Identical rows of cookie-cutter houses scrolled past the window, each with their perfectly manicured lawns and their white picket fences, with the occasional pink flamingo making an appearance. Rainbow Dash spread her fingers against the car window, her eyes darting back and forth so she could take in every inch of it. This was going to be her new home. Her new neighborhood. The place where she’d run and play and explore. The place where she’d grow up. She caught a yellow face peeking out at her from one of the windows, framed by a mop of pale pink hair.
Their eyes met. The girl in the window seemed like she was of a similar age to her, eight or nine, but she ducked out of sight before Rainbow Dash could do so much as wave. She looked familiar somehow. Hadn’t there been a classmate back home like that? A girl who didn’t talk much?
“You're going to love it here, champ,” her dad said from the front seat of their SUV. “The schools here have a great sports program, and the Shy family actually moved to this neighborhood a few months ago, so there will be at least one person in your class you know.”
Rainbow Dash grunted in a halfhearted acknowledgement. Her dad’s words went in one ear and out the other. Her thoughts were all turned inwards, many of them focused on trying not to throw up.
The tires crunched on the asphalt as the SUV made the slow turn into their new driveway. “Here we are,” her dad said as the vehicle lurched to a stop. His voice had the same edge to it as it always did when he would show off his old sports trophies. The key slid out of the ignition with a loud click, the vehicle beeping with its various noises before shutting down completely.
Her hands fumbled, numb as she unfastened her seatbelt. Even though this house looked identical to any other they had passed, it was somehow more. The building seemed to loom over Rainbow Dash, some vast and unknown thing that threatened to gobble her up and spit out her bones.
Her father jingled a set of fresh keys. “You ready to start our new life? You’ll like your room, it’s way bigger.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t answer, her slender fingers still holding onto the SUV. She couldn’t move. Didn’t want to.
He must have noticed her hesitation, because her father turned back around and knelt before Rainbow Dash, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, I know it’s a lot to take in. Change is scary, I get it. But this is a new start for the both of us. We need this. Your mother…” His face darkened briefly, and he squeezed her shoulders a little tighter. “She can't hurt either of us anymore. I'm sorry it took me so long, but we're free now. We can do what we want, live without looking over our shoulders. It's just me and you, now and forever. I'll always be there for you, I promise.”
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, and Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She wasn't a wuss, and this didn’t bother her at all. She tried to open her mouth to say something, but she didn’t know what to say, and what words could possibly get it right? She raised her arm, her hands trembling.
Her father took her hand, smiled, and together they walked into their new home.
“‘That, doting on his own obsequious bondage…’ Ah, there’s another good one. Can anyone here tell me what ‘obsequious’ means? How about you, Rainbow Dash?”
“Hah, as if she'll know.”
“Miss Rainbow Dash! When I ask you a question, I expect you to answer it! This classroom is not the place for you catch up on lost sleep!”
“Huh-wha?” Rainbow Dash snorted awake, blinking away dreams and half-remembered nostalgia. The snickers of her classmates surrounded her, and the teacher’s stern gaze dug into her. “I, uh, sorry. What was the question again?”
“Obsequious. Can you please tell the class what it means?”
The word might as well have been in another language for all that Rainbow Dash recognized it. She glanced down at the textbooks on her desk. There was a vocabulary guide in there somewhere, but since she hadn’t been following along with the lesson, she had no idea where they were. She glanced to her left for support, meeting Fluttershy’s gaze.
Fluttershy winced and tried mouthing words. Numbers, maybe, but Rainbow Dash couldn’t make them out.
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and lowered her eyes as the stares of her classmates burned like the expectation of a crowd waiting for her to miss the game winning penalty kick. “I, uh, don’t know,” she answered lamely.
The teacher rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “Can anyone else enlighten Miss Dash?”
Sunset Shimmer raised her hand. “Obsequious means obedient, or servile, to an excessive degree. It’s often used to describe a simpering sycophant, a fawning submissive, or an oleaginous henchman.” She turned to Rainbow Dash, her smile dripping with poison. “Does that help any, Rainbow Dash?”
She wanted nothing more than to punch Sunset in her stupid face, or barring that, at least hit back with a good insult of her own. But her mind came up empty, and she was still recovering from her impromptu nap. Her humiliation was thankfully cut short when the bell rang and everyone turned their attention towards going home instead.
