Cold Stings and Feathery Wings
Rainbow Dash was living the time of her life, she was happy as a bee just laying in Soarin's hooves. She didn't think she could ever love anypony but Soarin changed her mind. Soarin was always there when Dash needed him to be, he was sweet, and he was a Wonderbolt! It felt like Dash was in some sort of fantasy where everything went right and nothing could go wrong.
Dash had a hard time running the weather team in Ponyville, but when that hurricane came through, she pulled everypony together and was able to kick it to pieces. She didn't think much of it at the time, but a few days after that, the Wonderbolts came to Ponyville and thanked her in the flesh! Apparently, the hurricane was the result of a failed Wonderbolts training exercise and Rainbow Dash stopped it and prevented a lot of damage. When the team left, Soarin stayed behind and gave Dash his own "special" thank you. The two really hit it off after that and the only thing that separated them was Soarin's duties in the Academy.
"Hey Dashie," Soarin whispered, "I gotta go."
"Aw, c'mon do you have to?" Rainbow whined
"You know I do, but I'll be back in the morning"
Dash sighed, and got up. She helped him up off the couch and walked with him to the door.
Soarin opened the door and stepped out, he turned around and gave Dash a kiss goodbye and said something to her that he'd never said before, "I love you."
Dash's wings wanted to go nuts but she kept them down at the expense of her face turning cherry red. She paused a moment, then said, "I love you too" with a warm smile.
Soarin smiled back and said, "see you in the A.M.!" and flew away.
Dash slept well that night, with fresh memories of Soarin crowding her dreams. She woke up feeling fresher than ever, but that was the problem. Soarin normally woke her up when he was let out for breakfast. He's probably just being kept back for showing up past curfew, she thought to herself. This was the perfect opportunity for Dash to go to the market and get a banquet ready for when he showed up for lunch. Dash threw on her saddlebags and went out the door.
The market was full of busy ponies, it seemed everypony had something they were doing. Dash wandered from vendor to vendor, buying anything that looked delicious or anything that could be made into something delicious. Sweet aromas came from her bag as it began to overfill with goodies.
Dash was bout halfway through her shopping spree when somepony said, "What's that, up in the sky?"
Rainbow Dash instinctively looked, thinking it was a storm or something weather related. What she actually saw was something far more surprising. Spitfire, dressed in her Wonderbolt captain outfit, was flying full speed at the market. Her face was red, and she had tears streaming down her eyes, and Rainbow could tell it wasn't from the wind, it was something else. Spitfire landed hard and skidded to a stop, very unprofessional like, Rainbow Dash noted, which was totally unlike Spitfire.
Spitfire glared around the market stalls, as if looking for somepony. Then she gave up her search and screamed, "WHERE'S THE PONY KNOWN AS RAINBOW DASH!"
Instantly, ponies in the vendors inched away and those who weren't up next ran away. Rainbow Dash decided to make herself known before somepony else did. "I'm right here!" she said defiantly, "I finished the Wonderbolt's academy and passed with flying colors! So if Lightning Dust said I cheated then she's the real liar!" Rainbow had always feared that Lightning Dust would do something like that, and it seemed her fears were reality.
"Stop playing stupid Rainbow Dash, you know why I'm here!"
"You mean, that's not it?"
"OF COURSE NOT! I'M HERE TO TELL YOU OFF FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!"
"What?" Rainbow Dash was now confused.
Spitfire flew up to Rainbow Dash so fast that when she stopped right in front of her, Rainbow's mane was blown out of style. "HOW DARE YOU SLEEP WITH MY BOYFRIEND!" Spitfire accused Rainbow Dash
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" Rainbow Dash retaliated
"WHEN WE CAME HERE TO-!" Spitfire was cut off as she noticed the audience that formed around them. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private." Spitfire suggested
Rainbow Dash agreed and they flew off to Dash's place.
"So what's all this hoopla about your boyfriend?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Who is your boyfriend? I didn't even know you were dating!"
