Previously:
“Rainbow, I don’t think my sister noticed, but you only have one wing,” said Alex
Rainbow sighed. “One of my wings had to be amputated when I was a little filly. I got cocky. I was racing and going faster than I should’ve been and I crash-landed in a forest. Both of my wings were messed up pretty bad. They managed to save one but the other… I’ve been stuck on the ground ever since.”
All of Twilight and Sophia’s friends were gathered in the Golden Oaks Library.
“Mind tellin’ us why we all are here now? You said somethin’ about the breakthrough of the century?” said Applejack.
“We found a spell that can fix Rainbow Dash’s wing!” said Sophia.
“Actually it’s a series of spells and a matrix multiply,” said Twilight.
“A matrix multiply? What does math have to do with fixing Rainbow Dash’s wing?” asked Charity.
“Quite a lot actually. It’s how we’re going change Rainbow’s right wing into her left wing,” said Sophia.
Charity titled her head. “Wouldn’t that still leave her with one wing, just switch which one it is?”
“No, no, it’s all data at that point.” Sophia paused a moment before continuing. “Maybe I had better start at the beginning. Twilight will scan Rainbow’s right wing, forming a model in her mind. Then she will use the matrix multiply to flip it into a model of what her left wing should look like, and then use the new model to regrow Rainbow’s left wing. The only problem is we need about five unicorns worth of power and a tiny bit of alicorn magic to make it work.”
“So, we need one of the princesses?”
Twilight stepped forward. “Actually no, well not directly. Princess Celestia sent us two gems charged with hers and Luna’s magic.”
Rainbow Dash jumped up. “Wait, do you mean you can do it right now!?”
“If you want to. But if you want to think about it I will understand,” said Twilight.
“Think about it! Think about it! The hey, I want to think about it. Unless… There no problem is there?”
“Not at all. It’s just that it will hurt like Tartarus and we can’t use a numbing spell, and well, it’s just that the new wing will be based on the old wing and you haven’t flown in eight years, so you may not be able to fly right away.”
“Oh. But I could right?”
“With enough work, definitely.”
Rainbow thought a moment. “Let’s do this! The worst case is I’m a flightless Pegasus with two wings instead of one.”
“Ok. The array is in the basement.”
Down in the basement was a circle filled with arcane symbols. In the exact center was a space big enough for one pony to sit. On the side closest to the stairs there were five similar spaces, four of them were surrounding and behind the fifth.
“Ok, Rainbow Dash goes in the center, Twilight goes in the control node and the rest go in the mana nodes,” said Sophia. “The array taps into your magic automatically. Just bring your magic to your horn and you should feel a slight drain. Everypony else watch from outside the array.”
Twilight picked up two gems on chains from a nearby table and put one around her neck and the other around Rainbow Dash. Then everypony took their positions. Twilight lit up her horn. After a minute it went out again. “Ok, I have a model of Rainbow’s right wing. Moving on to step two.” Twilight closed her eyes. Ten minutes later she opened them again. “Ok, I have a model of what Rainbow’s left wing should look like. The next step is the critical one so we need to be sure everything is ready, so I’m going to ask each unicorn for a go, no go. Go means you’re connected and ready to supply magic. Sophia.”
“Go.”
“Rarity.”
“Go.”
“John.”
“Go.”
“Megumi.”
“go”
“I didn’t hear that Megumi. Again, Megumi.”
“Go.”
Twilight closed her eyes a second. “Ok, connections confirmed. I can see you and I can see the alicorn power. This is the point of no return. If anypony isn’t ready speak up now.”
No pony made a sound.
“Ok, beginning final step.” Twilight’s horn blazed to life, strands of magic floated in the air, weaving together where Rainbow Dash’s wing should be. The strands of magic wove a vaguely wing shape.
Suddenly Rainbow Dash screamed in agony, the kind of scream that usually means that the screamer just lost a limb. Just as suddenly as she started, Rainbow Dash stopped screaming and collapsed. Her friends could tell she was still alive by the tears running down her cheeks. On the other front a furless, featherless wing had formed where there was just a stump before. Blue feathers started growing and soon covered the whole wing. As soon as they were done Rainbow Dash’s body relaxed, her tears stopped and a soft snore started coming from Rainbow’s mouth.
Twilight put out her horn. “Ok, done.” Twilight moved over to Rainbow Dash uneasily and used a light telekinetic field to check Rainbow’s pulse and breathing. “Ok, she’s fine. Just asleep.”
“Um, should we get Rainbow’s physical therapist now?” asked John.
“Her what?” asked Twilight.
“How did you think Rainbow was going to fly again?” asked John. “Anyways, I’ll talk to Resistance Band and see when she has an opening.”
A month later, Charity was outside looking for Rainbow.
Charity found her galloping around the town racetrack. “Rainbow!”
Rainbow stopped. “Hey Charity, What’s up?” Rainbow walked to the side and took a drink from a water bottle.
“Resistance Band came to see me today.”
Rainbow face fell. “Oh.”
“Want to talk about why you missed your last three appointments?”
“Hee, Hee, I’ve been busy.”
“Doing what exactly? Your next race isn’t for another two weeks. Now do you want to talk about the real reason?”
“It’s because… because…”
“Because what?”
