"Damn, it's really coming down out there."
>I walk away from the window and head to my couch.
>I plop myself down with a sigh, taking in the warmth of the fire.
>I used to love nights like this, but now..
>They just remind me of home.
>I spread myself out on the couch, letting my mind wander.
>Eventually my eyes slowly start to close.
>I may not enjoy rainy nights anymore, but they still knock me the hell out.
>I start slipping into sleep when I hear the banging.
>I sit up quickly, still groggy.
"The hell was that..?"
>I hear it again, louder now.
>Shit, it's the door, who would be out at this time?
>I get up and walk to the door, opening it slowly.
>I poke my head out and see Rainbow Dash, my marefriend.
"Dashie! What are you doing? Get in here, you're going to get sick!"
>I step aside, opening the door further for her to come inside.
>"S-sorry Anon. I was on my way home when my w-wing cramped up."
>She attempts to stretch her right wing, wincing noticeably.
>"I'm l-lucky I was so close to your house."
>I lead her to the fire place before I run off to get a blanket.
"Stay there, I'll be right back."
>"O-ok Anon."
 
>I come back quickly to Dashie and wrap the blanket around her.
>I sit down next to her, pulling her close and wrapping my arms around her.
"So, what were you doing out there? Part of the team to start the storm?"
>"Yeah, I stayed to finish rounding up the clouds when everyone else went home."
>Just like her to go above and beyond with something like that.
"Well, you certainly did a good job. Crazy heavy storm."
>I feel her shift, leaning into me more.
>"Yeah, the storm is pretty awesome isn't it?"
>Shes definitely already warming and cheering up.
>I laugh and pull her in tighter to me, rubbing her back.
>I feel her nuzzle into my chest.
>"Thanks Anon..I love you.."
>I feel my chest tighten, a lump forming in my throat.
"I love you too Dashie.."
>I kiss her on the top of her head and pull the blanket around her tighter.
>Eventually, we both start to drift into sleep.
>I wake up what must be just a few moments later
"Shit we're still on the floor."
>I slowly pick her up and move to the couch, sitting down with her against me.
>I laugh to myself, remembering my dad used to do the same thing.
>"Whats so funny Anon?"
>Shit, I woke her up.
"Oh, nothing. Its just, when I was a kid I would pass out on the floor when I would play with my toys or something. My dad would pick me up and we'd both nap on the couch."
>She giggles, flashing that smile I love.
>"I bet it was adorable Anon."
>I laugh mock laugh as I reach down and tickle her hoof.
>"Anon! You know I hate that!"
"I know, but its just so adorable Dashie."
 
>She tries to push me away.
>I'm a lot bugger, so I manage to keep hold of her, tickling her hoof.
>"Anon! Ok, you win!"
>Shes giggling between words.
"Oh, I know I win, I just wanted to hear it."
>She hits me in the arm playfully.
>We both start to calm down, laying into each other again.
>I wrap my arm back around her.
>She slowly starts to nuzzle into me again.
>"Anon, can you tell me about them?"
>I furrow my brow, curious as to what she means.
"Tell you about who?"
>"Your parents. What were they like?"
"Why do you want to know?"
>"I dunno. Just curious I guess.."
"Well, my mom was mouse of a woman, small and squeaky."
>She giggles quietly at the comparison
>I smile as I continue
"She was the sweetest woman I've ever know, always worried about the people around her. My dad and I primarily."
>I look down at her and notice tears in her eyes, a slightly pained look on her face.
"Dashie, whats wrong?"
>"It.. it's nothing Anon. Please, continue. What was your dad like?"
 
"Okay.. Well, if my mom was a mouse my dad was a bear. He absolutely towered over my mom and I."
>I hear Dashie sniffle .
>I continue, worry edging into my voice.
"He was by all definitions of the word, a protector. If I came home with so much as a bruise he was out looking for whoever did it, despite my assurance that I just fell."
>I pull her closer, rubbing her mane as I do so.
"And they loved each other so much. I don't think I so much as seen them disagree. It's like they were always on the same page on everything."
>I hear he quietly start to sob.
"Alright, tell me whats going on? Whats got you so emotional?"
>I sit up and look at her intently.
>I wipe the tears from her eyes.
>She looks away, not wanting to make eye contact.
"Dashie, you can tell me anything. Now please, whats going on?"
>"I.. I just wish I could have had parents like yours.."
>I eye her curiously, wondering what she means.
"What do you mean 'parents like mine'? I'm sure your parents were just fine."
>She starts sobbing
>I pull her into me, guilty about what I caused
"I'm so sorry Dashie. I didn't mean to-"
>She stops crying
>"Its okay Anon.. There's no way you could have known.."
"Known what? C'mon Dash, I just want to help."
>She mulls it over in her head and starts to explain.
>"My parents weren't exactly.. loving.."
 
