Sticks and Stones Broke his Bones...
The dinner table was loud, Rainbow thought, although this was through no fault of her own. Greased Lightning and Scootaloo were chatting by themselves, and with enough gusto for all three of them.
"Um..." she began, feeling her tremendous social skills leave her for the first time in a while.
Her half-hearted attempt at joining in was seized upon by Greased with the vicious speed of a panther. "Yeah, dear? Did you say something?" Rainbow flinched at the sudden explosion of attention. Greased Lightning spluttered with laughter. "Gracious, you should see your face! Scootsie, you didn't say your friend was so shy."
"I'm not shy!" Rainbow protested, desperate to salvage her reputation. "I'm just... off my game."
"She's just... yeah! Off her game," Scootaloo added, coming to Rainbow's aid with all the delicacy of a broken bottle.
"Sure she is," Lightning replied, hacking at her meal with a blunt knife. "Anyway, did you manage to get any of your things from that wreckage?"
Glad to finally be a part of things, Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, I got my books, my photo-album containing pictures of my friends, my family, me winning things... I got some of my Wonderbolts merch, a handful of my trophies, my huggy-snuggly— I mean, my sheets and some spare clothes..."
"Sounds like most of your stuff was salvageable," Lightning commented. "What did you lose?"
It took a second for Rainbow to answer the more delicate question. Tank, who had thus far been a silent spectator, trudged to his owner, who handed him a leaf of lettuce.
"Uh, food, mostly. And a few training devices I kept. A good few mementos, too."
"Huh. Pity."
"Yeah."
"Did you move the stuff to your room?" Greased asked. "If you need storage space, we have a garage..."
"I moved my books up there, as well as my, uh, sheets, but I had the rest stored in Twilight's Castle," Rainbow explained. "It's large enough, after all."
Scootaloo chuckled. "Yeah, I know! I can see it from my bedroom!"
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, it is pretty huge. I bet we made a whole lot of ponies angry for wrecking their view!"
Greased leaned back in her chair. "I just bet. Then again, maybe they like having a view of a beautiful crystal palace." Greased then eyed her daughter with growing suspicion. "Before I get carried away talking to Rainbow, don't you have homework to do?" she asked. "Something about the timeline of Equestria?"
Scootaloo groaned and slid off her chair. "Okay, okay!" she muttered. Greased grinned at Rainbow.
"She knows better than to argue," she told her. "Isn't that right, Scootsie?"
"Love you too, mom!"
"She hates my guts."
Rainbow giggled. "Heh. Scootaloo is real lucky to have a mom like you," she confessed. "She never talked much about her life at home. I guess I've always been a bit curious."
"Huh. Well, she talks about you to no end," Greased Lightning replied. "Always going on about you and your stunts and your flying and your heroism..."
"I'm actually only around seventy percent hero," Rainbow admitted. Despite her best efforts, she began blushing from the older pony's praise. Greased Lightning's face fell a bit as she became sadder.
"I hope you aren't too disappointed in me. You take good care of Scootsie when I'm not around."
"Y-you're awesome!" Rainbow gushed, surprised. "You're tough and smart and..."
"Uh huh, go on."
"...and... uh..." Rainbow petered out. "...stuff."
"Yeah, that about sums it up. Tough and smart. Not the complete recipe for a loving parent."
Rainbow scratched her head again, licking her lips. "Uh, if you don't mind me asking, does Scootaloo have any problem with... bullies?"
Rainbow regretted asking her question as soon as she had finished saying it. Greased's expression darkened and turned into an unhappy scowl. "Nothing too bad. Not like when I was a kid. Just name calling and teasing." She folded her hooves grumpily. "I still don't like it."
"Right, I get that," Rainbow replied.
"If it were me, I'd buck 'em right in the face. But that sort of thing is frowned upon these days." Rainbow remained silent. "I remember when there were still those loud-mouths running amok, and I had to slap two of them silly with my crowbar. Boy, did that stop them in their tracks. Never had trouble again."
"That was years ago, though, right?"
"Yup. What, seven years ago? Scootaloo was just a tiny foal back then." She harrumphed. "They shouldn't have messed with me in my home with my sleeping kid right upstairs."
"Ponies in gangs are ruthless," Rainbow told her. "You were just lucky there were only two of them!"
"Bah! I'd have taken on a dozen of 'em. Besides, you sorted them out real quick, didn't you?"
