Once the elements of harmony were back in Canterlot, the royal doctors immediately took care of Rainbow Dash. Celestia was informed about the happenings of the mission while the guards locked Nova Blast away for interrogation. The princess listened with an unreadable expression. None of the ponies could tell what she thought while she looked at the golden jewel in her magical grasp as she heard about the weird storm, and Rainbow's inability to fly after surviving it. With a sigh, she let the jewel disappear in a flash and turned to the group of friends, missing only the blue pegasus.

"It seems I misjudged my own circle. Never would I have expected an archmage to steal my father's memento for a machine to feed energy to. A machine which seems to have been built with the intent of changing the very laws of how our world works. I do not want to imagine what Nova could have done with this power if you hadn't stopped him. Sadly, I fear that the last breath of his work has already affected your courageous friend."

"P-princess?" Fluttershy asked shakingly, "W-what will happen to Rainbow? Will she- will she..." Fluttershy's wavering voice died in an inaudible whisper. She couldn't finish her question, too scary was the thought of losing Rainbow Dash. The others showed signs of deep worry, as well: Rarity's mane and coat were still left untreated , Pinkie Pie sat quietly and without a smile beside her friends, Applejack had a grim and distant look in her green eyes. Even Twilight, who had told her about the unfolded events, had not looked into her mentor's direction, for once being content to look at her reflection in the brightly polished marble floor.

Celestia stood up from her throne and flew down to her brave little ponies, wrapping them under her large wings. The friends gasped as they felt the embrace of their ruler. It was gentle and lovingly, like a mother's embrace. They felt the warmth of the Princess of the Sun flood their hearts, and one by one they embraced each other. Celestia’s expression was one of care and deep compassion. They had been friends for such a short time, yet overcome so many obstacles, proving the strength of their friendship, so the many letters her student had sent to her had told her.

Maybe this is another test of their friendship, but then it's a very cruel one.

"No, dearest Fluttershy. You all can be sure that your friend will be healthy. The effects are... of other sorts." A knocking on the door ended the explanation before it could even start. A guard entered, informing the princess and her guests that the doctors had completed their checkup. The patient was ready for visitors. Celestia left the embrace while the ponies stayed in their group hug, excited to see Rainbow again, hoping for good news.

"Very well, I guess it's best if I explain everything once we meet up with Rainbow Dash. However, I need to speak with the doctors first. You should stay with your friend till I’ve heard everything about her diagnosis."

She left the throne room with the elements in tow. All of them stayed silent till they arrived at the medical chamber. Once the guard opened the door, the five ponies almost crashed into each other as they tried to get through at the same time.

"Rainbow!"

Rainbow stood on her bed, her wings spread out far. When she saw her friends enter the room, she jumped off of it, right into their open arms. The jump ended in a muddle of colorful ponies laying in a pile, laughing, ignoring the three useless beats of their friend's wings, which had done nothing to direct her jump.

"How ya feel, RD?" Applejack asked, worry clear in her voice.

"I'd feel better if I knew when I could go back flying." Rainbow sighed.

"What did the doctors say, Dashie?" Pinkie smiled awfully wide, even for the party-pony herself. Rainbow scratched the back of her head as she got off the pile, allowing her friends to sit up.

"Well, I dunno. They used some spells and weird instruments on me that I had never seen before. And none of them answered any of my questions, they just said I'd be told everything in time, and just now all of them had left. Then you guys came in. I'm so glad to see you all again." Rainbow wore a toothy smile, yet it didn't reach her eyes; those bore a look of fear and uncertainty. Twilight felt her heart ache to see this kind of smile on her friend and saviour's face.

Fluttershy rushed up to hug her childhood friend, as did Rarity, touched by Rainbow's display of bravery.

"This must be so awful for you, Rainbow." The white unicorn said, wiping away the tears welling up from her eyes. Rainbow returned the hug to the two of them, a more confident look returning to her expression.

"Eh, it's okay. Celestia's doctors are the best in the country, they can make me fly in ten seconds flat once they know what the problem is."

"I'm afraid, it's not that easy." Celestia's sudden appearance made the ponies jump, Rainbow was already in a half-bow before her mind registered what the princess had just said.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?"

"I have talked with the doctors. Their examinations all come to one result: Vulnera animus. You have been wounded, Rainbow Dash." Twilight's eye grew wide as she knew the meaning of those words while Rainbow and the others just looked confused.

