Where The Rainbow Ends

by AxleMoon

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 4288

Everyone knows the story. The painful story of life. We live out our days, make the best of them, work hard, and then we die. But who really wants to die? Rainbow Dash doesn't, and neither do her friends. But cancer is a cruel reality check...

Rainbow Dash was always so lively, so sassy, so energetic. "Was", is the key word. Cancer is a cruel reality check that none want to face. And that many never want to see others face. It hit everyone hard, that day when the doctor said that Rainbow Dash had stage four brain cancer. It's inoperable, so the only the to do is go to these "treatments" and hope for the best. But, what if it doesn't work? If the clock is winding down, how long do we have left with Rainbow Dash?

*This is a One-Shot*

Cover art thanks to: CaNoN-Ib Keep up the good work :D

Published 2014-05-23 23:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-23 23:30:01 UTC

Her Smile, Her Love, Her Friends...

Equestria, the land of peace and harmony. Watched over, for thousands of years, by Princesses Celestia and Luna, the inhabitants of this land have faced it's fair share of dark times. But, during many of Equestria's darkest moments, the Elements of Harmony have been there to bring peace back to the land. Six friends stand together to spread friendship and harmony throughout Equestria. But, as said before, we all face dark times in our lives.

"Twilight, how much longer is Rainbow Dash going to be?" Scootaloo asked, wobbling impatiently in her chair. "It smells really weird in here."

Hospitals did tend to have a weird smell to them. They also all looked the same after a while. The same dull, white walls, the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room, and the same five year old magazines of "Home Lovers" and "Food Critique" stacked by every chair. But, the waiting room was oddly empty today. Almost completely empty except for Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie, and a pacing Twilight Sparkle.

"I don't know, Scootaloo. It shouldn't be much longer." Twilight took a  glance at the clock on the wall. It's 6:42. Rainbow's been in there for the past two hours.

"It's okay, Scootaloo! Why don't we go play outside for a while? It'll make the time go by faster!" Pinkie yelled excitedly, being shushed by the nurse at the counter.

"Okay, Pinkie. That sounds like fun," Scootaloo and Pinkie ran out the room, giggling happily.

"Thank you, Pinkie," Twilight said under her breath. "Excuse me? Nurse?"

Twilight felt embarrassed as the nurse noticed her and dropped to the floor in a bow. "Princess Twilight! I'm sorry I didn't see you earlier! Is there something I can do for you?" The nurse asked in a nervous slur.

"Yes. I'm wanting to check on my friend. Her name is Rainbow Dash. Is she doing alright?" Twilight asked.

The nurse flipped through pages on her clipboard, running her eyes along the last page before finding what she was looking for. "Yes, Princess Twilight. Rainbow Dash is handling the treatment very well. Though, it might be a few more hours until she is done. Is there anything I can do for you?" The nurse asked with a smile.

Twilight looked at the nurse's name tag before speaking. “No, thank you Nurse Faithheart. That will be all." With a bow, the nurse made a speed walk towards a set of double doors.

A few more hours? Maybe I should grab some food from the cafeteria. I'm sure Spike is still there. Before leaving the waiting room, Twilight stopped by the help desk, letting the nurse know to contact her if anything comes up. With another embarrassing bow from the nurse, Twilight made her way down the hall, following the signs leading towards the cafeteria.

*****************************************************

Twilight stepped into the, somewhat crowded, cafeteria. An amazing aroma danced around the room. Wow! That smells good! Do I smell fresh fries? Twilight ran to the counter, drooling at the sight of the spread. Dandelion burgers, freshly cooked fries, strawberry cupcakes, the hospital sure does have some good food.

Twilight’s ears twitched upon hearing a familiar, high pitched laughter coming from behind her. Looking past the crowds of doctors and nurses, she spotted Pinkie laughing with Sootaloo, Spike, and Rarity. “I thought you two were going to go play outside?” Twilight said with a chuckle as she emerged from the flood of hospital staff.

