Author's Note

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End of Fourth Arc

Close Bonds: Chapter 23

The hills and trees roll lazily on by, the constant rumbling of the train in sync with the vibrations on the back of your head. A sleeping pegasus lies with her upper body across your lap, snoring lightly while you rub her back.

The two of you decided to leave early. After everything that had happened, you just felt like you needed to get away from Canterlot. The feeling seemed to be mutual. It was then agreed upon that the rest of your vacation days would be spent at home, together.

Sounds like a plan to you.

Twilight was a bit disappointed, but wished the both of you a farewell nonetheless. She got you a train ride back to Ponyville, but unlike the first time, was unable to score a first-class ticket due to your departure being so sudden.

That was fine by you, and Rainbow seems comfortable enough. You haven’t heard a word out of her the whole ride.

Again, you find yourself staring blankly out through the window. Something that irks at you is the strange out-of-the-blue thing Twilight said this morning.

“Hey, Ivan, are you informed on the cultural customs of marriage in Equestria?”

So apparently, only rich ponies marry. People like you merely present a token of offering, such as a necklace or hoofband, as a sign of your ‘commitment’ to the other partner.

That’s all fine and good, but you’re wondering why the hell you needed to learn that on the way to the train station.

…

You look down at your marefriend, and begin running your hand through her silken mane. The contented way in which she sighs puts you at ease, for a moment. You lean down and kiss her atop the nose. Slowly, her eyelids waft open, and she lets out a drowsy yawn.

“Afternoon, sunshine,” you greet, scratching her behind the ears. She leans into your hand, smiling.

“Mmm… We almost there?” She gets up off of your lap and sits next to you, rubbing her eyes.

“It’s been a few hours. We should be there soon.”

“Great.” She looks out the window, watching the blurry objects go by. You wonder if she can see her reflection. She arches her back, a few pops sounding off as she does so, and then lies down on her back, once again resting her head on your lap. You think she’s going back to sleep, but she never closes her eyes any longer than to blink.

“Hey, Ivan,” she starts, twiddling her hooves, “so, um, I’ve been thinking about this…” A pause, as you wait for her to continue. “You think Scootaloo’s still mad?”

This, of course, catches you quite off guard. “I- I really don’t know. Why?”

“It’s just- kinda been on my mind, I guess.” She sighs, turning herself so that she faces the other way. “Nevermind. Don’t worry about it.”

You take your hand, and gradually run it along her neck and shoulders. You feel her tense up for a split second. “Does it bother you?”

She shrugs.

You know her too well for that. You start your ministrations, rubbing the area until she begins to loosen up. “Dash, I’m pretty sure I’m the one she’s pissed off at. Not you.”

She rolls over so that she’s facing you again, and shakes her head. “I’m not so sure. I kinda told her off in the hospital not too long before we left, remember?”

You remember, all right. You were just hoping that little tidbit wouldn’t pop up in this conversation. “You’ve known her for a long time, though; she can’t just burn that bridge and never look back, right?”

The pegasus gives a half-resigned, half-irritated sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She looks off to the side again.

“…You know, you can always talk to her.”

She turns back to you again. “Huh?”

You shrug. “It’s been awhile since this whole thing started, I’m sure she’s cooled off a bit by now. Why not go talk to her when we get back?”

Rainbow’s eyes dart anxiously about the room. “I… Well…”

At this, you raise an eyebrow. “What? What’s wrong?”

She looks down, and her ears flatten against her head. “I’m not too good at ‘talking things out…’” Suddenly, a light bulb goes off in her head, and her whole face lights up.

“Hey! Do you think you can talk to her for me?” she asks excitedly.

A silence passes by. Upon seeing the expression on your face, she cringes. “It’s just that… I’m not too good with words. I’m afraid I’ll say something stupid and screw everything up. It’s happened before, you know!”

“Dash…”

“Not only that, but if you somehow get her to forgive you, then maybe she won’t be angry at me anymore for defending you!” She crosses her forelegs over her chest. Foolproof argument.

As to what extent she may be right, you know she’s just trying to avoid confronting Scootaloo. “How about this,” you suggest while manually unfolding her forelegs, to which she scowls. “We’ll both go.”

The scowl dissipates, and again that anxious, nervous look returns. Fortunately, this time it seems to come at a lesser degree. “Oh- okay…” she mumbles, unable to argue.

“Alright, then. As soon as we get off the train, we’ll take our stuff home, and then go straight to the orphanage. Sound good?”

She reluctantly nods in resignation.

Somehow, some way, whenever you’ve fallen asleep in a car, you’ve always had the innate sense of knowing when you’ve arrived at your destination.

It seems to be no different for a train. Your eyes pop open as you feel the train slowly begin to decelerate. Your head was leaned back the entire time, and so you feel sore in your neck when you finally straighten it out. You pop it a few different ways, which doesn’t help at all but does succeed in giving yourself a headache.

