//------------------------------//
// 6 and a half 
// Story: My Little Rainbows 
// by The PatioHeater 
//------------------------------//

“Okay then, have you got your lunch?” Rainbow asked her daughters.
“Yes,” the three, six year old fillies replied, all of which were growing impatient and just wanted to leave and get to school already.
“Good. Have you got your books?”
“Yes.”
“Good, good. And Dashie, have you got Fluttershy’s coat?”
Dash stared blankly back at her mother.
“Go get it. And hurry.”
Dash nodded before shooting off up the stairs, with her wings making a strong fluttering sound as she flew.
She was back a second later with the thick parka in her mouth.
“Here, I’ll put it in your bag.” Rainbow quickly yet carefully stuffed the clothing into Dash’s bag, putting it on the brink of bursting. “Okay, I think that’s everything. You better get going; you don’t want to be late.”
The fillies ran to the door, with Rainbow following close behind.
“And Dashie, don’t fly off on your own again like yesterday,” she said sternly. “I want you to stick together, and you know full well that your sisters can’t keep up with you.”
Dash sighed with annoyance. “Okay.”
“Good. Now off to school with you lot!” she ushered them out of the door.
Swirl and Shine began walking excitedly, while Dash jumped in the air and hovered after them.
“See ya later, Rainbows. Have a good day at school!” Rainbow shouted after them, waving frantically as she did.

Rainbow watched until her daughters had gone from view before turning and heading back inside.
She shut the door behind her and sighed with relief.
Her children had finally left for school. Shine was always a trouble to wake up in the mornings, even with Dash and Swirl jumping on her bed.
But now she left them to walk to school on their own, Rainbow had very little to do. Usually, she would chat to other mothers in the playground for a while, and that took up a lot of time. It would happen again when she went to pick them up after school finishes. But now, she had nothing.
“I should really get myself a job,” she told herself. “But not today. Tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow.”

She looked around the house for things to do, but that list was small seeing as she had the same problem during the past week.
She tidied the kitchen of the breakfast aftermath, which didn’t take long, and made herself a cup of tea, hoping the sweet and the heat would wake her up some more. It did, to some degree.

She sighed as she felt a few stray tea leaves drift into her mouth, signalling the end of her drink with the horrible texture.
“Shower?” she asked herself. “I don’t think I can be bothered. A bath? Yeah, that sounds nice.”
She trotted upstairs to run herself a bath, but got distracted by all the toys on the floor, and so managed to elongate her walk with a little tidying.

She entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She was about to lock it when realised nopony was home, so there was no reason to close the door. She let it open again.
It made her feel a bit mischievous, which helped liven up the mundanity of her day.
She brushed her teeth first, just to stretch out the process of having a bath. She barely paid any attention to what she was doing; she spent roughly five minutes on the same spot before giving up.
“I’ll… I’ll finish later,” she told herself as she rinsed the toothbrush and threw it back into the jar on the windowsill.
She reached out to start the water gushing from the tap and into the large bath, but her hoof stopped as a thought crossed her mind.
“This needs music,” she concluded.
She turned and left the bathroom.

She entered her bedroom and paused, trying to remember where it was. She decided under the bed was the best place to check.
She stooped down and reached a hoof under the bed, feeling around the floor for the wooden box.
“A-HA!” she cheered as she felt the item she was searching for. She found the handle and pulled it back.
“Haven’t seen this baby in a while.” She clicked open the latches to the case and opened the lid. What she saw surprised and confused her.
“What?” She was lost for words other than that. She grabbed the handle and pulled it out. “A… Tommy gun?”
She inspected it closely. Inside the case, where her violin should be, were the components to a Tommy gun. She suddenly remembered and shook her head at her own stupidity.
“Oh, Mum. You’re one silly mare.” She smiled at the thought and this random gesture of her mother’s. Rainbow had forgotten that, when she was a filly and practicing the violin, her mother had once swapped the case for a fake containing a toy Tommy gun. She got in quite a bit of trouble at school, Rainbow did.
Rainbow spent a few minutes assembling the toy, and laughed at the results.
“This toy is just so… awesome!” she concluded.
After a little bit more laughter, she threw the toy gun on the bed and went in search of the real violin, which didn’t take long.
“There we are,” she said happily. She opened the case delicately. When she saw it, it made her feel all sentimental.
Her violin, one she had since she was a filly, one that belonged to her great grandmother, had always been precious to her. She regretted not playing it more.
She took it out of the case carefully and looked at it. Memories flooded her system. It mostly reminded her of her grandmother, who had passed it down to her and taught her to play. She had some very good, very fond memories of those lessons with Nana.
She smiled reminiscently as she looked at the instrument, turning it over in her hooves.
She ran her hoof over her name engraved on the back, under that of her grandmother’s and great grandmother’s. Rainbow Swirl was the first name, that of her great grandmother’s and also who Rainbow was named after. The second was Rainbow Star, or “Nana”, as Rainbow always called her.
She liked being part of the tradition. She couldn’t wait to teach one of her own daughters to play, but which one would be difficult to choose.

