Falling Wings
Chapter 1: Aftermath
The fluorescent lights passing above her head were all Rainbow cared to focus on as the trotting sounds and voices echoed around the inside of her tuned out brain. A large sigh escaped her lips as she nodded to the hazy sounds of a doctor who was moving down the polished hallway alongside her, not paying attention to what he was saying and only registering the odd sentence.
“Now, you just make sure you take care of the wing when you walk in the rain…”
Just give it a rest already Rainbow thought to herself. The stallion hadn’t stopped rambling since he had come to collect Dash from the general ward a few minutes ago, since then all he’d done is bore the mare. Thankfully, there was a peaceful end in sight for her though as the two rounded a corner into the main area of the building. The words ‘Canterlot General Hospital’ lining the wall of the reception room of the care center.
“You take care now Miss Dash,” the doctor finished with a handsome smile, believing that Rainbow herself had listened to the entire conversation. Instead his words were met with another long and hefty sigh.
“Sure thing doc,” Rainbow replied flatly. The stallion nodded a little uncertainly before heading back down the hallway. Rainbow’s eyes swung from the leaving pony towards the bright exit of the city ahead. It was then Rainbow began to remember the whole reason why she was here in the first place. She began to feel her gut sink as she took the first few steps back out into Equestria, her mind beginning to replay the final moments she had in the light.
Weaving in and out of the many clouds which littered the stadium floor. The rushing adrenaline as she shot up to the sky, hoping to complete just one simple trick. The screaming of the crowds turning to one of gasps as she felt her wing twist.
Dash winced as she descended the steps of the hospital. Struggling to keep her mind from reminding her of the embarrassing moment. Her wing ached in unison only seeming to remind her even more of that dreadful day.
The laughing of the crowd, the feeling of falling through the air that had once carried her to fame. Remembering the smug look of the rookie she was trying to impress, the one that had now taken her place.
Dash quickly squeezed her eyes shut as she stopped within the middle of the street, trying not to let a single tear leave her eyelid. The bustling Canterlot crowd budging past her, no one seeming to notice the once famous mare in public. Once to a news photographer a sight such as this would be press gold, but now useless. No pony seemed to care while Dash shook her head trying to rid herself of her thoughts, but still her brain kept trying to remind her more.
The heartbreaking moment of leaving the stadium in a stretcher, the shattering of her dreams from a letter which came from the captain shortly afterwards, her current life laying in pieces along with the mare she once knew.
“Ma’am, can I help you at all?”
Rainbow’s consciousness shot back to her fully as her eyes set upon a stallion at the ticket booth, the large and beautiful structure of Canterlot’s Grand Central Station as the background. Dash quickly cleared her clogged throat. “Yeah, uh… a single ticket to Ponyville please,” she responded. The stallion nodded with a casual smile as Rainbow searched for some bits. A ticket was passed through the small slot in the booth’s window as some bits were hoofed over in return.
“Thank you ma’am.”
Dash only nodded in return as she left. Her hooves signalled they needed rest after the trek to the station. The urge to fly always halted by the bandage that currently casted her wing. Her eyes scanned the current building interior. Luckily, the afternoon rush hadn’t engulfed the stadium with ponies and spare benches laid scattered across the hall. Rainbow made sure to sit herself down carefully, but there wasn’t any real effort in doing so. To onlookers around, the mare just looked like an average binge drinker by the way she sat slumped forward with her head to the marble flooring. Her brain finding the only option to remind her again.
The laughing still rang out in her head when she read the letter again the next day, the last time her name would ever be represented as a Wonderbolt. The words failure striking her heart with great amounts of force, the gut sinking feelings only making her want to fade away from the world.
“Final Call for the Ponyville Express route!” An announcer’s voice boomed out. Rainbow clearly struggled to find the strength as she got up off the bench and made her way towards the brightly coloured train. The vibrant textures reminded her of the town she was going to. She just hoped that things would be different once she got home.
Scootaloo yawned as she leaned back on one of the many wooden pillars which held the Ponyville train station together. She didn’t like getting up halfway through a midday nap, the heaviness of her eyes and her drained mind wasn’t the funnest of experiences. Suddenly her ears perked at the hopeful sound of an oncoming train. She smiled as the excitement woke her up. She’d been waiting to see Sweetie Belle for over a month now, there had been some rough communications as well since the unicorn had been on a rather big musical course.
The train from Canterlot slowly pulled into view. The brakes squealing as the large locomotive came to a stop before releasing a large amount of steam onto the platform. Scootaloo’s eyes began to quickly scan the area to find any signs of her friend.
“Scootaloo!” A familiar voice called, the young mare quickly turning her head to see her friend. The white colored unicorn was a mare to be marveled at with her formal dress tightly worn to her frame, one of Rarity’s works, which was also accompanied by a pair of saddlebags packed full of items.
Scootaloo trotted over to her friend and they embraced one another in a hug, “Ha, long time no see, still living the high life?” she replied in a cool tone.
Sweetie giggled, “Well one of us has to to attain to a high level, you look like you've been rolling around in the clouds for a few hours.”
