If Wishes Were Ponies
By Sturm Panzer
It had been a fairly mundane day for Twilight Sparkle thus far. She had been spending some time going over a new shipment of books for the library. Spike had been helping her sort through the books, figuring out what was going to go where, as well as deciding which books to shift into storage. As was par for having a large stack of brand new books on hoof, Twilight had already picked out a number of them that she thought would make for interesting reading. It was barely past noon, and she was just getting into one of the new books when there was a rapid knocking at the door to the library.
“I wonder who that could be?” Twilight mused as she walked over to the door. Upon opening the door, it was not anyone she would have expected to come knocking on her door on this day. “Oh, hello Nurse Tenderheart. What brings you here today?” Even the momentary look she gave the other pony was enough to tell that she was anxious about something.
“Twilight Sparkle, I'm glad that you were home. Nurse Redheart was hoping you could come over to the hospital, she needs to talk to you about something.”
“I can certainly come over, just give me a few seconds to pack a couple of things.” The unicorn quickly selected a couple of books from the medical section, and put them into her saddlebags. “Did Nurse Redheart say what it was about?”
“No, but I suspect it has something to do with the new foal they brought in yesterday. I haven't had a chance to review the case, so I don't know all the details off-hoof. What I do know is that it's serious. Nurse Redheart can fill you in on the details when we get there.”
Twilight nodded slowly, fastening her saddlebags on. “Ok, I'm ready. Let's go see what the situation is.”
The hospital was small, as Ponyville's fairly small population never needed a major medical centre like what Manehattan, or even Trottingham had. They did see some cases come in from the surrounding areas every now and then, but usually anything serious would be transferred to one of the bigger centres. Barring unfortunate occurrences, (like the infamous accidental muffin poisoning). The Clinic rarely had more than one or two ponies staying in it. As soon as Twilight opened the door and entered the clinic, she was met almost immediately by Nurse Redheart. “Oh, Twilight Sparkle, thank you so much for coming on such short notice.”
“Oh, it's not a problem, Nurse Redheart. What did you need me for? I've studied a little bit of medicine here and there, but I'm sure that your medical knowledge vastly exceeds mine.”
“Oh, it's not for that reason.” Nurse Redheart paused for a moment before continuing. “Yesterday a sick pegasus foal was brought in from one of the outlying hamlets south of her. Cases like this should normally have long since have been sent to Canterlot or Manehattan.” she said with a soft sigh, hanging her head slightly.
“You always do your very best; don't go berating yourself because you had to deal with something very unusual,” Twilight said, lightly patting Nurse Redheart on her shoulder.
Nurse Redheart just shook her head sadly. “It's serious. Very serious.”
Redheart's tone gave Twilight serious pause, as the nurse wasn't known for overstating or exaggerating problems. “How serious are we talking about?” Twilight asked, the nurse having her undivided attention.
“I'm afraid it's cancer,” the nurse said softly, her eyes closing.
Twilight wined slightly at the diagnosis, one that she knew was very serious, and often fatal if not met with prompt and intensive treatment. “I know there's a number of spells with medical uses, maybe I can find something that can help with treating this.”
Redheart continued on in a quiet voice. “It had already spread widely through her body before they even brought her here. I'm afraid that there's nothing more that can be done with it having advanced this far.”
“Unngg...” Twilight felt like she'd just been kicked in the gut. There probably wasn't any magic in Equestria, short of maybe that of Princess Celestia's, which could do anything about an illness that serious.
“How… how long?” Twilight asked, her voice sounding a little strained even to her own ears, and she was silently thankful that it didn't crack.
“Days,” Redheart said in a soft voice. “And likely only a few. We're doing what we can to make her comfortable for that time. There just aren't any other options for us." The nurse sounded slightly frustrated at her inability to cure the young foal's illness.
Nodding slowly, the unicorn understanding what Redheart meant. Twilight knew from her medical texts that the foal's condition would likely be extremely painful, for however long she lasted. That also meant they would dose the little pegasus with the strongest painkillers they had. They'd use as much as they needed to since addiction or overdose was not a concern at this point. The only thing that that really mattered was the patient's comfort for what time remained.
“So... Why?...” Twilight stammered. She was having difficulty asking why the nurse had summoned her over here, but Redheart was quick to answer.
“It was the foal's mother, Misty Rain,” Redheart explained. “She wanted to talk to Rainbow Dash, but I have no idea how to get a hold of her, or even find her. But I know that she's a very good friend of yours, so I was hoping you would have some idea on how and where to locate her as soon as possible."
Twilight nodded slightly, “I can probably find Rainbow Dash in short order, but I'm wondering. Why does she want to see her? Are they friends?”
Redheart shook her head. “No, Misty said they've never met, so I'm unsure of the reasons. She's over there.” Redheart pointed through the double doors to a hallway, where Twilight could see a light green pegasus curled up on the bench outside a room.
Misty Rain was a light, almost pale blue-green pegasus. Her white mane and tail looked frazzled, like they hadn't been brushed for a while. The pegasus clearly looked like she'd been crying a lot, and obviously with good reason, her cheeks still streaked with the tears. When her amber eyes opened, they were tinged with a bleary redness. Misty looked worn down, like she hadn't slept in days.
“Misty Rain? I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm very sorry,” Twilight said in a soft voice. The pegasus only nodded her head slowly, it looked like words were beyond her at the moment.
“I understand you're trying to find Rainbow Dash?” Twilight continued, “I'm going to try to track her down. I was wondering why you wanted to see her, since Nurse Redheart said you didn't know her.
