The Truth Unleashed (part 2)
Sun hadn’t completely risen when his phone vibrated on his bedside table. With a groan, Soarin turned towards the piece of furniture and grabbed the smartphone. Had he forgotten, one more time, to disable his alarm clock for six a.m? He was surprised to see that, instead, Applejack’s name was written on his screen.
It was rare when he got a phone call by the young fair woman, and even rarer when said call was that early, though he was not even with Rainbow Dash… Rainbow Dash! He didn’t need to think any farther to know. He knew it because he had sensed it. Something had happened.
It was because of this foreboding sensation it had been so hard for him to fall asleep. Once back home, he had taken his suit off, and had fallen into his bed in undergarments, thinking the tiredness from this eventful party, full of emotions, would be enough to knock him out.
After more than one hour tossing and turning in his bed, Soarin had to state the obvious: it wouldn’t be that easy. The blame was this weird foreboding he had each time he had kissed Rainbow Dash tonight and thought he didn’t want to leave her home alone.
He picked up the phone, and turned on the lamp on his bedside table, while sitting up on his bed. On the clock in front of him, a quarter past five in the morning was written. His heart was thumping so loud in his chest he would have bet Applejack could hear it on the other side of the line.
She didn’t let him answer anything, and immediately gave him a deluge of news, each more horrible than the last.
“Soarin, ya have to come to the Royal Park’s Hospital’s psychiatric service. Dash seriously argued with her father, and fell in the stairs. Dr. Horse has just arrived. Hurry up!”
With this, she hung up. The young man wouldn’t have let her holding forth, anyway. He threw his phone on the floor, quickly took a shirt and a pair of jeans, his car keys, before leaving his apartment in a rush.
It was pouring down outside, and the wind was blowing hard. Remains of a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean had an impact of the small island of Equestria, under a Level 2 Alert on the whole territory. It didn’t matter.
Without further thinking, he dashed in the almost desert streets, sometimes even running red lights when that wasn’t too dangerous. His radio wasn’t working very well, and if he started the MP3 player, the on-going playlist was the one selected by Rainbow Dash.
And so, although it was painful to be alone with the thoughts that were bumping together in his mind, Soarin decided he wouldn’t listen to anything entertaining, his hands clenched around his wheel.
Royal Park’s hospital’s psychiatric service was on the very last floor of the huge building. Waiting until he got there seemed to be endless. He couldn’t stop thumping his feet and milling.
When he reached the waiting room, he saw the complete gang leaping off their chairs when seeing him, their faces haggard and pale. Pinkie Pie rushed towards him to hold him in her arms, but in the end, he was the one holding her tight, trying to comfort her… although he didn’t know what he was saying since he only had small notions about the situation.
A bit further was Rainbow Dash’s father. His arms behind his back, he couldn’t stop pacing up and down and seemed to be whispering things to himself. Just when Soarin reached the other girls, who welcomed him with open arms, their eyes met.
What would be the point of doing a scene here? It wouldn’t be very productive and would in no way help Rainbow Dash. Especially as he knew no details of the whole plot. All he knew was that there had been an argument. Maybe because of her bedroom’s mess, just as she had feared… But how could that had gone that far?
He soon would know since Shining Armor was the last one to arrive. He had huge bags under his eyes, he was a bit disheveled, and his uniform hadn’t been ironed. With calm and professional steps, he came closer to Rainbow Dash’s father, after he exchanged a look with Twilight.
She was the one who had called him and told him about the accident. Her big brother had to make a few phone calls to his superiors, in order to make sure he would be the one in charge of setting the whole matter clear. The details given by Mr. Rainbow Blaze to the nurses still were a bit vague, and after such a fall, an investigation was always started, although they generally waited for the victim to wake up before.
The two men shook hands, and after Shining Armor asked Rainbow Dash’s father whether he wanted to be questioned immediately or to wait for his lawyer, he immediately cut to the chase:
“Tell me exactly what has happened…”
“Well, um… Rainbow Dash has come home late and I hadn’t seen her messages so I was really angry. We argued and it worsened a bit too much, so…”
He took a glimpse at his left, where the whole group of her daughter’s best friends, plus her boyfriend, were staring at him, hanging to his every word.
These people, that he had always looked down on, with a hint of disdain, just because they didn’t fit with the companies he would have liked for his daughter – whose choice of going to CHS instead of Crystal Prep he had also always complained about – now he realized, they were the essential cornerstones of the young woman’s life. She loved them from the bottom of her heart, had even chosen to stay here in Canterlot just to be with them, and they loved her the same way. Despite how early in the morning it was, despite their tiredness and the storm outside, each hadn’t hesitated much to get on cars, cabs, in order to come to this hospital and be with her as a support, although she ignored they were here.
