Fist after fist contacted with her face, blood and tears filling her vision. She curled herself up into a ball, a natural instinct of defense, only to have a hard boot connect with her back, making her clench her jaw in pain.
“How’s it feel, Dash?” a voice like liquid ice found its way through the ringing within Rainbow Dash’s ear, causing only more tears to tumble down her bloodied cheek. “Maybe you’ll think twice before interfering next time, and learn when to SHUT UP!” the sentence ended with another kick to the ribs, making Dash cry out in agony.
A rough hand slammed her head against the wall before footsteps started heading down the opposite direction, leaving Dash crumpled in a misshapen heap of pain and misery. Dash tried to move, tried to make any sound. As she shifted her feet from underneath her, an excruciating pain shot through her ribs and-
Rainbow shot up in her bed, sweat dripping from her whole body. Eyes swiveling around her room rapidly, confused by the familiar, yet strange surroundings. She clenched her bed sheets as her breathing slowly started to decrease from a desperate gasp for air to a slow deep gag for recovery. After fully regaining herself, Rainbow Dash removed herself from her entangled covers and walked up to the full-length mirror that stood on the back of her bedroom door. Hesitantly raising up her white tank top, she inspected the deep blue bruise located on her ribs, locating the area of abuse. Similar bruises could also be found on her thighs and back. Rainbow let out a shaky breath before lowering her top and looking to the clock upon her bedside table.
6:07 a.m.
Was it too early to get up? Yes. Was she going to bother going back to bed? No. Not if it meant more nightmares. The same nightmares that had been haunting her since her first month of the flight academy. Not wanting to recall the horrific abuse any longer than necessary, Dash busied herself by getting ready for the day.
Taking her time in showering and dressing into a slack pair of track-suit bottoms and a plain blue vest top and zip-up hoodie, Dash was out of her apartment by 7:43, making her way over to her old, rusted garage. Unlocking it, she stepped inside, and briefly choked on the collected dust. She switched on the overhead light and smiled proudly.
“Hey, beautiful,” Dash cooed, walking up to her beloved bike and brushing off the gathered dust with her hand. “You miss me, baby?”
She swung her left leg over the light blue vehicle with ease and sighed as it bounced happily under her weight. Sticking the key into the ignition, the bike roared to life with a pleasing purr, making Dash smile widely. Pulling her hair up into a high ponytail with a hair band she always wore on her wrist, she twisted the acceleration and sped off into the early hours of Ponyville.
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“Oh! Why hello Rainbow, dear! It’s good to have you back.” Mrs. Cake smiled warmly at Rainbow Dash as she gingerly entered the bakery and took a seat at one of the small tables.
“Hey there Mrs. Cake. How’ve you been recently? You’re looking good.” The plump young woman’s smile broadened at the compliment as she flattened down her yellow and pink apron.
“Why thank you, Rainbow Dash. I’m very well, dear. The twins have been keeping me and poor Mr. Cake on our toes, though. Ohhh, the little ones are getting so big now!” Mrs. Cake covered her heart with her hands and sighed lovingly.
“Oh yeah, how are the little rascals? How old are they now? Eight months, right?”
“Nine, dear. Ten next month. Oh, it’s a wonder how quickly time passes, isn’t it?” Rainbow laced her fingers together, resting her hands on the table and inspecting them.
“Hehe… yeah…” Mrs. Cake looked like she was about to inquire about Dash’s sudden change of mood when a loud crash sounded from the kitchen, making the cook jump and turn her head towards the sound.
“Pinkie, dear, please be careful with those pans, I don’t want them damaged…” She stared anxiously into the kitchen door, her fingers absently twiddling the beads around her necklace.
“Oopsie! Sorry Mrs. Cake! I’ll be more careful!” Rainbow Dash laughed out loud at the silly girl in the kitchen.
Boy, had she missed Pinkie Pie. She heard Pinkie Pie skipping across the bakery floor, coming to a stop behind the counter. The pink party girl was covered from head to toe in flour and icing, her pink shorts and top barely visible under the layers of purple icing that coated them. A wide smile was plastered across the goofy face of the apprentice and her usually messy hair was, well… messy!
Pinkie Pie spotted Rainbow Dash sitting at the table and by some unknown logic, shot across the room, from the counter to Rainbow, in what seemed like a millisecond. She wrapped her arms around Rainbow Dash’s neck and squeezed her tightly.
