Behind the Bleeding Veil

Rainbow Dash stood at the foot of Soarin's grave. He, with the other boys - Micro Chip, Sandal Wood, and Valhalen had been killed by Queen Chrysalis and the servants of Morgorith. Val had been simply stabbed through the heart so there was still something to bury; the others had been hacked to pieces with an ax so their coffins laid empty. Not that it mattered she guessed. Once the person was gone - the soul, the mind, the spirit, whatever you wanted to call it; it really didn't matter is a sack of rotting meat really lay at the bottom of the hole or not. Graves, urns, mausoleums, these were things to comfort the living; the dead didn't care.

It was a day much like it was when they had gotten the video which showed the boys being butchered; bright, sunny, warm. But then tragedies often happen on beautiful days. Nine - eleven happened on a gorgeous September morning. From what she could tell; the bombing of Pearl Harbor looked like it happened on an otherwise pleasant day. And when the US had finally collected it's pound of flesh in the shape of two mushroom clouds; those too had been likewise pleasant days. Dark and stormy nights might be the weather of choice for children's horror stories but real horror, true horror, always seems to happen on bright, beautiful days.

On the headstone was his name, his real name. They had exchanged their true names after a stolen night of intimacy. It was their secret, their code for each other. To the world, they were Soarin and Rainbow Dash; to each other they were Santiago and Rachael. Once his headstone was erected and his true, real name was engraved for all the world to see; she had felt violated, like a part of her had ripped from her again. So she started to go by Rachael to everyone. If the world was going to take their code for each other away, then she would reclaim their nick names once more. He was her Soarin and she was his Rainbow Dash.

"I thought I might find you here," a voice said from behind her. It was deeper, a bit raspier, but still undeniably feminine. It was a voice she had heard as they both had grown up. It was the voice of "little sister" Scootaloo.

Rainbow startled a little when she first heard her but she knew exactly who it was instantly and didn't even bother to look around. There was no need. Even though they were not of the same blood (one look would have told anyone that with Rainbow being black and Scootaloo being white), still the girls had formed a relationship as deep as any biological siblings could ever hope for.

"Hey sis," Rainbow replied. It was quiet with tones of sadness and distraction.

Scootaloo walked over, put her arm around Rainbows waist, and laid her head on her shoulder. Rainbow just stood there, arms folded across her chest. She did appreciate Scootaloo being there though.

"It never stops hurting; does it? I mean you have your good days, days where if you're lucky you forget for a little bit; then - BOOM, it's all right back. Right back in your face as if no time has passed at all," Scootaloo said as much to herself as Rainbow. The same group who killed Soarin and the other boys had also killed Apple Bloom, Apple Jacks little sister and one of Scootaloo's best friends. She had known Soarin, liked Soarin, and had mourned his passing as well; but it was Apple Bloom who was her true heart ache.

"Yeah," Rainbow just replied weakly, gathering her thoughts and feelings. "I've thought that what makes it worse is we were still in the early stage of our relationship. That part where it's all googlely eyes and rainbows and unicorns and flowers. My emotions for him are forever locked in that phase. If he would have lived - who knows. We might have broken up by now. I don't know. I can never know. For now and forever he will be locked as my one true and perfect love."

Rainbows voice carried the weight of one that has known and experienced the full magnitude of the injustice of existence. The resigned sense of loss, the acceptance of injustice, it was the song of pain sung only by the truly broken.

Scootaloo looked over at her sister in concern (both for Rainbow and herself because of all the unwanted emotions Rainbows words might elicit in her); and with as much false levity as she could muster said, "Wow. All that fancy book learning your getting at college is almost making you sound smart".

Rainbow smiled a small smile, gave a quick chuckle, and gently pushed Scootaloo away. "Shut the fuck up," she gently teased. She stopped and then added, "Love the pink Mohawk there."

Scoot gave her hawk (which stood just under thirty centimeters high) a quick flick with her right middle finger and joked back, "Thanks. Still ain't nuthin' compared to that techno-colored dream coat of a hair do you used to have though. Lovin' the dreads by the way. Makes you look like Michone from The Walking Dead."

"That's kind of the look I was going for. Although I might just shave it all off. I've seen pictures of what Dani looks like in next years Black Panther and I have to say; I'm feeling that buzz cut look."

"Well, you are 'The Warrior' so go for it."

The two young women looked at each other and smiled for a bit then grabbed each other in a tight embrace and began crying uncontrollably. Pain is like a contagion, spreading rapidly one to another. Unlike actual viruses or bacteria, when shared between two hurting hearts, each grows stronger as it passes through. The cries become sobs, the sobs sniffles. Soon the sisters step back a bit but never fully break their embrace.

"Did it help," Scootaloo asks, looking Rainbow dead in the eyes, voice still breaking a bit. "Did it help, killing them? You never told me. I so wanted to be there, to fight along side you, to make them bleed, to make them suffer, and watch them die. So, did it help?"

Rainbow thought deeply on that question. There was too much to say, to many conflicting emotions, too much nuance to ever fully convey. "Finally she just gave the answer that she felt was closest to the truth as she could ever get. "No. No it didn't. It didn't make it worse, but it didn't make it better."

Scoot just gave a quick nod and said, "Fair enough".

"So," Rainbow said as she shifted to Scoot's side and put an arm around her shoulders, "how's Sweetie Belle?"

Scoot shook her head. "Three years, not one word. Her parents have taken her to I don't know how therapists, councilors, shrinks; nothing. I see her in school and it's like watching a ghost. I say hi every now and then but she never responds except for a quick to, I guess, acknowledge she heard me then she moves on."

"Yeah, friends have a tendency to do that," Rainbow said quietly thinking back to her and Fluttershy's fight from last night. "Hey, I got to get going. I promised the girls I'd meet them for brunch. But, tonight, I want to hang out if you're not busy."

Scoot turned and smiled. "I'm never too busy for my big sister."

The two hugged one last time and went their separate ways not knowing that this would be the last time they would ever see each other (but that comes later).