The pegasus looked over and through the window in the door. Inside the room was two beds, a small, frail looking pegasus foal was asleep, curled up on one of the beds and clutching what looked like a light blue plush pegasus of some kind against her body, while a light blanket was pulled up over the foal's body. There was a steady IV drip that ran down into her arm. What alarmed Twilight the most was both how frail she looked. The foal's wings were almost like sticks, while her limbs looked thin and bony.
“Oh Celestia. She's probably not even Scootaloo’s age,” Twilight thought sadly, “and she hasn't even gotten her cutie mark yet. Not even old enough to fly, either”
“It's not for me. It's for Summer." Twilight glanced quickly to Summer. The pegasus' voice sounded raw, probably from crying. "I was hoping that Rainbow Dash would somehow be able to contact the Wonderbolts. After all, Rainbow Dash spent time with them after winning the Best Young Flyers competition. I... I was hoping she might be able to contact them.”
“The… Wonderbolts?” Twilight was really confused at this point.
“Yes. Summer idolizes them. She dreamed of flying with them sometime. The Wonderbolts are her heroes.” Misty let out a soft sigh, giving her head a slight shake before she continued. “It's foolish, I know. I was hoping, maybe… maybe Summer's dream might come true before…” Misty couldn't even finish the sentence before she started choking up, fresh tears dropping from her muzzle and onto the floor.
Twilight looked back in the room at Summer Rain, and looked a little closer at her. Then she recognized that the blue plush pegasus that the foal was clutching was actually a stuffed Wonderbolt doll. Twilight stood up straight, the gears in her head were already turning, and she was starting to get an idea. “Of course," Twilight thought. "Misty would have been there to see Dash win that. So it figures that she would think that maybe Dash would be able to still contact them.”
“Miss Rain. I'm going to do my best to try to make it happen. I can't promise you that I will, but I'll do my best.” It almost sounded convincing to Twilight's ears, though she had more than a little doubt, and hoped she wasn't biting off more than she could chew with this promise.
“Oh thank you for trying,” Misty said, trying to make a smile, but not even getting it halfway there. The pegasus curled back up again, resting her cheek on her forehooves. "I... I think it's still foolish. But at least it's a hope. The only hope I have at this point." The pegasus closed her eyes, squeezing out some more tears as she sat and waited for the inevitable.
By the time that Twilight had exited the clinic, she already had the basics of her plan worked out, and it all hinged on one particular pegasus. Convincing her to go along with the plan wouldn't be that hard to do. No, the real trick was going to be locating her in the short time that was available.
Looking around up in the sky, she noted that there was about a dozen smallish clouds just floating about more or less at random. "Ok, seeing those clouds tells me that Dash is probably goofing off right now, as usual," Twilight mused, searching around the sky a little more. "I imagine that she's probably taking a nap at the moment. She often does around this time of day."
When it came to Rainbow Dash and naps, Twilight knew the pegasus was probably sleeping on top of one of those clouds. The hard part would be finding the right one. For that, the unicorn needed both height and better vision. Both of those were readily available at the Library.
Once at the tree, Twilight bolted right up the stairs, stopping only long enough to snag the binoculars that she kept around. Up a second set of stairs and then up to the attic, which boasted both the highest window in Ponyville, and acted as a small storage room for odds and ends.
With the window opened, that vantage point gave Twilight a good enough angle to see most of the clouds that were floating around Ponyville. Using the binoculars, she started carefully scanning each one, looking for the tell-tail smear of blue that would tell her she found Rainbow Dash.
Sure enough, there she was. The blue pegasus was stretched out on her belly on top of a cloud, clearly enjoying her nap. "Looks like she's just barely within telekinesis range," Twilight muttered as she quickly started writing down a message onto a scroll, along with a second, more elaborate one that she tucked into her saddlebags upon completion.
The note floated out the window, the unicorn's innate telekinetic ability guiding and propelling it aloft toward the sleeping pegasus. At that kind of range, the control was dodgy, and while she was trying to prod Dash in her side with the scroll, Twilight ended up jabbing her in the ear.
"Ow! Huh, what the hay?" Dash sputtered as she was so rudely awakened, looking around a couple of times before she realized that it was a scroll that poked her.
While Dash eyed the scroll like it might explode at any time, Twilight took off down the stairs, confident that her message would be read by the pegasus. She wanted to get to the front door before Dash did, and the pegasus would get there in much less time once she read the note.
Dash scanned over the offending scroll; the message was short and simple. Rainbow Dash paused only long enough to stretch before she walked over to the edge of the cloud and casually jumped off, unfurling her wings to swoop in toward Twilight Sparkle's library.
“A bit of tacking. Some sharp braking. Aaaaand..” The cyan pegasus swooped right in through Twilight's open window and then unfurled her wings to brake suddenly in a showy pose to hover right in the center of the room. “Taa-daa! Ok, I'm here to save the day. What's up, Twi?”
Twilight, who had just opened the front door for the pegasus seconds before Rainbow Dash swooped in through the window just facehoofed. "Can't you ever use the door like a normal pony?"
"Let me think about that for a second," Dash mused, tapping her chin with one hoof. "Nope."
Twilight just sighed softly. Then gave her head a shake before she started explaining to Rainbow Dash what the situation was. The unicorn had had some time to think through what she was going to say, and knew her friend well enough to coach it in a way that Dash would have hard time refusing. “…. And so, I need you to fly to Canterlot to deliver this message that I wrote to the Wonderbolts."
The pegasus paused and then motioned with one hoof over to where Spike was stacking some books, “Wait. Why not just get Spike to send a message to the Princess, then the Princess can just order the Wonderbolts down here?”
