Rainbow Crashedby SyeekohChaptersAftershockCantermountMassage and VisitFlying HighAftershockRainbow Dash was sailing across the sky above Ponyville, feeling on top of the world. She smiled broadly as she zoomed over the Cutie Mark Crusaders, getting into who-knows-what. She picked up speed, whizzing through Sweet Apple Acres… There was a book in front of Rainbow. It seemed to be calling out to her, so she sat down and read it. She couldn’t make out what the words were, but she sensed that whatever was in this book was very important, so she kept reading. She heard voices, but easily blocked them out. She had to get to the bottom of this book. It called out to her as she turned each page. Rainbow Dash was entering a restaurant with her mother. They were quickly escorted to a table, whereupon they sat down. Then Rainbow’s mother pulled out a strange looking device. “Happy Birthday, Rainbow Dash. I’ve got you a music player,” her mother said, “here, let me show you how it works,” as she pulled a cord that split into two cords out of her saddlebag and plugged it into the device. She took one of the split ends and put it in her ear, offering the second split end to her daughter. She took it and put it in her ear. What she heard was smooth, jazzy music that tickled her soul. “How do you like it, Rainbow Dash?” “I love it. Thanks, Mom,” Rainbow said, pulling her mother in tight as they listened to the music. Rainbow Dash was sitting at a table with her father. “So,” Rainbow’s father said, “How would you like to go to Mareami with me?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, “Would I!?” “Alright then, here’s the itinerary,” Rainbow’s father continued as he pulled out a screen upon which their flight path was shown in full color. She could actually see the cloud formations in the sky...below, she guessed as she looked upon the device with awe. “This is awesome, Dad!” “I know, right?” Rainbow Dash was in the streets of Canterlot, listening to her music device. She looked at the screen, displaying some unknown band.Ugh, hipster shit,she thought. At least I’ll look cool while listening to it. Rainbow Dash was reading the book again, seemingly able to divine its secrets. It was about aerodynamics or something. Just a few more pages...pegasus magic? This piqued her interests. She kept reading on. She was at the Apple farm, where they were talking about Cadence’s bachelorette party. There were apples, to be sure, but also carrots and eggplants...and cider. She looked at all the goodies in front of her, in awe at all of them. “So, do you think this’ll be enough?” Twilight asked. Rainbow nodded hungrily. Double Rainboom. The book was about a Double Rainboom, Dash assumed. What else could it be about? It was about aerodynamics, pegasus magic, and she thought she saw something in one of the pages about space… Dash’s eyes shot open, taking in the sight around her. She heard a sucking sound coming from her person. A voice said, “So how are you tonight, Rainbow Dash?” It was Fluttershy's dulcet tones. Rainbow Dash looked outside. It was indeed dark out. “Fine…” she said weakly. “Look, Dashie, I know how tough this is for you, and it kills me that you have to go through it! If I could take your place, I would! I wish you didn’t have to suffer like this!” “But...this is for...the wedding…” Dash said. Fluttershy smiled, a tear dripping down her cheek, “Oh, Rainbow Dash…” as she stroked her mane. The book again. She had no idea what it was about now. Now it was talking about space trajectories and other egghead stuff. She threw it away in disgust. She felt a jostle at her shoulder, and her eyes popped open. She looked and saw all of her friends...and Princess Celestia? “What’s going on?” Rainbow asked. “Well…” Twilight said, fiddling with her hooves, “there’s no easy way to say this, but…” “Ya’ve got brain damage,” Applejack said bluntly. Rainbow’s eyes widened at that. Brain damage? “When would I have gotten brain damage?” “When you were flying around! You were all like swoosh, and swish, and huzzah! And then…” Pinkie trailed off, tears forming down her cheeks. “You were flying so fast that you slammed straight into one of Applejack’s trees, dear,” Rarity said, “you’ve been out for a month,” “WHAT!?” Rainbow Dash screamed, “WHY DON’T I REMEMBER ANY OF THIS!?” “Well, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said, “from what the doctors explained to me, when you suffer a brain injury, your brain deletes the memory to prevent any trauma…” “But you can fix this, right?” Celestia bowed her head, “Rainbow Dash, there simply is no healing magic that can repair the brain. There are so many connections inside that we could risk permanently frying you if any of the doctors tried anything. I’m sorry,” Rainbow Dash looked to Fluttershy, who was crying in the corner, probably due to the emotional weight of the scene. So Rainbow Dash responded in kind She screamed at the top of her lungs, thrashing about the bed. When her limbs didn’t respond like they should have, she managed to scream even louder. “WHY AREN’T MY WINGS WORKING!? WHY AREN’T MY LEGS WORKING!?” “Quiet down, Rainbow!” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash quieted down, softly crying, “it seems that your basal ganglia and right occipital lobe were damaged.” “S-so that means…” Rainbow trailed off. “You may never walk again,” Twilight said dejectedly. “B-but I can still fly, right?” Twilight shook her head. Rainbow started screaming again, raging against the world. Rarity and Pinkie shrunk back, clearly fearful of the crazed pegasus. Doctors rushed in, one of them holding a syringe. “We need to hold her down!” “Ah’ll help!” Applejack said, pinning Rainbow down. Rainbow thrashed against her friend while the doctor injected her with something. “Shhh, shhh. it’ll be alright, sugarcube, ya just need ta calm down,” Applejack whispered as Rainbow started feeling sluggish. Her thrashing weakened, then finally stopped. Applejack lifted herself off of the pegasus. “I think I need some alone time,” Rainbow Dash said, “you know, to process all of this,” Her friends and Celestia nodded, slowly shuffling out of the room. Only Fluttershy remained, quietly sobbing in the corner. She moved to get up- “You can stay, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, “you won’t interfere with my thinking,” Fluttershy nodded and moved up towards the bed, slowly stroking Rainbow Dash’s mane as she lay there, wrapped in thought. “You knew the last time you were here, didn’t you?” Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy. “Um, yes,” Fluttershy responded, “I tried to say something, but you were going on about a wedding, and Princess Cadence’s wedding was a year ago, so I thought you weren’t in any condition for bad news…” Rainbow Dash chuckled softly, “I was pretty out of it, wasn’t I?” Fluttershy giggled, gently stroking the rainbow-colored mane, “Yes, you were. But you’re awake now, and that’s all that matters,” “But they said I may never be able to fly again…” Rainbow said, holding back tears. “They said ‘may’. For all we know, you could be ready to fly in a month’s time!” Fluttershy said, “Don’t lose hope. Whatever you may go through, remember that hope is the most important part of the healing process,” “I know, ‘Shy, I know,” she said softly as sleep overtook her. CantermountRainbow Dash was used to the tube feedings by now. They’d come in with a bag of...something, hook it up to her G-Tube, and just let it suck down into her stomach. She still found it annoying, having hadn’t eaten for a week, from what she could remember. She groaned, when the door opened. Applejack came in, head hung low, her stetson hung over her eyes. “Hey, Applejack,” Rainbow said. “S’up,” Applejack replied, “So they tell me they’re transferring ya today,” “Yeah…” “Cantermount Rehab Center, or somesuch…” “Yeah…” Applejack sucked in a breath, then exhaled, “Ya know I was tha one that found ya,” she finally said, “ya’d been out there fer a day. Folks was worried that the clouds weren’t clearing, and they said that my orchard was the last place they’d seen ya fly into,” “And you found me. So what?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Ya don’t understand what it was like ta see ya like that. You was...broken,” Applejack said, shuffling around the room, “ya looked so helpless. When we finally got ya ta Ponyville medical, you was seizin’ and shit. I ain’t never seen anything like it. The doctor said we shoulda just given up on ya right there. “But Twilight...ya know Twilight. She just don’t take no fer an answer when her friends are involved. So she wrote ta the Princess ta get ya transferred to Canterlot, and she came with her attaché of Royal Guards and they shipped ya off ta Canterlot General. We was so worried, but th’ Princess promised ya th’ best Canterlot had to offer. It was pretty good she did, though. You was touch and go fer most of it. We all tried ta visit as much as we could, but Fluttershy came every day. Princess Celestia eventually offered a room at th’ castle ta save on train fare.” “So where is Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked. “Sleepin’, knowin’ that yer alright,” Applejack smiled, “ya don’t know how much it means ta us that ya finally pulled through after hearing the verdict in Ponyville,” she said while tearing up, “especially ta me. Seeing you up and talkin after how you was when ah first saw ya in mah orchard...it’s a Celestia-damned miracle,” “So have Celestia fire the doctor,” Rainbow Dash said, “who knows how many other patients he might have killed who didn’t have a Twilight,” “Ya see, sugarcube, it ain’t that easy,” Applejack said, “he had every right ta think that,” “What!?” “Well, he told us that yer sugar was really low, like yer body had been cannibalizing itself. Also, you had an infection in onnea yer head wounds,” “So I might’ve been…” Rainbow Dash trailed off. “Eeyup,” Applejack and Rainbow Dash sat in silence at that. Applejack grabbed something to read from the counter. It was Glamare. She cringed. “Guess Rare’s been here recently, huh?” “Yeah. She keeps trying to get me reading stuff, but my eyes don’t like the words,” “Sugarcube, besides Daring Do, ya’ve never liked words,” she giggled. Rainbow Dash joined in as well. Applejack started paging through the magazine, stopping when she came across an article of interest to her, “Huh. It appears Stetsons are in style this year,” she noted, “guess ah don’t have ta get frou-frou to dress in style nowadays,” “Heh, Applejack in style…” Rainbow murmured. They both chuckled at that. "Stop bein' a silly pony," Applejack worked out through her chuckling. Just then two unicorns carrying a stretcher came in. “Rainbow Dash?” One of them said. Rainbow raised a hoof. “We’re here to take you to Cantermount,” the other one said as he grabbed her with his magic, gently lifting her off of the bed and onto the stretcher, the stretcher buckling before the unicorn who was carrying her grabbed onto the stretcher. “Bye, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said. “See ya soon, Dashie,” Applejack replied. The unicorns walked with her outside to a carriage, where they transferred her into. They proceeded to get inside of the carriage while the carriage took off, whisking them away, After fifteen minutes, it stopped. The unicorns got out and grasped Rainbow Dash’s stretcher, taking her out of the carriage. They took her upstairs, one of them stopping by the desk while the other one took her to her new room. She looked at the number on the door. 215, she thought to herself as she was transferred off of the stretcher and onto the bed. She thanked the unicorn and decided to try and get some sleep. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” She was assaulted by a perky voice which rustled her from her sleep. She saw a cream unicorn with a blond mane. “How are you, Rainbow Dash?” “Fine…” she said, “Who’re you?” “I’m glad you asked! I’m Happy Joy, and I’m going to be your physical therapist!” Happy Joy responded. “Physical...therapist?” “Yes! Now, just sit up on the edge of your bed for me, will you?” Rainbow Dash nodded as she attempted to get up. The left side of her body wasn’t really responding, so she leaned over to the right to attempt to sit up. She appeared to have succeeded, when she started to lean to the left. She hastily tried to counterbalance, but was unsuccessful as she fell over onto her side. She tried to get up again, and seemed to succeed in balancing herself. “Very good, Rainbow Dash!” Happy Joy said as he wrote something down. Rainbow Dash looked at her. “What’re you writing?” she asked. “Oh these are just progress notes on how you’re doing,” Happy Joy explained, “I’m just surprised that you’re able to sit up at this juncture in your recovery. The notes from Canterlot General said that you were in much worse shape!” “So...I’m doing great?” “Yes you are! You should be proud of yourself!” Rainbow Dash snorted, “Not until I perform a Sonic Rainboom again…” Happy Joy’s eyes widened at that, “You’re...you’re THAT Rainbow Dash!?” “The one and only,” Rainbow said as she fell onto her side again. “I was there at the Young Flyer’s Competition when you pulled that off! It was so awesome!” “Yeah...but it looks like I won’t be doing that anytime soon…” Happy Joy stared at Rainbow Dash, unsure of what to say, “Well get you in top form in no time, at this rate!” “Yeah...sure…” Rainbow Dash said listlessly as she stared out the window at a bright summer day. Massage and VisitRainbow Dash lay there as Happy Joy left them room. She turned her head to the ceiling, and tried to flap her wings. No dice, but the right one seemed to give a lot more than the left one. She tried again, putting everything she had into it. The right wing seemed to move more smoothly, whereas the left was limited to short, jerky motions. She let her wings fall to the side, the right one neatly folding while the left one was curled into a gnarled position. She felt tears well up inside of her. She did her best to bite them back. “C’mon, Dash, not now…” she pleaded with herself. It seemed to work, but a single tear escaped her left eye, trailing down her face. “Not now what?” A stallion said, walking in. Dash quickly turned a shade of mauve as she wiped the tear away. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to knock or something?” Dash icily said with a quaver in her voice. “I don’t know...were you doing something I should have been required to knock before coming in?” Dash shook her head, “No...who are you, anyway?” The purple pegasus cleared his throat. “My name is Ship Shape, and I’m your occupational therapist!” “Occupation...isn’t that like a job?” Ship nodded. “Very good, Rainbow Dash!” Dash smiled a little. Sometimes it was good being friends with an egghead. “But I already have a job,” “Not in your current state,” Ship replied curtly, “you’re not much of a weatherpony if you can’t fly, now, are you?” Dash turned her head away. “Guess not,” Ship moved to the left side of Rainbow Dash. “Mind if I take a look at this wing?” “Sure...go ahead…” and Ship Shape proceeded to lightly touch Rainbow’s wing. Scratch that, massage Rainbow’s wing. He lightly pushed and pulled on certain sections which made Rainbow Dash’s eyes roll into her head as she basked in the tender touch of her therapist. She still didn’t see what this had to do with occupations, but massages were nice. After a while, Ship Shape pulled away, causing Rainbow to raise her head, “where you going?” “I’m afraid we’re done for today, Rainbow Dash. Nice meeting you,” he said curtly, walking out. Rainbow Dash was alone again. A pony knocked at the door. “Come in,” Rainbow Dash said half-heartedly. She then saw a very dear friend of her and the last pony she expected: Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia. She immediately tried to get up, but to no avail. She instead opted for bowing her head. “That’ll do, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia giggled. “Hey Rainbow Dash! How are you doing here?” Twilight asked. “Fine,” Dash replied, “the therapists are nice, so far...I’ve only met two of them, though…” “Well, that fits with what I’ve read about this place,” Twilight said, “one of my periodicals said that this was the best place to come for physical rehabilitation! I’m so glad that I convinced Celestia to pay for it!” Rainbow Dash glared as Celestia, “Don’t tell me…” Celestia shook her head, “Don’t be silly. Your BiCare should cover all of this, Rainbow. I just...fudged the application a little,” Rainbow Dash looked quizzically at Celestia. “You see, the way the initials report read, it seemed like a suicide attempt. So I convinced the board that that tree had not been there the day before and you were flying the path by memory,” “But it-” Rainbow started before Celestia put a