It had been over a year now since all that bad stuff fell on her, by my reckoning any who. Twilight was always better with numbers and dates than I was, so she might have been a better gal to go to. But then again, Twilight didn't know her the way I did, shoot, I don't suppose anyone did. That was the reason I was the one who came out here in the first place, the reason I was the one locked up in this house with her all weekend. It was about time I did something so drastic, I guess, I mean I couldn't have her wasting away like that any more.

I pressed myself up against the front door and hit it with my forehead, leaning one knee onto the balancing chair I had shoved under the door knob to keep it shut. I knew I couldn't leave her, I had put this chair here to remind me of that. Even if it all killed me, be it the booze or the shouting or whatever else she'd do to me, I knew I'd have to stick it out the whole weekend. She was my friend, that broken down, sorry-sick girl, she was my best friend.

Two days before that, I had made up my mind to head over to her place after school on Friday, packed up an overnight bag on that Thursday night that would keep me stocked up all weekend. I made a habit of going to see her every week, so she would be expecting me, but this week would be different. I walked with Twilight to my truck after school on said Friday, listening to her invite me over for some studying or something. She paused though, I didn't even have to tell her why I would have to turn her down.

“You're going to see her?” Twilight surmised, she was always good with that interpretation stuff, so it was no surprise to me she'd notice my head was elsewhere.

“O'course, Ah go every Friday.” I reminded her with a casual smile, seeing my old truck from across the lot by now.

Twilight hesitated before she spoke again, but the word sounded funny to hear, kind of forced or distant, “Still?”

“She ain't dead or nothin', why wouldn't Ah stop by?” I asked as I raised my eyebrow. It was weird for me to hear, I mean, there was no real reason I shouldn't go over there once in a while. More than once in a while, every darned week.

“Well, I mean after the accident,” Twilight brought it up, and we looked away from each other as the topic was sensitive, “She's kind of hard to be around.”

“She always was,” I chuckled lightly, remembering that boisterous and belligerent attitude of hers that had been a part of her long before circumstances had driven cynicism into the mix, “Don't mean she ain't my best friend no more.”

“All right.” Twilight seemed to let it slide, though something told me she was uncertain of some things, “So, how's she doing, anyway?”

“She ain't makin' no progress if that's what you're askin',” I told her as my face settled to stone, contorting a bit into worry as I remembered how skinny she had become recently. It was getting no better, I could see that clear as day, “That's why Ah ain't just stoppin' by this time, Ah ain't leavin' her in that place alone no more.”

“What do you mean?” The purple-haired girl beside me asked curiously.

“It ain't good for her to be alone for s'long. Ah'm staying over there this weekend, whether she lets me or not.” I told her with a decided nod, knowing enough about her condition to assume she would not be entirely sold on the idea of company.

“You think that's a good idea?” Twilight asked me gently.

“Don't matter much if it ain't, Ah can't just sit by like this and let it happen, y'know?” I said certainly, though I could hear the worry in my own voice as it came out.

“You've got a big heart, Applejack.” Twilight told me as a simple smile graced her lips and we reached my truck. She shifted the bag on her shoulder as she made to leave, heading over to the library before she left as usual, “I'll see you on Monday. Oh, and give my regards to,” Twilight abruptly stopped before a name escaped her lips. None of the girls spoke much of her any more, “Her.”

“What, you ain't even gonna say her name?” I smirked a crooked smirk as I unlocked my door and looked back at her. My smile faded weakly though as I reminded her what I knew well, “Rainbow is still Rainbow, Twilight. There's just a bottle o' vodka keepin' her from seein' it.”

“Right.” Twilight's voice was empty and calm, disbelieving I think, “Bye, Applejack.”

I knew the drive like the back of my hand, which clenched up and defined my knuckles every time I adjusted my grip or squeezed on the steering wheel. My fingers drummed over it in the sunlight that broke in from the wind shield, bathing me from elbow down and blanketing my midsection and lap. My window was rolled down so the thick, humid summer air could blow in, though it was hot as an iron outside and I could hear the bugs chirping and hissing even over the chortling muffler.

I knocked my old Stetson back and looked up at the little charm on my rear-view mirror, which swayed and jumped about as the old truck rolled over potholes. Every time I saw that tacky little thing I smiled, I just couldn't even hope to help it. There it was, just swinging around when I reached up to it and knocked it a bit, watching it spin and waver in the sunlight.

“What is it?” I asked as I held the little thing up, though I had to wince seeing as how the sun was shining right in front of me and all.

“It's a cowboy hat!” Rainbow Dash told me excitedly, though she snorted a bit and went to tease me, “What, you've never seen that thing that always sits up on your head?”

“O'course it's a hat y'ninny, but what's it for?” I shoved her in the shoulder playfully and held it between us, asking curiously.

“Well, it's like, I dunno, one of those air fresheners or something.” She kicked at the ground bashfully and puffed out her bottom lip as she recounted the story, “I saw it at a truck stop on the way to the lake, my dad told me not to waste my money, but what does he know?”

“He's prob'ly right.” I smirked to annoy her, and she growled at me.

“Just, just take it.” She took my hands and closed them around the little cowboy hat, avoiding my eyes and she added a murmur, “I thought it kind of looked like yours, like, it was cute or something.”