“Hey, Twilight!” Pinkie said, hopping happily around the table. “Well, Scootaloo and I were going to go play outside. But then we saw Spike and Rarity in the cafeteria and I was all like, ‘Hey! Let’s go see if they would like to play!’. And then we ended up talking, and now we’re here,” Pinkie Pie took in a deep breath of air, talking so fast that she forgot to breathe.

“Uh huh? Okay? So what are you doing here, Rarity?” Twilight asked as Pinkie continued hopping around the table.

“Who? Me?” Rarity asked. “I was on my way to see how Rainbow Dash was doing when I saw Spike in the cafeteria. I figured a small bite wouldn’t hurt, so I joined my Spikey-Wikey for a little snack,” Rarity said, rubbing her hoof along Spike’s chin. “By the way, darling, how is Rainbow Dash?”

Twilight took a seat as Pinkie passed her a basket of fries. “Thank you, Pinkie. The nurse said she’s doing fine. But, it might be a few more hours before we can go and see her.”

“A few hours?!” Shouted Scootaloo. “Just what type of treatment is she going through?!”

The room seemed to go silent as the question peaked the others’ attention. Oh no. Twilight knew that Scootaloo’s curiosity would lead to this. But why this soon?

“Oh, she’s just going through a little physical therapy, Scootaloo,” said Pinkie. “She pushed herself a little too far and they just want to make sure she didn’t do any serious damage.” Scootaloo gave Pinkie a curious look before she shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating her fries. Good save, Pinkie.

“So, Rarity, have you heard from Fluttershy or Applejack?” Twilight asked as she finished the basket of fries that Pinkie had given her.

“Well, Fluttershy was exhausted because she was up all night trying to gather her chickens after they got loose. She said she would meet up with us after a quick nap. And Applejack is finishing her chores early so she can come to the hospital. She should be here momentarily, actually. So it shouldn’t be long before they-”Rarity was interrupted as a high pitched beeping sound came from the table behind them.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a nurse fish a pager from her blouse pocket. The nurse scarfed down the remnants of her sandwich, shoved the pager back into her pocket, and ran out the cafeteria.

“What was all that about?” Scootaloo asked through a mouthful of fries.

“I don’t know. I guess they called her for something important.” Twilight looked back up at the clock, seeing how only an hour had passed by.

This is taking forever! I wonder how Rainbow Dash is doing? The sounds of a few more pagers sounded throughout the room, followed by more nurses running out of the cafeteria.

“It seems like they’re quite busy today. I hope everything is alri-” Twilight stopped mid-sentence as the intercom filled the room.

“Princess Twilight, report to the waiting room. Princess Twilight, please report to the waiting room.” That doesn’t sound good…

***********************************

Twilight made a speed walk out of the cafeteria, almost running. This doesn’t feel good.

“Twilight, why are you in such a hurry?” Spike shouted as he, and the others, followed Twilight.

“Sorry. I guess I’m just getting a little ahead of myself,” Twilight glanced at Scootaloo, who seemed to be listening intently to everything she said. Scootaloo is going to find out sooner or later, I fear. “Anyway, I told the nurse to page me in case something came up. I’m sure they just want to tell us that Rainbow is-”

Not watching where she was going, Twilight ran straight into somepony. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention,” Twilight apologized. Her jaw nearly hit the floor, seeing as she had just run into Princess Celestia. “Princess Celestia? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“My sister and I took it upon ourselves to gather your friends together, Twilight,” Princess Celestia responded, rubbing the dark circles under her eyes.

“The others are here? Well, that’s good. But that still doesn’t tell me why you’re here, or why Princess Luna is here,” None of this made any sense to Twilight. “Is everything okay, Princess? It looks like you haven’t slept in days.”

Celestia gave a slight nod. “I’m alright, just tired. Come, the others are waiting for us,” Celestia turned around, leading the others to the waiting room.

