The Rainbow Arc

by TheRainbowDashShow

Chapter 4

Scootaloo waited outside of the place she could hardly call her home. She stared at the shack's run down door; the only thing calling to her was the little shelter it provided and her blanket that would protect her from the stinging cold of the night. She held out as long as she could but eventually the frigid air overwhelmed her and she pushed herself into the shack.

Peaking inside, Scootaloo was relieved to see her father nowhere in sight. "Probably passed out somewhere again." She thought to herself as she trotted towards her small room, looking forward to a peaceful night in the comfort of warm bed. Upon reaching the open doorway of her room she froze at the sight of the fat orange Pegasus sitting on her bed.

Her father rose from her bed, she suddenly remembered what day it was as he approached her. It was the anniversary of her mother's death. It was the day in which her father would act out worse than usual did.

"H-hi d-dad." Scootaloo whimpered.

The Pegasus grumbled, "Where've you been you useless half-wit? You know what time it is?"

"I'm s-sorry, I lost track of time…"

"Of course you did. You should be glad your mother isn't here to see how worthless you are." The Pegasus thought back longingly at the long passed memories which began to fuel his anger and hatred, "You couldn't even keep track of your wings if they weren't attached to you."

Scootaloo backed away from the approaching pony, "I miss her too…"

"Don't you say you miss her." Her father snarled at her, "She'd still be alive if it weren't for you."

The words stung at Scootaloo and finally something inside her snapped. "I didn't do anything to her!" she blurted out instantly regretting her decision to argue back.

He growled, stepping closer, "You killed her!"

Scootaloo backed further away until she backed into the wall. As the pony came ever closer, frightened, she silently wished Raven Flame were here. Angry and afraid she cried out, "I did not! Mom was sick, she killed herself!"

"You made her sick, it's your fault she is gone!" Her father roared with fury as he lifted one of his stubby front hooves. With a single powerful swipe to her skull, the filly fell to the ground, slipping out of consciousness and into her dreams.

A slender yellow pony walked through the damp grass towards the sound of rushing water. Riding on her back a tiny orange filly, "Mom, where are we going?" the filly squeaked. The pony shushed her but said nothing else. She eventually came to a stop at a rapidly flowing river.

"We're going to go for a little swim now sweetie." The yellow pony said gently.

The filly looked at the fierce river, "In that? I can't even swim!"

"Shh, it'll be okay." The pony grabbed hold of the filly, dragging her towards the riverbank and into the water.

The filly struggled to pull away, "Mom you're scaring me, I want to go home now!" she cried as the cold water rushed past her hooves.

"Don't worry, it'll all be over soon Scootaloo." The pony cooed just before diving into the water, submerging the both of them. Once reaching the bottom of the river, she clutched the still struggling filly and hugged her tightly.

Water began to fill Scootaloo's nostrils, squirming desperately she broke free from her mother's grasp. She flailed her legs awkwardly, slowly pushing herself back up towards the air. Almost near the water's surface when her hoof got tangled in a net. She prodded weakly at the rock weighing down the net that held her.

Just as the light in her eyes began to fade, a hoof grabbed at her. The hoof pulled at her, yanking her free of the net and out of the water. Before exhaustion overtook her, she looked up to find a blue coated Pegasus with a shining rainbow mane taking her back towards land.

Scootaloo sat up and began to cough loudly, her mind still trying to clear the water that filled her lungs in her dreams. She looked around to find her father had placed her back in her bed after the assault to her head which ached dully. Held awake by an almost paralyzing fear, she grabbed her pillow and hugged it tightly.

She prayed silently once again that her father would simply let her be until the morning sun came up once again. She rocked herself back and forth for hours trying to keep calm. Finally when she heard the familiar noise of wobbling hoofsteps followed by the sound of the shack's door opening and shutting she left shortly after.

Rainbow Dash, half awake rolled to the other side of the bed to grab at Applejack. She grabbed at an empty space, "Applejack?" she asked groggily as she opened her eyes. The room remained quiet; she looked around unable to locate the saddlebag that had been packed just last night. She frowned, snailed off of her bed and towards Raven Flame's room.

