• Published 15th Sep 2013
  • 11,281 Views, 412 Comments

Hoof Covers Bruise - Arwhale



When you take the blame, you'll take the pain. Scootaloo took the blame.

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Better

Spike was thankful for the sobs to end. Exhaustion at last paid his injured rib its due respect, and he fell silent, scarcely breathing at all.

Twilight pulled her face away from his head, which still lay cradled in her forelegs. His eyes were shut, but their fluttering indicated he was still awake.

“Spike?” she whispered. His eyes flickered open, only to shut back again. Twilight traced her hoof over his face, barely grazing the surface of his scales. “You gonna be alright?”

He pursed his lips in reply, and breathed out slowly through his nose. Twilight could feel the warmth of his breath on her hoof. With a wheeze, he spoke to her in a low voice.

“What am I… What am I gonna tell her, Twi? What am I…”

A soft shush from Twilight kept his words at bay. She rubbed the side of her face against his cheek, something which he did not flinch away from.

“You don’t have to say anything to Scootaloo, yet. She’s… you’re both hurting, right now,” she said. “All either of you have to worry about for now is getting better, Spike.”

“But...” His right hand drifted down to the bandages on his rib. He winced. “When, I mean, how will I know when it’s time? Should I ever tell her? What if… gah…”

His last few words were gasped out, his hampered lungs unable to keep up with the rising panic in his chest. Twilight gently set her hoof over his lips, pushing his raised head back into the pillow.

“Don’t worry about that, now,” she said. “Alright? The time will come. She’ll have to know, but…”

Twilight reached over, setting her hoof on his left hand. He closed his eyes.

“No matter what happens, you did the right thing.”


With mouth agape, Cheerilee watched Rainbow Dash gallop away, bolting down the hall. The doctor shouted for her to stop.

“Wait! Where are you going? Come back!”

He was not acknowledged. Rainbow Dash turned right, heading back in the direction she had come. Eyeing the corner where the pegasus had disappeared, Cheerilee gave her head a rough shake to regain her bearings.

“What in Equestria…?” The doctor’s question trailed off in a soft voice. Cheerilee’s lips curled downward in thought. Their conversation with the stallion besides her replayed itself in her head, bringing a shallow frown to her face.

“I don’t know,” she said. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t… I probably shouldn’t have told her about Scootaloo’s mother. I… oh dear.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head ruefully. The doctor’s expression soon matched hers as he moved side by side with her.

“You couldn’t have known that,” he said. “No matter, I suppose… Though this does make things complicated, I will admit. It will be a little while before we will consider her condition stable enough for release, given the severity of her injuries, but if there are no parents or guardians in the picture that will be able to take care of her, and if Rainbow Dash is… how old is she? I am sorry.”

Cheerilee had to think for a moment. As the age came to mind, her frown turned into a look of despair. She knew full well the implications of the question.

“Not yet 21, I know that. Not… not old enough to adopt.” She bit her lip. The stallion sighed.

“I see. And if all this is the case…”

Cheerilee didn’t need him to complete the sentence. She nodded her head, and sighed deeply.

“For now, I am going to have to recommend her for FPS care.”


Rarity’s eyes were closed, but she was not asleep. She couldn’t have even if she’d wanted to.

The sanitary smell of the hospital floors stuck to the lining of her throat like wet bath tissue. There was no avoiding the acrylic, sterile stench. It was everywhere.

Nor was there any escape from the memories it brought to mind. She’d been here in this same room, sitting on the same cushions, less than two months ago. Waiting on the edge of a new reality for her sister, one from which there was no escape…

Rarity’s remembrance was clearer now than on the day it had occurred. She hadn’t been able to sleep then, either. Totally exhausted, barely able to hold her head up… but still, she sat wide awake, staring off into the murk of night through the hospital window. Staring at her reflection, through it, or far beyond. Her thoughts had moved at too frenzied a pace to allow for rest; the story was the same for tonight.

Her hoof tightened around the small body in her grasp. In reply, she felt Sweetie Belle sink warmly into her, welcoming the gesture. Rarity shut her eyes tighter.

She wasn’t sure what it was at first. For a suspended moment, the tiny hairs on the ridges of her ears prickled like spines. The sound was familiar, a distant, echoing rattle coupled with a series of sharp hiccups… sobs… reverberating down the hall.

