//------------------------------// // Just like the good ol' days // Story: Apple Skies // by Dynasty-Kaine //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash placed two cups of steaming coffee onto her dining table, taking a seat on one of the three chairs as she listened to the sound of the running shower. Taking a big gulp of the hot liquid, Rainbow Dash ran the events of the previous evening over in her mind. Applejack and herself had slept under the apple tree all night, waking up as the sun began to rise over the orchard. Applejack had said she hadn’t wanted to head back to the farm so Rainbow Dash had kindly offered to allow Applejack to stay at hers for as long as she wanted to. Rainbow was going to head back to the farm in a short while to collect a few of Applejack’s belongings; just to keep her going for a week or so. The sound of the running shower stopped abruptly, making Rainbow Dash perk up in her seat. The door that separated her small living room to her even smaller bathroom opened not long after, a blast of steam pouring through the small doorway, revealing a tired looking Applejack wearing some tracksuit bottoms and a plain black top that Rainbow Dash let her borrow. She stepped out of the mist, hand drying her long blonde hair with her towel. She cast Rainbow Dash a half smile before plonking herself down on the chair opposite her. Dash released her breathe, which she hadn’t realized she had been holding, and hesitantly smiled back at her friend. Dash took a long look at the bulging bruise under Applejack’s left eye, the way it stood out against the farmer’s pale skin, the way it encircled her whole eye, the majority of the bruise below it, it was awful. Rainbow Dash’s view of the bruise was broken as Applejack rubbed her tired eyes, being careful not to touch the delicate area surrounding her left eye. Rainbow took another drink of her coffee, liking the bitter taste upon her tongue. “Ah’m sorry ‘bout this, Rainbow. It-It won’t be for too long. Jus’ until I get ma head all cleared up. I jus’ need time to think some things over before I head on home… Is that okay with you?” Applejack’s sad eyes met Rainbow’s, her own pain and sadness reflecting into hers. “Of course it is, AJ. You can stay here for as long as you want. You wanna talk about what happened?” Rainbow inquired quietly, not wanting to frighten Applejack into not telling her. Nervously biting her lip, Applejack rubbed her hands together in her lap, not meeting the flyers’ eyes. “Ah-Ah don’t know… It’s all a bit… um… fuzzy…” Applejack’s eyes flickered slightly, indicating the truthful farmers’ lie. “Besides, it dun’t matter, really. Not much to say… Jus’… an accident, s’ppose…” Jeez, was she a bad liar… Truth be told, Rainbow felt a little bit hurt that her friend didn’t seem to trust her with the truth, for the second time. Leaning over the small dining table, Rainbow Dash lifted up Applejack’s face so she was looking at her. “Don’t lie to me, AJ. I just want to help.” Looking deep into the apple pickers’ eyes, Rainbow Dash released Applejack’s chin and crossed her arms on the table. Her farmer friend sighed deeply, looking down at Dash’s arms, absentmindedly inspecting the faint bruises that were dotted along her arms. “Ah’m sorry, Sugarcube, It’s just, ah never thought Ah’d ever have a conversation like this. Ah never thought it would happen… Ah…” tears brimmed at Applejack’s eyes, her voice cracking as a small sob started up her throat. Rainbow rose from her seat, grabbed Applejack’s hand and pulled her over to the small blue couch located in front of the apartment window. She tucked her legs under herself and sat Applejack next to her, directly facing her. She smiled sadly, encouraging her friend to continue what she was saying. Taking a shaky breath, Applejack wiped the back of her hand against her still damp forehead and looked at Dash. “Yesterday afternoon, ah came back from the orchard to drop off ma apples in the barn when I heard Caramel shoutin’ inside the house. Ah went in to see what the hay was going on and ah saw him telling off Applebloom and her friends. Apparently they had been up to no good and had been messin’ ‘round with his pick-up. He had a bottle of whisky in his hand and was shoutin’ very nasty things to them. Ah was worried he was gonna do somethin’ he was gonna regret so ah went up to him and told him to leave it be, that ah’d take care of it. He told me not to interfere, that he was gonna give these girls the what for." “Applebloom was cryin’ and Sweetie Belle was