Rainbow peeked through the door to find Raven Flame sitting up in her bed, already awake. She knocked lightly and entered the room. Saying nothing, Rainbow Dash hopped onto the filly's bed and grabbed at her, hugging her tightly.

Raven Flame squeaked in surprise, "Uh morning?" she tried to squirm free, "Uh, you okay Dashie?"

Rainbow Dash let go of the struggling filly and lay down on her back, staring at the ceiling, "Applejack left without saying goodbye…"

"Aw, I'm sorry." Raven Flame said sympathetically, "Is there anything I can do?"

Rainbow Dash pulled the filly close and hugged her again, "I already miss her."

"She'll be back soon." Raven Flame patted Rainbow Dash on the head, "Do you want to practice flying?" she asked hopefully, both because she wanted to and because it would take Rainbow's mind off of Applejack.

"I guess."

Raven Flame laughed, "You can do your crazy speeches if you want."

Rainbow Dash grinned and bounced up off the bed, "That's okay." She floated towards the doorway, "Come on! We can't practice inside a stuffy old farmhouse!"

Raven was relieved that Rainbow Dash was acting more like her old self. She grabbed her pendant off the bedpost and slipped it around her neck. She bound after Rainbow Dash who teased her playfully as she flew down the stairs.

"I'll meet you outside. I'll be there in just a minute." Raven waved her hoof at Rainbow Dash. She trotted towards the mantle of the fireplace. She popped open the locket of the necklace and removed a picture of Applejack and Rainbow Dash of similar size from a frame and placed the photo inside. She closed the pendant and trotted back out the door.

"Geez, what took you so long, I think my mane is starting to go gray!"

"Sorry, but your big flank was in the way!" Raven Flame smiled her mischievous smile.

Rainbow Dash let out a gasp, "My flank is not big!"

"So what's today's lesson Dashie?" Raven asked, flapping her wings fiercely pulling her off the ground.

"Uh, honestly I hadn't thought that far ahead." Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, "I guess you keep your hooves up and tilt your head and body based on the direction you want to go."

Raven frowned, "Oh gee, that's helpful."

"Hey! My methods are pure genius at its finest."

Raven Flame scoffed, "More like feather brained at its finest." She thought for a moment about the suggestion though and decided to try something. She dipped her head downward and kicked her legs behind her making her propel forward.

"Great, now turn, preferably before you crash into that tree!" Rainbow Dash called out.

Raven dipped a wing towards the ground, turning her sharply. Unfortunately, she turned directly into a different tree. Rainbow Dash swooped in and grabbed her just seconds before she would have impacted it.

"Clearly I'm going to be Equestria's next great flier." Raven laughed.

Rainbow Dash chuckled as well, "For sure, you'll make captain of the Wonderbolts in no time!"

"First thing I'll do is change the name to the Ravenbolts!" Raven hopped back onto the ground out of Rainbow's grasp, "Don't worry, I'll give you a spot on the team. You can wash our uniforms!"

Rainbow Dash pressed her hooves against her cheeks excitedly, "Oh boy, I can't wait!" she squeaked. "Alright, come on, enough fooling around, let's try again."

Raven Flame nodded, and began to flap again. This time she pushed herself upward, higher into the sky. Looking down from the new height she panicked and her wings flapping became desynchronized. She lost air and crashed into the ground. She grabbed at an extended hoof held out to her and picked herself up off the ground and dusted off the dirt from her coat.

"You know have to flap your wings to fly, right?" Scootaloo said jokingly.

Raven laughed nervously, her heart starting to pick up again, "Oh, hey Scootaloo. Uh what are you doing here?"

The orange filly shrugged, "Just thought I'd stop by." A gust of wind pushed her mane from her face, revealing a large bruise on her forehead.

A look of worry struck Raven's face, "What happened? Are you okay?"

Scootaloo brushed her mane back in front of the discoloration, "It's nothing." She answered quickly

Raven gently poked at the covered spot on the filly's forehead, flinching in pain at the soft touch, "That's what you call nothing?"

Rainbow Dash flew over to the two ponies and pulled Raven Flame aside for a moment, "Applejack told me… Do you want me to give you two some space?"