The room was packed now! Applejack and Fluttershy were waiting by the double doors, that the nurse had used earlier. But it wasn’t just them. Sweetiebell and Applebloom were also waiting by the door. Twilight noticed several other ponies, that they knew, sitting in the waiting room. Spitfire, Soarin, Vinyl, Octavia, Big Mac, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and several others.

“Princess Celestia, What is going o-” Twilight was trying to ask before Celestia interrupted.

“Come now. We must get going. Rainbow Dash is waiting for us.” said Princess Celestia. Twilight wasn’t sure, but, she could have sworn she just heard a bit of sadness in Celestia’s voice. It didn’t look like she had any other choice but to follow, as Celestia, and her friends, walked through the set of double doors.

As the doors shut behind Twilight, she could hear, what sounded like, muffled sobs. Then she heard more. It was coming from the waiting room.

****************************************

“Ughhh! This hallway smells worse than the rest of the hospital!” Scootaloo shouted, covering her nose. The other Crusaders apparently agreed, as both Sweetiebell and Applebloom covered their noses.

“Scootaloo, you need to be just a little more quiet in here. There are some ponies who are trying to sleep,” Twilight told Scootaloo, pointing at the rooms that lined the hallway.

Scootaloo nodded her head. “Sorry, Twilight.”

Scootaloo isn’t wrong. The smell of cleaning solution is quite overwhelming. Twilight noticed Princess Luna waiting next to one of the doors. She also looked as though she hadn’t slept in days, and this worried Twilight.

“Princess Celestia, is everything okay?” Twilight asked as she walked alongside her teacher.

Celestia looked down at her, giving her a worrying look as she responded. “Rainbow Dash is just a little under the weather, and she wanted to talk to all of you. By the way, don’t you think the Cutie Mark Crusaders would like to earn their cutie marks in nursing? What do you say, Crusaders?” Celestia asked, smiling back at the three fillies.

They were full of excitement now, jumping up and down as though they were as high-strung as Pinkie Pie.

Celestia giggled, walking over to one of the nurses and whispering something in her ear.

With a bow, the nurse walked over to the Crusaders. Twilight recognized the nurse as Nurse Faithheart, the nurse she had spoken with earlier.

"Hello, my little fillies. I heard that you three might like to be nurses one day. Is this true?" Nurse Faithheart asked, ruffling Applebloom’s mane.

The CMC nodded as they jumped around excitedly. Nurse Faithheart giggled as she motioned for them to follow her. “Then let’s go see what we can do to make you the best nurses in Equestria.”

As the CMC hopped along, Nurse Faithheart looked back and gave a nod to Celestia. Celestia returned the nod as she continued toward her sister.

“Ah, sister,” Princess Luna said as they drew closer, “I see you hath found Twilight Sparkle and her other friends. Will the fillies, I saw with you, be an issue?”

Celestia shook her head, replying back in a low tone of voice. “No, sister. The fillies will be watched over by the nurse.”

Twilight knew something was up, and she was going to find out what. “Princess Celestia, I know you both are hiding something. Is there something wrong with Rainbow Dash? If so, don’t you think it would be best if you told u-”

Twilight felt two hooves rest along her back. Looking back, she saw Applejack and Fluttershy. Both had tears in their eyes. Twilight felt her heart sink in her chest.

Princess Celestia stood next to the door, which had the name “Rainbow Dash”, written in marker, on the name board. “Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack have already been told of the situation. Rainbow Dash’s treatment isn’t working.”

Tears welled up in Twilight’s eyes. She couldn’t find the strength to talk, so she had no choice but to listen.

“In fact, Rainbow Dash is in a lot of pain right now. She started to spasm mid-way through her treatment. We had to stop the treatment early, or risk hurting her even more. With the state Rainbow Dash is in, she can’t handle the treatment anymore. Princess Luna and I have been watching over Rainbow’s treatments, personally, for the past two months. She’s put up a good fight, but we fear the worst might happen soon…” A tear ran down Celestia’s face as she finished her sentence.

