Rescued by a Rainbow

Chapters

All My Fault
Rainbows Across the Horizon
Breakfast(, Lunch, and Dinner)
A Change of Pace
Cracks
Enter. Exit. Escape.
Frantically Continue Escaping

All My Fault

Cloudsdale. The floating city was well-known by ponies all over Equestria. It had an honorable reputation among the other cities in the region, and its pegasi were respected for their fine flying skills. In fact, the city was held in the highest regard, even sometimes being compared to the royal city of Canterlot. It was for this reason that a large, rust-colored stallion now lived in the cloud city with his wife, a thin, dark grey pony with a very long white mane. Their small one-story home had recently become even more cramped with the anticipation of a new member to the family. Despite this, both parents were thrilled to have their own colt to raise, confident that they were now the proud parents of a future Wonderbolt. He would be tall, handsome, well-mannered (thanks to his parents, of course) and most of all, a terrific flyer. Unfortunately for them, one significant problem arose with these high hopes...

"Well, congratulations! It's a beautiful little filly!" A doctor turned to the father with a smile on his face, carefully holding a tiny grey pegasus in his arms. He caught an eager look on the stallion's face, but it quickly faded into disappointment.

"What? No, that can't be right. We're supposed to have a colt." He stared at the doctor expectantly, who blinked in confusion.

"I-I'm not entirely sure what you mean," the doctor said. "You can't control the gender of your foal." He looked down at the child and turned his gaze to the mother, who was panting heavily. "Would you like to see her?"

Before he could get a reply, the father interrupted with a shout, "NO! You're wrong, doctor!" The doctor reeled back in shock, nearly losing his grip on the newborn. He adjusted his hold on it as the other stallion snorted angrily. "We are not to be the parents of... of a filly," he spat the word out with disgust.

The doctor was at a loss for what to do. He glanced awkwardly at the mare laying on the hospital bed, shuffled closer to her and slowly helped her to get a firm hold on the foal. He could hear an exasparated growl from the father as he stomped out of the room, and a look of fear briefly flickered in the mother's eyes. "Will your husband be all right, ma'am?" He asked with concern.

She sighed quietly, stroking her child's soft, light grey coat and blond mane. "I don't know," she admitted. She gazed down into her daughter's face affectionately and nuzzled her forehead, meriting a cute giggle as the filly looked up at her with bright gold eyes.

I can only hope so...

Over the next few months, the family returned home and resettled into their home. As much as he tried (which was very little), the little filly's father could not find it in his heart to care for her at all. He immediately suggested that they try again, in the hopes that birth ratios would favor him and give him the colt he desired.

His wife, however, could see that he was merely trying to overlook the foal they already had. She refused to have another foal with him for the time being, as she genuinely loved her daughter and did not care to see her neglected. This decision did not sit well with the stallion, of course; in a fit of rage, he lashed out with a knife he was holding at the time and left a deep gash in his wife's lower abdomen. Coming to his senses, he rushed her to the hospital where he waited for nearly two days before hearing from the doctors. She had survived, much to his relief... but the wound had been infected by the dirty knife that caused it.

She would never be able to bear another foal again.

The stallion felt a crushing blow as he realized his dreams of having a colt with the mare he loved were now unreachable. He fell back on his haunches and sighed in defeat; the doctor, who happened to be the one who had delivered their foal months earlier, looked at him with eyes containing a mix of sympathy and... what? Satisfaction? Relief? He couldn't tell, and the doctor spun around and left the room.

A few days later, the couple arrived home from the hospital in silence. The stallion led his wife into the living room and turned to face her. She had not yet been informed of the consequences of the knife wound he had inflicted, and he motioned for them to sit down.

"Honey," he began, sitting down alongside her, "there's been a... an issue that developed, after the... incident." He swallowed the lump in his throat and continued. "You... we... won't be able to have another foal. Ever." He looked sadly at the mare and was surprised to see not sadness, but simply acceptance. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, a somewhat triumphant expression on her face.

"Good."

The stallion reeled back in shock. "What?" he gasped. "How can that possibly be good?" He stared at her with his mouth open, unable to come up with anything that could explain the situation.

"You don't deserve to have a colt of your own, not with the way you've been treating our filly," she spat at him, "and any other filly we may have had in the future." The stallion couldn't believe his ears; his stupefied look slowly changed into an intense snarl. His anger boiled up rapidly until it finally exploded in the only way he could direct it.

A hoof slammed hard into the mare's stomach, bruising the area around the wound and loosening a few stitches as the breath was sucked from her body. "HOW DARE YOU!" Another blow, this time directed at her ribs, several of which cracked under the fury-filled stomp. "YOU WORTHLESS WHORE! I. WILL. KILL. YOU!" He punctuated each word with another powerful blow to her face.

As he reared back for another, he stopped suddenly upon hearing a faint mewl. He looked down at his wife's face, battered and bleeding from a crushed muzzle and a cut on the forehead. A smirk appeared on his face as he stepped away; the mare slowly felt her consciousness slipping away as she watched her husband leave, but not before she heard a comment that turned her blood to ice.

"On second thought, I'll bring your precious filly up here so it can watch."

The stallion approached an old wooden door and opened it, revealing a long staircase that ended in a basement the size of an average bedroom. At the bottom of the stairs, now revealed in a pool of light from upstairs, lay the foal that had cursed his family, squinting up at him tiredly. She looked at him with confusion and a hint of fear, unknowing of the scene she would soon witness.

That obliviousness, that childlike innocence, enraged him to the core. The thing couldn't even see how much it had ruined his life, yet he was supposed to show it love and care? Not if he had any say in the matter. His smirk stretched into a sinister grin, and he scooped the filly up, receiving a squeal of fright as he carried her up the stairs, chuckling madly the whole way.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he bucked the door shut, nearly knocking it off its hinges. He walked calmly into the adjoining room and threw the foal to the ground next to her mother. As he watched, the foal sniffled and nuzzled her mother's mane, looking for anything to hide her father from view. He only stared coldly at the two for a moment before trotting over to them and slapping the poor filly away.

"Now," he hissed, "now do you see what you have caused?" He pressed a hoof firmly down on his wife's chest, grinning wickedly at the terrified young pegasus. He pressed down harder, beating his wings for extra thrust, as he felt the mare's ribs starting to groan and give way under his brute strength. "This is your fault," he whispered. With a sickening crunch, he felt the ribcage cave in under his hoof as blood began leaking from the mare's mouth. "This is all YOUR FAULT!" he screamed, and he relished the surge of glee he felt upon seeing the shock and pain in the filly's watery eyes while her mother suffered equally, choking desperately for air. Her labored breathing gradually faded, becoming shallower, slower, until it finally came to a ragged halt.

"Mommy!" the filly wailed, pouncing on top of her mother. She hugged her leg tightly, tears staining the soft fur an even darker shade of grey, until she was yanked off by her father. He growled in hatred and kicked the mare one last time before dragging his daughter away roughly by her mane, giving her a clear view of her mother as she was pulled farther and farther away. The stallion dropped her to the kitchen floor, pinned her down with nothing more than a piercing glare, and wrenched open the door leading to the basement. With one final flail of her tiny legs, she was tossed down the long staircase, tumbling head over hooves as numerous bruises and cuts appeared all over her frail body. Her father sneered as he heard the filly's yelps of pain and fear; he turned around and bucked the door shut once again, this time tearing it clean off its hinges and sending it flying down the staircase.

