Though the school day had long since ended, there was nevertheless a great deal of activity for the students of Canterlot High. All over town. Boys and girls were spending time with one another, hanging out in cafes and shops, playing against one another in friendly games of sports out on the town’s fields, or even simply going home and having a more relaxing evening with each other. For Rainbow Dash, she was very much in the second category, and was, at this present moment, out on a wide open space on the borders of the town. However, rather than the traditional sports field the town usually boasted, this one was more of a dirt track, littered with tyre marks and looking more like a construction yard than a place for serious sports. And this was appropriate, given that the place was intended for motor-cross. Dash smiled as she gazed upon the place, decked out in the usual leather outfit one usually wore for this activity.

"You ready for this?”

Turning, Dash looked upon her companion for the evening, Sunny Flare, of Crystal Prep Academy. Like her, she too was clad in the appropriate leather clothes needed for this sport, and as she approached, Rainbow gave her a nod. Together, the two girls made their way over to a pair of motorbikes that had been reserved for them, and once there, Sunny gave hers a look over, carefully inspecting the thing before hopping on. Dash, likewise, got herself ready for the upcoming race between them, although, before even turning the key, she turned to her companion, raising an eyebrow before speaking up.

“Not that I don’t appreciate a good race every now and again…but why this?”

Turning to her, Sunny’s face broke out into a small smirk.

“Well…we never did find out who would have won this race at the Friendship Games. And…I suppose I’d like to find out.”

At that, Rainbow gained a smirk of her own, giving a nod to her racing partner before reaching over for her helmet. Sunny responded in kind, and as soon as both girls had their helmets secured, they turned the keys of their motors, the sounds of engines roaring to life ringing across the field. As was customary at a time like this, both of them revved those engines several times, glancing at one another as they did so. After a few more moments of inactivity, they were off, a score of mud trailing behind them as their bikes charged forward. The race was, as one would expect, very energized, with both girls shooting forward as fast as their motors could carry them. Straight after straight, corner after corner, they raced one another, and for a good chunk of it, they seemed neck and neck. However, being the kinds of girls they were, naturally, this would not do, and so they upped their game, going even faster as time went on.

However, such recklessness can only yield danger, and soon enough, it happened. Sunny, during one particularly tight corner, looked, only for a moment, as if she was thinking about something other than the race, and in that moment, she lost control. Her bike turned in a way just slightly different from how she wanted, but that was all it took, as the front wheel wobbled uncontrollably. Moments later, she lost control immediately, and her bike, along with herself, began to topple and skid along the muddy track. Because that mud was so prevalent, she was, thankfully, not subject to any serious injury. Even so, the shock of it was intense, and Rainbow, seeing this, immediately brought her own bike to a screeching halt. Leaping off, the rainbow-haired girl ran over to her companion, who was still lying on her side on the ground.

“Sunny! Are you okay?”

Getting herself up, the Crystal Prep girl gave a brief nod, holding one arm with the other.

“Yeah. I just…just lost my grip, that’s all.”

Slowly, she tried lowering her arm, only to hold it up again as a sharp pain was then felt, causing her to wince at it. Seeing that, Rainbow frowned.

“Okay, that’s it. The race is over. Come on, we’ve got to get you looked over.”

Although Sunny would have probably wanted to ignore the pain, she nevertheless sighed and nodded, giving silent permission to go along with her. Leading the way, Rainbow took Sunny to the side of the track, wherein there was a bench laden with a number of supply boxes for whatever the motor-cross racers needed. Immediately, Rainbow went for the one marked “First Aid”, opening it to reveal all of the medical tools and equipment within. Before long, she turned her attention once more to Sunny’s arm.

“Okay…let’s take a look.”

Sunny showed hesitancy at this, but in the end, she knew Rainbow had her best interests at heart, and so let go of her arm. Immediately, Rainbow saw that the previously-covered section of Sunny’s outfit had been torn by her fall, and within, she could already see traces of red. Although she moved slowly, Sunny pulled back the arm section of her outfit, and here, both girls finally saw the large scrape that had been made there, leading to a somewhat concerned look for both of them.

