For The People We Care About
"She's in jail."
"Jail?! What? What the fuck happened?!"
"No, not jail.” Fluttershy shook her head, even though she knew no one would see. “Sorry. Um, they have her in holding."
"Oh. Thank God. But what is she doing there?"
"Apparently, she got into a fight."
"..."
"Hello?"
"A fight?” Sunset hissed over the phone. “Damn it, Dash."
"I know, Sunny. Her parents are there signing her out, but they called me to see if she'd talk to me."
"Do you want me to come?"
Fluttershy swallowed. "Yes, please. I'll pick you up, you're on the way to the police station."
"Okay. I'll see you then," Sunset responded. "She'd better have a good reason."
"Well, um, I'm sure she does," Fluttershy mumbled to the phone she held up with a shoulder. Where had she left her keys?
Sunset snorted. "Trick question. There are no good reasons to get a track record. Trust me, I'd know."
The keys were on the counter where she left them. Fluttershy almost laughed at herself. Of course, where else would they be? "I know. And she knows that, too. I wonder what happened." Fluttershy opened the door quietly, hoping her family wouldn't notice.
"Well, we'll find out, I guess."
The line clicked, leaving Fluttershy frowning on the front porch. Why was Rainbow Dash so difficult sometimes? She always did things like this. Well, maybe not exactly like this. But still… she usually had her heart in the right place. Fluttershy just hoped this was one of those times.
Fluttershy sighed, a small cloud forming in front of her. She should have put on something other than a pajama shirt and pants, but that would have been a waste of time. She glanced at the driveway leading up to the garage. Thankfully, she hadn’t parked inside the garage. Fluttershy made her way to it, remembering when she had been too scared to drive. Rainbow was always there for her to cheer her up and make her less nervous.
This time, she’d be there for Rainbow.
Fluttershy pocketed her phone and entered her car, shivering. It was colder than she'd have hoped, but she wasn’t exactly surprised. Her hands began to shiver a bit as she struggled to put the key in the ignition, missing the mark a few times. Finally, she turned the key and the engine roared to life. She usually waited for the engine to warm up a bit, but there was no time for that. Fluttershy set off, sparing only enough time to check her mirrors.
It wasn't like Rainbow to be so… reckless. And in the middle of the day, too. What happened? Fluttershy frowned as she turned on the heating in her car. It would take a good ten minutes to get to Sunset's. She might as well try to warm up.
As she approached the first red light, Fluttershy placed her fingers near the vent. The air was slowly coming, though cold at first. In time for the light to change, however, it started to heat up, which brought a tiny smile to her face despite herself.
It was dark outside despite it being around six. The leftovers from the previous snowfall were already beginning to disappear. That meant that Fluttershy could drive just a bit faster, even if she didn’t like to do so.
She knew that Rainbow Dash used to have behavioural issues. But it was never anything worth getting arrested over. Maybe just a few stern calls home from school, or a telling-off by her parents, but being arrested? That was certainly a first.
Besides, it had been so long since Rainbow had gotten in a real fight.
"I thought you got past that, Dashie," Fluttershy muttered to herself as the car's engine hummed.
She pulled up in front of Sunset's building, where she was already waiting outside. Fluttershy honked once she noticed that Sunset had been looking at the ground. Sunset looked up and waved as she made her way to the car.
Fluttershy leaned over to unlock the door just before Sunset got to the car. The door opened with a click and Sunset wasted no time climbing in.
"Hey, Shy," Sunset greeted as she leaned over to give Fluttershy a quick kiss on the cheek.
Fluttershy blushed. It had been a few weeks since they started dating, but even small acts of affection got her to flush. "Um, hi, Sunny."
Sunset buckled herself in and pulled at her sweater as Fluttershy pulled out of the driveway. "It's a little chilly out. Aren't you cold? You barely have a long sleeve."
Fluttershy's gaze flicked down. "A little bit, but the heating in the car is working, so it'll be alright."
"Do you want my sweater?"
"Oh, no. I'm okay. Thanks."
Sunset responded with a hum of acknowledgement. As time went on, Fluttershy frowned. She knew they'd be getting to the police station soon, and if she was being honest, Fluttershy was a bit afraid to be there. Whatever got Rainbow Dash riled up enough to fight must have gotten her pretty mad. Fluttershy didn't like it when Rainbow got mad.
"So what do you think happened?" Sunset asked, finally breaking the silence.