“Forgive my rudeness, Princess Celestia. But, what do you mean when you say the worst might happen soon?” Rarity asked, not understanding what she meant.

Luna put a hoof around her sister, who was finding it hard to not cry. “I’ll handle this, sister.”

Luna looked at the Mane Six, taking in a deep breath before she spoke. “Rainbow Dash’s body can’t hold up to the therapy anymore. With the amount of pain that she’s feeling right now, it’s a wonder how she’s still going. Before she passed out, she told us to gather you all together. If you have any further questions, you should ask Rainbow Dash yourself,” Princess Luna told the group, opening the door to Rainbow Dash’s room.

************************************

All of the lights were off in the room, the only source of light being sunlight which shined through the wide window. Compared to the rest of the hospital, the room smelt amazing, almost like fresh flowers.

In the corner of the room, Discord sat quietly in a chair, staring blankly into a cup of tea. Discord didn’t look like his usual self. While he was usually always goofy and destructive,now, he looked sad and confused. As Fluttershy ran over to him, he wrapped her up into a hug, letting Fluttershy silently cry into his chest.

In the center of the room, Rainbow Dash lied in her bed, staring out the window. She had lost a lot of weight. All of her muscle tone was gone, a result of the therapy.

Her wings were a mess, since most of the feathers had frayed and fallen out. But what changed the most was her mane. It used to be so bright and vibrant with color. But, now Rainbow Dash wore a white cap on her head, trying to hide that most of her mane had fallen out. A few strands of rainbow colored hair still remain, as some frayed strands ran from under the cap.

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight called out as her friends sat around Rainbow’s bed.

Rainbow Dash looked at all of her friends and, to their amazement, had a happy smile on her face. Though her face was very thin and looked weak, there was no doubt that that was a true smile. “Hey guys, I’m glad you’re all here,” Rainbow Dash said, sounding like every word she said took all of her strength.

Twilight joined her friends as they sat in silence around Rainbow’s bed.

Celestia whispered something into Luna’s ear before joining Twilight and the others. With a nod, Luna walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Rainbow, sweetie, umm… How are you feeling?” Rarity asked. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She had never seen Rainbow Dash like this before.

“Oh, you know, just a little pain here and there. But I’m doing alright…” Rainbow Dash winced in pain as she rubbed the side of her head.

“Is there anything we can do for you Dashie?” Pinkie Pie asked with a slight whimper. Pinkie’s usual poofy mane had deflated and straightened out, hiding half of her face in pink hair.

Rainbow Dash gave a weak chuckle. “Nah, Pinkie. I’m just glad you all could come and visit me. I was afraid you’d all be busy.”

Applejack raised her voice at the notion that they’d be too busy. “Rainbow! You know darn well that we’d be here for ya!” Applejack took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued. “We’d never be too busy to ignore our best friend.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t respond. She just smiled.

“Rainbow Dash,” Princess Celestia said, breaking the silence, “Maybe you should tell everyone what you wanted to say.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, closing her eyes as she spoke. “Guys, I’m sorry to say this, but, I’m dying.”

The entire room went silent as all of her friends stared in disbelief. Twilight muffled something under her breath, speaking through a wave of tears that flooded her face.

“What was that Twi? My hearings not all that good,” Rainbow Dash asked, still sporting that happy smile.

Twilight’s emotions got the best of her, as she burst into a fit of tears. “How can you still be smiling?!” Twilight shouted, wrapping Rainbow Dash in a tight hug.

Spike wrapped his arms around Twilight’s leg, hiding his tears in her fur.

As the others burst into tears, nobody could think of what to say.

None, that is, except for Applejack. “Rainbow Dash, you were always the strongest… I never wanted to admit it, but you were always stronger than me. So why is it…. Why is it that I feel angry seeing you weak and fragile? Why?!”