“Okay…I’m gonna need…er…antiseptic stuff,” Rainbow commented.

Going back to the box, she rummaged around it for a while before producing a bottle of exactly that, antiseptic ointment. Grabbing a clean cloth, she poured a little of the medicine onto it, ready to be applied to the injury.

“Okay, Sunny, this’ll probably sting.”

The other girl nodded, showing that she was already prepared for it. And with that, Rainbow applied the cloth. Immediately, Sunny let out another wince, but thankfully, this one died down as she got more and more used to the sensation. As she let out a deep sigh, she walked over to the bench, taking a seat, with Rainbow sitting beside her. Looking from Sunny’s face, to her arm and then back again, the Canterlot High girl looked deep in thought over all this, before finally speaking up.

“So, Sunny…what happened back there?”

Sunny shook her head a little before responding.

“It’s…it’s nothing. I just…lost control.”

Silence fell between them again, and after a long wait, Sunny let out a sigh, taking off the cloth and looking at the somewhat calmed inflammation on her arm.

“It was my own stupid fault. I wasn’t paying attention.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at that.

“Something on your mind?”

Sunny looked away from her.

“Truth is…I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. It’s actually why I wanted to do this race…take my mind off it. Guess that wasn’t gonna happen.”

Rainbow nodded, showing a degree of hesitation before speaking up again.

“Do…do you wanna talk about it?”

Sunny turned, looking to her companion, and the honesty in her eyes, before looking away again.

“It’s just…I have this…friend. And she’s in a bit of a difficult spot right now.”

Even a novice to reading people, like Rainbow, could see where this was going, but even so, she played along.

“Oh yeah? So…what problem does this friend of yours have exactly?”

Sunny thought long and hard about how best to answer that, before finally just shrugging her shoulders.

“Well…she…she’s having a bit of…family trouble. There’s someone close to her that she really needs to talk to right now…about something important.”

Rainbow folded her arms, leaning back a little as she regarded the other girl.

“Important, eh? And she’s having a hard time getting it out to this…family of hers?”

Sunny nodded.

“Yeah…she’s worried about how it’s going to go down. How she should approach this person. If she gets it wrong…it could just make things worse. But if she stays quiet…”

A look of discomfort crossed her face before she continued.

“…then she knows nothing is going to get better.”

Looking down at the ground, Sunny nursed the sore spot on her arm for a few moments, before exhaling deeply and turning to Rainbow.

“In truth…I think she’s terrified about it all.”

Rainbow looked to her, at the troubled feeling as clear as day in her eyes, and she found her own expression softening considerably because of it. Leaning forward a little, Rainbow clasped her hands together, thinking over what to say and how to say it. In the end, she simply did what she did best; be brutally honest about it.

“Look, Sunny…this friend of yours…I think she’s doing herself no favours by staying quiet. Whatever’s eating at her…it needs to come out. Yeah, it might cause problems. But, like you said…”

The girl looked Sunny right in the eye.

“...things will never get better if she doesn’t try. So no matter the risk…I think it’s worth it to at least try, even if it doesn’t work.”

Sunny looked away, now looking somewhat saddened.

“I know. Like they say, honesty is the best policy, right? But…”

Slowly, Sunny’s eyes moved from left to right, almost as if she was trying to avoid looking at Rainbow directly.

“…it’s just that I…I mean…she's spent her whole life staying quiet. How does she just…come out about it?”

To that, Rainbow shrugged her shoulders.

“It won’t be easy. Truth never is. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.”

Looking to Sunny, and the uncomfortable look on her face, Rainbow let out a long sigh.

“Tell you what…I think what your friend needs…is a little help along the way. Someone to be with her when she goes to say what she needs to say. And I think…I know just the person.”

Turning to her, Sunny gained a look that was both concerned and incredulous.

“You…you do?”

Rainbow smiled at that, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her cell-phone. With curiosity all over her face, Sunny stayed silent as Rainbow pressed a few buttons, held the phone to her ear, then waited for a few moments before cracking a smile.

“Hey there, Sunset. It’s me. Listen…I’ve got someone here who needs some help.”