Rarity’s eyes opened. She turned to look down the hall. Out the corner of her eye, she saw that Applejack had already done the same. Sweetie Belle angled her chin up at Rarity.

“What’s that…?” she whispered. Rarity’s head naturally leaned forward with concentration. The hoofsteps were approaching fast; whoever it was, they were coming at a dead sprint. Her pupils expanded.

“I don’t know…” She exchanged looks with Applejack. The other mare leaned forward in her seat, trying to get a better look down the hall.

The cyan blur made everypony in the room rear their heads back, scarcely visible as it thundered through the room. Barely a second had gone by before it disappeared through the automatic door, lost to the outside. Applejack raised her eyebrows.

“What in tarnation?” she asked the room. “Was that…?”

Applejack did not need to say the name. It only took a moment for everyone to figure it out. Rarity nodded, eyebrows raised in worry.

“It had to be,” she affirmed. Applejack grimaced.

“What in Equestria is… something’s wrong,” she said. “Ah think maybe Ah should go out and talk to her…”

Rarity was about to nod her head in agreement, but suddenly, she stopped herself. A strange, nervous feeling washed over her, freezing her head and hooves in place.

She remembered the downcast, averted eyes and slumped over posture. Rainbow’s sense of total detachment from the world around her, deep in thought and totally silent. It reminded her of something, something very familiar to her that she couldn’t quite put her hoof on. A recent memory, but nonetheless something she could not recall. Until…

Rarity gasped. Her pupils shrank to the size of pinheads.

“I’ll go,” she blurted out. Applejack, meanwhile, was already on her way to the door, but Rarity stopped her with an outstretched hoof. Sweetie Belle looked up at her with a puzzled expression, but Rarity shot a comforting smile back down at her in an effort to ease her confusion. Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, alright… Ah’ll go with you,” she declared. But to her surprise, Rarity shook her head.

“No! I mean, err, no… I think I need to talk to her alone,” she said. “Trust me. Here, Sweetie Belle…”

Her little sister did not know what to say as Rarity hopped down from her seat, picking her up and setting her down with great haste next to Apple Bloom. The two Apple sisters exchanged flummoxed glances, looking equally unsure of what to make of what was happening. “Just stay right there, okay? I’ll be back very soon.”

Not having much of a choice, Sweetie Belle nodded. “Um… okay, Rarity. B-But…”

The unicorn nearly bowled Applejack over as she left the room in hot pursuit.

...


The lobby passed by in a blur, and within moments, she was outside.

Rainbow felt the shock of cool air cascade over her body, from head to tailtip, and behind her, the hospital glowed brightly through the windows, obscuring the stars above. But Rainbow Dash did not look up. Her knees buckled underneath her, and her head fell into the dirt. She didn't bother to cover her head as the sobs came in droves.

But the heaves of icy air came through gritted teeth. The blood vessels on her neck popped out like wire cords, and in a matter of moments, a heated redness began to spread over her facial features. The shuddering sobs became raspier. More guttural, turning to something akin to a vocalized growl.

She peeled her head away from the grass. Her eyes stared straight ahead, into space, but their direction was clear. It was where she'd seen the column of smoke, toward the outskirts of town. Even in the nighttime sky she could picture it clearly.

Her molars scraped together. Heat from a tiny spark in her eyes evaporated the tears away and into the air, and her lips curled back away from her bared teeth. Rage swelled up in her chest, heating every breath she expelled.

Then, with a rough swing, she hit herself in the head. And then again with the other, even harder. She boxed herself once over the ears, causing a pained grunt to escape her, but she only increased the force of her hits until they weren't enough. And then, she banged her head against the ground. Every pained grunt morphed into high-pitched roars that served only to fuel her self-abuse. She dug into the ground with her hooves and scraped the dirt around her head in a fit of unrestrained fury, and then, with the strongest effort yet, she reared her head all the way back as far as it could go, preparing to smash it down...

And something snatched a hold of her mane. It yanked her head back, stopping her short of the finishing blow. In a knee-jerk reaction, Rainbow Dash reached a hoof around to dislodge her mane from the unseen pulling force, but a loud voice halted her.