Rainbow’s wings flared outward. “Just Because! Look, if you want I’ll cancel it! But I don’t need to explain anything to you!” Rainbow turned and galloped away.
Rainbow walked through Ponyville, avoiding Charity. It wasn’t that she was upset with Charity. Not anymore anyways. It was just how could she face her when she couldn’t fly. One month of work and she still couldn’t fly. One month old foals could fly!
Rainbow turned a corner as she spotted Charity and ran into a wall of pink. Rainbow took a step back. “Oh, hey Pinkie.”
Pinkie gasped. “I found you!” Pinkie galloped past Rainbow. “HEY, CHARITY—“
Rainbow grabbed Pinkie and galloped in the opposite direction. Five minutes later she stopped in a small alley. “Pinkie, what are you doing!?”
“Oh, were you two playing hide and seek. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to help her cheat.”
Rainbow facehoofed. “Pinkie, we’re not—nevermind. Just don’t help her find me.”
Pinkie cocked her head to the side. “If you are not playing hide and seek, why are you avoiding her?”
“None of your Business!”
“Oh.” Pinkie’s smile disappeared, her mane drooped a bit and her coat lost a little of its color. She turned and started walking away from Rainbow Dash.
“Wait, Pinkie I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just don’t want to talk about it.”
“Oh. That’s ok. I guess.” Pinkie walked off.
Great, now I feel like an absolute heel. I just yelled at two of my friends for something that’s not their fault. Maybe I should tell somepony. Charity’s out, no offence but she’s likely to take Resistance Band’s side. I need somepony on my side. Preferably a good listener and wouldn’t hurt if she’s pegasus as well. Rainbow facehoofed. I need Fluttershy.
Rainbow approached Fluttershy’s cottage. Rainbow walked past the ‘no stallions beyond this point sign’ and found the mare in question behind her house talking to the squirrels. “Hey, Fluttershy.”
“EEP!” Fluttershy jumped up and turned around. “Hey, Rainbow” One of Fluttershy’s eyes was behind her mane.
“Can I talk to you a minute? I just need somepony to listen.”
Fluttershy nodded. Listening is something she could do, in fact she was very good at it. She just hoped Rainbow didn’t need any advice, she wasn’t very good at giving advice.
“Um, ok. See here’s—Ugh, I can’t fly, OK! One month of hard work and I’m still grounded!” Liquid escaped Rainbow’s eyes, they weren’t tears, Rainbow Dash doesn’t cry.
Fluttershy wrapped her right wing around Rainbow.
“What am I going to do? Who ever heard of a pegasus who can’t fly!?”
Fluttershy shifted and prepared to say something when Rainbow continued.
“I know, I know. You weren’t a great flyer when you were younger but even you can fly now.”
“I have.”
“What?”
Fluttershy swallowed her fear. “I have heard of a pegasus who couldn’t fly. You. You couldn’t fly when you came to Ponyville and had no hope to. Are you going to just give up now it could be possible? What did your physical therapist say?”
Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “I haven’t talked to her about this.”
“Then do that. I mean if that’s ok.”
Rainbow decided Fluttershy was right, she should talk to Resistance Band. Maybe all it would take is kicking it up a notch. Rainbow found Resistance Band behind Ponyville hospital with another client.
Resistance Band was a 30-year old pegasus mare with a gold coat and a short brown mane. Her cutie mark was a set of Parallel bars.
Rainbow did her physical therapy ‘homework’ (unlike the boring homework in school this ‘homework’ was fun because it was just exercises) while she waited for Resistance Band to have a minute. Rainbow Dash finished a wing-up set when Resistance Band finished up with her client and walked over.
“I’m guessing you’re here to explain why you missed your last three appointments?” asked Resistance Band.
“He, He. Um, I was… um, never mind why. With work I can fly again, right?” said Rainbow Dash.
“I don’t see why not but you have stick with it.”
“I will but is there any way to speed it up?”
“Well, it isn’t proven but if you get a massage right after your sessions and homework it could help avoid strains and injuries that could slow down progress.”
“A massage!? But the only place to get one those is the spa! Is there any less girly way to speed things up?”
“Nope. I am already monitoring you and increasing your workout intensity as much as I can each week.”
“Fine. But only a massage. I am not going through all that girly stuff every day.”
Two weeks later. Resistance Band had Rainbow on the flight track which was basically a long pit full of clouds (aka pit full of fog). Rainbow had been aching to try this. She had been able to do wings up for over a week but Resistance Band wanted her to build a little more strength.
Rainbow ran toward the track. She jumped and started a glide. After a second, she beat her wings once, twice and then in a slow rhythm all the across the ‘track’ and landed on the other side.
“Rainbow, I said to fly for a little bit then let yourself fall into the pit.” Resistance Band grinned at Rainbow Dash.
“Like I was going to land on anything other than my four hooves.”
“Ok, listen, this time we are going to start a new exercise. Today I want you jump up over the pit, hover for a minute, then land. Rest for a minute and repeat until I tell you to stop. Try to maintain a height of at least five feet. Do good and you may be ready for long distance flying in a month.”
“A month? I will be ready in one week.”
“A month, Rainbow Dash. Push yourself too hard and you will injure yourself and actually slow down your recovery.”
“Fine.”