Oh, well. You’re sure you still have some of those magic Pinkie drugs at home.

You stretch a little, then bring your hand down to your lap and begin stroking. “Hey, Dash,” you say.

Only, you realize too late that Dash isn’t there. And what you had been stroking is far from appropriate in a public setting.

“Wow, Ivan. Can’t you at least wait until we get home?”

Rainbow Dash stands in front of you, one eyebrow raised. You blush and quickly pull your hand away from that spot.

“Dash! Where were you?”

“I went to the bathroom for like, five minutes,” she deadpans. “By the way, we’re almost in Ponyville.”

You fold your hands on your lap, subconsciously concealing little Ivan. “Yeah, I know. I can feel the train slowing down.” You begin to search around you, noticing that something’s missing.

“Hey, Dash?”

“Hm?”

“Where’s our bags?”

She proceeds to do the same thing you did and checks under the seats, before making a silent ‘o’ with her mouth and standing on her hind legs to reach the compartment above you.

Lewd.

“They’re still up here, I think.” She begins to undo the latch. “Here, I’ll just open it and check-”

“Dash! Not right above me!” You cover your head with your hands and cower down.

You hear a click.

…Nothing happens.

“You big pussy. Nothing even fell-”

Your vision erupts into white as something hard smacks you in the back of the head. You clench your teeth, bearing the searing pain that pounds throughout your skull, and give Rainbow Dash a dirty look.

She sheepishly shrugs. “Sorry. I- Watch out!”

You brace for impact as another suitcase tumbles forth. Fortunately, this time, the mare is quick enough to catch it with an extended hoof.

She gives you a triumphant smile. “Hey! I caught that one! Pretty good, right?”

“No.”

At once, you feel the train come to a stop. You get up, pick up your bag, and walk past Rainbow. From behind you, you hear a thump and an oof, and then the clip-clop of hooves coming up beside you. You look to your right, and see the little pegasus trotting alongside, holding the suitcase in her mouth.

As the two of you approach the exit to the train, you notice one of the attendants staring at you. You face him, and he immediately rights himself.

“Have a safe trip, sir!” he says, wearing a well-practiced smile.

You nod, smiling in return. “Thank you. Although, I believe that I’m leaving the train right now.”

Rainbow snorts loudly, suppressing all-out laughter as the two of you continue on your way past the attendant, who continues to fumble for words long after the two of you are gone.

“Looks like some ponies still aren’t used to you, huh?”

You shake your head. “It surprises me, honestly. I can’t be the weirdest thing Equestria has seen before, right?”

She shrugs. “Eh.”

You take a moment to ponder the implications, but a familiar voice disrupts your thoughts before you can think too much on it.

“Rainbow Dash! Ivan!” An elegant-sounding voice calls out from the crowd. The two of you snap your heads in the direction that you hear it from, and look to see that a white unicorn is waving you down.

“Rarity! Boy, is it good to see you!” Rainbow cheers mirthfully, rushing forth to hug Rarity. The pristine white unicorn looks a little startled at the gesture.

“Yes, yes, it is good to see you, too,” Rarity replies after the pegasus lets go, quickly brushing herself off. She looks back and forth between the two of you, smiling. “I take it the trip went well?”

You and Rainbow exchange looks. “Stuff happened, I guess…” she says.

“It was rather… eventful,” you follow up.

“Well, you can fill me in on all the details later- or not,” she adds, giving Rainbow a wink. She blushes, avoiding eye contact for a moment. “An-n-nyway,” Rarity follows up, “I’m sure the two of you are quite tired, and would prefer not to be kept for too long.”

“Yeah, we should really be getting going soon,” you say, taking another look at Rainbow. She sees you and looks to the ground, drawing circles with her hoof. “Still, though, before we go; why are you here, Rarity?”

Her eyes light up, as if to say, ’I thought you’d never ask!’ “Weeell… I have another rather large fashion show I’ve been given the opportunity to attend in Canterlot. The big leagues, you could say.” Her expression then deflates into an irritated frown. “However, the outgoing trains have all been delayed since early this morning. It’s not as if I’ll be late for the fashion show; I booked my hotel for two days prior to the event. But, I have become very impatient with the Ponyville Express, and if I’m not on this train, relaxing in my first-class room with a glass of iced tea in my hoof within the next thirty minutes…”

She opens her mouth wide, ready to verbalize a threat that could rock the very foundations of the Ponyville Express Train Company. Then, the designer simply slumps her shoulders, looking defeated. “I suppose there’s not much I can do but write a complaint to the management, considering the company has a monopoly on this little town.” She then curses under her breath. “Why must this be the only train station in Ponyville…?”

You wish Rarity the best of luck on her industrial battle, and set off towards home. Rainbow follows in your lead shortly, carrying her suitcase in her mouth as the two of you walk together.

