//------------------------------// // 40. Aftermath - by The Princess Rarity (Foal Abuse) // Story: RariJack - The Compilation of Prompts // by Titanium Dragon //------------------------------// The Princess Rarity Aftermath. A soft wail broke through the silence of the night, echoing through a small household and awaking those inside. Soon, after the cry was heard, a rapid knocking on a door followed. "Mommy? Mama?" The door to the room opened, and there stood Applejack, looking down to see her young daughter standing before her, with tears in her blue-green eyes and she literally shook with every breath. "Aw, Sonya, again?" the earth pony mare muttered, her tiredness now slipping away as she grew concerned for her child. "Uh-huh," the filly whined. "Can I sleep with you two tonight?" Applejack didn't hesitate at all, wrapping a foreleg around her daughter and ushering her into the bedroom. "C'mon, yer mother and I are right here, ya see?" she whispered. "And do ya have yer stuffed animal?" Sonya shook her head, lightly sniffling. "I don't like Mrs. Fluffs anymore," she whimpered. "She's not helpin' ya fight the nightmares?" "No, nothin' is," the little one said softly, her accent now starting to settle in now that she was tired and scared. "I don't wanna sleep anymore." At a loss of words, Applejack looked up to her wife, who was silent as she looked to their daughter in shock and visible pain. Rarity's expression was blank and emotionless, completely lost as she found something, anything, comforting to say to their child. This was the fourth time this week that young Sonya had reported nightmares, and it was only a Tuesday. True, it was progress from last week's constant crying and night terrors, where Sonya couldn't be apart from one of her mothers, but still, this wasn't much better. "Sonya, dear, what happened this time around?" Rarity said softly as her daughter bounded up onto the bed and snuggled close to her mother. The little filly sniffled, and her crying began to heavy, as she wiped her tears onto the comforter. "It's the same as always," she wailed. "The dark closet behind the catwalk. The mean lady. I can't find either of you and-" She couldn't dare finish her sentence, because the horrific memory invaded her mind and she began wailing. Her mothers simply stared at one another, holding back the urge to cry with their little one, but they stayed strong and tried to comfort her. They whispered soothing words to their daughter, hugged her, gave her sweet little kisses and tried to tell her everything would be ok. Eventually, it wasn't the content feeling that lulled the filly to sleep, but exhaustion. Still, it assured her mothers that their little one could at least find somewhat peace from the harsh reality. Now taking note that her child was finally asleep, Rarity let out her own soft cry, letting a few tears fall down. "This is all my fault," she muttered. "Now Rares-" "-if I hadn't left her alone at that fashion show, this never would have happened," the dressmaker pressed. "Our daughter was practically kidnapped and raped, and all because I was stupid enough to turn my back on her for a minute. I trusted one of those skanky models to watch our child and she could have been gone if I hadn't found her." She hesitated, and shook her head in disbelief. "Our precious little gem was in the hooves of a monster because of my recklessness." Applejack took her wife's hoof into her own, and kissed the back of it. "It's not your fault, Rarity," she declared. "Ya didn't know that was gon' happen." "Still," Rarity rasped. "Court cases, being snatched from her family, haunted by all of this - it's too much for me to handle, I don't know how Sonya can stand it." "She's gettin' the treatment she needs, and we're helpin' her as best as we can," the farmer whispered. "I'm here for ya, and our little girl. We're gonna be a happy family again, I promise ya." The unicorn sniffled, and wiped away her tears as she looked down to their sleeping daughter, who was snuggling up to the both of them cutely, now trapped in sweet dreams instead of the horrors she was haunted by earlier. "You mean it?" Rarity whispered. Applejack leaned forward, gently kissing her wife on the lips. "Ah never lie, do I?" she replied. The unicorn let out a shaky breath, with a bittersweet smile as she hugged her lover, still softly crying. While tragedy might have struck their lives, it didn't matter none. They would overcome it, because this aftermath was already slowly slipping away... ...now all it had to do was become nothing but a bad dream. Next prompt: Hot Chocolate.