“I wish I could, Dash, but Celestia’s in Manehatten right now for the city's founding anniversary. And it's even longer from Manehatten to Canterlot than it is from here. And anyway, there isn't a flyer anywhere in Manehatten that's a fast as you are,” Twilight said, using some flattery to help butter up Dash for her task.
“You got that right. I could fly rings around any of those Manehatten clowns. If I leave now, I should get to Canterlot before sunset.”
Twilight lifted the saddlebags she's already prepared onto Rainbow's back. “I know you'll be traveling fast, so I packed light; some oats for energy during the flight, and water."
Rainbow Dash shifted the bags slightly to settle them a little more comfortably, and then headed over to the door. “I'll be back before tomorrow night, Twilight. Time to fly!”
Rainbow Dash took a few running steps and then vaulted up into the air, her mane and tail streaking behind her as she actually used the door for a change. It was only a few seconds before she'd soared up into the sky and was well on her way. Sparing only a brief look behind her, Dash saw Ponyville rapidly vanishing into the distance.
It was pretty smooth flying for much of the trip. While it was early fall, it wasn't exactly warm, but it was too soon for it to get cold yet. Perfect conditions for flying, if the weather held up.
It wasn't until Dash started to get closer to Canterlot that she hit the clouds. “Great, looks like a storm cell is starting to build up.” Dash said to herself. “It's not too bad right now, but it could get a lot worse with little warning. I do NOT want to be caught in a storm right now. Dangers aside, it could ground me if I'm not careful.”
Making a slight adjustment in her flight plan, she veered over to the side, using the winds to help guide her out of the clouds. “There's already come heavy winds here. If I follow the winds and angle off to the right, I should come out of the cloud without having to fly through it.”
Sure enough, as she angled off to the right of the wind direction, the cloud cover started thinning out over on her right side. It was a bit more time before she exited the clouds entirely, and was back into clear skies. “I think I'm off course, and over to the East,” she muttered, correcting her course to loop north, skirting along the edge of the cloud for a little while, and then peeling away from it to continue along toward Canterlot.
Dash was running later than she thought. Grumbling under her breath about the delays she suffered in avoiding flying through a potential storm cloud, it wasn't until the sun was a red smear on the horizon by the time she finally arrived in Canterlot. She was certainly feeling the strain of flying there at speed, enough so that she was actually a little grateful of getting to land and walk for a bit, to give her a chance to rest her wings. It also gave her the chance to get a bit of dinner, with a mouthful of oats in a hasty meal as she made her way down the street.
Every trip to Canterlot amazed Rainbow Dash. The elegant towers and spires that reached high into the sky. The massive walls and fortifications made of gleaming white stone. The bustle of ponies going here and there, with many times the population of Ponyville. Manehattan might be the biggest city in Equestria, but Canterlot was the heart and soul.
“Ok Dash, you don't have time for sightseeing," she admonished herself. You're here on a mission, let's get it done,” she muttered to herself and head out at a quick trot toward the Royal Palace.
However once she arrived at the massive doors that where the gateway to the Royal Palace, she found her way blocked by a pair of impassive Royal Guard ponies. “There are no audiences being taken today. Her Royal Majesty, Princess Celestia, is out of town on official business.”
“I know that she's not here. I'm not actually looking for her, I'm looking for the Wonderbolts. Aren't they in the Palace?”
“No, they are quartered in a section of the Royal Guard barracks, on the Northern District.” The Royal Guardpony wasn't even looking at Rainbow Dash as he spoke to her, not even changing his impassive stone-faced expression, which didn't really improve her mood any. Had she more time, she would have tried her hoof at taunting the guard, like she did back when Celestia visited Ponyville, but time was not something she had an infinite amount of at the moment.
Instead Rainbow Dash started off over toward the north end of town. She would have flown, but she remembered the last time she did that, and got lectured by one of the Royal Guard for flying over a restricted zone. The darkness grew quite rapidly into full night before she made it to her destination, but thankfully there was lanterns hung on poles at regular intervals to provide light for those that were still out and about.
In all of her visits to Canterlot, Rainbow Dash had never been to the Northern District before, but was obviously for the well-off. The streets were spotlessly clean and well-lit with lanterns hung on poles. Large manor houses dominated the district, many with small walled gardens attached to them. The shops also changed from the more casual ones, to those dealing with the upper-class. The ponies that Dash saw walking around reflected the district's status, with lavish outfits that all but screamed wealth. Security was also much heavier here, with a larger number of Royal Guard ponies scattered throughout the district.
Navigating was also much harder, as many streets looped back around, or just came to a dead end. More than once, Rainbow Dash found herself back on a street she had just been on a few minutes ago. “Who designed this place?” she muttered to herself, getting more frustrated with each wrong turn she made. “It's like they made it specifically to annoy visitors.”
Finally, Dash swallowed her pride and walked over to a pair of Royal Guard ponies that where watching her, since her plain appearance stood out compared to the opulently dressed ponies here. “Hi, I'm, uhh, kind of lost here.”
“The Eastern District is down that way,” the guard said, pointing with one hoof, and a manner of professional detachment.
“Huh? The Eastern? No, I'm looking for the Wonderbolts, I have a message to deliver to them. I was told they were in a barracks in this area of Canterlot, but I can't seem to find it.”
The pair of guard ponies looked Rainbow Dash over for a couple of seconds before one of them finally spoke up, pointing down one of the streets. “Follow that street, then make a left turn when you get the square. Go straight from there and you'll find it.”
“Ok, I'm on it.” ”Finally, I'm getting somewhere,” Dash thought, her pace picking up to a trot as she headed down the street.