>I sit looking into her eyes as she goes over her childhood.
>"My mother..She was abusive, a drunk, and a whore. Not, physically abusive, that was my father."
>Anger starts forming in my head as my fists clench.
>Either she doesn't notice my anger or she doesn't acknowledge it.
>"No, my mother was verbally abusive. All she ever told me was how I'd never amount to anything, or how my dreams were 'fucking retarded'."
>She does air quotes as best as a pony can on the last words.
>"I don't think I was ever hugged until I met Gilda. The first words of encouragement I heard were from the teacher when she saw how fast I was during recess."
>Tears start to well up in my eyes. I start thinking of Gilda in a different light.
>She may have been cruel during their last meeting, but she helped my Dashie in her young age.
>"But no matter what she said, I always tried my hardest. I knew that if I worked at it I would get to where I want to be."
>I smile when I hear this.
>That's just like her.
>"My father on the other hand wasn't a drunk. He was just a terrible pony. Hardly able to be called a stallion."
>The anger starts welling up in my head again.
>"He would beat my mother and I daily. Always in ways that would heal quickly, or wouldn't show at all."
>She must have noticed the rage this time.
>"Anon, it's okay. Don't get worked up."
>She tries to comfort me through the tears spilling from her own eyes.
>She wipes her tear streaked cheeks and continues.
>"Well, eventually he went too far. He.. he.."
>She starts crying again.
>I pull her into me, running my finger through her multicolored mane.
"It's okay Dashie, I'm here.."
>She sniffles against my chest then pulls away.
>"Okay, I can continue now."
 
>"Like I said, one day he went too far."
>She winces at the memory the same way she winced at the cramped wing
>"He was angrier than usual over something I did, I can't remember what it was. And, he.. he stomped on my back, breaking one of my wings.."
>I can feel my face getting red just at the thought.
>How dare he take away the thing she loves most?
>"He said if I told anyone the truth.. he would do worse to me.."
>I force myself to calm down foe her sake.
>I nod, signaling her to continue.
>"He forced the bones back into place.. to make it look like it wasn't broken.."
>She closes her eyes and clenches her jaw.
>"I can't even describe the pain Anon.. jagged bone scrapping against jagged bone and tearing into muscle.."
>I cringe at the thought.
>She chokes back more sobs and continues.
>"The next day the teacher noticed I was acting differently. I was sitting at odd angles so I wouldn't be leaning against the back of the chair, or I would avoid other kids in the crowd so I wouldn't bump against them.."
>"By the time recess came I could tell she was paying closer attention to me. She knew something was off when I didn't take off into the sky."
>She starts to stretch her wings under the blanket wrapped around her.
>"She eventually asks me what was wrong. Obviously I don't tell her anything. I didn't want dad to come down worse on me, so I just said that I wasn't feeling well."
>She wipes her eyes again and coughs, still trying to fight sobs.
>"I know she didn't believe me. To this day, I still think she knew what was going on, and didn't want to make it worse for me."
>This seems off to me.
"Well why the hell didn't she call police ponies or something to get you out of there?"
>She looks confused
>"Things work differently here Anon. Unless your parents die you're stuck with them until you're an adult."
>The thought that even if she did find help she would still be stuck with them hurt me.
>Anger is replaced with sadness as I start to cry as well.
 
