Behind the Bleeding Veil

By the time Rainbow and Fluttershy arrived at the club it was fully night. The sky was clear but the stars were blotted out by the competition of the countless terrestrial lights. Street lights, headlights, light streaming from windows and off of signs; all blurred out the celestial lights. No matter. The loss was purely the human's. Those splendid, heavenly bodies had been conducting their universal dance long before humans arrived to behold it and would so long after the last mortal vanished from existence. The minute part they blinded themselves to while alive made no difference to them.

As with most things in 2017 America, cities were either thriving or dying, there was no middle ground (or at least very little middle ground) anymore. Unfortunately, this city, once a nice, prosperous small city, had fallen into the later category. The wealthy moved out to more desirable locales like San Francisco while those who could no longer afford to live in the rarified air of such cities, came streaming in to cities like this one. Property values plummeted, crime shot up. No where near the bad old days of say New York during the early 90s or Chicago circa it's entire existence. But still, far more than it had ever experienced before. The whole city now had a dirty, crumbling feel to it.

The two pulled their bikes into a dingy parking lot outside the club they were going to. It was a former gas station that had gotten torn down and some slum lord bought the land, put a cheap fence around it, and charged people five dollars a hour to park there. The asphalt was cracked and full of pot holes, but parking was parking and his rates were actually on the cheap side compared to other places (as well as right across from the venue which was another plus). The two women parked, packed their helmets in the saddle bags, and made their way over to the club.

"You're gonna love these guys," Fluttershy reiterated excitedly. "I'm not really a punk fan but I saw them last month and they blew me away. I know you're going to love them."

"I'm sure I will," Rainbow Dash laughed. Rainbow loved all her friends but there was something special about being with Fluttershy. Flutter was her oldest and dearest friend. Being with her felt like being wrapped up in the entire concept of home.

Rainbow stopped, reached out, and gently took Fluttershy's arm. Flutter turned around to look at Rainbow. She was confused as to what Rainbow was doing. She looked at Rainbow's face and saw an odd mixture of happiness, sadness, and peace.

"Hey. Fluttershy, I . . . I just wanted to say how happy I am to be back with you again. You've, we've come a long way since we first met. You more than me. But I just wanted to say, thank you. Even without all the magical stuff and universe saving; you'd still be my best friend."

Fluttershy looked shocked at first then took up a defensive stance and said, "Ok, who are you and what have you done with Rainbow Dash?" She then resumed her normal posture and laughed.

Rainbow laughed as well. "It's me; I promise. It's just, well, since graduation and moving away to go to schoooollll, . . . , things have happened. Like I said, I've changed as well. I was an arrogant jerk back in the day. I always had to be the loudest, fastest, best, the constant center of attention. I was dealing with stuff, badly. I was a black girl being raised by white parents. I played it off but I came to realize that I never really got over the idea that my biological mom gave me up for adoption. I was trying to fill a void, of getting over the idea that the person who gave birth to me just gave me away. I wanted love and acceptance but went about in the entirely wrong way. It took a while, but I think I finally got my shit together. Well, almost.

"Anyway, you were there longer and stronger than anyone else. You put up with me when I could barely put up with myself. So thank you."

Fluttershy just looked at Rainbow in complete astonishment. This was something, a side to Rainbow she had never seen, never even knew existed. Even though it had been Rainbow who opened herself up, it was Fluttershy who felt raw and exposed as if by in opening herself up; Rainbow had inadvertently stripped her of all her skin. Fluttershy looked down at the ground, crossing her body with her left arm and holding her upper right arm with it. In that moment she was classic Fluttershy, the painfully shy, scared girl that Rainbow had first met.

"I, I, I, I don't know . . ., uh, thank you Rainbow Dash. Truth is, I don't have my shit together. Not since I lost Sandal. I thought I did. But I don't. I keep asking why, why, why, and I can't answer that. I can but none of those answers are good. It just seems like I'm either angry or depressed all the time. Sometimes I don't even know how I'm still standing."

Rainbow embraced her friend, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I know, I know. Hatred, rage, vengeance, were all I could think about for years afterwards. I blamed Twilight, Sunset, Adagio, Sonata, all the Equestrians, the goddesses, everyone and thing. You and to some degree Scootaloo kept me sane enough `till I was able to figure things out and so will you."

Rainbow pulled back, putting both hands on Fluttershy's shoulders. She smiled as she was still crying. "And remember, if nothing else, you'll always have me."

Fluttershy smiled back weakly. "I know. Thank you again Rainbow."

Rainbow dropped one arm and put the other around Fluttershy's shoulders. "I'm actually going by my real name now, Rachael," she said in a half joking, half serious manner.