The filly reached out in the vain hope that she could somehow break her fall, but this only resulted in another bruise on her foreleg from the cruel wooden stairs. In a last-ditch effort, she tried to open her wings; she hit the floor of the basement squarely on her left wing, and was met with the pain of a thousand knives as the fragile, underdeveloped bones in the appendage were completely shattered. She rolled a few meters away from the stairs, crying out each time her injured wing was crushed underneath her torso.

She struggled to remain conscious, opening her eyes to the sight of a large figure bolting down the stairs after her. "No," she whimpered, "g-go away... please..." As her hearing came back to her, she heard loud thumps and slams and realized that the object hurtling towards her was actually falling down the stairs. Her eyes stretched wide as she writhed on the floor, only bringing more pain to her battered body. Finally giving up, she lay limp on the ground and shut her eyes tightly as the massive wooden door crashed down on her, and she swore she heard laughter from somewhere far away before darkness swept across her vision.

Rainbows Across the Horizon

Years later

It was a beautiful morning in Cloudsdale, and as the sun peeked over the horizon, the cloud city practically glowed in the early-morning rays that illuminated the area. Several early-rising ponies paused to gaze out the window at the spectacular sight before resuming their morning activities. This moment of peace could only last so long, however; this fact made itself known in the form of a cyan colored blur that cut across the cloudscape, too quickly to be identified except by the vivid rainbow trail it left behind.

In the town square, a few pegasi were setting up cloud structures in the form of shacks and stands. Hearing a faint whoosh that steadily increased in volume, they smiled and stood back just as the light-blue shape dove towards the center of the area. After a few loops, the pegasus spiraled and pulled sharply into a graceful landing, touching down directly in front of one of the shops and leaning against the counter casually.

"G'morning, Rainbow Dash," the clerk greeted, holding out a large muffin flecked with blueberries and a dash of cinnamon (as per request). Said pegasus grinned and took the treat with a nod, and when the stallion wasn't looking, wolfed down the entire muffin in one bite. When he turned back to her, she was nonchalantly observing her hoof, putting a bored expression on her face.

"Well? You got my usual?" Rainbow Dash looked up at him hopefully. "Don't tell me you forgot!" she whined with mock disappointment.

The baker stared at her in amusement. "Oh no, of course not," he assured her, "I'd never risk disappointing my number one customer." He turned and reached towards the storage unit behind him, pulling out another similar muffin, which he handed to the smug young mare. She opened her mouth wide enough to eat the muffin whole, but paused upon hearing the salesman's voice. "Oh, and that'll be another four bits." He chuckled as Rainbow Dash looked at him with shock. "Which brings the total to eight bits."

"What?" she asked innocently. "How come? This is only my first one!"

"You have crumbs all over your face." He smirked as she wiped her face off with a hoof, staring in confusion at the specks of sugar and blueberries she discovered.

"Huh..." She grinned nervously at him, shrinking back when he gave her a knowing look. "H-How did those get there?"

"Give it up, Dash," he laughed. "My memory isn't that bad yet. Eight bits please."

"Oh fine." She begrudgingly pulled out the correct amount and tossed it on the counter before resuming eating her flaky, warm, delicious--

"You know," the clerk interrupted with a grin, "you're gonna get fat if you keep eating so much junk food."

"Ugh!" She screamed with exasperation and marched away, electing to take the treat to-go for later. Once she had made a few turns, she found herself on a street she didn't recognize and decided to explore for a bit. Now excited at the prospect of discovering something new, she trotted happily down the sidewalk.

After a few minutes in silence, she started to feel confused, if not a bit nervous. Where is everypony? This place is like a ghost town! She frowned and glanced around at the seemingly deserted buildings. This is getting creepy... and just plain boring. I'm outta here! She flared her wings and prepared to dart away when she noticed an open, low-to-the-ground window in an alley to her right. Curious now, she sneaked between the two adjacent buildings and approached the window carefully, and with a quick look around to make sure nopony was watching, bent to peek in through the window.

She was disappointed and sufficiently annoyed at first glance when all she could identify was an empty, shadowed grey room. However, she did a surprised double-take upon seeing the blond mess of hair in the far corner, and when she squinted she could just make out the dimly-lit form of a sleeping pony. Now what are they doing sleeping there? she wondered.

"Psst, hey," she whispered, "wake up." A quiet groan reached her ears and she thought she saw the pony shift positions slightly. "Hey you!" she tried, a little louder this time, and was rewarded with a yawn as the pony lifted its head and looked at her. For a long moment, neither of them moved, rose eyes locked onto gold.

Rainbow Dash blinked, finally breaking the silence with a slight wave of the hoof. "Hi," she called softly. The pony noticeably flinched and squeezed back farther into the corner, and Rainbow Dash bit her lip. "Um... are you okay?" The mysterious pony

stared straight back at her, not moving a muscle, and it was starting to make her uncomfortable. "Anypony home?"

The figure finally inched towards her into a square of light and materialized into the form of a grey pegasus mare about Rainbow's age. Rainbow noticed that she had one wing awkwardly folded behind her back while the other was splayed across her chest, but shrugged it off as a strange gesture of greeting and smiled warmly. "What's your name?" she chirped.

The mare looked her over cautiously for a moment and then replied with an inaudible mumble. Aw mane, not another Fluttershy! Rainbow dash facehoofed. "Could you, like, speak up a bit?" she asked as nicely as possible.

"Ditzy Doo," the stranger said, a bit louder, and Rainbow made a face at the name.

"Really?" she muttered. "Ditzy?"

"Yeah," Ditzy sighed. She shuffled her hooves, and Rainbow Dash caught a glimpse of a red cut across one of her forelegs. Now that she looked closer, this 'Ditzy' actually had a lot of cuts and bruises all over her body, some even bleeding slightly, as if they were very recent.

"Oh Celestia," she whispered, "what happened to you?" She looked at Ditzy with concern, who avoided her gaze.

"Nothin'," Ditzy mumbled. She looked up at Rainbow Dash with a sudden spark of hope. "Do you... do you have anything to eat?"

Rainbow looked at her curiously. "Why, are you hungry?" That was probably the stupidest thing I've ever said. She winced as she looked over the scrawny form of the pegasus, whose ribs could clearly be seen poking through her skin at odd angles. Rainbow's thoughts went back to the muffin she had bought but not yet eaten, and her mouth watered. "Um, d-don't you have some food of your own?" she asked nervously, not wanting to risk losing the delicacy to her sense of generosity.

Her ears fell flat to the sides of her head when the grey mare shook her head sadly. "No, he doesn't feed me very much. Just enough to keep me alive."

He? Who's 'he'? Rainbow Dash stepped back from the window, looking away from the other pegasus. "Um, I gotta go," she said, and she could practically feel a wave of disappointment and loneliness from Ditzy as the pony's eyes watered.

"Oh, okay," she whispered sadly. Rainbow Dash gave one last worried glance towards Ditzy before she turned and made her way out of the alley. Once she remembered exactly where she was, she decided to backtrack along the road on her left. She leaned forward slightly to begin the trek back to the market square, but her legs wouldn't budge.