“Remember, I expect a two-page essay about Iago’s betrayal on my desk by Monday!” With a pointed finger towards Rainbow Dash, she added, “For you, it’d better be three pages.”
Fluttershy hurried after Rainbow Dash and fell into step beside her as they made their way through the halls of Canterlot High. “Are, um, you okay?” she asked, panting slightly.
Rainbow Dash clenched her fists. “I can’t stand that bitch. I thought being a sophomore was supposed to be different.”
“It hasn’t been so far,” Fluttershy mumbled. They walked in silence until they made it outside the school. “Do you have any plans for the weekend?”
“Maybe? I dunno. I just kind of want to go home and chill for a while, you know?” Rainbow Dash rested her hands behind her head. “Why, did you have something in mind?”
“Oh, um, not really.” Fluttershy looked away, fidgeting back and forth.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Come on, out with it.”
“Well, there is something I need to get done. You remember that fundraiser I did for the animal shelter last month? I still have to write and fold all of the thank you letters, so I was hoping to get that done this weekend.”
“That’s totally lame and boring.” Rainbow Dash grinned, then clapped Fluttershy on the back. “How about I come over tonight after dinner, we knock those suckers out super fast and then go to the mall or something tomorrow. I think the music store got in a sick new guitar.”
Fluttershy blinked, then smiled, twirling a finger through her hair. “You, um, don’t have to, and it will be boring… but thank you, I’d really like the company.”
“Yeah yeah. See you later, Shy.” Rainbow Dash turned down the road that would lead her home, her thoughts darkening as she thought about what waited for her there.
Her fears were unfounded, for the moment, at least. The house was empty, with a note on the fridge promising a late work day. It meant dinner wouldn’t be coming for a bit, but it didn’t matter. After such a crappy week at school, Rainbow Dash needed to unwind.
She decided to go all out and dress the part; frazzled hair, torn jeans, a ripped T-shirt with an obscure band in it, and some leather cuffs made for a killer look. A quick glance in the mirror told her she looked fierce. She felt fierce, and she was going to play hard enough to bring the house down. She cranked her amp up to eleven, slung her guitar over her shoulder, and played.
Her riffs were loud enough to shake the windows. Her fingers danced across the frets, playing no song in particular. She just wanted to explore the music, stringing together combinations of notes that felt right.
“Hmm hmm hmm,” she hummed along. “Hmm hmm hmm awesome hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm.” Lyrics weren't her strong suit, but it sounded pretty great anyway.
She kept playing, until her fingers ached and sweat poured down her back. The music filled her and washed away her struggles. She played faster and faster, her chords driving her onwards and upwards towards an ever-climbing crescendo. It was pure bliss, a desperately needed release. She could forget about school, forget about her poor grades. Why did everyone think boring four-hundred-year-old stories were so great anyway? Just forget that entire class. And that bitch, Sunset, was going to get what was coming to her too. Since nobody was home, she could even forget about—
Her wings were clipped, and her music fell out from underneath her as her fingers suddenly plucked at strings acoustically. Rainbow Dash spun around, only to find her standing in the doorway, holding the plug to her amplifier.
Crystal Waters was shouting something, but Rainbow Dash could barely hear it over the ringing in her ears. She caught a few words like too loud and neighbors.
“Don't touch my stuff,” Rainbow Dash growled. “And how many times do I have to tell you to knock before entering!”
“Don't you take that tone with me, young lady,” her stepmom said. She marched over and stuck her nose in in Rainbow Dash’s face. No respect for her stuff, no respect for her personal space. “I was banging on that door for three straight minutes before I had to come in and pull the plug!”
Rainbow Dash stepped up to the challenge, leaning up on her tiptoes so that she was at an even height. The woman was a few inches taller than her, and she hated it. “Obviously that means I was busy, and instead of ruining everything you should take a freaking hint and go back to banging my dad, or whatever the hell you were doing before you decided to be a pain in my ass!”
Crystal’s eyes bugged out, and her nostrils flared. It was a pretty good indicator that Rainbow Dash was in for a verbal tirade that was sure to last until her dad got home. She braced herself.
But the expected tirade didn't come. Crystal pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. “Why must you do this every time, Rainbow Dash? Turn every conversation into a fight, treat every minor request like I've just asked you to murder your best friend?”
Ugh, this again. Yelling was one thing, but Crystal was way too good at playing the victim. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and huffed. “Whatever. Are you done? You can get out of my room now.”
