Sundered Skiesby GTPGuyChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1"Alright Rainbow, you can do this. Not afraid of anything, right? This'll be easy!" The cyan pegasus kicked the door of her cloud home open, and picked up a bouquet of flowers, before flying towards the Apple family farm. **** "Hey Rainbow Dash, what's up?" Silence greeted the words as the young filly saw her idol laying on a cloud far away from town. In an abrupt blur of motion, the previously silent pegasus whirled away from the speaker and spread her wings, preparing to take flight. "Rainbow?" The panicked blue pegasus had bolted away from her supposed assailant, and was quite far away before she realized who it was. Her eyes looked anywhere but the orange and purple filly that so idolized her, and her disheveled mane hung loose around her head. "Sorry Scoots, I just... I... I gotta go. I'll be back in... I'll be back later." And with that, she launched off the cloud and flew at top speed towards the Everfree Forest. **** "Ah'm the Element of Honesty. Ah ain't goin ta lie to mah friends! Ah don't see why tellin the gosh-darn truth is so bad!" "You really didn't think it might have been a good idea to say you just weren't interested? That maybe, just maybe, insulting and hurting her for what she is might have been a bad idea?" "It's not like ah wanted this to happen! But like I said, ah will not lie to mah friends!" "Sometimes you fit the stereotypical farmpony awfully well, AJ. Spike, please send a letter to Princess Celestia explaining the problem. Tell her that we're searching for her immediately and we would appreciate any help she could give us. Then make sure that AJ doesn't leave the library, please." "What the hay! Twilight ah'm sorry that I offended anypony, but this is downright-" "We do not need Rainbow Dash running more. You would only make the situation worse." "Twilight ah'm sorry alright!" "Save it for the pony that needs to hear it, AJ!" And with that, a purple flash illuminated the room and Twilight left. **** 'STUPID! STUPID BUCKING RAINBOW CRASH! There's another busted town! When the buck am I going to learn! Nopony could ever like a bucking screwup like me!' The multicolor pegasus flew through the air, her tears blending with the blinding rain that poured down on her. The torrential downpour was terrible for flying in, and she was forced to fly extremely close to the trees in order to avoid the fearsome winds higher up. The occasional whip-thin branch would hit her wings, but were easily batted away by the powerful strokes of Rainbow's wings. Her anger and fear fueled her flight, and she rocketed through the air as she desperately put distance between herself and the terror that awaited her in Ponyville. Unfortunately for the rainbow-maned pegasus, a particularly thick branch had entered her flight path unseen and tore at her flank, leaving a bloody rainbow trail behind her as she spiraled into the ground. **** "Hey Rainbow! Who do you have a crush on?" "Oh, uhm, well..." The blue pegasus fidgeted uncomfortably. "Come onnnn Rainbow, spill it! You're the last one to go, everypony else said who they like! Don't be a wimp! It couldn't possibly be more embarrassing than Wind Kicker liking Firefeather!" "Uh, well, if you say so... I, uh, I like... Fluttershy." The last word was barely more than a whisper, and Rainbow's multicolor mane swung as she looked at her friends fearfully. "Rainbow, you do know that Fluttershy is a mare, right?" "Uhm... yes... does that matter?" A few ponies snickered at this. "You're also a mare Rainbow..." The blue pegasus' hoof stamped against the cloud floor the group currently rested on. "Yeah, i know that! So what? Why does it matter?" More laughter broke out. "You know, she was probably destined to be a fillyfooler with a mane like that!" "Haha yeah! What a weirdo! Figures she would like Fluttershy, they can have a loser party!" Tears sprang unbidden to Rainbow's eyes, and she flew away from the gathering of pegasi, her tiny wings working hard to take her somewhere she could be safe. Her pitiful sobs echoed throughout the sky as the laughter roared in her ears. **** "Hey Rainbow Crash, leaving so soon? Don't you want to hang out with us?" A trio of colts ascended after the cyan pegasus, chasing the younger mare down. They quickly caught up to her, and surrounded her with ease. "P-p... Please... Please stop" said Rainbow, her voice as quiet as it could possibly be and still let the colts hear her. "Oh, why didn't you ask before? We just needed you to be a pathetic foal!" Rainbow's head snapped up as she looked at the pegasus in front of her, only to be met by a pair of hooves to the muzzle. A loud crunch echoed through they sky, followed by a wail of pain from the mare. A crack came next as one of the colts on her flank slammed a hoof into her ribs, driving the breath from her lungs and breaking at least one bone. The colts didn't let up as Rainbow desperately flew towards the cloud house in the distance. Hoofblows rained down on her body, and the colts laughed as the pitiful pegasus took blow after blow. By the time that Rainbow made it home, she was nearly blind in a mixture of blood and tears from the repeated strikes to her body. She collapsed on the porch of her father's cloud house, her coat stained with blood and her body cut and bruised all over the place. "Aww, how disappointing. You made it to the safe zone! Lucky you! Howsabout we give you some incentive to stay away from all the normal pegasi and keep your fillyfooling to yourself?" And with that, a hoof struck each of Rainbow's wings, breaking them quite cleanly. "You better hope we don't see you for a while, fillyfooler." She didn't even make it to the door before she fell into darkness **** Rainbow Dash struggled to her hooves, her eyes watering as her body blasted her with pain. She walked to the door of her cloud-house, agony coming to her with every step. She pushed the door open as gently as she could. "Who the buck are you?" Rainbow asked, her confusion clearly evident even through the bandages that covered most of her face. "Wow, they really did a number on you didn't they... Name's Gilda. I'm surprised you don't recognize me, seeing as how I'm the only griffon in camp." "I... I don't really..." Rainbow shuffled backwards from the griffon. "I mean, uh, I'm not really a..." The griffon let