shakin’, ah didn’t like where this was going so ah told him to back off. He got angry and told me to go away. He started walkin’ towards the girls so ah stepped in front of him. Oh, Rainbow... his eyes… ah had never seen that look in him before… H-he looked ‘bout ready to kill me! Ah pushed him back, away from the girls, told them to go and find Granny Smith. Once they had left, ah asked what the hay he was thinkin’. He told me it didn’t concern me, that it was none of my business. Ah argued with him then, tellin’ him that it was too my business, Applebloom being my little sister, ah was the one to tell them off, not him! W-we argued some more and then suddenly… s-suddenly he… he…” Rainbow engulfed Applejack into a hug as tears started to roll down her cheeks. She didn’t need to hear anymore, and she wouldn’t make Applejack say anymore either. ------------------------------------------ Thirty minutes later... Rainbow Dash was heading down the dirt road to the farm. She approached the front door of the Apple family house and rapped on it loudly. Granny Smith came to the door some time later, apparently shocked to see Rainbow Dash. “Oh, why hello there young girl! What can ah do ya fer?” She smiled a gummy smile at the flyer, but there was a look of sadness in her eyes, they were red like she had been crying, possibly over Applejack not coming home last night. Note to self; tell Granny Smith of Applejack’s location later. Rainbow made a mental reminder to herself before looking sternly at the old lady. “Is Caramel,” She began, the name spitting off her tongue like poison from a snake “home? Me and him need to have a small chat.” Granny’s face instantly turned sour at the sound of the name. “Oh… him… He’s over in the hay barn. Now, if you’ll ‘cuse me, ah have some very important... eh… stuff to do. Bye now.” The door slammed in Rainbow’s face, making her jump back slightly. Setting her eyes on the hay barn located just around the corner, she started towards it, determined to do what she had come here to do. She walked up to the doors of the hay barn and knocked loudly. A few seconds later, a begrudged looking Caramel opened the wooden door, hay entangled into his brown hair messily. On seeing the jet flyer, Caramel instantly stepped back from the door and opened it, allowing Rainbow access. “Yeah, yeah, I know, you’ve come here to beat me to a pulp because of what happened with Applejack, right?” He rolled his eyes, his voice set in a bored tone. He stuck his hands into his scruffy jeans and looked at Rainbow with disinterest. Right then and there, Rainbow Dash should have beaten him to a pulp. She should have gotten revenge on him for hurting AJ like he did. Six months ago, she would have. Not now. “No, I wanna know what happened. Why did you hit her?” She too, stuck her hands into her pockets and leaned against the door frame of the barn door. “What’s to tell? I was drunk, I was angry, she was all up in my face so I hit her.” He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, like it was an everyday thing. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to say? No big explanation or excuse to try and cover up your jerk ass?” Rainbow’s voice raised slightly, annoyed at how modest he was being. Caramel shrugged again, not fazed by Rainbow Dash’s voice raising. “Aren’t you at least sorry? You’re just gonna do that and not even be sorry for it?” Caramel rolled his eyes at Rainbow Dash, turning them on her angrily. “Of course I’m sorry, idiot! I never meant to hurt her! There’s a big difference between not being sorry and knowing there’s no point denying it. Of course I’m sorry, I love her for Luna’s sake!” Rainbow Dash’s gut did a little flip at his words, hating the very sound of them. Caramel noticed her reaction and scoffed at her. “You know what I find hilarious, Rainbow Dash?” He started to saunter over to Rainbow slowly, his eyes filled with humor. “What’s funny is the fact that you can’t even admit your own feelings, yet you despise anyone else who does.” Rainbow’s heart raced in her chest, her eyes locking with Caramel, shock filling her system How did he know that I… “What are you talking about?” Rainbow turned away from him and went to head out of the door, only to be stopped by a hand grasping tightly onto her upper arm, making her flinch as memories of other hands contacting with her body flashed in her mind. Turning back to Caramel, she saw an anger so raw in his eyes that it paralyzed Dash to the spot. Making her unable to move, unable to look away from him. “If you do anything, anything, to jeopardize what me and Applejack have, I swear to Celestia I will ruin everything you have.” He spat the words at Dash, fear spreading through her as the voice reminded her of the gruff voice from her time at the academy. Caramel’s soft voice had changed to the one that belonged to her abuser, harsh, sour and angry, always angry. Snapping herself out of the trance of fear, Dash yanked her arm from Caramel’s grip and backed away from him, eyes not leaving him. “Don’t worry, I won’t need to. You’ve done that on your own just fine.” She ambled down the path then, turning her back on the angry farmer. