Chapters It had been a tiring day for the blue pegasus Rainbow Dash. She had worked herself to the bone at Wonderbolts practice and was exhausted. The train to Ponyville had just gotten here from Canterlot half an hour ago and Rainbow Dash was resting comfortably on a fluffy white cloud. Her rainbow colored main glowed in the sunlight as she rolled over on her side. This was the life. Rainbow Dash was the element of loyalty, had fought monsters, saved the world, had lots of friends, fulfilled her life long dream of becoming a Wonderbolt, and had her own fan club. Life could not get any better.
Suddenly, she jolted awake by the sound of screaming fillies. She turned around to see the cutie mark crusaders running out of the Everfree Forest with panicked look on their faces. "TIMBER WOLVES," shouted Apple Bloom, a small earth pony wearing a large pink bow. "THEY"RE COMING FOR US!"
"What happened," yelled Rainbow Dash, who quickly flew over to the fillies.
"We were in the Everfree Forest trying to get our exploring cutie marks," said a young orange Pegasus named Scootaloo. Rainbow could tell she was clearly out of breath. Sweat dripped of her face and formed a small puddle on the ground below. All three of them were breathing heavily and they looked pretty beat up. "They started following us and we tried to drive them off, but it didn't work." Rainbow Dash rushed into action.
"All of you, stay together and warn the rest of the townsfolk. Tell them to stay indoors. Get the rest of my friends to drive them off." Then she was off. She just flew away. Scootaloo looked up in awe to see her the pony she looked up to flying off to save the day, but before she could even get to the forest she saw the coming out. Five huge timber wolves running into Ponyville. Two stayed, almost guarding the forest, to make sure no pony got out. "Oh boy," she said out loud.
From where she was, Rainbow Dash could hear the screaming of ponies as the wolves tore through town. She considered turning around to help them, but decided it was better to try to take down the ones guarding the forest first. The pegasus flew at top speeds, approaching the wooden creatures faster than she expected. Finally she reached them.
The first wolf had collapsed after the first blow, which makes sense because he had gotten punched at ninety miles per hour straight in the face. The second growled in anger and made an attempt to grab the ponies rainbow tail, but it missed and ended up biting a tree and getting a mouthful of leaves, which angered the beast even more. Rainbow Dash zoomed around the creature flawlessly, giving it a hard kick here or there, which made it moan or whimper in pain. The wolf finally had enough of this game and grabbed the blue pegasus with it's paw, throwing her to the ground. She bit her lip in pain and watched the timber wolf run into town.
Ponyville was in a panic. Everypony was running here and their, screams filled with terror filled the air, blood stained the ground. Rainbow Dash flew after the wolf who had escaped before it could cause havoc in town, but she was too late. She couldn't even tell it apart from the others. She saw her friends trying to either fight the monsters, or calm the townsfolk down. Some of the houses or building were destroyed and there were some small fires. Rainbow stated to do what her friends were doing. When she heard a familiar cry.
"Rainbow Dash, help me!" She turned around to see a small, orange pegasus filly, with an orange main, trapped between the side of a house and a timber wolf. Before she could react, she was against thrust against the ground, unable to move. Pain shot through her body. Oh the terrible, horrible pain Rainbow Dash was in. She tried to scream, but her throat was being crushed. She couldn't breath. and even if she tried, it felt like she was breathing in the pain, and her inside would start burning as well as her outside. Suddenly, her body gave up and everything went black. That's all Rainbow Dash Could remember.
This was her sixth Wonderbolts race, located in Fillydelphia, and Rainbow Dash was destined to win. She always hated losing, but hated it even more when she lost in front of other ponies. "Are you ready racers," the announcer shouted. Rainbow Dash cracked her wings and hooves and flipped her goggles over her eyes. "THREE!" She bent her front legs forward. "TWO!" Her back legs moved back. "ONE!" She crouched down. "GO!" She zoomed off letting no racer get ahead of her, even by a nose. Her wings were flapping so fast you could barely see them in the air.
The wind hit her face with such force you would think that the skin would just give up and let go of the bone. The first ten laps were a cinch, but the rainbow maned pegasus would not be in the lead forever.