"Well..."
"Don't think I forgot who kicked those louts out of Ponyville," Greased Lightning said. "The rest of town might hush it up, but in my opinion, you deserve a medal."
"Well, it wasn't just me," Rainbow argued. "There was—..."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, humility is good for the soul, and all that," Greased said. "All I care about is Scootsie being happy. I don't know what to do about ponies making fun of her aside from telling her teacher, which I did... But apparently, now it's just been happening outside of school instead." Greased Lightning threw up her hooves in defeat. "Ridiculous." She ran her hoof through her mane, taking a moment to collect herself. "Do try to keep an eye on her for me? My work tends to keep me busy for most of the day, and that filly just goes off running everywhere on some ridiculous 'crusade'."
"Sure!" Rainbow exclaimed. She saluted like a true professional would, or a Wonderbolt. "Happy to be of service, ma'am!"
Greased Lightning broke out into a warm smile. "Thank you, dear. I don't know where Scootsie' might be without you."
Thunderlane slouched as he trotted home from work, only just able to keep himself awake. It was nightfall, and he had been up all day working on the weather, not to mention helping his colleague salvage her belongings. It had been a long, long day, and he was just glad it was over.
"Can't wait to get home," he muttered. "Make myself some hot chocolate, or something..."
It must be hard, he thought, for Rainbow. After all, he had a home of his own he could relax in. He didn't know how friendly whoever it was she was staying with was, but he knew it wouldn't be the same. It'd be like treading on glass, he thought: be nice to the family or be gone.
He knocked against another pony as he walked, jostling him out of his thoughts. He spun around to face a pair of pegasi, flaring his wings as he babbled apologetically.
"Oh, so sorry..." he said, reeling from the impact. That pony had been tough... what was he made of, pure muscle?
To his surprise, the expression he encountered was not a forgiving one.
"Sorry, are you?" the pony replied, his mouth twisted into an ugly snarl. Thunderlane felt tiny as the two pegasi towered over him, despite Thunderlane being a tall pony himself. How'd they get so big?
"Uh... yeah," he replied. "I wasn't looking where I was going. I was worrying about a friend..."
The pegasus gave a wry chuckle. "Oh, you shouldn't be worrying about your friend," he said. His companion nodded.
"Worry about you."
Thunderlane began to back away. These strangers weren't from Ponyville... They might be criminals, thugs. They could be dangerous. He might be in danger. Thunderlane's thoughts were erratic, but his natural survival instinct kept them in check. He fought back his desire to run...
Run!
Run!
Thunderlane turned, his flared wings already providing him with enough lift to take off. They began to cut through the wind like knives, the drag of the air began to tug him towards the skies, faster, higher...
Wrong choice, a voice in the back of his mind told him.
He felt a pony's teeth clamp around his tail like the metal jaws of a trap, then tugging him back to the ground and forcing him into submission. Horseapples! Why'd I try running?
"Dumb pony," the stallion muttered, before laying his hoof on Thunderlane's side. He grimaced and began to gradually apply pressure. "Sorry, but I'm in a pretty bad mood this evening."
Thunderlane squirmed, trying to use his hooves to swat the stronger pegasus off of him, but he couldn't reach. The pegasus mare slapped him back down for his efforts, causing his vision to blur and his left eye to tear up. Can't see!
"I've been laughed at," the stallion explained, crushing Thunderlane's ribs with a snarl. "Me! Like I was funny!"
"Get off!"
"Make me," the stallion growled, before twisting his hoof with a snarl. Thunderlane felt something inside him snap, and pain flared up his torso. He grunted, gnashing his teeth as he fought back a scream. He refused to give them the satisfaction.
As if by magic, the pressure disappeared. The stallion shook his head angrily, wiping his hoof on the grass as if removing dirt. He beckoned to his companion.
"C'mon. Let's leave this guy. No sense beating the guy to death just 'cause he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said, taking a deep breath. "It was pretty therapeutic, though."
Thunderlane groaned, trying to get to his hooves, but his side stung far too much to move. He gasped for air.
"H-help..."
Applejack was tending to her cart the next morning, examining the wheel whilst Applebloom packed her bags. By the looks of it, it'd need a new axle: the current one was worn down to the point of breaking.
Yet another entry to her schedule.