The Square was mostly cafes of various types, and with most of them being closed, and the fewer number of ponies about, the lateness of the hour was worrisome. Dash's trot quickly turned into a faster jog up the street to the left, keeping a sharp eye out for the barracks.
The guard barracks that she found was impressively large, and matched the district. It looked more like a small walled compound on the edge of the city, backing up to the outer walls, and a sheer drop beyond. A few large stone buildings were inside the compound, one of them being right at the main gate, and straddling it, making the entrance to actually be a tunnel that passed under the building. Behind the buildings were a number of cloud buildings of various sizes.
Like at the Royal Palace, the Guardpony at the gate was polite, immovable, and as equally unhelpful as the other one.
“Too late at night? Look, I just flew all the way here from Ponyville, got lost trying to get here, and now you're telling me to come back in the morning?” Dash was trying not to yell at the Guardpony, but she was getting both angry and frustrated. “I don't have a lot of time, it's really urgent that I speak to one of the Wonderbolts. Every minute counts, here.”
“I'm sorry maam, but everyone is asleep right now. You'll have to come back in the morning when the sergeant will be awake. If you have a matter that demands the immediate attention of the Royal Guard, then there is a dispatcher's office just two doors over to the left.”
“I already told you," Dash ground her teeth slightly, resolutely trying not to lose her temper, "I don't need the Royal Guard, I just need to talk to Spitfire, or Soarin, or any of the other Wonderbolts.” Dash was quickly starting to get worked up. A mix of anger and frustration was gnawing at her from getting so close, only to be stymied by an obstinate Guardpony.
“Maam, if I wake my sergeant for anything less than a full-on invasion, then I'll be standing this post for so long, my beard will reach my hooves. Please come back in the morning.”
Dash took in a deep breath and opened her mouth to yell something. But then just let it out with a soft sigh as she hung her head slightly, realizing that yelling wouldn't get her anywhere. “Ok, fine…” She turned and trotted away a distance, then took off, lifting up into the air and landing on the roof of a building that overlooked the Guard compound.
Rainbow Dash rummaged into the bags that Twilight had packed, pulling out a light blanket that she discovered inside. She pulled the blanket over herself after settling down, wrapping it tightly around her. “First thing in the morning…” she mumbled as she realized she was more tired than she thought.
Dawn came far too early for Rainbow Dash. Her own anxiety over how little time she had left, and the discomfort of trying to sleep on a very uncomfortable roof conspired to ensure that she didn't get much sleep. And the lack of sleep didn't improve her mood any from last night.
A quick bit of food to finish off what little was left of the oats, and then she packed her saddlebags, shoving the blanket inside it before leaping off the roof and gliding down to the main gate to try her luck once again.
“Waddaya mean the Wonderbolts aren't here?!” NOW Dash was yelling.
“The Wonderbolts are down in Trottingham for an exhibition,” the Guardpony calmly told her.
“Trah-Trottingham?! That's over a full day's flight from here!” A hint of hysteria was creeping into Dash's voice as she was quickly realizing that her trip up here, and all the precious time it took, was in vain.
“They're due back in about four days, I think.”
“Summer doesn't have four days…” Dash said softly, hanging her head, trying to fight the feeling of despair that was creeping up on her.
She slowly turned and started walking away, determined to not let the Royal Guardpony see her cry, even if she was already blinking back the tears.
“Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?”
As her name was called, she lifted her head and looked back over to see none other than Spitfire walking out of a side door and over toward her.
Dash gave her face a quick wipe with one hoof and then turned toward the other pegasus, looking rather surprised to see her. “Spitfire! They just told me that the Wonderbolts were down in Trotingham!”
“Oh, they are. Well, all except for me,” Spitfire said casually, “I came down with an ear infection a few days ago, and the doctor grounded me until it's healed. Otherwise I would be down there with them. I was in the office and heard you yelling. What's up?”
“An ear infection?” Dash muttered. It made sense that the doctor would have grounded Spitfire, as an ear infection can disrupt the sense of balance and direction for a pegasus. Normally not a big deal, but if the pegasus was doing stunt flying or flying in rough weather, they could easily get disoriented and crash.
“I'm glad you're still here, Spitfire. There's this really sick little pegasus foal down in Ponyville… Wait, Twilight wrote you a letter about it!” Digging into her saddlebag, Dash pulled out the scroll, which she passed over to Spitfire so she could read it herself.
Spitfire spent a couple of minutes going over the letter carefully, probably twice. When she was done, her expression was a little tight, and slightly grim. “That's rough,” she said softly. “I wish I could help you, Dash.” She said as she looked up from the scroll to the other pegasus. “But like I told you, I'm grounded. I'm not allowed to fly.”
To say that Rainbow Dash was stunned by what she just heard would be a slight understatement. She just stared at Spitfire for several seconds before she was finally able to answer, her tone being amazingly calm considering what she was feeling. “That's it? Just because of a little ear infection, you say 'sorry, no can do'?”
Spitfire winced slightly, “Dash, it's not that simple. When you're given a direct order from-“
“I had to break up a storm front last year with an ear infection. You just have to carry on and do these kinds of things, you know?” Rainbow Dash didn't even bother to try to hide her growing frustration from Spitfire as it started to boil over.
“Dash-“
“I hauled tail to get here. Then had to wait all night on a cold rooftop just to get the chance talk to you.” Dash was letting her anger into her voice without any attempt to restrain it. “I thought the Wonderbolt’s were all 'Do or Die' you know? Instead, I'm told that because of a damned ear infection, you can't be bothered to visit a sick foal that idolized you, and probably only has a couple of days left to live?! No! You know what? Forget I asked!” she yelled at Spitfire and then turned and leapt up into the sky, leaving Spitfire behind as she kited off, heading back toward Ponyville, the spires of Canterlot rapidly retreating behind her.