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to keep her cool until she turned around the corner of the house where she lent up against the side of the house and slid down to sit on the green grass. As shaky sobs racked her body, she put her face in her hands and tried to gain control of her fear. The sudden reminiscence of the flight academy had been too much, impacting her greatly, breaking the jet pilot down to tears. ‘I can’t go on like this, I-I need to get a grip. Stop it, stop remembering and just block it out! Control it, control the fear, damn it!’ “Rainbow?” A small, high pitched voice reached her ears, making her look up. Applebloom stood just in front of her, a bucket of water in her right hand, a towel in the other, her eyes full of concern and confusion. “A-are you okay?” Taking a gulp of the apple flavored air that surrounded her, Rainbow Dash nodded uncertainly, not sure what to say to the young crusader. Applebloom placed down the bucket and sat down against the house next to Rainbow Dash. Handing her the towel, Rainbow Dash wiped her wet face, her heart starting to slow down simply due to the presence of the young girl. “Is ma sister gonna be staying with you fer a while?" Applebloom pulled in her legs, resting her head on her bare dirty knees. "Ah saw what happened yesterday… Me, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo did…” Clearing her throat Rainbow Dash wiped her face again before placing her hands in her lap. “Y-yeah, she’s gonna be staying with me for a little bit. Is that okay with you?” She turned to Applebloom who nodded slightly in reply. Rainbow Dash considered asking Applebloom if she wanted to go see Applejack, but decided against it after contemplating how Applebloom might react on seeing her sister’s face. “Why were ya cryin’? Ah don’t think ah’ve ever seen ya cry like that before…” queried the young farmer as she absentmindedly pulled at chunks of the green grass beneath them. “I-It was nothing. I’m just… w-worried about Applejack. She’s hurting pretty bad, you know?” Rainbow Dash wiped her nose with the back of her hand before standing up, sticking her shaking hands in her pockets. “I’m gonna head back to my place, see if AJ is alright. But can you do me a favor first?” Applebloom stood up as well, picking up her bucket and towel. “Sure. What is it?” “Can you grab me a few things of Applejack’s, just some clothes and stuff? I’ll take them with me. Oh, and can you also mention to Granny Smith where AJ’s staying? No doubt she’s probably worried sick.” She started to walk towards the door of the farmhouse, Applebloom close on her heels. Dropping the bucket and towel next to the door, Applebloom stepped inside and ran up the staircase leading to the second floor of the house, telling Rainbow to wait for a moment. A few minutes later and the young adventurer returned with an overnight bag stuffed with clothes and a few other belongings of her sister’s. Thanking Applebloom, Rainbow Dash left the house and headed back in the direction of her apartment block. Thoughts of everything that had gone on in the past six months rattling inside her brain. Would they ever just leave her be? ------------------------------------------ “Ya’ll ready to go?” Applejack handed the light blue backpack to Rainbow Dash as she finished slipping on the leather jacket over the top of her Wonderbolt uniform. Taking the backpack from the waiting farmer, Dash slipped it onto her back and opened her front door, leading out into the apartment block hall on the third floor. “Just about. So I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Dash asked turning to Applejack who stood in the doorway to her apartment, leaning against the door frame. She smiled at her flying friend genuinely before stepping away from the door and wrapping her arms around her. “O’course ya will! Ah can’t wait to finally be able to see you perform as a