"Rainbow Dash! What in Equestria are you doing?"

It was unmistakable who the voice belonged to. The tug on Rainbow's mane lessened, but it was still there, allowing Rainbow Dash to whirl her head around.

Rarity stood only a couple of meters away. The sky blue aura around her horn glowed prominently in the dusk, and her eyes were opened wide with pupils narrowed into needlepoints that were focused straight on her.

"Rainbow," Rarity said her name again. "Rainbow, what are you doing?"

The snappiness of her earlier tone waned rather quickly as the air around them settled down. It was replaced with a near-whisper. With head throbbing, Rainbow let out another growl of frustration, and tried once more to pull herself away.

"Nothing..." While pathetic, she tried her best to maintain a tough facade. "What are you doing here?"

Rarity saw through the façade without any effort. Seeing Rainbow's tearstained face, flushed bright red and dotted with marks, her own expression softened.

"When you ran out of the hospital, you... I was very worried. So, I came out to see what was wrong."

The statement was unassuming and simple, spoken quietly and calmly as possible. Rainbow Dash was still huffing and puffing, obviously agitated, and Rarity did not want to make things worse. She watched with caution, keeping a gentle magical grip on Rainbow's mane. Her friend wiped her runny snout with a sniffle.

"Nothing's wrong. Just... whatever. Go away." The demand came rather out of the blue, as though Rainbow had changed her mind about telling her something at the last second. "Just leave me alone."

Rarity's horn did not stop glowing. She shook her head, frowning deeply.

"Why, so you can go on beating yourself to a pulp again? No. I won't do that, Rainbow." She stepped closer. "I won't do that."

Unfortunately, her insistence only appeared to bring more of Rainbow's suppressed anger to the surface. She raised her voice, making an obvious effort to suck in any more tears that were threatening to fall.

"I said, go away!" She stomped her front hoof forward in a bluff charge, trying to intimidate Rarity. It did not work. Rarity took another step forward, the glow around her horn staying in place.

"No. I am not stupid, Rainbow Dash. I know something is wrong..."

"I never said you were!" retorted Rainbow. She seemed hurt Rarity would even suggest such a thing. "You... you wouldn't even be able to help anyway, okay?"

She turned her head away, abandoning her bold face and avoiding eye contact altogether. Rarity took it as an opportunity to approach even closer, stopping just a couple of steps away. She leaned her head forward.

"Beating yourself up isn't going to help anything either, Rainbow," she said. She waited a moment to see if Rainbow Dash would reply, but no sound came from the pegasus, who only turned away from her even more. Rarity grimaced. "Please tell me what's wr--"

"Me!"

Rarity blinked in momentary shock. Right after snapping at her, Rainbow's head hung so low it touched the ground. She closed her eyes, chest shuddering with suppressed sobs. Although taken aback, Rarity was careful not to raise her voice as she responded.

"What do you mean?"

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth together so loud that Rarity could hear them from where she was standing. "I... it's me, okay? I'm what's wrong. I'm... the worst pony in Equestria. Okay? You happy now?"

Bitterness underlined every word. Rarity furrowed her brow. Treading carefully, she said, "No... not happy, no. But..." She quickly switched back to the subject at hoof. "...what in the world makes you think that, dear?"

The answer came much later than before. Rainbow Dash appeared to shield her face with her shoulder, speaking down to the ground, but her voice was loud enough to make Rarity's ears twitch.

"Because... 'cause I... I can't tell you," she suddenly changed her mind. Rarity was not satisfied by that answer. She did not let her displeasure show externally, staying calm as she pressed further.

"Why not?"

"Because you wouldn't... I mean, you'd..." Rainbow groaned with frustration. "Just go away, okay? Leave me al--"

"No." Rarity cut her off before she could finish the sentence. "I already told you, no. Not until I know you won't keep doing... well, whatever it was that you were doing." She gestured to Rainbow's face. "You already look bad enough as it is..."

"No I don't!"

Rainbow Dash's hoarse voice sliced through the air with the power of an ultimatum. For a second time, Rarity was shocked out of speech. Rainbow sent a small rock flying with a hard kick, making Rarity flinch back.