"What do you mean by that, princess? Look at me, I'm fine. I don't even have scratches!"

Celestia looked sympathetically at Rainbow, who spread her wings and turned on the spot to show her flawless, aesthetic body. Her student was first to translate the diagnosis.

"Magical wounds. Also called invisible wounds, because you can't see them on the body." Twilight's friends looked at her and then back to the princess for confirmation of what they had heard.

"Indeed. Such wounds will only appear on your very essence, your soul and aura. Right now your being is in disarray, Rainbow Dash. While your wings are physically in top form, the magic in them has dissolved, leaving the limbs too weak to carry a full grown pegasus into the sky on their own." Twilight looked away, unwilling to listen to the princess’ explanation anymore; unwilling to see how Rainbow's face would contort once she understood what this will mean for her.

"Now hold on a second, princess. Ah know, ah'm bein’ a bit rude right now, but what do ya mean will all this hooey?"

"Yeah, what do I need magic for to fly? I could use my wings just fine before." Rainbow supported Applejack's demand for a simpler explanation. Celestia answered with a question of her own.

"Do you know why ponies are able to interact with nature in a way other races can't?"

"Eh, I might have missed that day in school, ehe." Pinkie admitted, an uneasy smile adorning her face. The others didn't smile at all; too horrifying were the implications they became aware of. Celestia cast a sideways glance toward her student, but she didn't look to be up for any explanation, so Celestia took the duty to inform her subjects about the workings of inherited magic in the pony tribes.

"A pony is more than just its body. A body hosts the soul every living being owns. And the interaction of body and soul in harmony creates the aura, which we know as magic, may that be earth pony, unicorn, or pegasus magic. Just like every earth pony needs its aura to feel the life of the plants and every unicorn to touch the magic inside them, so does every pegasus need their inherited magic to fly in the sky and interact with the weather. With your aura bleeding, your body and soul are in disharmony, unable to make use of the magic you were born with, thus you couldn't fly whenever you tried after this incident."

"Are you telling me, that I'm not a pegasus anymore?!" Rainbow's wings flared, anger burned in her at this insult. At least it felt like one to her. It implied that she was not a full pegasus anymore. She would not take that, even from the princess of Equestria.

"Rainbow, please calm down." Fluttershy quietly pleaded her hot-blooded friend, who snorted steam through her nostrils. Celestia waited until the blue pegasus had put her rage to rest before she continued. Since she could guess that actions spoke stronger than theories for Rainbow Dash, she went on with an example.

"Let me show you." With ease Celestia called a cloud forth in the room. It hovered slightly over the ground, a white fluffy cloud, just perfect for a comfortable nap.Something Rainbow wished she would wake up from and find out this all had been just a bad dream. Alas, she was in no dream and soon she had her proof for that, as Celestia pointed her to jump on said cloud. Rainbow took a small run-up and then jumped with full speed. as she was used to. onto the wonderful soft cloud.

And fell right through it onto the ground with her stomach.

"Uff?"

Rainbow looked up, confused. The cloud was right above her, a mere centimetre away from her head. What had once been her element, her everyday job, seemed to mock her now. Instantly she jumped up, this time she tried to climb onto the cloud, like a pegasi foal would, but her hooves fell right through the cloud. They hadn't found the natural connection Rainbow had felt since she could think. Her desperation rose as Rainbow tried again and again to land on the cloud. Nopony dared to stop her, each of them looked with growing dismay at what it meant to be magically wounded. Only Celestia and Twilight looked at it sadly, knowing the full truth from the start. But for Twilight it was much harder to endure, as each desperate attempt her friend took made her guts churn, reminding her for whose sake Rainbow had taken the injuries.

Then the cloud disappeared, leaving only a blue bundle of misery, clutching her head with her front hooves, tearful eyes opened wide, and mouthing quietly "no, no, no, no" without end. Fluttershy and Pinkie were immediately at her side, hugging her and stroking her mane, trying to comfort the injured pegasus, but Rainbow seemed to take no notice of it. Rarity and Applejack didn't move, too horrified by the realisation of what this would mean for the future of their dear friend.

"How come we had never heard of such ‘magical wounds’ before?" Rarity's question came choking as her tongue felt thick with sadness.