“When was the last time I played this?” she asked herself. “It must have been… my second wedding anniversary? That can’t be right.” She went over in her mind, trying to determine whether or not this was the case.
“Wow. That’s almost ten years now.” She was disappointed in herself. “Oh well. I can always make up for that.”
She turned and sat on the floor, with her back resting against the bed. She plucked each string and adjusted the tuning keys if need be. Once satisfied, she took the bow from the box and drew it over the strings.
The wooden instrument emitted a melodic sound that travelled through Rainbow, resonating in her.
She felt a weird emotion in her stomach, one that nearly brought tears to her eyes.
“Wow,” she said in quiet awe. “That was… strangely powerful.”
Rainbow shook herself back to her senses and began to improvise.

She played as cheerful a tune as she could manage, one somepony could dance to merrily. It felt good playing the violin, Rainbow thought; it was as if it let her escape into another world, and leave her worries behind.
She felt incredibly happy playing. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop. But she knew she had to.

She came to a natural end sometime later, finishing with a long, powerful note.
She felt tears roll down her cheeks.
She took the violin from her chin and looked at it in amazement. “This… is one powerful, emotional instrument. I'm not even sure why I'm crying. But it must be good. It must be the memories of Nana and Mum, and all the fun we had when having lessons. Ha. Like we actually did much violin then. It always just degenerated into fun conversations.”
Rainbow put the violin away for now; she didn’t want to bring about a nostalgia induced crying fest.
“Right. Bath time.” She started laughing at the memories of how those words struck dread into her daughters’ hearts.
“Silly fillies.”


She tested the water with her hoof. “Perfect,” she muttered to herself. “Nice and hot with plenty of bubbles.”
She dipped her hoof in, and quickly withdrew it. “Nope. Too hot. Ow…”
She reached forward to turn the cold tap, but decided against it.
“This needs music,” she said once again.
She went in search of a stereo, and found one quickly. She tuned it into a radio station which played fitting music and placed it in the corner of the bathroom on a low volume.
She dipped her hoof in the water again. “Ow. Still too hot.”
She took her hoof from the water and shook it. “Err… drink? Yeah, but what? It’s too early for wine. Coffee is too strong. Tea is just… wrong. Hot chocolate? Yeah, that sounds good.”
She trotted to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, she returned upstairs with an immaculate mug of hot chocolate, with marshmallows and everything.
“Shine would be jealous,” she giggled.
She took a sip, and gasped with delight as she felt the warmth travel through her on this cold autumn’s day.
“That’s good.”
She carefully rested the mug on the edge of the bath, and tested the water again.
“Perfect timing. As always,” she said arrogantly. “Just the right temperature.”
She removed her bath robe and climbed in the bath, shuddering as the heat slowly made its way through her legs and up her body.
She reclined in the bath, lying on her back, and shut her eyes.

She didn’t fall asleep, as she thought she would, instead she was being bothered by thoughts. She would have been annoyed but this did mean she could enjoy her hot chocolate before it became cold chocolate.
Rainbow sighed at that awful joke she just thought of.
She grabbed the straw in her mouth and took another long sip of drink. She was glad she brought a long, bendy straw for she didn’t want to move from the watery cocoon of warmth.

She looked at the opposite end of the bath.
“Red used to sit there sometimes with me,” she said solemnly. “I liked that.”
She let her head fall back and rest on the edge.
“What I wouldn’t give for some company right now. I’ve even resorted to talking to myself.”
She sighed.
“I want somepony to sit there again. A good looking stallion would be nice, just somepony to talk to and look at.
“One of my girls would be nice too, I guess. Just like when they were little.” A smile came to her lips as she reminisced about their bath times together, but it quickly went away when she realised they were probably a little too old to do that anymore.
“Anypony would do, actually. Even Dove, although she would be far too awkward. But to be honest, I think most Ponies would. Especially with their friends.”
“But the stallion, on the other hoof, wouldn’t be awkward at all.” Rainbow shut her eyes and drifted deeper under the water, just deep enough for her nose to be sticking out. A devious smile came to her face as she thought about the stallion opposite her.