"Until I've got tubes stuck in my legs pumping me full of pain meds and I'm on a hospital bed right next to her, then I'm not 'bad enough!'"

She turned full circle to engage Rarity with a bestial snarl. She resembled a beast cornered by a predator much larger than herself, desperation fomenting into the last rage of a final, hopeless stand. Rarity felt the air turn to frost around her, prickling her coat like bits of broken glass.

The volume of Rainbow's voice only made the silence afterward even louder. Rarity breathed through her open mouth. Her lips twitched with unspoken words, but Rainbow's gaze kept them momentarily at bay until, at last, Rarity spoke.

Or rather, squeaked.

"Err... 'her'?" Rarity's ears fell back on her head.

It was only a simple word, asked as a question. But it was all it took. Rarity watched much of the heat extinguish from her friend's eyes until only wisps of gray smoke remained. The features of her face wilted, drooping like the petals of a summer flower at the onset of autumn, and the rage drained away from her like fluid from a wound. The veins bulging around her neck receded into her skin, and with a defeated sigh, she hung her head once more.

"S—Scootaloo. Who else would I be talking about?"

The sentence was delivered without any of the usual snark that would have accompanied it. Rarity nodded once in understanding, breathing an inward sigh of relief that her friend no longer looked ready to pounce on her. She spoke calmly and clearly, but still had not let her guard down just yet.

"Rainbow... you are scaring me. I'm scared for you, and scared for Scootaloo, too. Please, I'm going to ask you again... what is wrong?"

She half-braced herself for another retort, but all she got was more silence. And despite everything that had transpired so far, Rarity wasn't sure which one she would have rather had. But eventually, Rainbow Dash did say something, in a tone of voice that was a far cry from her shouting from earlier. She turned her head in her direction, but her eyes were close to shut.

"I don't want to tell you. But... I guess I deserve whatever you say to me anyway." She swept a hoof over her eyes. "Sorry for screaming at you. I'm...I-I'm..."

"You were upset. It's okay," Rarity assured her. "We all get that way, sometimes. Say things we don't mean...things we regret..."

She trailed off with a cough. Rainbow Dash shook her head slowly.

"It's... my fault Scootaloo got hurt."

Rainbow did not look up from the ground. Her eyes squeezed shut, and her teeth clenched together the moment the admission of guilt left her lips. Rarity reared her head back.

"Your fault... what are you talking about? How is the fire your fault?"

The question came out a little more gratingly than Rarity might have intended. Nonetheless, the confession sounded so ridiculous that Rarity was less appalled than she was confused. Rainbow Dash groaned, pressing a hoof against her forehead.

"It wasn't the... ugh!" She plopped her backside onto the grass. "It wasn't, I mean, she wasn't..."

Rarity gave her a moment to compose herself and come up with what to say. She followed Rainbow's lead, sitting down as well. She scooted herself over the cool grass and waited expectantly.

"It wasn't the fire, okay?" Rainbow finally managed to say. "That isn't even... That's not why Scootaloo got hurt. No one even knows how the fire happened..."

With every passing statement, Rarity's confusion only became magnified. As did her sense of unease. She raised an eyebrow.

"Rainbow, I have no idea what you mean." Her sharp tone from before quickly gave way to deep concern. "Did... did you do something to her? Or..."

The backlash to the suggestion was immediate.

"No!" Rainbow whirled onto her, eyes shimmering. "I mean... well, not really, I mean... it's not like that! No, no, no! No!"

Rarity almost fell onto her back. She held up a hoof to cover her face out of a reflex. "Okay, okay! Relax, Rainbow! I never thought you did, but... you said this was your fault, and... I'm just trying to understand. I'm sorry. Please..."

Rarity kept her hoof held between them like some sort of protective barrier. Rainbow Dash appeared to listen, and once again, simmered down. It did take some time, however. She shook her head apologetically.

"It's okay." She scraped at the dirt with her hoof, uprooting a few blades of the damp grass in the process. "I get it..."

"Then how did she get hurt?" Rarity tried to push the conversation back on track. She dearly hoped she did not sound too impatient or anxious. "Is she going to be alright? What did the doctor tell you?"

There was nothing open-ended about the question. Rainbow Dash's ears twitched, as if they were shooing away a buzzing fly. She bit her bottom lip. Rarity was patient, but after another several seconds went by, she pressed just a little bit further.

