Chapter 14 - Fallout

Rainbow Dash stared at the heavy wooden door in front of her, not making any move to knock. An awful feeling had settled in her stomach long ago, but seeing the door that lead to Principal Celestia’s office made the feeling intensify tenfold. She clenched the already wrinkled sheet of paper in her hands tightly, paying no mind to the small tears forming around the edges.

If there was one thing Rainbow Dash was bad at, it was admitting she was wrong. This time, however, the undeniable fact of her falsity had punched her straight in the stomach several times over. There was no fixing what she and her friends had done to Sunset, but this was the least she could do.

Taking a breath and steeling her nerves, Rainbow Dash knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

The athlete entered the room uncertainly, keeping her eyes downcast; the normally sunny Principal was downright terrifying when she was angry.

“Um, hey Principal Celestia,” Dash started, her voice shaking as much as her legs. “I have some information on the people that contacted Anon-a-miss... and also some of the people who bullied Sunset.”

Principal Celestia was quiet for a moment before Rainbow Dash heard her sigh. “Alright. What do you have and why have you taken so long to share it?”

Rainbow Dash wilted under the cold look the Principal was giving her. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and chose to ignore the second part of the question.

“Uh… here,” Rainbow awkwardly thrust the paper she was holding onto Principal Celestia’s desk, looking up for the first time since she entered the room. “That’s most of the accounts that contacted Anon-a-miss and who owns each account,” she explained as Celestia picked up the paper, scanning its contents.

“And how did you get these names?” The Principal questioned, her gaze unwavering as she met Dash’s nervous eyes.

“Me ‘n the soccer team asked around as much as we could.”

“I see,” Celestia replied. “And the bullies?”

At this, Dash averted her eyes again. “Um, Gilda was roughing her up a bit and uh, Spitfire and some of the soccer team… and me all locked Sunset in a locker.”

A dreadful silence covered the room as Celestia processed the information. The seconds felt like hours to Rainbow Dash as she stared at the floor, too ashamed to properly face the Principal.

Finally, Principal Celestia snorted out a humourless laugh. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” she said, and Rainbow curled into herself even further.

Celestia reached for her pen and started scribbling something onto one of the sticky note pads scattered across her desk. “Here,” she said, handing the note to Rainbow Dash. “Give this to Coach Wind Rider. You and the rest of the soccer team, regardless of who did or did not attack Sunset, will be given detention for the next month.”

The worn look on the woman’s face seeped frustration and disappointment as she continued. “I understand the soccer team made it to the championships. I have half a mind to ban the team from participating, but since you all got these names,” she gestured to the paper Dash had given her, “I will allow it.”

“Thank you Principal Celestia,” Rainbow Dash said, releasing a small breath of relief. She quickly made her way to the door, when Celestia’s voice stopped her.

“Miss Dash?”

Rainbow shuffled her feet and turned around, anxious to leave.

Celestia seemed lost in thought for a moment before she spoke again. “...Thank you for taking responsibility for your actions. You are one of the few students who have come forward about their treatment of Sunset during that whole disaster.”

Rainbow only winced as she turned back around, leaving the room without another word.

***

The kitchen was quiet and dark, a lone figure occupying a space at the table.

Lofty was a patient person. Having essentially raised Scootaloo from a child, she and her wife had to be. Between baby Scootaloo’s many stubborn fits and her adventurous spirit, Aunts Lofty Heights and Warm Holiday learned to balance their niece’s loud personality with kind tolerance and calm indulgence.

… So where had they gone wrong?

Lofty pinched the bridge of her nose, staring at her phone. The soft light from the device was the only illumination in the room. It highlighted the heavy bags under the woman’s eyes as she read things that made her stomach flip. Secrets, accusations, friendships crumbling; hatred projected for the world to see. And at the center of it all, the masterminds behind such a terrible plot, was the same baby she and her wife had loved to pieces.

“I thought we raised Scooty better than this…”

The sound of the front door opening and closing made Lofty look up. She gave a weak smile and put her phone down as Holiday walked into the kitchen, flipping the lights on before sitting down across from her with a small smile of her own.

“Hey sweetie,” Holiday said softly as she took Lofty’s hands in her own. She could see that the worry lines on her wife’s face had deepened since they heard the news about Anon-a-miss. “What were you doing, sitting in the dark like that?”

Lofty only sighed. “I’ve just been thinking about Scooty again,” she replied. “I can’t understand why our baby would do something so mean. I feel like we failed her...”