hoof to Rainbow’s lips. “You dare question the word of a Diarch?” Rainbow shook her head. Celestia sighed, then pulled away her hoof. “Good. I’m glad we came to an agreement.” Twilight pulled out some books from her saddlebag and put them on Rainbow’s nightstand. “Here, I brought you the first couple Daring Do novels for you to peruse. Now you won’t get so bored!” “Thanks, Twi,” Dash said, deciding not to mention how much trouble she was having reading at the moment, “it really means a lot to me.” Twilight’s eyes widened at that. “I’m so glad that you like my gift, Dashie!” Twilight beamed. “Welcome…” Dash said wearily. “Let’s go, Twilight,” Celestia said, “I think Rainbow Dash has had enough excitement for today,” noticing Dash’s tired eyes. “Wait, Princess Celestia,” Rainbow said, causing the alicorn to turn her head. “Yes, Rainbow Dash?” “Have you found a cure for brain damage yet?” Celestia hung her head low at that. “I’m afraid not, my little pony,” and walked out with Twilight. Dash grabbed one of the books and started reading. Or rather, trying to read, her eyes jumping over the page randomly, the words not making any sense. She tried concentrating harder, to no avail. She angrily slammed the book down on the night table and fumed. Stupid book! Rainbow Dash felt tears welling up. You stupid idiot! You can’t even read anymore! Tears escaped her eyes. This is all Celestia’s fault! If she only cured my brain damage, we could all go home happy! Tears started flowing out, a bit of mucus escaping her nose. Stupid tree! She was yipping now, the salty tears slipping into her mouth. STUPID BRAIN DAMAGE! She started bawling in earnest at how unfair life had become recently. He tears only strengthened at the thought of her never being able to join the Wonderbolts. She lay in her bed, shaking and crying. Flying HighRainbow Dash lay morosely in bed as they hooked up the pouch that had her food to her G-Tube and fed her. Soon, it was time for bed, and she turned over, sleep overtaking her. Rainbow Dash encountered the book again. She looked at it, then turned away. Eventually, though, the siren call of the book enticed her to pick it up again. She perused it, encountering the same issues as before: curious equations. She threw the book away again. “Dumb book!” she said. “Now, now, Rainbow Dash. Books are not dumb.” She turned to see Princess Luna. She quickly leapt into a bow. Luna nodded. “Princess Luna! I’m so glad to see you! But...why are you here?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Why, isn’t it obvious?” Luna said. Rainbow Dash shook her head. “To visit you, my little pony.” “But don’t you usually visit foals’ dreams?” Luna shook her head. “Rainbow Dash, my purview is all dreams. I just visit foals because they’re the ones that need saving from nightmares.” Luna looked around. “And I’d say you need some saving, even though you’re no filly…” Rainbow Dash turned away. “Well, there’s this book…” Luna raised an eyebrow. “A book?” “Yeah! I think it’s trying to tell me how to do a Double Rainboom, but I can’t make any sense of it!” Luna nodded. “Let me see this book.” Rainbow Dash nodded and grabbed the book, handing it to Luna. Luna looked it over. “I see. These equations are far too advanced for you.” “Yeah...I guess I should have paid better attention in school…” Luna shook her head. “No, I mean I can barely understand these equations!” Luna examined the book, then cast a spell. Luna handed the book back to Rainbow Dash. “Here. That should be better.” Rainbow Dash grabbed the book and looked it over. Suddenly, everything was so clear. The book made perfect sense! “Why didn’t it say this before!?” Luna giggled. “I just translated the equations by plugging in the proper variables. Try it now.” “In here?” Rainbow asked. “But my wings are stupid…” Luna chuckled. “Not in here they’re not. Go on, give them a try.” Rainbow nodded, flexing her wings. She smiled when they worked perfectly. She took to the air, flying higher and higher. She cleared the troposphere and shot straight through the stratosphere. She rocketed up past the mesosphere into the ionosphere. She stopped her ascent at the magnetosphere, viewing the planet from a bird’s-eye view. “Whoah…” she said. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Rainbow turned to face Luna, who was hovering beside her. “But how…” “Dream, remember?” Rainbow smacked her head. “Oh, right!” She then steeled herself. “Let’s do this!” and she rocketed towards the planet, releasing a Sonic Rainboom. She could feel the detritus of space whisk past her as she flew down. She eventually felt the wind greet her again, buffeting her as if to slow her fall. “Nuh-uh!” she said as she stayed the course, the wind whipping through her mane. The cold air bit her as she grit her teeth and continued on, eventually encountering the weather. Rain soared past her as it tried to grip her coat, but she was too fast to get wet. Eventually, she cleared the cloud cover and rocketed towards the ground. C’mon, c’mon… She hit the ground fast, divoting a huge chunk of earth out. She sat up, dazed. “Ponyfeathers!” She cursed. “You realize had this not been a dream, you would have been a fine mash by now.” Dash giggled. “I know, but it was great to fly again.” “I imagine. Now wake up.” “But-” Dash shot up out of bed, breathing heavily. She looked around to see that she was still in the hospital. She tried to move her wings. No dice. She grimaced as the nurse came in and hooked up breakfast to her stomach. “What seems to be the matter?” the nurse asked. “Your frowning face does not flatter.” “Nothing…” Dash said, “I just had the most wonderful dream…”
