I Can Finally Fly
Chapter One
BloodinMyenam
"Falling is not the same as flying."
-Gauge, Pegasus Device
Scootaloo collapsed against the wall, bleeding from both nostrils. She sat with her head down, gasping for breath.
Above her stood a familiar pink filly, a cruel smile on her face.
"Sooo, the blank flank takes a hit about as well as she flies! Ha!"
"Diamond...please..."
"Oh, what's that?" Diamond Tiara knelt, gripping Scootaloo's chin in her hoof gently, a passive, soft look in her eyes which terrified Scootaloo more than any other disposition on her tormentor's face. "What makes you think your markless plot has a right to plead with me? Not that I don't enjoy it..."
Scootaloo got to her knees, shuffling away weakly. She couldn't get enough air.
"Oh, and where do you think you're going?" she cooed, biting Scootaloo's tail.
"Get OFF!"
Flapping her wings with tremendous force, the orange and purple filly kicked backwards with all her might.
Scootaloo smiled then, a smile of relief, as her rear legs connected with Diamond Tiara's snout, and a crack was heard.
Diamond crumpled to the ground.
Scootaloo, in a pain-driven bloodlust, continued to buck, driving her legs down upon Diamond's face. The filly felt something warm hit her fur, but continued to buck, the agonized cries of the filly below her meaning little more than a confirmation of her marksmanship.
By that point, her smile was no longer of relief, but of pleasure.
She stopped in mid-buck, however, when she heard a shocked female voice exclaim from the front of the schoolhouse.
"Scootaloo! What are you DOING?!"
Miss Cheerilee.
Scootaloo darted away, mounting her scooter at a gallop, and began kicking her leg furiously in a bid to get away, her small wings fluttering at high speed.
As she rocketed away from the schoolhouse, the filly turned back to examine her handiwork, and determine whether or not anypony was chasing her.
Scootaloo tried not to vomit at the sight presented to her.
Turning back, she continued to propel herself along, entering Ponyville town square and swerving to avoid pedestrians, who grumbled testily at her recklessness.
"Scootaloo again..."
"Why she's always in such a hurry, I'll never know..."
Scootaloo continued to kick up dust as she sped through the crowd of ponies and out the other side, her eyes blurring and throat catching.
Oh, goddess, not now! I can...as it is...
Her thoughts were becoming sluggish and disjointed, and her shuddering gasps might as well have been of carbon dioxide.
As she reached the small clearing below the Cloudiminium, she hit a sizable rock with Red Rider's front wheel, causing a head-over-heels tumble of both scooter and pegasus.
The scooter flew off, while the filly rolled straight into the hooves of a certain pegasus.
"Nice landing, squirt." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, extending a hoof towards the filly.
Then, she noticed the blood.
"Scootaloo, wha-"
"Rainbow...I..." Scootaloo began. Why can't I bucking BREATHE!
Rainbow Dash noticed Scootaloo's obvious distress, and began to panic.
"Don't worry, Scoots! I've got'cha!"
Gabbing Scootaloo by the scruff of her neck and slinging the filly over her back, she took off at high speed, running towards Ponyville hospital, her wings extended straight upward like the frills of a lizard to keep her charge from falling as she galloped around corners.
The uncomfortable movement of the grown pegasus's body was the last thing Scootaloo felt before slipping into unconsciousness.
I Can Finally Fly
Chapter Two
BloodinMyenam
Scootaloo awoke with a start.
She attempted to move, finding that she couldn't. Examining herself, she found that each of her limbs was restrained by a light magical aura. She was not disturbed by this, but utterly confused. How did this happen?
"Well, well, ol' Scoots wants ta' join us after all. Jus' great n' all, innit?"
Out of the shadows came Apple Bloom, her yellow eyes glinting maliciously in the near-darkness which permeated the area. Next came Sweetie Belle, her horn aglow with magical energy which, Scootaloo realized, was pinning her to the ground.
"Guys, what's going on? This is creepin' me out."
"Ah, shucks, nothin' much. It's just, we realized you're pretty much useless ta' us, so we're gonna cut'cha up, maybe have some fun with ya, then let'cha bleed ta' death." She giggled. "Nope, nothin' major."
Scootaloo, in her half-dream state, had no problem believing this, and immediately began struggling against Sweetie's magic, panic clouding her thoughts.