A pleased smile spread across my face as I peeked in through my fingers, like we were a couple of kids again, catching frogs, “Well thanks, it is kinda cute, ain't it?”

The hat stopped swaying as my eyes focused instead on the mirror, seeing the duffelbag I had shoved in the cab behind the seat. That would be my dresser for the weekend, shoved to the zippers with clothing and incidentals I thought I might need. I flicked on the indicator absently as the truck all but drove itself to her house, so familiar a route I knew it almost as well as my own. I cranked the steering wheel around as the truck bucked and bowed around the corner, rough and standoffish in such a suburban neighbourhood.

I remembered the way her house used to look, the lawn always freshly cut in perfect lines, the arching oak tree pruned and bright, the gutters and grass clear of clutter or falling leaves. That was not how it looked any more. Nah, now the gutters hung low and browned with decaying leaves, now the trees sagged and the grass grew high as knees, now the pooling rains caused depressions in soils around each corner of the house and the wooden fence rotted and warped. But still, my truck pulled up on the street right cosy-close next to it.

I knocked open my door and stepped out, cringing as the sun scraped off the pavement beneath my feet. Reaching into the truck as I pushed the seat forward, I yanked the dufflebag out of the back, my arm swinging with force as it broke loose. The small, early falling leaves twirled and twisted around my feet, scuttling across the ground in natural tap shoes. I slammed the door shut loudly and walked around the front of the truck, carrying the hefty object with me up the concrete steps towards her front door. It was wooden and the paint was chipping by now, but there were glass panes on either side that could tell me of any movement inside.

I knocked on the door three times slowly, the same knock I always gave when I arrived. She didn't answer it right away, she was either just rolling off the couch or finding something to throw on. I peered in through the fractured glass, cut into many angles to obstruct clear vision, and noticed a shadow a little ways away. Finally the lock clicked open and the door creaked in, revealing the darkness that fell from the door frame and shielded her slender body.

“Hey,” It was a weak and forced greeting, her sunken face gaunt despite the weird smile and bright eyes. She wiped her eyes a bit as she named me and spoke in a way that mimicked me, “Howdy there, Applejack, why are you up so early? And, and what are you doing here?”

“It's Friday, Ah'm always here on Friday.” I reminded her as I pushed the door open a bit, noticing the half-empty glass liquor bottle she was clutching in her limp hand. I sighed slowly and tried to be reasonable with her, “Rainbow, it ain't even four in the afternoon.”

“It, it's afternoon?” She blinked as she leaned back to check the old grandfather clock at the end of the hall, but I could tell she didn't really comprehend what the hands read.

“Yeah, lemme in already.” I leaned the door open a bit more and swung my bag in, stepping in after while Rainbow Dash stumbled backwards out of my way and gave me a look.

I noticed then her attire, just a tank top and some underwear covered up by a loose blue zip-up hoodie. Her legs were pale and her feet were bare, her hoodie not hanging low enough to cover her underwear quite enough. I could see the long, jagged scar peeking out across her thigh, a constant reminder of what she lost. I didn't bring it up.

“What's that?” Rainbow Dash gestured with the bottle towards my dark bag as I leaned against the door, closing it behind myself and dousing most of the natural light.

“Uh, a dufflebag?” I smirked obviously and let myself in, striding into the living room as the bag bounced against my leg with each step.

“Well no shit. I'm drunk, not stupid.” She said with a slurred tone, waving herself around as she followed me, “I mean what is it doing here?”

“It's escortin' me to your couch, Ah'm stayin' over for the weekend.” I told her plainly as I tossed the thing over the back on the couch, placing it on one of the cushions and removing the strap from over my arm.

“What? Why?” Rainbow perked up as she realized what I had said, and hurried over to me prying for more. She groaned and dragged my name out and across the floor, “Appleja-ack?”

“You're my best friend, and we never spend time together any more, Rainbow.” I turned and looked at her, smiling as I brushed her thin hair out of her face. It was once so bright and lively, she had kept it expertly dyed at one point, but now the roots were all coming in and she had let it get messy and dishevelled like the rest of her appearance, “Quit bein' so sour.”

“Does that mean I have to put clothes on?” Rainbow Dash moaned groggily as she touched at her hoodie.

“That's the first thing on your mind?” I raised my eyebrow and chuckled at her, though she remarked back just as quickly.

“That wasn't a yes.” She smirked playfully, a remnant of that same old carefree nature I loved about her.

“Yes, go get dressed.” I told her as I shooed her off, pushing her towards her bedroom and grabbing the bottle of vodka from her hand despite her attempts to retrieve it.

“Fine, fine.” She finally agreed with a loud groan, heading up the stairs towards her bedroom as she undid her hoodie and let it fall right off her shoulders onto the hardwood floor. I watched her do it, noticing the way her shoulder blades were beginning to show through her thin, athletic body. She was still very attractive, mind you, it seemed no concoction or cocktail could do that out of her, “You're so demanding, next thing I know you'll have me handcuffed to the bed.”

“If it'll keep y'out of the liquor cabinet.” I muttered to myself as I heard her stumble into her bedroom.

I was under her sink in a matter of seconds, opening a box and pulling out a roll of garbage bags. Clearly she had not done much cleaning over the past few weeks since the last time I had done it for her. I ripped off one long black bag from the roll and shook it open noisily, returning to the living room and shoving every bottle and can I could find into the bag. I even found some behind the couches and chairs like she had just thrown them about in fits of rage or stupor. There were plenty of empties around, lying on their sides or standing in lines under and along coffee tables.