AftershockRainbow Dash was sailing across the sky above Ponyville, feeling on top of the world. She smiled broadly as she zoomed over the Cutie Mark Crusaders, getting into who-knows-what. She picked up speed, whizzing through Sweet Apple Acres… There was a book in front of Rainbow. It seemed to be calling out to her, so she sat down and read it. She couldn’t make out what the words were, but she sensed that whatever was in this book was very important, so she kept reading. She heard voices, but easily blocked them out. She had to get to the bottom of this book. It called out to her as she turned each page. Rainbow Dash was entering a restaurant with her mother. They were quickly escorted to a table, whereupon they sat down. Then Rainbow’s mother pulled out a strange looking device. “Happy Birthday, Rainbow Dash. I’ve got you a music player,” her mother said, “here, let me show you how it works,” as she pulled a cord that split into two cords out of her saddlebag and plugged it into the device. She took one of the split ends and put it in her ear, offering the second split end to her daughter. She took it and put it in her ear. What she heard was smooth, jazzy music that tickled her soul. “How do you like it, Rainbow Dash?” “I love it. Thanks, Mom,” Rainbow said, pulling her mother in tight as they listened to the music. Rainbow Dash was sitting at a table with her father. “So,” Rainbow’s father said, “How would you like to go to Mareami with me?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, “Would I!?” “Alright then, here’s the itinerary,” Rainbow’s father continued as he pulled out a screen upon which their flight path was shown in full color. She could actually see the cloud formations in the sky...below, she guessed as she looked upon the device with awe. “This is awesome, Dad!” “I know, right?” Rainbow Dash was in the streets of Canterlot, listening to her music device. She looked at the screen, displaying some unknown band.Ugh, hipster shit,she thought. At least I’ll look cool while listening to it. Rainbow Dash was reading the book again, seemingly able to divine its secrets. It was about aerodynamics or something. Just a few more pages...pegasus magic? This piqued her interests. She kept reading on. She was at the Apple farm, where they were talking about Cadence’s bachelorette party. There were apples, to be sure, but also carrots and eggplants...and cider. She looked at all the goodies in front of her, in awe at all of them. “So, do you think this’ll be enough?” Twilight asked. Rainbow nodded hungrily. Double Rainboom. The book was about a Double Rainboom, Dash assumed. What else could it be about? It was about aerodynamics, pegasus magic, and she thought she saw something in one of the pages about space… Dash’s eyes shot open, taking in the sight around her. She heard a sucking sound coming from her person. A voice said, “So how are you tonight, Rainbow Dash?” It was Fluttershy's dulcet tones. Rainbow Dash looked outside. It was indeed dark out. “Fine…” she said weakly. “Look, Dashie, I know how tough this is for you, and it kills me that you have to go through it! If I could take your place, I would! I wish you didn’t have to suffer like this!” “But...this is for...the wedding…” Dash said. Fluttershy smiled, a tear dripping down her cheek, “Oh, Rainbow Dash…” as she stroked her mane. The book again. She had no idea what it was about now. Now it was talking about space trajectories and other egghead stuff. She threw it away in disgust. She felt a jostle at her shoulder, and her eyes popped open. She looked and saw all of her friends...and Princess Celestia? “What’s going on?” Rainbow asked. “Well…” Twilight said, fiddling with her hooves, “there’s no easy way to say this, but…” “Ya’ve got brain damage,” Applejack said bluntly. Rainbow’s eyes widened at that. Brain damage? “When would I have gotten brain damage?” “When you were flying around! You were all like swoosh, and swish, and huzzah! And then…” Pinkie trailed off, tears forming down her cheeks. “You were flying so fast that you slammed straight into one of Applejack’s trees, dear,” Rarity said, “you’ve been out for a month,” “WHAT!?” Rainbow Dash screamed, “WHY DON’T I REMEMBER ANY OF THIS!?” “Well, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said, “from what the doctors explained to me, when you suffer a brain injury, your brain deletes the memory to prevent any trauma…” “But you can fix this, right?” Celestia bowed her head, “Rainbow Dash, there simply is no healing magic that can repair the brain. There are so many connections inside that we could risk permanently frying you if any of the doctors tried anything. I’m sorry,” Rainbow Dash looked to Fluttershy, who was crying in the corner, probably due to the emotional weight of the scene. So Rainbow Dash responded in kind She screamed at the top of her lungs, thrashing about the bed. When her limbs didn’t respond like they should have, she managed to scream even louder. “WHY AREN’T MY WINGS WORKING!? WHY AREN’T MY LEGS WORKING!?” “Quiet down, Rainbow!” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash quieted down, softly crying, “it seems that your basal ganglia and right occipital lobe were damaged.” “S-so that means…” Rainbow trailed off. “You may never walk again,” Twilight said dejectedly. “B-but I can still fly, right?” Twilight shook her head. Rainbow started screaming again, raging against the world. Rarity and Pinkie shrunk back, clearly fearful of the crazed pegasus. Doctors rushed in, one of them holding a syringe. “We need to hold her down!” “Ah’ll help!” Applejack said, pinning Rainbow down. Rainbow thrashed against her friend while the doctor injected her with something. “Shhh, shhh. it’ll be alright, sugarcube, ya just need ta calm down,” Applejack whispered as Rainbow started feeling sluggish. Her thrashing weakened, then finally stopped. Applejack lifted herself off of the pegasus. “I think I need some alone time,” Rainbow Dash said, “you know, to process all of this,” Her friends and Celestia nodded, slowly shuffling out of the room. Only Fluttershy remained, quietly sobbing in the corner. She moved to get up- “You can stay, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, “you won’t interfere with my thinking,” Fluttershy nodded and moved up towards the bed, slowly stroking Rainbow Dash’s mane as she lay there, wrapped in thought. “You knew the last time you were here, didn’t you?” Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy. “Um, yes,” Fluttershy responded, “I tried to say something, but you were going on about a wedding, and Princess Cadence’s wedding was a year ago, so I thought you weren’t in any condition for bad news…” Rainbow Dash chuckled softly, “I was pretty out of it, wasn’t I?” Fluttershy giggled, gently stroking the rainbow-colored mane, “Yes, you were. But you’re awake now, and that’s all that matters,” “But they said I may never be able to fly again…” Rainbow said, holding back tears. “They said ‘may’. For all we know, you could be ready to fly in a month’s time!” Fluttershy said, “Don’t lose hope. Whatever you may go through, remember that hope is the most important part of the healing process,” “I know, ‘Shy, I know,” she said softly as sleep overtook her.
CantermountRainbow Dash was used to the tube feedings by now. They’d come in with a bag of...something, hook it up to her G-Tube, and just let it suck down into her stomach. She still found it annoying, having hadn’t eaten for a week, from what she could remember. She groaned, when the door opened. Applejack came in, head hung low, her stetson hung over her eyes. “Hey, Applejack,” Rainbow said. “S’up,” Applejack replied, “So they tell me they’re transferring ya today,” “Yeah…” “Cantermount Rehab Center, or somesuch…” “Yeah…” Applejack sucked in a breath, then exhaled, “Ya know I was tha one that found ya,” she finally said, “ya’d been out there fer a day. Folks was worried that the clouds weren’t clearing, and they said that my orchard was the last place they’d seen ya fly into,” “And you found me. So what?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Ya don’t understand what it was like ta see ya like that. You was...broken,” Applejack said, shuffling around the room, “ya looked so helpless. When we finally got ya ta Ponyville medical, you was seizin’ and shit. I ain’t never seen anything like it. The doctor said we shoulda just given up on ya right there. “But Twilight...ya know Twilight. She just don’t take no fer an answer when her friends are involved. So she wrote ta the Princess ta get ya transferred to Canterlot, and she came with her attaché of Royal Guards and they shipped ya off ta Canterlot General. We was so worried, but th’ Princess promised ya th’ best Canterlot had to offer. It was pretty good she did, though. You was touch and go fer most of it. We all tried ta visit as much as we could, but Fluttershy came every day. Princess Celestia eventually offered a room at th’ castle ta save on train fare.” “So where is Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked. “Sleepin’, knowin’ that yer alright,” Applejack smiled, “ya don’t know how much it means ta us that ya finally pulled through after hearing the verdict in Ponyville,” she said while tearing up, “especially ta me. Seeing you up and talkin after how you was when ah first saw ya in mah orchard...it’s a Celestia-damned miracle,” “So have Celestia fire the doctor,” Rainbow Dash said, “who knows how many other patients he might have killed who didn’t have a Twilight,” “Ya see, sugarcube, it ain’t that easy,” Applejack said, “he had every right ta think that,” “What!?” “Well, he told us that yer sugar was really low, like yer body had been cannibalizing itself. Also, you had an infection in onnea yer head wounds,” “So I might’ve been…” Rainbow Dash trailed off. “Eeyup,” Applejack and Rainbow Dash sat in silence at that. Applejack grabbed something to read from the counter. It was Glamare. She cringed. “Guess Rare’s been here recently, huh?” “Yeah. She keeps trying to get me reading stuff, but my eyes don’t like the words,” “Sugarcube, besides Daring Do, ya’ve never liked words,” she giggled. Rainbow Dash joined in as well. Applejack started paging through the magazine, stopping when she came across an article of interest to her, “Huh. It appears Stetsons are in style this year,” she noted, “guess ah don’t have ta get frou-frou to dress in style nowadays,” “Heh, Applejack in style…” Rainbow murmured. They both chuckled at that. "Stop bein' a silly pony," Applejack worked out through her chuckling. Just then two unicorns carrying a stretcher came in. “Rainbow Dash?” One of them said. Rainbow raised a hoof. “We’re here to take you to Cantermount,” the other one said as he grabbed her with his magic, gently lifting her off of the bed and onto the stretcher, the stretcher buckling before the unicorn who was carrying her grabbed onto the stretcher. “Bye, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said. “See ya soon, Dashie,” Applejack replied. The unicorns walked with her outside to a carriage, where they transferred her into. They proceeded to get inside of the carriage while the carriage took off, whisking them away, After fifteen minutes, it stopped. The unicorns got out and grasped Rainbow Dash’s stretcher, taking her out of the carriage. They took her upstairs, one of them stopping by the desk while the other one took her to her new room. She looked at the number on the door. 215, she thought to herself as she was transferred off of the stretcher and onto the bed. She thanked the unicorn and decided to try and get some sleep. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” She was assaulted by a perky voice which rustled her from her sleep. She saw a cream unicorn with a blond mane. “How are you, Rainbow Dash?” “Fine…” she said, “Who’re you?” “I’m glad you asked! I’m Happy Joy, and I’m going to be your physical therapist!” Happy Joy responded. “Physical...therapist?” “Yes! Now, just sit up on the edge of your bed for me, will you?” Rainbow Dash nodded as she attempted to get up. The left side of her body wasn’t really responding, so she leaned over to the right to attempt to sit up. She appeared to have succeeded, when she started to lean to the left. She hastily tried to counterbalance, but was unsuccessful as she fell over onto her side. She tried to get up again, and seemed to succeed in balancing herself. “Very good, Rainbow Dash!” Happy Joy said as he wrote something down. Rainbow Dash looked at her. “What’re you writing?” she asked. “Oh these are just progress notes on how you’re doing,” Happy Joy explained, “I’m just surprised that you’re able to sit up at this juncture in your recovery. The notes from Canterlot General said that you were in much worse shape!” “So...I’m doing great?” “Yes you are! You should be proud of yourself!” Rainbow Dash snorted, “Not until I perform a Sonic Rainboom again…” Happy Joy’s eyes widened at that, “You’re...you’re THAT Rainbow Dash!?” “The one and only,” Rainbow said as she fell onto her side again. “I was there at the Young Flyer’s Competition when you pulled that off! It was so awesome!” “Yeah...but it looks like I won’t be doing that anytime soon…” Happy Joy stared at Rainbow Dash, unsure of what to say, “Well get you in top form in no time, at this rate!” “Yeah...sure…” Rainbow Dash said listlessly as she stared out the window at a bright summer day.
Massage and VisitRainbow Dash lay there as Happy Joy left them room. She turned her head to the ceiling, and tried to flap her wings. No dice, but the right one seemed to give a lot more than the left one. She tried again, putting everything she had into it. The right wing seemed to move more smoothly, whereas the left was limited to short, jerky motions. She let her wings fall to the side, the right one neatly folding while the left one was curled into a gnarled position. She felt tears well up inside of her. She did her best to bite them back. “C’mon, Dash, not now…” she pleaded with herself. It seemed to work, but a single tear escaped her left eye, trailing down her face. “Not now what?” A stallion said, walking in. Dash quickly turned a shade of mauve as she wiped the tear away. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to knock or something?” Dash icily said with a quaver in her voice. “I don’t know...were you doing something I should have been required to knock before coming in?” Dash shook her head, “No...who are you, anyway?” The purple pegasus cleared his throat. “My name is Ship Shape, and I’m your occupational therapist!” “Occupation...isn’t that like a job?” Ship nodded. “Very good, Rainbow Dash!” Dash smiled a little. Sometimes it was good being friends with an egghead. “But I already have a job,” “Not in your current state,” Ship replied curtly, “you’re not much of a weatherpony if you can’t fly, now, are you?” Dash turned her head away. “Guess not,” Ship moved to the left side of Rainbow Dash. “Mind if I take a look at this wing?” “Sure...go ahead…” and Ship Shape proceeded to lightly touch Rainbow’s wing. Scratch that, massage Rainbow’s wing. He lightly pushed and pulled on certain sections which made Rainbow Dash’s eyes roll into her head as she basked in the tender touch of her therapist. She still didn’t see what this had to do with occupations, but massages were nice. After a while, Ship Shape pulled away, causing Rainbow to raise her head, “where you going?” “I’m afraid we’re done for today, Rainbow Dash. Nice meeting you,” he said curtly, walking out. Rainbow Dash was alone again. A pony knocked at the door. “Come in,” Rainbow Dash said half-heartedly. She then saw a very dear friend of her and the last pony she expected: Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia. She immediately tried to get up, but to no avail. She instead opted for bowing her head. “That’ll do, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia giggled. “Hey Rainbow Dash! How are you doing here?” Twilight asked. “Fine,” Dash replied, “the therapists are nice, so far...I’ve only met two of them, though…” “Well, that fits with what I’ve read about this place,” Twilight said, “one of my periodicals said that this was the best place to come for physical rehabilitation! I’m so glad that I convinced Celestia to pay for it!” Rainbow Dash glared as Celestia, “Don’t tell me…” Celestia shook her head, “Don’t be silly. Your BiCare should cover all of this, Rainbow. I just...fudged the application a little,” Rainbow Dash looked quizzically at Celestia. “You see, the way the initials report read, it seemed like a suicide attempt. So I convinced the board that that tree had not been there the day before and you were flying the path by memory,” “But it-” Rainbow started before Celestia put a hoof to Rainbow’s lips. “You dare question