"Oh, will ya stop? You're not goin' anywhere. See, Sweetie? I tell ya, pegasi always were the weakest race. 'S always what Applejack told me."
Scootaloo stopped struggling then, eyeing Apple Bloom angrily.
"Excuse me, miss hick, I don't see you with a cutie mark!"
"Well, duh," piped Sweetie, "We haven't shown you yet."
They turned, and the sight nearly drove Scootaloo insane, for their marks were a mess, constantly shifting between countless indescribable images.
"Do ya' like 'em?"
Scootaloo could not answer, her mind held captive by the intriguing, horrifying image, presented to her in stereo.
All of our failures. All the ridiculous attempts...the marks we never got.
"Alright, that's enough. Don't want this filly-fooler visually molesting us too much!"
Scootaloo was snapped out of her comatose state. "What? B-but I..."
"Oh, please, we all know what SHE says. SHE sees you for what you really are, and hates you for it. Why not just die? It would be so much easier for everyone involved."
Apple Bloom trotted up to her, producing a long, razor-sharp scalpel. Before they began the gruesome act, she leaned down and whispered in Scootaloo's ear.
"Ya know, ya don't have ta be such a whore. Jus' take a look at yerself."
Scootaloo, again immediately grasping the meaning of Apple Bloom's words, looked down at her own plot, and screamed.
Hers was identical to theirs.
Scootaloo screamed, clearing the last of the fever dream from her vision.
Upon waking, she noticed two things immediately.
1) She was strapped down fast to a medical bed.
2) The room, clearly part of a medical facility, was a mess.
Examining the room more closely, she jumped when she was greeted by the sight of two older ponies against the wall, staring at her, mouths agape.
Rainbow Dash, a large welt on her head and wings flared, had Applejack pinned against the wall, the orange pony's ear trickling blood. Their position was almost comedic.
There was a long, awkward silence, which the orange farmer pony finally broke.
"Oh. Mornin', Scoots."
I Can Finally Fly
Chapter Three
BloodinMyenam
The six friends huddled around Scootaloo's bed, worried looks on their faces.
Nurse Redheart stood there, checking the filly's vitals, and eventually left the room, leaving them all alone together.
Twilight, trotting up from Scootaloo's left, nearest the door, shook her head sadly and spoke.
"Scootaloo...what's wrong with you?"
The foal was deathly still, the slow movement of her chest the only indication of her continued life.
"I been to see Diamond's family, n' they all claim tha' same story. Scootaloo bucked her face in. It'll cost hundreds o' bits ta repair."
Applejack's voice rang out among the silence, dampening the mood even further.
Nopony spoke for a while, until the farmer pony piped up again.
"They say it's all 'cause pegasi are tha' weakest race. They don't blame Scootaloo, 'cause they say she was just feelin' vulnerable, and the like."
In a flash Rainbow Dash was in the air, turning on the orange mare.
"What did you say?!"
"Now, I didn't say nothin'! It's just...that's what they said."
"Yeah, but you would think it, wouldn't you?! You being a big, bad, Earth pony!"
"Oh, an' you think you're much better? You and your attitude have done nothin' but get me inta' trouble. Maybe if y'all would start doin' more than makin' the sky look pretty..."
Rainbow Dash advanced on her fillyfriend, pressing Applejack against the wall.
"In case you've forgotten, this happened to me when I was in flight school, everyday, for years! I had nightmares, Applejack, NIGHTMARES! I didn't tell a single soul, though, nope, not a one! Because it's pegasi code not to draw others into your conflicts, be they internal or external! How weak do I sound now?!"
Applejack glared at her for a moment before speaking.
You're right. It does take a whole lotta' nerve t' stab your best friend in tha' chest."
Everyone's gaze flitted for a second to Pinkie Pie, who self-consciously raised a hoof to her heart. "I-I'm fine. Honest."
Applejack turned back to her enraged fillyfriend. "Anyway, Ah think you're bein' unfair. I never said anythin' ta' offend you."
Rainbow Dash sighed, lowering herself to the ground and backing away.
"We all know how easy it is."
"Oh, that is IT!" With a flap of her powerful wings, Rainbow Dash dove towards the orange mare, pinning her to the wall.
They dove around the room, biting and flailing, as their friends edged towards the door, unwilling to be at the receiving end of Applejack's kicks, nor Rainbow's wings.
