On a starry summer night, over in the suburban part of Canterlot, Rainbow Dash and all of her friends came over to Pinkie Pie's for a party for a very special occasion. Tonight was special for it was the 4th of July, the birthday of their home country had came. Pinkie Pie's family invited all of her friends and their families for a very special celebration. Applejack's family first came, Fluttershy's brother and parents followed, and even Twilight's brother and sister-in-law arrived to the party as well.
Inside of the house, there were decorations all colored in red white and blue. Streamers were all decorated around the ceiling and the wooden door-frames, there were balloons taped colored in red, white and blue. And there were a few banners and signs screaming 'Happy Fourth of July'. The house was just covered in the big holiday almost in every corner and square inch of the place.
Soon one by one, the rests of the guest were arriving, all in fancy clothing, and they brought food as well. Burgers, hot dogs, steak, you name it. Everything the guests had brought in just was mouth-watering... It was absolutely delicious. The smell, the texture, the flavor, absolutely tasty.
The final guests were arriving, but not before 18-year-old Rainbow Dash. She approached the front door, and knocked on the front hard wood. The door opened up, revealing Pinkie Pie in a blue dress, with a few graphics of balloons on the bottom, and around her neck dangling was a sparkling blue necklace.
"Hey Rainbow!", Pinkie grinned, "Ooh, pretty dress!"
Rainbow blushed a bit. She wore a passion red dress, a pearl bracelet around her left arm, and she wore black dressy shoes. And although it was hidden under her dress, it was still visible to see; she wore fishnet stockings on her legs as a bit of fashion advice from Rarity and some of her fashionista friends.
"Uh... thanks, Pinkie."
"How come you're all fancy-schmancy?"
"Oh, I thought since everyone else was dressing up, I should too. Didn't want to be the odd one out after all."
Pinkie continued to stare blankly at Rainbow Dash, still with the friendly crazy grin on her face. Rainbow just groaned, she knew Pinkie knew that she wasn't being completely honest about that.
"Okay, Rarity wouldn't stop bugging me until I swore that I would wear something fancy."
Pinkie giggled a bit, "Well you look great."
Pinkie's giggle stopped when she noticed something else was amiss. Rainbow Dash had shown up to the door, but she was only here by herself.
"Wait, where's your family? I thought I invited everyone."
Rainbow's breath was caught in her throat, and her heart began racing.
"Oh... uh... they're busy tonight, I uh... didn't want to bother them again," Rainbow said, hesitantly. It almost sounded like she was hiding something from Pinkie.
"Okie-doki-loki...", Pinkie said unsure, "well, come on in!"
Rainbow accepted Pinkie's response, and walked on in. She looked around and saw all of the enchanting decorations Pinkie had put up. But she still felt her heart pounding against her chest.
"Nice job Pinkie," Rainbow complimented.
"Thanks! It only took an hour to set the decorations up!"
Rainbow wandered into the kitchen, and gazed at all of the food that been set up. There were some vegetables, hor d'oeuvres, hot dog buns, and many kinds of chips. Potato chips, ranch chips, tortilla chips, etc. Rainbow looked around to see if anyone was looking, and dug her hand into the bowl of tortilla chips, taking a few into her hand. She ate a few chips, but continued to look around to see if anyone was watching her. This food looks like it was just out and it wasn't ready to be out for everyone to eat.
She finished scarfing down another chip, and walked out of the kitchen, unsure if anyone was going to catch her. She walked into another room and found the rest of her friends all at another table talking amongst themselves. Soon enough they noticed Rainbow walking in to the dining area.
"Hey Rainbow, about time you showed up," Applejack said.
"Sorry I'm late guys, I was rushing to get everything together," Rainbow said, "Also the traffic kind of piled up on my way here. People were going all crazy today."
"Oh relax darling, you made it on time and you look absolutely ravishing," Rarity said.