“Oh, sweetie...” Holiday cupped a hand against her wife’s cheek, rubbing away the tears that had begun to slip from her tired eyes. The couple had lost more than a little sleep thinking about the Crusader’s actions and questioning their role as Scootaloo’s surrogate parents. “We have to remember that this was Scootaloo’s decision, not ours. We couldn’t have known, and there isn’t anything we could have done to prevent it,” she said. “All we can do now is make sure she grows from her mistakes and doesn’t hurt anyone like this again.”

Lofty sniffled and nodded. “She’s a good kid, Holly. She really is,” she murmured.

“I know, sweetie. I think that temper of hers just took over.” Holiday leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Lofty’s forehead before standing up. She walked to the pantry and began pulling foods out. Her wife soon joined her in preparing the night’s dinner as the two tried to ignore the sadness in their hearts.

***

The Apple Family was in fragments after the reveal of Anon-a-miss. The warmth and love that had surrounded Sweet Apple Acres was noticeably absent, and it showed on the stony faces of its inhabitants. Gone were the playful mud fights, the happy communal work of picking apples, the family cooking together each night. The usual chores that came with running a farm were just that, now; chores.

Granny was lost in thought as she moved about the kitchen, alone. She felt just awful about how she treated Sunset Shimmer. The Apple matriarch absentmindedly stirred the spaghetti sauce, lamenting over her actions. “Ah shoulda known it warn’t her. After Ah got to know her after the Fall Formal, how kind she always was...”

A part of Sunset’s detention after the Fall Formal was helping Granny Smith clean up the cafeteria and its kitchen. The teen had been nothing but polite and helpful, and even continued to help clean after her sentence was served. “And this whole family just spat in her face.” Granny frowned as she continued cooking.

The older woman had been in contact with the respective guardians of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in the wake of the Anon-a-miss fiasco. The families had collectively agreed on appropriate punishments for the three. The trio were mega grounded, and their phones were confiscated for the foreseeable future. They were also forbidden any sort of contact with each other until they proved they could be trusted again.

Which was going to take a very long time.

“Soup’s on,” Granny Smith half-heartedly called as she finished up the spaghetti and set out the silverware, mentally preparing for another tense, unhappy family dinner.

***

The resort’s breakfast bar served food 24/7. Waffles, pancakes, bacon, eggs; anything breakfast related was always readily available.

Cookie Crumbles was currently taking advantage of that.

After learning of Sweetie Belle’s role in the Anon-a-miss disaster, Hondo Flanks had suggested they take a vacation from their lives as parents. Oh, they were absolutely furious with their daughter, but the two decided that sometimes it was best to let the kids figure things out for themselves.

That didn’t mean Cookie’s mind was entirely free of anger and guilt, but drowning her thoughts in a pile of syrup was helping. After all, there was nothing some late-night waffles couldn’t fix, right?

… Right?

Cookie Crumbles sighed as she poured far too much syrup onto her food. “That Sweetie Belle and her rascal friends… I certainly hope they learn something from all this. I mean, it’s just embarrassing, really,” she thought, taking an indignant bite of her soggy waffles. “Rarity is a responsible girl. She’ll set Sweetie straight, I’m sure.”

***

Soccer practice that night was tense. Most of the team hadn’t spoken a word to Rainbow Dash all night. After another scrimmage full of overly aggressive kicks and silent keep-away from Rainbow, Coach Wind Rider blew his whistle.

“Alright everyone, let’s call it a night,” Coach Wind Rider’s gruff voice snapped as the team congregated at the sidelines. “I can tell nobody’s heart is in it today.”

Rainbow Dash lingered a bit as her teammates packed up their gear and started leaving the stadium. The warm nighttime air felt suffocating to her as she made her way to the bleachers, intending to have some time alone before going home to yet another night of procrastination and pretending her heart didn’t hurt.

Rainbow huffed a sigh as she heard someone approaching her on the metal seats. “Wonder who’s come to chew me out this time,” she thought.

“Hey, Dash.”

Rainbow was silent as Spitfire sat down next to her.

Spitfire sighed and ran a hand through her vibrant hair. “Look, Dash,” she began. “I don’t blame you for ratting us out to Celestia.” Rainbow’s head lifted, shock donning her features. Of all the people to be understanding about the situation, Spitfire seemed like the least likely.

The normally brash teen leaned back on her elbows. “To be honest, I feel pretty shit about what we did to Sunset,” she continued. “And I know you feel worse.” Rainbow Dash said nothing, but guilt flashed across her features.