Knowing that alicorn magic would be insufficient in restraining the two for any sustained period of time, Twilight dashed into the hallway, calling for assistance, and the other three backed cautiously out of the room.
Eventually, the quarreling mares found themselves against the wall, Rainbow Dash again on top. She rose her hoof, ready to bring it crashing down upon Applejack's snout, when she froze, looking towards Scootaloo's bed.
Frowning, Applejack turned around, her heart skipping a beat as her eyes met Scootaloo's, wide with shock and fear.
"Oh, mornin', Scoots." Applejack eventually blurted out.
In that moment, Twilight dashed in, followed by two female unicorn nurses, all three horns aglow. The first thing she saw was Scootaloo, fully awake and bewîldered. When the princess took in the sight of the room - curtain rod hanging by one end from the wall, bedside stand knocked over, and the two mares against the wall, she balked, backing up a step. "Sooo, you two worked things out, then?"
"Yep." Rainbow said cheerfully, putting on an obviously fake smile, which showed teeth dripping with blood. Looking at Applejack, one could clearly see the large wound on her right ear, which was now trickling blood steadily. She did her best, though, to put on an encouraging smile as she looked at Twilight, her features obscured by obvious pain.
"Yeah, sure. Nurses!"
Immediately, a magical aura of shifting colors surrounded the two, drawing them into a close circle of ponies, all three restraining the pair by magic.
Twilight stepped back, careful to keep her magic focused on the two mares as they floated in midair, and allowed the nurses to do their work.
"Several large welts..."
"Losing blood at a steady rate..."
"Snout broken..."
After a few more seconds, the unicorns nodded, stepping to either side of the two levitating ponies.
Twilight stepped forward. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?! All week, you've been bickering, and today you nearly hospitalized each other!"
Actually, princess," one of the nurses interrupted, "their wounds will require hospitalization...for a day or two."
Twilight Sparkle sighed exasperatedly."Fine, do it. Oh,and be sure to sedate them both beforehand, and keep them in bed restraints, like our little friend here."
She glanced back at Scootaloo, who throughout the whole ordeal, had seemed on the brink of tears, and at the harsh mention of her own name, had finally let out a single sob.
Turning back around to glare at the two lovers, she sighed, her expression and tone softening. "It's for the best, guys. I can't afford any more violence. I'll see you two when you're safely in bed."
With that, she dismissed the two nurses, relinquishing her magical hold on their charges. Each nurse took control of a single mare as they began to kick and writhe, threatening to break the restraining fields around each of their bodies.
Acting quickly, the nurses withdrew two hypodermic needles from their work coats, prepping them as Rainbow and Applejack started yelling in protest.
"'Ey! What 'n tarnation do ya think you're doin'?"
Rainbow Dash, especially, seemed frightened of the large needle moving towards her.
"B-back off! Hey, stop! N-no! NO! NO MORE!"
However, before long, both ponies were sedated, their struggles weakening. They were carried slowly out of the room via magic, their eyes brimming with tears.
Twilight heaved a shuddering sigh, her head and tail drooping. Immediately, however, she straightened herself up, turning to Scootaloo with a horribly false smile.
"So, Scootaloo...how are you feeling?"
Rainbow Dash panted and gasped, pain making her sick to the stomach. Her leg burned like fire where the bone had been forcefully removed, her tendons hanging limp around the hollowed cavity, giving the cross-section of her leg the appearance of a poorly gutted pumpkin.
"Oooh, I could whittle this down into a tiara! And give it to DIAMOND Tiara when her number comes up! Oh, wouldn't that be a riot! Hah!"
Pinkie's crazed voice was the last thing Rainbow heard before slipping into pain-induced unconsciousness.
Rainbow Dash awoke, panting and covered in sweat. She flailed out with her hooves wildly - or would have, had her forelegs not been strapped to the siderails of the bed she was lying on.
The cyan pegasus continued to struggle, her breath coming in short gasps, until her panic faded. Taking deep breaths, she looked around the room. The room was identical to Scootaloo's, and - wait, WHAT?
Looking around, Rainbow Dash was reasssured to find Applejack lying in the bed next to her. Wait, are we in a hospital? Why - suddenly, the events of the past few hours crashed down on her consciouness like a tidal wave.
"Uuugh, not again..."