Fluttershy eased into a stop at another red light. She sighed and looked at Sunset with a frown. "I don't know. I thought she was past this."
Sunset returned the frown. "Yeah, but that means it must have been something important, right?"
Fluttershy looked away. That's what she told Sunset earlier but now she wasn't sure if she believed it. The light turned green again, and for once, she wished it had taken longer. "Maybe."
Fluttershy cautiously turned left, making the final turn before pulling into the parking lot of the police station. She turned off the engine but made no move to leave the car. "She used to get into fights a lot. Mostly over… silly things at school. But she's never… the police have never been involved."
Sunset placed a hand on Fluttershy's. "It's okay. I'm sure it was all just a misunderstanding. They probably didn't even charge her with anything since they're letting her go."
Fluttershy nodded. She wanted to believe it. Heck, it was probably true. But it was still so nerve-wracking. Her very best friend, detained by the CPD? Sunset was right; she had to have a good reason.
There was only one way to find out. Fluttershy looked down and hastily unbuckled her seatbelt. She looked out the window to see Rainbow Dash sat slumped over on the stairs leading to the front of the building while her parents stood to the side with their arms crossed.
Fluttershy rolled her eyes, nerves slowly turning to annoyance. Typical Rainbow Dash, getting in trouble and then shutting everyone out. Sunset was still unbuckling herself when Fluttershy flung open the door and jumped out. She closed it behind her with a loud thud and made her way over to the front of the building.
Rainbow Dash didn't even acknowledge her. Her face wasn't visible thanks to the way she was sitting. Fluttershy made her way to Rainbow's parents first, trying to drown out her annoyance with a polite smile and a wave.
Rainbow Dash's mom was the first to step forward. "Hello, Fluttershy. Sorry to have asked you to come, but… well Rainbow Dash doesn't want to talk to us."
Fluttershy smiled politely. "Oh, it's okay, it's not a big deal." As she finished her sentence, she noticed Sunset walk up next to her. "Oh, um, I'm sure you know Sunset. I hope it's okay that I brought her," Fluttershy squeaked.
Windy Whistles looked at Sunset. "We've never met, but I've heard about you, Sunset. Our Dash says you're quite the character."
Sunset laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her head. "I hope she meant that in a nice way."
Rainbow's father stepped in line with his wife. "Oh, of course," he affirmed. "Honey, don't scare her."
Windy smiled and looked at Bow. "I was only teasing. Anyway, I'm sure you must want to talk to Rainbow Dash. I just hope she wants to talk to you."
Sunset and Fluttershy looked at each other, then nodded at Rainbow's parents. The two girls walked over to Rainbow Dash, who remained unmoving. Fluttershy cautiously sat down next to her, which got Rainbow Dash to look away.
A quick glance over her gave Fluttershy all the confirmation she needed. Her knuckles were bruised from fighting and her clothes were scuffed and dirty. Fluttershy was no longer annoyed at her friend. She couldn't be.
Sunset sat next to Fluttershy quietly, although it was Fluttershy who started talking. "Dashie? Are you okay?"
Rainbow grunted in response, although Fluttershy couldn't tell if it meant yes or no. She shifted awkwardly next to Rainbow. "Um, what happened?"
Rainbow Dash didn't respond. She curled her fingers tighter around her biceps. Sunset leaned over next to Fluttershy. "I don't think she wants to talk," she whispered. "At least, not with her parents here."
Both girls looked up at Rainbow Dash's parents who were gazing expectantly in their direction. Bow seemed to understand the issue and tugged at his wife's arm. "Let's go wait in the car," he said with a knowing smile.
As they walked away, Fluttershy turned back to look at Rainbow Dash. "Dashie, please at least look at me," she pleaded. Rainbow Dash didn't respond. "Please?"
Rainbow Dash hesitated. The silence hung thick in the air before she turned her head to look at Fluttershy and Sunset. Sunset cringed, while Fluttershy let out a soft gasp. "Yeah," Rainbow Dash grumbled. "I know."
Fluttershy frowned and reached across to Rainbow's face slowly. She didn't turn away, so Fluttershy lightly stroked her cheek. There was a pressure cut just under her eyelid on her cheekbone, and her lip was bruised and bloodied. There was no indication that she had been crying, though, which only served to worry Fluttershy more. There was only anger and frustration in Rainbow's face.
Fluttershy retracted her hand, afraid of hurting Dash. "What happened?" she asked again.
Rainbow Dash buried her face into her crossed arms and glared in front of her, eyebrows furrowed. "They were making fun of him," she mumbled into her sweater.
