t come home. Where were you anyway?” He asked idly, swirling the alcohol in the cup.
Dash refused to lower any of her defences, “I wouldn’t have caused that mess if you knew how to be a parent.” Her dad glared at her, but she refused to back away. Her biggest mistake was being afraid of a 50 year old drunk. “Are you going to hit me again?” She said angrily.
Her dad shook her head. “When I lost Windy…I tried to be okay. But…”
“You aren’t the only one who lost someone, dad. I lost my mother.” Rainbow said, looking at her dad pleadingly, praying he would stop drinking and heal. Rainbow came to terms with the hard truth that while her father lost someone he loved, so did she, and it wasn’t selfish to want to be taken care of. Instead she became an orphan, with a dad who couldn’t function anymore.
Blaze pressed his eyes shut, coming to terms with his mistakes. Rainbow felt guilt build up in her gut as she watched her dad coldly. She only felt pity for the man as he trembled in his tears. Rainbow sat on the edge of the bed quietly watching her dad calm down. He shifted then, facing Rainbow and placing a hand on her cheek. It felt cold and rough and she wanted to run as far as she could from it. That same palm on her cheek not so long ago left bruises, and red marks across her body. “I’m so sorry…I miss us.” Rainbow noticed his eyes glaze over and knew then that he wasn’t talking to her anymore. She pushed his hand away, realisation dawning on her. Panic rose in her chest as she stumbled off the bed and rushed to her closet, ravaging through her clothes. I swear to fucking god- “Dash wait!”
It wasn’t there. Her heart began beating faster and her hands started tingling and it was suddenly too hard to breathe and it was funny how she thought she needed that inhaler more than Soarin now. Her movements were frantic and desperate now. “WHERE THE FUCK IS IT?!” She breathed, rushing over and pushing her father off the bed to look under it.
“Rainbow, you have to calm down.” Blaze said, pulling her away from the bed.
“What the fuck did you do with my money, Blaze?” Rainbow said quietly, not sure now much oxygen was left in her lungs.
“Dash, I neede-”
“Blaze, mum gave that money to me. TO ME!” She screamed. She wanted to suffocate that insufferable man so hard. “Where is it?”
“I need you to calm down fi-”
“No Dad. Dad, you don’t understand. This is- YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND”
“SIT DOWN!” He bellowed, freezing the panicking girl in place. “Dash, you need to breathe.” At that, the rainbow haired girl sat on the edge of her bed, her head in her hands trying to even her breathing
“Okay.” She inhaled. “Where’s the money?”
“Dash I needed the money. I lost some heavy bets I needed to pay off.” Her head started swirling. Her dad wasted the money her mother saved up for her. The money she saved for herself- because he’s now not only an alcoholic but a chronic gambler?
“Get out.” She said quietly.
“Look Dash, I'll fix myself. And I found another really good college. Their tuition fees are very small and-and you can live on campus. Away from me. And accommodation is really cheap too-”
“Get the fuck out of my room before I fucking pony-up, call the magic princess from the other universe, and fucking murder you so you can finally meet up with mum after fucking defying every single one of her dying wishes.” She snarled and immediately Blaze rushed out not only the room, but left the house too.
She didn’t have any money. All her savings, the money her mother entrusted her for school- all gone because she was stupid enough to think it was safe under the same roof as an alcoholic. How could I have fucking trusted dad for one second. Another pain suddenly flooded her- a heavy, ever-lasting, self-hatred. She squeezed her eyes closed, refusing to let tears loose, and so she fell to the floor beside her bed and reached for her bedside drawer. There was a single blade razor used usually to shave any arm hair. With a sudden burning need for release she pulled her sweatpants to her knees and held the razor above her upper thigh- there, multiple other scars, small tallies in random orientations were exposed. Each one reminding her of failures and mistakes- times she wasn’t perfect enough for herself, or times she wasn’t good enough for her parents and friends. Her finger traced over her very first one, just above the rest of them. Her first tally was at her mother’s funeral. Once more, she carved a line with the razor on her thigh, the pain a reminder of an easily preventable mistake. It was better than crying like a pussy, she believed. She cried anyway. Rainbow Dash cried silently, her tears falling against her new cut, the tears watering down the blood as they mixed together. She shook for a while as the harsh reality that she won’t be able to continue at CCAS came to light.
“Promise me, Dash.” Windy said, caressing her daughter’s cheek with a weak hand.