The feeling of guilt which kept on gnawing on him took another level, and he clenched his fists.
“I… I pushed her.”
A gasp of stupor went through the group of friends, some even bringing their hands over their mouths, or taking refuge into another’s arms.
Even if he hadn’t pressed his hands against her back to make her fall, it was his words which had her stumbling. The final result was the same. He deserved to pay for that. He deserved the flames of anger which caught fire in her boyfriend’s eyes, who started to step in his direction, until Applejack stopped him by grabbing his forearm.
Shining Armor took a new glimpse at Twilight, hidden into Sunset Shimmer’s embrace, and sighed. It was going to be really hard for everyone but he didn’t have the choice. This statement, even if said under emotional shock, he had to take it as a confession. Playing favorites was against his own principles.
“I’m obliged to put you under arrest, Mr. Blaze.”
“Do so”, he answered, lowering his head.
Shining Armor didn’t make him wear handcuffs but brought him a little further. It was impossible to go to the police station with such a weather, it would make Cadance worry. There was a small room the hospital was ready to put at his disposal for a questioning. It was where he brought him.
The group needed to take a few seconds in order to cushion the shock of the revelation… Soarin, no longer standing, let himself fall on one of the plastic chairs, while the unavoidable question went through Sunset Shimmer’s lips, since she was one of the girls who could bear the pressure the most with Applejack.
“Do you think he really pushed her?”
“Ah don’t know”, the young cowgirl answered. “In fact, we don’t really know him, not even us. We hadn’t seen him a lot…”
“He probably hasn’t pushed her”, Soarin suddenly said, his eyes staring at the white tiles of the floor. “Not really. But… He can be very hurtful. With his words.”
Out of all the persons here, he probably was the one who had been the more in touch with Mr. Rainbow Blaze. He knew he was an authoritarian man, and that he never accepted the fact his daughter didn’t fit in her “social rank”. He never hesitated to affirm his disagreement, even in presence of strangers, even in presence of his wife, who refused his educational principles, regarding them as narrow-minded and old-fashioned.
Soarin let out another sigh.
“She was doing so well lately…”
“It’s true she was on the right path since her birthday party”, Fluttershy, who had regained a bit of composure, pointed.
“And there’s no reason for it to change!”
“But, AJ…” Pinkie Pie started.
“No, Pinkie. Ah know what Am sayin’. It’s not a lack of sensitivity. She’ll keep on doin’ well because guess what? We’re gonna be here for her and we’re all gonna help her. We’re all gonna make sure she wouldn’t go back into depression, that she’ll keep on bein’ strong. Am sure that’s what she’s expectin’ from us!”
“Applejack… I couldn’t have say it better”, Rarity claimed, wiping off a tear hanging at her eyelashes.
So, they all did what they could do the best: supporting each other, comforting each other, and rely on the power of their friendship to go through this ordeal with their heads up, together. And with Soarin.
-------------------------------------
Her first reaction is to try curling up under the blankets. Who had pulled the curtains? Daylight was dazzling.
It was impossible for her to roll on her side, or even to put her leg in another position. Why couldn’t they let her sleep with the horrendous night she had been through? Her memories were blurred but she knew Dr. Horse had been here, and had talked to her, and that she had come back to consciousness many times, taken over by fears and buried terrors.
There was someone else in her room. Eyes shut, Rainbow Dash struggled to remain motionless, in order not to face reality. She was at the hospital, in pain… The next step would be Green Haven. The white corridors, the impersonal bedrooms, medicines giving days its tempo, forbiden to get out, except in groups surrounded by nurses. And The Room. Darkness. Screams. Tercian. Daze. Straitjacket.
When, finally, after endless seconds, she heard the sound of a door being opened and shut, she dared opening her eyes. White walls and a scent of antiseptic. A needle in her arm. And the pain.
Sitting up, she brought her hand to her right temple, where the pulses were the strongest. No dressers, no gauzes, only her suffering skin, even worse when pressed against. It stung in her eye, and she realized that there was a down corner where her vision remained a bit blurred.
Her bedroom’s door was opened again, and seeing the female nurse on the threshold, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help a jolt. Fear was going up like bubbles at the surface of water and she had to grab the frame of her bed.
“Am I… thirteen?” she was able to mutter.
The nurse smile softly at her, and walked to the drip, which pouch was empty.
“How old do you think you are?”
“I’m eighteen…”
“Here’s the answer to your question”, she said, replacing the empty pouch by a full new one. “What else do you remember?”
“I live in 289 Rosary Street. I’m a CHS student, and a Wondercolt. Yesterday was my Prom Ball… I’m under athletic diet since the age of ten, and it especially consists in eating a lot of pastas and cereals. Shall I go on?”