Had she not been restrained, she would have facehoofed. Glancing back over at Applejack, her heart melted, the other pony's chest slowly rising and falling in the rhythm of sleep. Her hat lay on the bedside stand, exposing her adorable blond hair.
Rainbow Dash lay watching her for a few seconds, until she was snapped out of the reverie by the sight of an Earth pony nurse running in. Her black mane was a mess from the stress that this particularly stressful day at work had placed on her, and running down the hallway hadn't helped.
"Heard...screaming...heart rate...off the charts..."
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, confused. "Screaming?"
"Yeah, sugah cube." Both ponies jumped as Applejack spoke up, her eyes still closed. "Done woke me outta' mah little sleep. Ah' was workin' off that liquid coma the nurse was so kind ta' give me."
The nurse smiled sheepishly, and Rainbow Dash realized that she was the one who had injected Applejack with the medication that had severely weakened her marefriend, and eventually led to her falling asleep.
"I wasn't screaming. At least - I don't..."
Applejack opened her eyes, giving the pegasus a knowing glance, then closed her eyes again and settled back into the bed, with an air of "we'll talk about this later".
Rainbow sighed, turning back to the nurse. "How long are we gonna be in here? And in these cuffs?"
The black-haired mare perked up considerably, having been returned from the awkward situation to her routine duties.
"Oh, well, there's some good news! We just have to run a few more tests, and you'll be free to go."
Remembering what had happened earlier, she doubted if that was really such good news.
"Twilight? Why am I strapped down? A-and what were Rainbow Dash and Applejack doing?"
"Oh, them? They were just - having a little disagreement."
Scootaloo frowned. "I don't think 'disagreement' is nearly strong enough."
Twilight sighed. "I don't know what happened. They were fine one minute, and the next-" she shivered.
Scootaloo lay for a minute, contemplating the implications of what she had seen. Then, remembering her first question, she asked "and these?" wriggling her forehooves.
"Oh...well...it's a long story, really..."
Rainbow Dash and Applejack walked together down the hallway, leaning on each other for support. Both of them were still weak from their wounds, and the aftereffects of being medically sedated.
Finally, they trudged into a small waiting area which was seperated from the hallway by a large pane of stained glass. Against the wall squatted a blue leather sofa, which both mares plopped down on with a sigh.
Applejack sat for a while, lost in thought. She turned to make small talk with Rainbow Dash about the weather, only to find that she had once again fallen asleep.
Applejack sat for a while, admiring her lover's sleeping form laying on its side, the way all four legs were pulled close to her body, tail wrapped around herself, and one wing extended gingerly over her upper body up to her snout, giving her the appearance of something fragile, something small, sheltering itself from a cold, cruel world.
Smiling, the orange mare leaned down to kiss her lover on the cheek. In the end, though, she hadn't expected Rainbow Dash to wake up flailing, that adorable wing hitting her square in the snout.
Rainbow sat up, gasping, looking around wildly. Applejack grabbed her by the shoulders, turning the pegasus to face her. "RD! Fer apple's sake, what's wrong with ya!"
Rainbow Dash continued to struggle for a few seconds, until finally locking eyes with her marefriend and slowly growing still, and then smiling. "Oh, nothing, Applejack. I'm fine, really!"
Applejack didn't believe a word of it. "RD, ya better tell me what's going' on." She stared at Dash for a few seconds, until finally something clicked in her brain, and she reached the obvious conclusion.
"Yer havin' bad dreams again, aren't ya?"
Rainbow Dash continued to stare into AJ's eyes, unblinking. Her smile twitched a little, and her eyes grew moist.
Finally, the pegasus gave in, burying her head in the farmer's chest and bawling her eyes out. Applejack said nothing, embracing her with her forehooves and allowing her fillyfriend this release, rocking her slowly. Finally, the tears stopped, and Applejack slowly slid down, onto her side, pulling Rainbow Dash with her. The drained pegasus complied, resuming her former position, except with her small, feathery wing now over Applejack's forehoof,which was now on her chest.
So they lay for a while, enjoying each other's closeness, until Twilight Sparkle ran in, gasping and sputtering. "Guys...guys...listen..."
"Come on, Twi', spit it out."
Twilight regained her composure enough to gasp a single sentence.
"Scootaloo...gone...can't find her anywhere!"