As you trek across the dirt path, off in the distance you see two fillies playing together. Though they look happy, for some reason, the sight of just the two of them seems… off. Empty? You’re not sure.

A third then joins them. The first two immediately spring up to their hooves, and the whole group begins to play together, the trio squealing and laughing as they chase each other around in circles.

You squint your eyes, wondering if it might be the Cutie Mark Crusaders. A quick examination shows that they’re much too young to be, even though their position against the sun silhouettes their forms and makes most of their characteristics indistinguishable.

Oh, well. It would have been quicker if it had been, but as with all things, nothing comes that easily.

“What makes you think she’ll be at the orphanage?”

You shrug, continuing to walk at a brisk pace while the pony beside you canters to keep up. “I don’t really expect her to be there. I just thought that they might have the best idea of where she might be.”

Rainbow deadpans. “Ivan. It’s afternoon. All the colts and fillies just got out of school. Most likely, she’s with her little friends at Rarity’s house, or they all went to Sweet Apple Acres to do whatever the hell those three do in their little clubhouse. So, unless she checks in with the orphanage right after they get out of school, I doubt anyone there will know where she’s at, and we’re just wasting our time.”

You frown. “Rainbow, there’s just a few things I’d like to point out. One, there’s no way they’re all at Carousel Boutique- we just saw Rarity at the train station, so unless they smashed one of the windows open and broke in, we can rule that out.” You stop for a moment. Perhaps it’s not all that unlikely…

You shake your head, clearing your mind of that thought. “Two,” you continue, “I’m wondering why you didn’t mention this as soon as we left. You literally waited for the worst time to tell me that they’re probably at Sweet Apple Acres. And three, we’re basically already there, so we might as well go check.”

The pegasus harrumphs unhappily at this, but stays silent.

Soon, the orphanage looms in sight. A suddenly noticeable feeling of dread begins to rise in the pit of your stomach, and you become uneasy.

Something… Something’s off.

Rainbow seems to feel it, too. You notice the trepidation in her step, the way her ears suddenly pin themselves to the sides of her head.

Or, maybe the both of you are a bit worked up at the thought having to talk to her after all that’s happened. You saw how reluctant Rainbow was about agreeing to talk to the filly; maybe you’re just nervous, too?

“Hey, Ivan?”

You look down at her. “Yeah, Dash?”

She stops walking. You stop next to her.

“What do we say when we finally do see her?”

You think about this for a moment. “I guess we just… tell her we’re sorry? I mean, we can’t really make a plan or anything when we don’t even know how she’ll react.”

Rainbow stares off past you. “I really don’t want to screw this up.”

You kneel down and give her a kiss on the cheek, scratching her behind the ears. “Just… try to relax. It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.”

The sad look she gives you says she doesn’t believe you. However, she leans forward and gives you a soft peck anyway. “’Kay.”

You smile, then rise to your full height. The two of you continue towards the building, on a mission to make amends and to repair the bonds between you, and somepony close to you.

You enter the orphanage, Rainbow following close behind and sticking right beside you once you’re inside. As you look around, you’re nearly nostalgic; your memory tells you that the last time you were here was years ago, but your mental record of the weekends passed lets you know otherwise.

As you approach the counter, the similarities between today and those weeks ago are uncanny. The same mare sits at the desk, recognition immediately coming to her eyes when she sees you.

“Oh, uhh, hello, Ivan! …and Rainbow,” she says, seeming somewhat conflicted with herself. She forces a smile onto her face.

“Flitter?” Rainbow asks, puzzled. “You work here?”

“Well… Yeah.”

“And you never told me?!”

The mare behind the counter frowns. “Why would I tell you? We hardly know each other.”

Rainbow’s jaw drops. “Hardly know each other? I was your coach the last time Ponyville hosted rainy season!”

“That hardly counts as-”

“Also, Scootaloo lives here! I mean, if that wasn’t enough!” She quickly scans the room, as if Scootaloo might be hidden somewhere close by. “Where is she, anyway?”

That’s when the expression from earlier comes back. She looks at you, almost guiltily.

“What happened?” you ask, fearing the worst.

“She… got into some trouble. A lot of trouble.” She averts her eyes for a second, shifting nervously in her seat. “She was caught in her room with alcohol, the other night.”

You immediately get a sinking feeling in your stomach. “Oh, Scootaloo.”

Rainbow stares incredulously at Flitter.

“That’s a rather large offense here… especially since there are so many young foals around.” She looks up at you, then at Rainbow, making eye contact with each of you in turn. “She’s being sent to another home; where, I’m really not sure. She left earlier this morning, I’m sorry to say.”

Your head spins as you try to process all this information. Rainbow’s gone pale, and stares blankly into space.

And all you can say is… “Damn.”