Partially blinded by her tears, frustration and inner rage, Dash didn't even notice the thunder cloud bank until she was practically on top of it. It was the same one that she'd skirted around the day before, only it had grown since then. Much larger and darker and more ominous, it was well into a being a full-fledged thunderhead. By the time she reached it, she was just too mad to care about the dangers. Flying into a storm cloud is dangerous under the best of conditions. Doing so when it's an active thunderhead is right on the borderline between brave and dumb. Doing so when your mind's not on your flying is downright stupid.
Rainbow Dash hit the dark cloud wall like a missile, leaving a rainbow-smeared trail behind her as the wall of cloud broke open when she hurtled through it and into the storm's heart, leaving the cloud to slowly close up behind her
Once in the clouds, it became obvious that the low pressure system from the day before had indeed grown into a major storm overnight. The light from the sun was mostly hidden by the dark masses of cloud, making it gloomy and with very poor visibility. It was windy, too, and Dash found herself getting buffeted about by the winds and had to fight the winds with each flap of her wings. That didn't really bother her too much, as it just gave her the chance to work out some of her anger by fighting the winds.
*FLASH* --- *CRACK*
It was when she saw the first lighting stroke that something resembling common sense finally started to creep in, and she came to the quick realization that she had taken a very foolish chance in entering the cloud. “This was stupid, I shouldn't be here.” she said to herself.
*FLASH*-*CRACK*
“I need to get out of here, fast.” Dash peeled over to the right, trying to both follow the winds, and angle out of the cloud, just like she did yesterday.
*FLASH*
The lightning stroke came down right in front of her, and way, way, WAY closer than any pegasus would have liked. Reflexively, Rainbow Dash's eyes closed, but the dazzling image of the lighting was seared into the insides of her eyelids. She felt the heat of the incalculable energy of the lightning wash over her, and her muscles twitched, spasming slightly from the electrical charge that shot through her body from the near-miss. She could feel all of her hair lifting up, and especially her mane forming a prismatic halo around her head.
*CRASH*
Once, when she was younger, Dash crashed headfirst into a snowbank. The thunderous pressure wave from the lightning felt exactly the same as it slammed into her. It was a lot louder, louder than anything else Dash could possibly imagine, and it set her ears ringing as she heard the entire world explode at once. Air spilled out from under her wings, both knocked askew and stunned, the pegasus started losing altitude, fast.
Dash was experienced at flying under adverse conditions, and this was no exception. Her instincts were screaming at her, clamouring in the back of her head that there was something seriously wrong. Prying open her eyes, all she could see was the dazzling afterimage of the lightning. Blinking her eyes a few times helped to clear them a little, but it just created a new puzzle as her mildly-concussed brain tried to comprehend what she was looking at.
“Where did that mountain come from?" Dash's confused mind was wondering, "and why is it spinning around?”. No, it wasn't spinning, SHE was. Getting her head to think clearly was taking an inordinately long time, but the realization that the ground was hurtling toward her at an alarming rate helped kick-start her brain.
“Ok, no problem, been here dozens of times,“ Dash thought, “Wings out, stabilize the spin, then angle the wings to pull out of the dive. Easy!”
The problem was that her lightning-shocked body didn't want to respond. Dash's muscles were still twitching from the current that had just passed through her and her body was refusing to obey even simple movements. It was only through a supreme act of will that Dash was able to force her wings out and stabilize herself. Even that much movement was severely taxing, and caused her muscles to ache like they were ripping away from the bone.
As hard as it was for Dash to get her wings out and stabilize herself, pulling out of the dive was proving to be a much harder act to accomplish, and she was rapidly running out of sky. In fact, she's already passed the upper ridge of a valley in her descent.
Next thing Dash knew, a pair of yellow hooves had wrapped around her body and was pulling upward, helping her to pull out of her dive. Taking a quick look over her shoulder, Dash's blurred vision only showed a hazy smear of yellow and orange.
Together they angled down into a narrow cut in the floor of the valley that should be sheltered from the worst of the storm, or at least from the wind. The landing was a lot rougher than Dash would have liked, and she ended up stumbling and then tumbling over a couple of times before coming to rest on the grass on her belly, legs stretched out. But at least she seemed to have all of her major pieces intact, which was a vast improvement over what might have happened without the other pegasus pony's help.
"Are you Ok, Dash?" the other pegasus asked. Or at least that's what it sounded like, since Dash's ears were still ringing from the overpressure that had slammed into her.
Dash blinked her eyes several times, and the smeary afterimage of the lighting faded and she was actually able to look at the other pegasus. It took Dash a couple of seconds to realize who it was.
“Guh? Spitfire?” Dash just stared at the other pegasus, as if she's somehow managed to grow a second head. “What are YOU doing here?” She pushed herself up slightly from the wet ground, but she was shaky, as her body still didn't want to obey her, and not to mention that she hurt all over.
“You mean other than saving your life?” Spitfire replied, tilting her head to one side slightly. “Well, I guess we're even now,” the other pegasus mare said as she calmly as she walked over to where Dash had come to rest. She had a yellow coat and orange mane, and was wearing a pair of goggles around her neck.
“Yeah! You said you couldn't fly, and all that…” Dash's shocked and concussed mind was still trying to process the unexpected appearance of the Wonderbolt.