Wonderbolt! You must be over the moon!” Applejack thought she felt Rainbow Dash’s shoulders slump a little so she pulled away to take a look at her friend. Rainbow Dash seemed to have a genuine smile on her face, but something seemed off about her features. She seemed almost disappointed. Brushing it off for nerves, Applejack lightly patted Rainbow on the shoulder and smiled right into Dash’s eyes, instantly seeing the ‘nerves’ dissipate as her good friend returned the grin. “Ya’ll be safe now, ya hear?” She smirked at Rainbow Dash, who mirrored her expression with humor. “Of course! Oh, hey, don’t forget, you have VIP passes so make sure you and the gals head straight backstage to see me before we load up, alright?” Applejack gave a quick nod of comprehension, still half smirking, half smiling at the high flyer in front of her. “Okay, well, I better get going; don’t wanna miss the train. Catch ya later, AJ!” Applejack waved after Rainbow as she headed down the staircase of the apartment block. “Would ya believe it? She finally got 'er dream.” ------------------------------------------ “Dash, you’re late.” Rainbow Dash quickly jogged over to where the ten other members of the Wonderbolts were stood to attention in front of a stern looking Spitfire. Quickly removing her jacket, Rainbow slung it over onto a bench situated in the middle of the changing room along wither her backpack where the Wonderbolts stood. “Sorry, ma’am, my train got delayed and I-“ “I don’t wanna hear excuses. Just stand to attention and listen.” Mumbling an apology, Rainbow Dash hastily stood next to the Wonderbolt named Misty Fly and focusing her eyes forward, lifted up her chin. She placed both her arms parallel down to her sides and pushed back her shoulders, locking her booted heel together in a military fashion. “Now, like I was saying, I don’t want to hear any whining or complaining about how inconvenient this tour is. This tour is essential to our public image. We are representing Cloudsdale in the annual Peace Festival. Now would someone remind me what’s so special about this particular festival.” Rainbow heard someone hit their foot hard against the tile floor, turning her eyes sideways, Dash could see Soarin had left his ‘attention’ position to have separated his feet to line up with his shoulders, his toned right arm was lifted high into the air whilst his left was placed behind his back, the elbow bent to make a sideways V shape with his arm, his hand clenched, resting against his lower back. Spitfire acknowledged Soarin, prompting him to speak up. “The Annual Peace Festival is the celebration in which we rejoice in Princess Celestia’s rule and the peace she bestows upon Equestria. Er- Ma’am!” Smiling to himself, Soarin resumed his previous position of attention, obviously proud of his explanation. Spitfire simply raised a brow at the second-in-command, just as much stunned at his irregular use of vocabulary as everyone else was. Regaining her composure, Spitfire started to pace in front of her flying team. “Exactly. So, does anyone know what that means?” When no one seemed to know the answer, Spitfire stopped in front of Dash and looked right into her eyes. “Do not. Fuck. This. Up.” ------------------------------------------ Rainbow Dash slung her backpack up onto the top bunk of the bunk beds before hanging her jacket over the banister of it. Just as she was about to clamber up the metal stairs, the door to her dorm opened revealing Misty Fly, Fleetfoot and another new recruit named Wingspan. Frozen in place, Dash watched as the three Wonderbolts stepped into the small room which contained two bunk beds, one on either side. Dash continued to watch them as they inspected the sleeping space, backpacks and overnight bags slung casually over their shoulders. Fleetfoot threw her own overnight bag onto the opposite top bunk as Misty Fly pushed hers onto the bottom bunk underneath Fleetfoot’s bunk. Wingspan timidly scooted past Dash and plopped herself down onto the bunk underneath Dash’s upper bunk. Still frozen in place, Rainbow Dash’s heart rate kicked up a notch as Fleetfoot and Misty Fly shared a knowing look before directing their attention to Dash. They sauntered their way over to her and each placed a hand on one of her shoulders, making Dash instantly tense under their touch. “So Dash, you miss us?” The raspy voice of Fleetfoot asked mockingly making Rainbow Dash let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, miss us? We certainly missed you” Misty Fly commented sarcastically, her