>"Eventually, I came up with an excuse about what happened to my wing and my father took me to the hospital."
>Tears are now streaking down my face.
>Dash reaches up and wipes them away from my face.
>"We said that I was flying and I lost control. I could tell the doctor didn't believe it either, but he went along to avoid drama."
>I'm still simmering over the backwards laws in Equestria.
>How could they just allow abused children to deal with that?
>I make a mental note to talk to Twilight about getting me into a meeting with Celestia.
>I get out of my own head as Dash continues.
>"It turns out we waited too long to get me to the hospital, because the doctor had to re-break the bones. It wasn't nearly as bad as my dad roughly smashing bone against bone, but it was still bad."
>I think back to when I broke my arm in the 5th grade
>I thought that was bad, I can't even imagine how it was for Dashie.
>"Once the bone was broken and I had the cast on me and dad headed home. Once we got there he hit me again for costing him money at the hospital.. I made the mistake of talking back."
>As soon as I hear this I got scarred.
>Dash was right here in front of me, but I was still terrified about what must have happened.
 
 
"What did you say to him that could have made it worse?"
>"Right after he got done smacking me around and explained why, I said that I wasn't the one that broke my wing and cost him the money.."
>I couldn't help smile slightly at her retort before I remembered what must have happened after it.
>"Well, after I said that he saw red. Screaming, and hollering he chased me through the house. Eventually he got a hold of me and raised a hoof to hit me in my face."
>My palms are sweating at this point, nervous about what could happen next.
>"Right then, I decided I was done. I wasn't going to put up with it anymore. So, as hard as I could, I rammed both of my feet down into his crotch. He crumpled, and dropped me and I ran out the door. And I just kept running."
>I was sitting there perplexed by her story, too focused to ask any questions.
>"I may not have been able to fly, but I was still in good condition, so it wasn't hard for me to get away. My dad wasn't exactly in great shape, and that helped."
"Wait, so you ran away? I thought you were stuck with them?"
>"Calm down Anon, I'm getting to it."
>I nod and sit back again.
>"I'm originally from Detrot, not Cloudsdale. Cloudsdale is just where I wound up after I ran away. It took about about a month after leaving to get there, but by the time I did get there the wing was healed and I had another doctor pony take the cast off."
>By now I'm completely astounded.
>"The life that I've told everypony is mine is a lie. I told them that my parents sent me off to do what I want, and live my dreams. The only ones that know this other than you are Gilda and Fluttershy."
"Wait, everything that everyone knows about is a lie? How have you gotten away with that?"
>She starts looking around nervously, biting her lip.
>"The tough exterior I put on isn't how I really am.. I just act that way to keep ponies from getting close. The only way I've kept this secret is by pushing ponies away.."
 
>I start to feel for Dash again.
>She has to hide behind a lie because of a couple of shitty ponies.
>It's not fair.
>"After I got to Cloudsdale I managed to get a job on the weather team and earned enough money to actually be able to support myself. I had no money when I ran away, so I was dependent on the good nature of ponies."
>I was surprised that she even knew about good natured ponies.
>I would have been a massive cynic had this been my life.
>But I guess that's why shes the most awesome pony.
>"After awhile I decided to move to Ponyville. Seemed nicer, honestly."
"And? After you moved here was it pretty much normal? Other than Nightmare Moon and all that crazy stuff I mean."
>She giggles at the understatement of 'crazy stuff'.
>"Yeah, it was all pretty average. Until after we defeated Discord.."
"Well? What happened after Discord?"
>"Almost right after we beat him I flew back to Detrot and visited the old house."
>I start smiling.
"Did you do what I think you did?"
>She starts smiling with me.
>"Well, I went up to the door and knocked. When mom answered she had the happiest look on her face. She ran at me crying, trying to hug me. I flew up out of her reach, by now dad was at the door. He had the same dumb grin as mom."
>I'm nearly giddy with excitement.
"What'ya say?"
>"I looked down at them and rubbed my Element as I said: 'Who's fucking retarded now?' and flew off."
>I start laughing and pull her into a big hug.
"You really are the most awesome pony aren't you?"
>Shes laughing and hugging into me.
>"Yeah, I am aren't I?"
>With that we laid back and let the laughing fit run its course.
>After awhile we both start to drift off into sleep.
>I wake up for a moment.
"Hey Rainbow Dash?"
>"Yeah?"
>I guess she was awake too.
"I'm happy I'm here with you instead of back in my old life.. I love you Dashie."
>"I happy you're here too Anon. I love you too."
>I kissed her on the head as she nuzzled into me and we fell back into sleep.
>How did I get lucky enough to be with the most awesome pony?