The pony behind her was gaining speed. At first a little, then a lot, then she was ahead of Rainbow all together. She quickly caught up, but only for a few seconds before finding herself behind the same pony. This angered her as if there was a flame inside her that was quickly growing. Rainbow forced her wings to go as fast as they could, which created a buzzing noise. The pony was now behind her, but she wasn't taking any chances. She sped up even more. Sweat dripped off her face and fell, down, on to the stadium floor. The pain burned her wings and sides, but that was what made racing exciting. The winners are the ponies who last the longest not who's the fastest. Rainbow Dash ignored the world around her and focused on the race. Not the fans screaming her name, not her competitors behind her, only the race. "You can do this Rainbow Dash," she told herself, "you can do this."
She finally gave up trying to block out the sound and listened. All she heard were fans from all across Equestria, screaming her name as she crossed the finish line.
Rainbow Dash's eyes opened wide. To her surprise she was not in an arena or her bedroom. She was in a cold, dark, mysterious place, all alone.
"Where am I," Rainbow Dash asked out loud to the darkness that seemed to swallow her up. She rubbed her eyes and got out of the bed she had been laying in. The floor was frigid and the pegasus wouldn't have been surprised if it was snowing in the room. Suddenly her side burned with an unimaginable pain, which even drove a pony as tough as Rainbow Dash to tears. She flung herself back on the bed only to find she had missed and landed back first on the headboard.
Now she felt the pain had swallowed her up more than the darkness. Sweat trickled from her face as the flames ate at her body. She clenched the blankets and screamed. The was no ordinary scream, this was a blood-curtailing scream. One that wound make your ears bleed.
The door flung open reviling light at last. "Rainbow Dash, are you alright?" The blue pegasus recognized the unicorn as the doctor at Ponyville hospital. She tried to calm down herself but the doctor was already on top of her, stabbing a syringe into her side which, almost immediately calmed her down. The pain stopped and her side and wings went numb. "Phantom pains," the doctor muttered. He wiped the sweat off his brow and introduced himself. "Dr. Stables," he said.
"I know," said Rainbow Dash, "I met you when I broke my wing," she said, still trying to calm down after the incident. "Why exactly am I here?" Dr. Stables cringed at the question, he shifted his hooves uncomfortably and didn't make eye contact. The pegasus asked again, this time, more of a demand than a question. "Why am I here?"
"Rainbow Dash, I didn't want to be the one to tell you this but..." He trailed off and looked away for a few seconds before regaining his confidence. "Look in the mirror. Tell me what you see." Rainbow looked in the huge mirror next to her bed.
"I see a..." She paused to think. "An awesome mare with a stylish rainbow mane and..."
"What about...your wings?" The blue pegasus looked nervous, she didn't want to have a broken wing and be grounded for two weeks again. She glanced at her body in the mirror from the bed. Her eyes widened. Her right wing looked fine, but her left wing, if you could even call it a wing. All their was, was a large, blue and yellow nub. She could feel the swollen thing throbbing like crazy. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see what sick, disgusting thing was connected to her body.
"What happened," she said choking back tears.
"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash..."
"WHAT HAPPENED," the one-winged pony shouted, not even trying to hold back how she felt. "TELL ME!"
"I'm so sorry, we tried to save it but," the doctor started to choke up "it was smashed beyond repair." He trembled and looked away to hide the fact he was tearing up. "The timber wolf attack, when you tried to protect Ponyville. One of them stepped on you wing and crushed your wing and knocked you out. A pony named Ditzy Do rushed you over here but, it was to late." The unicorn started to clean his glasses on his coat using his magic. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," he repeated.
"Y-you-you sawed my w-wing off," the injured pony whispered, her lips trembled with every word, "y-you did t-this."
"We couldn't fix it, Rainbow Dash, this is not our fault, we..."
"YES IT WAS," she screamed, "JUST GO AWAY," tears streamed down her cheeks. "GO AWAY! I HATE YOU! GO A-AWAY!" Dr. Stables didn't take no for an answer. He left his patient only so she could calm down, but he would return to her. There was no way he could leave her in this state for too long. "Why, Celestia, why," Rainbow whimpered, "why?" That was the last thing she said before she cried herself to sleep.