Raven's cheeks turned bright red as she nodded slowly at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow cleared her throat, "So, yeah, I just remembered I had a thing, back at the uh place." She said and flew off towards the barn. Raven Flame covered her face with a hoof and shook her head at the unconvincing story.

Scootaloo watched as the blue Pegasus flew off, "What was that about?"

"It wasn't about anything." Raven blurted out nervously.

Scootaloo glanced suspiciously, "Okay…"

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Raven Flame asked trying to get the focus back off of her.

"Nothing happened!" Scootaloo shouted turning away.

Raven Flame moved closer, "You can tell me." She placed her hoof on the orange filly, "If you tell me, I'll tell you a secret."

Both intrigued and Raven's warm touch making her feel as if she could tell anything Scootaloo finally gave in, "It was my dad…"

"Your dad?" Raven's eyes went wide.

Scootaloo pulled away, "I don't want to talk about it."

"You can't let him do that to you though! You need to tell some pony."

Scootaloo sighed, "I know… it's just I'm scared…" She turned toward the dark gray Pegasus "So are you going to tell me that secret now?" she asked hoping to change the subject.

"Promise me you'll tell somepony first."

"W-what?"

"You heard me, promise."

Scootaloo looked at the worried blue eyes that stared caringly at her, "I… I promise."

Raven grinned, "Good."

"Well?"

Raven Flame trotted up to orange filly. She moved just off to the side of her, "My secret..." she said nervously. Taking in a deep breath, she pushed her lips against Scootaloo's cheek. "Is that." She whispered, bracing herself for whatever reaction the filly may have.

Scootaloo blinked, her eyes frozen staring forward. Her cheeks felt like they were burning as the pink color seeped past her orange fur. She shook her head, pulling herself out of the love struck daze. She turned towards the Pegasus who turned her neck away from her. She took a hoof and nudged Raven's face back towards her. Staring into the blue eyes, she moved herself closer and very briefly returned the kiss onto Raven's lips.

The two fillies stepped away from one another when they heard the sound of giggling from above them. They looked up to find a blue Pegasus's face pushed through a cloud peering down at them. Rainbow Dash quickly retreated herself behind the cloud in a vain attempt to conceal herself when she noticed the two looking back.

"Dashie, have you been listening this whole time?" Raven Flame shouted both angry and embarrassed.

Rainbow Dash removed herself from the cover of the clouds and landed back down on the earth next to the two fillies. She thought for a moment then answered with a simple "Nope!"

Raven continued to stare irritably at the blue Pegasus, not believing the answer even for one second, "Then what were you doing up in that cloud and why were you laughing?"

"Hey, I said I wasn't LISTENING. That would have meant I could hear you." Rainbow Dash let out chuckle, "I didn't say I wasn't watching the whole time though."

"You said you were going to give us some space!" Raven cried out.

Rainbow Dash mused to herself as she looked up towards the cloud, "I did give you some space, about sixty feet of it."

"You knew what I meant!"

Rainbow smiled slyly, "How could I know what YOU meant, I was the one who offered. I think that means YOU just misinterpreted what I said."

Raven Flame blubbered for a moment as she tried to think of an argument. Unable to, she let out a frustrated groan, "Whatever."

Rainbow Dash let out another chuckle and prodded Scootaloo, "Personally, I think you have some pretty smooth moves."

Scootaloo couldn't help but look up and smile at the compliment, "Thanks."

Raven Flame gawked at the orange filly and clenched her teeth as she tried to hold back her growing anger, "Are you on her side?"

Scootaloo extended out her wing and lowered it over Raven bringing her next to her side, "I don't see much point in getting upset about it. It's not like we can do anything about it now."

"Yeah, but-" Raven Flame found herself interrupted by her mind as it went blank from a quick kiss on her cheek.

Rainbow Dash giggled, "I think you two are adorable!"

Scootaloo's face was covered with a wide grin, however Raven Flame frowned not looking amused in the slightest.

"Hey, what happened to your face?" Rainbow Dash asked when she noticed the bruise behind the orange filly's mane.

Scootaloo looked down at the ground; she felt a nudge on her stomach and turned to see Raven nodding at her. "My dad hit me…" she said softly finding it easier to reveal the secret then it had been before.