the word of a Diarch?” Rainbow shook her head. Celestia sighed, then pulled away her hoof. “Good. I’m glad we came to an agreement.” Twilight pulled out some books from her saddlebag and put them on Rainbow’s nightstand. “Here, I brought you the first couple Daring Do novels for you to peruse. Now you won’t get so bored!” “Thanks, Twi,” Dash said, deciding not to mention how much trouble she was having reading at the moment, “it really means a lot to me.” Twilight’s eyes widened at that. “I’m so glad that you like my gift, Dashie!” Twilight beamed. “Welcome…” Dash said wearily. “Let’s go, Twilight,” Celestia said, “I think Rainbow Dash has had enough excitement for today,” noticing Dash’s tired eyes. “Wait, Princess Celestia,” Rainbow said, causing the alicorn to turn her head. “Yes, Rainbow Dash?” “Have you found a cure for brain damage yet?” Celestia hung her head low at that. “I’m afraid not, my little pony,” and walked out with Twilight. Dash grabbed one of the books and started reading. Or rather, trying to read, her eyes jumping over the page randomly, the words not making any sense. She tried concentrating harder, to no avail. She angrily slammed the book down on the night table and fumed. Stupid book! Rainbow Dash felt tears welling up. You stupid idiot! You can’t even read anymore! Tears escaped her eyes. This is all Celestia’s fault! If she only cured my brain damage, we could all go home happy! Tears started flowing out, a bit of mucus escaping her nose. Stupid tree! She was yipping now, the salty tears slipping into her mouth. STUPID BRAIN DAMAGE! She started bawling in earnest at how unfair life had become recently. He tears only strengthened at the thought of her never being able to join the Wonderbolts. She lay in her bed, shaking and crying.
Flying HighRainbow Dash lay morosely in bed as they hooked up the pouch that had her food to her G-Tube and fed her. Soon, it was time for bed, and she turned over, sleep overtaking her. Rainbow Dash encountered the book again. She looked at it, then turned away. Eventually, though, the siren call of the book enticed her to pick it up again. She perused it, encountering the same issues as before: curious equations. She threw the book away again. “Dumb book!” she said. “Now, now, Rainbow Dash. Books are not dumb.” She turned to see Princess Luna. She quickly leapt into a bow. Luna nodded. “Princess Luna! I’m so glad to see you! But...why are you here?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Why, isn’t it obvious?” Luna said. Rainbow Dash shook her head. “To visit you, my little pony.” “But don’t you usually visit foals’ dreams?” Luna shook her head. “Rainbow Dash, my purview is all dreams. I just visit foals because they’re the ones that need saving from nightmares.” Luna looked around. “And I’d say you need some saving, even though you’re no filly…” Rainbow Dash turned away. “Well, there’s this book…” Luna raised an eyebrow. “A book?” “Yeah! I think it’s trying to tell me how to do a Double Rainboom, but I can’t make any sense of it!” Luna nodded. “Let me see this book.” Rainbow Dash nodded and grabbed the book, handing it to Luna. Luna looked it over. “I see. These equations are far too advanced for you.” “Yeah...I guess I should have paid better attention in school…” Luna shook her head. “No, I mean I can barely understand these equations!” Luna examined the book, then cast a spell. Luna handed the book back to Rainbow Dash. “Here. That should be better.” Rainbow Dash grabbed the book and looked it over. Suddenly, everything was so clear. The book made perfect sense! “Why didn’t it say this before!?” Luna giggled. “I just translated the equations by plugging in the proper variables. Try it now.” “In here?” Rainbow asked. “But my wings are stupid…” Luna chuckled. “Not in here they’re not. Go on, give them a try.” Rainbow nodded, flexing her wings. She smiled when they worked perfectly. She took to the air, flying higher and higher. She cleared the troposphere and shot straight through the stratosphere. She rocketed up past the mesosphere into the ionosphere. She stopped her ascent at the magnetosphere, viewing the planet from a bird’s-eye view. “Whoah…” she said. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Rainbow turned to face Luna, who was hovering beside her. “But how…” “Dream, remember?” Rainbow smacked her head. “Oh, right!” She then steeled herself. “Let’s do this!” and she rocketed towards the planet, releasing a Sonic Rainboom. She could feel the detritus of space whisk past her as she flew down. She eventually felt the wind greet her again, buffeting her as if to slow her fall. “Nuh-uh!” she said as she stayed the course, the wind whipping through her mane. The cold air bit her as she grit her teeth and continued on, eventually encountering the weather. Rain soared past her as it tried to grip her coat, but she was too fast to get wet. Eventually, she cleared the cloud cover and rocketed towards the ground. C’mon, c’mon… She hit the ground fast, divoting a huge chunk of earth out. She sat up, dazed. “Ponyfeathers!” She cursed. “You realize had this not been a dream, you would have been a fine mash by now.” Dash giggled. “I know, but it was great to fly again.” “I imagine. Now wake up.” “But-” Dash shot up out of bed, breathing heavily. She looked around to see that she was still in the hospital. She tried to move her wings. No dice. She grimaced as the nurse came in and hooked up breakfast to her stomach. “What seems to be the matter?” the nurse asked. “Your frowning face does not flatter.” “Nothing…” Dash said, “I just had the most wonderful dream…”
