The asthmatic sports star

by Xenay

Rating: teen
Tags: Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Main 7 (EqG), Lightning Dust, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Mystery, Gilda
Length: 18745

Dash has football games against Crystal Prep while trying to hide her asthma.

Dash has a secret that not even her friends know about.
She has asthma.
Doesn't sound too bad, does it? But when the team they play against finds out, her chances of winning are growing thin. And she absolutely does not want her friends to know.

Too bad that nothing ever goes as planned.

Teen for language and bullying.

Published 2017-06-11 08:50:05 UTC
Last updated 2018-03-25 08:23:46 UTC

Chapter 1

"GOOOOAAAAL!!!!!"

The audience cheered when the ball hit the net. It then began chanting the name of the best player of the Canterlot High team.

"RAINBOW DASH!!! RAINBOW DASH!!! RAINBOW DASH!!!"

It's great to be the star of the school from time to time.

But fame has its downsides too. The Crystal Prep team was glaring daggers at the colorful sports star. Especially a green girl with yellow hair. She went over to her co-runner.

"Can you believe it? What is wrong with our team today?!" Lightning Dust exclaimed.

"I know. But we aren't bad. We are champions! The only thing in our way is this rainbow on legs!" Gilda grunted out.

"We have to find a way to eliminate her."

"Agreed."

The coach whistled, getting their attention back and starting another round.

* * *

The game ended with 5:2 for Canterlot High. The team was in the locker rooms getting dressed. Lightning Dust and Gilda were watching their enemy closely, searching for any weak spot. Most injuries are only tended to after games but to their misery she didn't appear to be in any pain.

Rainbow Dash's friends came in. Nobody minded, her team was used to her friends coming to her after games and training. Though it didn't go as well with the Crystal Prep team, who glared or looked confused at the intruders.

"Rainbow Dash! That was soooo amazing!!!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she hugged her friend who was just tying her shoes.

"Heh thanks. Wasn't a big deal, really. It was just Crystal Prep." She said with a smirk and Pinkie released her.

Twilight twirled a streak of her hair awkwardly, having been on that school before she got to Canterlot High. Sunset nudged her and gave her a gentle smirk.

"Don't be so modest, Darling. It was mostly you who shot the goals. Your team would be lost without you-. No offense!" Rarity said quickly when their team gave her a look. They all only shrugged in response, since they couldn't exactly argue with it. It was the truth after all.

"So are you in for a movie?" Sunset asked.

"Actually, I was gonna go train for a while. I want to be at my best when the final games are up next week."

"Are you kidding?! You're the best athlete I've ever seen!!" Twilight almost screamed, eyes wide.

Dash chuckled at her. Twilight was kind of adorable when she was acting like Scootaloo.

"Yeah well, see you guys tomorrow." She said and put her bag over her shoulder before waving to her team mates and walking out with her friends.

"We so got to eliminate her." Gilda hissed on the other side of the lockers.

"Agreed." Lightning hissed back and they went after the CHS star.

* * *

Having her own football always in her backpack (books are for eggheads, ya know?) Dash got it out and started kicking it around on the wide field. It was so nice, the speed, the wind in her hair, the control over the ball...

her chest tightening. She groaned and ignored it, taking deep calm breaths and kept running. After a few rounds it only got worse and she had to cough. She stopped the ball and went at a slower pace back to her bag, remembering that she didn't have her inhaler in her normal shorts but left them in her training pants.

Unbeknownst to her, two girls were watching her the whole time. First they gave up on searching any weak spots and just studied her moves. Then it looked like she was having trouble breathing and only two rounds later she was doubled over coughing. Bingo.

They hid behind a bush to stay invisible as the girl came back to her bag and seemed to be searching for something in quite a rush. She had to stop searching for a moment again when a coughing fit ran through her chest. Then she finally got a hold of the item.

It was an inhaler. The girl quickly opened the cap and pressed it against her lips, took a deep breath to let the medicine spread into her lungs.

Behind a bush the two girls were high five-ing. The sound startled her and she was quick to run over to the noise.

"Can I help you?" She asked sternly, trying to hide her panting.

"Oh don't mind us, we were just on our way home." Gilda said as they both stood up.

"Hey I know you. You're from Crystal Prep!"

"Hey, good memory! And there I thought lack of oxygen was bad for the brain." Lightning Dust teased and laughed.

Realization drew onto Dash's face.
They had seen.
They knew.

"Yeah. How can you kick the ball so precise to hit into the goal when you can't even breathe right?" Gilda mocked. They both started laughing hysterically.

Dash was thinking of something to respond. She really was. But her brain was so busy processing what this could do to her, now that the enemy knew about her problem.

"Come on Gilda. I think we got her a little breathless! Hahahahaha!!!!" They both broke out laughing again and went their own way.

Dash just stood there for a moment. Rage filled her venes and she glared at the damn inhaler in her hand. Clenching her hands into fists she smashed the medical item into the ground and heavily stepped on it.

It didn't help. Getting angry now wouldn't make them forget. In her blind rage she just grabbed her ball, stuffed it back into her bag and made her way home.

Completely forgetting about a certain object that was still pressed into the dirt.

Author's Note

Hey guess what I'm still alive. If barely.
Because, turns out, I've had asthma my whole life without knowing it. Only now that I think about it, it all comes clear to me. So now I only leave the house with my inhaler because I kinda tend to have attacks when inhaling smoke from cigarettes (I've never smoked in my life, ever.) or even simple dust from cars is enough to make me have so bad coughing fits that my chest gets so tight and hurts until I have literally no choice but to use the damn inhaler.

I am so mad at my life you have no idea. Anorexia, clinical depression and now asthma. Nothing can be cured. Weeeeee I love my life. :fluttershbad:

Anyways, hope you enjoy. :ajsmug:

Chapter 2

The next day in school was pretty boring. Dash was passing notes with Applejack through Geography, slept through Math behind her book (to the displeasure of Twilight, who had tried to get her to focus since she knew her grades weren't so well but gave up ten minutes later) and sat with her friends through the break.

They were just waiting for the bell to ring to call them to their next lesson. Sports. While Fluttershy seemed to shrink behind her hair, Dash was practically beaming.

Finally the bell rang and Dash grabbed her bag and took off at high speed.

"Hey, wait for us, Speed Demon!" Applejack joked as she chased after the rainbow soccer wonder.

A few feet away from the gym door Dash had to stop as she was hit with a fierce coughing attack.

Applejack was surprised to say the least, those deep, dry coughs sounding nothing like normal "I'm-out-of-breath" or "something-went-down-the-wrong-pipe" kind of cough.

"Hey, you alright there, sugar cube?" She asked concerned and laid a hand on Dash's back.

When the coughing fit subsided and she could breathe in again, she straightened up like nothing happened. "Yeah-", she cleared her throat after realizing how hoarse she sounded, "I'm fine."

When the others were able to catch up they hadn't noticed a thing.

They quickly got dressed while talking about what game they were gonna play today. Spitfire, who was also in her schools soccer team, said they were playing football.

Oh the irony.

Before the girls left the changing room, Dash hesitated. Normally she would excuse herself in the lesson, saying she needed a drink, but the short run earlier had already been too much for her lungs and she thought of using her inhaler before the lesson.

"Dash, you comin'?" Applejack asked her.

"Uh yeah, coming." She said quickly and went with her.

The teacher quickly explained how they were gonna do warm up runnings around the hall first and whistled.

Dash and AJ were the fastest ones in the sports class so they were at the head, followed by their soccer team members and the rest of their friends. Sunset was with Twilight and Fluttershy at the far end, not wanting to leave their shy friend alone.

After the third round it got pretty difficult for Dash to breathe but she managed. It was only at the fifth and final round that she was wheezing for air, panting at a fast pace.

They finally ended their rounds and Dash was immediately bending over, holding herself up with her hands on her knees.

"You alright?" Applejack asked, getting seriously worried about her normally super athletic friend, who was in a similar position as Fluttershy was at her third round.

"Yeah... just... gimme... a sec..." she answered between pants.

Applejack didn't really know what to do, figuring it just wasn't her day or something. They all had bad days from time to time.

They were deciding the teams now.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Twilight were in one; Sunset, Fluttershy, Twinkleshine, Moondancer and Lemon Hearts another; Spirfire, Fleetfoot, Skywishes, Vinyl and Octavia in the third and Lyra, Bon Bon, Derpy, Raindrops and Minty the last.

"Team One against Three! Go!" The teacher called and blew her whistle.

The girls got onto their positions. Dash found it getting harder and harder to get any air and knew that she had to use her inhaler now.

She went over to the teacher and made a motion with her hand, to which her teacher nodded and she ran to the changing room, leaving her team completely confused.