Crystal stared at her, challenge in her eyes until she turned around and gestured towards a laundry basket full of Rainbow Dash’s underwear in the hallway. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”
Rainbow Dash reeled as if she had been kicked in the stomach. Crystal had taken the bait. What an unbelievable bitch. Her voice wavered slightly, even as she tried to keep a straight face. “What about it? I left that basket in the laundry room. I was gonna do it later. What part of ‘don’t touch my stuff’ means ‘drag it all the way over here?’”
“As if you’d actually end up doing it,” Crystal muttered under her breath. She stomped over to the basket, then pulled out a pair of black silk panties. She turned them inside out to show a crusty white stain on the inside. “Just what is this?”
Fire rushed through Rainbow Dash’s veins. She couldn’t believe this had actually worked. She wanted to just punch Crystal in the face here and now, but she forced herself to grin and say the line she’d been fantasizing about all week. “Oh, that? That’s about half the football team right there.”
Crystal shrieked and dropped the panties back into the laundry basket. The look on her face almost made it all worth it.
It was supposed to be hilarious, but for some reason Rainbow Dash didn’t feel much like laughing.
“I… you…” Crystal sputtered incoherently. Her face puffed up like a big red dodgeball, and if Rainbow Dash was lucky, her stepmom would actually burst a blood vessel in that stupidly large forehead of hers. “When I tell your father about this,” Crystal growled through clenched teeth.
Rainbow Dash got directly in her face, practically butting heads. “Yeah, that's right, run to Dad and tell him what a slut his little girl is, put on those fake crocodile tears and cry about how worried you are and you just don't know what to do with me. Stay out of my life! And it’s just corn starch, you obsequious cunt.”
Both of them stared into each other's eyes, the tension in the room a blazing inferno. Neither would back down.
That tension shattered with the sound of a closing car door. They both looked towards the door, back at each other, then bolted towards the kitchen.
“Girls, I'm hom—”
“Blaze, your daughter is out of control!”
“Dad, Crystal is a creepy perv, and a bitch, and she won't mind her own damn business!”
Her father sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Really? Is it too much to ask for one evening where you two aren’t screaming at each other by the time I walk in the door?”
“Yes!” they both shouted.
“Rainbow Dash,” her dad said after several moments of simmering tension. “I know you and Crystal don't always see eye to eye, but do you have to antagonize her at every turn?”
Crystal nodded smugly.
Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth. “Oh, so now you're taking her side, huh? I see how it is.”
Her father growled a low warning. “I'm not taking sides. I am trying to negotiate peace.”
“Which I would be absolutely happy to do,” Crystal said with mock sincerity. “But every time I extend the olive branch, your daughter here—”
“Olive branch? Yeah right. More like hemlock.” Oh yeah, she’d learned that in class. Maybe it wasn’t so useless after all. What else was an education good for besides winning points in petty arguments?
“Do you see what I mean? She's absolutely wild, and—”
“Enough, both of you!” her father roared. “It has been a long day, a longer week, and I cannot deal with your petty bickering right now.” Without another word, he stormed off into the living room.
“I'm so sorry, dear,” Crystal called out after him, her voice sickeningly sweet. “I'll put in some dinner and make you coffee.”
Rainbow Dash was left alone in the foyer, fuming to herself. She couldn't compete when Crystal turned on the charm and fawned over her father. Obsequious indeed.
“Whatever,” she muttered to herself. “Was gonna go hang out with Fluttershy anyway.”
“Ugh, I hate her so much!” Rainbow Dash roared, taking out her anger on a stuffed hippopotamus named Jeffery.
Fluttershy winced as her stuffed animals were brutalized, but she didn’t speak up in their defense. “Was she that bad when you first met her?”
Rainbow Dash grumbled and continued to pace back and forth in Fluttershy’s room. “Hated her from the moment I saw her. Stupid swimming contest that stupid Dad had to drag me to. She only got bronze, I don’t know why he had to talk to her. Ugh.” With a grunt, Rainbow Dash fell backwards onto Fluttershy’s bed, spreading her arms out.
“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy mumbled. She rested a soft hand on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and gave a bright smile. “Um, I talked with my parents, you’re welcome to stay as long as you need to sort things out.”
