Flightless

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, blinking away her blurred vision. On either side of her bed, she saw her parents smiling down at her.
"Mom? Dad?" Rainbow Dash said, hardly able to speak because her throat had become dry.

"We're here, sweetheart. Mommy and Daddy are both here." Rainbowshine said in a quiet voice; she bent her head down and nuzzled her daughter.

"Am I still at the academy?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Rainbow Blaze and Rainbowshine looked at each other, with the saddest looks that Rainbow Dash had seen from either of them.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Rainbow Blaze sighed and laid a hoof on his daughter's shoulder. "Dashie, there's something we need to tell you."

Rainbow Dash finally became aware of the bandages wrapped around her body. "What's with the bandages?"

Before Rainbow Blaze could answer his daughter; Rainbow Dash realized a new sensation, something she'd never felt before. It was as if something was missing, like some part of her had disappeared.

"Something's wrong!" Rainbow Dash cried out, panic setting in.

Rainbow Dash frantically kicked away at the sheets and arched her shoulders, preparing herself to fly. As quick as she jumped, she came down just as fast; landing in a heap on the cold floor.

"My wings! Why can't I fly?!"

There were those looks again on her parents faces. Rainbow Dash picked herself up quickly and ran to the mirror that hung on the closet door. Instead of her wings, all she saw was more bandages.

"Mom, Dad, help me out of this, will you?" Rainbow Dash asked urgently.

Rainbow Blaze and Rainbowshine made no move to help Rainbow Dash; they just kept shaking their heads and crying.

"Fine!" Rainbow Dash growled and began using her teeth to tear away the bandages.

"Dashie, don't!" Rainbowshine warned.

Rainbow Dash finally managed to rip off the last bandage. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to see; charred feathers, burnt flesh. Instead, she saw nothing; nothing but two large stitches in place of her wings.

"No. No. No. This can't be real. It's a nightmare, I'm still asleep." Rainbow Dash muttered.

Rainbowshine approached Rainbow Dash, but was thrown back as her daughter pushed her away.

"Get away from me! You're not my real mom! I'm not really here! This isn't happening to me!"

Rainbow Dash ran from the room, deliberately throwing herself against the walls.

"Come on, Dash! Wake up! Wake up!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

She came to the nurses desk and grabbed onto Nurse Redheart, wrapping her arms around her.

"Nurse, please! Give me something to wake me up! I want to wake up!" Rainbow Dash sobbed.

"Rainbow Dash, you must calm down." Nurse Redheart said quietly.

"I won't calm down until I'm awake!"

Nurse Redheart finally saw that the bandages had been torn off. She gasped, and reached for a roll of bandages on the desk. When she turned around, Rainbow Dash was already racing towards the waiting room. Nurse Redheart hit the buzzer on the desk; locking the doors to the waiting room. Another nurse joined her colleague as they slowly approached Rainbow Dash. The young mare was backed into a corner, her eyes darting wildly in search for a wy out.

"Rainbow Dash, please. You have to come with me and get your bandages back in place." Nurse Redheart whispered.

Rainbow Dash looked towards the ceiling and suddenly leaped into the air. The other nurse grabbed her legs and pulled her down quickly; laying on top of her to keep her still.

"She needs to be sedated! Now!" The nurse ordered.

Nurse Redheart went over to the desk while the other nurse held the panicked patient in place. Nurse Redheart returned and stuck a needle into Rainbow Dash's hindquarters; it took only seconds for Rainbow Dash to fall fast asleep.

"What in Equestria has happened?" The nurse asked.

Nurse Redheart sighed. "Isn't it obvious? A Pegasus has just lost her wings."

Nurse Redheart and her colleague carried the sleeping Rainbow Dash back to her room and placed her in bed.

"Will she do this again?" Rainbowshine asked in a whisper.

"She shouldn't. It was just a mixture of shock and the anesthetics. She'll be fine." Nurse Redheart assured.

Rainbow Blaze frowned. "Mentally or physically?"

The nurses said nothing and left the parents to watch over their sleeping daughter.