Spitfire sighed and then gestured towards the picture Rainbow had hanging on her wall. It was a picture of Rainbow Dash and Soarin on a date to the carnival where Soarin got cotton candy all over his muzzle and Rainbow was licking it off. "That's who." Spitfire whispered as she started to cry.
"What? Soarin's been dating me for the past eight years! Are you telling me he's been cheating on me for that long and I haven't found out?" Rainbow Dash questioned, "Because if that's what you're saying, then you better have some evidence to prove it!"
Spitfire looked up at Rainbow Dash, still crying, she said, "Me and Soarin have been dating since he joined the academy," Spitfire pulled out a book from her saddlebag and opened it up, "Look," she pointed at one of the pictures in the book, it was a scrapbook, "Here's our first date." The picture was of a slightly younger looking Spitfire next to a slightly younger Soarin, they were holding hooves.
"Yeah right," Rainbow Dash sneered, "you two probably dated a long time ago and this is just payback for when he broke up with you or something! Really mature Spitfire!"
Spitfire hadn't stopped crying but Rainbow could swear it sounded like she was crying with the force of two ponies after that comment. "This was taken yesterday," Spitfire turned to the last page in the book, "it was the eleventh anniversary of our first date."
Rainbow Dash looked and saw Spitfire and Soarin kissing over a calendar on the wall. A date was circled on the calendar, yesterday's date. Rainbow Dash instantly realized her folly, and she too started to cry. All of those memories with Soarin were wasted time, they meant nothing to him. She spent eight years of her life, eight years giving every ounce of love she had to Soarin, and he was throwing it away every time he walked out of the door. Rainbow Dash cried, she'd never been hurt like this before. The two mare sat there, wallowing in their own misery.
By the time their tears had run out and they could cry about it no more, there was a puddle on the floor between them. Rainbow Dash went to the kitchen to get a rag, and Spitfire sat down and looked at the scrapbook, Rainbow Dash knew what she was thinking, because she herself was having the same thoughts. Soarin used them, all of the years they'd spent, we're wasted time.
Rainbow came back from the kitchen to see Spitfire was crying once more over the scrapbook, Rainbow Dash wiped up the puddle and threw the rag on the table. She approached Spitfire and took the book from her, "All this book will do is bring you pain." Rainbow Dash stated. Rainbow went over to the fireplace, not even bothering to look for a confirmation from Spitfire. Rainbow threw the book into the fireplace, and went back to comfort Spitfire.
After many long silent minutes, the two sat there, alone. Spitfire was the first to speak her mind, "All this time, I meant nothing to him. He lied to me all these years."
"He told me last night, that he loved me." Rainbow Dash stated
Spitfire looked up in shock, she met eyes with Rainbow, and said, "I guess he played us both. I'm still not sure whether to be mad at you for dating my bf, or happy that I have somebody to gloom with."
"We're not going to gloom over this," Rainbow stated, "he's the jerk, and we did nothing wrong. If anything, he should be sad that he just lost his chance with either of us."
Just then a knock came at the door. Rainbow Dash knew who it was, as this was the time he was supposed to show up if something went wrong at the academy and he couldn't get out in time for breakfast. But nonetheless, she opened the door. Soarin stood on the welcome mat, and said "Hey Dashie I-," He was cut off as soon as he noticed how puffy Rainbow's eyes were and the stern look she was giving him, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Yes," Rainbow Dash said very calmly, "something did happen, something very very bad."
"Oh my gosh! What happened, is there anything I can do to help?"
"Yes, there is," Rainbow dash said, still calm, "you can leave. Leave and never come back." As she finished the sentence, Dash opened the door a little more so Soarin could see Spitfire in the living room.
Soarin's eyes practically shot out of his skull when he realized what had happened. Like a coward, he stumbled away from the doorstep and flew off hurriedly.