"Gee, thanks Rarity," Rainbow said, unsure. She looked to the side and she found an assortment of soda drinks all set out onto another table for guests to pick up. Immediately she walked over
Applejack took another sip of her drink, and looked at the single blue girl that stood before them.
"Is your family talking with the other adults?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow felt her heart pounding against her chest, and a lump forming in her throat.
"No Applejack, her family's busy tonight," Pinkie Pie said.
"Again?" Twilight asked, "Rainbow how many times has your family been busy?"
"Uh... well, um...", Rainbow began. "T-They're usually busy."
"Rainbow, you're twiddling your fingers and you're not lookin' at us," Applejack replied.
"I am not, and that's the truth. They're busy, and they can't make it! Okay?" Rainbow snarled.
Before any of them could ask her again, Rainbow stomped off somewhere else to cool off. No sense in talking to them more if they were just gonna question whether or not she was fibbing or not.
She took a deep breath and sighed, collecting all of her thoughts together. Once she had cooled down, she began to look around to see who else was invited to this party. Around the corner, going at the snack table, she could see three short girls all dressed up as well. One of them had yellow skin and red hair, another had white skin with pink and purple highlights in her hair, and the other had orange skin with dark pink hair. Rainbow could only take a wild guess at who those three were.
One of them turned around and grinned when she saw Rainbow Dash was at the party.
"Hey Rainbow! Glad you could make it!"
"Why wouldn't I come squirt?" Rainbow said, ruffling up Scootaloo's hair. "What are you girls doing?"
"We're getting some tortilla chips. Our moms and dads are already hanging out with the other adults. You want in?"
Rainbow could feel her heart thumping hard once again.
"Oh, uh... its, its cool. You go, just.... just leave some for me, okay?"
The Crusaders all shared looks of confusion for a short moment, but then they quickly ran off to go get some food. Rainbow took a moment to breathe in and out once again, trying to calm herself.
"Just cool yourself... its fine..."
"Hey Rainbow!" A voice yelled.
Rainbow slowly turned her head around and she gave a nervous chuckle. A friend from school had shown up the party as well.
"Hey, Heath Burns. Glad to see you."
"Glad to see you too Rainbow. Your crazy folks doing?"
"Oh, uh..." Rainbow stuttered, "They're... fine."
The boy had a confused look on his face. Rainbow didn't seem to be acting like her usual self.
"Uh, Rainbow are you okay?"
"No, I'm fine, just... just gotta take care of something..." Rainbow said, quickly walking away from the boy. But unfortunately, two more people stood in her way.
"Oh, Lyra! Bon Bon, hey, uh, glad to see you two, uh, gotta do something real quick-"
"I just wanted to ask, are your parents okay? I'm not sure I'm seeing them." Lyra asked.
"They're here, you're just not looking hard enough... now, can I-"
"Hey Rainbow, good to see you. How's the family doing?"
Rainbow slowly backed away, not having an answer. Not much luck trying to move away as more people gathered near her. All of them were asking the exact same question.
"Your parents doing okay?"
"How are your mom and dad doing?"
"I'm not sure I see your mom and dad."
"Are they doing okay?"
Rainbow felt her head ringing, pounding against her skull as more and more people starting asking that same question. She almost felt herself losing control and about to drop to her knees, screaming in agony. She felt her eyes watering up, but she couldn't let any of them see. She couldn't let any of them watch her as she cried her eyes out.
"Guys, come on, leave her alone." Sunset said, getting some of the crowd to move away. The rest of Rainbow's friends appeared as well, all of them taking notice that Rainbow wasn't holding it very well together.
"Darling, are you alright?" Rarity asked.
"They didn't hurt you, did they?"
Rainbow felt her fists clenching and her blood boiling to the breaking point.
"I'm fine! Okay!? Will all of you stop asking me about where my mom and dad are!? It's none of your business!"
Rainbow growled and she moved her way out of the crowd, who were all shocked to hear her outburst. They weren't expecting her to break out in anger like that. None of them could even say a word. Well, one person spoke up.
"What just happened?"