hot breath tickling Rainbow’s ear. “Still remember what we taught you? Or do you need another lesson?” Rainbow Dash felt their hands tighten on her shoulders, their touch paralyzing her even further, soft whimpers escaping her lips, not quite audible to the ears of her bullies. And that’s exactly what they were. Bullies. Simply there to punish those who stood as a threat to their position and strength. Fleetfoot removed her hand from Dash’s shoulder to grab her chin, painfully turning her head so she was looking directly at her. Dash closed her eyes, as not to look into the sharp green eyes, afraid of what she would see. “Answer us!” Dash worked up enough will power to open her eyes, still not looking at Fleetfoot, but looking down at Wingspan who sat peering at Dash with sympathy. Looking into the eyes of the recruit who was even newer than she was, Dash opened her mouth and spoke. “I don’t need another lesson, thanks.” Before Dash had even finished whispering her sentence, she felt a blow to the stomach, making her double over with a slight cry. As soon as she had made a move to recover, Fleetfoot grabbed her by her short hair and pulled her over to the wall at the top end of the bunk beds, swinging her around and bashing her back against it, making Dash’s head slam quite hard against the wall. Pulling her close by her uniform, Fleetfoot whispered humorously into Dash’s ear. “I see you still got a bit of attitude, huh? Maybe you haven’t been fully taught after all,” Slapping Rainbow across the face, Fleetfoot laughed before turning around and facing Misty Fly “What d’ya think, Fly? Think we should educate her a little more?” In response to this, Misty Fly strolled over to Dash, looking her in the eye briefly before grabbing her shoulders and kneeing her in her stomach, making her double over once again. Misty kicked Rainbow’s feet from underneath her, making her fall to the ground before kicking her square in the face, making her tilt sideways as Fleetfoot started to join in on the abuse, continuously kicking her in the stomach as Misty lifted up Dash’s bloody face by her hair and punched it, making even more blood flow from Rainbow’s nose. Wingspan covered her face with her pillow, attempting to block out the pain filled cries of Rainbow Dash and the grunts of effort from Fleetfoot and Misty Fly. She was not going to interfere, the last time she did, she had gotten the same treatment. Maybe not as bad, but still, it was not something she would want to experience for a second time. So she lay there, tears running down her pink cheeks as the sounds of Rainbow’s cries reverberated around the room, making Wingspan flinch. “This’ll teach you, you’ll be fucking sorry by the end of this.” Wingspan pressed her pillow harder to her ear, trying to block out Fleetfoot’s harsh words. A small cry escaped the young girl’s lips as the sound of something hitting the wall reached her trough the pillow. The sound of flying fists stopped for a moment, the only sound coming from a whimpering Rainbow Dash. Suddenly, Wingspan’s pillow was removed from her head by a heated looking Misty Fly. She grabbed the new flyer by the back of her neck and hoisted her up to meet her gaze, making her gasp in shock. “You have something you wanna say, little girl?” She snarled in Wingspan’s face, making her wince slightly before promptly shaking her head. With a small hmph, Misty dropped Wingspan back onto her bed and headed back to Rainbow Dash, for the ‘lesson’ to continue. Wingspan accidently looked at Rainbow Dash to see she was looking directly at Wingspan from her place on the floor, her head slightly lifted covered in blood and dirt, a small puddle of the monochrome flyer’s blood was gathering under her face. Fleetfoot’s boot broke their eye contact as it connected to Rainbow’s chin, throwing her whole body backwards. Wingspan resumed her position curled up, her pillow now discarded on the floor by Misty Fly, she tried to block out the slowly quieting cries of Rainbow Dash and the laughter and grunts from Misty and Fleet. Another few minutes passed before Wingspan heard the dorm room door open and then close, leaving a sobbing Rainbow Dash on the floor. “Ugh- Wi- Wingspan...” Rainbow whispered in a husky voice, attempting to lift her body up, only to collapse once more to the floor in a spasm of pain. “P-please… hel…” Her voice died off as unconsciousness took over, sending Dash into a dreamless state, one side of her face resting in a constantly growing pool of her own blood. Wingspan did nothing. She just