Rainbow Dash's joyful and joking mood disappeared from her face, "Have you told the police?" she asked in complete seriousness.

"No." Scootaloo responded shakily.

Rainbow Dash picked up the two fillies with her teeth and threw them onto her back, "Well you're going to." She said as she launched off into the sky.

"What? No!" Scootaloo shouted, tears of fright running down from her eyes.

Rainbow Dash ignored the protests and landed next to the Police Station's front doors, "Well would you look at that, we're already here!"

The two ponies hopped off Rainbow Dash's back. The orange filly turned around and made an attempt to run away. Soon she was stopped by teeth locked tightly onto her tail. "Let me go!" Scootaloo cried as she struggled to pull herself away.

"You… have to… tell them!" Rainbow Dash said through clenched teeth as she slowly dragged the hysterical filly into the station.

Raven Flame trotted close to Scootaloo, "This is your chance to be brave like Rainbow Dash. Please, you have to do this. You can't let him keep doing this to you."

Scootaloo gulped, "O-okay." She let out a quiet whimper and forced herself to walk inside. She looked back to the two Pegasus who nodded in approval as she approached a uniformed pony. The pony gestured for the filly to follow him and they were soon out of sight.

"You think she'll be okay?" Raven asked as she plopped herself down onto a waiting chair.

Rainbow Dash reassured her, "If I didn't think this was for the best, I wouldn't have brought her here."

The two sat quietly as hours passed. Rainbow Dash occasionally started to drum on her legs to entertain herself, but stopped soon after when Raven kept giving her disapproving looks. Just as Rainbow thought she would go crazy from boredom, the teary eyed orange filly stepped back into sight.

"Well?"

"They're out looking for him now." Scootaloo said sounding both sad and scared.

"That's great! I say we go celebrate!" Rainbow Dash cheered then laughed almost maniacally, "I know where Applejack keeps her stash of Apple Cider."

"Dashie!" Raven Flame gave the blue Pegasus a frown.

Scootaloo put up a small smile, "Actually that sounds nice."

"See Raven!" Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at the filly. "Now let's go, this place creeps me out."

The fillies climbed back atop Rainbow's back and were soon back in the sky. They returned to the farm in record time, mostly because Rainbow Dash pushed herself wanting to get her hooves on a glass of cider.

Rainbow Dash grinned and trotted off towards the barn. "You two wait in the kitchen, I'll go get the cider!" she called out to them.

Rainbow Dash had seen Applejack sneaking in here quite loudly once. The noise had woken her from a nap and she watched as the orange pony vanished. Applejack had scolded her for hours about spying on her, making her promise she wouldn't go in there without permission.

But Applejack wasn't here right now and it was a special occasion. Looking around to make sure no one was around; Rainbow Dash scraped a cluster of hay away from the floor revealing a hidden cellar door. She pulled on the latch and crept down into the dark room and soon returned with a large barrel. She placed it on the ground, covered the door again and rolled it towards the farmhouse.

Rainbow Dash heaved the barrel of cider onto the kitchen table and placed out three large mugs beneath its spout, filling them to the brim. She slid each of the fillies a mug, lifted her own, "Cheers!" she grinned as she gulped hers down in a matter of seconds.

When Rainbow Dash separated the mug from her mouth she let out a sigh of contentment, "You two better not ever tell Applejack about this."

The front door of the farmhouse slammed into the wall as a pony's kick tore it from its lock. The sudden noise startled the three Pegasus causing them to lose grip of their mugs and they shattered on the wooden floor below them. The fat orange Pegasus blundered his way towards sound of breaking glass breathing heavily, filling the air with his alcohol ridden stench.

"Dad!" Scootaloo squeaked.

"What did you tell them you little whelp?" The fat pony screamed as he stumbled closer.

"You need to leave." Rainbow Dash said calmly.

"Shut up you filly-fooling freak." The drunken pony reached the opposite side of the table, "You killed Lemonburst and yet I still raised you, and this is how you repay me? Spreading filthy lies about me, trying to get rid of me just like her."

"Stop blaming me for mom's death!" Scootaloo's eyes filled with tears, "You knew she was sick and needed help, but you ignored her. If anyone killed her, it was you!"

