It had been a week and a bit since Ray and Rainbow's little 'excursion' out in the streets of Toronto, and despite Ray's constant complaining, he appeared to be doing much better now. Rainbow Dash still felt guilty and winced slightly whenever she thought about it. She knew that Ray wasn't mad at her, but this was the first time in her life that she'd been responsible for something like this. She felt like such a burden, but Ray kept reassuring her however, and tried to leave it in the past. She was glad about that, but it still didn't completely relieve her of her lingering remorse.
Florence and Rainbow Dash were on much better terms again. Even better than before. The girl was impossibly forgiving, and Rainbow Dash wondered how ponies -or people in this case- could be so kindhearted and caring. Though she was thankful nonetheless for the girl's generosity.
The two of them began to bond more and more over the days and grew closer as friends. Florence was ecstatic to finally have another girl in the house, and would often times coax the rainbow-haired girl into something sisterly like doing her make-up -though she hated it, she put up with it and tried to be enthusiastic- or trying on different outfits and giving each other feed back. She didn't mind that bit, Florence wasn't nearly as forceful as Rarity when it came to this, and she kind of liked human fashion. It seemed more... advanced? Regardless...
Once Ray was all healed up, he started to take Rainbow Dash out to see the city and to get her acquainted with the lay out of the land. Toronto was much bigger than any city she had ever been in, and she marveled at the sight of the towering sky scrapers and expansive roads with strange colourful contraptions racing down them. Ray explained these things to be 'cars'. They were apparently a kind of self-propelled chariot of sorts. Rainbow definitely couldn't wait to see one up close.
It was all unlike anything she'd ever seen. The overwhelming amount of people moving about the busy downtown streets, all the bright colours of the city that lit up the night sky and all of the sounds emanating from the metropolis. It seemed as though there was never nothing going on. There was always street performers, vendors and people. Always were the streets filled. It was exciting to say the least.
Although as much as she liked being a part of the hustle and bustle of the urban rush, she was surprised when she found that she was much more fond the few quiet places -namely the parks- that could be found throughout the the expansive built-up area. When Ray discovered her love for the parks, he saw to it to show her as many as there were. Some parks were quiet and contained only people who lounged under the dazzling colours of the fading tree-leafs. Other parks were busy and filled with young people playing sports and running around having fun. Rainbow liked those places.
But the place she liked the most was a nice quiet little clearing just a few blocks away from where she was staying with Ray. The park itself was closed off by a thick line of trees and nearly no one used it. It soon became Rainbow's haven away from the hectic city. It was small, but just large enough for her to run around and release some of her pent-up energy. She was glad to learn that Ray was quite energetic and was -for the most part- able to keep up with her... When she paced herself of course. This made for a good work-out partnership, something that the both of them had needed.
Now the two found each other running alongside one another in the afternoons. It was a nice break from everything and good chance to burn off the energy that had been piling up inside Ray since he was forced to rest and let his injuries heal. Thankfully nothing had gotten infected, but that didn't stop Florence from going into strict doctor mode. Though admittedly, without her help it wouldn't have healed as nicely as it did. So for that he was thankful.
During their jogs, Ray and Rainbow Dash would take the rare opportunity to talk to each other in private. It seemed that whenever Ray was at home, he had to compete for time with the rainbow-haired pony-turned-human. Though he liked that the two girls were bonding, he still had things to talk about with her every now and again. And maybe, just maybe he liked her company... Maybe.
At first they started talking about what Ray did for a living, about Toronto and about random aspects of 'human life'. But then it moved on from that. They started talking about each others lives a little bit more. Ray would tell her about his life in France -the brighter sides- and though he was mainly humoring her when he listened, she would talk about her life back in Equestria. Rainbow had told him all about the princesses and her friends/fellow elements of harmony. About all of the adventures she'd had with them and all the ups and downs of her life in Ponyville. Ray would inwardly laugh at what an imagination the girl held. Yet she seemed so sure of herself...