Spitfire thanked Rainbow Dash for all the comfort and hospitality, then went on her way shortly after. Rainbow Dash, hurt and now completely alone, cuddled up on the floor in front of the fireplace and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning was awful, Rainbow Dash stayed in the kitchen all morning, just stirring the Oat-e-O's around in her cereal bowl, trying not to let the tears come back up. When she finally decided she wasn't hungry, she sat in the living room and watched the birds fly by out the window. Rainbow Dash looked to her left to see the pictures of her and Soarin on the wall. She was filled with such rage over those pictures, that she flew upstairs to grab her baseball bat that she kept for intruders, and smashed every last picture she had of him. What was left was dumped into the fireplace and she tried to forget about it. When eight o'clock in the evening rolled around, Rainbow realized she still hadn't eaten anything. She grabbed her bowl of cereal from the fridge and quickly gulped it down. When she finished she just left the bowl in the sink and curled up on the floor again next to the fireplace. Right when she started to close her eyes in hopes of better dreams, a knock came at the door. Afraid it was Soarin, Rainbow Dash didn't answer it. Then, the voice of a little flightless Pegasus reassured her that it wasn't. Rainbow Dash inched her way to the door, simply dragging her face and forehooves on the ground as her rear legs pushed her forward.
She got up and opened the door to see Scootaloo, only thing was that she was flying! Normally, Dash would have been so proud, but she wasn't in the mood to give a congratulations to the excited adolescent on her doorstep.
"What's wrong sis?" Scoots asked, "Aren't you happy to finally see me flying?"
Rainbow managed a smile, "I'm really happy for you, I'm just having a hard time right now and I need to be alone." As Rainbow started to close the door, Scootaloo pulled it back open.
"No sister of mine is going to spend an entire night upset! Especially after all you did for me!" Scootaloo said as she barged inside. "Now what's wrong?" Scoots asked as she sat down in the living room.
Rainbow Dash sat down across from her, right where Spitfire was sitting and explained the previous day's events to Scootaloo. Scootaloo gave her big sister a hug and reassured her that she would be back soon with all of Dash's friends, which she was. Not even five minutes later, Twilight and Co. were in Rainbow's home and comforting the broken Pegasus.
After hours of counseling from her friends, Dash decided it would be best if Scoots stayed the night at Rainbow Dash's house.
"Well then I'm staying too," Twilight said, "I'm sure Scootaloo is more than capable of keeping you company, but you need somepony to look after you."
"I'm fine Twilight!" Rainbow Dash complained
Twilight gestured towards the mess in the kitchen and the remnants of the shattered photos on the ground.
"I guess I do need some help getting back into the groove of things..." Rainbow admitted
Years passed, and Rainbow Dash still mourned over her lost love. What a fool she was to think a stallion as amazing as he was could possibly love a mare as insignificant as her. Twilight always told her that she was more than just any old mare, she was "Rainbow 'Danger' Dash!" That used to cheer Rainbow up for a few minutes but now it just made her more sad, as it invoked memories of when she was younger...when she was with Soarin.
As the years continued, Rainbow Dash grew more and more depressed, her friends gave up on cheering her up long ago. As the old mare she was, the only other pony she had with her was Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash had to move her cloud house closer to the ground because her wings were too feeble to carry her anymore. Scootaloo could carry her the short distance between the house and the ground, but walking was a chore itself. Scootaloo had a job running Sugar Cube Corner, which was now a high dollar industry thanks to Pinkie Pie. So Scootaloo was rarely around to help. Often, Dash would dream of Soarin returning and helping her with her day to day activities, and a happy life.
When Rainbow Dash could no longer move on her own, her doctor issued her a wheelchair, and a room at an retirement home called Blissful Gardens. Rainbow Dash quickly discovered the owners didn't want anypony getting hurt, so they kept them all on the grounds. Dash only called the retirement home "Blissful Gardens" one time, that was before she went there, when she arrived, she started calling the place, "The Jail Where Old Ponies Go to Die."
Just last week, Rainbow Dash was reunited with her old friends, they all came on the same bus to stay at the retirement home with her. Since Rainbow Dash had a government job as a weather pony, she received income checks through the mail every week, this kept the retirement home giving her the most excellent service, as she paid the nurse ponies high tips for the smallest of tasks. Now that Rainbow Dash had her friends here, she witnessed firsthand the mistreatment they received. Nurses would escort them to the door then walk away, expecting them to support themselves on three hooves while one turned the knob. Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie could manage it, but Fluttershy and Rarity were a bit too frail for it.