The drunken pony let out a fierce roar. He swung his hooves at the chairs of the table sending them colliding into the walls and breaking on impact. In his blind fury he grabbed at the heavy keg in front of him. He steadied himself, aimed, and hurtled it towards the cowering orange filly.

Raven Flame pushed Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash out of the way. The barrel crashed into the wall behind them leaving the three ponies un-scathed from its force. Rainbow Dash finally took action, she flew at the large Pegasus and pressed his throat down with her hoof, "You need to leave, NOW." She said in a menacing voice and let go of him.

The fat orange pony nodded and scampered off like a cowardly bunny. "Every pony all right?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo cried out from the floor.

Rainbow swooped over to see Raven Flame had slipped in the puddle of cider. Shards of the broken glass deeply imbedded throughout her entire body. Blood flowed rapidly from her, the pool of cider turning a deep red as the blood flooded the floor.

"Go get help!" Rainbow Dash screamed at Scootaloo who nodded and bolted out the front door.

Rainbow Dash returned her attention to the injured pony, "Hey, how you feeling?" she asked gently.

"It hurts and it's cold…" Raven Flame shivered, "I'm so tired…"

Rainbow Dash put on a small smile, "You're gonna be just fine." she tried desperately to stop the bleeding but nothing was working and it continued to seep out.

Raven Flame ignored the pain and smiled comfortingly at Rainbow Dash, "Thank you…"

Rainbow Dash stroked the filly's forehead, "For what?"

"Everything you've given me."

Rainbow Dash's lip quivered, tears rolling from her eyes, "Don't talk like that!"

"You brought me so much in such a short time." Raven Flame squeezed at Rainbow's hoof. "You opened my world to so many new things. I never imagined there could have been such joys in the world."

"No, shh, you'll be fine." Rainbow said, though now it felt she was trying to convince herself more than the filly. "We've still have so much left to do. You haven't even made the Wonderbolts yet."

Raven Flame laughed weakly, "I wasn't cut out for that anyway."

"Of course you were!" Rainbow Dash nudged the filly's head with her own, "You're going to be the greatest flier Equestria will ever see."

"I guess now they'll only see the second best…" Raven Flame coughed a little and her mind returned to the things she wanted to say while she still had a chance, "You didn't have to take me that day the orphanage. I'm so grateful you did though you lit up my life when you did. That day was the happiest I could ever remember that I'd ever been."

Tears dropped from Rainbow Dash's eyes onto the filly, "It was one of the happiest of mine too." She whispered.

"I didn't have anything and I didn't feel I was anything." Raven's smile widened, "That day you made me feel special. You made me feel important. You made me feel like I belonged, that I mattered to some pony. Most of all though, you made me feel loved."

Rainbow Dash pulled Raven onto her lap and hugged her, "Don't…"

"I'm so tired…" Raven said again her eyes starting to shut.

Rainbow shook her, "No, you need to stay awake, help is coming." She sniffled.

Raven Flame placed her hoof on Rainbow's cheek, "Be strong for me."

Rainbow nodded, "I will, but you need to be strong for me too."

The golden locket popped open, revealing the photograph of both Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Rainbow Dash looked at it, and deep down she knew it wasn't going to be okay. "Raven..." she said softly. Raven Flame looked at her with questioning eyes. "I love you Raven Flame."

Raven's fiery black mane faded into an empty white. Her eyes started to change from their lively blue into a dull, empty, and lifeless black. Her breathing slowed down drastically.

Rainbow Dash cradled the filly, squeezing her tightly, "No! Stay with me Raven, just hold on. Just a little bit longer, please!" she pleaded as she held Raven in her hooves. "Don't leave me."

"I'm sorry, I can't." Raven coughed, blood rupturing from her mouth.

Rainbow wiped away the blood from the fillies mouth, "Yes you can! Please, just hang in there for me."

Her eyes started to shut once more, and with her last breath Raven whispered, "I love you... Dashie."

Comments

[DbzOrDie]

Oh c'mon, how could you do that at the end. You... sir, have no soul

[RainingDash]

By god, this is brilliant.

[DestinedBrony]

NOoooooooooooooooo!

[Dash32]

This chapter made me cry so badly.