She began to idly play with her wet mane, wrapping it around her hoof and remarking at how thick it was when coiled up.
“Not bad,” she criticised. “Better when it’s dry though. And when it’s styled.” She let it unravel from her hoof and fall back into the bath.
She took a sip from her straw. “Damn. Empty.” She frowned at the mug, and then at the bath. She had run out things to do in it.
She glanced down on the bathroom floor. She saw a rubber duck and started smiling childishly.
She plucked it from the floor and threw it in the bath.
It floated there, moving in the ripples caused by Rainbow’s movements. She nudged it curiously.
“I don’t see the appeal.”
She looked around the bath. Most of the bubbles had gone.
“Yeah, this has lost its appeal.” Rainbow grabbed the shower gel and a sponge and began washing herself.
Next came an arduous and laborious task: her long, thick mane. Washing it took ages. She was considering just forgetting about it, but she knew it was one thing she couldn’t put off any longer, seeing as it had been due for a wash for a few days now.
“So much shampoo,” she said sadly as she emptied a third of the bottle onto a hoof.
She lazily slapped it onto her head and began rubbing it in.
“When was the last time I had it cut?” she asked herself as she massaged her head. “It’s always been long and thick but this is just getting ridiculous.”
She pouted her lips as she tried to determine her last cut. “Bloody Tartarus! I don’t think I’ve had it cut since before my girls were born! That can’t be right.”
She paused washing her hair as she thought about it more. “I'm pretty sure Red was there to compliment me, although he never noticed. Typical colt.”
She put her hooves back on her head and continued to wash, now mildly more aggressively as she remembered the distinct lack of compliments from her ex-husband in the later times with him.

Twenty minutes later, and she was finally rinsing out the foam. She sighed with relief.
“Right, that’s that done.”
She took another bottle from the side. “And now for the conditioner.”
She sighed exasperatedly.

About fifteen minutes later, she had rinsed out the last of the conditioner.
“Finally!” she celebrated. “I can get out of the bath!”
She stood up and shook the water from her wings and coat, settling back down again with a satisfied breath.
She stepped out and removed the plug. She liked the sound of the water going down the plug, but she didn’t know why.
She listened as she wrapped a towel around her mane and body. She took a step forward, but no more.
A strange thought crossed her mind, one which made her heart race with excitement and made her smile mischievously.
She looked around to make sure nopony was looking, which was pointless as she was at home alone. She shook the towel from her body and threw off the one from her mane, showing off her still fairly wet body and still soaking mane.
She felt so wrong and naughty doing this; walking around after a bath with no towel. She liked being naughty when she didn’t have to be an influence to her daughters. It amused her.
She stepped forward with a little strut in her step, but she instantly regretted it.
When wet, her long mane drags along the floor. Without the towel concealing it, it was allowed to get tangled in her hooves.
So, naturally, Rainbow trod on her mane and tripped, letting out a little yelp as she did. She fell flat on her face.
“Ow.” She pushed herself back up again, rubbing her nose vigorously to massage the pain away.
“Stupid mane. I really need a mane cut. Tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow.”
She took a towel and slung it over her shoulder before heading to the living room to dry herself.

Her mane was still a little damp, but that was unavoidable, when she headed back upstairs to replace the towel in the bathroom.
As she ascended the stairs, her attention was grabbed by the panel in the ceiling.
“I wonder what’s up there.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she went in the attic, and was now curious as to what treasures from the past it held.