By the time I was tying the bag up Rainbow Dash slunk back down the stairs, her hair messed up by the shirt she had thrown over her head that was still pulling down her body. I glanced over at her and her heavy, stomping steps while she closed one eye and looked at me, scratching her noggin as she swayed over in my direction.

“Mmm,” She groggily groaned as she came around the couch and flopped onto it, immediately noticing the bottle of vodka I had placed there and lifting it clumsily into the air.

“Dash.” I murmured as I saw her take another sip, but her eyes narrowed at me irritably.

She grumbled a bit but placed it back down on the coffee table, finding room easily now that I cleared it off. She reached over to the remote and flicked on the television, her dull eyes staring blankly at it as I passed in front of her. I grabbed another bag for garbage and returned to the chore, scooping half eaten take-out boxes and other wrappers, forcing her to lift her legs up and put them on the table while I cleaned under her.

“So, like, is this some slumber party or something?” She asked curmudgeonly as she peered down at me kneeling on the ground, draping her arms over the back of the couch, “Because, from the look of that bag, clearly we have enough empties to play spin the bottle all weekend.”

“Nah, it ain't no slumber party Rainbow.” I laughed lightly and shook my head, sitting up a bit on the ground beside her, “Ah just wanted to see you, spend some time with you. You know, maybe find out a little bit about what's wrong.”

“Nothing's wrong.” She abruptly replied, her face contorting into a deep frown.

“Nothin's wrong...?” I stated back to her blankly and incredulously, knowing that was clearly a lie.

“Yeah, I said that, didn't I?” Rainbow snorted as she sat up and snatched her bottle, bringing it to her lips and avoiding my gaze as she gulped another sip back.

“Don't gimme that bullshit, Dash.” I told her simply, putting my hands on my hips.

“Dude, this is my house. Who invited you, anyway?” She flailed her arms around a bit and slammed the bottle back down, knocking her feet off the table and putting her hands on her knees while she leaned closer to me.

“You gotta deal with this eventually, you know.” I reminded her gently and my eyes softened on her, but she was not in the mood to talk.

“Deal with what, your stupid blabbering mouth?” She snapped at me and pointed her thumb back at the front door, “Because I have a good solution for that, get the hell out.”

“Ah ain't leavin'.” I was certain on that point. I had made up my mind on it and everything.

“What—you can't just say no!” She barked at me, moving around on the couch and waving her hands at me.

“Ah am your best darn friend Rainbow, and Ah deserve some quality time with you.” I told her as I remained seated and still on the floor, looking up at her sternly.

“Don't you play those mind games with me, Applejack,” She stood abruptly and shook her finger at me dizzily, pointing it and glaring this unfocused but attentive glare, “You are not here just to hang out, you want to fix me up or some shit, don't you?”

“Ah never said that.” I recalled as I got to my feet to stand opposite her, keeping my tone as non-confrontational as I could, even though I wanted to just slap her back to reality.

“I don't care! Come here,” Rainbow grabbed me suddenly and violently, yanking me by my arm towards the front door despite my stubborn squirming and pulling back, “You, you get over here, and, and you get out!”

“Ah came all the way here, and there ain't no way Ah am leavin'!” I raised my voice as I struggled against her, even though her usual strength had decayed over time or been dimmed by the haze of the liquor. She had me by the front door in seconds and was trying to force me out, but I wouldn't let her. “Let go'a me!” I managed to break her hold and took off in the other direction, towards her dining room.

“Where are you going?” She called after me but did not make chase. I heard her groan loudly, “Applejack. Applejack!” She called my name but did nothing to find me as I leaned down over her dining room set and plucked a chair from the table. It had clearly gone unused for some time, she probably ate all her meals on the couch instead. I came back into the foyer and carried that wooden chair along with me, “Put that back, you can't just—!”

“Shut your trap, y'pig-headed drunk!” I nudged her out of my way and shoved the back of the chair forcefully under the doorknob of her front door and locked both of the locks on it tight. I turned around suddenly and glared at her, my hands on my hips, “All right look, neither of us are leavin' this property for the next three days, y'hear? Ah don't care if Ah gotta sleep in the yard, Ah don't care if you ain't gonna speak one word to me, Ah ain't leavin' and you can't make me.”

She blinked at me through her furious glare, throwing her hands up and growling out loud. She stomped over to her couch and grabbed that bottle again shaking her head as she brought it to her lips, “You are so freaking difficult sometimes!”

“Deal with it!” I told her harshly as I followed her over there, looking down at the diminishing liquid in her hands, “And in a better way than this, gimme that.” I went to take the bottle from her but she pulled away, clumsily spilling a drop or two to keep it away from me.

“No way. My house, my rules.” Her eyes grabbed at mine as she told me that, and I suppose it sounded fair enough. I mean, I was not the boss of her by any means.

“Al'right, al'right. Ah can live with that.” I nodded and watched her, trying to calm her down with affirmation and patience.

“Good, now first rule is you don't touch my drinks unless you plan on drinking them, cool?” Rainbow clarified as she shook the bottle in front of me, and I just glared at the thing as I waited for her to finish.