“HI DASHIE!” Rainbow gasped for air and patted the crazy girls’ back.
“Ugh, h-hey Pinkie...” She gently pushed Pinkie Pie off her and smiled at her. “Busy in the kitchen?” Pinkie Pie scoffed at this and grinned deviously at Dash.
“Nah! It’s easy-peasy! HEY! You want some pancakes!? I’ve made some extra-spectacularly-delicious syrup that would go amazingly with Mrs. Cake’s pancake recipe!” She jumped up and down gleefully on the spot before whizzing back into the kitchen to prepare Rainbow’s pancakes.
“Um, okay then?” Rainbow Dash shook her head slightly at her unpredictable friend before settling down into the metal chair, placing her hands behind her head.
Ugh, I’m gonna have to get my hair cut, it’s driving me insane. Always in the way… Dash hadn’t been able to get it cut for six months, her being at the flight academy with no such facilities to do so meant that she had no control over it what so ever. ‘I’ll head over to Rarity’s after here to get her to slice her scissors. Maybe I could-
Dash’s thoughts were interrupted when an enticing smell drifted up her nostrils. She inhaled deeply at the pancakes that were being held out in front of her. There looked to be about twelve pancakes stacked up, covered in a delightfully sticky syrup, sugar and various other pieces of candy.
“I call it, Mount Gooey. Mmmmm… “ Pinkie leaned over and inhaled deeply.” Smell it Rainbow, does it look delicious?” Pinkie Pie purred into Dash’s ear as her mouth started to water.
When was the last time she had had pancakes? Or candy? Or anything nice? Six months ago, that’s when.
Rainbow nodded automatically in response to Pinkie’s question, licking her lips, eagerly, her fingers twitching in her lap, wanting nothing more than to just devour this marvelous creation. Pinkie Pie giggled at the sight of her sweets-starved friend and dropped the pancakes onto the table in front of Dash.
“Okay, then. Eeeeenjooooooy!” she insisted in a sing-song tone. She left Dash to eat her creation, returning back to making brownies in the kitchen.
It wasn’t long after that Dash had finished. She burped loudly to show her appreciation and satisfaction, rubbing her full stomach and leaning back in her chair. She swiped the remnants of syrup from her chin with the back of her hand before heaving herself out of the chair. She walked up to the counter where Mrs. Cake was filling up the glass case with the freshly baked brownies.
“Was everything alright for you dear?” She inquired politely as Rainbow Dash happily strode her way over. Leaning onto the surface of the counter, she pulled out a handful of bits and counted them out in her hand.
“It was the best! How much will it be, Mrs. C?” She looked up to the patisserie who smiled warmly at Dash, pushing her hand down.
“On the house, dear. Welcome home.” Rainbow Dash nodded her head and smiled at the woman’s generosity before leaning over the counter slightly to get a look into the kitchen.
“See yah, Pinkie!” Another loud crash came from the back, making both Rainbow Dash and Mrs. Cake wince and roll their eyes.
“Bye, Dashie! Come again soon!” Pinkie didn’t come out the kitchen but a small hand did appear from inside, waving in the general direction of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow bid her final goodbyes to the shop owner before exiting Sugar Cube Corner and gracefully sliding back onto her bike.
It wasn’t a long ride to the Carousel Boutique. She arrived a few minutes later, once again removing herself from her bike. She entered the shop, a small bell chimed, announcing her arrival.
“I’ll be with you in just a moment! I’ve just got to finish up back here! Now, just one more here and…. Done! Oh, sorry about that I’m just working on a new line for the- ah Rainbow Dash! How nice of you to pop by!” Rarity had appeared from one of the purple curtains, tape measure around her neck and red-rimmed glasses balancing on her nose. Rainbow went and sat down on the small stand situated in the center of the room.
“Hey Rare, how do you fancy swinging your scissors? This hair’s annoying the hell out of me.” She sat down, crossed legged and yanked her hair out of the pony tail, wrapping the band around her wrist.
“WHHAAAT!? Rainbow, darling, why on earth would you want to cut it off? It looks simply marvelous!” Rarity went and stood behind Rainbow, ruffling out her multi-colored mess. Rainbow Dash flinched under Rarity’s sudden touch but didn’t protest.
