My Friendly Iron Giant

Someone finds out

Authors Note: Feeling a bit generous so I thought you guys deserved two chapters for this week.

It was the next day, and Rainbow Dash was still avoiding her friends, although she thought it was fine. However, her friends disagreed, and they were starting to worry. As usual, Sunset, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack sat together at their usual lunch table, their concern evident in their expressions. "Has anyone seen Rainbow lately?" Sunset asked. "No, not for the past few days. She's been avoiding us," Twilight said with concern.

"Maybe she's going through something and needs her space," Fluttershy said softly. "Darling, space is one thing, but this is different. We've been her friends for years, and she's never been this distant," Rarity said as Sunset nodded in agreement.

"Or maybe she's been avoiding us because she's hiding a giant robot, which was the same creature that Sailor Man Johnson saw on that night. She's hiding it in her uncle's scrapyard so that an agent from the Department of Phenomena of the government can't find it and destroy it. And the reason she's avoiding us is that she doesn't want either of us to get hurt or involved as it can get serious," Pinkie Pie said as everyone looked at her like she was crazy.

"Well, whatever it is, it can't go much further. It's been bothering me more than any of y'all. I reckon we should go talk to her after school," Applejack said as they all nodded in agreement, and they decided to confront Rainbow Dash after the school day.

"Ring!" the last bell of the day rang as it dismissed the school. Rainbow left her math class, ran to her locker, and started putting the combination of her locker to get her skateboard. Just as she grabbed it and closed her locker, she was greeted by her friends' faces.

"Whoa, oh hey guys. What are you doing here?" Dash said, leaning awkwardly on her locker. "Rainbow, we've been worried sick about you. What's going on?" Applejack asked. "Uh, nothing, guys. Just been busy with... stuff," Dash said nervously as she tried to walk away. But Sunset stood in front of her, looking determined. "Rainbow, that's not like you. You've been avoiding us and acting weird for days," she said.

Dash hesitated but then decided to make an excuse. "Look, I promise, everything's fine. I'll catch up with you all later. I have to go help my uncle," she lied, before running past them as she placed her skateboard down and skated to her uncle's scrapyard. However, one of her friends decided that she was going to follow her to get her answer.

Rainbow Dash then reached her uncle's scrapyard and entered to see the robot eating as her uncle was about to head out. "Hey buddy, how are you doing? Sorry, you have to stay here while I'm at school," Dash said.

"Alright, Rainbow, stay here with the giant. I gotta go to work since I've been getting calls of cars breaking down or scrap metals lying around. Stay here and don't let anyone else see him," her uncle said, handing her the key to his little house.

"Got it, Uncle," Dash said. Her uncle then hopped into his tow truck and left while Rainbow's smile turned to a sad smile as the giant noticed. "Okay?" he said. "Yeah, I just hate lying to my friends," she said as the giant looked at her confused.

"You know, friend. Someone who you always hang out with all the time and trust you. Like you and me," Dash said, climbing on the robot's leg. "Friend?" he asked. "Yeah, you and I are friends," Rainbow said smiling.

Unaware that someone was watching from a distance, they then stepped forward. "What in the hay is that thing, Dash?" A voice that Rainbow instantly recognized when she turned to see it was Applejack.

"Uh, hey, Applejack. What brings you here?" Dash said, getting off the giant robot's leg. "I got worried about you, so I decided to follow you to see why you've been avoiding us. Guess I got my answer," Applejack said, looking at the robot.

"Heh, guess the secret's out, Applejack. This is Giant. Giant, this is Applejack, my friend," Rainbow said as they introduced each other. The robot looked at her before he decided to start building with the scrap around the yard allowing the two girls to finally talk again ever since Dash started avoiding her friends,

"So how'd you find this robot?" Applejack asked. Dash walked towards an abandoned worn-out truck in the yard she sat in the back of it and patted the spot next to her. As Applejack walked towards her and sat down, she hesitated for a moment when she felt a hand on her hand before finally speaking up.

"I found it in the woods that day my mom was working late. I was investigating what caused the antenna to disappear from my house. I saw a trail of broken trees, so naturally, I followed it. Next thing you know, I see this giant robot about to eat the power station that was near the woods, but it got electrified and it was hurting him, so I turned it off. The next day, I went back to try to lure it out, but it kinda backfired as he was behind me, and I got scared," Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack's curiosity piqued as she reached out and gently touched Dash's black eye. "Is that how you got this?" She asked softly causing Rainbow to blush as she noticed Applejack also blushing before nodding. "Yeah, I was running away from it, thinking it was going to hurt me. Of course, I didn't see a branch, and bam, I fell, but it didn't attack. It was harmless because he knew I saved him. That's why I didn't want to tell anyone the truth." Dash said before sighing.

Applejack's eyes softened as she pulled Rainbow Dash into a hug. "Rainbow, you don't have to hide this from us. We're your friends, and we'll stick with you through thick and thin." Tears welled up in Dash's eyes as she hugged Applejack back.

"Thanks, Applejack. But there's more. Someone from the Government the Department of Phenomena wants to destroy it. His name is Ace Deder, and I had to shake him off my back yesterday at the diner," Rainbow said, pulling away from the warm embrace and clearing her eyes before looking at the giant who was now eating as she and AJ watched him.

"I wanted to tell you guys, believe me, I did, but the way things are escalating right now, I didn't want you guys to know because it could get dangerous, and I don't want you guys getting hurt, especially you," Rainbow Dash said as she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Applejack with a reassuring smile.

"Dash, we're a team. We face dangers together. You should tell the others about this. They'll understand," Applejack said reassuringly. Dash smiled before nodding. "I will, AJ," Dash said, smiling, as she knew that she was going to have to confront her friends and tell them the truth the next day.