out a sharp laugh. "Don't worry about the rumors kiddo, I don't care about stuff like that. I just came in to check on you, seeing as how you haven't showed up for a few days. And I think I can guess why-being wrapped in bandages is a pretty big clue, neh?" The pegasus just looked down in shame. "Agh, you're not very spirited are you? C'mon kid, you've got some serious talent. You just need to learn how to use it." Rainbow looked up in fear. "I'm not going back..." Gilda stepped in and poked at one of Rainbow's admittedly few unbandaged areas with a claw. "Kid, you can't just run away from it. You were trying to survive in a hostile environment on your own and you didn't even fight back. I mean really, did you think about that at all? You'll be fine once you've healed a little bit-you can stick with me." Gilda gave Rainbow a closer look. "Buck kid, who did your bandages? They really could stand to learn a lot." "Uh, I did..." "Not one of your parents?" Silence was the only answer from Rainbow. "Bucking hell kid. You must be having a really tough time. Here, want me to redo the bandages?" Rainbow nodded, and as she walked away to the bathroom, a smile graced her muzzle for the first time in a long time. Chapter 2"Oh, my dear Twilight! You look absolutely frazzled! Atrocious, even! You could most definitely use a makeover darling!" "There's no time!" "What do you mean, there's no time? Surely there's time for fash-" "According to Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash flew into the Everfree Forest, and she wasn't in a very stable emotional state. We need to go find her!" "Of all the things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSI-" Rarity was cut off again as Twilight's magic enveloped her. "NO. TIME. I need you to gather up some search parties to look for her. No makeovers, no crying. We need to find her fast." Rarity was visibly shaken when Twilight returned her to the ground, the urgency in the purple unicorn's voice finally reaching through to Rarity's mind. "O-of course Twilight! Whatever I can do to help my dear friend!" "Good. I'm going to try and use a tracking spell to find her, but that storm and it being the Everfree forest... We'll need everypony that can to lend some eyes." And with her mission complete, Twilight teleported away once more. **** "Zecora? Twilight? Fluttershy?" Rainbow was struck by a coughing fit, and her wound sent a blaze of agony through her flank. "Anypony? Please?" Unfortunately for Rainbow, however, her desperate pleas were left unheard as a wall of darkness came over her once again. **** "Twiliiight! Twilight open up!" cried Rainbow as she slammed her hoof against the library door. A bleary-eyed, still half-asleep unicorn opened the door with a purple glow. "What's the matter Rainbow? Why, exactly, are you in such a hurry right after dawn to get into the library?" The bright blue pegasus rubbed her forehooves together nervously. "It wasn't my idea, I swear! Pinke said we should replace some of the apples on one of AJ's trees with balloons filled with paint and-" Eyebrow arched, an irritated tone found its way into Twilight's next statement. "So one of your silly pranks got you in trouble, did it? Took long enough..." and the purple unicorn started to close the door. Unfortunately, Rainbow had the presence (or lack) of mind to stick herself in between the magically swinging door and the doorframe. She wheezed as the heavy oak door slammed into her body. "Pleease Twilight!" "Ugh. Celestia knows why I go through this much trouble for my friends." said Twilight, rolling her eyes and reluctantly allowing Rainbow Dash inside. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" the pegasus exclaimed, giving the tired unicorn a fierce hug. After a brief moment, Twilight broke the hug with a slight blush on her face. She waved the vibrant prankster off and began to head back upstairs to her bed. "Don't worry about it. You can stay here however long you need, just try not to break anything. I'm going back to sleep, because someponies wait until sensical times to get up." **** It was raining. Not an unusual occurrence around Equestria, but for one rainbow-colored pegasus, it was special indeed. Of course, nopony knew it besides her, but it was still enough to bring a smile to her muzzle. "Ah gotta say Rainbow, ah don't know what ah would do without your rainstorms. Those other pegasi just weren't able to get the rain as well spread across the farm as you do." "Well, you know, I do take extra care for my friends... And I'm awesome!" "Ah just want you to know that ah'm grateful for your efforts RD. Wouldn't want none of mah friends feeling unappreciated." Rainbow's muzzle briefly flashed crimson. "Don't worry about it AJ! Helping you is its own reward!" **** "Hey Twilight!" The unicorn inside the library turned towards the open window right next to her. "Yes Rai-" "Over here!" She twisted her head, facing the complete opposite part of the massive tree, catching sight of a vibrant, multicolor mane as it whisked through the air. "Uhh... Rainbow?" "Haha, over he-dang it!" Rainbow exclaimed as she saw the unamused librarian staring at her. Improvising, she quickly dashed through the window and tapped Twilight on the head. "You're it!" A fierce grin lit the muzzle of the cyan pegasus, and she flew away from the flustered unicorn. "Really Rainbow?" The only response was a tongue poking out from the pegasus. Of course, she forgot that it was actually a unicorn trained in magic that she was trying to keep away from. "AGH! That's cheating!" The best young flier's limbs flailed as she struggled against Twilight's power, but the student of Princess Celestia didn't allow her quarry to escape. She trapped the pegasus in place and hit her gently on the head, before launching Rainbow out the very window she entered from. "Hey wait what are you-AGH!" Twilight allowed herself a small, satisfied, grin as the pegasus scrambled valiantly to stabilize herself. Closing the windows with a brief burst of magic, she turned and sat back down at her desk. It was then that a large, obnoxious, logic-defying in length flatulent noise echoed throughout the library. "PINKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" **** "Fluttershy!" "EEEP!" The buttery-yellow pegasus dived underneath a weathered wooden table, quaking in fear. "Fluttershy it's just