Dash was rummaging in her bag in a rush. She was coughing already but couldn't find her inhaler anywhere. She was close to panicking when she finally realized something important.

Something very important she had done the day before. She was close to suffocating and didn't have the one thing helping her breathe!

She rushed back out to the teacher. "I.. gotta.. nurse... no... inh...."

The teacher quickly nodded and called Sunset over. She was quick to come over. "Take her to the nurse. Hurry." The teacher said, leaving Sunset confused as Dash had another nasty coughing fit. Without hesitation, Sunset put a hand over her friend's shoulder and hurried her out of the gym.

Outside the sun was glaring. It was so hot, making it harder to breathe for Rainbow. She was wheezing desperately for air now, every few steps coughing painfully.

Sunset tried to make her stop, thinking that walking was only making it worse.

"Hurry..!" Dash forced out.

Sunset seemed to catch on and rushed her friend to the nurse office.
She didn't have to say anything.

"Inhaler... hurry..." Dash wheezed out and the nurse wasted no time in getting the wanted item in record time. Dash was evenly quick with opening it and taking one, two, three pushes while forcing deep breaths to allow the medicine into her lungs.

Sunset only stared, finally understanding what the problem was. She and nurse Redheart sat Dash on the bench while she was finally able to breathe again.

All her teachers and the nurse knew about her asthma problem. Two years ago, when Sunset had separated her from her friends, she's had a severe asthma attack at their final soccer game. She didn't know what was happening, and the fact that she couldn't breathe was scaring her. But she was too determined to win to just walk off the field to the medics. She'd put it off until the bitter end. Ending with her passed out in the middle of the field and paramedics rushing over to her with a nebulizer and reviving machines. After that she woke up in a hospital and the doctor explained to her parents that she was to take an inhaler with her at all times, especially when doing sports. Since it happened on school grounds, the teachers and nurse got informed and her sports teachers and coaches were extra sensitive about it.

Now that Dash could breathe again, she felt utterly humiliated. She held out the inhaler for nurse Redheart to take back, but she only shook her head and smiled gently. "I think you should keep it. You seem to be in need of it. But tell me, why is that?"

Dash gulped. "I.. kinda.. sorta.. lost mine." Kinda. Sorta. Totally.

Redheart nodded. "When you feel up to it you can go back. But please, take care."

Dash nodded and jumped up, not caring about anything anymore. She had to get out of here. Away from Sunset.

Because she knows.

Author's Note

Wrote this after I nearly suffocated yesterday. Like, holy shit I'm not even kidding. I'm in Italy again and we got new neighbors yesterday on the Camping and they all smoke. My hands were having this thousands of ants feeling than ran up my arms and I almost blacked out. Had to use my inhaler thingy of course but also needed sugar to get my body working again. I thought I was gonna cough up my lungs and fuck did it hurt :raritydespair:

But yeah, so much about that xD

Chapter 3

Rainbow Dash hurried out of the nurse office, the new inhaler was put into her pant pockets.

Sunset quickly followed her. "Wait!"

Dash didn't stop and only went faster.

"Rainbow! Come on, wait for me!"

Dash sighed but finally stopped, waiting for Sunset to catch up.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because it's no big deal alright?"

"It is a big deal! You've gotten so pale I thought you'd pass out before we got to the nurse! Dash, why didn't you tell us? We are your friends..."

Dash didn't answer. She had her hands in her pockets, fingers curling around the medical item.

"How long?" Sunset asked suddenly.

"What?"

"How long have you been hiding this from us?"

"I wasn't hiding it, I just didn't tell you." Dash argued.

"Oh and that makes it okay? Dash I was so scared! I didn't know what was happening! And the rest of us still doesn't know."

Dash's heart skipped a beat. The others didn't know yet.

They must be worried. The teachers were sworn to secrecy, so she probably only said that she was gonna be back in a few minutes.

Guilt gripped her heart. She left her friends in the dark the whole time. And Sunset was really worried. The others only saw her struggling to breathe and Sunset taking her to the nurse. They didn't know a thing.

But she had wanted to keep it that way.
She didn't want her friends to keep an extra eye on her. To baby her and she was afraid that they would even make her quit the sports teams.

She shook her head and opened the door to the gym, Sunset following her every step.

Dash put the inhaler into her bag and went to the gym hall.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sunset asked, finally dropping the previous topic, knowing how stubborn she could be.

"I'm fine. Just like always." Dash snapped. Her hand reached to the door handle but she hesitated. She turned around to face Sunset. "Promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Don't tell anyone."

"What? But-"

"Promise!"

Sunset sighed. "Alright. I promise."

Dash nodded and went back into the hall. The others were already awaiting her impatiently.

"Dash! What's wrong? Are ya alright?" Applejack was the first to ask, being the only one who witnessed the symptoms from the start.

"Yeah, I'm alright." She said quickly before turning to the rest of her team. "Are we ready to win?!" She yelled, earning a couple 'yeah!'s from the rest.

The teacher nodded and blew her whistle, finally starting the game.

* * *

After sport it was break again before they had music where they were gonna perform a few songs again. Apparently their band was just as famous as Dash in soccer.

Sunset managed to go away from the rest with Dash to have a little talk with her.

"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone but could you at least explain to Me what's going on with you?"

Dash groaned in frustration. If anything, Sunset was the last one she would want to tell, since it was kind of related to her actions.

"Dash please.. I'm just worried okay?" Okay that was new. Sunset pleading was a rare sight.

Dash sighed. "Look, it's really no big deal alright? I just have some stupid condition where I can't breathe sometimes-"

"Asthma?"

"-what?"

"It's called asthma. You have asthma? Wow I did not see that one coming." Sunset smiled to herself.

"Yeah, well, whatever. Now you know. So keep quiet about it."

"I will, don't worry. I'm just wondering why you don't want anyone to know?"

"Because I hate being weak and if the others in the team would know, they would totally select a new team captain! If not throw me out for good.."

"Wait, not even your team knows?" Sunset asked, surprised.

"No. Only the teachers and the nurse."

"Wait.. why do they know about it but not your team mates?"

Dash closed her eyes. She really didn't want to tell Sunset and pull her back into past memories...

"Because they were the ones who called the ambulance to get me to the hospital two years ago." She said, voice low.

Sunset gasped. She had heard about it. Of course she had, she knew all about the girls when she got them all apart!

"Wait.. two years ago? When they had to take Derpy into the CHS team because you were taken to the hospital? The only year that our school lost the games?" Sunset asked as realization was drawn onto her face.

"Yeah.. that one..."

"...what happened?"

"It's a long story..."

Sunset checked her watch.

"We have fifteen minutes until Music lesson." She said with a smile.

Dash sighed and they sat down on the ground behind the school walls, away from everyone else.

"Okay.. it all started when I got this message that wasn't from Applejack...

Author's Note

Okay just wanted to say something real quick.
Since someone told me how unrealistic this story is, I just wanted to point out again that this is a Fanfiction about a cartoon show. And maybe it's appearing a bit too severe since I like to write before I use the damn inhaler again so I can write better about the struggle.

If you don't like the story, nobody is forcing you to read it. It was just another Idea I've had. If anything it could be just as unrealistic as Dash being anorexic or clinically depressed till suicide :facehoof:

I appreciate any kind of review or pointing out mistakes. Nobody is perfect.

Anyways, just wanted to say this. To those who read and like it, thank you. To those who don't like it, just go. Seriously, if you don't like my shit, just go. :ajbemused:

Chapter 4

Dash sighed and they sat down on the ground behind the school walls, away from everyone else.

"Okay.. it all started when I got this message that wasn't from Applejack... after our friendships broke apart I was in a lot of stress. To make matters worse I had one game after the other. Guess it comes from being team captain of every sport in our school." Dash half heartedly laughed. "I started having this weird cough for weeks, maybe longer. Just thought it was a bug or something. But when I started to have trouble getting any air when I was deep into a sport, I knew something wasn't right. But between all the training sessions, school and homework I didn't have the time to worry about it. So at the most important game, the final game of the school year, it just... took over I guess? I just wanted our team to win. We trained too hard to lose. It's not the best of time to just walk off the field, ya know?" Dash told.

Sunset nodded as she started processing the story. But what got her thinking the most was: if she hadn't done what she did, maybe Dash wouldn't have to rely on a plastic can to help her breathe when she was doing what she loved...

"So I kept running. After a while it went from not breathing to not hearing and not seeing, until I woke up in the hospital. The next day I learned about the news of how our school lost against Crystal Prep. When the teachers all heard about what happened to me, they made me pause the sports for a while. Said I could go back when I felt like I could handle it. So after two months I was back. Some people asked questions of course but I just said I drank too little that day and the dehydration made me collapse."

