How the Tables Turn

By the time Rainbow came to, the announcement was finished and Phoenix was at Rainbow’s side, Ashes on the other. “Somepony you know?” Rainbow nodded in response.

“I think. It’s one of my friends. Either Derpy Hooves or Cloud Kicker. Both of them are grey with blonde manes. I hope it’s Cloud Kicker; Derpy would never survive here.” She tried not to think of how out of place Derpy would be, her wall-eyed stare not even being met by anypony else’s; she tried not to think of her in one of those rooms; but it couldn’t be avoided. The horror of it all was too great.

At the same time, she thought of Cloud Kicker. She wasn’t the most defiant of mares, but she did have an instinct to stand up for herself. That alone would be enough to earn her a lot of pain and scars if her number was called. She continued to stare at the tape when the thought struck her.

And strike her it did. Lightning shot through her body, her face draining of color at the shock of her realization shook her to her core. One of her friends, and she wasn’t even paying attention to the announcement. Phoenix, as always, noticed this and spoke up.

“You okay, Rainbow?”

“Did she say…” She trailed off. She could barely bring herself to let the question slip past her lips. But she had to. This was her friend, for Celestia’s sake. She had to know, even if the answer could have been catastrophic. “Did she say if they got to keep their wings?”

Phoenix and Ashes shared a glance.

The same glance they shared the night before in Ashes’ house, when she asked why the guard was there.

More color drained from her face. She felt as though she had been dipped in ice water. She shrank down and began to tremble. Her belly reached the ground, and she slumped to her side, about to curl up in a fetal position, when Phoenix stopped her and brought her back to her hooves.

“Don’t assume the worst, Rainbow. She didn’t say either way. There’s still a chance for her. That’s gotta be worth something, right?”

Not much.

Phoenix was aware of this, though. They brought her to a table and had her sit down. She still trembled considerably. Phoenix placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, calming her slightly, but only slightly, and he spoke to her. He knew that his presence, his voice, brought her calm.

Almost as if she looked to him as a father.

“Rainbow. Look at me.” Rainbow raised her teary eyes to meet Phoenix’s gaze. “If it means anything now, we’ll help her, too. We’ll help both of them. They’re Surface ponies, just like you. They don’t belong here. And even if they weren’t, a friend of yours is a friend of ours.”

Rainbow nodded. Her eyes still refused to dry, but a small smile graced her features as she spoke.

“Thank you.” She said it in the same meaningful tone she had said it in the previous night, but refrained from the hugs. Only because they were in public. Once she gathered her bearings, she asked them another question. “When are they being…” She didn’t know what they called it yet.

“Unveiled?” Ashes finished her question for her. “At lunch. We have four hours to prepare Phoenix’s house for them. Rainbow, I trust you’ll be okay on your own?”

“Yeah, I can manage.”

“Good. Here’s the plan. Rainbow, you’ll be staying at my house. I’ll join Phoenix in his house, and they’ll spend the night with us. Sound good?”

“No offense, but I think Derps or Kicker would rather spend the night with a familiar face. I’m sure if you don’t want to be alone, we can work something out-“

“No, I’ll be fine. Your idea does sound better. It’s always nice to see a friendly face here.” Phoenix and Ashes smiled at each other after this simple statement, proving their point.

All Rainbow cared about now was that it was going to be the longest four hours of her entire life.