She pushed the panel open and flew inside the attic. She coughed harshly as the dust resettled one the on the floor.
She looked around.
“So many boxes. Where to begin?”
She grabbed the nearest box.
“Hearth’s Warimng Eve. How boring.” She threw it over her shoulder, wincing as she heard the shattering of baubles. “Oh well, they’re ugly things anyway.”
She grabbed another box and opened it excitedly.
She reached in and pulled out a smaller, metal tin with her name written on it.
“Oh wow. I haven’t seen this in ages!” She quickly pulled the lid off and threw it to her side. “It’s all still here! My diary, my sketchbook.” Her eyes widened.
“Dr Wingless!” she shouted as she pulled her old stuffed toy to her chest. “I forgot about you.”
She began reacquainting herself with him. “Just as I remember you. No wings, Unicorn horn, orangey mane, stupid name, it’s all there!”
She stared into his black beady eyes and began stroking him. She took him everywhere; even University, where he sat proudly on her bed. He never got far away from her.
She placed him gently back in the tin and took her thick, full sketchbook.
“Let’s see how good I was then.”
She began to flick through the pages. There was a noticeable progression of quality as she went through ages three to seven.
“For somepony who’s special talent is art, I was rather awful when I was younger. C’mon, even Swirl drew better than this, and she’s terrible.”
She shut the sketchbook and took her diary in hoof. “Let’s see what an eight year old filly writes in a diary.”
She fumbled around the box and found the key for the small padlock. “Why would even I bother lock this? As if anypony would want to read the ramblings of a little girl.”
She clicked open the lock and flipped to a random entry.
“Dear diary:”

I’ve never seen a Unicorn. I wonder what there like.

She paused to wince at the grammar.

They can use magic. I bet that’s fun. I want to use magic, and then maybe Starburst will like me.

“Oh my gosh. Starburst. I completely forgot about him. I wonder how he’s doing. I bet he’s gay, that wouldn’t surprise me.”
She tried to continue, but she could tell nothing interesting was going to happen, so she put the diary away again.
Rainbow found a folded slip of paper tucked under the other assorted childhood items. She unfolded it, and immediately started blushing.
“Starburst actually sent me a love letter? How cute!”
She read it quickly, and facehoofed.
“How embarrassing for the both of us is more like it…”
She folded it back up and put it back in the tin, placing the lid back on top tightly.
She move to the hole and dropped the tin through it, landing on the cushion she placed below beforehoof. “I’ll have a better rummage through that later.”

She looked around more, trying to decide on the next box to open, but she was distracted by an odd shape hiding in the shadows.
She approached it cautiously, being careful to avoid the various items strewn on the floor. She reached out and grabbed it. It felt like fake, plastic-like leather, so it was obviously just the case.
As she pulled it toward her, the shape of the object became into full view. She stared at it in amazement as it got closer towards her.
“Oh my gosh!” she said loudly as she unzipped the case. “My old BB gun! I haven’t seen this in years! I wonder if I have any ammo for it still.”
She looked around the floor, and spotted an old jar half full of small yellow pellets.
“That’s it I'm playing with this later,” she said determinedly as she placed the strap over her shoulder and rested the gun on her back.
She was excited now, she hadn’t had a good play around in ages, and she was once quite a good shot with the child’s rifle. She remembered the times she went hunting in Whitetail Woods on family days out, but she didn’t have the heart to injure any animals, so she just pretended and shot the trees.
She threw the jar over her shoulder and waited until she heard the dull thud of it hitting the cushion. She heard it, as well as the smash that came afterwards.
“How did that happen?” she asked with mild confusion, but she quickly shrugged it off.
She turned to step back over to the hole, but something caught her hoof and stopped her. She bent down and opened what happened to be a box. It was full of crockery.
She sighed disgustedly. “I forgot just how ugly my wedding china was. I left Red in charge of one thing, and he chose this rubbish. The moron…”
An idea struck her mind. She looked to the butt of the BB gun over her shoulder, and then back to the plates in front of her. She formed a plan.
“Looks like I know what me and Sass are going to do tonight,” she announced happily.
She closed the box and picked it up. She decided she would actually fly this box down herself, as she wanted to save their destruction for later.
“Maybe… just one,” she decided. She took a plate from the box and raised it high above her head. Her forelegs came down fast and hard, bringing the plate crashing against the floor. But much to her disappointment, the cloud cushioned the fall.
“Damn cloud. The one time I actually wanted something to smash, but no, you had to go all noble and protect the hideous plate. I'm disappointed with you.” The sudden realisation hit her. “What’s wrong with me I'm talking to the floor…?”

She re-entered the attic and chose a box at random.
“Hey, my old uni stuff!”
She found a few, badly aged notes that had somehow ended up in there.
“Why oh why did I do that art degree? I know, because I'm an artist, but why? It was soo boring!” She sighed at herself.
She found a large poster, tightly wound up with an elastic band. She unrolled it.
“That’s one old Wonderbolts poster. I'm not even sure if Captain Fireball is still alive anymore.” She rolled it up again. “I better give this to Dashie, I imagine she’d like it.”
She threw it through the hole behind her.
Her hoof reached down into the bottom of the box after a glint of glass caught her eye. She pulled the object up and pulled off the scrap of paper clinging to its front.
She fell to her haunches when she saw it.
It was a photo of her at nineteen, when she had first started going out with Red.