She just looked so sad... The pegasus could still see those large, wet, shiny golden eyes peering out at her in her mind. And hungry.

Rainbow paused for a few moments, frowning slightly as guilt and pity nagged at the back of her mind. "Aw, what the hay," she muttered, spinning and galloping over to the window once again. She looked inside where she saw Ditzy sitting, hunched over in the square of light coming from the window. Ditzy's ears perked up when a shadow moved over her, and a familiar voice met her as she turned around. "Hey, Ditzy."

The grey pegasus squeaked in surprise when a small object dropped into her lap, and she nearly tossed it away before a delightful smell reached her nose. Rainbow Dash smiled upon seeing her new companion's hypnotized expression, and a trail of drool on Ditzy's mouth made her giggle. "I'll see ya later."

Ditzy moved her dazed eyes up to meet those of the amused pegasus looking down at her, and she shook her head with a small smile. "Cool," she whispered. Her golden eyes were pulled back to the still-warm muffin in her hooves, and she stared at it with the face of a child unwrapping a brand new toy on their birthday.

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Cool? I'd say awesome is a much better word." With that, she kicked off the ground and soared straight up between the buildings. She slowed down as she approached the roof of the building and hovered in place for a moment as she prepared to put on a boost of speed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of dark red and shifted her gaze to a window next to her, and she recoiled wildly when she looked straight into a pair of eyes focused on her--eyes filled with hate and suspicion so intense it took her breath away. Once her heart had started up again, she blinked and shook her head. She peered in the window tentatively, but the eyes, along with the pony they belonged to, were no longer there.

"Whoa," she breathed, and let out a nervous chuckle. With an uneasy glance behind her, she began flying away at a leisurely pace, heading towards her home on the other side of town. "I must be seeing things... Maybe I really do need to lay off the muffins."

Breakfast(, Lunch, and Dinner)

The next day, Rainbow Dash traveled once again into the market square to follow her morning routine. Dropping down in front of the muffin stand, she stretched out her wings and smiled at the warm muffin already waiting in front of her. She snatched it out of the clerk's hoof and admired it up close, licking her lips slowly. Just as she was about to take a large bite out of it, a thought entered her head that made her pause.

The stallion behind the counter noticed this and looked between her and the muffin worriedly. "You alright, Dash?"

"Yeah..." she mumbled, staring at the ground. After a moment's thought, she looked back at him and added, "Actually, I'll take another one."

"Really?" He looked surprised. "Two days in a row? Is Rainbow Dash on a new diet?" Rainbow shook her head. "Are you sure you want two? You're already getting a bit husky."

Rainbow stared down his smirk and growled. "Give me the muffin, Celestia help me--"

"Okay, fine, fine. Here you go, Rainbow Fat." Rainbow took the pastry with a snarl, slamming down her other hoof on the counter with the payment.

"I don't have to shop here, you know."

The clerk scoffed and began putting the bits away. "Dash, please. I know you. Believe me, you do."

"Whatever." Rainbow turned and stomped away from the shack, carrying the delectable delicacies away on her wings.

Ditzy awoke to the loud clops of hooves coming down the stairs, and her eyes shut tightly in the hopes that she would go unnoticed for once. Unfortunately for her, the stallion tromping down into the room was intent on finding her for today's visit.

"Ditzy, come." She could feel his cold eyes rake across her trembling form, but she still feigned sleep, too frightened to react even though she knew he could tell she was awake and alert. Loudening hoofsteps approached her, and she yelped when a hoof suddenly smashed into her side, crushing her already-mangled wing against it.

"Did I say you could sleep?!" he roared, pounding his hooves against her back. She screeched as more and more additions appeared to the collection of fractures all over her body; after a few moments, the blows finally stopped, and her voice quieted into whimpering sobs.

Her father watched her for a few seconds, uncontained glee dancing in his eyes, until they hardened once again. "Take your scraps, ditz," he seethed. Ditzy flinched, though she was unsure whether it was from the malice in that voice or from the dirty tray that was hurled at her. Once her father had exited the basement again, she silently observed her daily allotment of food--that is, if she could even call some bread crusts and dishwater 'food.' She ate half the bread crusts and lapped up a bit of water, but they only tasted worse than usual after the muffin that mare had given her yesterday...

Ditzy pondered her first encounter with that pony. Who was she? She had never even mentioned her name... Perhaps that was something Ditzy should ask her, if she ever saw her again.

A loud chirping noise caught her attention, and she looked to see two small birds sitting on the windowsill, looking down into the room. Ditzy smiled softly and picked up the rest of her meal, limped over to the window and stretched up on her hind legs to hold the crusts out for the birds to eat. As she absentmindedly watched them nibble on it, her thoughts eventually settled on that delicious treat she had received from the pegasus. Her mouth watered again, and before she knew it her stomach was rumbling loudly. She moaned, and once the birds were finished eating, she nodded to them and sat back down as they flew away.

It had never occurred to Ditzy how truly lonely she was until that moment; she had never been familiar with the idea of 'friends,' and now that she had been introduced to the only living pony who had ever been nice to her, she craved love and attention the way she had for months after she had watched her mother die.

I shouldn't get my hopes up... She slouched against the wall as memories flooded her mind: of her wishing for her mother to come rescue her from this prison, of her wishing for her father to realize how evil he was being and apologize, of her wishing for anypony to be nice to her... all memories that had died long ago and left her empty inside.

Ditzy sighed sadly, not noticing the shadow creeping over her shoulders until a voice startled her out of her sorrowful reverie.

"Ditzy! What's up?" Ditzy craned her neck to look up at the smiling rainbow-maned pegasus standing in front of the window, holding what appeared to be...

Muffins... Ditzy smiled. She had come back! And she had brought food! Could this day get any better?

"Hi, um..." Oh, right; she was going to ask what this pony's name was. "Um... what's your name?"

"Did... did I forget to...?" The blue pony facehooved and groaned. "I can't believe I did that. Anyway, my name's Rainbow Dash. Nice to actually meet you."

"Yeah," Ditzy murmured, her attention obviously on something else. Rainbow followed her slightly-lowered gaze to her own hoof, and the muffin it was holding. Oh, duh!

"Oh yeah, I brought you this!" Rainbow held out the muffin and dropped it into Ditzy's eagerly awaiting hooves, and she giggled as the grey pegasus immediately began scarfing it down.

"Mmm!" Ditzy licked her lips and grinned. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash! I was real hungry!"

Maybe she missed breakfast... "Have you eaten yet today?"

Ditzy laughed. "Well, of course, silly! You just gave me a muffin! Thanks again, for that."

"No prob," Rainbow replied, taking a bite of her own muffin. "But I actually meant before I came over."

"Oh. Yeah, I had some bread crusts. They didn't taste very good, though." Ditzy replied as if it was normal for her.

"That's your breakfast?" Rainbow peered down into the room. "Wow, no wonder you were hungry."

The grey pony cocked her head. "What's 'breakfast'?"

"You know, breakfast. The morning meal."

Ditzy put a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. "Well, today's meal was in the morning, so I guess that was my breakfast."

"Today's meal?" Rainbow gawked at her. "You mean, you only eat one meal per day?!"

Ditzy appeared confused by Rainbow's incredulous reply. "Yeah, don't you?"