“Is that the only rule?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, second rule is that you can't force me to talk about anything.” She told me, which would have been fine if she did not start snapping at me again, “You are not a psychiatrist or psychologist or whatever, okay? I don't need any help, okay?” She repeated the word.

“Okay.” I too copied her word and nodded, even though I didn't believe her that she didn't need any help.

“Fourth rule is—” She started, but I corrected her.

“Third rule.” I stated blankly, but she twitched as I did, biting back a few curses no doubt as she turned away and breathed through her teeth in anger. She spun back around and pointed at me with one of the fingers she had wrapped around the neck of the bottle.

“That right there! Third rule is don't piss me off!” Rainbow spat, but my silence seemed to calm her down a bit. She stared at me right in the eyes as she spoke the next few words less viciously, “Are we clear?”

“Crystal.” I nodded, but did not break the eye contact.

“Good.” She slumped down onto the couch and kicked her feet up on the table again, looking over at the television instead of me.

I watched her settle down for a moment longer before I took a seat of my own, choosing the recliner perpendicular to the love-seat she was sitting on. She took another careless swig before she put the bottle on the table and kicked it a bit out of the way, sinking into the couch and finding the remote again, clicking through channels persistently. I had a question on my lips though.

“Why you gotta be so antagonistic?” I asked her simply, tilting my head a bit to the side as she made a confused or sarcastic face.

“Antago—what? You have been spending way too much time with Twilight, sheesh.” Rainbow sneered as her thumb jumped up and down on the channel button, switching it before she even had a good look at what was on, “Freaking dictionary, man.”

“Well you've been a mite busy for us to hang out, Ah s'pose.” I reminded her as softly as I could, but she still growled a bit before snapping back at me.

“Just shut up already.” Didn't sound as irritable or livid as it could have, but I knew she meant business when she said it.

I did as she said and reminded quiet. She continued scrolling through the channels while I leaned my elbows on my knees and sat at the very edge of my seat. I looked down at my clasped hands in silence, wondering if this was really a good idea. I mean, I didn't want to piss her off or anything, I just wanted the old Rainbow Dash back, was all. Surely it would be easier to be around her after we got through the rough stuff, she was just angry and not used to social interaction, that must have been it.

She was always an angry person, but after the accident everything had got so much worse. At first, she was dealing with it fine, or at least it seemed so because she wasn't dealing with it at all. But after a while, she would come around and see our friends less and less, and before I knew it she never left the house. She was well enough off to get by without a job, so she did just that. It made me miserable to see her like that, but still I came around every week and spent some time with her. That's just what best friends do.

I looked up and caught her looking at me instead of whatever movie she had settled on catching the last half of. She blinked and looked away without a word, but within another few seconds she peered over at me again. She frowned a bit and moved over to one side of the couch, leaning on the arm rest and gazing towards me.

“Come over here.” Her voice was hoarse but she did not repeat it. I waited for a reason, and after she chewed on the words a bit, it came, “That's my dad's chair.”

“He ain't gonna knock me out of it, is he?” I asked curiously, trying to lighten the mood a bit. She looked at me funny like she didn't get it and spoke again.

“What? No, obviously not, just, just come sit down already, jeez.” She grumbled until I got up and went over to the couch, sitting beside her on the other end. She huffed a bit of a laugh and shook her head as she fumbled with the words, “And I'm the one who's ag-agnostic.”

“Antagonistic.” She twitched again and pointed a dastardly finger at me while she held back her curses or scorns. She sure did not like to be corrected. I bit my lips shut and smiled nervously, “Right, third rule.”

I felt the couch below me squishing around as I shifted my weight, the fabric old and the stuffing well rested on. It was real comfortable though, I realized that for certain as I leaned back against it. I looped my arm around the back of it and let out a slow breath, watching the poor cinematography of whatever this was play on. Rainbow Dash didn't seem to care at all as her drowsy eyes settled on the bottle by her feet.

She washed her lips with it once more despite my sorrowful expression and leaned back, the couch gracefully accepting her trim body. Rainbow leaned her head back a bit as she tasted it on her teeth with her tongue, letting little strands of hair fall over the back of the couch and brush my wrist. I noticed then how thin and brittle it seemed, how unwashed and unkempt it was. Not that Rainbow was ever much for keeping up appearances, but she used to take great pride in her multi-coloured hair.

“When's the last time y'washed your hair?” I asked her gently as my fingers ran through her hair and touched her scalp, my voice seeming so smooth in contrast her brazen growls.

“What the hell is it to you?” She said loudly as she felt my hand in her head and pulled away suddenly, “Do you have Rarity stuffed in your bag coming over here to do a makeover or something?”

“Relax sugar cube, it's just a question.” I eased her. Rainbow's expression seemed to calm down as I touched her hair again, slowly pulling my fingers through it and gingerly touching her head.

“Mmm,” Rainbow Dash hummed and her eyes closed. She tilted her head a bit to the side as she enjoyed the affectionate massage, a touch that seemed so intimate despite our emotional distance and our lack of time spent together lately. She actually answered me, though, “I don't remember.”

I let my hand fall behind the couch again, leaving the subject to fall as it may. Rainbow Dash looked over at me though, curious and tentative like she wanted to ask me to do it again. She must have had such little human interaction the last few months she didn't know how to respond any more. She turned suddenly to face me and tucked her knees up to her chin on the couch, her bare feet twitching on the sofa.