Applejack hid her face in her hat, feeling ashamed of herself. “I wasn’t the strongest,” said Rainbow Dash. Applejack looked up from her hat, tears streaming down her face.

“And who’s saying I’m weak? I’m still the same Rainbow Dash. But, I will admit that I wasn’t the strongest. Whenever we competed against each other, I always struggled to keep up with you, Applejack. In fact, that’s a big reason as to why I trained so much. I wanted to keep working to beat you one day. But I guess I just wasn’t ever strong enough.” Rainbow Dash said with a funny grin.

Rainbow Dash looked down at Twilight, patting her on the back. “Twilight, to answer your question, I’m smiling because you all came to see me. Heck, even Discord showed up.”

“Hey!” Discord pointed out, “I care too you know!”

Rainbow Dash giggled, a little stronger this time. “Yeah, Discord, you really are a nice guy.”

Rainbow Dash pulled Twilight closer, returning the hug. “Princess Celestia, maybe you should tell them your idea.”

Celestia gave another soft nod. “As you wish, Rainbow Dash.”

“Girls, I’m sure you all have a lot to say, but, I wish to share something with you all,” said Princess Celestia, stepping up to Rainbow’s Bedside.

Discord sat Fluttershy on the chair, giving her a tight hug before joining Celestia.

“Discord, along with my sister and I have been talking, these past few weeks, on the best treatment for Rainbow Dash. With this change of circumstances, we have made a decision on how to handle it. With our combined power, the three of us should be able to take Rainbow Dash’s pain away, essentially healing her…” Celestia ended with a short sigh.

Twilight shot upright, looking straight into her teachers eyes. “Then why haven’t you done it?!”

Celestia dropped her head, hiding her face under her mane. “Rainbow Dash’s body will not be able to handle the magical pressure, resulting in her having but a matter of seconds before passing…”

Fluttershy burst into a fit of tears, curling into a ball as Applejack wrapped her in a warm hug.

The others couldn’t believe what they just heard.

Before anything could be said, Rainbow Dash stepped in. “Guys, before you say anything, I want you to know that they don’t want to do this. They are doing this out of my wishes. I’m sorry if you don’t lik-”

“You want to leave us!!!!” Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs, shocking everyone in the room. “How can you just give up like that!! That’s not what Rainbow Dash would do!!! She would fight until she found a way! So why…. Why are you just giving up!!!”

Rainbow Dash looked down at her sheets, still smiling. “I’m sorry,” Said Rainbow Dash.

A cold chill went through the room as a high voice came from the doorway. “Rainbow Dash?”

Everyone’s hearts stopped as they recognized the voice as Scootaloo’s.

“Rainbow Dash? What does Twilight mean when she say’s you’re giving up?” Scootaloo slowly walked into the room, the others clearing a path to Rainbow’s bed.

In the doorway, Princess Luna stood with the other CMC’s.

Celestia lifted Scootaloo up onto the bed, smiling at the small filly.

Twilight covered her mouth, hating that those words came out of her mouth. Twilight couldn’t believe what she did just now.

“I’m not giving up on anything, squirt. Are you going crazy? I’m Rainbow Dash for crying out loud! I never give up.” Rainbow Dash wrapped Scootaloo into a hug, rustling her hoof through Scootaloo’s hair as Scootaloo laughed.

The others watched and knew that it was taking everything for Rainbow Dash not to show any pain.

“I knew you’d never give up Rainbow Dash! Hey, when are we going to continue my flying lessons?” asked Scootaloo, returning Rainbow’s hug.

“Well, squirt, I’m going to be too weak to do it for a while. So Twilight agreed to teach you in my place. Isn’t that right, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash shot Twilight a begging glance.

Twilight quickly wiped away the tears, looking into Rainbow’s eyes. You’re not giving up… You’re trying your hardest to stay strong… “Yeah, that’s right Scootaloo. We’ll both be able to practice together. Won’t that be fun?”