lay there. Listening to the unsteady breathing of her fellow Wonderbolt. She did not help. She only listened. ------------------------------------------ Rainbow Dash winced as the warm shower water dribbled over her bleeding and bruised face, washing all the blood and muck away. She’d woken up alone in her room, no sign of any of the three other Wonderbolts ever being there. She stepped out of running shower and grabbed a towel, turning off the shower by the chord that hung from the small bathroom ceiling. Catching a glimpse of herself in the small mirror, she saw that she numerous cuts located all over her face with a few bruises to go with them. Stepping back, she could see her rib cage and stomach were severely bruised along with the tops of her legs. Damn. They really went all out this time… Rainbow gingerly dressed herself into her Wonderbolt uniform, being sure to go careful around her mid-section. Before heading down into the small mess room located on the Canterlot Wonderbolt Barracks. As she stepped into the room, there was no sign of Fleetfoot or Misty Fly. Currently in the mess room was Soarin, Spitfire, Blaze, Silver Lining, Rapidfire and… Wingspan. Rainbow Dash looked away from the young flyer, who was currently eating a protein bar whilst reading a book and headed to the other end of the mess hall, to the vending machines. Soarin watched intently as the Rainbow haired Wonderbolt seemed to stagger over to the vending area. He noticed the way she covered her stomach with her right arm, like she was about to be sick, the way she was hunched over and the numerous cuts and bruises on her face. “Hey, Spit?” He addressed his Captain and friend who was sat opposite him, reading a magazine. “Ya-huh?” She mumbled in response. Soarin leaned in close to her and entwined his fingers on his knees. “I think there might be something going on with Rainbow Dash. She looks like she’s being… well you know…” He prompted in a hushed voice, as not to be heard by anyone who may be listening in. “Erm… yeah… what?” Soarin pulled the magazine from Spitfire’s hands, getting only a little protest before Spitfire crossed her arms and leaned back against the hard wooden chair upon which she was sat on. “What, Soarin?” “Look!” He gestured with his head to Rainbow Dash who was currently resting her forehead against the vending machines, clutching her side in what appeared to be pain. Spitfire turned back to Soarin with a confused look on her face. “What?” “She looks hurt!” “Well, yeah…” Spitfire rolled her eyes and tried to snatch back her magazine, to which Soarin dodged her grab and threw the magazine on the floor behind him, earning an agitated sigh from Spitfire. “What do you mean ‘well yeah’?” Spitfire simply shrugged, sucking on her bottom lip. “Do you know something?” “Yeah… Fleetfoot and Misty Fly have been giving Dash a bit of a hard time is all.” Soarin gaped at his Captain, shocked at her heartlessness. Soarin knew Spitfire outside of being a Captain, and to be this uncaring about a fellow teammate being harmed was not the Spitfire had come to know. “Wha- why don’t you stop them!? You know we don’t allow fighting on the team!” Spitfire shrugged again, not meeting Soarin’s eyes. “I told them to do it.” “WHAT!?” Soarin stood up from his seat, earning the attention of everyone else in the room. Quickly, he sat back down and brought himself face-to-face with Spitfire. “What do you mean you, 'told them to'?” He hissed, surely he had heard her wrong. “I don’t know. She was being too cocky, trying to own the squad. So I simply told Fleet and Misty to show her who's boss.” Soarin simply shook his head. Disgusting. He got up and left the room. This was not the Spitfire he knew. Not at all… ------------------------------------------ The roar of the crowd could be heard from the changing rooms. The first show of the tour was two hours away and the show ground was already filled to the rim of people coming far and wide to watch the spectacle flight show of the Wonderbolts. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight weaved their way through the waves of people in search of the private changing rooms where Rainbow Dash told them to come straight to. Finding the private quarters wasn’t too hard since that is where most of the crowd stood, hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrities. Applejack pushed her way to the front of the crowd, followed by her friends and handed over her VIP badge to the security guard situated in front of the door. After inspecting each badge carefully, he grunted loudly and gestured for the group to follow him. He opened the door and let the girls slide inside first before coming in after them, attempting half successfully to hold back the screaming fans. Once the door was slammed shut, he walked down a long corridor, the girls in pursuit not far behind him. They chatted excitedly about the show as they entered what they presumed was a lounge room for the flyers. In the room were the twelve members of the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash included. On hearing the sound of approaching people, Rainbow Dash turned her head to the door and to her delight, found her friends excitedly looking around the room for her. “Girls!” She hurriedly rushed over to them and was instantly engulfed in a big group hug. “I am so glad you could make it before the show!” As she pulled away from the group, she was shocked to see them all gawking at her in a mix confusion, sadness and curiosity. “Um, Rainbow Dash?” The timid voice of her dear friend Fluttershy drew her attention. As she turned to face her, Fluttershy flinched back slightly. Rainbow Dash could guess why. “Um, what… happened to your face?” Yup, there it was. Rainbow Dash had tried her best to cover up the bruises and cuts on her face with concealer but they were still quite obvious. She didn’t want to tell her friends what they were really from, it would only worry them. Knowing Twilight, she would probably try and convince Rainbow Dash to either say something or leave. She didn’t want to do either. “Ahh, it’s nothing, I fell down the stairs this morning and my face got the worst of it. Still look as sexy as ever though, right?” She ruffled her hair jokingly, hoping that her simple lie was enough to fool them. All of her friends rolled their eyes, calling Rainbow out on her clumsiness. “Hey, you guys better go get your seats, we’ll be starting our warm up before the show soon.” They all gave Rainbow one last hug wishing her good luck before heading off to find their seats in the VIP section. Rainbow Dash was about to head back to the chair where she had been sat when a voice made her stop. “Hey, Rainbow.” She turned round to see Applejack stood in the doorway the others had just exited out of. Turning back to her friend, she smiled genuinely but it soon faltered once she saw Applejack’s gruff expression. Applejack walked up to Rainbow Dash and grabbed her chin, inspecting her face carefully, much like Rainbow Dash had done with Applejack after the Caramel incident. Applejack’s bruise was now a mere shadow under her eye, having nearly cleared up completely. “Wh-What’s up, AJ?” “These don’t look all too fresh.” She peered closer at a bruise on Rainbow’s right cheek. “You said this happened this morning, yet they look at least a day old if you ask me.” Rainbow thought for a moment, desperately searching for a new excuse, “O-oh, did I say this morning? Ahhh, I meant last night. Sorry, my mistake, hehe…” Applejack stared sternly into her eyes, raising an eyebrow slightly. Releasing Rainbow’s face, she stepped back and folded her arms. “Ah don’t believe you.” “You--what? Why? I-It’s the truth!” Applejack’s face didn’t falter at all, the stern expression fixed in place, making Dash uncomfortable. Rainbow Dash couldn’t look at her friend any longer, she hated lying to them. Especially when it came to Applejack. She turned away from her friend and headed over to the vending machine which was positioned to her left. She busied herself by looking at the contents inside. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her to the side, dragging her out of site of the other Wonderbolts. “What’s the big idea, Applejack?” the farmer pushed Rainbow up against the wall, making Dash cry out at the impact on her sore back. Seeing her pain and discomfort, Applejack’s eyes softened a little, worry filling her more than irritation. “What’s really going on, Rainbow? Ya know you can talk to me ‘bout anything.” She spoke softly, placing a hand under Rainbow’s chin, caressing her lower cheek, sending static all over Rainbow’s body at the slight touch. Looking into the eyes of her friend, Rainbow Dash knew she couldn’t lie to her anymore. She just couldn’t! “I’m… I’m just having a bit of trouble with a couple of girls on the squad. It’s nothing major, just a bit of a disagreement.” She looked into her friend’s green eyes, desperate to tell her how bad it really was. But she still couldn’t. Not if it meant possibly losing her position as a Wonderbolt. Applejack sighed and rubbed her