“Uh-huh. Thanks, Shy, you’re the best.” Rainbow Dash raised a hand into the air, staring through her spread fingers at the ceiling light. Just how many times had she retreated to the comfort and stability of Fluttershy’s house since Crystal Waters had moved in? At this point it was her home away from home. “I guess it wasn’t really that bad at first. I mean, it was super weird when Dad started dating again to begin with, but the girls he found were all dumb and would never stick around long, y’know? I didn’t care. He’s a grown man, he can do what he wants. As long as they left me alone, it was fine.”
“Crystal has always been really sweet to me, but the two of you seem to mix together about as well as oil and, well, water.”
“I guess I’m the one that catches on fire? Gee, thanks.” Rainbow Dash tried to grin, but she couldn’t put her heart in it. “She just… doesn’t respect me at all. She’s always trying to tell me what to do, rooting through my stuff, sticking her fat nose where it doesn’t belong. You remember when I got kicked off the baseball team? No support there from her at all, just lecture after lecture about how it was all my fault.”
Fluttershy nodded. Rainbow Dash supposed that she’d already unloaded this particular rant on her friend at least a dozen times now, but she always listened.
“But Crystal and your father, they um…” Fluttershy fidgeted and twiddled her fingers together.
Rainbow Dash smacked her palm into her forehead multiple times. “I know, I know, alright? They love each other. She makes him happy. Their wedding was the happiest I ever really saw him. After Mom…” Rainbow Dash growled under her breath as she stood up and began pacing again. She didn’t want to take her thoughts down that road. “I told Dad, and Crystal, that I was cool with it as long as she didn’t try to be my mom. So much for that.”
“Is there really nothing you can do to get along?” Fluttershy asked, tilting her head.
“I’ve tried, she’s tried. It always ends up with one of us screaming at the other. What’s the point anymore? It’d be better if I could just get out of the house and move on. Get a sports scholarship and make it into college. But I’m not sure I can last another two years like this.”
Her train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door. Rainbow Dash pulled it open roughly, only to see Fluttershy’s kid brother.
“Heya, Rainbow Dash,” Zephyr Breeze said. His voice cracked, and he tried to casually lean against the doorframe, pulling himself up to a height that hadn’t quite hit his growth spurt yet. “If you get scared at night, come down to my room, and I’ll be happy to—”
Rainbow Dash slammed the door in his face, and locked it for good measure. “Speaking of nosy and obnoxious.”
Fluttershy giggled. “Sorry. Are you feeling any better?”
“Yeah. Thanks. It’s hard to stay mad when you’re around, you know?” Rainbow Dash grabbed the previously brutalized hippopotamus, tossed it to the ground, and leapt on it as if it were a beanbag chair. She flicked on the TV, then began digging around in the cabinet. “Come on, let’s play some video games or something.”
“Um…” Fluttershy twiddled her fingers together, then coughed. “I know you’re upset and all Rainbow Dash, but I still wanted to work on getting those letters folded tonight.”
“Oh. Right.” Rainbow Dash glanced over at the desk. There were several stacks of cute stationery, some of it already full of perfect flowery handwriting. The stack was way bigger than she would have guessed. “Yeah, alright. Man, this is going to take forever. It’s just tedious, right? Can we watch Netflix or something while we do it?”
Fluttershy held a finger up to her lips, then smiled. “Okay, but I get to pick what we watch.”
“Deal.”
Rainbow Dash sat in the booth of her favorite local diner across from her father. A steaming mug of coffee rested on the table in front of her, the heady aroma heavenly this early in the morning.
“I’m glad you’re finally ready to sit down and talk,” her father said with a smile.
“Eh, I was having a lot of fun with Fluttershy. Her family doesn’t mind.” This particular sleepover had lasted a full week. Fluttershy’s parents were always so kind and permissive, but even Rainbow Dash could tell when she was overstaying her welcome. “I don’t know. I feel a lot more at home over there than I do at our house, these days. I miss when it was just the two of us.”
Her father winced, then blew on his coffee a few times. The multitude of colors in his hair seemed a little duller since the last time she saw him. “Do you really think that? Do you really hate Crystal that much?”
Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “She starts the fights. I just finish them. Come on, Dad, how many times have we all sat down and agreed to try and ‘work together as a family?’ Has it worked even once?”
“It’s attitudes like that that make change impossible,” he said with a sigh. “I get it, she can be tricky to deal with sometimes. But you really do go out of your way to piss her off, and you know it. I mean, corn starch in the underwear makes for a hilarious prank, in the right context. But was anyone really laughing this time?”