She looked at it for while. She thought about her first few years with him. He had been so loving and everything. She didn’t know where it all went wrong with him.
She hated to admit it, but when she saw that old picture of him, she missed him.
Not the adulterous him, but the sweet, caring him who actually loved her.
Her mind drifted back to that night in the picture. The first night she ever played with him. The first night she ever met him. The first night she ever kissed him.



“You alright Rainbow?” a considerably skinnier Sass asked over the roar of the audience, who eagerly awaited the next band.
Rainbow was breathing erratically and sharply, her body was quaking violently. “A little nervous, if I'm honest.”
“Don’t be nervous, you’ll rock the joint!”
“Rock the joint? Seriously? Rock the joint?” Rainbow spoke angrily at her friend. “I'm playing a freakin’ violin! You can’t rock with one of those!”
“Have you seen who you’re playing for? Actually, have you even seen who you’re playing WITH?”
“What?”
“They’re a rock band. They have an electric guitarist and everything.”
Rainbow stared at her blankly. “Shit.”

“Rainbow?” called the stage hoof. “You’re on. Is your band ready?”
“My… band?” she repeated, completely terrified.
“She’s with us,” shouted an impatient Pegasus from behind.
Rainbow spun around. It was a red stallion, taller than her, and rather handsome, she thought.
“Okay, are you lot ready then?”
“Just a sec.” The stallion turned to Rainbow. “You’re Rainbow Swirl, right?”
Rainbow giggled girlishly, but she quickly straightened up and told herself now wasn’t the time to be giddy. “Yes. Call me Rainbow.”
“Alright, Rainbow. I’m Red. The vocalist. That’s Rhythm on the drums and Strumbo on the guitar. You play violin, right?”
Rainbow nodded again.
“Good. We have music ready for ya on the stage. Sorry we couldn’t show you it before. It’s been a little bit hectic after Fiddle got feather flu. We just needed somepony who could play the violin, and Sass said you’re pretty good. Have you performed on a stage before?”
Rainbow shook her head.
“So I guess you’re pretty nervous then.”
“I-it’s okay. I should be fine.”
“Good. Now let’s get going. Oh yeah, and you’ll be starting the set.”
“What?!”
“Just a little intro, nothing too hard going.”
“O-okay.”
“Don’t panic. It’ll be fine,” he said encouragingly, but it didn’t help.
Rainbow laughed nervously.

Her band walked out ahead of her and got into positions.
Rainbow’s steps were stiff, her eyes were wide and she had the unmistakeable feeling of Ponies watching her. Which they were; she was a fairly distracting sight, what with her bright colours in the dark, dank student bar in which she was performing.
She walked to her position; right at the front, parallel to Red. That didn’t help with her nerves.
She took her violin from under her wing and rested it against the music stand.
“Ready to go, Rainbow?” Red asked eagerly.
“J-just give me a sec. I wanna read the music first.”
“Okay, just be quick.”
Rainbow nodded and set about reading the music in front of her. She quietly hummed what it would sound like. She frowned after the first few bars.
“This is awful.”
“What do you mean? Fiddle was writing that for weeks!” Red sounded a little insulted. How could she just turn up out of the blue and say his friend’s hard work was terrible?
“It’s not that bad. It just needs a few tweaks.” Rainbow took the pencil from behind her ear and scribbled a few notes on the page.

The crowd was growing restless.
“Rainbow. Hurry up,” Red whispered harshly.
“Aaaaaand done,” she said, finishing with a flourish. She placed the pencil back behind her ear. “That should sound better.”
Rainbow took the violin in hoof and raised herself onto her rear legs.

She began the new and improved solo.
Red and his band were stupefied momentarily, staring intently at the new violinist. They had only heard about her a few days ago, and now the first time she performed with them, with no practice at all, she already surpassed their resident violinist.
They missed their cue.
Rainbow had finished her solo and was now waiting for them to start their own pieces.
She sighed. “Alright then, let’s start again, shall we? But this time, stop staring at my flank, okay?”
She was rewarded by a little laugh from the crowd, which helped her nerves hugely.
The band collectively blushed and sheepishly prepared themselves to play.
“Good,” Rainbow said, and she started the intro again.