"It's due to the Memento of my father. This jewel is one of many that were created long ago, before even ponies existed to ensure that life would continue to exist on this world. The sun, moon, and star moving the magic in nature and in us, banishing magical wounds, the Elements of Harmony, all that and more is due to my father's work. It seemed Nova wanted to undo those laws in his own favor. He could have done anything, and made himself god of this world if he took all the magic from us and made himself the only being capable of performing magic. With this machine he could have even stopped the aging of his body, and much more."

"Wh-when will Rainbow be able to f-fly again?" Fluttershy asked the question on everypony's mind, none of which currently cared for ancient history, or the plans of a mad pony.

"Never again."

"Never again..." Rainbow repeated Celestia's answer, shocked. Something broke in her. Tears began to flow freely down her face. She didn't care anymore just how uncool she looked in front of her friends. She, Rainbow Dash, best and fastest flyer in Equestria, would never be able to feel the wind under her wings when she took off into the sky. She hid her face with her hooves as she sobbed loudly, joined by Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity.

Twilight knew it was not her right to cheer her friend up, but she had to do something, say anything, to stop those terrible tears; each put a hole in her aching chest. Her tongue felt heavy, and her throat dry, as she tried to speak to Rainbow before her.

"Rainbow, I'm- I'm so-"

"Save it, Twi. That won't get my wings to work either." Rainbow barked. Fluttershy and Pinkie jerked at this angry bark, Twilight flinched, as well.

"Rainbow..." Applejack warned quietly, feeling the tension rise in the room. Celestia stayed quiet, curious as to how her student would handle this.

"There must be a way to help you! Maybe the archmages can find a way to treat you, or maybe Starswirl’s library has a book-" Twilight tried to reason with nothing but mere hope in her hooves, but Rainbow wouldn't have any of that. She moved out of Fluttershy and Pinkie's hug, till she stood eye to eye with Twilight, the pony she had saved; a pony who, unlike her, could still do everything she was used to.

"There isn't, Twilight! Get it in your egghead, I'm a cripple now! Even worse, I'm a perfectly healthy cripple! I will never fly again! I'll never nap on clouds again! I'll never work on my weather job again! I can't even enter my own house without falling right through it! And I surely will never become a Wonderbolt in my life!" Rainbow's loud shouts made Twilight step back every time she listed up what she wouldn't be able to do anymore. Now that she wasn't a pegasus anymore, she wasn't even an earth pony, she was just a pony with useless wings and nothing special to it. Her cutie mark, once her pride, boasting her skills and speed in flight, was pure mockery.

Rainbow was furious at Twilight, just because she had to play the hero and take the jewel, they had been trapped in the black tornado. Because the unicorn had been unable to escape on her own she had lost her dreams, her life, what made her herself; lost everything. Twilight was close to crying, feeling the hostility aimed at her, having nothing to counter it. The others wanted to step in before it got out of hoof, but were scared that one wrong word would hurt one or even both of them.

"There might be one." Celestia interrupted, deeming it best to step in before worse words had been spoken in pain. A possible solution to this problem would ease the tension for sure.

"What?" Both Twilight and Rainbow were perplexed by this silver lining on the horizon out of nowhere.

"Starswirl the bearded had experimented on these types of wounds before. Though I've never read his findings, as I was too preoccupied leading my subjects ,and I believed magical wounds to be an unimportant issue. This book might still be somewhere in the library, in it could be a cure to magical wounds."

Hope sparkled in RD's rose eyes; a small but real smile formed on her lips. Twilight felt a bang in her heart at this sight like a firework blazing in the night sky. She knew she had to do anything that might keep this smile alive if she wanted to see Rainbow happy again. It was her duty, her responsibility.

"I'll find it, and then we'll heal you, Rainbow!" Twilight promised, a hoof above her heart. She would even do a Pinkie promise if she had to. Her straight forward offer of help only earned her a scornful look from her hurt friend.

"You’d better! Trying to erase your mistake; are you really trying to help me, or do you just want to ease your guilt, heh?" Still feeling the anger boiling in her, Rainbow threw a jab at Twilight, wanting her to feel an ounce of the pain she felt right now. All her hopes lie on a centuries old book written by a mage who was more legend than a real pony for many today. And her friend had the gall to act like everything would be solved just like that.

But when her friends gasped and Rainbow saw Twilight's face, shocked, hurt, fighting to hold the tears back; she knew she had flown the cart straight into the horse apples.