"No, I have three! I thought everypony did."

"Wow," Ditzy breathed. Three meals? Rainbow sure was lucky. Actually, everypony seemed to be lucky, except her. Maybe she was just unlucky?

"So, Ditzy, what do you like to do?"

Ditzy perked up, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. "Oh, I like to feed the birds! And, um, sometimes I see how high I can jump! I almost reached the window once!"

Rainbow looked at her strangely. "Really?"

Ditzy's face fell. "Well, no... only about halfway."

Rainbow stared at her. Didn't she do anything fun? Did she even leave the basement? Like, ever?

"Well, that's cool," she finally said. Finishing off the last of her muffin, she decided to invite the other mare along with her for the day. "Hey, Ditzy, want to hang out with me today?"

Rainbow swore she had never seen pure joy until she saw the other mare's current expression. "Really?" Ditzy squeed. "I'd love to! What are we gonna do?"

"I dunno... I thought you might wanna go for a walk, get a bite to eat, maybe have a race, or something..." Rainbow trailed off as Ditzy stopped and frowned.

"Oh."

"What's the matter?"

"I... I can't." Ditzy looked away and lowered her head, her whole body seeming to sag as disappointment washed over her.

Rainbow looked equally crestfallen. "Why not?"

Ditzy imagined what her father's reaction would be to her asking to go have fun with her first friend. She didn't even want to know what would happen to her... or to Rainbow, for that matter. "My dad won't let me leave," she said simply.

"Oh, is that all?" Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. "Psh, just don't tell him! You can just go out this window and we'll be back before he even knows you were gone!"

Ditzy considered this. Her father never really checked on her, other than when he was drunk, angry, or bringing her her daily meal. It was very likely he wouldn't know she had left. The only problem now was the window. "Okay, but how do I get up there? Can you fly down and carry me out?"

Rainbow shook her head. "I can't fly both of us. I might hurt you. Or me." She looked curiously at the pegasus below her. "Can't you fly?"

"No," Ditzy answered sadly. "At least, not with my wing like this." She raised her left wing, and Rainbow let out a choked gasp. The appendage was horribly mangled, looking more like a crumpled ball of paper than a wing, with feathers growing in at odd angles. "If I could fly, I'd have run away long ago," Ditzy continued. "He probably could have boarded up the window, but I think he leaves it open to torture me... it's always just out of reach." Her voice faded to a whisper, and her eyes filled with tears as she imagined it: a life free from oppression that was barely beyond her hooves.

After a few moments of silence, broken only by Ditzy's occasional sniffle, Rainbow had an idea. She crouched down and crawled in through the window, and once her upper half was inside, she spread her wings and glided down to the floor. Ditzy didn't appear to notice her until she had been scooped up onto Rainbow's shoulders, where she let out a squeak of surprise. Rainbow then planted her forehooves on the wall beneath the window and stretched as tall as possible on her hind legs.

"There," she grunted. "Climb up." Ditzy didn't move for a moment, still in utter shock that she might actually escape from the basement, but she finally snapped to attention when Rainbow cleared her throat impatiently.

"R-Right, yeah." Ditzy gingerly perched herself on all four legs, and once she had her balance, she reached up with her forehooves and just managed to grab the edge of the windowsill. With enough effort, she finally raised herself up onto her elbows, and Rainbow pushed up on her rear until she could scrabble outside. Ditzy lay there for a moment to catch her breath, and Rainbow soon followed her through the window, where she waited for the grey pony to regain her strength. Once she had sat up, Rainbow grinned.

"Ready?"

Ditzy could barely contain herself. She had never felt the grass beneath her hooves, the calm breeze in her mane, the faint sunlight reaching between the buildings... it all felt so...

"Magical," she muttered aloud.

"Huh?"

"Oh, I mean, um, yes." Ditzy stood up and followed her friend out of the alley and into the main street, quivering with excitement. She had never gone behind her father's back like this! She had never even had the chance to! The thrill of defiance raced through her, leaving her a combination of confused, happy, and anxious... and she had never felt so alive. A wide grin stretched across her face; nopony was around to beat her, or scream curses at her, or torture her within mere inches of insanity. Nopony could touch her now.

Nopony.

A Change of Pace

As Rainbow led the way out of the alley, she quickly took notice of her new friend's ragged appearance. Her coat was stained with dust and dirt, and Rainbow recoiled as the stale scent of blood wafted over her nostrils. "Hey, Ditzy," she whispered, unfurling a wing and gently touching the tip to her shoulder. "When's the last time you bathed?" Her muzzle scrunched up slightly, and Ditzy's ears fell backwards.

"Oh, I..." Ditzy cringed at memories of the cramped tub in the upstairs bathroom of her house, and the skin on her back crawled as she felt the coarse brush scrubbing her, tearing open old wounds; the soap seeping into them and stinging like fire; the powerful blast of water in her face, alternating between boiling and freezing. "It's been awhile," she finally said with a shudder.

Rainbow frowned, nudging her forward a few steps. "Well, let's go to my house, and you can--" She trailed off as she remembered something, slapping a hoof to her face. "Oh shoot, we can't... I'm grounded." She smiled sheepishly at Ditzy's blank stare. "I'm not even supposed to be here."

"Oh, I don't wanna get you in trouble or anything..."

"Psh, are you kidding? Trouble's my middle name!" Rainbow thumped her chest with a hoof. "Yep, that's me, Rainbow Trouble Dash! C'mon, we'll just find a few rainclouds and you'll be all cleaned up in no time."

Ditzy followed after her, limping slightly as she cast a worried glance over her shoulder at the imposing figure of her house. "O-Okay," she murmured.

Rainbow sped from one patch of clouds to the next, plucking pieces of the fluff from certain areas. She had soon gathered a sizeable lump of dark grey clouds, and with a single flap of her wings she thrust herself on top. "Get under there," she commanded. Ditzy crept underneath and braced herself as Rainbow began bouncing on the clouds, eventually dumping a torrent of lukewarm water over the grey mare. Ditzy occasionally flinched as hardened flecks of blood were stripped from her fur, but she soon relaxed under the soothing stream. This was much better than she remembered!

After a few moments, the water slowed to a trickle and Rainbow kicked the mass of clouds to the side. Before she could react, Ditzy crouched down and rapidly shook herself off, flicking her mane and tail in a wide arc to throw off the excess moisture. Ditzy brushed her mane out of her face to reveal a very irritated Rainbow Dash, soaked to the skin and blinking water from her eyes.

"Oops, I'm sorry..." Ditzy shrank back under Rainbow's sharp glare, but it soon softened and Rainbow cracked a grin.

"No biggie." Rainbow approached Ditzy and teasingly rubbed her head on the grey pony's neck to dry herself off, then pulled away and began walking towards a cluster of small shacks down the road. "C'mon, Ditzy!"

Ditzy's lips curled up in a small smile as she followed, soon arriving at the town square. Rainbow led her to a certain shop situated along the edge of the square, where a stallion stared wide-eyed at the approaching blue pegasus.

"Okay, Dash, now you're really starting to worry me." He held a hoof to his forehead, sighing quietly. "I mean, you were just here, like, two hours ago! Any more sweets and you won't be able to fly home!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes and held out a hoof in front of the mare beside her. "This is Ditzy Doo. We would like two more muffins, please." The clerk's mouth formed an o as he turned and retrieved two more specially-made muffins from the stocks.