“What're you lookin' at?” I asked quizzically, smiling a bit at her oddly uncharacteristic movements.

“You.” Rainbow replied simply from behind her knees, and I could see her eyes looking me over. She reached her foot out and lightly kicked me, tilting her head as she spoke again, “Why are you still here?”

“Why wouldn't Ah be?” I questioned, but she said nothing. It was probably the same kind of question Twilight had asked me earlier, “Maybe Ah'm just too stubborn to leave.” I told her as my smile turned into a smirk, and I couldn't tell if she returned it.

“You're the only one that still comes around, Applejack. Do you know that?” Rainbow told me, and her eyes looked kind of hurt by the fact, “I haven't seen the others in a long time. They don't call or anything. Just, are they okay?”

“O'course,” I confirmed with a nod, “It ain't the same without you, though.”

“They seem to get by.” She murmured, and it sounded rather resentful. Her arms squeezed around her legs a bit harder, and the haze over her eyes must have meant she was remembering how things used to be.

“Somethin' botherin' you, sugar cube?” I moved a little closer to her and her eyes jumped up to mine again, though they swayed and shifted from the influence of vodka.

“It just sucks, is all. I mean, everyone knew me as the loyal friend, dependable old Rainbow Dash, she'll be there for you no matter what.” She huffed a laugh and moved her chin out from behind her knees, showing me her mouth as she spoke, “But look around. Where are all my loyal friends, huh? Where are people that I can count on?” I raised my eyebrow at the way she breezed me over, and she caught on, “Well, I mean besides you, Applejack.”

“Right.” I chuckled lightly before addressing her seemingly rhetorical question, “Ah think they're just afraid a'you. They don't wanna see someone so proud and so strong fallin' apart like this.”

“I am not falling apart.” Her eyebrows dropped down hard over her eyes and she glared at me.

“Okay.” I carefully nodded, but she didn't believe me.

“I'm not!” She shouted suddenly and kicked me again, this time more forcefully.

“Okay, okay!” I replied as I put my hands up defensively until she stopped attacking me, letting out a sigh of relief as she settled down.

Rainbow Dash crawled away from me again and sprawled out over the armrest, tucking her feet up close to her so she wouldn't even get near to touching me. Even though there was hardly a foot between us, it still felt like a mile. Not only was she not being honest with me or herself, but she was kicking and forcing me away all the while. That was not the Rainbow Dash I knew.

Rainbow and I, we were the best of friends. Before everything happened, she and I used to spend every waking minute with each other, fighting or laughing or competing or what have you. She used to be the one who would put her arm around me, or pinch me or tackle me, she was always a physical person and loved to tease me and play around. But as she laid there on the couch, I couldn't help but think that all this darkness and sorrow, that it had done that out of her.

She was working on another bottle by the time the sun went down, which was rather late in the evening given the time of year it was. As she was flipping through the channels again and licking the drops of clear liquid off her lips, I excused myself to the bathroom. It was up the stairs and down the hall, I remembered that well. When she didn't seem to be listening or paying attention, I slowly cranked the handles of the faucet in her tub, testing the heat of the water on my hand as it fell in. The water slipped and slid about in the oblong white bowl, sloshing a bit as it filled.

I peered down the stairs once or twice to be certain she was still preoccupied while I got everything ready upstairs, filling up the tub and gathering her shampoo and conditioner from bottles of each varying fullness scattered around the place. I sneaked back down the hall and started down the stairs. It was then she noticed me, with the bottle pressed to her lips and big glistening eyes as her head tipped back.

“Oh, when'd you get up?” Rainbow Dash murmured into the glass mouth hole before putting her drink back onto the coffee table.

“Not t'long ago,” I murmured as I came up behind her on the couch and placed my hands on the cushion beside either side of her head, which was leaned back all the way to look at me though I must have appeared upside-down, “Y'wanna head on upstairs?”

“Upstairs?” She repeated as her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed at me. Suddenly though, those same weirdly pink eyes expanded and some kind of reasoning hit her, “Like, to my bedroom?”

“I dunno,” I chuckled a bit as I reached down and pushed her messy bangs to one side of her face, “If it'll get you movin', sure.”

“I—I,” She couldn't form a cognitive sentence, but she sat up suddenly and got to her feet, standing up on her numbing and wobbling legs. “I guess I could appease you.”

I laughed a bit at her odd response, but took her by the clammy hand and led her towards the stairs. She had a bit of trouble with them, undoubtedly, but I helped her along just fine. When we got to the top, I directed her to the right, and she suddenly clued in that her bedroom was not in that direction. She tugged back on my hand a bit as we neared the bathroom, though I had pulled the door shut so she couldn't see the steam.

“Applejack, my bedroom is the other way.” She said bluntly as we neared the door, but I said nothing in response. She pulled back against me harder, but I pushed her in front of me so she couldn't just bolt, “Applejack?”

“Ah know.” I told her as I reached forward with my foot and kicked open the bathroom door, letting out a huff of hot, steamy air as I did. Her eyes got big and frightened as she realized what I was dragging her towards.

“No, no freaking way, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash tried to turn around and run, but I held her tight and blocked her exit, “Hey! I said no! No, no, no, a thousand times no!” She squirmed all the more but I just put my arms right around her waist and picked her up, shouting and kicking and all, “Applejack! Not while you're in here—let me go, I don't want to! I don't want to!”