Sunset stared blankly at her. Of course she would lie about it, tell them something somewhat believable and just go back to what she was doing before.

"But you have to use the inhaler when you're exercising. How come no one ever noticed?"

"Always had excuses that I needed water or something. After I told them about the dehydration it's the best thing they believe." Dash smirked.
"So when I go back to the changing room I sometimes do drink but it's mostly just to use it real quick."

"But what do you do when someone says they need water too and come with you?"

"Oh that, I knew you'd ask. You do know there are bathrooms, right?" Dash said, her smirk growing. Deep inside she was proud of her techniques. She could be really smart when she needed to be.

"Wow." Was all Sunset could manage.

"Yeah, I know I'm awesome." Dash laughed, and Sunset joined in, until Dash's laughter turned into a coughing fit.

"You okay?"

It took a bit until Dash could answer. Meanwhile the bell rang, ending their break.
"Yeah." She said, her voice scratchier than normal.

"You sure? Maybe we shouldn't perform now..."

"It's fine! Really, I-" she had to stop arguing for a few more coughs. "'m fine."

"If you're absolutely sure..."

"Yeah I am. Let's go before we are gonna be late." Dash said and got up.

Sunset followed her, still unsure if she should do something.

* * *

The girls were getting their instruments. Dash knew she had to use her inhaler again. The weather was pressing on her lungs. Hot summer days were just like that. She was used to that by now and knew how to handle it.

"Dash? Ya ready?" Applejack asked.

Dash suppressed a cough as she answered. "Yeah, just a sec." She said in an unusual hurry and went back into the room where they stashed their bags. Sunset raised an eyebrow, Applejack just shrugged and geared up her bass. Sunset stood in the doorway and heard the sound she had heard earlier when Dash used the inhaler in the nurse office. She frowned. Why didn't she tell the others?

Dash came out, shrugged at Sunsets glare and strapped on her guitar. After they got ready, their classmates were already cheering. Sunset couldn't believe her eyes as she watched Dash go about the stage like always, running, jumping and all the while, singing! The girl that nearly passed out from lack of oxygen after a few rounds around the gym hall!

Rarity gave her a soft nudge, bringing her back into reality and she realized that she had missed her part and Dash and AJ had taken over for her. Sunset blushed in embarrassment and sang with the others again.

Even though the windows were opened, the air in the room was dry and even for 'normal' people it wasn't the easiest to breathe.

She still managed to get through 'Shine Like Rainbows' with barely any trouble. It was at 'Better Than ever' that she had to go backstage because of a seemingly never ending coughing attack after her solo. The others were singing in a chorus so it wasn't too bad, but still bad enough that Sunset thought about abandoning the others and going after her. But she knew that that would be the last thing she'd want. Besides, Dash was able to handle it for who knows how long on her own, without them ever noticing. The song wasn't too long either and as soon as it was over, the whole band went over to Dash, worried that something wasn't right.

Dash was sitting against the wall with her guitar standing next to her, the inhaler already used and hidden in her backpack again.

"Seriously, Dash! Are ya alright?" Applejack asked for what felt like the fifth time today.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Must have caught a wave of dust or something." She said, still a bit out of breath but smiled.

"If yer sure.. ya haven't been at yer best today. You comin' down with somethin'?"

"Maybe." Dash shrugged.

Sunset gave her a stern look again. How could Applejack not notice that she's being lied to?

Author's Note

After watching the EG shorts I'm so into the new song.

https://youtu.be/Uuwqq0Ep848

God I'm trying to sing with the song and after every part I'm coughing like a chain smoker XD

Speaking of smoker, I think someone has lit his cigarette. I'm blaming him.

I don't care. Singing along the best I can XDDD

Plus internet is so shit that it's stopping every two seconds XD

My poor headphones. :rainbowlaugh:

Chapter 5

After school Sunset was laying on her bed with her phone in hands. She's been texting with her friends all afternoon. To her surprise, not a single message was about how Dash was acting today. Didn't they care?

Sunset switched to her private chat with Dash.

What was going on today? - Sunset

She had to wait a bit for the response.

Dunno - AwesomenessInPerson

Sunset rolled her eyes.

It's just that this was the first time you showed it so openly - Sunset

Wasn't on purpose - AwesomenessInPerson

I know that. But why was it so bad today? - Sunset

The weather. Hot, sunny and dry air. Do I need to say more? - AwesomenessInPerson

Sunset sighed. Dash was quickly annoyed with this topic for some reason.

No I get it. I was just wondering. - Sunset

Is fine - AwesomenessInPerson

Sunset switched off her phone and laid it next to her. She remembered the conversation she had had with Dash today.

What if she hadn't been so jealous back then? Would Dash be fine now? Would she had gotten it anyways? She'd never know.

She glanced over at her alarm clock and groaned. She still had homework to do.

While she was solving a math problem, her phone buzzed. She looked up and took her phone into her hand. It was a message from Dash.

Sorry for being such a bitch today - AwesomenessInPerson

Sunset raised an eyebrow. That was new.

I know you don't like talking about it. It's fine -Sunset

She waited a bit for a response but never got one. Shrugging she turned it off again and went back to do her maths.

* * *

On the other side of the text messages was Dash sitting on her bed, staring at her inhaler, toying with it in her hands. She had been thinking ever since school. Maybe she should tell the others.

What's the worst that could happen?

Her friends could forbid her to play sports.

How possible is that to happen?

Depends.

On what?

How they react.

Their reactions. That's what she was worried about the most. What would they do? What would they say? Would they be mad? Sad? Disappointed? Would they stop being her friends?

Dash shook her head. They would never do that.. right?

Well.. to be honest, they once did...

She thought back to her conversation with Sunset. Why, oh why did she tell her? She thought about how Sunset must be feeling right now. She's probably guilt tripping herself to hell..!

Without hesitation, Dash picked up her phone and started typing.

Sorry for being such a bitch today - AwesomenessInPerson

She almost glared at her nickname. If people knew, she wouldn't be awesome anymore.

She shut off her phone, not caring if Sunset texted back. Different than Sunset, Dash had her phone muted.

* * *

The next day was Friday.

Their team had another training session before the weekend and their final game against Crystal Prep Academy on Monday.

Since the other school was pretty good as well, they had beaten all other schools just like CHS, leaving only these two schools to compete.

The girls were on the field doing their stretching exercises. Dash's friends were all there of course, never missing any of her games or training sessions.

Sunset had made a mental note beforehand to talk to her before the game. She still didn't know why Dash didn't text her back yesterday, let alone even read her message. It was worrying her.

Was her knowing about her asthma putting their bond on thin ice?

"I'm just gonna go wish her good luck." Sunset said, Pinkie told her to wish her good luck from her as well, as did Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity and Applejack. Sunset only smiled and nodded.

She went down the stairs from the audience seats to the field.

"Hey Dash!"

Rainbow straightened up from her last stretch. "Hey Sunset." She greeted. "What are you doing down here? Only players are allowed on the field."

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Oh, and the girls and I wish you good luck."

"Thanks." She answered, not bothering to answer the question.

"So.. we are still friends, right?"

The question caught Dash off guard.

"What?"

"I mean.. I don't know... it's just.."

"Of course we are still friends! What made you think otherwise?" Dash asked completely surprised.

"I don't know, really.. I just thought since I knew.. that you didn't wanna hang out with me anymore.. and you never texted back.. I just got worried." Sunset explained with a heavy heart.

"Oh Sunset, I completely forgot about my phone. Honest. I didn't mean to make you feel like that!"

"I know.. I just.."

"Look, it's fine, we're fine." Dash said with a smile.

Sunset nodded and returned the smile. They gave a quick hug and the coach came, telling Sunset to please leave the field now as they were going to start training.

Sunset quickly rushed back up the stairs.

"What were you two doing down there? Did something happen?" Rarity asked.

Sunset was surprised for a moment. "Uh no, why?"

"You two were hugging! You two are always only hugging when something's wrong!" Pinkie chirped in.

Sunset barely suppressed the blush threatening to spread over her face.

"It's nothing, really. She was just worried that she wouldn't be at her best today since she didn't feel so well yesterday, remember?" Sunset lied. She didn't like lying to her friends but she had promised Dash that she would keep the secret.

And she wasn't about to break a promise when she was the only one Dash was trusting this with.

Author's Note

A non-asthma attack chapter for a change XD simply because I thought they were getting too frequent. Like I'm always only writing those scenes and it feels like she has them every ten minutes :rainbowwild:

Chapter 6

The coach blew the whistle and the girls were fighting over the ball. Spitfire was the first to take it away from Lyra, who was in their enemy team for training, and with a swift kick shot it over to Fleetfoot, who stopped the ball and ran with it at her feet towards the goal, but was stopped by Vinyl and she had to pass it over to Dash.