"Nice to meet you, Ditzy," he said as he handed the two their treats. "What happened to your wing, kid?"

Rainbow jerked in surprise. How in Equestria did I forget about that?! She glanced sideways and saw Ditzy's calm smile grow uneasy.

"Oh, um... I fell," she admitted. Down a flight of stairs, her mind added bitterly.

"Yikes, that looks kinda nasty," he observed. "You sure you're alright? Need to see a doctor or anything?"

"Oh, no, I'm okay," Ditzy insisted. "I'm just a bit hungry." To prove her point, she immediately stuffed the entire muffin into her mouth, chewing slowly both in order to savor the flavor and because the muffin was much larger and denser than she anticipated. Sensing that she wouldn't be saying anything for awhile, Rainbow uttered a quick farewell and pulled Ditzy across the square under the concerned gazes of passersby.

"Ditzy, maybe we should go to a doctor. Your wing does look pretty messed up." Her stomach turned over as she inspected the mangled mass of feathers clumped on the grey mare's back.

Ordinarily, Ditzy would have agreed wholeheartedly, but her entire focus was taken by the prospect that she, the "worthless filly freak," had a friend! Ditzy shook her head vigorously, swallowing hard to finish off her second breakfast. "No way! I can do that some other time. For now let's do something fun!" Upon seeing Rainbow's dubious expression, she lowered her head slightly. "Please?"

"Well..." Rainbow rubbed her chin carefully. "Okay. But if it starts hurting again, we're going straight to the hospital!"

"Fine." Ditzy was beginning to notice the odd looks she was receiving from the patrons perusing the shops, and she folded up her wings self-consciously--although her left wing still somewhat appeared a jumbled mess of feathers. She winced at the pain spearing her side, but forced a bright smile onto her muzzle. "So, what are we gonna do now?"

"Hmm..." Rainbow looked at each of the shops nearby. "Normally I'd suggest a race, but I guess that's a bust." Ditzy glanced back at her folded appendages once more, painfully trying to flatten the mangled wing against her side. "How about we visit that toy shop? I've actually never checked the place out."

Ditzy perked up at the question. "Toys? I haven't seen a toy in... well, almost... I dunno, a really long time." She stared past Rainbow at said shop, her eyes glimmering with anticipation. "Let's go!"

Rainbow watched the young mare's awkward gait across the square with a mix of amusement and sympathy. Even though flying was more than enough to occupy her, she had still enjoyed the occasional toy or game as a filly. However, if her behavior and injury were any indication, Ditzy had grown up without either. With a small shake of the head, she trotted over to the toy store where Ditzy was browsing through a collection of stuffed animals. As she had no interest in buying a toy for herself--okay, perhaps just a little interest--Rainbow turned to watch the other ponies milling about the market.

She recognized a few frequent customers that stopped by the muffin stand, but as her gaze swept over the entrance to the square, a stallion with a red coat and jet-black mane strolled in. She had never seen him before, yet something about him struck her as familiar... She couldn't quite put her hoof on it. She continued to follow his movements with a growing sense of discomfort until he suddenly looked straight at her, and the breath caught in her throat. His ruby eyes narrowed.

It's that guy from Ditzy's house... I wasn't imagining it. He saw me. She shuddered at the memory. But who exactly is he?

That piercing gaze finally shifted off of her, and she let out a silent sigh of relief. His attention immediately fell to something next to her, and she turned her head to follow it; Ditzy was rummaging through a bucket of bouncy balls, completely oblivious to the rising tension Rainbow felt pressing down on the area. "Erm, Ditzy?" The pair met each other's eyes as Rainbow flicked her tail in the direction of the red pony. "Do you know that guy?" Ditzy followed her motion and immediately gasped, her own wavy tail stiffening in terror.

Rainbow looked back at the stallion just in time to witness the flash of recognition across his face, and she swallowed the growing lump in her throat. Something bad's about to happen.

Both mares huddled together as the stranger briskly approached, and with a snarl he yanked Ditzy under his arm. "Home, now," he hissed, dragging her away as Rainbow took a few meek steps after them. She froze as he whirled and pointed at her. "And you would be wise to stay away. This filly..." He jerked his hoof, and Ditzy yelped fearfully as her body was jarred in his grip. "...is not your friend." Before Rainbow could form a response, he was trotting away, dragging a whimpering grey pegasus along by her wing.

"I don't know how you did it," Ditzy's father seethed, "but I can assure you that you will never leave that basement again." He glanced at her trembling face and felt a smile tugging at his muzzle. "That means not ever, you uneducated dolt. And you can forget about that brat you were with; you won't be seeing her 'round here anymore."

The two soon arrived at the doorstep of their "shared" home, and Ditzy found herself being shoved down the stairs, luckily being able to steady herself before she toppled head-over-hooves into the dungeon below. She retreated to her usual corner and listened to the loud crashes and bumps coming from overhead.

A few minutes later, she jolted in surprise as a bundle of thick boards crashed to the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Her father clomped down after them, holding a hammer and a few nails in his mouth. He picked up and pounded nails into the boards one-by-one, mounting them over the window until only a few small cracks of space remained. Nodding in satisfaction, he faced the quivering ball of fur laying a few meters away. A teary golden eye peered out at him from somewhere inside, and it immediately widened before snapping shut as he drew nearer.

"There," he whispered, "let's see how you like 24-hour darkness." A small squeak met his ears, and he cackled as he lifted his chin, raising the hammer high in the air above the helpless grey pony. "In fact, why not start right now?"

Cracks

tap tap tap tap

"Guh..." The first thing Ditzy felt when she opened her eyes was a sharp throbbing in her head, which was soon amplified by a whisper from somewhere nearby.

"Ditzy!"

The grey pegasus whined quietly, bringing her hooves up to cradle her head, before she glanced around for the source of the noise. There was nopony to be found. Please leave me alone.

"Psst, up here!"

Her head jerked in the direction of the call, and she caught a glimpse of a rose-colored iris focused on her, as well as a few tufts of light blue fur; barely visible through a few slats in the boarded-up window, Rainbow Dash peered down at her and her new bruises. "Are you okay?" Rainbow called quietly, tilting her head to press an ear against the gap in the window.

"I'll be fine," Ditzy grunted, climbing onto four wobbly legs. She looked herself over, blearily remembering the sickening crunches of the hammer that had caused these new injuries... a few hours ago? Yesterday? "How long has it been?"

"Well, your... dad picked you up yesterday evening." Rainbow glanced over her shoulder, and Ditzy noted the lack of light shining through the cracks in the window. "And it's evening again now." Ditzy nodded mutely, hanging her head. Rainbow sat down and rubbed her foreleg awkwardly; seeing her friends all droopy and beaten down--literally--was a new occurrence, and it was having a strange effect on her, though she couldn't identify exactly what she'd been feeling.

"Ditzy," she murmured uneasily, "something's very wrong here." Ditzy looked up at her, pleading for her to continue. "You're constantly getting hurt, yet you don't leave the basement. And the only pony you've talked about is your dad..." She frowned.

Ditzy nodded. "So?"