Sunset cocked her head. "What do you mean? Who was making fun of who?"
Rainbow hesitated before she spoke again. "I was at the park doing some jogging and I overheard these guys talking smack about someone," she started. "I ignored them at first. Thought it was just dudes being dudes you know?"
Fluttershy nodded.
"Well, I kept overhearing them cause they were, like, right next to me. Heard them mention something about… pretending to be a dude, and how they felt bad for the girlfriend." Rainbow took in a pair of furious breaths. "Said something like 'I'm all for sharing a girl, but she doesn't even have two boyfriends. She has a boyfriend and a wannabe boy'," Rainbow spat angrily with a mocking tone.
Fluttershy frowned, understanding what was going on. "You think they were talking about Twilight?"
"Who the fuck else would they be talking about?!" Rainbow yelled.
Fluttershy flinched at the outburst. She wanted to tell her off about the swearing, especially since she knew her parents were probably listening in from the car, but it wasn’t the time for that. She stayed quiet instead.
Sunset rested a hand on her shoulder and frowned. "But you don't know for sure, Dash."
Rainbow turned her head to look at Sunset so quickly that Fluttershy got whiplash just watching it. Her rose-red eyes burned. "They said his name, Sunset. They said they felt bad for his family for–for having a thing like him ruining the family name."
Fluttershy's heart dropped. Rainbow Dash sounded more furious than ever and for the right reason. "I… I didn't even know that people actually said stuff like that…"
"Well they do," Rainbow Dash muttered. "I dunno what happened, I guess I just… I snapped. I started yelling at them, telling them they shouldn't talk about Twilight like that. They called me a…" Rainbow Dash trailed off and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have pushed him."
Sunset nodded a little. "How many of them were there? You seem to have gotten off pretty easy."
"There were three of them. They were big but slow. At first, they weren't gonna hit me but… I asked if they were too scared to hit a girl, which got them even angrier. They threw the first punch, but I pissed them off. I guess someone called the cops?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “They all ran away, but I was a bit dazed. I'm lucky to have just gotten a warning."
Fluttershy wrapped an arm around Rainbow. She didn't know how to make her friend feel better, but she hoped she could at least help. "I agree that you shouldn't have hit them, but those were some awful things they were saying…"
"You know what?" Rainbow asked, sitting up a bit straighter with a grunt. Maybe she was hurt in more places than her face. She looked down at her bruised, reddened knuckles and made two tight fists. "I'll kick any motherfucker's ass who messes with my friends."
Sunset held up a finger. "Within reason," she pointed out. "Don't ever start it again, Dash, you might get in serious trouble."
Rainbow deflated a little bit. "Yeah. Kinda messed up that people say stuff like that, though," Rainbow Dash added. She frowned and looked up at the night sky. "It's not the first time. I've heard people talk shit about me, about AJ, about… about pretty much anyone in our friend group. But Twilight has it… he has it really rough," she muttered. "I dunno, I just wanted to… to teach them a lesson."
The soft winter wind blew into them. Fluttershy shuddered a bit as Rainbow Dash curled up into a tighter ball. She may have a bit of a temper, but even Rainbow Dash felt bad hurting someone, no matter how she felt in the moment. Fluttershy knew that much about her best friend.
Although, maybe Rainbow was right to do what she did in some kind of messed-up way. Fluttershy hated violence, yes, but she hated people messing with her friends even more. Maybe she wished Rainbow hadn't gotten hurt more so than she wished Rainbow hadn't hurt them. After all, three against one wasn't fair.
Fluttershy wanted to voice her opinion but refrained from doing so. Even if she was upset about Twilight being harrassed behind his back, she didn't want to wish any sort of violence on anyone, no matter how much she thought they deserved it.
Luckily, though, Sunset had no problem sharing her thoughts on the matter. "I can't blame you," she chimed in. "I probably would have done the same thing, although I wouldn't have been as lucky. I'm big, but I'm definitely not as strong as you."
Rainbow Dash chuckled. It was weird since she looked so mad. "Yeah, true. But I know Twilight would be mad at me if he knew, so don't tell him."
"Um, okay," Fluttershy agreed, "but I think he'd understand, too…"
Sunset smirked. "I know Applejack would understand. He'd knock a few heads for Twi, too."
Fluttershy giggled. "You know who wouldn't understand?"
The group snickered. "Rarity," they all said in unison before bursting into laughter.