“That I have!” Scootaloo stated as she released the hug. “Dinky woke me up from my nap with your letter.”
“What did I do to have you as a friend?” Sweetie Belle asked with a grin.
“You must have been pretty awesome in your previous life,” Scootaloo responded boastfully. Sweetie rolled her eyes.
Scootaloo snickered at the action, her eyes falling towards the far end of the train where she saw another mare exit the carriage. She could instantly tell who it was, her eyes widened quickly and her speech seemed to heighten as she shouted, “Hey, Rainbow Dash!”
The mare in question suddenly froze at the sound of her name. She slowly moved her head to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle with an array of surprised expressions. She smiled as best she could in her current mood, “Hey Squirt, what’s up?” she spoke, trying her best to sound happy. She was indeed feeling better at sight of seeing a friendly face who she knew at least still looked up to her.
Scootaloo trotted over to Dash and the pair met half way as they shared a hug. To Scootaloo Rainbow hadn’t aged a day, though it had only been a couple of years. Her eyes looked over the mare and alarmingly widened when she saw the bandage on the mares wing. “Dash, what happened to your wing?”
Rainbow cringed a little when she heard the question. “It’s uh...nothin to worry about Scoot,” she said, in a hurried tone.
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow slightly, but failed to bring up any real question before Sweetie Belle chimed in. “It looks like it hurts anyway. So, why are you all the way back in Ponyville?”
Rainbow sighed, “I’m kinda taking a break from the Wonderbolts,” she started with a slight chuckle which only further aroused Scootaloo’s suspicion as she continued. “So I was gonna come see if Twi or anyone wanted to hang out,” she explained.
Sweetie nodded, “Well I’m gonna head over to Rarity’s, I think I might have undone a few stitches in my jacket while running for the train,” she said turning to Scootaloo, “We’re still good for hanging out tomorrow right?” she asked in a hopeful tone.
Scoots nodded before turning back to Rainbow, “You want me to...come with you to Twilight’s then?”
Dash hesitated for a moment, but nodded. “Sure, I guess it’d be cool to catch up anyway,” she said with a smirk, “You’ve definitely grown since I last saw you, can’t really call ya Squirt now,” she said with a snicker.
“You could call me Scootaloo,” The mare asked with a wide grin.
Dash thought for a moment and shook her head, “How about…Big Squirt?” she asked with a trademark grin. Scootaloo only facehoofed in response as the three began trotting out of the station and towards the center of town. Rainbow, keen to start up a conversation, turned to the white unicorn trotting next to her. “So, what’s up with you, Sweetie Belle?”
“Well,” the mare started, “The music course went well, I’m only a few tests away from becoming a fully qualified teacher!”
“A teacher in music eh? Why aren’t you joining up with Rarity? last time I saw, that shop had doubled in size,” Rainbow asked with a questionable look.
“Well Dash, if you take a look at this,” Sweetie asked informatively, shaking her flank to show off her pink love heart cutie mark with a purple musical note diagonally placed on the mark itself, “I think my talent is based somewhere else.”
Rainbow shrugged, “I still don’t understand what you unicorns think about setting high standards, what ever happened to adventure?” she asked.
Sweetie shrugged, “I guess, unlike the two of you I like to at least look good when I arrive to meet someone, rather than in a bandage,” she said flicking her mane.
Rainbow smirked, “Well I think rough and tumble is better in bed, more sexy too,” she said with a teasing tone.
“Plus adventure is super awesome, it’s why pegasi are best,” Scootaloo agreed as the two mares hoof bumped over Sweetie’s head.
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, “Why don’t you just kiss already?” she asked with a sly grin, causing both pegasi to stop dead for a moment and share equal amounts of embarrassment in the street.
“Well, I gotta go see Rarity, I’ll see you tomorrow Scoots. Is Apple Bloom gonna make it?” she asked.
Scootaloo was still rubbing her neck nervously out of her friends last comment, “Uh...she said she needed to mind the apple stall in town, but I’m sure we can get her out with a little persuasion.”
“Great!” Sweetie Belle replied as she trotted away, leaving Scootaloo and Dash to themselves.
“So uh, whatcha been up to Scoots, I heard you took over my old job,” Rainbow said, nudging the younger mare as the pair continued trotting down the street.
“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. I can see why you liked it,” Scootaloo replied in a casual tone.
“Taking those naps like I told you to?” Dash asked with a mischievous look. Scootaloo flashed back an equal expression and nodded. To Dash, the orange mare she once used to know as an energetic filly really had grown into quite the mare over the last couple of years, her wings had grown along with her body and she was now equal height to everypony around. Her mane hadn’t seemed to change though and still kept its windswept shape. On her toned flank now sat an orange and purple lightning bolt to show her talent of flying, Dash remembered her first few times flying she had to drag her down from the air because she never wanted to stop.
“What are you laughing at?” Scootaloo asked when she heard a slight chuckle from Rainbow.