“What, that I’d get into CCAS?” Rainbow smiled sadly.
“Is that the school for your soccer team?” She said weakly, vaguely remembering a far away conversation she had with her daughter. Rainbow laughed, tears staining her cheeks.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“Well that’s the one then, Raindrop.”
“What if I can’t? What if I don’t want to?” Rainbow asked, her throat closing up again. “What if I wanted to be with you instead?”
Windy Whistles brought Rainbow’s head to her chest, and there she lay holding her one and only child as she cried and trembled, not accepting her imminent death. “Your dreams are mine.” She whispered, kissing Rainbow’s forehead. “Don’t let anything keep you from that field, Dash. There is always a way.” Dash closed her eyes, listening to her mother’s slow heartbeat, her’s eventually following in sync. She felt calm for the first time in a long time. “Take care of her Blaze. You’re all she has left.”
As the memory replayed through her head, Dash pressed the razor deeper into her skin, this time with hatred for her father. If he loved Windy so much he would have tried harder to uphold her memory.
---
Sunset Shimmer hated this dump. It was always warm at the mechanic’s workshop even on a cold, Autumn day. Some sort of car always coughed up fumes or soot making Sunset smell of gasoline after her visit to Mikey’s Motorshop. Mikey, or Mikkie as most of his closer confidants liked to say, owned two very well-known establishments. Mikkie’s Diner, and Mikey’s Motorshop. The Diner is perhaps one of Canterlot’s most favourite fast food joints. Sunset coughed as one of the cars positioned on the lower platform struggled to turn on. Mikey pulled his head out of the car door, grinning widely as he saw Sunset by the garage door.
“Sunset!” He greeted, opening his arms for a hug.
Sunset cringed as she saw his clothes covered in grease from the car. “Uh, no thanks.” She said, pointing at his clothes. Mikey, upon noticing his state, laughed heartily.
“Always hated this place huh Ketchie?” He commented, as he wiped his hands clean on a dirty cloth. Mikey was a tall burly man with a presence that did a good job at intimidating most people, even Sunset. Though perhaps today was one of his more cheery moods. He must have gotten laid by his wife. Rare. Sunset thought dryly.
“Yup!” She forced a chuckle, gripping tighter on her backpack’s strands. “So uh. Can we talk?” She asked, louder than necessary. Mikey raised his eyebrow before motioning for her to continue. “Yeah! So funny story actually! I wasn’t actually…able to bring in that batch of…beans.”
“Excuse me?”
“‘Beans’ actually means drugs in today’s terms…that’s not what you asked. Okay, my bad.” She cringed after making quotation marks in the air with her fingers.
“This better be an example of one of your stupid jokes, Sunset Shimmer.” He threatened, taking a step closer to her.
She gulped, the silence making alarms ring through Mikey’s head. He barked out to one of his men before storming out of the garage, not before telling Sunset to sit still. As she heard the commotion at the back of the workshop, Sunset gritted her teeth. She was sure going to hear it now.
Equestria felt like a distant memory in Sunset’s head, but it was a mere five years ago when she left it to run away to here. At the age of 16, Sunset had absolutely no idea how to navigate this unfamiliar place, and for weeks afterwards, she spent her night’s under makeshift shelters in alleyways, using cardboard boxes as umbrellas, scouring off of free samples shop owners were nice enough to give. Not until a rainy night where she met Mikey.
“Fuck off. Dirty bugger!” A shop owner yelled, making Sunset yet again relocate to another alleyway.
“Maybe I made the wrong decision to show up in this universe.” Sunset scoffed, grabbing her cardboard box as she walked away from the yelling man. A few seconds into her walk it began to rain. Not a sprinkle, but a downpour and immediately Sunset was drenched in rainwater and shivering cold. “Darn these stupid pegasi. They’re praying on my downfall.” Already too tired to care if she got any wetter, Sunset continued on in a leisurely place until she noticed a quiet, well-lit corner block. She walked in, the loud ting of the doorbell ringing as she walked through. Inside was a couple of people minding their own business and a kitchen she could see that had a lot of those potato fries sitting out in a bowl. Sunset’s stomach growled and before contemplating whether it was a smart idea to walk through and absolutely devour those fries, she was already heading towards them. The first bite tasted so divine she already thought she was sitting upon Celestia’s throne. Hastily, she began stuffing her face with more before a pull on her shirt lifted her up and away from the bowl of chips.