me, Twilight!" "Oh... Sorry Twilight, you just scared me a little bit-I thought maybe you were-you were Nightmare Moon!" "Ugh. Fluttershy she's back to normal now, she's just Princess Luna. Anyways, I need to know if you've seen Rainbow Dash at all recently." Fluttershy rubbed her forehooves together nervously. "Well, I mean, uhm, I saw her flying a little while ago, but, well, I was feeding the animals so I didn't really pay attention did I do something wrong? I'm really sorry..." The purple unicorn smiled comfortingly at her friend. "Don't worry about it Fluttershy. I just have something that I need from you." "Oh what is it? I'd love to help!" "Do you know where Gilda is?" Fluttershy took a few steps backwards, shrinking in to the corner of her house as though she was being attacked. "W-well, uhm, I might have, uhm, a few ideas about where she is..." "Fluttershy listen to me. We need Gilda-Dash is having a bit of... an emotional crisis, and it would be good if we had one of her old friends around to help her once she gets back. I don't care what's been happening between you and Gilda-we just need her help right now. Please." Fluttershy's pink mane fell over her face as she cowered from the passionate purple unicorn. "Well, uhm, we haven't really talked, I just kind of have seen her arou-" "Fluttershy! We need to be fast! I don't need to know the specifics of what you and Gilda have or haven't been doing... I just need you to tell Gilda that Rainbow was in an... emotionally damaged? unstable? Ugh, just tell her Rainbow wasn't looking too good last time she was seen and then please go look for her-we need everypony's help right now." "Oh yes of course, I'll go look for her right away Twilight! Oh, um, I mean I'l look for Gilda-Not that I won't look for Rainbow! It's just you asked me to find Gilda so I'll look for her first! But I don't not care about Rainbow!" The skittish pegasus was running out of breath as she tried to explain what she meant-she gave an apologetic look to Twilight, and squeaked out a barely audible "Sorry, I'll get going now" before heading for the door. "Thanks Fluttershy. Hopefully nothing too bad's going to happen to Rainbow... I'd better get searching too, in any case." The purple unicorn followed her friend out the door, and began a long trek on foot into the Everfree forest, her eyes and ears open for any sign of the rainbow pegasus.. Chapter 3Fluttershy walked steadily through the Everfree Forest, keeping her head behind her rose-colored mane. She stared at the ground intently, her eyes swinging left and right as she observed the terrain around her. It wasn't long before she came upon what she was looking for-a single white feather lay discarded on the ground, bent and broken. A few more steps, and a deep furrow decorated the trunk of a nearby tree. A few more steps, and claw marks were clearly evident in the ground around the pegasus, even through the mud that decorated the forest floor. Fluttershy stopped walking, and her abrupt halt caused a slight disturbance in the branches above her. Her ears, fine-tuned to the noises made by animals, quickly alerted her to the fact that these noises were not ones that would've been made by the fierce storm that currently howled through the wild forest. The delicate pegasus coughed gently, uncovering her face slowly and looking up towards the source of the disturbance. "Uhm, Gilda? Are you there?" An abrupt, crackling thunder was unleashed as a terrifyingly large shape plunged through the branches that kept Fluttershy from seeing her. Gilda's voice was rather flat-Fluttershy could find no emotion in her voice or her eyes. "What do you want?" said the griffon, striding forward until her beak was mere inches away from the pegasi's eyes. A squeak emerged from Fluttershy and she scrambled backwards. "Oh, well, uhm, uh, we, we kind of, uhm, needyourhelp!" The pegasus was now quaking in fear, her mane taking up its customary position that obstructed anyone's sight of her face. Gilda laughed loudly, her voice cracking like the snapping of branches through the small clearing the two currently occupied. "Your hero Rainbow Dash made it abundantly clear that she didn't need me around anymore!" "Oh, uhm, yes, uhm I know that, but, well, uhm, this is kind of about Rainbow Dash. I don't really, uhm, know the details, but, uh, she kind of needs you right now I think." And despite what Gilda tried to show, what Fluttershy said still caused an icy dagger to make its way into Gilda's heart. "What the buck do you mean she kind of needs me?" shouted Gilda, her eyes pouring anger at the pegasus that cowered before her. "She doesn't need me! She got rid of me! She ditched me like I was a bucking Wonderbolt hater!" "Uhm, I'm sorry about that Gilda but, uhm, that really isn't our fault and, uhm, well, we really think it would be best if you helped us." "Yeah, that would be a bucking great plan, given that Dash HATES me! You're out of your mind if you think I should help her!" The griffon's amber eyes were brimming with tears and she abruptly closed them, closing herself off from the pegasus in front of her once more. **** "Dash? DASH!" A choked sob escaped the griffon, her throat constricting and her eyes tearing. She quickly blinked away the tears, temporarily ignoring the prone and motionless pegasus that so scratched at her heart. Instead, she turned her eyes to the gaggle of pegasi that stood, silent and accusatory, around the two lonely fliers. "WHICH ONE OF YOU BUCKERS DID THIS?" screamed Gilda, her wings flaring in a display of aggression and strength that no pony could match. She vibrated with the intense cocktail of rage and sadness that currently occupied her bloodstream, and she could hardly keep her brain on track as she hunted for the ones that had hurt Rainbow. A single pegasus stepped forward, his trepidation evident. "Well, none of us here did this, honestly." When he saw the darts of rage still being shot at him through the eyes of the griffon he dared confront, he did a slight back-trot. "No, really! She kind of-well, she kind of limped out from the alley over there-" indicating the aforementioned location with a slight dip of his head, "and then ended up laying down like you can see." The griffon looked at the assembled ponies with disgust. "And none of you thought to help her? Bucking idiots!" And with those parting