But today however, when the two of them had finished their daily jog and were now leaned up against one of the colourful trees, a subject that Ray had thought he'd never hear of again surfaced when Rainbow Dash asked him "Hey Ray... Who's Rose?"
The two joggers were sitting under a tree that still had its colourful leafs when she asked. They had been talking again about what their plans for the rest of the night were. That question alone however, was enough to completely silence him. He was at a loss for words as mental images of Rose raced through his head at a million miles an hour. It was all he could do to stare off into nothingness as his jaw hung slightly open.
Rainbow Dash was going to say something, but she saw the blonde boy shake his head and close his gaping mouth. Now he simply stared off at the treeline, taking in the beautiful autumn colours. The burgundy browns of her hair, the bright reds of the unique eyes she shared with the girl next to him, the glinting sunlight shining down on him like her beaming smile. All that was rose was crystal clear in the world before him. And in the girl that sat but centimeters away from him, looking up now from her menial attempt to weave some sort of, thing, from grass.
She looked deep into his wandering eyes, searching for something other than the non-nonchalance that was ever so present in the boy. Searching for what was there only seconds ago. But to no avail.
She was about to drop it when Ray spoke up. "Rose was... Rose was a very special person," Ray started.
'Was' Rainbow thought solemnly. Her eyes softened at the melancholic smile that graced the boy's face.
"Rose was, simply put, one in a million. She was the kind of girl who would just as soon smack you upside the head as she would bring you into the tightest embrace. She was spunky, eccentric, and a little bit crazy. But she was also the reason I'm still here today..."
Rainbow Dash curled her knees up to her chest and sat, picking at some grass as she listened to Ray's story unfold.
Ray sighed and continued. "I guess the best place to start is from the beginning..." He scratched the back of his neck and picked at a patch of grass in front of him like Rainbow had been doing.
"Back in France, things weren't always as cheery and nice as I made them out to be. In fact, those were pretty much the highlights of our life back there. Flo's, Dan's and mine I mean.
"I know that it sounds like a lame cliche from a bad soap-opera, but together we were foster kids. This was back almost seven years ago mind you. But anyways, we somehow managed to find a foster family to take Florence and me in. That's where we met Dante. He may not have been our blood brother, but we treated him like he was regardless. The poor bugger was only five years old and was in the same situation as us." Ray let out a soft chuckle.
Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding, and continued to fiddle around with a stick.
"Let's just say that the living conditions in the house were... less than favorable..."
Rainbow's ears perked up at this, and she asked "What do you mean?" Concern evident in her voice.
"They weren't really people to tolerate slip ups. Meaning you spoke when spoken too, do what you were told and kept your head down. And if you didn't..." Ray let Rainbow Dash put two and two together at that.
Rainbow gulped audibly. It wasn't unheard of for parents to beat their fillies in Equestria, but those who did were very far and very few in between. And even then it wasn't more than a firm slap on the wrists... Hooves... But if the tone in Ray's voice indicated anything, it was that they had more than sore arms at the end of the day.
"We lived like that for quite some time actually. Day in and day out only doing as we were told. It was quite a miserable existence, but at least we had a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. But it all went downhill when our foster parents learned about Flo's keen athletic abilities."
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened when she heard that. "Whoa, Florence is an athlete too? Is Dante sporty as well?" She asked enthusiastically. But she realized that she had spoke too soon, and felt something was off when Ray didn't reply with some sort of jab.
"Yeah well our care-takers were just as enthusiastic, though for different reasons. Flo was really, really good for her age. Good enough to compete."
Rainbow thought that would've been a good thing. How could athletic talent ever be a bad thing? The thought was unfeasible
"Why was that a bad thing? Did she not like competing or what?" Rainbow asked curiously.