Rainbow Dash still had her diary from when she was a young mare still in love, and read it every day. Her favorite part was when she saw the crazy handwriting on the page where she reflected upon Soarin admitting his love for her. Looking back on the writing gave Dash the feeling that nothing ever really went wrong. She would read the entry, and snap back into reality the next morning. She opened the book and scanned the entry for the millionth time.
Dear Diary,
Today, something TOTALLY FANTASTICALLY AMAZING HAPPENED! SOARIN SAID HE LOVED ME!!! I hesitated but I told him I loved him too! He's soo perfect! I wonder if he wants to have kids, or maybe-
The entry went on for four pages about all of the things Rainbow Dash believed Soarin might want to do. After that, all of the other pages were ripped out, she preferred her diary ended this way, happily. In the morning, though, she would snap back, and reality would punch her in the face.
Many more painful years passed, and with them, so did Fluttershy. That poor pony was always falling over when she tried to open doors or lift a hoof for anything, and one day, one fall was enough to shake her soul loose from her bones. The fall didn't kill her, but she died in a hospital room that night. Fluttershy was in deep pain, as she broke a rib and was bleeding internally. All of her friends were in the ambulance comforting her. Rainbow Dash arrived at the hospital late, because of her stupid wheelchair. When she finally arrived, Fluttershy had already passed. Rainbow Dash cried with the rest of her friends, until they showed her a video they recorded before she got there. In the video, Fluttershy lied in a hospital bed with all of her friends around her. The doctor came in and gave Fluttershy a shot, that he said, would ease the pain. Fluttershy calmed down and was talking to her friends, but she appeared very tired and talked sluggishly. Eventually the conversation died down and Pinkie Pie told a joke to try and lift Fluttershy's spirits. Fluttershy laughed and said, "I love you all very much, you are the best friends a pony could ever ask for." at the comment, Rainbow Dash started crying again, "Including you, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said to the camera, Rainbow Dash looked up at this. Fluttershy laughed at Pinkie's joke one more time, then slowly closed her eyes. Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy on the bed as the video ended. Fluttershy had died that night, with a tear on her cheek, and a smile on her face.
Rarity was next to go, she gave her life in one final generous act. Rarity's kidney's matched those of a slightly younger mare. The doctors didn't know it, but Rarity had only one good kidney left, so she gave it to the mare, and succumbed to blood poisoning. At first, Rainbow Dash wondered why the doctors didn't give Rarity a check to make sure her kidneys were in working condition. Then Twilight told her that the Equestrian health care system often neglected ponies of older ages, and they probably thought of it to be a waste of time. The funeral was much more spirited than Fluttershy's, which made Rainbow Dash more depressed. Fluttershy didn't have much family to come, most of her family were animals. Rarity had stallions and mares from far and wide come to her funeral, most of which Rainbow had never seen before. It was nice to know she would be mourning her with so many others. Twilight gave her final thoughts on Rarity's passing before they buried her, she said, "Rarity gave her life in one final act of generosity. She was found asleep, if she was given dialysis treatments then this could have been prevented, but we mustn't dwell on what could have been. A great unicorn passed today, Rarity, the most generous mare of all, passed with a tear on her cheek, and a smile on her face."
Finally, Applejack couldn't take anymore nurses neglecting her, it was putting her arthritis inflicted joints under so much pain. All those years of apple bucking caught up with her, and every movement felt like a million needles in her bones. Applejack was found one morning, with her IV tube out and her feces bag spilled everywhere. Doctors concluded Applejack pulled the plug on the life support system after flinging blood and poop all over the floor. There was a note in her hand when they found her, it said, "Clean this up you bitches!" When Applejack was pulled out on the stretcher, Rainbow saw her go by; she had a tear on her cheek, and a smile on her face.