Before she could say anything, Twilight ran out of the room, leaving an awkward silence behind her. Rainbow felt heavy stones in her stomach, she knew that Twilight had not wanted her to become injured, but she hadn't been able to control the wrath she felt inside her. No, not fine, she had hurt her friend to feel better and now she only felt worse, knowing she had hurt somepony who only wanted to help her. Her friends in the room stayed silent, aware there was no need to tell Rainbow off.

As Celestia moved towards the door to leave as well, Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but Celestia shushed her with a flick of her wing.

"Do not worry, Rainbow. I know all too well what mistakes can be made when you're hurt. It's more important what you will do to erase those mistakes, then to continue to live with them. I know your loyalty lies with Twilight and your friends, trust them, they will help you in any way they can. I will have a guard prepare a cart to fly you to Ponyville." Noticing the protest Applejack and Rarity wanted to throw in, Celestia continued. "Don't concern yourselves with my student. I will take care of her, you take care of your wounded friend."

With that, the princess left to search for her student; she already had a hunch where her student might be. She had assumed correctly, as she found Twilight in the library in the Starswirl wing. The afternoon sun shone brightly on her faithful subject reading through books at a staggering pace, already having raised a small mountain of discarded books behind her.

Celestia joined Twilight in her search for the book with the cure, and Twilight didn't protest, as speaking would cost time, and she had no time if she wanted to help Rainbow. Her friend could hate her for the rest of her life, but she wanted to see her be happy, and if there was a spell to give this happiness back to the blue pegasus she would find it.

While Twilight's friends went home, the unicorn stayed in the library. She went through dozens, hundreds of books; every time hoping the next one would be the right one, just to put it away disappointed. Her mentor helped her greatly, ordering even tea and sandwiches despite them being forbidden in the library, but Twilight paid those rules no mind. Yet she took nothing of the offerings, as eating would cost too much time better spent on searching. Her mentor knew that her student would eat once she found the solution, or became too hungry to even think, so she let her be.

As evening drew near, Celestia left the library to lower the sun, and to raise the moon and stars, since Luna was still too weak to perform her old duties. A minute after her departure, Twilight found the book. It was small, red, and dirty, with two golden S' on the cover. Though it was written in old equestrian, it held no challenge for the diligent student, who had been fluent in this language since she was twelve. She skipped the chapters with the experiments, results and explanations and went straight to the chapter promising a "treatment" for the condition.

Her jaw fell, and her eyebrows rose to her horn as she read about the unconventional method of healing magical wounds. If she hadn't met Pinkie with her Pinkie sense she would have dismissed this spell as the ramblings of a geriatric unicorn, but this was an area of magic she had no expertise in, so she just accepted what Starswirl had written in his book.

Twilight took the tea and sandwiches and gulped them down in three quick bites. She left a note for the princess, informing her that she had found the cure and went back to Ponyville, as well as her thanks for helping her. When Celestia returned from her daily duty and read the letter, Twilight was already on the last train to Ponyville, reading the book.

When Twilight arrived late in the night in Ponyville, with Star Swirls’ book in her backpack, she was eager to run to Rainbow's house to tell her the good news. Halfway there, she had remembered that her friend couldn't be in her own house. She would have fallen through the clouds like she did in the castle. She was probably at one of her friends houses; hopefully asleep by now, though she doubted it. Twilight could see Rainbow lying awake in her bed, looking at her wings, touching them, gritting her teeth and hiding her face deep into the pillow to muffle her sobbing.

She felt the whiplash of guilt again, and shuddered at the terrible loss her dear friend must feel right now, grasping at the one straw of hope princess Celestia had given her. Twilight didn't want to imagine how she would have reacted if she had lost her magic; probably just as bad, if not worse. She walked back to her library and entered it. She found Spike sleeping on the couch in the living room. The little dragon had waited the whole time for Twilight to arrive to ask her how she was doing, after he had heard what had happened on the mission.

Twilight smiled at her faithful friend Spike. Carefully, she put him on her back, listening his quiet murmurs while she carried him into their bedroom. She put him into his bed and tucked the blanket over him, giving him a kiss on his forehead. He smiled in his sleep, which made Twilight smile as well. Seeing him sleeping so peacefully gave more spirit to her resolve to give Rainbow the same kind of peace in the near future. She did not want her friend to have to lay awake countless nights, always asking herself what would have gone differently if she hadn't saved Twilight by sacrificing herself.