Ray chuckled lightly and said "Quite the opposite actually. She loved competing. But that was it. For her it was more of a game. Winning never really mattered to her, she was just happy to be seen doing something she loved. The rents however, they were much more keen on victory."
"And they should be! Winning's the greatest! Nothing like squashing the competition!" The spunky rainbow-head exclaimed.
"Yeah, maybe. But that's only if losing didn't mean no dinner, verbal -and on occasion physical abuse. When the stress and pressure gets to a certain point it stops being fun!" Ray unintentionally raised his voice. Though it wasn't directed at the rainbow girl, it definitely didn't look that way to her; and she reeled back a little bit in surprise.
Ray caught on to this and turned his head to face her. "I'm sorry, I wasn't angry at you. Just at the injustice of what Florence had to go through at her age. To be put under that much stress at only the age of twelve..." Rainbow gulped, but visibly relaxed afterwards, crossing her legs to sit and idly grabbing her toes as she stared at the grass.
Ray took a deep breath and sighed, "So that was the breaking point I guess. Florence tried harder to keep winning to try and stave our foster parents' brutality, but the more she won, the more losing became more severe..."
The girl next to him shivered slightly, but Ray continued on with his story.
"One day, she was competing at a big tournament that would determine whether or not she qualified for a sports program that led to the Olympics. The sport was lane swimming by the way.
"Anyways, she ended up losing on the second race. That night was the worst night of my life. The worst night of her life.
"I came downstairs one night because I heard shouting coming from the living room. Our foster dad was shouting at Florence, calling her a failure, worthless trash and all other horrible things. But then he did something unforgivable, something that to this day I curse his name for. When I came down I immediately intervened. The old man was already pushing and shoving, I got a cheap shot to the stomach for getting in between them. But the more I tried to stop him, the worse it got, until finally he did something that I still curse his name for to this day. The bastard clocked Florence right in face, full force. Knocked her cold."
Rainbow's eyes were widened in shock and horror. How anyone could even think about hitting a girl like Florence, the very thought was ludicrous.
"Everything from then on fall off the edge. All I could see was red, and immediately I jumped him, puching him right back in the face. We fought for a while until I finally managed the get him to submit. It must have been the adrenaline, 'cause that man could fight.
"But that night, after the fight when Florence woke up I grabbed her and carried her upstairs. I got Dante too and told them to pack their things. We weren't going to be staying there any longer. It was something I should've done ages ago, but back then I was just a kid. I was still just a kid, but now I knew that we couldn't stay there. It was too dangerous for Flo and Danny.
"And so that's where Rose comes in."
Rainbow Dash's eyes were glossed over with unshed tears. A lump had formed in her throat at the horrifying acts that the young-adult next to her described. How anyone could be so cruel was beyond her. These kinds of things never happened in Equestria. These two worlds were so similar, but at the same time so different.
Rainbow was stunned silent, so all she did was listen intently to Ray's story.
"When we left the house, Rose found me busking in the street -I'd been taught how to play the violin, and I wasn't going to allow my sister or brother to beg- and we struck up a conversation. When she learned about our situation I was completely shocked when she asked if we wanted to stay with her for a while. Until we got back on our feet. It was an offer I just couldn't refuse.
"And so we went and we stayed with her and her mother. Her mother was such a wonderful person. She took us in instantly and without question. Everything was great. We finally had a place to stay; a good place to stay." Ray smiled warmly at the memory.
"Ha, I still remember waking up on Saturdays to pancakes and bacon. And every day me and Rose ended up attending the same high school. She was such a good alarm clock too, always up at six thirty sharp. And don't get me started about when she was eager for the day, no one in the house was asleep by five a.m." Rainbow giggled slightly at Ray's reminiscing. She would've liked to meet this girl.
"But while everything was okay on the outside, we were all still hurting on the inside. We were essentially homeless. Along with the the scars we bore inside and out, we had nowhere to go once our time with Rose and her mother was up. It's not that Rose's mother didn't want us there, we loved her and she loved us back. But she was a single mom working to support four kids. It was a tough burden and we all did what we could, I even got a job in construction, which is why I'm doing that now. But it was never enough.