The goal kicking champion didn't hesitate a second, accepted the ball and made a beeline for the goal. She had to make a full stop when suddenly Lyra, Bon Bon and Raindrops came from all sides.

To their dismay, they got a different reaction of what they thought they would get. Dash smirked.

She made a move that made it seem like she would pass it back to Fleetfoot, and in the moment where they were fighting over getting the ball and running into each other, Dash quickly shot the ball into the goal.

The audience and especially her friends were cheering loudly.
Dash just wiped the sweat from her forehead, then had a high five round with her team mates. Even though the teams were with both girls and boys, it was mostly Dash who had the ball. Like the boys just wanted to look like winners or something.

Thunderlane and Soarin were both staring at Dash. They would never admit it, but they were jealous of her. She was the best player of their team. At a sport that was only for men not even twenty years ago.

"Okay team, let's show them how it's done!" Dash said, already a little out of breath. Holding out her fist, the others put their fists to her, forming a sun of some sort.

The coach whistled and another round started.

It went on like this for the next two rounds until they took a short break. Dash was more than glad about it. Even though it was 3:0 (big surprise I know) and she's known for bragging about winning, she just wanted to be off the field now.

The act didn't go unnoticed. Her team mates had noticed but didn't say anything. Sunset frowned and went back down the stairs.

"Sunset! Where are you going?" Pinkie asked.

"Just getting a drink real quick." Sunset lied.

"Don't be long, game's about ta start soon again." Applejack said.

"Sure."

* * *

Dash was in a bathroom stall taking the third push of her inhaler. She felt so stressed for some reason. She had felt watched out there on the field and it was making her totally stressed out, which didn't help with her tense lungs.

"Dash? You in there?" Sunset's voice called suddenly, startling her.

She put her inhaler into her pockets and opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"What's wrong? You don't look so good." Sunset said as she took in the girls appearance.

"Have you seen someone, anyone, that isn't from our school?"

"What?"

"I feel like I'm being watched. And I don't like it one bit."

"Are you getting paranoid now? Dash relax, no one is here except us. You know that other students aren't allowed on school grounds aside from events." Sunset explained.

Dash frowned. She didn't believe her.

"Sunset I'm serious! A few days ago when I stayed after to train, two girls from Crystal Prep have been watching me. And they know." She whispered that last part.

Sunset gasped, finally understanding the problem.

"I'm gonna keep my eyes open. Don't worry, it will be fine."

The reassurance didn't help any and Dash had one of her, by now pretty well known by Sunset, coughing attacks.

"Oh no, are you alright?" Sunset asked, the deep concern evident in her voice.

It had gotten her team's attention. Spitfire went over to check on her as well. "Wow that sounds painful. Are you sure you're up for the game on Monday?"

Dash took a few deep breaths to calm herself and nodded, the determination set in her eyes.

Spitfire shrugged and went back to her bag for another drink.

"Dash I'm really worried. Maybe you should lay back a bit, at least for now. Let the others play more. They need the practice after all." Sunset tried to reason.

Dash sighed but nodded. This wasn't going to be easy. If anything, she was the one dominating the others all the time, a side effect of being team captain and Rainbow Dash. Not a healthy combination.

And definitely not in this case.

"Alright girls! Come on out, the guys are already waiting on the field!" The coach yelled from the outside of the door, being a man he couldn't go in.

"Please Dash, listen to me." Sunset said before she quickly left the room to get back up to the others.

"Ready, Dash?" Spitfire asked. Dash nodded, feeling weird being asked that from a fellow team mate. Spitfire held out her hand for Dash to grab and they went out together, Fleetfoot only watched.

Sunset came up the stairs again, panting from not being used to running up and down stairs so often.

"I thought ya were gettin' a drink?" Applejack asked, noting how Sunset came back empty handed.

"Oh, yeah, uh, I kinda didn't know where the drinks dispenser was, hehe." She lied yet again.

"And why were you with Dashie?" Pinkie asked.

"To.. ask her where it is. Being the schools best athlete and all, knowing the gym blind in her sleep, ya know?"

The girls shared a confused look, but shrugged and Sunset sat down again.

"So, it's looking pretty good so far." Sunset stated.

"Well, the other team isn't exactly put together with the best players..." Rarity said.

"Point taken. But the more practice the better, I always say." Sunset said.

The girls shared another confused look.

"You.. never say that." Pinkie stated the fact.

"Oh, right." Sunset said, laughing at her own stupidity.

"Are you alright, Darling?" Rarity asked, getting concerned for her friend.

"Oh me? I'm fine!" She said, waving off her hand.

The others only raised eyebrows and shrugged.

Yep. The lying wasn't going well with her. That much was for sure.

Chapter 7

Over at the Crystal Prep Academy, two very angry girls were seemingly playing against the rest of their team in their training session.

"Urgh I can't believe this! How did she even become team captain if she can't even breathe right?!" Lightning Dust growled.

"Not sure. But we could find out. I know for a fact that they have their training right now too." Gilda said.

"Really? How?" Lightning smirked.

"I have my ways." Gilda smirked back.

"Your cousin told you. Didn't he." Lightning teased.

"No..! Okay fine yeah he did. Said the champion was shooting goal after goal." Gilda admitted.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Someone in their team called after them, but it went on deaf ears.

"What's your cousin doing there, though?" Lightning suddenly asked.

"I've sent him as a spy. He's been following her all day." Gilda said proudly with an evil smirk.

"Ooooh~ you bad, bad girl you!" Lightning joked and elbowed her teammate in the chest.

"Relax, Tiger. We can go into their changing room and hide in the lockers until the champ is out. Then we can approach their team about it."

"Tiger? When did we move to nicknames, G?"

"You're one to talk."

"Point taken."

"GOOOOOAAAAAAAL!!!!" They heard not far ahead. "Guess their star is gonna make some last few goals before it's over." Lightning said with an evil smirk.

When they could watch what was happening in the field though, they were surprised to see that Dash was mostly protecting their goal instead of shooting into them. It seems like only Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot were actually playing, Thunderlane being the other protector opposite of Dash.

"Heh, look at that! Already retreading it seems." Gilda mused.

Unfortunately for the Crystal Prepper girls, they were not unheard and Sunset soon had a good eye on them.

They didn't notice and went on with their plan. It were only ten more minutes to play so they made a run for the changing rooms. They stood in front of two doors.

"Which one is the girls?" Gilda asked.

"Dunno. Let's find out." Lightning said and opened the door next to her.

Seconds later she ran out again. "NOT THAT ONE!!! DEFINITELY NOT THAT ONE!!!" She said, doubling over and gagging.

Gilda giggled at her silly team mate.

"It's not funny! Come on!" Lightning snapped and opened the other door.

Shortly after they were in, Gilda pointed to a suspiciously colorful bag. "Hey, isn't that her bag?"

"Looks like it to me." Lightning shrugged and went over to open it. She searched in every pocket until she found a certain item they were already familiar with. "Bingo."

They high five-ed and moments later heard steps coming towards the door. They quickly hid the inhaler in their pockets and hid in lockers.

* * *

The game was finally over with a very subtle 6:0. Even though Dash had let the others play, she felt completely exhausted. She was still a little stressed, so she grabbed some things from her bag - not noticing anything missing yet - and went to take a looooong shower. Letting warm water run on your back was a nice way to relax, she could stay like that all day.
Between the running water, she could hear voices talking. Voices that were definitely not from her team mates.
Leaning softly against the door she tried to listen to their conversation.

"So why did you take her as your team captain?" Her eyes went wide as she recognized the voice.

"What's it matter to you? You're the enemy, why should we talk to you." Spitfire spat. Nice, her team was talking the way she had wanted them to.

"Oh come on, you only have her in your team because she can aim well. Without it she wouldn't even be in your team!" The other one snapped. Ouch, that hurt.

She heard Fleetfoot groan annoyed, taking over. It was rare that Fleetfoot got involved in anything talking related. "Dash is in the team because she is the best of the best. You are just jealous because you can't play half as well as she can alone!" She snapped back. Dash grinned, glad that this was how her mates were thinking, even if she wasn't around.

"Oh and you think so even though she can't even breathe like a normal person?" Dash had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping out loud.

"What are you even talking about." Spitfire said, annoyed.

"Oh, she didn't tell you? Some captain she is. That girl has asthma. Pretty bad actually." Dash gulped and started shaking.

"So what? She's proven that she's more than capable of playing. If what you are saying is true, do you seriously think it would change anything? She's been the best player we ever had and now leave before I call the headmaster." Fleetfoot argued, ending the conversation.

Dash let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Fine. Come on, G. Let's go." The other said and apparently they both left, slamming the door.