“I prefer it short, it doesn’t get in the way as much.” She shrugged slightly as Rarity’s sleek, smooth pale fingers laced their way over Rainbow’s scalp, sending shivers down the flier’s spine.
“Hmm…How short?”
“Shorter” Rarity sighed dramatically at her friend’s vague answer and removed her hands from Rainbow Dash’s hair, much to her secret disappointment.
She turned her head to see Rarity staring at her intensely, her forefinger and thumb rubbing her chin, her mouth pouting in thought.
“What?” Rainbow questioned, not liking the way Rarity was gazing at her.
“What can I do with you…” Rarity mumbled quietly to herself. “We could always curl it? No, no, that won’t work. What about layers? Hmm…” Rarity gracefully walked around Rainbow, coming face to face with her.
She lifted up Rainbow Dash’s chin, trying to get a better point of view at a different angle. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and pulled away from Rarity’s touch.
“Ugh, alright I’ll do it myself,” She went to one of Rarity’s cabinets and pulled out a pair of scissors. She grabbed one section of her hair and placed the scissors just below her ears.
“NO!!!”
SSSNIP!
Rainbow grasped the large chunk of hair she had just cut off and placed it onto the top of the cabinet before grabbing another section and repeating the action. Several minutes later and her hair was now just down past her ears. She shook her now short hair with her fingers to get rid of any loose bits and stood before to Rarity, who seemed to have been frozen in place. Her mouth was open in a mid-scream, her eyes wide and staring at Rainbow Dash, both of her hands reached out towards her in a 'STOP!' action. Rainbow Dash laughed at her fashionista friend before gathering up all her hair and walking back to Rarity.
“Aw, relax, Rare,” She chuckled, tickling Rarity under her nose with her Rainbow locks, seemingly snapping Rarity back into the modern day. Rarity sneezed loudly before turning to Rainbow Dash in shock. “Gesundheit. Hey, maybe you can use these,” Rainbow Dash gestured to her decapitated Rainbow by lifting them up slightly, drawing Rarity’s attention, “in one of your designs or something.”
Rainbow winked at her friend to indicate she was joking but Rarity didn’t seem to notice. Instead, her face lit up with joy as she raced towards Dash, snatching the hair out of her hand.
“What an excellent idea, Rainbow! This is just the finishing touch I was looking for! Oh, it will go so well with the pattern…” Rarity’s voice trailed off as she stepped back behind her curtain. Deciding to leave Rarity to work her magic, Rainbow Dash left the shop quietly.
It was a few hours before Dash returned to her quiet apartment. After Rarity’s, she had gone to fetch her pet tortoise, Tank from Fluttershy’s who had then invited her in for tea. Afterwards, she had headed over to Golden Oak Library to see Twilight, who had loaned her the two new Daring Do books that had come out whilst she was away. Twilight and Rainbow had then gone on to have a total geek-out over who was the more cunning; Dr. Caballeron or Daring Do. This lasted a few hours before they both agreed that Daring Do was no match for anybody else, of course.
Once Rainbow Dash arrived back home, she placed her precious motorbike into her garage and locked it up before stepping into the warmth of her own home and kicking off her boots. She placed the Daring Do books onto her table and gently lowered Tank to the floor where he went about slowly, very slowly, exploring his old home, which he had not seen in six months either. Rainbow Dash flopped down onto her couch and listened to the silence around her. Fifteen minutes later, Dash was putting her boots and jacket back on and was running out of her door. She didn’t bother with her motorbike, she simply ran down the road, towards Sweet Apple Acres.
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The sun had nearly set once she arrived, sending a convivial glow across the vast fields that lay ahead of her. The smell of apples intrigued Dash as she walked up the dirt path to the farm. She walked through the field in search of her farmer friend, easily remembering her way through the orchard. Rainbow Dash stuck her hands into the pockets of her jeans, enjoying the familiar smell and atmosphere. Dash was so caught up in the moment, she almost didn't notice the abandoned wheelbarrow sitting idly in the middle of her path.
Upon seeing it, a strange sense of Deja-vu washed over her, sending an icy chill all over her. To her relief, she discovered Applejack sat under one of her trees, not in the hay barn. Applejack sat with one leg laid flat, the other drawn up closer to her body. Her Stetson hung low over her face, shielding her eyes from the bright, orange glow of the evening sun. A length of grass hung from her mouth, moving slowly as she chewed on it.