“Okay, maybe I overdid it,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. She grabbed a sugar packet from the dispenser on the table, then idly spun it around, so as to avoid looking at her dad. “But she should have kept her nose out of my business.”
“It’s not about the specifics, but I did talk to Crystal about it. She was just worried about you, Dash, but she promised that she’ll try to—”
“She says that a lot, but she never changes,” Rainbow Dash interjected, slamming a fist onto the table. “You know, it, I know it, she knows it. It’s an empty promise.”
Her father narrowed his eyes, staying silent long enough that she began to fidget. Finally, he let out a long sigh. “What do you want me to do about it, Dash?”
“I don’t know. How should I know?” Rainbow Dash looked away, unable to meet his gaze. “I just… can’t live with her anymore. Sooner or later one of us is going to snap completely.”
“I see. Look, how many options do you think there really are here?” Her father grunted and drummed his fingers on the table. “Would you be happy if I divorced her just like that?” He punctuated the question with a snap of his fingers.
Rainbow Dash choked on her coffee, and her heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t serious, she knew. But how often had she dreamed of her father actually doing it? Within an eyeblink that bitch would be gone, and it could be just her and her dad again. A part of her wanted to open her mouth to say yes.
But it wasn’t a real offer. And more importantly, even if it was, she knew better.
“Damnit, Dad,” Rainbow Dash growled. She slumped forward, pressing her forehead against the table. “Even if you were serious, I could never ask you to do that. As much as I hate her, she’s good for you. I’m not an idiot.”
Her father smiled and shook his head. “That’s remarkably mature for you, Rainbow Dash. Maybe there’s still hope for us yet. There are other things to consider. Maybe family therapy?”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right? Do you really think forcing us to spend more time together will fix anything? Besides, psychology is total bullcrap anyway.”
“It’s a perfectly legitimate profession,” her dad said. He took another sip of his coffee, keeping his gaze level. “But you’re probably right. Maybe with enough time, and money spent, you two might get somewhere, but I suspect by the time that happens you’ll be old enough to where it doesn’t matter anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her father took a deep breath. “I get it, Dash, I do. You don’t want a mother. Crystal won’t respect your boundaries. I think, given the right context and time, the two of you could be friends someday. But the way things are right now, with the two of you living under the same roof, I don’t think that’ll ever happen.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, and her heart pounded in her chest. Where was he going with this?”
“I did have at least one more idea.” He paused and took a sip of his coffee, then grimaced from the taste. “You’re old enough now. Well, almost. I was thinking that maybe we could get you your own place.”
“Whoa.” Rainbow Dash blinked several times. Did she hear that right? “What do you mean, my own place? Like, a place that's my own?”
Her father took a deep breath. “Somewhere small that you can make your own. I’ll pay for it, of course. Mostly. You’ll need to get a job and contribute in some way. I'm thinking I'll visit at least three times a week. But you have to be responsible enough to get yourself to school on time every day. If you do nothing but party and your grades suffer because of this, I'll pull the plug in a snap.”
“That's…”
“It's just an idea, of course,” her father said hurriedly. He waved his hands about like he always tended to when he was nervous. “I don’t want you to think that I’m kicking you out. You’re perfectly able to just say—”
“So. Freaking. Awesome!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She jumped up and slammed her hands on the table. It attracted the attention of the waitstaff, but she didn't care. “I could make my own recording studio! Nobody around to complain. And I could practice soccer in the house too, if I just don't keep anything dumb and breakable around. I mean the job part sucks I guess, but it can’t be that hard, right?”
Her father chuckled, then wiped the sweat from his brow. “I suppose I should have expected an answer like that. Though don't get too crazy now; you'll have neighbors, and I'm sure there'll be a security deposit. I mean it, Rainbow, you can have fun on your own, but you need to prove that you can be responsible.”
Rainbow Dash stood up a little straighter. “I got this, Dad. As long as Crystal doesn't bother me. She's uh, on board with this, right?”
“I still need to discuss it with her, but she'll agree.” He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Well, it’s not really up for discussion. I promise she won't bother you at your new place. Though you might have to stomach a family get-together or two when the holidays roll around.”
“We've got worse relatives than Crystal,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. “Once a year is easy enough to manage. Crap, this is really happening, isn't it? Fluttershy is going to freak.”
Her father smiled then stood up himself. “I don't know if this is the right answer, Dash, but I think it's worth a shot.”
Rainbow Dash wrapped her arms around her father in a tight hug. She could feel the stares of the other patrons, but screw them all. “Thanks Dad. You're the best.”