"Hi Rainbow Dash," a pink earth pony said, bursting into the room. She was full of energy, almost as if she didn't know what had happened three days ago.
"Hey Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said glumly. As much as she loved Pinkie Pie, and all her friends, she didn't want to talk to any of them, she just wanted to be alone.
"I've been trying to talk to you all day, but the nurse said that you were still recovering from shock and some other stuff and wouldn't let me say hi and cheer my best friend up. That made me sooooooooo sad, because I knew that you were sad and I don't want you to be sad, so please don't be sad Rainbow Dash! You know, a few hours ago I tried to sneak in here by jumping through a window, but that didn't work and I got caught and the nurse said she was going to get the police if I didn't leave. After a few loooooooooonng conversations they finally let me see you. Hey Rainbow Dash I..." The blue pegasus didn't listen to any of what her friend was saying, everything seemed like a dream. A foggy, hazy, dream. It all happened so fast. Why didn't she remember? This couldn't be how her life would end, could it? "So can I see it?" Rainbow Dash came back to Earth and stared at the pink pony.
"See what?"
"Your wing silly! Everyponies talking about it! You lost your wing fighting off the timber wolves! So, can I see it!" The pony hesitated before shaking her head.
"No, Pinkie, you can't"
"Why not?"
"You just can't."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because I said so."
"Why'd ya say so."
"BECAUSE I DID!"
Rainbow Dash was getting very frustrated with the pink earth pony bouncing around her room. She didn't want to hurt her feelings, yet she did. "Pinkie, why don't you go get the nurse for me. I 'm uh...hungry and..."
"Why didn't you say so!" She grabbed a container from the saddle bag she was carrying and squealed. "I made this cupcake just for you! I hope you love, love, love it!" Before the pegasus could respond, a cupcake was forced down her throat. She spit it out in disgust. "Don't worry...um...I can fix it! The pink pony pulled out another cupcake and did the same she had did with the last one, and Rainbow Dash spit it out, like she did with the last one.
"PINKIE! CAN"T YOU SEE MY WING WAS SAWED OFF, OR ARE YOU THAT STUPID OR LOST IN YOUR OWN WORLD THAT YOU DON"T CARE! JUST GO AWAY!
After the sudden outburst, the earth pony stood in shock, before bursting into tears.
Ponies far and wide had visited Rainbow Dash to say how sorry they were or that they wish it had been somepony else. Why were they sorry? Weren't they glad it wasn't them who lost a limb?
One day, when Rainbow Dash was moping around just like she had all week long, a knock came at the door. The pegasus didn't answer. The door creaked open. A blonde pegasus with gray fur walked in cautiously. She didn't talk, but her eyes were full of sorrow, or was it...fear? She couldn't tell. "I'm so sorry," she said, "this is all my fault." A single tear streamed down her face.
"How is this your fault?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused. "If its anyponies fault, it's the CMC's. They shouldn't have been going into the Everfree without anypony's permission."
"No," she sobbed, "If I got you to the hospital in time, you would be okay, I think. Now...now you're...grounded, forever, and its all my fault." She broke down crying. "After all you did for me...when we were fillies, I couldn't return the favor."
"Don't cry, it wasn't your fault, you didn't do anything wrong." The blue pegasus wrapped her hooves around the familiar ponies neck. "What's your name, kid?"
"Ditzy Doo, but you can call me Derpy." Of course! The pony who brought her to the hospital! The pony who saved her life, just not her wing.
"Thank you," the rainbow manned pegasus whispered in her saviors ear. Suddenly, she didn't feel so alone.
She sat, sipping a cup of tea sadly. "So she just freaked out after you walked in?"
"Pretty much. I just don't understand why." Derpy shrugged.
"The kid's stressed out. I'm sure she'll be fine after a while." Rainbow Dash groaned. Scootaloo was basically her sister. How could she leave her like this?