Walking to her own bed, Twilight noticed a letter on her desk. Illuminating a light to read its contents, she saw that it was written in Pinkie’s handwriting, though it was missing the many little pictures and hand-drawn smiles that usually accompanied her letters. It showed how much Rainbow's injury had affected the usually so happy and carefree pony. Twilight felt her smile fade as she read the letter.

Hey Twilight!

We hope that you have returned from Canterlot and that you found what you searched for. If not then we will send a letter to Spike. The others worry that you will miss our intended meeting tomorrow to cheer Rainbow up, buuuuut I have a feeling that you will be there. It's my Pinkie Sense, you know.

We'll meet at 9 o'clock in Sugarcube corner for a yummy breakfast.

We'll see you there, Twilight! I know it!

Pinkie

Twilight put the letter away. She knew this was not just for Rainbow Dash, to give the reckless mare her dreams, and the life she knew back. She did this for herself and for her friends too. Their friendship would suffer if one of them could never be the same again. She would heal Rainbow no matter what it would cost her.

"Don't worry girls, I will fix this for sure." Twilight promised into the dark room.

"Mhm-hm-eh? Twalaight, yuure baaack?" slurred a rather sleepy Spike, who turned and tossed in his little bed, trying to wake up to get to the mare he had been worrying about all day long. Surprised and embarrassed that she woke up her tired friend, Twilight went quickly to Spike's side to put him back to sleep.

"Hush now, Spike. Everything's fine, I'm back, and tomorrow we will get something yummy for breakfast. Go back to sleep." She tried to assure him while Spike did his best to stand up from his bed, though he was a wobbling mess, ready to drop back into the dreamlands anytime. But even in his tiredness he felt something amiss with the mare who had hatched him.

"Nuh-uh. Nathin's faineee.Yuur sad..." And in a display of luck and clumsiness, Spike fell out of his bed, resulting in a hug around Twilight's leg. Once he felt contact, he pressed himself closer to her warm body to give her comfort.

Twilight tightened her lips and gulped the lump she felt growing in her throat down. She was so lucky to have him and her friends in her life. If a small sacrifice on her part could help to return everything to normal, she would gladly pay the price. She hugged Spike back and nuzzled his head, the soft scales tickling her snout.

"Spike?"

"Hmmm?"

"Would you like to cuddle tonight? I think I need somebody close to me to fall asleep today."

"Hm-hm."

"Thank you."

With Spike in one of her front legs, the unicorn entered her own bed, throwing the blanket over the two of them as they snuggled closer to each other, enjoying the warmth and comfort they provided each other. Twilight remembered how Rainbow had held onto her chest, yesterday.

She had felt safe and protected in her warm chest, hearing its strong heartbeats inside. Rainbow had risked everything to save her, now it was Twilight's turn to pay back the favor. Before she fell asleep, Spike quietly snoring between her arms, one last thought crossed her mind. A thought that followed her into her dreams, and that was also the first she would think of when she would wake up in a couple hours:

I'll make everything alright.

Author's Note

Proofreaded by Timberwolf65. Thank you very much for your help! :D

This chapter was to explain and deal with the serious incision in Rainbow's life by losing ALL of her pegasi abilities, not just an injury so that she can't fly anymore or not well, but that she really is only a pony with wings added on it without any pegasus magic in her to sit on clouds, create the weater or fly in the sky with a wing size that would never carry her in real life. And that's it.

For somepony as proud as RD, especially in the first season, that is soul-crushing. It's why I had her leash out against Twilight though we, and ofc RD herself, know that she ahd decided to save Twi by sacrificing herself and nopony else.
But I think we all were at a point in our lifes where we were hurt so badly that it just felt good, even for only a moment, to hurt somebody else just to not think about your own pain. Of course afterwards you mostly feel even worse but at that point it just feels "right" though you know that it's wrong. :/

I like to explain magic though the meme says "It's magic I ain't gonna explain ****". XD
The thought that you can hurt somepony not only physical or emotional but also magical was the main reason behind writing "Invisible Wounds". And ofc how to treat such wounds which will be handled in the next chapter which is fully written and awaits proofreading. :D

I hope this chapter was to your liking. Thank you for reading. :)