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Ditzy shook her head. "Any other family? Somepony else staying here, somepony who comes down here often?" Ditzy simply watched her fidget, and Rainbow swallowed hard as she reached her conclusion. "Listen, Ditzy, nopony should get beaten up by their parents... There's no excuse for it. That's not supposed to happen. Ever."

Ditzy inspected her hooves for awhile. Rainbow opened her mouth to continue, but a shaky mumble silenced her. "Not my parents. Just... him."

"Him? As in... your dad?" Ditzy gave an almost imperceptible nod, not looking up from the floor. "What about your mom?" The mare didn't respond, and Rainbow's ears folded back as tears began to leak from her yellow eyes.

"She's gone," came the sobbed reply. "He killed her."

"W-What?"

"He wanted a colt, and she gave birth to me. She loved me, I think... He didn't. Then they got in an argument one day and he stabbed her." Rainbow gasped, and Ditzy shook her head gently. "She lived, but she couldn't have foals anymore. When my dad told her, she told him off for... for..." She tilted her head down, burying her face in her hooves. "...for treating me so badly. So he... he killed her. He killed her, and he made me watch."

Ditzy choked down the cry building in her throat, violently spitting out her last few words. "To... to see what I had caused."

Rainbow gaped at her. What she had caused? How did that even work? She tried to imagine herself in her friend's horseshoes, but her brain refused to show her own father possessing such a twisted personality. And growing up without a mother? It was unthinkable; she relied on her mother for everything, from a sack lunch at school to advice on dealing with stress, even simple shows of affection. She finally cleared her throat and licked her lips, drawing Ditzy's attention back to her. "And... and now he...?"

Ditzy shrugged, looking down at her mangled wing with a sigh. "He just kinda does what he feels like doing, I guess."

Rainbow shook her head slowly. She glimpsed a tray of rotten lettuce and stale bread sitting in another corner of the room. "And he feeds you that--" she pointed to the scraps, "--once a day."

"Usually," Ditzy agreed. "Sometimes he forgets."

"And it's all just... because you're a filly?"

She blinked. "Yeah."

Rainbow shuddered. Ditzy... What am I going to do with you?

"That... That's really messed up," she breathed. Ditzy cocked her head at this, looking at her with that same curious confusion that came from years of isolation.

"You mean, normal ponies don't get hurt by their daddies?" The word 'normal' made Rainbow flinch. Ditzy may have been in a strange and overwhelming situation, but to her she seemed just as kindhearted and competent as any other pony.

Rainbow thought back to the last she could remember being 'hurt' by one of her parents; the most severe occurrence she could remember was probably when she'd been spanked after being caught cutting classes one too many times.

"No, not... not like this." She glanced around warily behind her, and seeing no one else around, she leaned forward once again to press her forehead against the wooden boards. "Ditzy, this isn't okay. You need help. You need to get out of here."

Ditzy looked up at her with wide eyes. "You mean, like... escape?" Rainbow's vigorous nod set her hopes ablaze, but they were quickly extinguished by another sobering thought: "Where would I go?"

"Huh." The blue pegasus rubbed her jaw, staring off into space. "I... I dunno. But anyplace is better than here."

A click echoed through the room.

Ditzy's eyes shrank, her ears flickering wildly. "He's coming."

Rainbow pressed her face against the wood, breathing quickly. "Ditzy--"

"Get away!" She hissed. "I'll be fine; you need to get out of here now!"

After a moment's hesitation, Rainbow gave a reluctant nod. "I-I'll come back and see ya again real soon." She forced a smile, which Ditzy returned gratefully. Rainbow's stark blue fur disappeared from the window just in time, as Ditzy's father stomped down the stairs and rounded on her, nostrils flaring.

"You," he seethed. Ditzy gulped, scooting back a few inches. "You were talking to that brat again, weren't you?!"

"N-n-n-no, I-I swear--!"

"LIAR!" A hoof struck Ditzy in the face, sending her sprawling across the floor. "I heard you, you little twit!" He shook his head, chuckling madly. "I... I told you... and you..." He marched towards a wall, eyeing the chipped grey paint with interest. "You..."

"YAAARRGH!" He roared and sent a hoof clean through the wall, eliciting a gasp from the grey mare lying a few feet away. Wrapping it firmly around something solid, he wrenched his hoof free, along with a thick metal pipe. An odd clunk was followed by a blast of water from the new hole in the wall, and the stallion turned to his daughter, grinning at the fright etched into her features.

"You... shouldn't have disobeyed me," he whispered, drawing closer. Ditzy whimpered and wiggled, sliding a mere few inches away before he was already upon her, the pipe whistling through the air until it connected with her side.

CRACK!

Rainbow leaned against the wall adjacent to the window, her own eyes flooded with tears, listening to the anguished cries of Ditzy Doo and the intermittent crashes of metal on bone. She twitched at every gut-wrenching noise, and the rivers tracing her cheeks grew thicker in time with her friend's loudening screams. She cautiously peered into the room, feeling her stomach turn at the sight of the stallion mercilessly rapping a dense metal pipe across the helpless filly's broken body.

Ditzy squealed as she was lifted into the air and hurled across the room, colliding headfirst with the wall. She fell onto shaking legs, where she stumbled backwards and was roughly spun around by a strong hoof. Stay strong, she told herself, staring impassively into a pair of burning red eyes. It'll all be fine as long as you don't look weak.

With a sudden loud grunt, Ditzy's father brought the pole down hard on her forehead. At the crack of the strike, Ditzy's vision jolted and swam; she swayed on her hooves and toppled onto her side, the gash on her forehead bleeding profusely. She gazed blankly into her father's eyes, which appeared satisfied for the time being, and he looked her over for a few more seconds before dropping the pipe onto her and making a hasty exit upstairs.

A short silence ensued, during which Rainbow analyzed the aftermath of the scene below. The water spewing from the busted pipes in the wall had filled the room to a depth of nearly half an inch already; the water lapped at Ditzy's wounds, washing away blood that was quickly replaced by more. After shaking herself out of her petrified state, she called into the basement, quietly but urgently.

"D-Ditzy?" The mare weakly rolled her head to answer the anxious squeak, coughing out a spray of blood as her throat opened up.

"Da... Dsh..." She could barely make out the blur of color at the window now; she felt her strength waning, sapped by the blood flowing freely from her forehead.

"Ditzy?" Another call, louder this time... though her hearing was starting to go, too, she could tell. It was somewhat distorted, and she let her head fall back into the light red ocean creeping up on her. She heard her name fearfully called again, but she was too weak to respond. The cyan smudge near the window disappeared as Rainbow fled the scene, and Ditzy was left to stare at the grey walls and ceiling of the basement, which soon faded to black.

Enter. Exit. Escape.

"Ditzy? Ditzy?!" Rainbow shrieked as the mare's head fell back onto the wet concrete floor with a splash. "DITZY!" Ditzy stared emptily back at her, and Rainbow tore her gaze away in a panic. Oh no, oh no no nonono...

Rainbow galloped around the corner of the house and approached a window, peering over the sill and scanning the front room for any threatening stallions. Finding none, she pushed up on the glass and slid the window open. A precise leap found her stalking across the living room, her eyes and ears alert for any sign of Ditzy's father, until she crept through the entrance into the kitchen.

I swear, if I run into that creep, I'll buck him into next year.