“What in the name of my tasty as fuck cooking are you doing here boy? I thought you were a rodent!” The burly man said, pulling off Sunset’s hoodie. “By my tasty as fuck cooking, you’re a girl. Where’s your parents Ketchie?” He asked.
“Ketchie?” Sunset repeated, ignoring everything else he said. “My name is Sunset and soon to be your new ruler!”
The man stared at her weirdly for a second. “Well your hair looks like someone spilled ketchup all over it.”
“I don’t know what that is, but give me a few months and I’ll have you hang for it.”
He looked around awkwardly, putting her down on the floor. She crossed her arms angrily. “Where are your parent’s?”
“In Equestria.” She replied.
“Aw shit, why do crazy people always walk into this place.” He mumbled to himself. “Alright kid, my name’s Mikey, do you want me to get you some food?”
“That will do.” Sunset answered, turning around and finding a table to sit at. She spent that moment inspecting the place. It seemed very humble and quiet. Greasy though, but that’s the price to pay for good food. This will make a satisfactory home for a while until she devises a real plan.
Mikey came back with some burgers and fries and placed it in front of her watching smugly as the girl gobbled down the food. “You have a place to stay?”
“No. I told you I’m not from here. I don’t know how the whole money thing works.”
“Well, it’s pretty simple. You just get a job. And in exchange for your help, the person gives you some coins and paper bills. Then using that you can buy yourself what you need.”
“Hmm seems too simple.” She said, tapping her chin.
The man laughed. “Not for you kid. I betcha you won’t be able to find a job even if you were that princess ruler in your hometown. Here you need to be experienced to get a job. Need to know your stuff. Elsewise you ain’t got no job.” He crossed his arms as Sunset furrowed her eyebrows.
“But I would need a job for experience.” She stated. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
The man chuckled, “Lots o’ people don’t have time to train you from the ground up.” He tapped his chin in thought as he looked at the girl in front of him. “Hey Ketchie. I might have a job offer for you. But there’s no backing out to it, you got that.”
Sunset thought this was perfect. And backing out won’t be a problem. Once she gathers her strength, she’ll find a way to take over Equestria. Then this ‘Mikey’, the bipedal will be nothing more than a servant to her.
Sunset cursed her younger, evil, self for making such horrible decisions that she now faces the consequences of. The door slammed open as Mikey walked through, fuming from his neck up. “I should have you killed by now Sunset.” He sighed. Taking a seat on a stool and rubbing in between his eyebrows.
“Lucky I’m so charming.” She joked.
“Don’t.”
“Yep.”
“Do you know how much delay you’ve put into my plans? Those medicinals are important! It’s how we fund…all of this!”
“The motorshop?” Sunset said, looking around in contempt. Surely all that drug money couldn’t be going into something like this.
Mikey sighed again. This girl was going to make him actually lose it one day. “Our Family! We aren’t the only gang in Canterlot, Sunset. Did you know we have lost that batch of drugs you were responsible for? That means it's not there! That means someone else has taken it and I sure hope it was Ruby’s bastards instead of the cops.”
“Oh.” In Sunset’s defence, she was not told the amount of drugs in that truckload. In fact, why she was tasked with something so important was beyond her. “So, not to upset you or anything, but why did you give me that assignment? Usually you just tell me to you know, touch that person and tell you what they’re thinking. Or make me sell the drugs. That’s a lot easier! Actually it’s a field day. I prefer that way more.”
Mikey’s expression darkened. “Sunset I have been lenient with you. But you have lost us 200,000 dollars to our enemy. You’re going to find that money on your own or so help me God I will have your pretty girlfriend shot through her heart in an instant. Call my bluff, I dare you.” He said, roughly grabbing her hand and pressing it against his forehead. Sunset now was well aware of Mikey’s stance on her blunder, and a foreboding feeling of dread made its way throughout her as her thoughts about Twilight spiralled out of control.
“Shit Mikey look i’m sorry I fucked up but I’ll fix it. Just don’t get Twilight involved in this, please!” She begged as Mikey stared at her harshly.
“All my men are busy cleaning up your mess. Find that truck and fix what you broke.” Sunset’s heart threatened to escape her chest as she walked out of the motorshop. Fuck she messed up bad.
How the hell will she be able to fix this all by herself? A buzzing from her pocket got her attention.
RD~: Hey Sunset, can we talk? In desperate need for some bread.