“Oh uh, it’s nothing Squirt…” Rainbow said, slightly embarrassed she’d let her mind wander. She smiled when a familiar sight greeted her eyes, “Oh look, we’re here!” She announced as the two wandered up to a familiar looking library in the center of Ponyville. Everypony around knew that the tree wasn’t the original which was diminished many years ago by Tirek, but Rainbow and the rest of her friends got together to build another one, mainly due to Twilight’s annoyance of there being a lack of books. They had managed to transport a large number from the old Twin Sister castle and Canterlot to make up the new and well established Ponyville library.
Rainbow lifted a forehoof as the two mares arrived at the red oak door. She knocked the wooden surface a few times, each one boosting her nerves back up to her chest. The two waited cautiously until a purple aura enveloped itself around the frame and pulled back to reveal a very familiar pony. Her face was one of confusion and shock.
Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck as she felt the sweat form on her brow, “Hey Twi...what’s up?”
“Perhaps I should be asking you the same question?” Twilight retorted tilting her head to one side to see Rainbow’s injury, “What’s up with the wing?”
Rainbow could quickly see she was getting the reaction she feared and decided to find some time, “Hey, could we maybe take this inside? Rather not let half of Ponyville know we’re having a discussion.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and motioned for the two of them to come in, “You know I don’t mind you coming around once in a while Dash, but if you want to arrange something with the girls you know you have to tell me in advance.”
Dash shook her head, “No, no it’s not that Twi,” she replied as the three trotted towards the couch where they all sat down. Dash whispered to Scootaloo before she seated herself: “Hey Scoot, go see if you can find the next Daring Do book around here,” she asked, hoping that would be enough to steer the mare away from the discussion she was about to have with Twilight.
“Sure thing Dash, what volume you up to?” Scootaloo asked as she trotted away to find the right section.
“Eh, above issue eight,” Rainbow replied casually.
As Scootaloo wandered away Twilight sat down next to the mare, her horn sparking as she lifted up a large list and began writing a few things down.
Rainbow chuckled, “All these years and ya still haven’t given up the old habits, have ya, Twi?” she asked with a smirk.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, “If by habits you mean getting things done as instead to strutting around the town like the next top model like some ponies do,” she started, giving Dash a look that made her slightly embarrassed. “I don’t think it’s a problem, but I do believe you have one that you wish to tell me.”
Rainbow sighed as she let the couch sink her down more, “Well...it’s about my life, really…” she started, not seeing the orange mare slowly trotting back through the living room with a pile of books.
“What’s that, you finally decided you don’t like being plastered everywhere and used on the next issue of Juicy mare’s magazine?” Twilight asked.
“It’s not really that…” Rainbow responded with a slightly more depressed look, which started to concern the lavender mare.
“Is there something going on that I should know about?” Twilight asked in a worried tone, “Come on, Rainbow, you know you can tell me, it’s not like you lost your job-”
“Correction, Twi… I did,” Rainbow replied bitterly, shocking both the young Princess and mare in the room who Rainbow hadn’t realized was in close enough proximity to hear.
“Wait, what!” Twilight shrieked with shock and horror, “You can’t tell me that you lost your job! You do the sonic rainboom, for ponies sake!”
“Twi, listen to me for a sec,” Rainbow pleaded, raising a forehoof to place firmly on her friends mouth. “It’s not the end of the world, I’ll get it back once I find out how to impress them,” she replied, knowing a hundred percent what she said wasn’t true.
Twilight moved the light blue forehoof from her mouth with her magic before letting out a sigh of exasperation, “So let me guess, until your wing heals you can’t impress them. So for however long it takes for that wing to heal, you need a place to stay?” Twilight asked with curious look, already seeming to know the answer. Rainbow nodded her head slowly.
“You can stay at my house Rainbow,” came a voice which made both mare’s turn to Scootaloo who was standing at the edge of the sofa with a pile of Daring Do books at her hind hooves.
“Well technically it’s Dash’s old home anyways,” Twilight pointed out as Scootaloo nodded with a slight hint of crimson reaching her cheeks.
Rainbow thought the proposition over in her head before reaching a wall, “How do I get down from the sky with this,” she asked motioning to her wing.
Scootaloo shrugged, “Well just cause it’s a cloud house doesn’t mean it has to be in the air. I mean as long as there is a magical force of some kind holding it close enough to the ground,” she answered as two sets of eyes turned to the alicorn in the room.
Twilight groaned as she put her head back, feeling the tired state she would be in shortly already starting to make her horn feel sore.
“Please Twi?” Rainbow pleaded clasping her hooves together in a begging way.
Twilight sighed, “I don’t have much choice do I? I honestly don’t think I can deal with your snoring either,” she finished as she got up off the furniture. Scootaloo and Rainbow looked at each other and gave another hoof bump before they started collecting the books Scootaloo had got for them.
As Twilight trotted towards the door she turned and said, “And Dash, if I’m doing this then you're paying for a spa trip tomorrow with the girls,” she stated. Rainbow rolled her eyes and nodded as she made her way out to join her just leaving Scootaloo with in the library. The mare gave a silent squee for joy before quickly galloping after the two, not wanting to waste a single moment.