"But what if something really horrible happens! What if she never gets over this! What if she-" Rainbow's eyes when wide with shock and realization. "-kills herself." Derpy touched her forearm.
"Don't even think about that, RD. It'll be okay." She stared at the long coat her friend was wearing. "Y'know. We are friends. You don't have to hide you stump from me. I won't judge you. I promise."
"I'd rather keep it on."
"That's okay too. I was just saying-"
"I know."
They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments. Finally, Rainbow broke the silence. "Hey, thanks, for everything."
"I know this is hard. I know what it's like. Everything will be better soon."
That had all been one week ago. She had not seen Derpy since, and there was no way she was going to go out in public in her condition. She had not bathed in weeks and had a foal odor which made the whole room smell. Applejack had tried reasoning with her, but Dashes answer was always the same. "Maybe tomorrow..."
She had been staying with Applejack. Having gotten out of the hospital and not being able to live in her own home was horrible. She had been waiting to get home ever since she found out about...it. She still didn't like to admit it was true. Her cloud home was in the sky, a place she was not able to go to. It was all to complex to take in at once, but little by little was just as hard.
Applejack supplied her with a small room, where she spent most of her time. She normally didn't move, just lay there, which concerned the Apple family. Rainbow Dash, however, was perfectly content with staying in her new home. She couldn't call it her home, of course, but it was close enough. It was better than staying in the hospital, where anypony who wanted to could come in and stare at the once, amazing, not to mention great flyer, completely helpless. She was once the one to help the helpless. Not any more.
One day, Applejack passed by her room, and dropped a sack of letters on her bed. Curiously, she grabbed a bright pink one, and opened it. After reading it, she smiled. Same after two more, then ten more. An hour later she had finished reading all the letters, except one. It was a deep purple. She opened it like all of the others. After scanning only the first sentence, she burst in to tears. Crying like a filly, she curled up under her blanket and didn't move, just like every other day had been.
Dear Rainbow Dash
I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. I should have been the one to get crushed. I was a distraction. If hadn't been in the Everfree in the first place, then none of this would have happened. I couldn't see you in the hospital. I would have, but I was afraid to see your wing. I afraid to hear what you would say to me. You don't deserve this. I understand if you hate me.
-Scootaloo
A one-winged pegasus trudged into town, wearing a long, indigo trench coat. No matter how many times she tripped on it, she dared no think about taking it off, although everypony knew what happened. Everypony knew about the accident.
Everypony stared. Even if it was only for a moment, they stared. Shocked that this pony would step out into the sunlight after such a long time.
The pegasus stared blankly in front of her, trying not not break down in the middle of town, but she was almost sure she would. She could feel their eyes, burning, piercing. They never stopped staring.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the pony reached her destination. A normal sized building, with lots of rooms. She knew whick one she needed to find. 118. I can finally see her. I can finally see you, my sweet little Scootaloo... And indeed she did, but it was not the Scootaloo she knew. It was someone different, someone...she couldn't but her hoof on it, but she knew it couldn't be good, so she kept her thoughts to herself, just in case.
"Rainbow Dash, hi. I- I haven't seen you since..." A tear streamed down the ponies cheek. Rainbow Dash pondered. Same orange fur, purple mane, small wings, but it isn't Scoots. There's no way it's her. It has to-
"RAINBOW!" She turned. "WHY! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE YOU! WHY DID YOU, OF ALL THE PONIES IN THIS TOWN, HAVE TO GET MAULED! YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO MATTERED! YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO LOVED ME! NOW LOOK! LOOK WHAT I DID! STUPID LITTLE SCOOTALOO! STUPID LITTLE WORTHLESS SCOOTALOO!"
And so she went on with her nervous break down. Went on, making the same point. You wouldn't be crippled if it wasn't for me. And in a way, it was true, but it wasn't. Rainbow Dash knew that. Scootaloo had been the one to call her name, but she was the one to look at her and lose focus. In a way, it was both their fault.
After she was done with her rant, the orange pony tired herself out so much that she collapsed on the ground and fell asleep. Rainbow dash scooped her up and placed her on her bed and covered her up. Then she left the filly to sleep. It was done now. She needed to rest.