"Please, dear. What did he tell you?"

A moment passed, but Rainbow, at last, nodded her head silently, indicating that she'd heard. That she wasn't ignoring the question. Rarity picked up on the signal, keeping her lips sealed. Rainbow's eyes squeezed shut, her complexion wrinkling in a pained grimace.

The first words came out quietly, so much so that the wind could have carried them away like strands of floating ribbon.

"Her dad... beat her up."

The air fell away like smoke under a strong wind. Echoing mutedly, the admission stunned Rarity into silence. So quiet that even the gentle breeze felt like a roar in their ears.

No sooner had the declaration left her lips that Rainbow Dash's shoulders slumped forward, and her lips pursed shut. Her whole body seemed to quiver and shake as though she had just been exorcised of a demon, leaving her weak and fighting for balance. Her wings laid limply at her sides, the feathers curled inward like a bird's that had been dried out in the sun.

"He beat her up, Rarity. I-It had to be him, h-he... broke her leg, a-and she's got so many pain meds going through her that she's... she's... And you know what?"

Her tone took a sudden turn. An eerie, vitriolic smirk showed itself on her lips. "It all makes sense, now. Everything. Why she wanted to be around me, why she was so obsessed? I get it. After this. much. time, I finally get it. Her mom's dead, her dad wants her dead, a-and so..."

Her voice raised in volume steadily, the shakiness of every word spoken making the hairs of Rarity's mane prickle like spines. Rarity did not say a word, watching and listening with mouth agape.

"And then who's left? Why, the amaaazing, awesome, and don't forget the coolest pony in aaall of Equestria, Rainbow Dash!" The mockery in her tone was plain as the stars above their heads. "The pony who's so awesome, that she can't even remember your birthday, Scootaloo! Sorry I didn't get you a gift, it just slipped my mind! I'll get one for you next week? Sounds great? Awesome! See ya later!"

Her voice was reaching dangerous levels. Rarity grimaced, ears flopping back as Rainbow continued her monologue. Her hooves stamped into the dirt as she began to pace back and forth, leaving clear imprints in the soil.

"The pony who's so awesome, she'll just fly over your head and show off while you stay right there on the ground, Scoots! Look at meee! After all, it's not like you'll ever want to be able to fly just like me someday, right? Right?"

The final word was hollered, shrill with the volume. Rainbow Dash bared her teeth at the sky like a wolf. Rarity took a step back.

"Oh wait, what's that? You do want to learn how to fly? And what's that? You want me to teach you?" Tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto the grass. Here speech was getting less and less coherent. "Ohhh, okay! Sure, Scoot! Whatever you say! I'd love to! But wait, there's only one problem!" she shouted. "I'm so awesome that I'm gonna forget all about it and leave you hanging at the park! And then, when you leave, you can just go home, a-and... and..."

She did not finish the thought. Her jaw appeared to freeze in place, lips ceasing to move at all. And then, for the first time since her tirade began, she dared to look over to where her friend was still standing.

Rarity had retreated several steps. Fright and concern defined her features, and she stared at Rainbow Dash with unblinking eyes. A thin film of moisture over them reflected the moonlight back to her.

Both mares gazed wordlessly at one another. A smug owl hooted in the distance, and the cool breeze picked up in speed, raising the hairs all along their spines. They remained there for a time neither one of them could have estimated.

Until, at last, Rainbow Dash was the first to look away. Her voice carried no authority, no volume or confidence. In fact, it seemed devoid of any spirit at all.

"I... just go," she said. "I'm sorry I... go. Please..."

She shivered, lowering her head. Her wings drooped at her sides, feathers brushing against the blades of grass. Through folded ears she heard the soft pitter patter of hoofsteps, which only made her sink further into the ground.

Her pleas were answered at last. Once again, she was alone, and she couldn't have deserved anything more. The air closed over her like a cocoon, and slowly, her sensations ebbed away until even the chill of the nighttime wind was lost to her...

Something touched her shoulder. Something warm. Rainbow Dash sucked in a sharp breath, and then, that same, familiar voice, right beside her ear.