Dash went back under the shower and turned the water off, dried herself and got dressed before stepping out again to face her teammates.

They didn't say anything to her, only changed into their usual clothes.

Dash was shaking again. Today was just not her day. The stress was become too much for her to handle and she just wanted to go home.

"Ey Dash?" She turned around to face the other two girls in the room.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Can we ask you something?" Fleetfoot asked. Of all people.

"S-Sure, what is it?"

"Please just answer. We promise we won't judge or anything, but do you have asthma?" The question stung like a knife to the heart.

"Yeah.. it's true.."

"Just wanted to know for sure. How those creeps knew is beyond me but I'm happy to see that you're trusting us enough to tell us the truth. Even if it wasn't exactly free." Spitfire told her with a chuckle.

"You don't mind?" Dash asked, completely surprised and not trusting the situation. This had to be a dream or something, right? This could not be real..

"Nope. In fact, I've had asthma as a kid but lots of training made it better. I barely have any trouble anymore." Spitfire admitted proudly.

Dash smiled. "Thanks..."

Suddenly the door slammed open.

"Dash are you alright?! I saw those Crystal Prep girls and-" Sunset asked frantically but noticed her friend was perfectly fine.

"Am I.. interrupting something?"

They all shared a laugh.

Author's Note

Shit is happening

Only one chapter for today, sorry! But I'm a bit behind with writing right now and I want to update every day.
Something happened yesterday and I can't concentrate right now, so I hope you understand.. :ajsleepy:

Chapter 8

The weekend was mostly relaxing. Dash was with all her friends, since they know how important this game was and how it put pressure on their athletic friend.

They had pajama parties, spending the free days together as much as possible. It had become a tradition of some sort.

"And he said: what did you say? And I said: did you listen to a single word I just said?" Rarity told.

They all broke out laughing.

"I swear that guy has his head in the clouds!" Rarity complained.

"Oh come on, Rares. At least you made him travel on cloud seven when you're with him!" Applejack joked, earning another round of laughter.

"Well it's not my fault that all the guys are falling for me, I suppose." Rarity said, waving a hand through her hair.

Applejack smirked. "Well, at least your spell didn't work on my brother."

The weekend was spent with laughter to say the least.

It was nice to be at peace for a change. Not having to worry about training, school, homework...

Just laying back and relaxing.

That worked best by chilling in the hammock that hung between two trees in Sunset's garden.

Or well, what the girls call it, their club house. When Sunset became their friend and they visited her, they were shocked to see the house so empty. Each of them added a simple touch to it and made it a paradise to retreat from the living for a while.

It was another pretty hot summer day and Dash would have stayed inside if the air conditioners weren't worse to breathe than the air outside. She was laying there for who knows how long, in the shadows of the trees while swinging slightly from the wind.

Life can be so nice...

"Dash?"

The sudden voice almost startled her to death and her frightened jump caused her to fall out of the hammock with a surprised yelp.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" The voice she now recognized as Sunset said surprised.

The fiery girl stretched out her hand to her fallen friend to help her get up. Dash accepted and got pulled up to her feet again.

"Sorry." Sunset said sheepishly.

"It's fine. I'm not normally this jumpy..." Dash trailed off.

"I know. Are you still nervous about those girls?"

"Maybe..."

"It's gonna be fine. You'll see. Anyways, I came over to ask if you wanted to join us in the pool. It's pretty hot today." Sunset explained.

"Uh, sure. Why not." Dash shrugged and went in to change her clothes.

When she came back outside she was halfway surprised to see all the others already in their swimsuits inside the pool, splashing each other and laughing.

For a moment she just stood there awkwardly in a way that looked like Fluttershy when she had to ask a stranger something.

Even though her body was in perfect shape of an athlete, Dash secretly hated showing anything more than her arms and legs.

"Dash, come on in!" Sunset called her over.

And even though her friends were more than familiar with her muscular body, they couldn't keep from staring every now and then.

Hesitantly she climbed in and was surprisingly splashed from behind by Applejack.

"Come on, loosen up, sugar cube." She gave her a gentle smile.

Oh this so called for revenge!

Dash got that mischievous smirk and the two of them got into a splash fight that drowned almost all the grass around the pool.

One splash from Applejack had the bad timing of hitting Dash right in the face when she was breathing in.

The sport star turned away, embarrassed to have a coughing fit in front of her friends.

Sunsets alarm bells rang. It was one thing when Dash had them on land, but in chest deep water?
She quickly went over, the water pushing against her movements and she tried to help hold Dash upright. She was in real panic now, thinking that any second her friend would just fall over or worse, faint.

Dash tried not to panic. It was just water. Nothing she couldn't deal with. It took her some time but she got her breathing back under control. (Honestly who can just breathe normally after inhaling water?) Every single second feeling like hours to Sunset.

The way Sunset was panicking made the others uneasy to say the least. But suddenly Dash turned back around and hit the water hard with one hand and shoved a huge wave of water on Applejack, the girls hair completely soaked when they could see her again.

To Sunset's surprise, Dash laughed. In fact, all the others laughed. And her heart was still busy racing from the sudden panic.

"You're so getting that back, Champ!" Applejack yelled and they continued as if nothing happened.

Dash knew she had to talk to Sunset later on about it, but on the other hand already knew that that wouldn't change anything. It's just not the same when they know about it. They fear the worst when it's no big deal.

And that was one more reason why she didn't want anyone to know.

Author's Note

The calm before the storm.......

Chapter 9

Saturday night it was difficult to find sleep. Thoughts were running wild inside her head.

Sighing in defeat she grabbed her phone and went through her photo gallery to take her mind off. She had lots of pictures of herself, with her friends, her team, trophies and her pet tortoise.

Scrolling through the pictures a smile spread upon her face as she remembered each moment.

Suddenly she got a pop up on the top of her screen with a message from 'Unknown'.

"Loser." Was all it said.

She frowned and texted back.

"Who is this?"

The response she got was another insult.

"Failure."

She was now glaring confused at the screen. What in the world?

Another message. "Ugly."

Her brain was busy processing what was going on to think of what to do. What could she even say? Whoever this was was certainly not going to answer her questions.

She shut off her phone and tried to forget about it. But it was all burned into her brain. Fifteen minutes later she gave up and took her phone into her hands again.

When the screen brightened, the display was filled with messages. Each one saying one single word.

"Bitch."

"Die."

"Asshole."

"Retard."

"Cripple."

She stared blankly at the ceiling and dropped her phone.

"Rainbow?" A sleepy voice asked. She turned to see Sunset up, probably awoken by her bright phone screen. Oops. "What are you doing?"

Dash glanced down to her phone. Another message.

"Freak."

She quickly glanced back up to face her friend. "Nothing. Can't sleep is all." She quietly said.

"You wanna talk?" Sunset asked, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Her eyes fell back to her phone screen as another message appeared. "Slowpoke."

She glared and looked back to Sunset.
"I'm fine."

Sunset was confused to say the least. "What's going on?"

"Nothing!"

Another message popped up. "Mistake."

"Show me your phone." Sunset said sternly. She knew blackmailing when she saw it. She would know, having gotten insults and threats all the time after making the biggest mistake of her life.

"It's nothing, really." Dash said.

"If it's nothing then it shouldn't be a problem to show me."

Dash sighed in defeat and handed over her phone.

In the moment when Sunset got it into her hands another message popped up. "Dipshit."

Sunset gasped. She stared at Dash in shock. She had only seen a few of the messages but it was enough to make her mad.
She wasted no time and blocked the number and deleted the chat.

"Don't listen to them. None of it is true." She told her as she gave her her phone back. "Come on, let's get some sleep." She added with a smile.

But sleep was still far from her.

* * *

Sunday started with a rain storm. The plants and trees were happy about the water after days of nonstop heat and sun.

"Anyone got an idea what to do?" Pinkie asked, already bored.

The others shrugged. Suddenly AJ's stomach answered for the girls and they laughed.

"How about we make some breakfast first?" Sunset said with a smile while AJ blushed.

The others agreed, even though they let mostly have Pinkie her way in the kitchen.

* * *

While everyone was enjoying their pancakes with all kinds of fruits and berries, Rainbow Dash was just picking around with her fork. She still couldn't believe that someone would say that stuff to her. What did she ever do wrong?

"Rainbow?" She looked up from her plate to see all her friends staring at her with concerned faces. "Why aren't ya eating? Is everythin' a'right?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Sure."

"Is this about your game tomorrow?" Rarity asked.

"Come on, Dashie! You can beat them with the blink of the eye!" Pinkie yelled.

The girls cheered in agreement, putting a soft smile on Dash's face.

And for a moment, all those nasty words were forgotten.