"What? No way! You hated that name!" Fluttershy responded in joking shock.

"Hey, like I said, I've changed too."

"Well, you know, I'm kinda over being called Fluttershy. I was thinking of maybe changing my name to Florence."

Rainbow scruntched her face up at that. "Florence ? Ugh. You don't look like a Florence. If you want a new name that starts with F, how about Felicia?"

"Nah; `cause whenever someone would say bye to me I'd think they were just being insulting."

They both laughed at that as they started walking to the club again. Then Rainbow stopped. Fluttershy thought she was about to say something heartfelt again until she saw her face. It was a mix of dread, anger, surprise, and determination. Fluttershy turned to see what Rainbow was looking at.

Standing by the entrance to an alley that ran behind the club; their was what looked to be an extremely elderly man. While this would be a bit strange on it's own, there were further details that made it all the more unsettling. The man wore a business suit that seemed at least over a hundred years out of date. Even though he wore a Bowler hat, it was clear he was bald on top; his hair having receded far past what the hat could cover. What hair was left hung down to his shoulders, straight and limp. It was very white yet appeared darker next to his almost albino like complexion. His face was emotionless as he just stared at them. And it was that stare, his eyes most notably which gave him such a feeling of dread. His eyes were wide open. Imagine opening your eyes as wide as possible, wide to the point of pain, as wide as any human physically could; now imagine them ten percent wider still and that is how wide his eyes were. And it was those eyes, those unblinking eyes, that stared at Rainbow and Fluttershy.

"Rainbow, do you know . . . ," Fluttershy started to whisper with a touch of fear into Rainbows ear.

Rainbow put up her hand to silence her. "It's ok, I got this," she said and started to walk off.

Fluttershy grabbed Rainbows arm. "Rainbow, if this guy's trouble, we should handle him together. I've fought," Fluttershy took a deep breath before she continued, "I've killed before. We're in this together remember?"

Rainbow gently removed Fluttershy's hand and sadly shook her head. "Not this time Fluttershy. This has to be all me." With that she walked over to where the man stood. She stood off to his side, her back toward Fluttershy. She could tell that Rainbow was talking to him but neither turned to look at the other. She looked straight ahead into the blackness of the alley and he just kept staring at Fluttershy. Slowly Rainbow dashed turned her head to look at the stranger who then finally turned to look at her (although he kept staring at Fluttershy for as long as he possibly could. With a brief look they disappeared into the alley.

Fluttershy waited, wondering what was going on. She was fighting every urge she had not to run over there and help her friend (if indeed she needed help). She waited and waited for how long she could not say as time seemed to pass in increasingly slower increments. Then in what had been a cloudless sky; a dark, greyish purple thunder cloud formed. It lit up a bright indigo (although it's light never seemed to illuminate anything on the ground beneath it. It was then a loud burst of thunder roared out from the cloud and was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Very soon afterward Rainbow Dash came walking out.

Fluttershy went running up to Rainbow. "Rainbow, Rainbow, what was that? What the fuck just happened? Where's the creepy old guy?"

Rainbow just shook her head. "It's ok. He's been dealt with. Let's get in here to see this band ok?" Rainbow tried to smile as if nothing had happened.

It was then Fluttershy lost it. "The fuck? You're jus' gonna play that shit off like it was fucking nothing? Not even tell me one goddamn word about what that shit was all about? We stood together, shoulder to shoulder, fought against demons, monsters, ancient gods. All your words, everything you just told before this happened, it was all fucking bullshit!"

"Fluttershy, wait! It's . . ." Rainbow tried to explain but was cut off by an enraged Fluttershy that would not be stopped.

"No! Fuck you! You said I've changed - you're goddamn right I've changed. But you can't except that, can you. All we've done, all we've went through, and still you just want me as sweet, shy little Fluttershy. You don't want me to grow, to change, you want to lock me in a box forever and tell who I am and how I'll always be. Well I'm not that scared little girl anymore. I've grown. I am a woman now. I've faced things that no one else would even have half the courage to face and I won't be that little fucking girl anymore. Not for you, not for anybody.

She then took a deep breath and gave a bitter, ironic laugh. "And you know what? You were there, with me. It's not like some asshole I knew briefly in school and lost touched with. You, YOU, were right there with me the whole time. But even you can't see, can't accept I'm not the same person anymore." She then turned around and started back toward the parking lot.

Rainbow ran after her and grabbed her. "Fluttershy, please! C'mon. Let's just go see the band huh? We can work this out later."

"See them your fucking self Rachael . I'm outta here." Fluttershy broke free and stormed off. She got on her bike and drove away. As she passed Rainbow she held up her middle finger.

Rainbow just kept turning around, punching her right thigh and cursing. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"