It All Started With Her Hiking~1
Rainbow Dash flew to the hiking grounds. Today and only today, the day before Christmas Eve, was the Ghastly Gorge Hills Hiking Park having a HUGE discount on hiking ticket costs. 50% less. She gently glided down, swift as a bird, and started conversing with a nearby vendor pony who was currently handing out two tickets to Fluttershy and Scootaloo. For some reason, Fluttershy looked troubled and kept on mouthing "I'm so sorry" Like she had abandoned Scoots when she was young. Rainbow Dash knew it was rude to stare, even at two good friends of hers, and looked away despite her rebellious instincts telling her to continue looking at the pair. She strolled up, trying to look as casual as ever. "Hello, 1 Ticket for the entire Hillside?"
The pony vendor seemed to glare at Dash like she had just insulted him. "None left."
"I know you're lying, you guys always have four spare rolls!"
"With our discount, they've sold like mad."
"I know lies when I hear them. Even AJ tells lies better than you! You guys always restock the moment you run out entirely!"
The vendor pulled the blue pony in close "Listen, pretty little liar detector, you better not crack this to anyone else, but I want this buisness to close down like Rarity's Boutique closes down when there's a mud monster outside. Last. Ticket. I'm. Selling. This buisness will burn." She was handed the ticked and she sped off fast.
RD gulped and zoomed off with the ticket.... Yeesh, why couldn't that vendor just quit her job if she hated it like that?
RD continued strolling, the strange events that had occurred at the Ticket Booth were long forgotten and behind her now. She finally reached the start of a large canyon, Ghastly Gorge. She looked far off into the distant, and saw the biggest mansions one could ever see. She remembered "Ghastly Gorge Real Estate Countryside for Rich Ponies" located just west from there, and suddenly the houses made sense. She looked for a way across, and saw a perfectly carved stairway in the rockface, spiraling down. She grinned and cantered over it. She could have just flown across easily, but now was not the time to fly and ruin such a peaceful exercise made for walking. She heard the wind and stood still with a grin on her face and her eyes shut, and she felt such a wind through her mane her wings spread out behind her and she breathed deeply in and out. It was so peaceful out here, she loved kicking back from being awesome and enjoying what Ghastly Gorge Hills had to offer. RD continued her walk, then broke into a run with her joy taking over and becoming energy; she shot like lightning into a narrower part of the Canyon, and remembered the race: this was where that boulder had fallen on her wing, and ever since she had called the area "Boulder Danger Cliffsides". Just as she completed her remembering, she heard a rattling noise form petals shaking and finally, a sound like thunder. She looked up and saw, with all the fear she could have within her, a loose boulder hanging from a thread of root.
She continued to stare up. Sure, she could run, but she felt like the boulder wouldn't get to her from where she stood. Suddenly, a hawk cawed from above and just as RD saw what it was doing, it had dive-bombed the blue pegasus and was now clawing her, dodging every swat, until it finally retreated, as if now that she was bleeding like mad it's job was done. Then, an earsplitting cracking noise came from above. With a snap, the small root detached itself from the rock and it began to fall. Rainbow Dash ran, realizing she had walked straight into the path.... but the boulder was faster than her running, and she was soon painfully pinned to that spot by her wing, crushed underneath the weight of the boulder so much it poured blood like the cuts weren't enough. Tears began to well up, but she blinked them away with all her force and might. She was weak and dizzy, and she knew she had to do something or she would die. She looked about for something to use as a tool to free her, but all she saw was a unnaturally sharp rock in her reach. She grabbed it, but suddenly realized it would not even scratch the boulder, let alone lift it.... then she realized what she would have to do as she stared down at her bleeding wing. "Shit, I can't do crap about the boulder! Why are you so cruel, fate? Why do I have to cut off my wing?" But she did. It stung. The rock acted like a blade and it cut clean through the delicate flesh of her pegasus wing. But she was free. She let out the most wretched wail of pain she had ever yelled, tears stung the wounds around her eye in her tear's reach. She wanted to run to her home or the hospital and have civilized care, but she couldn't. She continued to wail until dusk, then she painfully and stiffly waked along to look for shelter. She found it in a cave nearby. Normally, Rarity would have dragged her along, saying caves were too dirty. But this was Rainbow Dash, and she bolted for the cave. As the day faded into the darkness of Luna's night, she cursed both of the princess's names. She swished her tail and was then asleep, the leaves from the bed she had made almost healed her leg and belly wounds. She dreamed of death, despair, and all things wrong.
A little ways away from Ghastly Gorge, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy were talking happily over a dinner held at Fluttershy's to celebrate the Holidays. They had just gone dead still though, staring in the direction of Ghastly Gorse. Just a few seconds ago, a wretched wail of pain had come from the Canyon there, obviously the crier of it in deep pain with tears flooding their vision. Now the wails had stopped but they kept crying throughout the three's mind. It was clearly RD by her scratched voice, but she had never cried so painfully! Twilight looked at her friends in disbelief, and they were quickly darting from the cottage to the Gorge, not caring whether they broke the law by going in with no tickets or not. Their friend might be in the deepest dangers of all time! As quickly as they could, they made plans to save RD. They made plans for all the evil animals that could have captured RD, made plans for serious injuries (Flutters could handle that part), and plans for just being lost with a painful piece of glass or a thorn of something. They even made arrangements for if she was just pranking them (Twilight would whack RD against the side of the canyon with her magic). As they neared the boulder, they realized it was too dark for them to go in there safely. They would have to wait until morning, although they could swear on their life they heard the sound of faint sobs echoing quietly throughout the Canyon.