Fluttershy hoped that Rainbow Dash felt a little better now that she had talked about what happened. She turned to glance at her, and despite her somewhat injured face, Rainbow Dash actually smiled a bit.
"She'd be all 'Ooh, darling you shouldn't hit people. That will really mess up your hair and your complexion! Why, it'll make you sweat too, darling'," Rainbow teased, doing her best Rarity impression, which Fluttershy had to admit wasn't very good. They laughed together again, each of their cheeks increasingly rosy from the winter weather.
"Oh please," Sunset interrupted as she wiped a tear from her eye and snorted, "she doesn't sound like that. She's more like 'It would be quite the spectacle to engage in something as drastic as publicly fighting someone, darling. While I love to be noticed, I would never engage in such an activity like a ruffian'."
Sunset's Rarity impression wasn't very good either, but at least everyone was laughing happily together. She just hoped Rarity wouldn't have minded.
Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled into the crook of Sunset's neck, which got Sunset to blush and awkwardly wrap an arm around her. Rainbow rolled her eyes in amusement.
"You guys are so gross." She stuck out her tongue playfully.
"What? Rude," Sunset retorted with a smack to the arm of the admittedly sore Rainbow Dash, who yelped in pain. "Come on, we barely even act like a couple around you guys. Have you ever even seen us kiss?"
Rainbow Dash smirked. "You guys kiss?"
Fluttershy ducked her head, trying unsuccessfully to hide away. "Sometimes…"
Sunset rolled her eyes and hugged Fluttershy protectively. "Obviously."
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Whatever. At least you're not like Twi, AJ, and Rarity. Now those three? They couldn't hide that they were dating even if they tried."
Fluttershy squeaked. "I wonder how they manage to not be scared to be so open… Especially with people like those guys out there…"
Sunset and Rainbow Dash both laughed at the same time. Sunset ran her fingers absently through Fluttershy's hair. "Shy, would you be scared if you were dating a guy like Applejack?"
Rainbow nodded with a lopsided smirk. "She has a point. The guy's a fucking mountain. Like damn, if I wanted to date anyone, it'd be Applejack."
"Hey, they might let you into their little polycule," Sunset teased. "Just ask nicely."
Fluttershy giggled. That would be funny. "Isn't Rarity straight, though?"
"Yeah," Rainbow interjected, "and I don't want to date anyone. Like, ever."
"You wouldn't even want to… cuddle?" Sunset asked, bewildered. She clung onto Fluttershy like a baby koala bear, which Fluttershy found incredibly endearing.
Rainbow lifted a hand to her chin. "I dunno, maybe? But I don't want all that… date-y stuff. I don't want to be someone's girlfriend, and I've never wanted anyone to be mine." She shrugged. "I've kissed people. It's fine, I guess, but I don't get how you would want to date someone. Never mind two people at once."
Date two people at once? "I think that could be nice…" Fluttershy mumbled.
Sunset cocked her head. "Hmm?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, never mind, I was just thinking…"
"Hey, I'd have no problem with that," Sunset admitted, lifting her hands passively. "Just let me know and we can talk about it."
"Oh, okay…"
Rainbow Dash leaned back, resting her elbows on the step behind her. "Well, shit. Are we about to get a new throuple in this friend group?"
Fluttershy blushed.
"Not unless you want to be our third," Sunset joked.
Rainbow Dash looked up in fake consideration and grinned. "Hey, well now that you mention it…"
Fluttershy giggled and snuggled closer to Sunset as the three of them sat in comfortable silence. Sure, it was cold, but being next to two of her best friends made Fluttershy feel warm inside, even if it was a different kind of warmth. It was enough. She just hoped it was enough to warm Rainbow Dash up, too.
"Uh, can we go back now? My parents are staring at us and it’s kind of weird," Rainbow asked, breaking the silence. “Plus, it’s really fucking cold out.”
Of course, going home might actually warm her up.
Fluttershy nodded and stood, followed by Sunset. She held out a hand to Rainbow Dash, who hesitated a bit, but took it. Fluttershy gazed at her friend’s bruised knuckles, surprised to feel herself smile.
There are some things worth fighting for, Fluttershy thought with a wide grin. I’m kind of glad Rainbow takes that seriously.
Author's Note
Yes, this takes place in the same universe as Lies We Tell Ourselves, but it happens before that one (obviously). Anyway, I hope the haters enjoy this one because Dash will come to punch you otherwise :)
Hope you enjoy this one, it was fun to write.