“Wouldn’t be necessary. On a scale from one to ten, how much does your ankle hurt?”
“My ankle?” she repeated stupidly, before lowering her eyes towards her left leg.
Down there, between her calf and foot, a cast as white as the walls around her had been put, and only then Rainbow Dash did realize what was the reason why she hadn’t been able to shift the position of a part of her body.
When she asked the nurse what had happened to her, she answered her fall in the stairs was the blame for the injury, a sprain fracture. She was lucky this wasn’t serious to the extent of needing physiotherapy, although she would be forced to walk with crutches for some time. It would probably be healed towards the end of Summer Holidays, which comforted her a little.
If this injury had prevented her from running, and thus of justifying a scholarship, it made no doubt she would have felt as if the sky was falling on her head.
Rainbow Dash answered her ankle wasn’t aching, and after the nurse had taken her temperature, she claimed she would be back to bring her a light meal – it was the beginning of the afternoon – and that visitors wanted to see her.
The first thing she saw when her door was pushed open, was a huge bunch of balloons, each for every color of her hair. Behind it, finally appeared Pinkie Pie’s face, and she was followed by the complete gang, and Soarin.
Of course, she was happy to see them but the main feeling inside her was shame. Because of her, they all probably had a very short and restless night. Better than anyone else, she knew the impact it had on each of them when even only one of them had troubles. It wasn’t pleasant to be, once again, the roots of their fear.
However, like often, they all made sure they wouldn’t let awkwardness getting too much room. Each their turn, they went in front of her and held her in their arms, whispering supportive words or pecking her forehead.
“How are you, darling?” Rarity asked while everyone tried to find somewhere to settle in the room.
“Not that bad, despite the circumstances…”
“Since you’re allergic to flowers, Pinkie had this idea of buying you a bunch of balloons.”
“Where do you want me to put this, Dashie?”
“Honestly? Where that could be hang.”
“Oki doki loki.”
And with this, the young woman got down to try each of the bedroom’s pieces of furniture in order to find a spot for her cumberstone gift. She acted as cheerful as usually, and like everyone else around, seemed to have gone home to take a shower and change clothes, but she couldn’t conceal the bags under her eyes and the pallid complexion of someone who obviously lacked sleep.
Soarin had sat on a corner of the bed, right next to her. He put on her laps a paper bag with the name of one of the hospital’s boutique on it. Inside were the latest Daring Doo Magazine edition, a novel called “The Misconception of Lolita”, as well as a movie magazine… and a small box of raspberry-flavored macaroons.
Her favorite cakes. One of the few pastries for which she was ready to ignore her athletic diet and her low tolerance to sugar. She didn’t wait any longer before opening the box, taking one of the pinkish little cakes out and biting into it.
The nurse had said she would bring her a light meal, but whatever it would be, she knew this would never compete with this little pleasure.
“Yum… It feels like heaven”, she claimed enthusiastically, her mouth still full.
Since she didn’t seem to be in a too pitiful state, Applejack decided it probably was the perfect moment to cut to the upsetting chase. Shining Armor had called Twilight a bit earlier… Mr. Rainbow Blaze kept on refusing his lawyer to be called, and maintained his version: he had pushed her to make her fall.
Yet, the medical conclusions were rather different. Of course, she had sprained her ankle in the fall, but nothing proved she had been pushed from the top of stairs in order to hurt her, or to kill her. Most importantly, the psychiatrist was formal about her sideration… It was the result of a psychological and not a physical shock.
Rainbow Dash was the only one able to set the record straight, and to avoid a scandal to tarnish her family and her father’s company. If he was arrested for child abuse, every newspaper of the country, if not of the world, would put this to good use and the pressure which would ensued would be too much to handle.
“What about ya tell us what happened last night?”
Applejack saw her friend swallowing a piece of macaroon, then putting the rest of the cake on the bedside table. The moment before, she almost looked like herself again, except for the hospital gown, the bruise on her temple, the cast and her disheveled hair, colors all mixed up, and suddenly, her face transformed, as if hidden from the light by a huge anthracite cloud.
“Your father… He said Shining Armor that he pushed you.”
Rainbow Dash looked at her friends one by one, before putting her eyes on Soarin. He nodded, as if to confirm what the saddened faces of her friends were telling her. Suddenly, it felt like the pain from her temple had doubled.
She thought she knew why he confessed such a thing. It really was stupid from him. Especially if he thought she would forgive him because of this. The only result of it would be sullying his reputation, and nothing else.