* * *

Later that day the sun came out again and the girls had fun outside in the garden. They were playing volleyball for a while before going into the pool to cool off.

She didn't worry until they hit the bed again. But Sunset was more thoughtful today and slept together with Dash, just so she wouldn't feel alone for even a second. The games made her stressed out all the time but now that the enemy knew about her only weak spot, even Sunset feared for the worst.

But she would make sure that everything was going safe and fair.

If only she knew that that was beyond her control...

Author's Note

Sorry for the short chapter. Next one is gonna be longer with the game.

If you find any spelling or grammar mistakes feel free to point them out!

Chapter 10

Monday. The most important day of the school year. The day that would decide which school would get the title of Best Team Spirit.

The day Dash dreaded more than anything this time.

She wished she could just stay in bed and pretend that today just didn't exist.

Too bad that she was the team captain and that wasn't an option for her. Reluctantly she got out of bed and got dressed.

* * *

On the field the teams were already doing stretches and warming up. Both schools were there to watch. With both all teachers and students (cuz they got soooo many students .-.) in the audience seats.

Sunset Shimmer was keeping her eyes open for any suspicion. All she could see now is the weird smirk on the two girls' faces from Crystal Prep. The other team members seemed just as confused as herself.

The main six who weren't playing were in the first row below and they had a pretty good view on each player.

And Sunset was torn between having an eye on her friend, and the CPA girls.

From what she could tell so far, their team captain was the green girl that was bullying Dash with her friend. Maybe even girlfriend, she dared to think. Watching those two interact was hinting to that pretty much.

"Ooooh I'm so excited!!! I can't wait for the games to staaaaaart!!!" Pinkie said, jumping up and down in her seat.

"I'm pretty sure we all are." Sunset said. And I'm also pretty sure that Dash just wants it to be over with, she thought.

And oh how right she was with that.

* * *

While doing their stretches, the CHS team was also going through with their strategy again.

"Soarin and Thunderlane are protecting the goal. Fleetfoot, you gotta be the back, make sure the others can't steal the ball. Spitfire, you're the best with ball control so I need you to get it, go with it to me and pass it over so I can make the goals. Any questions?"

"Yeah. What do we do when one of us is down?" Soarin asked, surprising Rainbow.

"Why?"

"Well we all know how they play. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of us is gonna be out." He said with a shrug.

"Well we still got Flitter and Cloudchaser on the bench so it's not like we're gonna be down on players. We'll just have to make sure that everyone has the position in the team that works for them." Dash explained.

"Aye Aye, captain." Thunderlane half joked.

"Is the Canterlot High team ready?" Their coach asked as she came over.

"Ready." Dash said with a nod.

"Alright. Crystal Prep is also ready. We're gonna start the games now." She said. Everyone nodded and got to their positions.

Dean Cadence made the entrance speech. "Welcome Crystal Prep Academy and Canterlot High School to the game for the title Best Team Spirit of this year! As every year we expect a fair game with play time of 45 minutes. As always we wish you a lot of fun at both playing and watching.

Now, it is a pleasure to say: Let The Game Begin!!!"

With that the coach blew her whistle and not even a second later the girls were fighting for the ball.

It didn't take long before Fleetfoot got the ball and passed it over to Spitfire. To her dismay, Gilda was quick with her feet and got the ball back and passed it over to Lightning Dust, who shot towards the goal.

Soarin was quicker than her and caught it, shooting it back with as much force as possible.
It landed before Dash, who managed to stop the ball and aimed. And in a matter of seconds the ball practically flew from her feet into the net.

"AND THE FIRST GOAL GOES TO CANTERLOT HIGH!!!"

The CHS students went wild.

The team shared a high five round.

Lightning Dust and Gilda both boiled with anger.

"Time for plan B." Gilda said to her and secretly grabbed a cigarette and lit it. It hadn't been going fast enough for her liking, so she decided to help a bit...

Lightning Dust smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. Gilda gave it over to Lightning Dust, since she was the ball keeper in the team and would follow Dash around everywhere.

"Show time."

* * *

"Spitfire!" Fleetfoot called over the field to get her team mate's attention before passing the ball over to her.

Spitfire quickly accepted it and started running. Lightning Dust grinned. She had the cigarette hidden in the sweat band around her wrist with the lit end covered by her hand. She had to be careful that only Dash would inhale the smoke and no one else notice it. She managed to trap some of the smoke in her hand and tackled Dash from behind, opening her hand right over her face.

Everything after that seemed to go by in slow motion.

Dash crumbling to the ground and coughing, Spitfire losing control over the ball as she was focusing on her team captain, Lightning Dust laughing evilly, the students gasping in shock.

Everything went silent except for Sunset's frantic yell and her running to the dressing room to search for the inhaler. In her frantic search through the bag she soon realized one very bad thing.

It wasn't there.

She knew the spot where Dash always put it by now. She even searched the other pockets.

Realization drawned upon her. What happened out there was not a coincidence or bad timing with wrong move incident.

It was on purpose.

Sunset quickly ran out again and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE!!!!!"

The game had stopped. All players were now surrounding the fallen girl while paramedics rushed over to her.

To the CHS team it felt all too familiar. It was like a deja vu. Most likely because it was. With different circumstances but still the same situation.

"Damn somebody check that girl's water intake. Seriously..." Soarin muttered.

Spitfire glared at him and elbowed him in the chest. "It wasn't her fault! That girl did something to her, I saw it!"

"What do you mean? Are you saying they sabotaged to win?" Fleetfoot asked in shock.

"Well, we all know that that school is not playing fair. Never." Thunderlane said with his arms crossed over his chest and shaking his head.

The sirens of the ambulance cut their conversation short. The paramedics put an oxygen mask over her face and quickly put her onto a stretcher. Then they connected her to a heart monitor and an IV.

Everyone stared in shock. Some had tears in their eyes. The teachers were trying to calm everyone down.

The worst part was that they had to continue the game. The coach called in Cloudchaser to play for Dash once everyone was calmed down. They agreed for an half hour break though.

Sunset and her friends met at the ambulance transporter.

"What happened?!"

"What's going on?!"

"Is she alright??"

"What's happening?!"

"Sunset!"

The last voice brought her back to reality.

"Sorry.. it's just... this is the second time this happened.." Sunset confessed with a broken voice as her eyes started watering.

"What's the matter?" Applejack asked her deeply concerned.

"I gotta tell you guys something. But let us get to the hospital first..."

Author's Note

Well, shit is happening now.

I want to add that I have no idea how cigarettes actually work but since this is a magical world, screw it. It's magic. They are different. Deal with it. XD

What do you think, is it a good idea for Sunset to spill the beans already? While Dash is unconscious?

And sorry for my lack of knowledge at soccer. I rarely ever watched it and in sports I was the one who got hit with ball everywhere all the time -.-' yes I was bullied in school, so I'm not surprised but it still sucks.

Chapter 11

Nurses were walking by outside the glass door. Every time their eyes lit up and fell again when they realized that they weren't gonna open the door and tell them that their friend was awake and going to be alright.

"She's got asthma." Sunset finally broke the silence.

"Say what now?" Applejack asked.

"Dash has asthma. Two girls from the Crystal Prep team knew and sabotaged her. I heard Soarin, Thunderlane and Spitfire talking earlier. They saw how one of them did something to her and I could have sworn I could smell smoke."

Everyone gasped, Applejack got really mad.

"How dare they?! How can they do something like this?! Are they insane?!" She yelled as she paced around the room.

"Calm down, Applejack Darling! Getting mad now won't help!" Rarity said as she got up and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"She could'a died. How in the world can ya be so calm?" Applejack snapped.

"Are you sure you aren't over reacting, Darling?" Rarity asked her softly.

Applejack shook her head. "Ah almost lost Applebloom a year ago 'cuz that Diamond Tiara girl sprayed perfume into her face like a hundred times. She's had asthma since she was a lil' kid."

Everyone shared sad glances.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Rarity said and hugged AJ.

"It's a'right. But wha' those girls did is def'nitely not."

They all agreed.

They had been so distracted that no one had noticed the door opening and a nurse stepping inside the waiting room.

"Who of you is family of Rainbow Dash?"

"All of us." Sunset answered.

"Uh.. alright. She's stable and asking for you. I'm here to bring you to her."

* * *

When they opened the door and went inside they were shocked to see their friend in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask over her face and an IV stand next to her, that was connected with her arm.

"My god.. you really weren't kidding, Applejack." Rarity whispered and Applejack just nodded.

Sunset went over to her and carefully sat on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Dash only shrugged. Her throat hurt so bad and with the mask over her face she could barely talk anyways.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Fluttershy asked.