Rainbow closed the bathroom door, and hit her back against the door. Heavy pain filled her eyes, and she bit her lips as they trembled. She began whimpering as she held her hands on her face, sobbing quietly. She rubbed her tear-filled eyes, looking at the blackened mascara that had rubbed against her hand. Moving herself to look in the mirror, she looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks were puffy, and the mascara had run down her face.
She rubbed more tears off her face and continued to cry.
"I-I'm so sorry...", Rainbow sobbed.
She turned the knob on the sink, water pouring out of the spout. She splashed some of the water on her face, trying to rub all of the blackened marks off her face. She couldn't hold her emotions in anymore. Everything that everyone had said and asked, it reminded Rainbow all too much about what she had lost. She had no mother, she had no father, nor a brother. She was all alone by herself with no one else.
She planted herself down on the ground, her arms covering her face as she continued to cry. She didn't want anyone to hear her sobbing her eyes out.
Her sobbing came to a halt when she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Uh... Rainbow?", a quiet voice came from the other side. "Are you okay?"
Rainbow couldn't muster the energy to speak to the girl on the other side. Not like this. She couldn't been seen a blubbering mess. But she knew who was on the other side of the door.
"F-Fluttershy?" Rainbow croaked.
"Rainbow, are you okay?"
Rainbow didn't want to tell her, but she couldn't shrug this off. Not to Fluttershy, she couldn't shrug it off to her.
"N-no..." Rainbow cooed.
"May I come in?"
Rainbow sighed for a moment to catch her breath.
"Uh-huh...", Rainbow replied, voice shaking some more.
The door knob turned as Fluttershy entered in, looking very concerned. She moved closer and crouched down to look at Rainbow.
"Rainbow, what's wrong?"
Rainbow sniffled, "N-nothing's wrong..."
"Rainbow, I know there's something wrong. Can't you tell me what's wrong?"
Rainbow slowly looked up to see the warm and friendly face of Fluttershy. How could she say no to her?
"I-I'm sorry, I... Everyone kept asking me about where my family was, I just... I couldn't take it anymore."
Fluttershy moved closer to give Rainbow some comfort, "Well what happened? Are they away?"
Rainbow shook her head as more tears trickled down her face, "No. My dad, my mom, and my brother are... are..."
Fluttershy moved closer to hear what Rainbow was trying to say.
"Fluttershy, they're all... dead."
Fluttershy let out a gasp, "W-What?"
Rainbow nodded, "A year ago, after a soccer match with Crystal Prep, I got a call from Dad saying that he along with my little brother and Mom were on their way home after a grocery run. I hadn't heard from then. But then...
8:30 PM
Rainbow Dash sat on the couch, with a leg over the end of it as she laid back watching one of her favorite cartoons. She didn't move, or go anywhere off the couch, she was waiting for when her family would come home. But they were gone for so long. How could they be gone for so long? What was even taking them so long?
Rainbow tilted her head back on the couch to stare at the clock that was hanging on the wall. Even though she was upside down she could still tell what time was reading on the clock. She groaned and rolled her eyes.
"Come on Dad, what's taking you so long?" Rainbow grunted.
She was about to turn her head back to the television when she heard the sound of knocking on the door. Her body perked up, and she sprung off from the arm of the couch onto the wooden floor. Finally, it was about time they came back.
She walked towards the door and she peaked her eye through the little peakhole that was in the center of the door. On the other side wasn't something she expected. On the outside of her door, were two adult males in police uniforms, and off near the edge of the sidewalk was a police car with the lights blaring. This couldn't be good...
Rainbow Dash hesitantly opened the door.
"Um... hello?"
"Ms Rainbow Dash. My name is Officer Streetwise and this Officer Pulsar, we're part of the Canterlot Police Department," the police officer said showing his badge to Rainbow.
"Uh... am I under arrest?"
"No, you aren't Ms. Dash. But we do wish to speak with you. May we come in?"