“Oh, well…” Spitfire shrugged. “It's all 'Do or die', you know?” She looked over at Rainbow Dash. “I don't think I've ever seen a pony get that close to a lightning bolt before. At least get that close and survive. Are you ok?”
Dash slowly pushed herself up onto her hooves. “I... Yeah, I think so…” The rain that was coming down helped to flatten down her mane, which was still standing up in a prismatic halo around her head. It also helped to try to sooth the burning ache that permeated every muscle of her body. It hurt enough that even just standing up was a chore.
Spitfire gave Dash a slight smile, “Good to see you're still in one piece. Can you still fly?”
Flapping her wings experimentally, Dash was able to lift off the ground and hover, but her wings felt extremely stiff and the muscles felt like they were on fire. Landing once more, she nodded, “Yeah, of course I can still fly.” Dash said, her voice tight, determined not to show any weakness in front of Spitfire.
“Good.” Spitfire said as she flashed Dash a smile before turning and started walking, getting ready to take off. “I heard there's a sick little foal in Ponyville that's waiting for us.” Extending her wings out, she glanced to Dash. “And her time's running out. Ok, Dash. Let's cut cloud.”
The rest of the flight back to Ponyville was rough. Spitfire lead the way by setting a merciless pace, knowing that Dash would push herself as hard as she could to keep up with the other pegasus. Dash's lungs were burning, to match the steadily aching burn that she felt in her wings during the flight.
The first little bit was the hardest. The pair of ponies flew low to the ground as they worked their way out of the storm. It was dangerous going, and they had to be leery of a sudden downdraft that might smash them into the ground. Just as dangerous was the prospect of hail, which can easily damage a pegasus' wings if the stones are large enough.
They were able get out of the storm without any further problems, the clear skies and weather would make the rest of the flight back to Ponyville easy flying.
The sun was well on it's way toward setting by the time that Sweet Apple Acres came into view. Dash smiled, knowing that they had entered the home stretch, and it was enough to give her a second wind to pile on an extra burst of speed. Even with that extra speed, she was still exhausted, compared to the fresher Spitfire, who was easily able to maintain her lead.
Ponyville was sparkling with lights here and there, lanterns hanging, lights from open doors and windows. It was beautiful, and Dash was glad to have made it back, even if she didn't have time to really enjoy the sight.
On reaching Twilight's library tree, Dash almost stumbled on landing, her energy from the second wind being almost completely drained. Twilight opened the door just as the pegasus was about to knock and she had to catch herself from knocking on the unicorn's face. “Hey Twi', I'm back.”
“Dash, I was wondering what was taking you so long.” Then Twilight noticed the other pegasus that was behind Rainbow Dash. “Oh, hello. I am Twilight Sparkle.”
“Hello, Twilight, I'm Spitfire, of the Wonderbolts. I think we met briefly at the Grand Galloping Gala.”
“Oh yes!” Twilight exclaimed, “Oh, there's only one of you? Where are the rest?” Twilight was eager for the chance to divert the topic of the conversation away from the fiasco that was the Gala and onto something more important. Like the fact there was only one Wonderbolt.
“Actually, I'm the only one that's here. The rest are all in Trottingham. But hey, one Wonderbolt is better than none, right?”
Twilight nodded her head. Indeed, one was better than none, although she couldn't help but notice something else was missing… “Where's your uniform?”
“Well, I had my uniform packed, but I kind of lost the bags when Dash and I got caught in a really nasty storm on the flight back here.”
“Uhh, yeah, Twilight,” Dash added in as she rubbed her head, silently thankful that Spitfire had withheld that they had both lost their bags because she was dumb enough to fly into the storm in the first place. “I kind of lost the bags you lent me, too.”
“Ok, no uniform…” Twilight mused. “Oh, no problem! We can ask Rarity to put together a copy of the uniform. She should be able to make it by first thing in the morning.” Twilight nodded her head, taking a quick look over in the direction of Rarity's shop.
“Sounds good. I'll go over to see this Rarity, and help her with getting the uniform looking presentable.” Spitfire nodding to Dash, “You look beat, Dash. You should get some sleep while you can.”
“You do look really tired, Dash," Twilight observed, "Go on inside and get some rest, you've earned it. I'll take Spitfire over to Rarity's place.” Twilight started trotting, “It's over this way, Spitfire. I'm so glad that you could come and help us with this. It's something that I've never had to deal with before and…..”
Giving her head a shake, as Twilight's voice trailed off into the distance with Spitfire in tow, Dash headed inside, giving the door a nudge to close it. She walked over to the nearest cushion and practically collapsed onto it. It smelled vaguely of Spike, but she was too tired to care. She still hurt all over, even more so in the wings after the hard flight here, and it wouldn't surprise her if she had actually pulled a flight muscle, or maybe even tore something. “I don't think I could find one spot that doesn't hurt right now," she murmured, "even my mane hurts.” But despite aches and pain, as soon as her eyes closed, she was out cold.
Morning came too early for Dash. Way too early. The light that was slanting in through Twilight's window was like Celestia's flashlight shining right into Rainbow Dash's face. “Ugnnr… Someone turn down the sun,” she groaned, pulling the blanket over her head. She didn't even remember someone draping it over her last night, probably Twilight, who must have come back after visiting Rarity with Spitfire.
The door suddenly banged open and Dash's ears were assaulted by the excited chatter of Twilight and Spitfire. “I'm really impressed, Twilight. Your friend Rarity does impressive work, and in such a short time,” she could hear Spitfire saying.
“Oh, I know. Rarity has never let us down, especially when someone's in need. Her generosity truly comes from the heart.”