words, Gilda scooped her multicolored friend up gently in her talons and flew towards the Cloudsdale Hospital. ~~A short while later~~ Gilda lay on the floor uncomfortably-as she had grown accustomed to, a pony city wasn't accustomed to griffon residents and didn't have any kind of furniture suitable for "her kind", as the nurse had so kindly put it. And despite the fact that she was the sole occupant of the only piece of furniture that the griffon could even fit in, Gilda was not the slightest bit jealous of the rainbow-maned pegasus that lay in the bed, breathing in a deceptively peaceful manner. The randomly spiking machine (which Gilda would be the first to admit she didn't understand at all), and the extremely tensed-up nurse that waited in the corner of the room in case of any kind of... dangerous malfuctions... happened to the currently resting pegasus in front of her, were the only clues that Gilda had that her charge was still in trouble. She reached out with one claw, gently resting it on Rainbow's cloth-sheltered leg, looking at the pegasi's bright blue eyelids. "Dash... you better be okay..." And Gilda's eyelids found a strange desire to mirror the ones that were directly in her sight-line, and she drifted into sleep.... And when the blue pegasus finally cracked her eyes open, it was to the sight of the griffon trembling on the ground-her claws scratching at the floor with fearsome strength, and her feathers rustling as she drifted through what Dash presumed was a troubling memory. It took a few moments for her to realize that she was all hooked up to some machines and that this, in fact, wasn't the house that Dash had been left in (and subsequently shared with the very same griffon currently on the floor). Disoriented, the pegasus swung her head around in a slight panic. It wasn't until she caught sight of the nurse in the corner of the room, sleeping lightly enough to blend into the background, that she realized where she was. Dash didn't try to escape the cloth confines that she was currently stuck in out of fear of upsetting the hospital staff, and instead let out the shoutiest whisper she could muster in Gilda's direction. "Gilda! Hey! Gildaaaa! Gilda, wake up! Gilda?" **** "Gilda?" The gentle pegasus was concerned-the griffon in front of her hadn't reopened her eyes for nearly a minute now, and tears were leaking out and blending with the rain that dripped down on the two winged beings. "Gilda? Do you, uhm, want to talk?" "NO! Jus-Just go, alright!" came the strangled cry of a response. Fluttershy quickly began to shift into her motherly-love mode. "Gilda, I'm here for you... We are all willing to help you my dear..." "You don't get it! Just go! I'll help you find Dash, alright? Happy? Just don't-" Gilda's voice cracked. "Don't expect me to be happy with ANY of you if she's been hurt. You better not have hurt my Dash-" Gilda sobbed angrily once, before taking to the skies and leaving a thoroughly saddened Fluttershy in her wake. The yellow pegasus scuffed her hoof in the mud gently, before setting off in the search for Dash as well, her heart filled with concern for the unhappy griffon that she had just confronted. **** "Ze-corrrrrr-a!" "Ah, young Applebloom-you are far from the farm! What is the cause of your alarm?" "Well see Scootaloo wanted to go talk to Rainbow Dash but Rainbow Dash was sad and then she left and Scootaloo didn't know why so she was worried so we decided to become Cutie Mark Crusaders Search and Rescue and we started to look for Rainbow and then we split up so we could search for Rainbow better and I decided to come here because you have magic potions and please help!" Applebloom took a deep breath after her panicked speech, her eyes wide as she awaited a response from the mysterious zebra. "So it is the rainbow pegasus you seek?" Applebloom nodded energetically. Zecora reached up to one of the shelves and grabbed a luminescent blue potion. "Perhaps this potion will give you a peek..." The bottle was uncorked and poured into the stony cauldron, the liquid swirling and bubbling as it slowly resolved itself into an image that horrified the two. "Zecora do you know where that is? We need to go fast!" cried Applebloom. "Indeed I do, unfortunately your friend is close to the grave. We will need some potions, bandages, and likely some magic, if her life we are to save." The zebra quickly gathered a handful of supplies, tossed them in a saddlebag, and galloped out into the forest, Applebloom hot on her heels. **** Scootaloo was moving fast. Her wings were flapping as fast as she could make them, and she was barely able to dodge all the brush that got in her way. Her eyes tracked back and forth, searching for the telltale rainbow that would give away Rainbow Dash's location, and blinked back tears as she sought her idol. It was a long ride, but she entered a small clearing and saw her-the coolest pegasus in the world, sleeping on the forest floor... Sleeping... in a pool of blood? The filly stopped abruptly, her stomach rebelling and expelling the small apple pie that she had for lunch. She abandoned the scooter and hastily ran towards the fallen pegasus. Scootaloo buried her head in Rainbow's mane, tears leaking relentlessly from her eyes and sobs escaping her muzzle. "Rainbow... please wake up! Rainbow you can't leave me!" The cyan pegasus cracked a single eye open, her entire body aching. She had just enough strength to lift her head, staring at the crying filly next to her. A series of coughs escaped her, rattling her body and sending sharp pain spiking through her nervous system. "Man Scoots, what are you doing here? This is a rather-" another few coughs came from the cyan pegasus. "A rather sorry state for you to see me in." She gently extended her wing over the sobbing filly, wincing slightly as she discovered that the bones in the wing had taken a serious pounding. "We, we were" the filly sniffed, "Cutie Mark Crusaders... Search and Rescue... We didn't think you would actually... need it... But you can't go! How am I supposed to be a great pegasus without you?" Rainbow Dash smiled at the young filly under her wing, even as her head slammed back into the ground with a meaty thunk. "You don't really need me to be great Scoots... You're already a fantastic pegasus..." And the half-open eye of the filly's idol closed, and she went silent, re-entering a feverish land of memory and dreams.