"But by the time we had to say goodbye, Rose surprised us all by saying that she wanted to come with us. I was seventeen at the time and she was just barely eighteen, so we could rent a place together if we wanted. And so we did. Her reasoning was that she didn't trust me to raise Florence and Dante, so she demanded that she come along.
"I was more than happy to have her come. But Rose had always had a weak immune system, and would often times get sick for long periods of time. That made me nervous to have her working hard to try and raise a little boy and barely teenage girl. I tried to talk her out of it, tried to tell her to stay with her mother and to live a peaceful life. A life she deserved. But she would have none of that. And soon enough, we found ourselves with a new member in misfit family."
A bright grin beamed from Ray's face, and Rainbow couldn't help but smile stupidly along with him.
"Those really were the days. Life with Rose in charge was a new adventure everyday. She had to make a spectacle about everything, from grocery shopping to the beautiful turning of the leafs in the autumn. Everything was bright and sunny for her. Soon she became my sunshine. And things were great. Better than they had ever been before. I was happy. For once in my miserable life, I was truly truly happy.
"But then it happened. One day I came home to find Rose laying limply on the ground with a panicked Florence leaning over her crying out for her to wake up. Immediately I rushed over and looked for a pulse. There was one, but it was rapid and she was sweating terribly. I put my hand to her forehead; she was burning up intensely. It was clear that she was having a bad fever. So we quickly took her to the hospital. Those were the longest hours in my life. But when the doctor came out, he said that she was too far gone. She died that night in my arms..." Ray took a deep, shaky breath.
"I wish you could see the way she puffed out her cheeks whenever she got mad. The sparkle in her eyes when she smiled. They way she would freak out and curse up a storm when she burnt dinner."
Ray was laughing now, a beaming smile showing off his white teeth. But there was something more. Something harder to see. Yes there it was. Rainbow Dash spotted sliding down his cheek, the tell-tale glistening of tears reflecting the late afternoon sun. Ray was, crying? In all her time spent with him, Rainbow didn't even know Ray was capable of the act. But here he was, tears silently falling down his face as he continued to remember all that he wanted to forget.
"The way she blushed when she was complimented, the way she sang in the morning, mischievous grin she wore when she knew she did something bad, the way-" Ray's words were coming out stuttered and scrambled as he fought the lump in his throat.
Rainbow put her arm around his trembling body, and for a few moments they just sat there. It was the most vulnerable Rainbow Dash had ever seen him, but she wasn't going to hold it against him. After all, we've all lost someone dear to us before, and the feeling of having your heart ripped out is a pain that rarely heals.
After a few more minutes, Ray re-composed himself and said "Well that's embarrassing" while wiping his eyes on his sleeve.
Rainbow Dash also had tears in her eyes. Ray's story was too much for her to handle, and the next thing she knew she had grabbed Ray and squeezed him into the tightest embrace her arms could manage. Which was quite a lot. She buried her face in Ray's chest and nuzzled her face in. The two of them stayed that way for quite sometime until Ray nudged Rainbow to get her attention.
"Hey, we gotta go back soon, it's getting late." He said softly. It was true, the sun was starting to kiss the horizon and was painting the world in a yellowy hue. As much as he wanted to stay here with her and watch the sun make it's way to the other side of the world, he knew that Florence would be worried. She always was overprotective, and she was the one he was supposed to be protecting.
"Just a bit longer..." Rainbow complained from withing the depths of his arms. She raised her head to look into Ray's eyes, silently pleading to enjoy the moment for a while longer.
Ultimately Ray rolled his eyes, a smirk on his lips. Rainbow took this as her confirmation and nestled her head back onto his shoulders, staring up at the beautiful night sky.
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A/N: What'dya think?