eyes like she hadn’t slept in days. She looked back at her friend, properly seeing her for the first time since she had got here. The individual bruises on her face, the tired look in her eyes, the lack of colour in her cheeks, she looked truly ruined. “Rainbow Dash… y'all need ta tell someone. If this is a constant thing, ya can’t let it jus’ carry on.” “N-no! I-I can’t let anyone on the squad know! I could get kicked off for it! Fighting’s not allowed in the group, no matter if it’s you being beaten or you beating, they don’t care! You fight and you’re out! They can’t ever know, Applejack! Ever!” The begging look in Rainbow’s eyes was enough to tear Applejack in two. She didn’t want to do this, but if her friend was being hurt, she wasn’t going to just sit by and let it happen. “Rainbow Dash! Ah won’t stand by and let my friend be beaten like that! Ah know the Wonderbolts mean a lot to ya, Rainbow, but you mean more to me. Ah won’t stand by and watch you get hurt.” Applejack made a move towards the remaining Wonderbolts in the lounge area only to be pulled back by Rainbow Dash whose eyes were tearing up slightly, begging Applejack not to say anything. “Please, please don’t do this, AJ!” Applejack looked from the loitering Wonderbolts’ back to her friend, then back to the Wonderbolts. She couldn’t do it. She just couldn’t do that to Rainbow Dash. She knew it was the right thing to do, but the look in Rainbow’s eyes was too much. She yanked her arm from Rainbow Dash’s grasp and narrowed her eyes at her, shaking her head. “Yer a fool, Rainbow…” She started to walk away, towards the door the others had left from, looking back to see Rainbow Dash stood with her head against the wall, fists clenched at her side. “What’re you doin’ to yerself, RD… What’re you doing?” ------------------------------------------ The Jets took off with a mighty roar, zooming high into the sky as the audience watched in awe. Rainbow Dash followed the lead of the others in her section, following the routine she knew off by heart. A loop. Ninety degrees turn. The twist. “GAH!” Rainbow Dash quickly pulled her joystick to the left after nearly colliding with Soarin’s jet. “Uh, sorry Soarin, came in a bit early there…” She spoke into the headset each team member wore to keep communicated with each other. “S’alright Dash, just watch yourself, okay?” The chilled voice of Soarin replied, relaxing Rainbow Dash a bit. “Don’t mess this up, Dash! Remember why we’re here!” Spitfire’s sharp voice shouted in her ears, making her wince slightly as she accelerated into a counter spin with Blaze’s jet. “Sorry, ma’am.” She mumbled as a reply. Yer a fool, Rainbow… Applejack’s voice made her jump, making her lose grip for a moment, causing her to finish her twist early. She shook the thoughts away mentally and continued on into the out-of-plane maneuver. You’ll be fucking sorry by the end of this! Rainbow’s heart raced in her chest, as the events of the night before suddenly rushed back to her. You miss us, Dash? Still got a bit of attitude, huh? Memories of the flight academy returned to her in one gulp, clouding her thoughts, making her lose her balance. “DASH, LOOK OUT!” Before she could regain control, Rainbow Dash’s wing collided with another jet, sending her off pattern. Her jet twisted round and round, at first continuing upwards due to momentum, but soon enough the jet started to head downwards towards the stadium below. Rainbow’s jet spun out of control, making Dash unable to tell up from down. She desperately tried to regain control, but the jet was too far into free fall to get anywhere. “GET OUT OF THERE! EVACUATE! YOU’RE GONNA COLLIDE! MOVE YOUR ASS!” Many voices screamed into her ears at once, making her panic, causing her to scream in frustration. Dash reached over her shoulder to pull on the emergency chord which would open up her hatch and parachute. She pulled on it hard. And again. And again. It was stuck. She was going down and she was trapped. Applejack watched as the jet plummeted towards the ground, screams from the audience and her friends echoed around her. “Why doesn’t she eject!” A voice asked her, but she didn’t recognize it. The jet was free falling to the ground, almost ready to hit. 400 ft. 300 ft. 100 ft. “RAINBOW!” Applejack’s air left her lungs as her scream was covered by the sound of the jet hitting the ground, sending it up into flames. Medics and firemen rushed to the jet, already working on getting the fire under control and the pilot out safely. Applejack’s world went dark in one moment.