She stretched out her legs, her heavy muscles only just flexible enough to move. She remembered her previous night, where she had lain awake until two in the morning, unable to sleep. Applejack shook her head ponderously. Best keep myself awake until the afternoon. I might be able to sneak a nap in then...
Hearing the soft sound of hoofsteps, she pricked her ears, and scanned the horizon for any signs of a pony. It couldn't be her family, she knew, because they were all in the house, and whoever it was was coming from the road...
She found her pony, a stallion trotting towards her, his hooves dragging against the dirt. "H-hello there!" he exclaimed, just loud enough for her to hear.
"Hullo, partner," she replied, moving herself with all the speed of a weight on hooves towards him. He was a pegasus, she noted, but other than that he seemed oddly familiar. "Have we met?"
"Uh, I must have one of those faces," he replied, his wary eyes betraying his dishonesty. Applejack narrowed her own, cautious.
"Sure y'do," she said. "What are you here for?"
"I'm actually here to ask for directions," he told her. "I... know you're an element of harmony, and I was hoping you might know the whereabouts of Rainbow Dash," he said. His mouth curled unpleasantly as he spoke the name. Applejack tilted her head.
It was then that she remembered his face: though his snout wasn't as red and his eyes were far more lively, there was no mistaking it. This was the stallion she had caught the day Rainbow's house had been demolished.
Despite not being fully awake, Applejack recalled her friend's expression as she had stood in front of her broken home. In particular, she remembered her wiping her hoof over her face to desperately try and look as tough as ever. Maybe she had been, too, and it was just Applejack's imagination, but the more she thought about it, the more she was certain Rainbow had been in real pain.
And this was the stallion responsible.
"You're the one, ain't you..." she snarled, pawing the dirt with her hoof, lowering her head as she threatened to charge. "Yer' the one who made my friend homeless..."
The stallion backed away out of instinct. "I... I can explain!"
"You better," Applejack warned. "This here's my property, and there ain't nopony goin' to tell me what I can and can't do on it. Ya' get me?"
The pegasus swallowed desperately, and nodded. "Yeah, I get you. I... I was drunk, and scared, and..."
"That ain't no excuse," Applejack snorted, her temper worsening. "My friend is livin' in a home she don't know 'cause you were drunk?"
"I want to pay her back!" the stallion blurted out. "I was wrong to lower myself to... I mean, I've been trying to find her since yesterday," he explained, "...but now she doesn't have an address, I couldn't find her." He hung his head in defeat. Applejack scanned his face for any signs of deception... Rapid breathing, darting eyes, anything, but found nothing other than regret.
"What's your name?" she asked.
The stallion tried to stand up straight and make himself presentable. "Uh, Wallflower," he said, a little embarrassed upon revealing his rather feminine name.
"And why'd you attack Rainbow?" she asked, continuing her interrogation.
"AJ!" came Applebloom's voice, reminding Applejack about their trip to school. She hissed angrily.
"Shoot!" she snapped, and glared at Wallflower. "Don't you go nowhere," she threatened, and trotted back to the house, shaking her head, furious.
Wallflower just stood there, as if petrified.
Applebloom pounced on her older sister as soon as she was close to the house. "Hey, sis'? We ready to go?"
Applejack eyed her unwanted visitor. "Sure thing, Apple-B. Just let me deal with our guest first, 'kay, sugar?"
Applebloom looked at Wallflower suspiciously. "He here t'cause trouble?" she asked, looking up at Applejack with huge, innocent eyes. Applejack bit her lip: where would she even begin? Applejack was too confused herself to give a proper answer.
"I don't think he means to," she answered. She turned back towards Wallflower. "Get inside while I finish talkin': this is private matters."
Applebloom pouted, but did as she was told. Applejack rubbed her eyes with her hoof as she walked back to her visitor. "Listen, I've changed my mind. I don't want t'know what your deal is with my friend, 'cause that's her business," she explained. Before Wallflower had a chance to relax, she continued. "But if you do so much as harm a hair on her head, I'll personally drag you back here, where I can do whatever I want to you, just like we talked 'bout earlier." Wallflower nodded. Applejack followed suit, mimicking his movements to a T. "Good. You can meet me at the Sugarcube Corner 'round two-ish. I'll tell ya' if Rainbow wants t'see you or not. If she don't, you never show your face around her again."