Her own intensity surprised her. Why was she so dead-set on helping this random filly out? She hardly knew her well, after all. They'd only hung out once... well, twice, if their first encounter qualified as 'hanging out.' She was definitely biting off more than she could chew here.

Yet for some reason, she felt a strange connection to this mare. She was really no different than Rainbow herself, and perhaps that was exactly why the cyan pegasus felt the need to help her out. A pony just like her was being beaten, tortured even, the sole reason being that she had been born of the wrong gender. Rainbow couldn't stomach the idea that she herself could be treated in such a way, and that she could have ended up the very same way Ditzy was now: broken.

Only broken, though, was the mare's grey body. The dull, colorless exterior. The vibrant spirit that remained throughout the struggle never seemed to falter. Rainbow didn't give praise often, but she had to admit, she was impressed by Ditzy's defiance against depression. Really impressed. One might even say she admired her, if only a little bit. Just a little.

A loud rattling noise froze her in her tracks. Holding her breath, she waited until she was sure the sound had faded. Oh boy, what am I getting myself into? Looking around the kitchen, her gaze was drawn to a heavy-looking door with a thick lock; she suppressed a shiver and walked over to it. The lock squeaked when she nudged it with a hoof, and she bit her lip. That stallion was going to come stomping in here any moment. She could feel it. She turned the bolt as slowly as possible; her heart skipped a beat each time it made a noise, piercing the silence like a blaring horn. Finally, the door unlocked, and she gingerly turned the knob and eased the door open a few inches. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she pushed her muzzle into the space and wriggled her body through to find herself on a long wooden staircase.

Rainbow recoiled in disgust, her muzzle scrunching up under the stench that wafted up from the darkness below. She nimbly descended the steps into the basement and rushed over to the unmoving form of her grey pegasus friend, wincing at the cold water seeping into her fur. "Ditzy," she murmured, gently shaking the slumbering mare. "Ditzy, c'mon, wake up."

Ditzy gave no response, and Rainbow cursed under her breath. She wedged her muzzle underneath her and rolled the mare over her head, catching her on her shoulders. She steadied Ditzy on her back with her wings, then began the slow trek back up the stairs, making much more noise than she would have liked. Ditzy's limbs hanging around her made movement awkward; the load was surprisingly light, however, which didn't seem like a good sign. Rainbow could feel the mare's ribs through her skin, digging into her back.

At long last, the small caravan made it to the top of the stairs. Just as Rainbow placed her hoof on the last step, she nearly leapt out of her skin in fright, and she scrambled backwards to keep her cargo square on her back.

From the edge of the kitchen, a large red stallion grinned at her, and the door slammed shut.

Rainbow stood there for what felt like a long time, still trembling from the shock of being caught red-hooved. She reached out and gently tapped the door, then grabbed the doorknob and tried twisting it. It wouldn't budge.

No. Rainbow jerked the doorknob harder, frantically jiggling the infernal device to no avail. No, no, *NO!*** Her knees buckled, and she lay stretched out on the stairs, her eyes wide with despair. She was trapped. She was going to die, and Ditzy was going to die.

I messed up big this time. Her ears twitched and her wings trembled as she berated herself for her earlier impulsiveness to save Ditzy right then and there. I... I should've gotten help. I should have... I should'a kicked that stallion's flank when he wasn't looking!

She looked over her shoulder at Ditzy, whose shallow breathing ruffled her mane every few seconds. The wound from her forehead was still pouring blood unabated down her face, which seeped into Rainbow's neck fur. Rainbow cringed, her wings fluttering uncomfortably. She didn't like blood. Not one bit.

Swallowing the bile rising in her throat, she carefully made her way back down into the basement, noting with some worry the increasing depth of the water spraying from the wall. Now what? She assumed they'd either starve or be chopped up into little bits. They wouldn't drown... would they? Surely the water couldn't rise that high.

Taking another long look at the relaxed expression on Ditzy's face marred by the red streaks, however, Rainbow felt a small spark of hope. Determination. She'd been through tougher situations--though she couldn't think of anything quite this bad at the moment--and she'd always come out fine in the end. She could save them both! At the very least, she could save Ditzy. She was Rainbow Dash, after all: the coolest, toughest, save-your-friend's-life-est pony in all of Equestria!

But... how? Rainbow's face drooped as she considered her options: a boarded-up window, a giant locked door, and a room quickly filling up with water. Nope, no hopes of escape there. She coughed hard, fighting back the tears that pricked at her eyes.

If only the window was still open...

Rainbow slowly moved Ditzy off her back and lay her across one of the steps, and she flew over to get a closer look at the blocked opening. The boards seemed quite sturdy--sturdy enough, at least, that a few bucks and punches wouldn't be able to break them. She growled, throwing out a hoof anyway; it bounced off without leaving a dent, just as she had expected.

There had to be something that she was missing! She searched the room thoroughly, but there was nothing there, save for a tray of old (and now soggy) food, the section of pipe, and a lot of water, which had now risen above the first step and sucked at the tip of Ditzy's limply-hanging tail.

Wait a second... Rainbow zipped down to the floor and plucked the pipe out of the water, looking closely at the tip, then back at the sloppily-boarded window. She lined up the tip with a large crack between two boards and pushed forward--it fit perfectly. No way, she thought, her hopes skyrocketing. She yanked down, flapping her wings to exert more force on the makeshift lever, and the boards gave a satisfying crack, splintering to pieces and falling into the shallow water below. She continued with the next two boards, wedging the pole in between them and prying them apart until they snapped. Now unobstructed, a rush of cool night air washed over her from outside. Never had she been so relieved and comforted by fresh air!

Wasting no time, she sped to the bottom of the staircase and lifted Ditzy onto her back. A new problem arose as she examined the small opening before her: How would they get through there? It was much too narrow for her to fly through with her wings extended, and she couldn't hoist Ditzy up to the window, as the unconscious mare wouldn't be able to climb out herself.

She stared across the room at it, shrugging Ditzy's weight around to better balance her on her back. An idea came to her, and after some quick calculations and self-motivating, she crouched down, her belly brushing the edge of the stairs.

...Do it.

Why was she hesitating? She was almost certain they could make it. Even if it was risky, they couldn't stay here much longer. C'mon, you've got this. Ugh, don't chicken out now, you wuss! Okay, on three. One, two--

She started when the door behind her swung open, light streaming down the stairs and illuminating the pair against the dark floor.

NOW! With a final lash of her tail, Rainbow launched herself into the air, flapping her wings hard. Just before reaching the window, she tucked her wings against her sides, and the two mares soared cleanly through the opening. Rainbow felt her back hooves knock against the bottom of the windowsill and gasped in pain; she slid a few feet across the ground outside, Ditzy's limp body tumbling over her head onto the grass.

"Hang on, Ditzy," Rainbow moaned, standing up slowly. She let out a pained hiss. Her back hooves throbbed, and her frontside stung from sliding across the ground at such a high speed. She tiredly dragged Ditzy's crumpled form onto her back and stumbled out of the alley under the darkening sky.

C'mon, Ditzy, just hang in there, she told her friend silently. You're gonna be better in no time. I promise. After taking a few seconds to catch her breath and calm her trembling legs, she wrapped her wings securely over the pony on her back and trotted down the street with a destination in mind: Cloudsdale General Hospital.