"You're feeling guilt. The kind that almost makes you wish you were dead... or at least, that you deserve to be." It was a simple statement, but the weight of it hit Rainbow Dash in the gut. Rarity sidled closer. "I understand. I know the kind of feelings you're experiencing."

Rainbow Dash's lips curled down into a pained grimace. She bit down hard on her lip, and shook her head.

"No you don't," she whispered. "How do you know? Y-You never..."

"Oh, I never?" Rarity's voice was as clear as it was sharp, raised slightly. But not angry. "Understand me. If there is anypony in Equestria that knows... it's me."

She squeezed a little bit tighter. The touch was not something Rainbow could passively ignore. The pegasus grimaced, and her eyebrows creased. Rarity smiled ruefully, the color in her irises dimming into gray.

"It's not something I am proud to admit. And I know you don't believe me." She let go of Rainbow's shoulders, scooting back to give her some breathing room but staying within hoof's reach. "That's okay."

Rainbow Dash felt her scoot away, and despite herself, she looked over her shoulder at Rarity. The white unicorn gestured back to the hospital, pointing to the glowing waiting room window where the distant, blurry outlines of everypony else were seated.

"Do you see my sister?" She asked. The question was somewhat rhetorical, as everypony behind them appeared only as vague figures, but Rainbow, in spite of herself, nodded anyway.

"Yeah..."

"And you know why she lost her leg, correct?"

Rainbow pursed her lips in an inquisitive frown. Not sure what Rarity was getting at, she nodded slowly. "Uhh... yeah? The rattlesnake bite and everything... Applejack told me about it. She told everypony."

Rarity gave her another sad smile. "Only partly true. It... yes. That was how it happened. But why she was out in Applejack's orchard to begin with, the place where she was bitten... that blame is all mine."

She paused for a moment to let the revelation sink in. Rainbow Dash's confusion, however, only intensified. Slowly, her despair and detachment from the rest of her surroundings turned to a morbid sense of curiosity, however temporary. "What are you talking about?"

Now, it seemed it was Rarity's turn to be put on the spot. She swallowed a lump in her throat, took a deep breath with half-lidded eyes. She began to speak, slowly and clearly like somepony trying to compensate for a shakiness that would have otherwise been present.

"I had a project," she began. "One of the biggest I'd ever undertaken: a whole series of interconnected designs for a prestigious contest in Manehattan. Due to the amount of work I had to do to finish them, I hadn't gotten much sleep for many days in a row... err, if any at all, that is. At the time, Sweetie Belle was staying over because my parents were away… again."

Rainbow Dash’s brow wrinkled at the last word’s emphasis. Rarity brushed a strand of her mane away from her face, and continued on.

“By Saturday morning, I was close to done with the lineup. I had maybe a few more adjustments here and there, maybe an additional headdress I was thinking about adding, but otherwise I was done. But Sweetie Belle… she had been telling me that I wasn’t getting enough sleep. She told me she was worried about me.” Rarity shook her head regretfully. “I suppose I should have known I was doing something wrong when my own little sister had to resort to telling me off, but… I didn’t listen. Not even that morning, when everything was almost finished. I told her I’d been up all night yet again, and she nearly threw a fit on my behalf.”

A ghost of a smile showed itself on Rarity’s lips before they creased back together in a somber frown. She looked to Rainbow Dash, who met her gaze with a neutral expression of her own. But regardless, seeing that her friend was still listening. She paused, nervously brushed her mane aside once more, and resumed.

“I told her everything was fine. She didn’t believe me, of course, but she didn’t say anything more. She made herself breakfast… just a bowl of cereal, she didn’t cook anything, heaven forbid… and went outside to play with her friends. It was a Saturday, so no school for her to worry about.” As she relived the day in her mind, Rarity peered off toward the far horizon, recounting every specific detail of the day’s events. It almost seemed as though she were delaying the climax, trying to eat away as much time as she could in an effort to procrastinate.

Eventually, she got to a point where she had to stop herself again. Rarity swallowed, licking her lips and looking down at her hooves. By this time, Rainbow Dash was no longer looking away, instead paying close attention to every detail, however miniscule, she recalled. She could plainly see the dread turning Rarity’s cream white coat pale, and the way her breathing shallowed out the longer she waited between words.