“She came through for us big time. I'm just amazed that she was even able to come up with a couple of minor improvements to the suits. I'm going to have to recommend the changes when I get back to Canterlot.”
“Rarity will be thrilled to hear that.” Great, Twilight was in the worst mood of all. 'Early morning riser' mood. “Ok Dash, wake up. We need to get going.”
“Ok, Ok. I'm awake.” With a big yawn and then a stretch, lifting her rump up and arching her back, with the blanket still over her head. Finally, Dash pushed herself up, the blanket sliding off her head as she rose. Her body still ached all over, but the pain had subsided from the intense burning that it was last night, to just a dull ache.
“Whoa.” She was slightly taken slightly aback by the Wonderbolt costume that Spitfire was now wearing, and it looked pretty authentic to Dash's eyes. It was the first time that Dash really had to get a good look at Spitfire in the full outfit at close range before, and she couldn't help but drink in how it looked on Spitfire, clinging to her body. It took a moment of conscious effort for Dash keep her wings folded against her body, but it was helped by the fact her wings started to hurt as soon as the muscles in them got tense.
“Good to see you're joining us, Dash," Twilight said with only mild sarcasm but she smiled as she carefully pulled something blue and folded-up out of her saddlebags. “Now hurry up and get dressed.”
“Huh?” Dash looked at what Twilight was unfolding with her magic. “A... A Wonderbolt uniform?” She looked at Spitfire, who just nodded back to Dash.
“Well, yeah. She wanted to meet the Wonderbolts. Plural. And since I'm the only one that's here, that means you'll have to stand in for a few hours.”
Dash wasn't one to just stand there and ask questions when it meant putting on a Wonderbolt outfit. It was a bit of a struggle to get dressed as her sore body was still giving her grief, though she did feel less stiff. Also, she wasn't used to wearing something like that, so it took a bit of help from Spitfire for her to get suited up quickly. “I thought there was something about only inducted Wonderbolts were allowed to wear the uniform.”
Spitfire grabbed part of Dash's uniform with her teeth and pulled it tight over the other pegasus’ flank to smooth it out, which sent a thrill up Dash's spine. “There's some complicated rules, which includes something about temporary stuff in times of emergency. So I think we can let it slide for this special occasion.”
“Ok, how do I look?” Dash asked as she posed there with the Wonderbolt uniform. She couldn't help but stand there proudly, wings spread and arched upward. It was an amazing feeling for Dash to be standing there with a Wonderbolt uniform on, even if it was just a fake uniform, and she was just going to be a stand-in for a few hours. It invigorated her, and even the ache she felt in her muscles was starting to fade.
Spitfire gave Rainbow Dash a critical eying over for a few seconds. “Looks good, Dash. Now, let's get going.”
“Oh wait, I almost forgot something,” Twilight pulled out a book and scanned over the page she bookmarked. “Dash's mane and tail is a dead giveaway.”
Dash cast a look over her shoulder, at her prismatic mane and tail and then back to Twilight. “Ok, but what can we do about it?”
Twilight's horn glowed softly as she gathered the energy for a spell. “This spell I researched will temporarily change your mane and tail colours. It will wear off in about four hours.” Dark motes sprang from the tip of the horn and settled into Rainbow Dash's mane and tail. The multi-coloured hairs darkened, turning them into a dark blue. “There we go. Now we're ready.”
The three of them set out at a brisk stride to the clinic. Along the way, several of the ponies that happened to be out that morning paused to look over them with most of the looks being given to the two strange ponies dressed in Wonderbolt uniforms.
Once at the clinic, they entered, finding the hallways deserted and silent. Twilight led Rainbow Dash and Spitfire along to the room that Summer Rain was in.
Only, the room was empty! The bed was neatly made and there was no sign of the little pegasus. “Oh no! Are we too late?” Twilight rushed into the room, and the back out again right away as it was obvious to anyone that it was clearly empty. “No, we came so close…”
At the sound of Twilight's commotion, Nurse Redheart came around the corner, to see what was happening. “What's going on here? Oh. What's this?”
Twilight glanced up at Redheart with a sad look, “We were too late,” she said softly.
“Oh no, we just moved Summer to a private room, at the end of the hall,” Redheart said, pointing down the hallway. “You aren't too late yet.”
“Oh! Thank you,” Twilight's mood instantly improving with the knowledge that they were going to make it after all. She led the small group down to the indicated door, and took a peek inside. She could see both Summer and Misty inside, the small pegasus was curled up on the bed, with her mother standing beside the bed, talking to her in a quiet voice.
“Ok, here we go.” Twilight glanced at Dash and Spitfire for just a moment, then opened the door and led them in.
“Summer? I bought you a couple of special visitors,” Twilight said, causing both of the pegasus ponies to look over at her and then two that were following behind Twilight. “I'd like to introduce you to the Wonderbolts.”
The little pegasus foal was absolutely stunned as she openly gawked at both Spitfire and the disguised Rainbow Dash. “How?...”
Her mother, Misty was equally stunned, never having expected that Twilight would actually be able to make good on her promise. She wasn't even able to find words at the moment.
Spitfire walked around Twilight and up beside the bed, smiling at the little pegasus, who was still clutching her stuffed Wonderbolt toy. “Hey there kiddo. I heard that you wanted to fly with us. Well now's your chance.”
Summer looked at her tiny, bony little wings, giving them a feeble little flutter. “But I can't fly,” she started saying, looking both hopeful and dubious at the same time.
“Ah, that's where I come in,” Twilight said. She concentrated, some magical sparks coming off her horn as she focused the magical energy once more. It was a variant of the spell that she used to give Rarity wings some time ago, only this time, it simply enlarged Summer's tiny little wings into full-sized pegasus wings, which looked a little ridiculous, as they were now really oversized for a little foal like her.