“Quit fussin'!” I groaned against her shoulder as she tried to pry me off of her, but I stepped onto the cold tile floor and carried her all the way from the door to the bath.

“You're not serious?!” Rainbow Dash squealed, her voice breaking in her high pitch as she fought me all the while.

I lifted her over the side of the tub and wrestled her into the warm water, though she splashed and coughed and shouted all the while. I finally managed to submerge most of her in the bath and as I did she began to relax, looking down at her wet clothes and trembling body. I sighed loudly in relief as I stood up and went over to the door, closing it up tight and locking it behind me. I turned back around and saw her there, adjusting in the water while the tub groaned and squeaked as her body rubbed against it. She sat up on her knees and hands and glared at me, kind of like the way my dog Winona had reacted when I gave her a bath. I went over and knelt in front of her, my face just inches in front of hers as our equally stubborn eyes clashed once more.

“Al'ri—!” I choked hard on water as she spat a mouthful right into my face, and I reached up to wipe it out of my eyes, seeing her grinning face as my vision came back. I growled a bit and grabbed the collar of her wet shirt in my fist, yanking her closer to me as I spoke, “Al'right listen, you! Y'can either take off all them wet clothes and lemme scrub y'clean, or y'can sit there in them all night 'til the water goes cold. It's your choice!” Her eyes narrowed defiantly against mine and we remained like that for a moment or so, in turmoil.

Her sopping wet clothes were bunched up by the door, leaving a little puddle and line of drips all the way to the bath tub. She was sitting with her back to me, her knees pulled up to her chest and her hands wrapped around herself as if to keep the secret of her femininity from me. My wet fingers dug through her hair as the shampoo began to bubble, the strands of dye-coloured hair mixing around at my will. She said nothing as I stopped, reaching over to grab the extendible shower head handle and testing the temperature before I ran it over her hair and rinsed it.

Rainbow Dash leaned her head back slowly, letting her hair run down her back and the water comb through it. I couldn't see her face, seeing as how her back was to me, but I imagined her eyes were closed. I turned off the shower head as I grabbed the conditioner and lathered my hands, touching her much smoother hair with it and working it all the way down to her roots. Somehow, silence did not seem to be working for us.

“Y'ever get lonely in this big ol' house, Rainbow?” I asked her, and she leaned back a bit to let my hands rub the crown of her head.

“Yeah, I guess,” She nodded faintly, but then thought of something better to say, “Of course that doesn't last long, because then you come busting in here like you own the place.”

“S'pose Ah can't deny that.” I chuckled a bit along with her and made sure the conditioner was run through the length of her hair before I pushed her head a bit forward and massaged it against her neck.

“That feels really good.” Rainbow murmured like she wasn't certain if she wanted me to hear it, but I liked it when she said that.

“Ah'm glad.” Was all I could say as I continued for another half moment or so, letting the conditioner soak into her thin hair from root to tip.

I took hold of the shower head again and let it run over her head, watching her physically respond to it. I let my fingers untangle her hair as the water rushed through it, straightening it and smoothing it so softly against my rough hands. I finished with her hair and pushed it over her shoulder, though last I remembered it wasn't long enough to permit me to do that.

My fingers found their way around one of those scrunchy little bath scrubs, beats me what they were called. I drizzled a bit of body wash onto it and pressed it against her back, gently running circles over her body. She didn't say anything about it when I ran it over her shoulders and arms or down her spine, instead, she just sat there in the water in thought. I don't know what provoked her, maybe the vodka or the heated water or what have you, but she decided to speak her mind to me.

“Hey, Applejack?” Rainbow Dash started weakly, her voice so small I could hardly hear it over the water I pulled up and ran over her pale back, but I hummed some acknowledgement, “Do you,” She paused as the words felt awkward or something, but she finished seconds later, “Do you think I'm pretty?”

I smiled easily as I heard the words, the answer was very simple for me. “O'course Ah do. Honey, Ah think you're just plain gorgeous.” I paused in scrubbing her and wondered, “Why'd y'ask?”

“I don't know. It's just,” She hissed another sigh as her arms moved against her legs, getting a better grip and knocking the water around a bit, “Whenever I look at myself, I just feel kind of... Like, sick.”

My smile faded. It hurt me pretty bad when she said that, but I had to be the strong one right now, the one to lift her back up. “That's prob'ly 'cause the only time you're in the bathroom and near a mirror is when you got your head in the toilet, pukin' up all that vodka.”

“No, I mean that... Ugh, I don't know, It's stupid. I just can't even look at my stupid, stupid face. I just feel like, like why am I the one who's here? While they're all gone, you know? And maybe,” I blinked in shock as words flooded out of her suddenly, more expressive and honest than I had heard in a long time. Not even at the funeral had she said much at all, “Maybe if I had just not played at that soccer game, or if they never came to see it, or maybe if we hadn't started talking about—” She choked back a whimper and replaced it with a scoff, tensing up and squeezing her knees up tight again, “Never mind.”

“Ah ain't told you to stop, sugar cube.” I whispered in a hush, letting my bare hands run over her back as I rinsed her off.

“I don't want to talk any more.” Her voice was stoic and cold as she lifted her guard back up, and I suppose I couldn't rush her.