Their set ran on a little longer than planned since Rainbow edited each song beforehoof, but nopony cared, they were just enjoying the good music.
The four musicians trotted backstage with their hearts racing and a bounce in their steps.
“Oh sweet Celestia! That was AWESOME!” Rainbow cheered as she jumped on the spot in front of Red.
“I know, I know! I don’t think we’ve sounded as good as that before,” Red shouted happily. “And we couldn’t have done it without you, Rainbow. You’re just… fantastic!”
Rainbow beamed and lunged forward at him. She planted her hooves firmly on his shoulders and kissed him quickly yet passionately.
She fell back away from him, trying to hide her face behind a hoof as she blushed madly.
“I'm so sorry. I'm just- I'm just excited. I don’t know what came over me.”
She risked a glance upwards over her hoof, and was relieved when she saw Red standing there, smiling like an idiot, staring at her with large, unblinking eyes and even swaying slightly.
“You don’t need to be sorry. That was… that was good,” he said calmly, trying to sound cool at the same time, but failing spectacularly as his voice broke midsentence.
“Oh…” She slowly stood back up to her normal height. “That’s good then,” she said awkwardly.
She started blushing again as a thought came to her mind, which she shared with Red.
“Would you mind… if… I did it again?” she asked hopefully.
Red smiled bigger and nodded frantically. He wasted no time in stepping forward to allow her to kiss him again.
Rainbow, still fuelled by the adrenaline of a successful live performance, effectively pounced on him, almost pushing him to the ground if it weren’t for his strong legs managing to support the two of them.
She kissed him for an awkwardly long time for the rest of the band and Sass, who had to wait for them before leaving.
A long moment later, she pulled back from him. “Wow,” she said with an airy voice.
Red just giggled to himself.

Rainbow remembered the after party in that same bar they performed in. That was fun. She hadn’t got drunk before, but she remembered the night semi-vividly. She remembered that photo being taken especially, and how persistent she was for it to be taken, even though it was just a picture of her jumping and cheering and Red standing there, watching her happily.
She remembered how happy she was to be with that stallion. Despite only just meeting him she knew they would stick together for years to come.
The only thing she remembered more than that was waking up beside him the next morning.
She woke up to see his smiling face in the sunlight. His dark red eyes glinting the light into hers as her eyes wearily opened. She couldn’t have woken to a better sight.
She smiled back and delicately stroked his cheek with a hoof.
He moved his own and held her hoof against his face. He turned his head and kissed it lightly on the tip before moving it down to his chest.
She moved closer to him and cuddled him, nuzzling in against his chest and getting comfortable. She could feel his heart racing. She could hear it getting louder and faster the longer she cuddled, but it soon calmed down again to a slow, gentle, thudding beat. It comforted her.
He moved his forelegs around her and pulled her in tighter. He let out a content sigh as he rested his head on hers.
Rainbow had never felt so good.


Rainbow looked back at that moment. After Red had left her when pregnant, this memory would forever be ruined.
But Red was her first boyfriend.
Red was her first kiss.
Red was her first love.

Red was her only love.

A tear dropped onto the glass frame of the photo.
Rainbow shut her eyes tightly, and yet more tears started to form and fall.
She held the photo against her chest tightly.
She tried to fight it, but she couldn’t. She cried.
She missed him.

She looked further into the box which housed the photo. She found his old jacket.
She remembered the times he would drape it over her shoulders when she said she was cold. She remembered the countless dates they went on as a couple and the many walks they enjoyed together.
She held it against her face and took a deep breath from it. It still smelt faintly of an aftershave he often wore, reminding her of the effort he put in as a coltfriend to impress her, even though she didn’t need impressing.
She missed him so much.

Her crying grew louder and heavier as she hugged the jacket to her chest. Tears poured down her cheeks and fell down onto the jacket.
She tried with all her might to stem the flow of tears, but the effort of pushing the thoughts of Red out was too great, and only allowed more to enter, and therefore only making her cry harder.
She didn’t want to miss him, but that’s all she felt at that moment.
She wanted Red back more than anything.