Wallflower sighed, going slack with relief. "Thank you. That's a great weight off my shoulders."
"It shouldn't be," Applejack snapped. "Now, I have t'get my lil' sister to school, so you'll be on your way, now."
And with that, she beckoned to Applebloom to come, and gestured at Wallflower, indicating that it was time he left.
"What'll Rainbow think of this?" she wondered.
Twilight hesitated, the heavy wooden door seeming far more threatening than any grand portcullis. Rarity leaned inwards.
"You know, darling, it's best we get this over with quickly," she reminded. Twilight shook herself into action.
"Yes, of course. It just feels... well, dishonest."
"I'm quite glad it feels that way, myself," Rarity confessed. "If it didn't, it'd mean we had no problems at all snooping around our friend's private affairs."
"And that's just wrong!" Pinkie chipped in, bouncing over the pair as she talked. Rarity nodded.
"But this must be done! We have to make sure our darling Dashie is surviving, and you know nopony has known her longer than Fluttershy."
Twilight looked back at the small cottage, its crude, heavy, but comforting contours giving no clue about what might be going on inside. Maybe Rainbow Dash was already there, and they'd be caught snooping as soon as they crossed the doorway. Maybe Fluttershy would be outraged they'd use her friendship that way, and send them out. Maybe...
"Twilight, come on. This is for the best."
The young alicorn swallowed her concerns and knocked her hoof on the door, twice, thrice, four times. She began counting, knowing it would take Fluttershy three seconds to get up, four to work up the courage to answer, then another five to make her way to the door...
The door opened, and Angel's head peered out, glaring at Twilight as if she were an intruder.
Twilight had forgot to account for Angel's swift reaction time. She hung her head, peeved at making such an obvious mistake.
"Hello. Is Fluttershy in?" she asked, doing her best to remain polite. The little mammal tilted his head and stuck his lower lip out before hopping back inside, the door swinging open behind him.
Fluttershy had only just poked her head around the corner of the staircase. She eyed her guests, surprised.
"Oh!" She trotted up to them, and when they were all inside, she slowly closed the door. "I didn't expect you... all at once..."
"Yup! All three of us!" Pinkie declared. "Like the three maresketeers!"
"We're here to ask about Rainbow Dash," Twilight began, deciding to get her questions out of the way as soon as possible.
"One for all..."
Fluttershy widened her eyes. "Um... why can't you just ask her?"
"...and all for cake!"
"Because we don't think she'll tell us, dear," Rarity explained. Twilight nodded.
"I saw her yesterday, when we were trying to move her things out of her house... she just wouldn't say a word, but she was obviously in pain."
Rarity nodded. "Applejack's the only pony who's been getting through to her lately... I'm afraid I don't really speak 'Dash', if you follow."
Pinkie bounced between the pair, a determined look on her face. "But Dashie's our friend too, and it's not fair that Applejack should be the only pony to help, right?" she asked. "We want her to get better too!"
"Oh, dear," Fluttershy began. "And you think I know something, don't you?"
Twilight looked at Rarity, then Pinkie, for guidance. Once both ponies nodded, she turned back to Fluttershy, more determined than ever. "Yes. I know it's something to do with the stallion who broke her house: when she came over to the Castle, she refused to go after him no matter what we said."
"And that doesn't sound like the Rainbow I know."
"Yeah! She'd go all out on his flank!" Pinkie added, before growling at herself and flailing her hooves wildly. "How'd you like your wings, fried or grilled?"
Fluttershy looked to her left. Twilight could tell she was looking for a way to evade the question. "We'd understand if you don't want to tell us: we don't want to compromise your friendship with her. But we wouldn't ask if we didn't think it was for the best."
"... or maybe marinaded, with a touch of sage?"
After a long pause, Fluttershy sighed. "Fine... I'll tell you what I know."
"Ha! Thyme's up!"
"Pinkie, do be quiet. We've only just managed to convince Fluttershy to talk, might as well not interrupt her," Rarity scolded. Fluttershy took a deep breath, ready to recount her tale.
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Interesting! Got a nice little story going on here, some potential hints about Dash's past, and the growing threat from a couple of thugs. Though, seriously, a pair of palookas trying to muscle in on the hometown of a group of national heroines? Yeah, that'll be over in a New York minute... but I figure there's more to this than I'm picking up.
I'm really interested in seeing where this will go! See you next chapter!
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