“I went to take a nap,” she said. She no longer fidgeted at her place, standing stock still instead. “I left the lineup in my workroom. I’d just laid my head down and closed my eyes, when I heard a something shattering from down the hall, followed by a massive crash. I knew it was from the workroom… when I got there… it was all gone. Knocked over, torn up, all over the floor… another three days’ work to fix, at least. The contest was in less than two. And next to one of the mannequins… there was a big, red rubber ball, along with a lot of shattered glass from the window.”

While Rarity’s eyes closed, Rainbow’s only widened. Almost unnoticeable, her mouth fell open, and she stared silently ahead, imagining the scene before her. Rarity’s voice became the background of the scene of destruction.

“I knew what had happened before Sweetie Belle had even come in through the front door. She ran upstairs, a-and when I saw her… what I said, what I screamed at her, were some of the most awful, hurtful things I’ve ever spoken to anypony in my entire life. I told her I didn’t care about her, I-I said that all she ever did was ruin everything, a-and then, after all of that… I told her to get out. I even told her I didn’t care if she left and never came back.”

She choked a bit, but her composure was not lost. With a heavy sigh, Rarity regarded Rainbow Dash with a lusterless gaze.

“That was why she was so far away. She ran away because I… basically disowned her. I drove her off. Th…that’s why she was on the orchard.” Rarity’s face blanched with shame at the revelation. “So… now do you see?”

It was a long while before Rainbow could muster up any kind of response. She could only think in a place far away, imagine the scene of the past, and hear Rarity’s words as though they were coming from a vacuum somewhere in space. Much time passed before she even realized, through her murky vision, that Rarity’s eyes were aimed at her. This forced a prompt, yet stammered reply.

“I, uh…” Rainbow could feel her own pulse in her throat. “Y-y-yeah.”

Rarity nodded once, face stoic as ever. She wiped a hoof across her eyes as they started to glisten, and sniffled loudly.

“I still remember when Applejack told me the news. I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast or so hard in my entire life. It was storming heavily, but I ran straight through it until I got to the hospital… I don’t remember what happened after. All I remember is waking back up on a hospital bed myself. A-And then... after everypony else left. I-I talked to Applejack, alone, and I told her everything. All the things I has said.” She stepped closer toward Rainbow Dash and sat down on the grass. “She was the only pony I ever told… until tonight.”

The pause that followed was long, almost unbearable. Rainbow remained silent. Behind Rarity, the hospital windows still glowed like tiny gems. But she wasn’t looking at them, but through the building itself; before her, the same room where she had confided with Applejack came into view. Rarity shivered as she could feel the farm mare’s hooves wrapped around her shoulders, holding onto her tight, speaking softly into her ear…

“She told me that it wasn’t my fault. That none of it was my fault. But do you want to know the truth?” Rarity whirled her head around, facing Rainbow again. “I didn’t really believe her. I still don’t, really. I knew what I’d done, and I wasn’t going to forget. I wanted, more than anything else, to trade places with her. It was all I felt I deserved. But Sweetie Belle? She deserved better.”

For the first time since their encounter, Rarity’s voice split. She swept the water from her eyes away.

“After how much she always cared about me, wanted to help me, always wanted to do the right thing for me, and for everypony… she deserved so much better. She deserved better than to be always carted off by a mother and father who were hardly ever around to a sister who barely gave her the time of day. She deserved better than to be ignored and treated like some kind of pest instead of the amazing pony she is. She des… She deserved better than for me to just throw her away like—like garbage!”

By the time she had finished, Rarity was yelling. All of her past efforts, however valiant, to keep herself together were slowly failing with every new word she uttered. She was almost upon Rainbow Dash, within hoof’s reach.

Her friend’s stare was intimidating, even fierce. Rainbow Dash couldn’t match it. She aimed her eyes down at the grass. The cold chill of hopelessness and guilt descended on her with the cool night’s breeze.

“Yeah… And Scoots deserves better than me.” There was a slow, plodding pace to her speech. “I should just… I…”

"Just what?" Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash flinched. She tilted her head to the side, shrugging her shoulders with nervousness.

"Just... I dunno, just... go away. I've screwed things up so bad already, a-and--"

“Stop."