Pinkie Pie's years of parties didn't fare well for her health, she had blood sugar problems and hated being cooped up in such a small area. The most excitement Pinkie got was the weekly bingo game. After years of scavenging for parts, Pinkie Pie was finally able to re-create her party cannon! She decided she'd use it at lunch to celebrate her birthday next week. When the time came around, Pinkie rolled the cannon in and shot confetti everywhere. Everypony loved it and everypony smiled at the sight. Pinkie Pie, however, was having a heart attack in the midst. By the time somepony realized, Pinkie was already at the point of no return, as all of the elderly ponies called it. This meant that she'd survive the heart attack, but its effects would end her life. Pinkie Pie, was put on one of the tables while a doctor performed CPR to keep Pinkie breathing. Another doctor told him to give up, and Pinkie Pie died on the table. The last thing she saw was the crowd of ponies smiling at her party cannon. She lied there for everypony to see, with a tear on her cheek, and a smile on her face.
Twilight finally discovered her logical explanation for Rainbow Dash's seclusion for so many years. Twilight told Dash that she had depression. It should have been obvious, but depression was a rare thing in Equestria. Twilight had only recently heard of it through a book she read from the retirement home's library. Twilight wished she discovered that sooner, because there were programs and rehabilitation centers to prevent and reverse the effects of depression. Twilight looked all throughout her books for any spell to remove Dash's depression, but to no avail. But Rainbow Dash agreed with Twilight, ever since her break-up with Soarin, everything went downhill and she saw everything as depressing. Rainbow Dash thanked Twilight for her explanation, and privately wished to herself that Twilight would pass that evening. To others, that may seem rude, but Rainbow Dash wished it so Twilight could pass with memories of helping a friend and so Twilight wouldn't have to deal with Rainbow Dash's passing. It's a sad thing when you wish your friends would die before you do, just so they don't have to deal with the pain of living on without you. But it seemed Celestia heard the old mare's prayers, and Twilight passed that night in her sleep, peacefully. She was found with a tear on her cheek, and a smile on her face.
And now? Now, Rainbow Dash was in a hospital bed, waiting for her dying breath to reach her. Scootaloo, had shown up to hold Rainbow Dash's hand, but that was it. Nopony else came, not Spitfire, not Soarin, not even Spike who was probably just maintaining the library! Rainbow Dash felt awful that her little sister had to watch her pass, but she was happy too, because Scootaloo would have these last few minutes with Rainbow Dash. As Rainbow read over her diary one last time, this time, she thought about where she went wrong. "Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash whispered.
"Yes?"
"Where did I go wrong?"
"What? I don't understand?"
"Where did I go wrong with my life, why was it so miserable?"
"Rainbow Dash, you did nothing wrong, you lived your life just like anypony else."
"Then why was it so bad?"
"Because of what Soarin did to you."
Scootaloo was right, Soarin caused Rainbow's pain, and therefore, ruined the mare's life. "Promise me something squirt." Rainbow Dash pleaded.
"Anything sis." Scootaloo squeked, she knew what Dash was about to ask.
"Please, find a nice stallion, don't die alone and sad like I am."
"Dash...I-"
"I don't care who he his, just love him with all you've got. I'm sure there are some old stallions still available, even for an older mare like you." Dash's mouth formed a frown, as she realized she had touched base with the topic of age, something Scootaloo hated talking about.
"Dash, don't put me in a position like this." Scootaloo tried to ignore the talk of aging.
"Just promise?" Dash's eyes seemed to glisten in the light of the room
"I...I...promise..." Scootaloo reluctantly replied, unsure of whether or not she could keep that promise.
Dash turned to look at the heartbeat monitor, the beats becoming more irregular. Darkness crept at the edges of Dash's vision, and she turned to face her sister with a worried look on both their faces. Scootaloo was full blown crying, and Dash had tears nibbling at the corners of her eyes.
Through the whimpers, Scootaloo whispered, "I l-love y-you D-Dash..."
Dash's vision grew darker, and the heartbeat monitor started to make a high pitched noise. Dash simply let a tear go, and replied, "Love...I used to know what that meant...I really long time ago..."
Rainbow Dash passed holding Scootaloo's hoof... with a tear on her cheek, and a hole in her heart.