Spitfire gave her friend a clap on the shoulder as she stood. “You did the right thing, Dash,” she said, making her way down the bleachers and pretending not to notice the tears leaking from Rainbow’s eyes.

***

Twilight Sparkle tossed and turned in her bed, her wings flaring out and knocking her covers off. Guilt simmered in her stomach and her thoughts raced.

“Anon-a-miss… Gabby Gums… I should have seen the connection sooner!” She turned over onto her side for the nth time that night. “I feel like such a fool...”

After returning to Equestria and calming down, the similarities between the two events slapped the Princess in the face. She should have known! She could have stopped the damage sooner, she could have done something!

Twilight whinnied and launched herself onto the floor with a thump. She got to her hooves, shaking herself out slightly, and moved to her window. “I need to get out for a bit, clear my head...” Igniting her magic, Twilight silently opened her window and peered out into the dark night sky. She slowly spread her wings and leapt out, catching herself in the air with a strong flap.

Wind whistled through the alicorn’s ears as she soared over the quiet town of Ponyville. The darkened homes and shops passed swiftly beneath her as she flew, gradually gaining altitude and losing sight of the familiar streets.

Soon, there was only Twilight, the clouds, and the beautiful expanse of silky night and shining stars. The Princess took in a deep breath of fresh air, smiling at the sensation of sublime solitude.

She flew until her wings ached, a feeling that was less prevalent now that she was used to extra appendages. Twilight spotted an especially fluffy-looking cloud and banked towards it. She touched down on its soft surface…

… Only to realize it was already occupied by another pony.

“Oh! Excuse me, I didn’t realize somepony was here...” Twilight trailed off as she recognized the pegasus she was now sharing a cloud with.

Rainbow Dash grinned up at her friend. “‘Sup, Egghead.”

Twilight giggled and settled in next to Rainbow. “Good evening, Rainbow,” she responded.

“So, what’s got your feathers in a ruffle, Twi?” Possessing the grace of a manticore, Rainbow Dash always got straight to the point. “You don’t take night flights unless something’s up,” she continued.

Twilight blinked. “I suppose I should be used to her bluntness by now,” she huffed internally.

The alicorn hesitated for a moment before sighing. “I’m just still caught up on the whole Anon-a-miss thing in the human world,” she mumbled eventually.

“Oh yeah,” Rainbow said, scratching her cheek. “Hey, come to think of it, wasn’t that whole thing a lot like the Gabby Gums incident?”

Twilight groaned and shoved her face into their shared cloud’s fluffiness.

When she finally lifted her face, which was covered with puffy bits of cloud, Rainbow at least had the decency to look a bit sheepish.

“Heh, I guess you already figured that out, huh.”

“No shit, Rainbow,” Twilight deadpanned as she shook the cloud bits from her face, and Rainbow barked out a laugh. “I’m just so upset with myself for not connecting the dots sooner,” Twilight continued. “I could have saved Sunset so much pain and suffering!” She buried her muzzle into the cloud once again.

Rainbow looked out into the inky sky for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. “Well,” she said eventually, “You can’t always expect to handle things perfectly when a crisis comes up. When we look back, we always see exactly what we should’ve done and how we should’ve acted, but we never really think about the things we did right.”

Rainbow blew a clump of messy hair from her face and shifted into a new position. “Dwelling on ‘what ifs’ and ‘should haves’ will only drive you crazy,” the pegasus said. “You did the best you could with the information you were given. All you can do now is accept that and move on.”

Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash. Every once in a while, the cocky, impetuous pony had a moment of great wisdom. It was rare, but it never failed to amaze Twilight and her friends.

Rainbow Dash yawned. “Well, whatever. That’s all the past; right now it’s night and I’m tired, and you should be too.”

Twilight let out a laugh that quickly turned into a yawn. “Yeah, you’re right, Dash.” She felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders as she snuggled into the cloud’s feather-soft surface.

The night hung lightly in the air as together the two ponies drifted into a peaceful slumber.

Author's Note

Hey guys! I’m sorry, I really hate to leave you with another filler chapter The chapter I intended on releasing next (the magic lesson one) wasn’t quite polished, so I’d rather give y’all another filler than a rushed, unfinished chapter.

Also, I changed Aunt Lofty and Aunt Holiday’s names slightly; usually the names in the MLP world tend to have multiple parts, so I made them a little more ‘balanced.’

Hope you guys enjoyed! I’ll be back to better chapters next week