The Battle of Food: A Story About Overcoming ARFID

Chapter Two

    After the lunch bell had rang, the girls began to gather their supplies together for class and said goodbye to each other. As they walked down the hallway, Applejack ran to catch up to Rainbow Dash. However, it was difficult since Rainbow Dash was fast, even when she wasn't using her super speed to give her an advantage. 

    "Rainbow Dash!" Applejack called. 

    Rainbow Dash stopped and turned to face her. "Oh, hey, AJ! What's up?" She furrowed her brow. "Did ya... need to tell me something that you didn't during lunch for some reason?" 

    Applejack rubbed the back of her head, nervously. "Well... yeah. That's just it, sugarcube. Ah need to ask ya something ah didn't want to bring up in front of the other girls. Ah... just didn't want to embarrass you is all." 

    "Okay?" Rainbow Dash said. "What is it?" 

    "Uh... so... is everything alright with your eating?"

    Rainbow Dash frowned and opened her mouth to respond, but she was promptly cut off by Applejack. 

    "Ah know that you're probably annoyed by that question by now with Twilight pestering you about it during lunch," Applejack continued. "But... it's clear to me that you keep getting thinner and thinner by the day and... it gets me worrying about ya." 

    Rainbow Dash's gaze softened, but she just shrugged. "AJ... I'm perfectly fine. I have no idea why I keep getting thinner. I just eat the things that I like and that's all there is to it."

     "Ya promise? It ain't anorexia or bulimia or anything like that?"

     "Uh... no," Rainbow Dash replied. "I like to eat stuff. Food tastes good, but... um... I only eat the food on my terms." 

     Applejack placed a finger on her chin. "Hmmmm... what exactly do you eat, Rainbow Dash? Vegetables? Fruits? What else?" 

     "Um... I like some types of bread," Rainbow Dash said. "But... usually only the types that aren't as chewy like French bread." 

      "Is... that all?" Applejack asked, her eyebrows raising in surprise. 

     Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Um... yeah. Pretty much." 

    Applejack began to pace the floor, doing math in her head as if she were Twilight Sparkle. She wouldn't normally be this concerned about the specifics, but the total amount of calories that Rainbow Dash was getting mattered to her. "Well... considering most fruits and vegetables are about 50-100 calories and French bread at the market in our town is usually about 140 per slice..." She paused. "How many meals do you have in a day, Rainbow?"  

      "Like... three? Plus snacks? Like everybody else." 

     "Okay, so 100 x 3 would be 300," Applejack muttered to herself. "And then some snacks might be an extra 100? That depends on what she has for a snack though. Maybe-"

     Rainbow Dash cut her off. "AJ, you're hardcore Twilight-ing right now. Just saying."

     "Ah am not!" Applejack insisted. "Ah'm... ah'm just worried about ya." 

      Rainbow Dash nudged her, playfully. "Aw, as sappy as that is, AJ, I'm glad that you care so much. But I'm fine, I promise. How many calories does a human need in a day? Like, 500?"

     "Uh... probably more around 2000," Applejack replied. 

     Rainbow Dash darted her eyes around. "Whoa, I literally had no idea humans needed to eat that much." She shrugged. "Maybe I am getting that many. Who knows, right?"