Smiling, Dash grabbed two apples from the wheelbarrow and went to join Applejack under the tree. On hearing the approach of another, AJ lifted her hat slightly to see who it was. The person that sat next to her was Rainbow Dash, an apple in each hand. She smiled genuinely upon seeing her friend and when offered, she took the apple from Rainbow’s hand.
“Hey there, Sugarcube.”
“Hey, AJ. How you been?” Rainbow took a bite from the deliciously juicy apple, slurping as a bit of juice escaped her mouth. Applejack smiled before spitting out the grass and nudging her old friend playfully, keeping her head down, still hidden.
“I’m…er…alright, thank yah kindly. What about you?” She quickly took the conversation away from her, trying to avoid looking at Dash. Unfortunately, Dash was quick to catch on.
“Hey, what’s up?” Turning her body more to Applejack, Rainbow noticed Applejack lowering her head even more, as if to hide her face from Rainbow Dash.
Something was definitely up.
“Have… have I done something wrong?” She squeaked, worried the answer would be yes.
“No! No, it ain’t you, Rainbow. It’s just…” Applejack trailed off fidgeting slightly.
Rainbow Dash could see her biting her lip… and also… Rainbow couldn’t be sure if it was the shadow of her Stetson but… Dash quickly swiped the hat from the farmers head and looked at her face. Applejack was too slow to react, Rainbow could now see her face in full view. Gasping loudly at what she saw, Rainbow grabbed Applejack’s chin and turned her head to get a better look at the big purple bruise located under her eye.
“Applejack….What the…?” Applejack couldn’t look Rainbow in the eye, so instead, she looked straight ahead and continued to as Rainbow closely inspected the nasty mark on her face.
Rainbow gingerly ran a thumb over the bruise, feeling Applejack’s sensitive skin underneath it. “How… What happened?” she whispered quietly, almost to herself.
Tears started to brim in Applejack’s eyes and when one fell onto Rainbow’s thumb, she wiped it away and turned Applejack’s head so she had to look her in the eye.
“What happened?” she repeated, pleading the farmer to tell her, worry written all over her face.
Unable to hold them back anymore, tears poured down Applejack’s face, a loud sob escaping her lips. Falling into the open arms of her friend, Applejack wrapped her arms around Rainbow’s stomach, placing her head on her chest.
“Shhh, hey, it’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here. Don’t worry, I’ve got you…” Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her sobbing friend, her cheek resting on the top of AJ’s blonde head.
They sat like this for a while, Applejack crying into Rainbow’s jacket as she offered soft words of comfort and protection. Neither girl worried about time, or the cold, or the moon which now sat low in the sky, slowly rising as Luna brought on the dark night. Once Applejack’s crying had settled down to an occasional whimper, Rainbow Dash squeezed her friend tightly and lightly kissed the top of her head. Giving her back another soothing rub, Rainbow Dash pulled Applejack up into a sitting position and wiped away any remaining tears with the sleeve of her jacket, being particularly gentle under her right eye, the bruised eye. She pushed the loose strands of hair out of Applejack’s face affectionately before smiling sadly at her.
“You wanna talk about it?” She offered, stroking Applejack’s cold arms. AJ sniffled once more before meeting the eyes of her dear friend.
“Can we not? Not yet, anyway. A-ahm not ready just yet. C-can we cuddle some more?” She wrapped her arms around herself, the cold night air sending chills down her arms. “Ah-Ah like it when we cuddle. It’s… nice…” Rainbow Dash nearly started crying herself then.
The strong, stubborn Applejack was asking to cuddle with her. Something bad had happened. And it wasn’t that hard to guess either. A bruise like that? Dash knew what a hit looked like, and that was it. Right now, what Applejack needed most was a friend. Rainbow Dash pulled on Applejack’s arm, pulling her back into a hug. Applejack settled her head down onto Rainbow Dash’s lap, feeling the comfort of her soft trousers. She pulled her arms in close and nuzzled against Rainbow Dash, who wrapped one arm around Applejack whilst the other played with a loose strand of the straw-like hair. She leaned back against the hard bark of the tree, offering soft words of consolation now and then. They fell asleep together that night. Just two friends holding onto each other like their world depended on it.
One was broken, while the other was shattered.