Rainbow Dash scowled as the bitter liquid washed across her tongue. She hated tea. She carefully set the teacup down on its coaster, and glared at her father and Fluttershy, who sat across the kitchen table from her. Her very own kitchen table! “Okay, is there a joke here or something I’m missing, because I’m not getting it.”
Her father and Fluttershy both glanced at each other, then burst out laughing.
“What?” Rainbow Dash demanded. She felt her cheeks heating up.
“It’s your house warming tea party!” her dad said with a wide grin. “I’m just following tradition, that’s all.”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “Since when have tea parties ever been a tradition? Do I look like a tea party kind of girl to you?”
“I don’t know if tradition is really the right word for it, but, um.” Fluttershy hid behind her hair, but a smile still peeked out. “I just thought back to when you first came to town, and it felt right.”
“I still don’t get it,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. She wracked her brain, trying to think back to when she was just a little kid. Fluttershy liked tea parties, but Rainbow Dash had never been particularly keen on them.
“I remember that first week like it was yesterday,” her father said, his eyes distant. “You were so scared, and lost, and lonely. You just moped around the whole time, unwilling to explore, play, or make friends.”
Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath, her eyes downcast. Soon enough, this would all be over, and she’d be alone in her own place at last. She could endure a bit of teasing from the only two people she cared about.
Her dad glanced over at Fluttershy, smiled, and continued. “Then one day, you were outside for whatever reason, and found the neighbor girl having a tea party with her animals in the back yard. You told her that tea parties were dumb. She started crying. Then you spent the next four hours having a tea party with her because you felt bad. You nearly started crying yourself when I had to make you come in for dinner.”
“Okay, okay, I remember now, you can stop,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, She reached out and put a hand on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “Your dad told me you started acting normal again after that. And since I got you as a friend, I was a lot happier too. I know this is silly, but we want you to be happy here.”
Oh crap. She was not going to cry over this.
Rainbow Dash grabbed her tea cup and downed all of it in one gulp.
Once the tea party was over and her father and Fluttershy had said their goodbyes, Rainbow Dash ran around her new apartment, giggling like a madwoman. A part of her wanted to go completely wild and wreck the place, scribble on the walls, kick a hole in the door. Who would stop her? But she knew better, because this was hers now, at least in a sense. She’d have to clean it up if she did.
She was going to have to do her own dishes, and her own laundry. Cook her own food. Well, her Dad would probably still help with a lot of that. He had promised to come by for dinner pretty often, and she otherwise knew how to use a microwave.
And the music. Sure, the acoustics weren't the best, but the walls were thick, and while she couldn’t rock the block, she could at least play to her heart’s content.
Rainbow Dash flopped onto her bed after a long night of just enjoying her freedom. It felt right, and while she could stay up all night if she really wanted to, she had a job interview tomorrow afternoon that she’d promised to go to.
But sleep refused to come easily. She lay in her bed, alone, staring up at her darkened ceiling, listening to the sounds of her new house. They were unfamiliar to her, different creaks, different drafts. That stupid tea party had her thinking about when she first moved to Canterlot with her Dad. How she had stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling, scared and alone and so unsure. That night, she had crawled into her father’s bed and slept there instead.
She wasn’t a little kid anymore, so the very thought of it was ridiculous.
But still, she…
The phone rang three times before someone picked up. “Hello?” Crystal asked, her voice slurred with sleep. “Dash, is that you? It’s almost midnight.”
Rainbow Dash tensed up. There was that hint of an accusation in Crystal’s tone, that made her want to snap back. Instead she took a deep breath, and said, “Hi Crystal. Sorry to wake you. Can I talk to Dad? Don’t worry, everything’s fine.”
Silence hung in the night air, and Rainbow Dash began to wonder if the call had dropped when she heard a shuffle of movement and the groggy voice of her father. “Dash? Is something wrong”
“Hey Dad. Everything’s fine, I promise. Really, don’t worry. I just… I dunno. Wanted to say good night.”
There was a long pause before her dad spoke again, a hint of laughter in his voice. “It’s a bit late for that, Dash.”
“Yeah, well.” Her face burned and it took a surprising amount of effort to force the words out. “I guess, I also wanted to say thanks again. And, uh, that I love you.”
“Heh.” She could hear the warmth in his voice. “I love you too. Goodnight, champ.”
“Good night, Dad.”