She heard a noise coming from downstairs.
“Hello?” she called out in a croaky voice as she tried to stop crying so she could speak.
“Swirly?” replied a confused, elderly voice.
Rainbow recognised it immediately. “Nana?”
She quickly clambered back over the boxes and dropped down through the hole and onto the landing. She bolted downstairs, with the jacket still in hoof.
Nana heard the thundering of hooves down the stairs and turned around just in time to see her granddaughter stop dead in her tracks at the opposite end of the living room.
She instantly saw her red eyes. “Swirly, what’s wrong?”
Rainbow tried to talk, but the first few syllables were an incoherent mumble and the rest became tears as she fell to her haunches.
Nana didn’t hesitate. She moved forward and hugged her tightly and grandmotherly. “Let it all out, Swirly,” she said affectionately, starting to sway her gently in her loving grasp.
Rainbow did as she was told and sobbed loudly into her grandmother’s shoulder.

A long time had passed before Rainbow started to calm down.
“What’s wrong, Swirly?”
Rainbow sniffed. “I was- I was looking through the attic and I found this picture of us together and I just remembered what he was like and I want him back so badly!” she broke out into sobs again.
Nana sighed. “I was wondering when this would happen.”
“I miss him so much, Nana,” she spoke through the sobs. “I miss him so much.”
“Ssh, ssh, ssh, ssh. There’s no need to cry.”
“I know, Nana. But I just miss him. I want him back.”
“Swirly, Swirly, Swirly, you don’t want him back. He changed. You left him for the better.”
“But Nana-.”
“No buts, you know I'm right. You need to move on from that colt and find yourself another.”
“But I don’t want another. I want Red!” she screamed angrily, but she couldn’t bring herself to her push away her grandmother.
Nana sighed. “Swirly, listen to me.”
Rainbow managed to quiet down enough for Nana to speak.
“You don’t need Red anymore. You’ve already got what you need from him.”
“What?”
Nana pointed to the door and, as if on cue, the little Rainbows walked in from their walk home from school.
“Mummy?” the fillies questioned in unison as they saw their mother crying on the floor.
Rainbow looked up to Nana, asking with her eyes if she was thinking the same thing.
Nana nodded once and smiled sweetly.
Rainbow spun around slowly and faced her children. She held her forelegs out for them.
They approached her slowly. They were slightly confused but they didn’t hesitate in their steps.
Once close enough, Rainbow took them and hugged them gently. Her breath was still erratic as she pulled them tighter to her chest.
They hugged back after a brief second.
Rainbow sniffed and began crying softly.
She felt Nana’s hoof on her back.
“I’ll make a pot of tea,” she said quietly and trotted to the kitchen, with Rainbow watching her from the corner of her eye.

Rainbow turned her attention back to her daughters.
She sniffed. “So, how was school today?” she asked with a teary voice.
“Err… it was okay,” Swirl replied first.
“Bor-ing,” Shine sang childishly.
“It was okay. Fluttershy was off sick so I didn’t have anypony to play with at playtime,” Dash said with disappointment.
Rainbow chuckled. “Oh well. I'm sure tomorrow will be better. Why don’t you go put your bags in your room?”
They nodded and pushed themselves away, although Rainbow was reluctant to let go.
“I love you. You know that, don’t you?” Rainbow asked as she put them down.
They nodded before trotting up the stairs with childlike enthusiasm, except for Dash who had a question to ask.
“What’s that on your back, Mummy?”
Rainbow smiled at the curious filly. “It’s a toy of mine.”
“Oh. Can I play with it?”
“Later, Dashie… later…”
“Yay!” Dash cheered as she flew up the stairs to join her sisters.

Rainbow watched her leave before heading to the kitchen.
She watched as Nana poured the boiling water in the teapot and dropped a few teabags inside.
Nana heard hoofsteps on the tiled floor.
“Are you alright, Swirly?”
Rainbow didn’t answer, instead she wrapped a foreleg around her neck and hugged.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
Nana hugged back. “I’m a grandmother. It’s what I'm here for,” she whispered back.