Scootaloo exchanged glances between Rainbow Dash and Twilight. “Yeah, I guess. But when will we be able to hang out again, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash laughed past the pain as Scootaloo rubbed her head into Rainbow’s chest. “Oh, don’t worry squirt. It won’t be long. But I need you to go wait outside for me while we talk about my next treatment. Okay?”

Scootaloo nodded, giving one last hug as she walked out of the room.

As Princess Luna joined the group, leaving Nurse Faithheart to the CMC, everyone looked at Rainbow Dash.

“It’ll be okay guys. But, I just can’t stand being like this. I’ll be dragging you all down and the pain won’t go away. So please, for me, never change. We’ll always be friends, right?” Rainbow Dash fought back the urge to cry, not wanting to mess anything up.

As everyone nodded, Princess Celestia decided now was the time. “Okay everypony. As much as I hate to say it, it’s time to say our goodbyes. We have to do this now if we want it to work.”

Though they hated the idea of doing so, they all got up and lined up to say their goodbyes. Each of them gave Rainbow a hug, making sure it was a good last hug.

As Fluttershy’s turn came, she gave Rainbow Dash a big hug before running out of the room with tears running down her face.

Twilight was the last. “Rainbow Dash, we’re all going to miss you. We’ll never forget the times we’ve had together. We love you.”

Rainbow Dash smiled giving Twilight a good long hug. “Thanks, Egghead. You take care of Scootaloo for me now. I love all of you.”

Twilight left the room, wiping the tears from her face as the door shut behind her.

“Twilight, is Rainbow Dash going to be okay?” Scootaloo asked.

Twilight gave a soft smile to the little filly. “Yes, Scootaloo. Everything is going to be just fine…”

*************************TWO WEEKS LATER**************************

“So how are you and your friends holding up, Twilight?” asked Princess Celestia.

Twilight finished her cup of tea before responding. “Well, we’re all still hurting from losing Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo took it the hardest. But, we’re getting along. They made a memorial for Rainbow Dash at the Wonder Bolts Academy. I hear it’s quite a spectacle.”

“Yes, I was there for it’s unveiling,” said Celestia. “It looks absolutely amazing.”

The room grew quiet, the only sound being a slight cough coming from one of the Celestial Guards sitting outside Celestia’s bedroom door.

“Tell me, Princess. What was she like in those few seconds? When the pain went away..." Twilight asked.

Celestia sat her tea on the dining table. Twilight could tell that she knew the question would come up sooner or later.

“Twilight, after all the pain went away, she was so happy. I’d never seen her so happy in all the time that I’ve known Rainbow Dash. That smile of hers, it was almost contagious. By the way, I have something for you. It’s a gift from Rainbow Dash to Scootaloo.” Princess Celestia fashioned a beautiful oak wood box from her nightstand, placing it on the table in front of Twilight.

Opening the box, Twilight nearly broke into tears.

Resting in the center, protected by red, cloth padding, was Rainbow Dash’s Wonder Bolts badge.

“I see…” said Twilight. “I’m sure Scootaloo will love it…”

Celestia wrapped a wing around her student, pulling her close. “How are scootaloo’s flying lessons going? Any results?”

Twilight smiled as she nodded. “Yeah, she’s able to fly for ten minutes before needing a break. Quite the improvement since we started.”

Celestia chuckled, “Well, she’s more like Rainbow Dash than we thought. Always striving to be better.”

The grandfather clock, in the corner of the room, began to ring, indicating it was eight o’clock.

“I should get back to Ponyville. I’m sure Scootaloo’s waiting for our nightly flying session.” Twilight stuffed the box into her saddlebag.

Giving Celestia a hug, Twilight opened the door to the balcony.

“Twilight,” Celestia called out, “I’m sorry, again. Sorry that it ended this was. I wish I could do something to bring her back…”

Twilight gave a warm smile, stepping onto the balcony to fly. “It’s okay. Rainbow Dash never really left us. Her memory will always continue on in her friends.”