“He hasn’t pushed me. Not physically, at least. We argued… a bit more violently than usually, and when I’ve tried to go to my room in order to cut this thing short, he confessed something… about my mother… I had a seizure, and I think that’s where I fell in the stairs.”
“But what could he have said to you to launch a seizure, Dashie?” Soarin asked, while stroking strands of her hair on her forehead.
She lowered her head, and tried to focus on everything she knew. The way she had done a bit earlier with the nurse, the way she had tried to do with her father last night.
It was Dr. Horse who had taught her this trick during one of the mandatory Green Haven’s weekly appointment. If she was feeling like she was losing grip with reality, she had to whisper to herself these pieces of information, going from the most obvious to the less obvious, just like in a literary essay.
“The way Katniss does in “The Hunger Games”?” she had asked him then, which had made him smile.
“I suppose so, yes.”
None of the persons in the room tried to rush her confession. They all were waiting without a word, without a sound, even, until she would be able to tell them the unsayable. She needed a few minutes of focus and breathing to finally let the words out.
“Mommy… hasn’t died instantly, as I always thought. He had confessed it were the toxic smokes which had killed her, and that it had been long. And painful.”
Even by struggling with all her might, Rainbow Dash was unable to restrain and burst out crying. No matter how the problem was taken, it remained horrible to say out loud, even more horrible to imagine. A part of what she had rebuilt had crumbled down because of this revelation, and she knew, deep inside herself, that it had changed something forever.
“It wasn’t much but I clung to the fact that at least, she hasn’t suffered. It had always comforted me a little and now… I don’t know if I’ll be able to live with this… I don’t want to be sick again.”
Everyone knew what she meant by this. The events of the previous night had proved what she always suspected, the fact this past would keep on following her and that she would forever keep a blemish, whatever she would do and wherever she would be.
It didn’t mean she couldn’t learn how to live with it. This, everyone around also knew and had not intention of doing nothing to help. All the efforts she had accomplished hadn’t been in vain, and she no longer was this broken and disillusioned preteen girl.
Soarin, still sitting by her side, pressed his two palms against her cheeks, and lifted up her face. It was a bit painful seeing her with the bruise on her temple, but he and the girls had agreed not to talk about the topic which they all suspected… that it wasn’t the first time.
And yet they didn’t know, conversely to Soarin, about the conversation she had when her father had picked her up, after she had been assaulted by the teacher. When she had spoken out her statistics, and had seen her father’s hands clenching his wheel. Because although he never beat her up, or even punched her, the few slaps she had gotten from him hadn’t always been justified.
This was a conversation they would eventually have, this they all knew, but for now there was no need to add dramas to Rainbow Dash’s distress.
From his thumb, Soarin wiped tears off his girlfriend’s face.
“Listen to me… You’re going to do just fine. You’re going to do just fine, because you’re not alone. We’re here with you, we’ll do everything we can to make sure you’ll never go back there, I promise. We’ll be with you no matter what.”
“But you have to talk to us, Rainbow Dash”, Twilight went on. “Don’t keep everything inside, just because you think we’re going to worry. We’re your friends, we won’t judge you.”
“She’s right”, the others finished all at the same time.
Then, they all got up, and the best they could, took Soarin’s relay for a well-deserved group hug.
Rainbow Dash was still afraid. This fear would never completely leave her alone. Deep inside herself, she would always feel as if someone was trying to bury pieces of glass into her throat each time she thought about her mother, and about the way she died. But with both the girls and Soarin by her side, there would always be somebody willing to take her in their arms, just like now, holding her tight and supporting her.
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Aww, Dash
5:33 p.m.
Oh Gosh, there's so much to point out.
Well, ho freaking opportune
*muffled screaming* Darn right you deserve it, that and a punch in the face. I choose Soarin as the puncher
Damn right she was.
Oh, fuck it. I had a heart attack right there. I thought she had amnesia, I had one of my weird visions with that happening.
I feared this too.
That's so thoughtful of her
Soarin's the epitome of the perfect boyfriend *dreamy sigh*.
I can't be the only one who thought, with this line, that would have probably really tasted heaven after the stairs incident, ain't I?
Fav reference in the whole story
(I think it went something like: "My name is Katniss Everdeen, I'm sixteen years old, I'm from District 12, I went to the Hunger Games, I survived the Hunger Games, President Snow wants to kill me, I will kill President Snow" etc).
Poor little girl. She was just a little girl, a little girl whose world burned before her own eyes and she broke down. But she recovered and learned to love again, only to have her own family to break her once again.
Oh my gosh, I'll cry...
I love this.
Like always, Ni, you did amazingly
Dash has the best bunch of friends and boyfriend anyone could ask for, so sweet
I kind of feel bad for Rainbow Blaze but I don't at the same time, like…?!