Evening rolled on. Rainbow and Sass were sat in the garden, with a box load of crockery to break, a BB gun with plenty of ammo, and an adequate amount of gin and tonic.
Rainbow reclined on the decking under a blanket, watching blankly as Sass shot another hideous plate, absent mindedly swirling around in her drink in her hoof. The only time her expression changed was when she heard the satisfying shatter of china and the celebratory whoop coming from her friend.
Sass smirked at the wreckage of the plate falling into the growing pile before going to sit near the colourful Pegasus.
She sat down heavily, sighing with relief as she took the weight off her hooves. She slid the rifle across the ground and in between the two of them.
“Y’know, I don’t think this is a child’s BB gun.”
Rainbow jumped slightly at the sudden voice beside her slowly turned to face her. “Excuse me?” she asked wearily.
“Well, think about it. It can smash a plate with one shot. It’s big enough for us two adults to hold it. I think your parents must have got ya the whole hog here; a proper, full size BB rifle.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow replied without processing anything Sass had just said.
Sass’ expression became serious. “Are you alright, Sugar?”
“Yeah, I'm fine,” she lied.
“C’mon now, something’s obviously bothering ya. What’s on your mind?”
Rainbow turned back to face the tree and the pile of china. She raised her glass and took a nonchalant sip of the cold drink before starting to swirl it around again.
“I cried today.”
Sass snorted. “Is that it?” she asked, slightly disappointed. “Everypony can cry every now and then. ‘S no biggy.”
“I miss him,” Rainbow said calmly, not a single emotion entered her voice. She didn’t break eye contact with the tree.
“Miss who? Red?” she asked doubtfully.
Rainbow’s silence broke volumes.
“What?” she sounded slightly angered by this. “Seriously? You miss HIM? After what he did to you?”
Rainbow shut her eyes and hung her head down. “I miss him, Sass. I don’t know why but I do.”
She opened her eyes and looked up to Sass. “I guess I just liked him being around. And you remember how sweet he was, right? When I first met him?”
“Rainbow. You… need to find yourself a stallion,” Sass said with the utmost sincerity.
“What?”
“You don’t want Red, you want somepony to be you coltfriend.”
“Don’t be absurd. I don’t need just anypony. I want Red.”
“Me being absurd? Really?” she sounded mildly insulted. “C’mon, there must be somepony you had your eye on.”
Rainbow shook her head. “Nope. I didn’t look at a colt in that way when with him.”
“What about that Jet Stream guy at the air show a couple months back? I saw you eyeing him up.”
Rainbow blushed. “Nah. Don’t be daft. I wasn’t looking at him in any way,” she said a little too defensively.
“Besides, even if I was, and I'm not saying I was, he’s a world famous aerial acrobat daredevil Pegasus, or something. I doubt he would have time for me. He’s probably halfway around the world doing shows, or something.”
“He is not world famous, Sugar.”
“What?”
“Cloudsdale famous, sure, but definitely not world famous.”
“Oh.” Rainbow looked away as she considered this new information. “How do you know that?”
“I see him at the supermarket when I'm working there some days. Sometimes have a little chat.”
“Really?”
“Ye-huh. He remembers you.”
Rainbow suddenly perked up. “Really?” she asked excitedly.
“Yeah. I could give him your number, if ya want.” Sass put on an intriguing smile.
Rainbow considered it for a moment. “Nah, don’t do that. It’s embarrassing.”
“Why is it?”
“I don’t know,” Rainbow sang back childishly as she blushed.
“I’ll give him your number.”
Rainbow smiled liked a little filly with a crush, trying to hide away by looking at everything except Sass.
“Mummy?” said a little filly’s voice.
Rainbow turned around to see the source of the noise. “Oh, hey Dashie. Sorry, did we wake you?”
Dash shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Oh, why not?”
Dash shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, why don’t you come lie down by me, hmm?” Rainbow lifted the blanket up and gestured for her daughter to sit.
Dash did so happily, if not tiredly. She rubbed her tired eyes as she walked, and let out a large yawn. She lay down next to her mother and nestled into her side, letting out a content sigh once she got comfortable.
Rainbow let the blanket down and tucked the edge und her daughter, who she could feel squirming as she got even more comfortable.
“Is that better?”
Dash nodded and shut her eyes.
Rainbow smiled at her and pulled her in closer to her.
“And you say you couldn’t sleep,” Rainbow jested.
“I'm not ti-.”
A yawn interrupted her and finished her sentence for her.
“Well if you say so. You can stay here with me a little longer then.” Rainbow leant down and kissed the top of her head.
Dash nodded again and seemingly fell asleep.
Rainbow couldn’t take her eyes off of her. She loved watching her sleep. “You know, Sass. Why would you ever need a colt when you have children as great as this?”
“I bet I could think of… a couple of things,” she said slyly and with a suggestive smile.
Rainbow laughed quietly, and so did Sass. Rainbow could have sworn she saw Dash smiling as well.