“Whoa.” Little Summer looked more than a little surprised by the sudden set of wings she now had, and gave them a bit of an experimental flap.
“Those are only temporary, Summer, but it should be enough to let you fly for a bit.” Twilight smiled, rather pleased that her modifications to the flight spell seems to have worked well.
“Ok! Let's fly!” Summer looked bright and eager, carefully standing on the bed and spreading her wings out.
“Hold on there, squirt,” Dash said. “If you're going to fly with us, you need to look the part.”
On that cue, Twilight pulled out another Wonderbolts uniform from her saddlebags. A much smaller one, made for a foal to wear. “Thankfully Rarity had Scootaloo's measurements on hand,” Twilight thought.
It was more difficult to get Summer dressed than they thought, since she was constantly squirming and trying to look at herself, even while only partially dressed, but they finally managed to get her suited up with a minimum amount of fuss.
“One more thing,” Spitfire took off her Wonderbolt goggles, the only part of her official uniform that she hadn't lost in the storm, and draped them over Summer's head. “There. Now you're ready to fly.”
The group headed outside, followed by a rather anxious Nurse Redheart, and an even more anxious Misty Rain. “Don't worry, she'll be safe with us,” Spitfire was saying as they headed outside, to soothe the worried mother. In truth, it would be Twilight that was doing most of the 'flying' for Summer, using her magic to keep the little pegasus aloft.
“Ok, everyone ready?” Spitfire looked over at Summer and then Dash, who was on the other side of the foal. They both nodded, and then they lifted off into the air.
The three pegasus ponies glided along smoothly, the little foal in between the other two, and holding a perfect chevron formation. “I'm flying!’ Summer shouted, and while her voice was weak, it was enthusiastic. Their flight was actually little more than a couple of circuits around above Ponyville, though they did swoop down low for a couple of spots. The flight plan was carefully planned by Twilight as she needed to keep a line of sight to Summer to maintain the magic that was lifting her up.
“You're looking good kid,” Spitfire said with a smile to Summer. “How about we take a break?” she added, as the three of them turned and started gliding down smoothly toward the clinic.
The landing was very gentle, and already Summer was panting and looking more than a little worn out from the short flight. Misty and Nurse Redheart were there right away to make sure she was ok, and if the broad smile on the little foal's face was anything to judge by, she was feeling very good.
Twilight lifted the exhausted little pegasus up and carried her along as they headed back inside. “I was flying! Flying! Me! Can you believe it, mom?”
Misty lightly brushed her hoof over the back of Summer's head, “Oh dear, you were flying, so wonderfully well, too!” She shouldn't stop the tears that started, even though she was smiling.
Spitfire lightly brushed her hoof along Summer's back. “Good flying kid.” Then she looked over slightly to meet Dash's eyes she said “I hope to see you at our next try-outs,” then looking back to Summer, ignoring the momentary look of surprise on Rainbow Dash's face.
By the time they got back to the room, little Summer was all just about to fall asleep, her frail little body was already weakened by her illness and the drugs they used to help with the pain, and so it was worn out by the excitement and thrill of flying in short order. Once settled on the bed, Summer curled up, clutching the stuffed Wonderbolt against her, her uniform hanging from the bedstand. She was still wearing the Wonderbolt goggles that Spitfire had given her as she fell fast asleep with a broad smile. The first real smile the little foal had for a long time.
They quietly exited the room, letting Summer enjoy her sleep. Once out in the hallway, Misty looked to the trio. Even though she was smiling, her cheeks were soaked with her tears. “Thank you all so very much. I… I can't think of any words that can even begin to express my gratitude for what you've all done.”
“You're quite welcome,” Spitfire said softly. “I just wish there was more we could do to help her.”
Slowly, misty nodded her head. “I've come to accept the inevitable, I think. But to see her smile once again before…” The pegasus choked up, and almost started to cry. She closed her eyes tightly and stood up straight, willing herself to be strong, at least for a few minutes more. “You've all done so very much, already. Thank you.” Misty couldn't stop the tears, and didn't even bother trying. She went around to each of the three, giving them a close embrace. “Thank you. All of you,” she said softly.
A couple of hours later, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, both still wearing the faux-Wonderbolt outfits that Rarity made, were standing on a cloud, looking down at Ponyville. Twilight had restored Dash's prismatic mane and tail, which billowed out behind her, carried aloft by the early evening's breeze.
They stood there together for several long minutes, just watching the ponies moving about their business below them. Finally, Dash couldn't wait any longer and she looked to Spitfire, “Did you mean what you said?”
Spitfire took her time before answering, her eyes on the ponies and the town below them. “At the last try-outs, I saw a young mare named Rainbow Dash. She was arrogant, selfish, and so full of herself, she didn't give a damn about anyone else. The only thing she cared about was winning. At any cost.”
Dash flinched slightly at the rather harsh and uncompromising description of herself. But to admit the truth, she thought that it was probably pretty accurate.
Spitfire continued, without even sparing Dash a look. “The Rainbow Dash I've seen over the past two days is clearly not the same Rainbow Dash that I saw at the try-outs. I think this Rainbow Dash is the real one, that she found out what's in her heart.”
There was another lingering silence as Dash thought over what she had said. Finally, Spitfire stretched out her wings and gave them a flap, lifting herself up off the cloud, and turning to head back to Canterlot. Spitfire’s final words drifted back as she started gliding away:
“Stay true to your heart, Rainbow Dash."
