I lay there in my hospital bed, waiting for the doctor to return. I’d been flying out over Ponyville, when I flew too low, and my left wing clipped the Ponyville Clock tower, causing me to spin out and crash... hard.
I woke up on the medical wagon, as I was heading to Ponyville Hospital. Once there, I underwent all manner of tests, they took at least a dozen X-rays. And now, I’m just waiting for the results.
Finally, my doctor re-entered my room, with a sombre look on his face. “Miss Dash,” He said. “I am afraid that you have broken most of the bones in your left wing, and also severely damaged your flight control muscles.”
“So… what does that mean?” I asked, knowing deep in my heart what he was saying, but wishing that it wasn’t true.
The whole group of my friends who had gathered around my bed after the doctor had left all gasped simultaneously.
“Rainbow, That’s… horrible.” Twilight said, putting a hoof around my neck.
“It’s alright.” I lied. “I’m sure that I’ll find something else.”
“But darling,” Rarity chirped in. “Flying is your forte.” This was true. I loved to fly. Flying was all I lived for, and quite honestly, I couldn’t imagine a life without it… and now the doctors are saying that there might be irreversible damage that will cause me to be grounded for the rest of my life. I managed to keep from sheading a tear.
“The doctors say I should be back on my hooves in a couple weeks.” I said. “They’ve asked me to monitor the conditions of my wings... but there…” I had to take a second and take a deep breath of air. “But... there is a chance... that they may need to be amputated.” Once again, my friends gasped.
The next few weeks were, uneventful, to say the most. Eventually all my casts could come off, all my bones having mended. I shakily got to my hooves, walked for a couple steps around my room… and then I tried to open my wings, give them a flap... maybe lift off the ground for a couple seconds... but nothing. They opened, and then flapped, haphazardly and uselessly around at awkward angles. I didn’t have any control over what direction they flapped in now. Depressed, I lowered my head, and closed my wings... for what was probably the last time in my life. Rainbow Dash is no longer a Pegasus. I am not much more than an earth pony now.
I eventually got the courage to go outside again, walking around the town. Of course, everypony already knew about my injury, and what has happened because of it. I even got a visit from my personal heroes, the Wonderbolts with consolidations for me. I had to return to a somewhat normal life. Pinkie and the Cakes offered me a job at Sugarcube Corner so that I could earn bits to pay for all my medical bills, which I gratefully took. I’ve tried in private a few times now to get my wings to do what I want them to, but with no success. I can control them… sort of… I just can’t control where they go. The doctors said I should stop trying, and just accept the fact that I’ll never be able to fly again. I suppose they’re right.
Nearly a month has passed since the accident, and I feel perfectly fine. I get a few back aches now and again, but the doctors assure me that it’s perfectly normal, and that they should go away soon. They’re not really painful… just… uncomfortable. So I hope they go away sooner rather than later.
A couple months later, I have almost gotten used to the idea of being constantly on the ground. I had to ask Fluttershy to help me move. Not being able to fly meant not being able to get back to my house. For now, I’m living with Twilight. She was the only one who had room to spare. I hope to be able to get my own house on the ground soon. The back aches are still there, though I almost forget about them sometimes; just every now and then I get a pinch of pain if I bend the wrong way, or lift too much weight. I’m thinking of getting the doctor to have another look at it.
The doctor looks back and forth between me, my back, and the X-rays of my back with a very worried expression on his face.
“Rainbow,” He stated, after a long period of silence, making me jump. “Your back muscles have taken more damage than we initially thought. Now that they’ve had time to heal, and the scar tissue time to form, we can actually see the full extent of the damage. I don’t think there’s any way around it. The weight of your wings are pulling on the already damaged back muscles, which usually would be able to hold it easily, bit at the moment, they’re too heavy. You repeated attempts to fly would have worsened the problem.” He stops, giving me time to soak it in. Once he thinks I’ve had enough time, he hands me a clipboard with a contract.
“Wh- What’s this?” I stammered.
“This,” The doctor explained. “Is a form we will need you to sign. You and I have both known that this was a possibility for a while now.” My eyes widen in horror.
“No! No, please.. There’s gotta be another way!” I pleaded.
The doctor just sighed. “Rainbow, it’s either you lose your wings now, before they can cause any more damage… or…
”Or?” I repeated hopefully.
“Or… We don’t know the full extent of the damage, but, judging from what I’m seeing and the pain you’re feeling… you may become a paraplegic.”
My chin hit the floor.. I had no idea that it was that dire. I had already lost my ability to fly.. my wings were already useless.. but still.. I wanted to keep them… but if it was either that, or my ability to move… “Okay..” I said sadly. I took the pen he offered, and I reluctantly signed the form, after which, they admitted me to the hospital straight away to rest up for the operation, which was scheduled next week. I began to start saying goodbye to my wings.
I woke up in the recovery room after the operation. I’d been under anesthetic, which I was grateful for, for if I was awake to watch them remove my wings, I probably would have broken down.. as it was, when I looked to my back, and just saw the bandaged stumps, it was very hard for me to not shed a tear. When one of the nurses noticed I was awake, she went and got the doctor. “Miss Dash,” he said after re-entering my room. “I just wanted to say that you made the right choice. I’ve seen several pegasi who have had their wings amputated, but had difficulty adjusting. You shouldn’t have that trouble, as you’ve already begun to adjust to life on the ground.”
It's now been several weeks since my operation, and all of my friends have come together to help me through the physical and mental recovery needed for the loss of my wings. I still glance back at the stumps left behind, and shed a tear at the reminder of what was once there. Not only my wings, but my freedom, independence, my whole lifestyle was centered around those two extra limbs. And now that they're gone, I realize just how much I'd taken them for granted. I'd gotten my own house on the ground, so I was able to move out of the library. The new house was alright, though I missed my old house in the sky. I'd made that house when i first moved to Ponyville, so not only was it me changing homes, it was me losing something that had deep sentimental value to.
The next few weeks and months are going to be hard. This much, I already know. And I'm glad I have my friends there to help support me through this. But I have no idea how I'm going to cope. I'm sure I'll find a way. But this is defenately the lowest I'd ever been in my life. Both figuratively and literally.
Author's Note
Where all the Horizontal Rules are, is a gap in the timeline. As I continue to write this story, I might fill in some of these gaps. Please show your support by liking this story, and by leaving a comment below. Any support will be appreciated :)
EDIT:
Although the story now says "Complete", I may continue to add in more in the future. I am struggling to come up with a way to continue this story, but to be perfectly honest, I've never been really good at writing slice of life, which is what this story really is.
However, if you have any ideas for the story, then please send them my way, either through a comment, or a PM, and if I like them, I might add them in, or even put them into a sequel if I get enough interest for one. For now, however, This story is finished, as I want to get on with my other stories.
I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read this story, and I hope you enjoyed it.