Rainbow hesitantly nodded and opened the door, allowing them to come in. The two older police officers took a seat on the couch, and Rainbow took the seat on the other side from them.
"So, what is this about?" Rainbow asked.
Officer Streetwise took a moment to collect his thoughts, "Ms. Dash. Around 7:10 tonight, a car accident had occurred in the streets of Canterlot City, due to a drunk driver. In one of those cars, was your father, your brother, and your mother."
Rainbow gasped, "A-Are they okay?"
The police officer took a moment to compose himself together, "Ms Dash, it pains me to say this but... no. All three of them have died in the crash. I'm very sorry Ms. Dash."
Rainbow fell silent as everything around her shattered. She couldn't comprehend what was told. They were... dead. No. It couldn't be true. They couldn't have been gone. But they were. Rainbow's mother and father... gone. No longer alive. There would be no more mother's day, no more father's day, no Halloween, no birthday's, no Christmas, no special occasions, nothing. They were all gone. And there was nothing she could do about it.
Without saying another word, she held her face in her hands and sobbed quietly, leaving the two police officers on the couch unsure of what to do.
"... After that, the principals were notified and Principal Celestia kept checking up on me, making sure I got home safe and alive," Rainbow continued.
Fluttershy stayed by Rainbow's side the entire time, in total shock. She couldn't believe Rainbow Dash, a tomboy who never showed any fear was going through this.
"Rainbow, I'm so sorry..." Fluttershy said pulling her in for a hug, letting Rainbow cry a bit on her shoulder, "Why didn't you tell any of us sooner?"
"I... I...," Rainbow began, "I thought you girls would think I was a baby... I didn't want you to think I let something like this get to me... I.."
"Rainbow," Fluttershy said, pulling Rainbow out to face her in the eye, "Its okay if you want to talk to us about this. Its okay to be sad. No one's going to think of you any lesser."
Rainbow looked away, another tear going down her face. Her entire face was now tear-stained, her cheeks were puffy, her eyes were now bloodshot, and there was a bit of mascara leaking down her face.
Fluttershy wiped another tear away and pulled her in for another hug, rubbing her back. Rainbow Dash reciprocated and wrapped her arms around the pink-haired girl.
Fluttershy held Rainbow Dash for a good few minutes as she began to calm down. Fluttershy had never seen her so distressed before. She couldn't imagine how horrible Rainbow was feeling to go through something so tragic, to lose the only ones she loved. To lose the only family members, and having to carry that burden with her throughout the rest of her days, was especially heartbreaking.
Rainbow pulled away from the hug, still feeling the tears stream down her face.
"Rainbow? Do you want me to stay here with you?" Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow slowly nodded and sniffled, "Y-Yes... please."
Fluttershy gave a warm smile and pulled Rainbow close, holding her in her warm embrace.
"Rainbow, if you ever want to talk, we're all here for you. You don't need to be afraid to tell us these things. Its okay," Fluttershy said.
Rainbow nodded, "Okay... and Fluttershy?"
"Yes?"
Rainbow managed to work herself a weak smile to Fluttershy.
"Thank you," Rainbow whispered.
Fluttershy smiled back and let Rainbow lean on her shoulder, providing her comfort.
Eventually Fluttershy got Rainbow Dash to come out of the bathroom with her, and Rainbow explained her sadness to her friends. All of them were very shocked to hear that Rainbow Dash was hiding this information out of all of them, but they gave her the comfort and support that she needed.
Throughout the rest of the night, Rainbow was comforted by all of her friends through admiration, hugs, and tons of food. All of their support was making her feel a little better. A glimmer of hope kicked into her soul as she found herself surrounded by friends, smiles, and comfort.
She had been told that things were going to get better, and in her heart... she knew it too.
Author's Note
This was written in a time when I was very depressed, and I wanted to get this done since its been in my bookshelf for a long time. I hope you all enjoy it, for whatever its worth... Likes and comments are highly appreciated!
And apologies to everyone for Rainbow being OOC.