A door slammed open somewhere nearby, spilling light out into the street, and Rainbow took off like a shot.

Heavy hoofsteps rang out through the night from behind her.

Frantically Continue Escaping

An odd, bulky shape sped through the night, closely followed by the much larger silhouette of a pony. Upon closer inspection, the unidentified shape was, in fact, two fillies, one slumped across the back of the other as she ran from their pursuer.

Okay, Dash. You got this. Stay calm.

Rainbow's heart raced almost as quickly as her hooves as she pounded down the street, repeating the little mantra to herself. You got this. Only a dozen or so blocks to the hospital. You got this. As she zipped around a corner and emerged into a pool of light from a street lamp, she spared a quick glance over her shoulder just in time to see a thick, blocky red muzzle lunge from the darkness and snap its teeth shut mere inches from the tip of her tail.

"Yiee!" The blue filly yelped, streaking away in a panic. "I don't got this, I do not got this!"

She cursed under her breath as the faint clip-clip-clop's behind her grew louder once more. He was gaining on them. Ordinarily, Rainbow knew she could easily have outrun him; even her parents had a hard time catching her when she ran defiantly astray. However, it was an entirely different story when she was transporting cargo as well. Not to mention, her hind legs had been throbbing and aching like nopony's business since she'd cracked them against the windowsill.

Still, she kept running. Ditzy clearly had it much worse off than she right now, and Rainbow couldn't--wouldn't let her down. Squinting into the distance, she tried to push all these ugly thoughts out of her head and concentrate on the task at hoof. The hospital was nowhere in sight as of yet, but she had a general idea of where it was, so she continued down the streets toward the center of town.

Her focus shattered as a low growl sounded from just behind her, much closer than she was comfortable with. Not daring to look back, she leaped sideways as she came to the next intersection, tearing down the adjoining road. Taken by surprise by the sudden maneuver, Ditzy's father skidded to a stop before charging after her. A subtle smugness washed over Rainbow's face; she'd bought a few extra seconds, and that jerk was likely sporting some nasty new scrapes on his hooves. Yet the chase wore on, Ditzy's father appearing for the most part unimpeded by the minor injuries. Whenever the stallion seemed to be within range of catching her, she'd round the next corner and pour on the speed, creating a decent gap between them.

Soon enough, though, she began to tire, and he still appeared to have quite a bit left in the tank, his eyes glinting as he noticed her fatigue. A grin worked its way across his muzzle before she could look away, and she felt a rush of terror that fueled her onward. To her tremendous luck, as she turned the next bend in the road, a large, bright white sign eased into view:

CLOUDSDALE GENERAL HOSPITAL

Rainbow let out a shaky sigh of relief, her pace slowing to a trot. Before she could realize her mistake, an immense force plowed into her from behind, bowling her over and sending her and Ditzy sprawling across the pavement. She quickly sprang to her hooves, catching sight of Ditzy's father recovering from his own stumbling fall a few yards away. Their eyes met momentarily before lowering to rest on Ditzy's limp form, lying twisted and unmoving on the ground between them.

The silence lasted for a few seconds before Rainbow dove forward, wriggled herself underneath Ditzy and hoisted her up on her back before taking off for the hospital. She'd only made it a single step when Ditzy's father, taking a flying leap, crashed down upon them from above, pinning the two fillies beneath him.

No, NO! We're so close! Rainbow screeched as the life was squished out of her, scraping her hooves across the ground in a futile attempt to drag herself out from underneath the stallion's weight. Nothing would budge. After several unsuccessful tries, she let her chin hit the ground, her exhaustion finally catching up with her.

"About time you gave up." Ugh, that voice. It was like throwing a wrench into a bunch of machinery! Rainbow flinched as she felt a hot breath hiss into her ear, "You lose, filly. You've failed." As she felt the pressure from above cease, a cold chuckle pierced the night, and she weakly rolled over onto her back. She let out a quiet cough, watching as Ditzy's father carelessly threw the grey filly over his back and began walking back in the opposite direction.

That was it. She'd failed. Much as she hated to admit it, the jackass was right. And now, Ditzy... She stared up at the stars and blinked back the tears welling in her eyes, not bothering to wipe away the few that escaped and ran down her cheeks. The filly would surely never be seen again, and it was all because she'd had to go and get her in trouble. A pained whimper escaped her lips, and she rolled slowly to plant her legs under her. As she slowly struggled back onto her hooves, however, she froze. She wiped her blurry eyes clear, then squinted hard, muzzle wrinkling slightly as she peered out at the retreating figure of Ditzy and her dad.

A sliver of gold winked back at her.

Without warning, a grey hoof blindly swung out from the bundle on the stallion's back and swatted him across the face. Rainbow watched in awe as he staggered and toppled over with a shout, both front hooves grasping at his left eye.

Now was her chance. She scurried closer to the heap of limbs and fur and slipped Ditzy out from where she lay partially buried underneath her father. Hurriedly pulling the young mare up onto her back as before, Rainbow sprinted down the road towards the hospital. Only a few seconds later, she heard the telltale sound of hoofbeats from behind, and they were getting louder, fast. She gulped. This was going to be a close one.

"D... h-ash...?" Rainbow's ears twitched at the almost incomprehensible groan, but she forced herself not to get distracted. Her gallop remained steady, in sync with the rhythmic clippity-clop of her hooves on the concrete.

"Don't worry, we're almost here."

"Tha... Thank..."

Rainbow felt a little twinge in her chest at the weak expression of gratitude, and she squeezed Ditzy a little tighter with her wings. She pressed onward, her speed matching that of the fuming pony a few yards back, and within a minute she was careening headfirst into the front door of the hospital, nearly taking it off its hinges as she burst into the waiting room.

"HELP! HELP US, NOW!" The filly shrieked at the top of her lungs. The receptionist and a doctor circled around from behind the front desk just as Ditzy's father barged through the door, gasping heavily for air. Rainbow scampered over to the doctor and crouched behind her, hiding from his smoldering glare.

"What in the name of Celestia is goi--" The doctor's voice broke off as she took in the sight of the battered and broken young pegasus slumped across Rainbow's back and recoiled in shock. "What happened here?! Who is responsible for this?!"

"Him!" Rainbow cried, pointing a trembling hoof at Ditzy's father standing in the doorway. "He is, he did it!" When the doctor's accusatory gaze fell on him, he blinked and began to warily back out the door.

"Security! Stop that pony!" The receptionist yelled, reaching over the front desk and pressing a small button embedded in the frame. Through the glass door and front windows, Rainbow watched as the pegasus fled the scene, only managing to make it a few dozen feet on his tired legs before a pair of uniformed guards tackled him in the street. He struggled in their grip, but after a few moments of inactivity it was apparent he'd been caught.

Rainbow heaved a shivering breath. It was over. No more hurting Ditzy. The knowledge washed over her like a cool breeze, and her legs trembled with relief. She barely even noticed as the doctor, with the aid of another paramedic, gently lifted Ditzy from her back and placed her on a gurney, or as the clerk pulled her tight against her chest and ran a soothing hoof through her ruffled rainbow mane. A single thought permeated the numbing haze of exhaustion in her mind as she slumped tiredly in the embrace.

Thank Celestia that wasn't a pull-door.