Dash thought for a moment, then got an idea. She picked up her phone, opened the notes app and started typing. Then she held it out for her friends to read.

'I knew those girls were bad news. They had cigarettes, I saw it when that captain girl had her hand over my face.'

"Dash, they planned all of it. When I saw what was happening I ran to get your inhaler but it wasn't there." Sunset said uneasy.

Dash frowned and started typing again.

'They must have taken it. They wanted to freaking kill me!'

Applejack averted her gaze at the message. Rarity put a gentle hand on her shoulder again.

"We have to do something about that! They shouldn't be allowed to play, let alone attend the school anymore!" Twilight yelled. Everyone stared at her, not used to her outbursts.

"You're right. But technically that would have meant that you wouldn't have been allowed on school grounds either." Sunset said.

Twilight's eyes widened and she blushed, having already forgotten about the pendant thing that almost ripped apart the universe (or so). "Well either way we gotta do something. Don't they know what could have happened if the medics hadn't come in time?"

"They got a big thing comin' I can tell ya that. I'll make sure they'll neva' forget what they'd done." Applejack said darkly.

"I don't like it very much but I'm with you." Sunset said.

"Agreed."

"I'm in!"

"You can count on me!"

Everyone looked at Fluttershy.

"Um.. I guess I could help.. if you want me to.."

Then all eyes were on Dash, who smirked.

"I guess that settles it. Any plans on how we are gonna teach them a lesson?" Sunset asked.

"I got one. But Ah'm gonna need yer help." Applejack said and got up.

"Of course!"

"We better get goin' then. Feel better soon, Rainbow." She said and went out, the others getting up to follow her.

Sunset was about to get up too when suddenly a blue hand grabbed her arm. She gave Dash a short glance before yelling after the others. "Go on without me, I'll catch up in a minute!"

She got some replies before the door closed.

Sunset then turned to her friend.

Dash was taking the mask off (with a bit of trouble, mind you).

"What are you doing?!" Sunset asked her surprised but Dash ignored her.

When she was finally free, she said her first words since the incident. Her voice unsurprisingly badly scratchy (I'my gonny writy liky thisy nowy :P) and sounding painfully dry and sore.

"I'm sorry.."

Sunset was caught by surprise. By both the sound of her voice and what she said.

"Why are you apologizing? You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Should'a told.. sooner."

Sunset was puzzled for a moment but understood. She was sorry for not telling her or any of her friends sooner and leaving them all worried.

Guilt formed inside her when she realized she had to tell her that she broke her promise.

"Dash I.. I'm really sorry but I told the others not even ten minutes ago. I'm sorry. I know I promised not to but I felt like it was absolutely necessary.. please don't be mad..." she turned away from her with her eyes shut, expecting the worst of the worst.

What she got was a gentle hand on her back. And when she turned to look at her, she saw a big smile on her face and got a thumbs up.

A smile grew on Sunset's face and she couldn't resist but to hug her.

Author's Note

I don't really know what made me say AB has asthma but it's gonna be even more of a reason that AJ is gonna be overly protective about Dash now.
It's also to say that she isn't alone ;3

I also felt like this story needed more mane seven interaction. It felt too much Sunset and Dash focused. Even though that's just the way it is and all but I was starting to feel like I left them out. I also tend to forget one of them all the time and hope that at least now they all had a small part XD

What do you think AJ's plan is? :rainbowdetermined2:

Chapter 12

The next day Dash was still in the hospital, bored to hell. But the doctors insisted to keep her for observation to make sure there were no lasting damages.

Her parents had been there to visit her yesterday afternoon when they heard their daughter was in the hospital, and came here straight after work. When Dash told them what happened via phone like she did with the others, her parents got furious and told her that they were gonna have a real serious talk with the principals.

So now she was laying in the bed, too bored to sleep, yet too tired to do anything. She still had coughing attacks from time to time and dang were they exhausting.

Suddenly the door opened and her head perked up.

"Hey champ! Thought I'd bring by your bag." Spitfire said as she entered, holding up her colorful bag.

"Thanks!"

Spitfire sat down on the bed next to her and gave her the bag.

"Anything. I'm really sorry about what happened."

Dash stared confused at her. "Why are you sorry?"

"I knew they had something against you but I was too focused on my place in the team that I didn't think they would actually.. do that."

"Hey it's fine. I'm alright, see? And they are gonna be in a lot of trouble for messing wi-" she had to stop for a short lived coughing fit. "With me." She added in a scratchy voice.

Spitfire stared at her with wide eyes. "Are you sure you're alright? Should I get a nurse?"

"No it's fine. Honest. Just still not rid of all the smoke I guess."

Spitfire gave her a sympathetic look.

"Okay.. well I better get to school now." She said, getting up and walking to the door.

The team players all had school starting three hours later for their efforts. And the teachers probably assumed that they would party through the night.

"Hey, wait a sec. Who won after all?"

Spitfire hesitated for a moment.

"Crystal Prep..." she said sadly. Then she left and closed the door.

Over at Chrystal Prep, the girls went to action. They were all freed from school for the day because of the events happening to their friend, knowing very well how none of them would be able to concentrate on classes.

Applejack and Rarity were stealing the girls' backpacks to lure them. Once they were noticed and the girls followed them, they ran to the planned location. Once they reached the closet, they threw the backpacks into it and the girls ran in to grab them.

Once the girls were in, it was easy play. Applejack closed the door and couldn't help the grin forming on her face. She looked over at Rarity, who smirked back and both shared a high-five.

In the air vent above the closet, Pinkie Pie and Sunset were waiting for the girls to get in and the door to get closed. Then it finally happened.

"Show time." Sunset said and both pressed the buttons on the deodorant sprays.

Within a few seconds they heard coughing and yellings of "what's going on?!" "What is this?! Poison gas?!" "We gotta get out of here!!!"

But when they tried to get out, they found the door held close.
On the other side of the door were Applejack, Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy pressing against the door to keep it closed.

Twilight checked her watch. "Ten seconds." Applejack nodded.

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

They released the door and the two girls inside fell out, gasping for air.

"Oh my god! We're alive!" One exclaimed.

Then they turned to see the girls who locked them in.

"Have you completely lost it?! You can't lock us in with poison gas for ten minutes!!!"

Applejack rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We didn't lock you in, we held the door closed. It wasn't poison gas, it was simple deodorant. And it had only been one minute."

The two girls looked at each other. "Dang that was the longest minute of my life."

"I hope now you see what it's like when you can't breathe. What panic you feel when you notice that the only thing saving your life isn't an option." Applejack said.

"What are you talking about?" One asked.

"While you simply needed to get out of the room, it wouldn't have been enough for Dash. She needs the medicine in the inhaler to breathe again. You could have been responsible for a death if the paramedics hadn't come in time." Sunset explained.

The girls shared another glance. Of course they had wanted to win, but they hadn't thought that there were such big consequences for their actions.

"We're really sorry about what we did.."

"We aren't the ones you two should be apologizing to." Applejack argued.

The girls nodded. "Can we go see her?"

Applejack and Sunset shared a quick glance.

"Come on." Applejack said and motioned for them to follow her.

Author's Note

First of all I want to apologize for the long wait.
I've had so much shit going on in my life that I neither had time or will to write.

Haven't read it through yet so please tell me if you find any mistakes.

And I hope you enjoy nonetheless .-.

Chapter 13

Dash was scrolling through Twitter and Facebook in her boredom. She didn't know if she should feel embarrassed or grateful that so many people seem to care about what happened to her. A lot were about hoping she'll feel better soon, others were hate comments from Crystal Prep accusing her of being overly dramtic and ruining the game; and some were about building hate groups against Crystal Prep.

Some ask how she's doing, some just wish her well, and someone posted that school is boring when nobody pranks the worst teacher in school. That one made her smile.

The door opening made her look up from her phone and she was surprised to see the girls from Crystal Prep walk in with her friends.

Sunset gave her a gentle smile. "These two have something to tell you." She nodded towards Lightning Dust and Gilda.

Gilda was the first to speak up. "We've learned that our actual plan could have turned out way worse than we thought and.. um.."

"We are really, truly sorry." Lightning Dust finished.

Applejack had her arms crossed over her chest with a satisfied grin on her face.

"It's alright." Dash said. The two girls couldn't believe their ears.

"What?!"

"Are you for real?!"

"We almost.. Killed you!"

"And you just forgive us?!"

"Yup."

"WHY?!" They ask in usion.

"Simple. Because you learned your lesson. I know you didn't intend for this to happen. Plus we ALL know that Crystal Prep has some overly-competitive students who only care about winning, soo... uh, no offense, Twi."

"None taken."

"So, when are you getting outta here?" Sunset asked, trying to change the subject since the two girls were still in shock.