Chapter 1"Alright Rainbow, you can do this. Not afraid of anything, right? This'll be easy!" The cyan pegasus kicked the door of her cloud home open, and picked up a bouquet of flowers, before flying towards the Apple family farm. **** "Hey Rainbow Dash, what's up?" Silence greeted the words as the young filly saw her idol laying on a cloud far away from town. In an abrupt blur of motion, the previously silent pegasus whirled away from the speaker and spread her wings, preparing to take flight. "Rainbow?" The panicked blue pegasus had bolted away from her supposed assailant, and was quite far away before she realized who it was. Her eyes looked anywhere but the orange and purple filly that so idolized her, and her disheveled mane hung loose around her head. "Sorry Scoots, I just... I... I gotta go. I'll be back in... I'll be back later." And with that, she launched off the cloud and flew at top speed towards the Everfree Forest. **** "Ah'm the Element of Honesty. Ah ain't goin ta lie to mah friends! Ah don't see why tellin the gosh-darn truth is so bad!" "You really didn't think it might have been a good idea to say you just weren't interested? That maybe, just maybe, insulting and hurting her for what she is might have been a bad idea?" "It's not like ah wanted this to happen! But like I said, ah will not lie to mah friends!" "Sometimes you fit the stereotypical farmpony awfully well, AJ. Spike, please send a letter to Princess Celestia explaining the problem. Tell her that we're searching for her immediately and we would appreciate any help she could give us. Then make sure that AJ doesn't leave the library, please." "What the hay! Twilight ah'm sorry that I offended anypony, but this is downright-" "We do not need Rainbow Dash running more. You would only make the situation worse." "Twilight ah'm sorry alright!" "Save it for the pony that needs to hear it, AJ!" And with that, a purple flash illuminated the room and Twilight left. **** 'STUPID! STUPID BUCKING RAINBOW CRASH! There's another busted town! When the buck am I going to learn! Nopony could ever like a bucking screwup like me!' The multicolor pegasus flew through the air, her tears blending with the blinding rain that poured down on her. The torrential downpour was terrible for flying in, and she was forced to fly extremely close to the trees in order to avoid the fearsome winds higher up. The occasional whip-thin branch would hit her wings, but were easily batted away by the powerful strokes of Rainbow's wings. Her anger and fear fueled her flight, and she rocketed through the air as she desperately put distance between herself and the terror that awaited her in Ponyville. Unfortunately for the rainbow-maned pegasus, a particularly thick branch had entered her flight path unseen and tore at her flank, leaving a bloody rainbow trail behind her as she spiraled into the ground. **** "Hey Rainbow! Who do you have a crush on?" "Oh, uhm, well..." The blue pegasus fidgeted uncomfortably. "Come onnnn Rainbow, spill it! You're the last one to go, everypony else said who they like! Don't be a wimp! It couldn't possibly be more embarrassing than Wind Kicker liking Firefeather!" "Uh, well, if you say so... I, uh, I like... Fluttershy." The last word was barely more than a whisper, and Rainbow's multicolor mane swung as she looked at her friends fearfully. "Rainbow, you do know that Fluttershy is a mare, right?" "Uhm... yes... does that matter?" A few ponies snickered at this. "You're also a mare Rainbow..." The blue pegasus' hoof stamped against the cloud floor the group currently rested on. "Yeah, i know that! So what? Why does it matter?" More laughter broke out. "You know, she was probably destined to be a fillyfooler with a mane like that!" "Haha yeah! What a weirdo! Figures she would like Fluttershy, they can have a loser party!" Tears sprang unbidden to Rainbow's eyes, and she flew away from the gathering of pegasi, her tiny wings working hard to take her somewhere she could be safe. Her pitiful sobs echoed throughout the sky as the laughter roared in her ears. **** "Hey Rainbow Crash, leaving so soon? Don't you want to hang out with us?" A trio of colts ascended after the cyan pegasus, chasing the younger mare down. They quickly caught up to her, and surrounded her with ease. "P-p... Please... Please stop" said Rainbow, her voice as quiet as it could possibly be and still let the colts hear her. "Oh, why didn't you ask before? We just needed you to be a pathetic foal!" Rainbow's head snapped up as she looked at the pegasus in front of her, only to be met by a pair of hooves to the muzzle. A loud crunch echoed through they sky, followed by a wail of pain from the mare. A crack came next as one of the colts on her flank slammed a hoof into her ribs, driving the breath from her lungs and breaking at least one bone. The colts didn't let up as Rainbow desperately flew towards the cloud house in the distance. Hoofblows rained down on her body, and the colts laughed as the pitiful pegasus took blow after blow. By the time that Rainbow made it home, she was nearly blind in a mixture of blood and tears from the repeated strikes to her body. She collapsed on the porch of her father's cloud house, her coat stained with blood and her body cut and bruised all over the place. "Aww, how disappointing. You made it to the safe zone! Lucky you! Howsabout we give you some incentive to stay away from all the normal pegasi and keep your fillyfooling to yourself?" And with that, a hoof struck each of Rainbow's wings, breaking them quite cleanly. "You better hope we don't see you for a while, fillyfooler." She didn't even make it to the door before she fell into darkness **** Rainbow Dash struggled to her hooves, her eyes watering as her body blasted her with pain. She walked to the door of her cloud-house, agony coming to her with every step. She pushed the door open as gently as she could. "Who the buck are you?" Rainbow asked, her confusion clearly evident even through the bandages that covered most of her face. "Wow, they really did a number on you didn't they... Name's Gilda. I'm surprised you don't recognize me, seeing as how I'm the only griffon in camp." "I... I don't really..." Rainbow shuffled backwards from the griffon. "I mean, uh, I'm not really a..." The griffon let out a sharp laugh. "Don't worry