I let the subject drift away, realizing that maybe she just wasn't quite ready yet. I ran my hands over her body again, loving the sensation of her smooth and fresh skin over my sensitive fingers, the warm water, the closeness, all of it. I ran water over her shoulders again and down her arms, though I had to be careful as to not slip too low and touch the sides of her naked body, in case her chest wasn't as well hidden as I imagined.

I leaned forwards as my hands ran down her arms, since they were wrapped around her legs and a ways away from me. I could smell the scent of her shampoo clearly from so close, and I just wished I could have embraced her. I didn't though, not while she was naked and guarded and all. Instead, I just let my words do the talking, as if I was any good at it.

“Listen Rainbow, Ah could come over here every night and toss you into a bath until Ah'm too old and brittle to hoist you in there, but it ain't gonna do you no good.” I reminded her gently, knowing that I was only here for a few days and there was only so much I could do for her, “You gotta wanna do it for yourself, Ah can't live your life for you, y'know?”

“I know.” Rainbow Dash replied simply, her voice seeming somewhat less distressed and fragmented as she pulled herself back together and taped up those pleading cracks. She huffed a snide laugh and peeked back at me with those bagged, pink eyes, “So, you want to wash my front now?”

“In your dreams!” I snapped as I splashed her, which brought forth two light-hearted laughs from the pair of us that filled the bathroom like the rolling steam.

While Rainbow Dash dried off, I went to her bedroom to grab her a dry set of clothes. I was sure it didn't really matter what it was, but I sure had some trouble finding clothes that were clean and not wrinkled, considering her dresser had become just a platform for her mounds of clothing. I managed to get my hands on a set of pyjama pants and a hoodie, but drew the line at rifling through her underwear drawer and settled for grabbing the first bra I could find.

I passed the set of clothes through the door when I arrived to the bathroom, finding it a safer option than stepping right in if she hadn't wrapped herself up in a towel in time. I crossed my arms and chewed at my lip, flushing a bit when I heard the towel hit the ground and her bare feet pitter-patter across the tile floor. I could hear the clothes rustling as she pulled them over her body and I waited patiently until she emerged, her hair unbrushed and her ears still glistening with wetness from her half-assed dry job.

“What?” Rainbow Dash muttered as she brought a glass bottle to her lips, and I gaped in shock.

“Where did you get that?!” I asked incredulously as I tried to grab it, but she pulled it away and reminded me of what I had agreed to.

“Uh, uh-uh, rule number one, remember?” She snickered a bit as she stepped out of the bathroom, trails of steam following her as she did. “What time is it?”

“Bed time, from the look o'you.” I told her, but she frowned at such a thing.

“No way, dude. I'm just getting started.” She told me as she stumbled past me towards the direction of the stairs. “I bet we can find something really stupid on TV to make fun of.”

“Rainbow,” I groaned as I followed her, but she turned around and pointed that assertive, accusing finger of hers and shook it at me silently, “Al'right, fine. Just for a little while.”

“Sweet, awesome,” She cheered a bit and clenched her fist up, pulling it down hard like she had just won some important argument. She started towards the stairs but stopped suddenly, wheeling around and almost knocking right into me as she did, “Wait, it's late. I have to say good night to my sister first.”

“Your,” My heart broke right then and there, and my eyes gazed over at her with some form of pity or sorrow as I tried to remind her, “Rainbow, come on honey, your sister is—”

“I know Applejack, I'm not daft.” She interrupted me as she stood in front of her sister's door, though it was closed. She took one more drink before setting down the bottle beside the door frame, that room apparently being the one place she would not bring that stuff into, “I just like to do it.”

Rainbow's shaking fingers rounded the door knob, touching it only with the tips as if she was afraid of breaking it off. I tilted my head as I watched her press the door open with the weight of her slender body and step one foot forward, revealing the dark room to us both. She gently touched the door open a little more so I could see it, the room entirely untouched in the worst way. There was no dynamic young girl chirping and kicking her older sister out of her room, there was no lamp left on or phone pulled off the receiver with a line to a friend. No, the room was empty.

Rainbow Dash's foot steps were quiet, but screamed through the otherwise vacant and sleeping room. She didn't turn the light on as she went in, and I found myself following her through the doorway. The carpet was cold, in fact the whole room was cold now that I thought about it. But Rainbow Dash went in anyway, and she stepped unevenly and dizzily to the bed, each step a different measure and speed from the last. Her hand touched the covers, the bed left unmade and the nearby desk cluttered with doodles and homework and coloured pens.

“Hey, kido,” Her voice was strained but soft, and I followed her closely, my eyes affixed to her face as that solemn smile graced her lips and bent up under her devoted eyes, “You remember Applejack.”

“Rainbow.” I murmured into my lips delicately, but she wasn't listening.

“Yeah, I told you all about her, didn't I?” She broke into a few laughs, though I didn't know why, “Anyway, just wanted to come in and, and say,” She forced back some snivel or something as she pressed her lips together and fought off a frown, staring down at the wrinkled sheets, “Night, Scootaloo.”

“You okay?” I inquired gingerly, stepping over eggshells as I approached her, my chest tight as ever I had felt it since I first heard the news.

“Yeah, I mean it's been a year now, guess I should quit acting like a crazy person.” Rainbow scoffed, but did not look away from her little sister's bed. “I just miss the little squirt, you know?”

