All the cats below her gasped in a mixture of shock, awe and disbelief.

Rainbow saw her friends smile knowingly, except Pinkie, who was bouncing in excitement.

Spiderleg seemed to be the first to calm down, and got himself back into a battle stance.

Rainbow smirked, positioning herself into a dive, flying speedily down towards the black tom. Her claws unsheathed, she barrelled straight into Spiderleg, knocking him over easily.

She pulled up at the last second, leaving her opponent winded beneath her. Then Rainbow dived again, dive-bombing into his belly and knocking the air out of him.

She didn't want to go too far, but took the time to prove her point with a scratch across Spiderleg's chest.

Rainbow then stepped back, blood trickling from her flanks, belly and left ear. She folded her wings into her sides, relishing the feel of feathers on fur. Her cerise eyes were tired, as were her muscles. She sheathed her claws, which were stained with blood, and let herself fall into a sitting position.

“Good job, sugarcube! Even if you were a little harsh.” Applejack’s hearty country accent entered her ear, and Rainbow felt her friends’ presence around her.

“Yeah, you showed that big meanie, didn’t ya, Dashie?” Pinkie purred.

For once Rainbow didn’t mind Pinkie’s stupid nickname, and instead nodded very slightly.

Rarity was the next to speak, her voice full of concern, “Rainbow Dash, darling, are you alright?”

Rainbow was about to reply, when the shock of her wounds hit her. She hadn’t noticed before how much it hurt. Her breathing quickly became too fast to be healthy, and darkness pricked the edge of her vision.

Her forelegs gave way and she splayed out on the ground. She held onto consciousness, but that only caused pain. Her Element of Harmony suddenly felt strangely tight around her neck, and she blacked out.

Rainbow awoke in a small cave. She was lying on a bed of soft moss. The cave smelled of strange plants and medicines. Her light cerulean pelt was coated in cobwebs and a strange-smelling, sticky, thick liquid. She couldn’t feel her wounds, only aching in her muscles. There was another moss nest just across from her, with Spiderleg lying in it. At the back of the cave, there was a trickle of water leading into a small pool.

“Ugh, my head…” Rainbow complained, rubbing her head with her paw. Slowly, she rose to her paws and stretched, spreading out her wings – wait. Her wings weren’t there!

“You’re finally awake!” a happy voice chirped, and Rainbow turned to see Spottedpaw rolling some berries beneath her paw.

“Spottedpaw? Can you tell me why my wings and mane are gone and what this stuff is all over me?” Rainbow asked the small she-cat.

Spottedpaw picked up one of the berries and quickly carried it over to Spiderleg, where there was a small pile of leaves. “Well,” she meowed as she put the berry down, “Your wings and the… mane, was it? Anyway, they disappeared as soon as your flank stopped bleeding. And that ‘stuff’ is a marigold poultice. To stop any infection, and then cobwebs to stop the bleeding. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t die of blood loss, especially from your flank.”

Rainbow took a deep breath before asking worriedly, “What happened after I blacked out?”

The small she-cat began chewing up one of the leaves, spitting it back out onto Spiderleg’s chest wound. “Well, Bramblestar tried to continue the ceremony, but your friends refused, saying they would only do it when you were well enough to become an apprentice with them. Then Jayfeather and I dragged you in here and treated you. You were somehow the worst hurt, so we dealt with you first. Then Blackpaw and Brownpaw, the two cats who said your sudden burst of pain might of had something to do with your ‘cutie mark’, who are also my mouse-brained siblings, dragged Spiderleg in here a few minutes ago. That about brings us up to now.”

Rainbow sighed, lying back down in her bed. “Just one more question.”

“Yeah?” Spottedpaw mewed, turning and, as always, favouring her right foreleg, which was still covered in scratches.

“What happened to your leg?” Rainbow questioned.

Spottedpaw stiffened at this. “It’s broken. I ended up by one of the lake cliffs; a rock fell on me.”

Rainbow felt pitiful, but sensed Spottedpaw wouldn’t appreciate her sympathy.

Spottedpaw trotted to the entrance of the cave and poked her head through the brambles, “You can come in now.”

She then stepped back to let five cats in. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Applejack.

“Hey, guys…” Rainbow croaked.

“Are you ok, Dashie?” Pinkie chirped worriedly, staring at Rainbow extensively injured body.

Rainbow sighed and managed to sit up again, replying, “Yeah.”

“So what happened out there?” Twilight asked, resting her tail over Rainbow’s shoulders.

“Well, when Spiderleg scratched my cutie mark, it felt like nothing existed except pain. It hurt so much! But then the pain went, and I felt a lot of pressure on my back. Then it was like the skin just burst and I felt something sprout from the wound. Then my Element of Harmony started glowing and lifted me up into the air, my mane appeared, and I grew wings.” Rainbow explained.

“Hmm… it sounds like whenever our cutie marks are scratched, we get what we have in pony form. So we’d get our mane, tail, wings if we have any, and horn if we have one.” Twilight meowed.

“But what ‘bout me an’ Pinkie? What’d we get?” Applejack questioned.

“Perhaps you’d get something you use in pony form. Like Applejack, you might get your lasso. Pinkie, you might get your… Um…” Twilight trailed off.

“MY PARTY CANNON!” Pinkie screeched, causing Spottedpaw to flatten herself to the ground with her paws over her ears.

“What’s a lasso, what’s a cannon, what’s a party; what’s a horn?” Spottedpaw squeaked.

“A horn is a pointy thing on a unicorn’s head, a lasso is a looped piece of rope – a bit like ivy, almost – and a cannon’s a big heavy thing that fires stuff out of its mouth.” Rarity explained.

“And a party is a group of ponies that dance and sing and laugh and eat cake and drink punch and –” Pinkie was interrupted by Applejack shoving her paw in the pink cat’s mouth.

Twilight winced, “You know, I think it would be more likely for you two to get your earth pony strength…”

Spottedpaw raised an eyebrow but said nothing except: “I’ll go tell Bramblestar you’ll be ready for the ceremony in a day or two. Oh, and Jayfeather went to get you something to eat.”

Twilight perked up at the mention of food, pricking her ears attentively, “Great, I’m starving!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. Usually Pinkie’s the one to say she’s hungry!

A grey tabby head poked through the bramble entrance a few minutes later. “Are you all here?”

“Um, yeah! What are you, blind?” Rainbow snorted.

“Actually I am.” Jayfeather hissed. “Anyway, I brought you some prey.” He retreated momentarily, pushing a rabbit into the den before vanishing.

After a few moments of disgusted staring, Applejack broke the silence, “We’re supposed to eat that?”

Spottedpaw padded back into the den at this point, “Um, yeah!” she mimicked Rainbow from earlier, “Well, what else are you supposed to eat? I know you used to be horses, which don’t eat meat, but you’re cats now, and we do eat meat. Just try some!”

Twilight was the first to lean forwards. Hesitantly, she took a small nibble, just to see what it tasted like. The next moment she was taking proper bites, obviously enjoying it.

Rainbow was next, first taking small bites, then letting her new instincts and tastebuds guide her.

Then came Pinkie and Rarity, Pinkie digging straight in while Rarity was more reluctant.

After came Applejack, so only Fluttershy was left.

“Fluttershy? Aren’t you gonna come eat?” Rainbow asked, turning her head.

Fluttershy replied by turning away and padding to the back of the den and taking a sip from the pool.

Rainbow sighed before returning to eating. If they were going to be cats, Fluttershy would have to learn how.

Author's Note

For some reason I felt bad writing this one...