about the rumors kiddo, I don't care about stuff like that. I just came in to check on you, seeing as how you haven't showed up for a few days. And I think I can guess why-being wrapped in bandages is a pretty big clue, neh?" The pegasus just looked down in shame. "Agh, you're not very spirited are you? C'mon kid, you've got some serious talent. You just need to learn how to use it." Rainbow looked up in fear. "I'm not going back..." Gilda stepped in and poked at one of Rainbow's admittedly few unbandaged areas with a claw. "Kid, you can't just run away from it. You were trying to survive in a hostile environment on your own and you didn't even fight back. I mean really, did you think about that at all? You'll be fine once you've healed a little bit-you can stick with me." Gilda gave Rainbow a closer look. "Buck kid, who did your bandages? They really could stand to learn a lot." "Uh, I did..." "Not one of your parents?" Silence was the only answer from Rainbow. "Bucking hell kid. You must be having a really tough time. Here, want me to redo the bandages?" Rainbow nodded, and as she walked away to the bathroom, a smile graced her muzzle for the first time in a long time.
Chapter 2"Oh, my dear Twilight! You look absolutely frazzled! Atrocious, even! You could most definitely use a makeover darling!" "There's no time!" "What do you mean, there's no time? Surely there's time for fash-" "According to Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash flew into the Everfree Forest, and she wasn't in a very stable emotional state. We need to go find her!" "Of all the things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSI-" Rarity was cut off again as Twilight's magic enveloped her. "NO. TIME. I need you to gather up some search parties to look for her. No makeovers, no crying. We need to find her fast." Rarity was visibly shaken when Twilight returned her to the ground, the urgency in the purple unicorn's voice finally reaching through to Rarity's mind. "O-of course Twilight! Whatever I can do to help my dear friend!" "Good. I'm going to try and use a tracking spell to find her, but that storm and it being the Everfree forest... We'll need everypony that can to lend some eyes." And with her mission complete, Twilight teleported away once more. **** "Zecora? Twilight? Fluttershy?" Rainbow was struck by a coughing fit, and her wound sent a blaze of agony through her flank. "Anypony? Please?" Unfortunately for Rainbow, however, her desperate pleas were left unheard as a wall of darkness came over her once again. **** "Twiliiight! Twilight open up!" cried Rainbow as she slammed her hoof against the library door. A bleary-eyed, still half-asleep unicorn opened the door with a purple glow. "What's the matter Rainbow? Why, exactly, are you in such a hurry right after dawn to get into the library?" The bright blue pegasus rubbed her forehooves together nervously. "It wasn't my idea, I swear! Pinke said we should replace some of the apples on one of AJ's trees with balloons filled with paint and-" Eyebrow arched, an irritated tone found its way into Twilight's next statement. "So one of your silly pranks got you in trouble, did it? Took long enough..." and the purple unicorn started to close the door. Unfortunately, Rainbow had the presence (or lack) of mind to stick herself in between the magically swinging door and the doorframe. She wheezed as the heavy oak door slammed into her body. "Pleease Twilight!" "Ugh. Celestia knows why I go through this much trouble for my friends." said Twilight, rolling her eyes and reluctantly allowing Rainbow Dash inside. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" the pegasus exclaimed, giving the tired unicorn a fierce hug. After a brief moment, Twilight broke the hug with a slight blush on her face. She waved the vibrant prankster off and began to head back upstairs to her bed. "Don't worry about it. You can stay here however long you need, just try not to break anything. I'm going back to sleep, because someponies wait until sensical times to get up." **** It was raining. Not an unusual occurrence around Equestria, but for one rainbow-colored pegasus, it was special indeed. Of course, nopony knew it besides her, but it was still enough to bring a smile to her muzzle. "Ah gotta say Rainbow, ah don't know what ah would do without your rainstorms. Those other pegasi just weren't able to get the rain as well spread across the farm as you do." "Well, you know, I do take extra care for my friends... And I'm awesome!" "Ah just want you to know that ah'm grateful for your efforts RD. Wouldn't want none of mah friends feeling unappreciated." Rainbow's muzzle briefly flashed crimson. "Don't worry about it AJ! Helping you is its own reward!" **** "Hey Twilight!" The unicorn inside the library turned towards the open window right next to her. "Yes Rai-" "Over here!" She twisted her head, facing the complete opposite part of the massive tree, catching sight of a vibrant, multicolor mane as it whisked through the air. "Uhh... Rainbow?" "Haha, over he-dang it!" Rainbow exclaimed as she saw the unamused librarian staring at her. Improvising, she quickly dashed through the window and tapped Twilight on the head. "You're it!" A fierce grin lit the muzzle of the cyan pegasus, and she flew away from the flustered unicorn. "Really Rainbow?" The only response was a tongue poking out from the pegasus. Of course, she forgot that it was actually a unicorn trained in magic that she was trying to keep away from. "AGH! That's cheating!" The best young flier's limbs flailed as she struggled against Twilight's power, but the student of Princess Celestia didn't allow her quarry to escape. She trapped the pegasus in place and hit her gently on the head, before launching Rainbow out the very window she entered from. "Hey wait what are you-AGH!" Twilight allowed herself a small, satisfied, grin as the pegasus scrambled valiantly to stabilize herself. Closing the windows with a brief burst of magic, she turned and sat back down at her desk. It was then that a large, obnoxious, logic-defying in length flatulent noise echoed throughout the library. "PINKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" **** "Fluttershy!" "EEEP!" The buttery-yellow pegasus dived underneath a weathered wooden table, quaking in fear. "Fluttershy it's just me, Twilight!" "Oh... Sorry Twilight, you