“Ah can't even imagine.” I told her for certain, I mean I could not even begin to imagine what it would be like if my little sister Apple Bloom was taken from me.

“She was a brat, of course,” Rainbow shook her head and forced a laugh, “But she was awesome, too. Big spirit, big dreams.”

“Tell me about her.” I asked as I moved closer, leaning to the side to get a better look at her darkened expression.

“I always thought she had an amazing talent,” Rainbow Dash said as she raised her head, looking up at the few paintings and pictures that were hung around the room and scattered over the desk. She went around and admired them, touching them even, “For, like art and stuff. Weird for any sister of mine, right?”

“Ah don't think so.” I replied honestly as my own eyes drifted about, seeing the many hues and tones of the rainbow scattered all over her walls like she had been drawing her older sister with every stroke.

“I always told Scootaloo that it was, it was just magnificent. That she had this, this weird talent for space and colour and, I don't know.” Her words failed her as she rested her hands on the crinkled papers on the desk, staring down at it, “She said that I was stupid or blind, that there was no way someone like her could make something pretty, something people might like. See, she wanted to be like me, athletic and cool and stuff.” Rainbow shook her head back and forth like that was what was stupid, “Thing is, I would give anything to have been born with a talent like hers. I mean, yeah, I'm fast and I'm cool and whatever, but those things fade. You know?”

“Maybe.” I replied simply as I let her go on, witnessing each and every small change to the wrinkles of her bright and young skin as they came and went.

“The accident really screwed up my leg, so who knows if I'll ever be a star or anything. And even if I do, I'm going to get old, my body wont work any more. So, like, what good am I?” Her fists clenched up a bit as her knuckles turned white pressing so hard against the desk. Her face twisted into rage and words slipped out of her teeth, “Why am I the one who's here, and she's the one gone?!”

“That ain't the kinda question any of us can answer.” I reminded her as I kept my distance at a foot or so away. I wasn't sure if it would have been all right for me to touch her, I didn't want to set her off.

Rainbow shoved off the desk, making the pens wiggle back and forth and the legs kick up and land again. She dipped her hands deep into her pockets and glanced once more at where the little kid used to sleep. It really tore me right up, all of it. She pushed past me with her head down, hiding from me even then. I didn't move at first, I just watched her sway over to the door and step out, reaching down to grab the bottle before taking another long drink.

“I think I'll go to bed now.” Her voice was raspy as she wiped her mouth, waiting there for me to leave her little sister's room. I did as she wanted and exited, letting her close the door behind me up tight as if she was protecting her memory from the rest of the house. “Night, A.J.”

“G'night.” I spoke in a hush as I watched her take off towards her bedroom, dragging the bottle right in there with her. She kicked the door open and went inside, knocking it shut behind her and closing me out.

I waited there for a moment or so with my eyes pinned to her door, like I was expecting she would come back out or something. She didn't, and so finally I just left, heading back downstairs. There were two empty beds in that old house, but I was not welcome to nor did I want to sleep on either of them. My place was on the couch beside that stuffed, lifeless duffelbag of mine. I undid my shirt and jeans and replaced them with my worn, holey plaid pyjamas, confident that Rainbow Dash would show no interest in coming to sneak a peak, if that was even her thing.

I curled up on the couch under the spare quilt I had found in the linen closet, which Rainbow clearly hadn't even remembered existed. The television still blared light into the colourless room, though I had turned the volume down a while ago. I had too much on my mind to be paying attention to any of the images or sounds that played before me anyway, but the background noise was somewhat soothing. I could feel the dips in the couch from Rainbow's own body, and the thick scent of vodka persisted on the carpet and cushions around me.

I blinked slowly as the night dragged on, letting the darkness of my eyelids distort the flashes of light that splashed on my body from the television; an object I rarely chanced encounters with in my own leisure. At first I was not certain of the noises that swelled around the room, but the more I listened, the more I realized it was not coming from the television at all. I turned over slowly as her silhouette appeared above me, her eyes so dark and shadowed she seemed like another ghost that roamed the house.

“A.J? You asleep?” She asked in a whisper, and I responded promptly by rustling the covers and turning fully onto my back to face her.

“Not with all the racket you made comin' down here.” I jested lightly, pulling myself to sit up against the armrest, “Y'okay, sugar cube?”

“I was just thinking,” She came around the couch, though her hand followed slower as it trailed the back of the couch while she walked. She knelt down in front of me, pushing the coffee table away to make enough room, “Thinking about you sleeping alone down here. Are you cold?”

“Not particularly.” I replied vaguely, though I had been a mite chilly. She shuffled a little closer to me, and I could feel how warm her body was as she rested her arm on the cushion beside me.

“Do you,” She wove her words through her teeth until she liked the taste, before she let them out and asked me what she pleased, “Would you mind if I just, just hung out down here for a while?”

I smiled as I wiggled my arms out from under the quilt, reaching out and taking her hand in my own as if I was providing some support, “O'course Ah wouldn't mind.”

Rainbow Dash just nodded a bit and moved ever closer, leaning against the couch and resting her head on it, right beside my chest. She turned over and looked out at the television, her thumb absently running over my hand on hers. Whether she knew it or not, a little bit of human interaction appeared to be just what the doctor ordered.

Author's Notes:

Okay, serious face time. I decided to write a story that was a little more hard-hitting than mere relationship stuff, so here we are. Get ready for some real humanity!