> Old Habits (Rewrite) > by Wr1tingN3rd > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SLAM! "Ugh, I'm so sick of this crap!" a very angry little filly yelled as she locked herself in her own room. Her coat was cyan and her hair representing a rainbow. Of course, she had just returned from a very long and, in the filly's own words, 'uncool' school day. Then a knock sounded from her door. "Rainbow Dash? You alright in there?" a muffled voice came through. A voice she knew all too well. "Yeah. You can come in, Dad," Rainbow sighed, laying down on her cloud bed, facing the ceiling. Her father approached and sat besides his daughter. His fur was a darker blue with the same rainbow hair as Dash. He cleared his throat. "So, um, how's school going for you?" He got a small grunt from the child. "I take it that it went kind of horribly, didn't it?" They sat in uncomfortable silence for a bit before Rainbow finally responded. "Yeah. School sucked today," she finally answered, not bothering to sit up in bed. "Wow. Must've been really bad if you won't even bother to look at me while you talk," he chuckled. Rainbow rolled her eyes and sat up, a small smile forming on her face only for a second. "Well? Hit me with the story! I'm all ears. Promise I won't judge." After a bit of thinking, Rainbow answered, "Well, school went like normal. I went to class, did my work, the usual, and then when it finally got recess, I hung out with Fluttershy." Her face went grim as she continued. "And then those guys just had to come around and mess with us," she growled. "There were two of them, and they kept making fun of me and my flying, calling me... Rainbow Crash. And then when Fluttershy tried to say something, they just turned on her and made a nickname for her. Clutzershy, I think it was." Rainbow continued. "I tried to defend her, and eventually, a push led to a shove, and then it was hooves flying." Her father stayed quiet. "They called me up to the office and told me I would be suspended. And the other two got off scott-free!" she groaned. "They didn't even care to look for who started it, or what happened! They just, assumed that it was me and now I'm suspended. Even if I told someone before it got out of hand, it probably wouldn't have mattered." Her dad sighed, "Well, school's just like that sometimes. While I don't like the course of action that you decided to take... I respect your decision. There wasn't much else you could have done." He put a hoof around Rainbow and pulled her into a hug. "Just promise you'll try to stay out of trouble from now on, alright?" he ruffled Dash's hair, getting a few giggles from the filly. "Now, moving onto other subjects," her father continued, "You're going to need something to do while you're suspended. So you'll be stuck here... how long?" "They said a week," she responded. "Dang, an entire week? Jeez. They gotta have better people running that school." He would have to call up the school later to give them a piece of his mind. "Anyways, as I was saying, you gotta have something to do right? I think I've got just the thing." _____ "A guitar? Seriously, Dad?" Rainbow scoffed as she was given the large hunk of wood with strings attached on it. She could barely wrap her hooves around the thing. How was she supposed to play it? "Have a little faith, will you, squirt?" he playfully jabbed her shoulder. "This guitar has helped me get through some rough times. You can just sit down, play, and have the world melt away. And that rhymed too, so it's gotta be true." Rainbow giggled and rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'm sold. How am I supposed to play this thing?" _____ "No, no, no. You're supposed to hold down the third fret on the E string, not the B string," her dad corrected, adjusting her hoof placement on the guitar. "Make sure to channel your magic in there. Try to really connect with the guitar." Rainbow grunted and double checked her hoof placement before strumming a not-so-open G chord. She groaned, "Ugh, it's hopeless!" She rested her head on the body of the guitar. "I'll never be as good as you." "Well, you're getting there! When I first started, I was doing worse. Couldn't even hold down an Em chord," he reassured. His daughter's face lit up. "Really?" she asked. "Yeah, squirt, you're doing much better than I was when I first started. Keep like this and you'll be even better than me!" _____ Rainbow sat on her bed, guitar in hoof. She was slightly older now, and now that she had grown larger, she could actually comfortably hold the dang thing. Her hooves rested on the neck, pressing down a Cmaj chord and hoof-picking each string to make a melody. Her face was drawn in concentration, playing the soft tune. "Heh, that's actually started to sound pretty good," her father said, leaning against her doorframe. "You wanna go out flying?" he asked. Dash looked up from the guitar and shook her head with a smile. "No thanks, Dad. I think I just wanna practice for today. I've almost got this part down." Her dad chuckled to himself. "Alright, squirt, don't tire out your hooves," he turned and walked out of the room. "Already playing songs like those? She'll be better than me in no time." _____ "I walk a lonely road, the only... one.. that I have ever... known, ugh!" she groaned. "How do you play and sing so... easily?! It's so difficult!" Her dad chuckled. "It just comes with time. You're already more fluent in playing guitar than I am. Just one more step and we'll be singing along to a song together maybe. Then the music would sound twice as good! Imagine, the 'Dashing Duo' singing along together. You doing lead and me doing rhythm." That got a laugh out of Dash. Rainbow rolled her eyes. "The 'Dashing Duo'? Really? That's the best you could come up with?" His father chuckled. "Well did you want me to say... 'Raining Rainbows'?" he said dramatically. "When we go up on stage, everyone will be tasting the rainbow! Or should I say hearing?" Rainbow doubled over laughing, "That's even worse!" "Well, what do you got?" he countered, playfully jabbing Rainbow's side. Her laughing died down. "Okay, okay! I um... uh... I've got nothing," her father starting laughing, his daughter's face becoming flustered, "Well! You-! I! I've just never been good at names, okay?" _____ Rainbow and her dad sat together on the couch, guitars in hand, playing along together, Rainbow the melody and Dad rhythm. They were playing along to a song. [] "...I understand about indecision," Rainbow sung out loud. "But I don't care if I get left behind" her father sung back. They continued going back and forth. "People livin' in competition." "All I want is to have my peace of mind," they sang in unison before moving onto the bridge. "Take a look ahead! Take a look ahead, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" Now it was time for the solo. And did they absolutely nail it! It was a two-guitar solo going back and forth between them, Dad would play in the lower parts of the solo and Rainbow would play the higher up parts of the solo. Their hooves elegantly glided along the neck, pressing and bending strings with all sorts of hammer-on's and pull-off's. They were also receiving moral support from Mom, who was cheering them on, dancing to the song. Dash rolled her eyes and continued with the verse. "Now everybody's got advice, they just keep on givin'. Doesn't mean too much to me." "Lots of people out to make believe they're lyin'. Can't decide who they should be," they sang together once more. "I understand about indecision." "But I don't care if I get behind." "People livin' in competition'." _____ "And all I want is to have my piece of mind," Rainbow finished the song early and sighed. She sat beneath a tree, guitar in hoof, replaying the memory in her head. It had been a while since then. She then turned to her father, who laid ever so still. "Well, I hope you liked it. I've been practicing every week so I don't lose my skill, like you said. Hopefully it sounded nice. I hope you're doing alright, Dad. Love you," she set her guitar down and got up, approaching the tombstone. Here lies Bow Hothoof: A loving father and husband, never to be forgotten. Rainbow reached into her bag and grabbed a vase full of flowers and set it by the grave before sighing deeply. "I miss you."