just scared me a little bit-I thought maybe you were-you were Nightmare Moon!" "Ugh. Fluttershy she's back to normal now, she's just Princess Luna. Anyways, I need to know if you've seen Rainbow Dash at all recently." Fluttershy rubbed her forehooves together nervously. "Well, I mean, uhm, I saw her flying a little while ago, but, well, I was feeding the animals so I didn't really pay attention did I do something wrong? I'm really sorry..." The purple unicorn smiled comfortingly at her friend. "Don't worry about it Fluttershy. I just have something that I need from you." "Oh what is it? I'd love to help!" "Do you know where Gilda is?" Fluttershy took a few steps backwards, shrinking in to the corner of her house as though she was being attacked. "W-well, uhm, I might have, uhm, a few ideas about where she is..." "Fluttershy listen to me. We need Gilda-Dash is having a bit of... an emotional crisis, and it would be good if we had one of her old friends around to help her once she gets back. I don't care what's been happening between you and Gilda-we just need her help right now. Please." Fluttershy's pink mane fell over her face as she cowered from the passionate purple unicorn. "Well, uhm, we haven't really talked, I just kind of have seen her arou-" "Fluttershy! We need to be fast! I don't need to know the specifics of what you and Gilda have or haven't been doing... I just need you to tell Gilda that Rainbow was in an... emotionally damaged? unstable? Ugh, just tell her Rainbow wasn't looking too good last time she was seen and then please go look for her-we need everypony's help right now." "Oh yes of course, I'll go look for her right away Twilight! Oh, um, I mean I'l look for Gilda-Not that I won't look for Rainbow! It's just you asked me to find Gilda so I'll look for her first! But I don't not care about Rainbow!" The skittish pegasus was running out of breath as she tried to explain what she meant-she gave an apologetic look to Twilight, and squeaked out a barely audible "Sorry, I'll get going now" before heading for the door. "Thanks Fluttershy. Hopefully nothing too bad's going to happen to Rainbow... I'd better get searching too, in any case." The purple unicorn followed her friend out the door, and began a long trek on foot into the Everfree forest, her eyes and ears open for any sign of the rainbow pegasus..
Chapter 3Fluttershy walked steadily through the Everfree Forest, keeping her head behind her rose-colored mane. She stared at the ground intently, her eyes swinging left and right as she observed the terrain around her. It wasn't long before she came upon what she was looking for-a single white feather lay discarded on the ground, bent and broken. A few more steps, and a deep furrow decorated the trunk of a nearby tree. A few more steps, and claw marks were clearly evident in the ground around the pegasus, even through the mud that decorated the forest floor. Fluttershy stopped walking, and her abrupt halt caused a slight disturbance in the branches above her. Her ears, fine-tuned to the noises made by animals, quickly alerted her to the fact that these noises were not ones that would've been made by the fierce storm that currently howled through the wild forest. The delicate pegasus coughed gently, uncovering her face slowly and looking up towards the source of the disturbance. "Uhm, Gilda? Are you there?" An abrupt, crackling thunder was unleashed as a terrifyingly large shape plunged through the branches that kept Fluttershy from seeing her. Gilda's voice was rather flat-Fluttershy could find no emotion in her voice or her eyes. "What do you want?" said the griffon, striding forward until her beak was mere inches away from the pegasi's eyes. A squeak emerged from Fluttershy and she scrambled backwards. "Oh, well, uhm, uh, we, we kind of, uhm, needyourhelp!" The pegasus was now quaking in fear, her mane taking up its customary position that obstructed anyone's sight of her face. Gilda laughed loudly, her voice cracking like the snapping of branches through the small clearing the two currently occupied. "Your hero Rainbow Dash made it abundantly clear that she didn't need me around anymore!" "Oh, uhm, yes, uhm I know that, but, well, uhm, this is kind of about Rainbow Dash. I don't really, uhm, know the details, but, uh, she kind of needs you right now I think." And despite what Gilda tried to show, what Fluttershy said still caused an icy dagger to make its way into Gilda's heart. "What the buck do you mean she kind of needs me?" shouted Gilda, her eyes pouring anger at the pegasus that cowered before her. "She doesn't need me! She got rid of me! She ditched me like I was a bucking Wonderbolt hater!" "Uhm, I'm sorry about that Gilda but, uhm, that really isn't our fault and, uhm, well, we really think it would be best if you helped us." "Yeah, that would be a bucking great plan, given that Dash HATES me! You're out of your mind if you think I should help her!" The griffon's amber eyes were brimming with tears and she abruptly closed them, closing herself off from the pegasus in front of her once more. **** "Dash? DASH!" A choked sob escaped the griffon, her throat constricting and her eyes tearing. She quickly blinked away the tears, temporarily ignoring the prone and motionless pegasus that so scratched at her heart. Instead, she turned her eyes to the gaggle of pegasi that stood, silent and accusatory, around the two lonely fliers. "WHICH ONE OF YOU BUCKERS DID THIS?" screamed Gilda, her wings flaring in a display of aggression and strength that no pony could match. She vibrated with the intense cocktail of rage and sadness that currently occupied her bloodstream, and she could hardly keep her brain on track as she hunted for the ones that had hurt Rainbow. A single pegasus stepped forward, his trepidation evident. "Well, none of us here did this, honestly." When he saw the darts of rage still being shot at him through the eyes of the griffon he dared confront, he did a slight back-trot. "No, really! She kind of-well, she kind of limped out from the alley over there-" indicating the aforementioned location with a slight dip of his head, "and then ended up laying down like you can see." The griffon looked at the assembled ponies with disgust. "And none of you thought to help her? Bucking idiots!" And with those parting words, Gilda scooped her multicolored