Rarity said the word with a resoluteness that demanded compliance. Rainbow's ears flopped back, and her brow furrowed downward with confused concern.

"Wh-what're you talking ab--"

"I said, stop." Rarity did not even let her finish the question. Her brow furrowed sharply downward. "All this useless, self-pitying, 'woe is me'... trash. Stop it, do you understand me?”

Rarity’s voice lowered dangerously at the last sentence. Rainbow Dash found herself retreating back a step. Her lower lip curled down into a grimace, confused tears starting to form as her friend's words nailed her to the spot.

"I... I’m sorry, I just, uh, I-I..." Her jaw trembled, making whatever remaining words she had wanted to say tumble out onto the ground. "I don't..."

"If you go away, where will that leave her?" Rarity was not letting up an inch. "After today, what does she have left? Her father is gone, Rainbow. Her home is burned down. And now, you are going to just leave her, too? Is that what you're saying?"

Slowly but surely, Rarity’s voice increased in volume. Her head was cocked to the side in her demand for a reply. Feeling the heat, Rainbow Dash shook her head roughly.

"No! No, no, that's not what I... I didn't mean it like that!” She shook her head adamantly. Her voice cracked as the air around her became heavy with guilt and shame. “I didn't mean it that way..."

Her knees bent as she sank down into the grass. Rarity watched the distance between them widen, and as she looked at Rainbow's sinking expression, her own features softened. Then, she cringed herself, curling her bottom lip.

If there had ever been a time where Rainbow Dash had looked so downtrodden, Rarity did not remember. After taking a deep breath, she nodded once.

"Alright, then. I believe you, Rainbow," she said. She closed the gap between them. "I do. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so harsh. I know you didn't mean it that way."

Rainbow Dash continued to stare at the ground. But as she spoke, her ears lifted a bit on her head, indicating she was listening. Rarity approached her cautiously, repeating herself.

"I’m sorry if I made you feel worse, Rainbow. That wasn't called f..."

"No. You're right," Rainbow interrupted. Her breathing became shallower, and she shook her head. "I wasn't thinking. I was just... I'm just... scared. I'm scared I already screwed things up too much with Scoots already. I know I shouldn't be, but... "

She trailed off, a lump traveling down her throat. Irritably, she swept a lock of her mane out of her eyes. Rarity's eyebrows raised, but only briefly, and she sighed with shame.

"No no, I... I understand. Completely." Rarity reached her hoof out to touch Rainbow, half-expecting her friend to move away, but no such thing happened. She frowned, not out of anger, but from sympathy. "You're afraid of what she'll say. I know what that feels like. After what I said to Sweetie Belle that day... I was afraid, too. I wanted more than anything in the world to make it up to her, any way I could. But after everything that happened, I thought... I thought she'd hate me…”

Rainbow Dash refused to look up from the ground, neither resisting nor acknowledging the hoof on her shoulder. Rarity bit her lip, and then, with her other hoof, she reached around and took gentle hold of her chin, turning her head until the two of them were eye to eye. Rainbow flinched, but apart from that, she did not resist. Rarity's voice stayed level.

"But she didn’t. She was angry, yes… hurt, confused, shocked… but she didn’t hate me. And somehow…”

Rarity leaned her head inward, feeling Rainbow’s jaw trembling against her hoof where she held it.

“…somehow, I don’t think Scootaloo will hate you, either.”

And with that, Rarity said no more. Save for the dull whistle of the breeze though the branches of the trees nearby, the night was silent. The petite white hoof under Rainbow’s chin fell away.

But to her surprise, Rainbow did not look away from her. With her lips pursed together, she stared back at her, eyes unmoving. A ghost of a smile played upon Rarity’s lips.

“Tonight,” she began, “visit her, Rainbow. Say you’re sorry. Tell her what she means to you. But most importantly…”

She leaned her head forward.

“…show it.”

Author's Note:

This was the most difficult thing I've ever written. I think I went through 10 rewrites (yeah, I'm insane). Hope it was alright, but if there's anything you guys don't like, don't hesitate to let me know! I won't be offended, I promise!

NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST CHAPTER. I know I have already gone back on this many times, but I had to update this today after what happened. And it's going to be the moment I think everyone has been waiting for.

Have a great holiday season, guys!

~Arwhale