friend up gently in her talons and flew towards the Cloudsdale Hospital. ~~A short while later~~ Gilda lay on the floor uncomfortably-as she had grown accustomed to, a pony city wasn't accustomed to griffon residents and didn't have any kind of furniture suitable for "her kind", as the nurse had so kindly put it. And despite the fact that she was the sole occupant of the only piece of furniture that the griffon could even fit in, Gilda was not the slightest bit jealous of the rainbow-maned pegasus that lay in the bed, breathing in a deceptively peaceful manner. The randomly spiking machine (which Gilda would be the first to admit she didn't understand at all), and the extremely tensed-up nurse that waited in the corner of the room in case of any kind of... dangerous malfuctions... happened to the currently resting pegasus in front of her, were the only clues that Gilda had that her charge was still in trouble. She reached out with one claw, gently resting it on Rainbow's cloth-sheltered leg, looking at the pegasi's bright blue eyelids. "Dash... you better be okay..." And Gilda's eyelids found a strange desire to mirror the ones that were directly in her sight-line, and she drifted into sleep.... And when the blue pegasus finally cracked her eyes open, it was to the sight of the griffon trembling on the ground-her claws scratching at the floor with fearsome strength, and her feathers rustling as she drifted through what Dash presumed was a troubling memory. It took a few moments for her to realize that she was all hooked up to some machines and that this, in fact, wasn't the house that Dash had been left in (and subsequently shared with the very same griffon currently on the floor). Disoriented, the pegasus swung her head around in a slight panic. It wasn't until she caught sight of the nurse in the corner of the room, sleeping lightly enough to blend into the background, that she realized where she was. Dash didn't try to escape the cloth confines that she was currently stuck in out of fear of upsetting the hospital staff, and instead let out the shoutiest whisper she could muster in Gilda's direction. "Gilda! Hey! Gildaaaa! Gilda, wake up! Gilda?" **** "Gilda?" The gentle pegasus was concerned-the griffon in front of her hadn't reopened her eyes for nearly a minute now, and tears were leaking out and blending with the rain that dripped down on the two winged beings. "Gilda? Do you, uhm, want to talk?" "NO! Jus-Just go, alright!" came the strangled cry of a response. Fluttershy quickly began to shift into her motherly-love mode. "Gilda, I'm here for you... We are all willing to help you my dear..." "You don't get it! Just go! I'll help you find Dash, alright? Happy? Just don't-" Gilda's voice cracked. "Don't expect me to be happy with ANY of you if she's been hurt. You better not have hurt my Dash-" Gilda sobbed angrily once, before taking to the skies and leaving a thoroughly saddened Fluttershy in her wake. The yellow pegasus scuffed her hoof in the mud gently, before setting off in the search for Dash as well, her heart filled with concern for the unhappy griffon that she had just confronted. **** "Ze-corrrrrr-a!" "Ah, young Applebloom-you are far from the farm! What is the cause of your alarm?" "Well see Scootaloo wanted to go talk to Rainbow Dash but Rainbow Dash was sad and then she left and Scootaloo didn't know why so she was worried so we decided to become Cutie Mark Crusaders Search and Rescue and we started to look for Rainbow and then we split up so we could search for Rainbow better and I decided to come here because you have magic potions and please help!" Applebloom took a deep breath after her panicked speech, her eyes wide as she awaited a response from the mysterious zebra. "So it is the rainbow pegasus you seek?" Applebloom nodded energetically. Zecora reached up to one of the shelves and grabbed a luminescent blue potion. "Perhaps this potion will give you a peek..." The bottle was uncorked and poured into the stony cauldron, the liquid swirling and bubbling as it slowly resolved itself into an image that horrified the two. "Zecora do you know where that is? We need to go fast!" cried Applebloom. "Indeed I do, unfortunately your friend is close to the grave. We will need some potions, bandages, and likely some magic, if her life we are to save." The zebra quickly gathered a handful of supplies, tossed them in a saddlebag, and galloped out into the forest, Applebloom hot on her heels. **** Scootaloo was moving fast. Her wings were flapping as fast as she could make them, and she was barely able to dodge all the brush that got in her way. Her eyes tracked back and forth, searching for the telltale rainbow that would give away Rainbow Dash's location, and blinked back tears as she sought her idol. It was a long ride, but she entered a small clearing and saw her-the coolest pegasus in the world, sleeping on the forest floor... Sleeping... in a pool of blood? The filly stopped abruptly, her stomach rebelling and expelling the small apple pie that she had for lunch. She abandoned the scooter and hastily ran towards the fallen pegasus. Scootaloo buried her head in Rainbow's mane, tears leaking relentlessly from her eyes and sobs escaping her muzzle. "Rainbow... please wake up! Rainbow you can't leave me!" The cyan pegasus cracked a single eye open, her entire body aching. She had just enough strength to lift her head, staring at the crying filly next to her. A series of coughs escaped her, rattling her body and sending sharp pain spiking through her nervous system. "Man Scoots, what are you doing here? This is a rather-" another few coughs came from the cyan pegasus. "A rather sorry state for you to see me in." She gently extended her wing over the sobbing filly, wincing slightly as she discovered that the bones in the wing had taken a serious pounding. "We, we were" the filly sniffed, "Cutie Mark Crusaders... Search and Rescue... We didn't think you would actually... need it... But you can't go! How am I supposed to be a great pegasus without you?" Rainbow Dash smiled at the young filly under her wing, even as her head slammed back into the ground with a meaty thunk. "You don't really need me to be great Scoots... You're already a fantastic pegasus..." And the half-open eye of the filly's idol closed, and she went silent, re-entering a feverish land of memory and dreams.