"They're gonna release me later today when my parents come from work to pick me up. Finally.."

"YASSSS!!!!!!!" Pinkie suddenly screamed with her arms up and jumped on Dash's hospital bed. "You have absolutely NO idea how boooooring school can be without you around!"

Dash laughed when she remembered the post earlier, thinking that it could have been Pinkie (if she didn't already know her nicknames). Her lungs didn't appreciate the spasms her muscles did and she ended up hacking her lungs out.

At least that's what everyone in the room was sure about. Half of them were panicking and one second away from pressing the emergency button. That only made things worse. Dash was used to these situations and knew that panicking doesn't help - it only makes it worse. She simply took the inhaler from the table next to her bed and took a few puffs, no big deal.

She was too busy getting air at first to notice the others panic, but once she noticed it, she just got mad. That was exactly why she never wanted anyone to know - because they would all treat her differently. They wouldn't see her as the tough one, the sports star, the football champion.

They would see her as a vulnerable girl that needs to be monitored at all times.

And that was something she hated so much more than bullies.

She absolutely hated pity.

"Are you alright?!"

"Pinkie be careful, she still needs to rest!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Should we get a nurse?!"

"Maybe there actually are some lasting damages!"

"But didn't the doctor say-"

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR A SECOND?!"

All eyes turned towards the source of the hoarse scream, which voice cracked at so many places.

"Darling, I think yelling isn't going to-"

"Just be quiet! This is exactly why I never wanted to tell you guys!"

"..Pardon?"

"You guys don't treat me like you used to!"

"We're just trying to look out for you!"

"You never had to before!"

"Because we didn't know! ..oh.."

"Yeah. Oh!" Dash snapped.

"Look, sugarcube, we're jes tryin'a look out fer ya. Ya can't really blame your friends for carin'."

"No. Not for caring. But pitying, yes I can."

"Oh darling, please! We are Not pitying you!"

Dash raised an eyebrow.

Short silence.

"Well.. not on purpose to make you feel that way..."

The two Crystal Prep girls felt awkward just standing there, listening to their conversation.

"So...we kinda still got school.." Lightning Dust started. That seemed to get the other girls attention, who apparently completely forgot about them for a moment.

"Right, sorry! We'll see you in school, Dash!" Sunset yelled over her shoulder as she pushed out the rival-school girls.

"Yeah, I guess.."

Author's Note

Okay this kinda sucked I guess. Sorry. I couldn't get a feeling into the conversation and just wanted to get it over with. I got a lot of ideas for this story, and I guess it's gonna be longer than the predicted 10-15k words I first thought of.
I wrote all this on my pc with no correction thingy I usually got on my iPad! I'm proud of that cuz I kinda have a tendency to dyslexia (ok yeah I copied this word from google :twilightsheepish:) and I often (always.) confuse letters and complete words and such. Therefore it took me a lot longer cuz I always had to write the workds again and again until they looked right xD don't ask me why I didn't just switch to my iPad. I don't know that myself. Still, if you find mistakes feel free to point them out!

PS really sorry for the wait (again), let's just say my life is pretty shit right now and it's work to get outta bed in the morning. Or hours after "morning". :rainbowwild: in other words I got another episode -.-
oh well I hope the next chapters will come sooner than after... weeks? months? I lost track of time .-.

Chapter 14

Rainbow Dash got up in the morning, not entirely ready to face the world yet. She had to be at school again today and could already hear the endless questions. That wasn't really something to look forward to. She liked to have silence about that certain topic, since her asthma wasn't something she was exactly proud of.

More like the exact opposite. Really.

She glanced over at the small carton box on her nightstand that carried the new inhaler she had gotten at the hospital. The nurses made it pretty clear, at least ten times, that she had to take it with her at all times.

Sighing to herself she grabbed the box and opened it, using it as she was told to. At the final talk with the doctor, he had told her and her parents that she had to use it in the morning and evening daily, and always whenever she felt an attack coming.

She dropped the inhaler back into the box (for safety reasons) and put it into her backpack. Then she got dressed, grabbed her bag and went downstairs into the kitchen.

"Morning honey. How are you doing today?" Her mother asked while making pancakes, not looking up from the pan.

Dash raised an eyebrow. That was odd. Her parents never asked her that except when she had attacks in front of them.

"Good. I guess?"

"That's nice." Her mother said as she turned to her and smiled while putting the fresh pancake on the plate in front of her daughter.

'This day can't get any weirder...'

* * *

When she got on the bus she was heartedly greeted by Applejack. They talked a bit on the short eight minute drive like usual. It was once they stopped at the school that the weird stuff happened again.

"Here, let me take that for ya." AJ said as she grabbed Dash's bag.

"I can carry it myself just fine." Dash half snapped and pulled it back.

"Just tryn'a help. Ya know, wouldn't wanna overexert yer self after...." she trailed off, noticing the frown on her friend's face.

"Uh huh. Sure. Not like I couldn't do it before in my whole life." Dash snapped and got up.

Applejack sighed and followed after her.

Before she could even go inside she was stopped by miss Cheerilee.

"Rainbow Dash! Good thing I ran into you, please come with me." She said and motioned for Dash to follow her.

Dash only sighed and went after her.

Unbeknownst to her, Applejack had heard it from the distance and nervously bit her lip. 'It was only for the best.. I hope she knows that..'

* * *

Rainbow entered the principles office with both principle Luna and principle Celestia waiting for her. She honestly knew what was to be expected, but that doesn't help easy the anxiety.

"Good morning, Rainbow Dash. It's nice to see you here again." Celestia started.

Dash only nodded. ' Just get to the point..'

"Well, since you already have a record of these.. ahem.. 'incidents'.. it occurred to us that there is really no point in keeping you in the sports teams."

"Yeah yeah I know. So how long do I have to wait until I can enter again?"

Celestia and Luna shared a sad glance.

"We are not going to let you join again. We are deeply sorry, but we have to do what's the best for our student's health. The student's physical and emotional health is top priority and therefore we are not letting you participate anymore."

"But... but..."

"We know this is a shock for you-"

"You can't do that! I'm the captain of-.. you can't just-! You just can't!!!"

"Please understand that this was only in our and your friends concern for you."

Completely ignoring the word 'friends' for now, as she was in too much shock about losing her positions she worked so hard for, Dash choked out a last hope.

"I'll still have sports with my class though.. right?"

Celestia and Luna sadly closed their eyes and shook their heads.

Dash had heard enough. She got up, holding her bag tightly in front of her, pressing it to her chest, and slammed the door on her way out, thinking 'this day can't get any worse...'

* * *

As she sat through her classes, barely paying any attention, Dash's mind wasn't even focused on her lost team position. All she could focus on was breathing.

As weird as that sounds, as difficult it was. Sometimes she wondered why simple things like breathing took a lot of effort for her, when she was captain of her own football team.

Keyword being was..

Even though she could still breathe fairly easy, her chest still hurt from the attack that landed her in the hospital.

Absently rubbing at her chest she never noticed how Applejack and Sunset were giving her worried glances until Sunset, sitting next to her, tapped her on the shoulder.

Once she had her attention, Sunset whispered 'You okay?' to her.

Dash just nodded and stared outside again, her gaze too focused on the field outside.

* * *

Then there was finally break. The whole gang was gathered around the magical-mirror-portal-statue in front of the school.

Sunset was fed up with the awkward silence and asked the questions that were on everybody's mind ever since they found out.

"Dash?"

"Yeah?"

"What's it like? Having asthma I mean."

A moment of silence.

"It's weird. I mean.. we take simple things like breathing for granted and all that, ya know? But when you live with this.. condition, you think about those things a lot more. Because you're more focused on that stuff."

The others nodded in agreement. Ever since they found out, they just couldn't think about anything else.

"It makes you paranoid. Like, you're scared of getting stressed because that could be your end. Literally. Because one attack could be so bad that you have to be hospitalized. And if that doesn't happen fast enough, you could be on your way to the next stop. Isn't that weird? Yet so simple..."

The others glanced at each other. Since when was Dash so philosophical?

"But the worst is the attacks. For one, it hurts like hell. Like someone put a bunch of elastic around your chest and stuck a knife between them that's stabbing into your lungs. And then comes the panic because you can't breathe. You simply can't. No matter what you try. You're depending on that plastic spray to save your life. That's what I hate the most. The dependence."

Fluttershy was hiding behind her hair, Applejack lowered her hat and the others just gave her deeply sympathetic looks and Sunset laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Can I ask you something?" Twilight asked.

"Sure. I guess."

"You didn't live with this your whole life, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"When did you get your asthma?"

Author's Note

CLIFFHANGER! MWHAHAHAA! XD

Next chapter is completely backstory.

(Sorry for the wait, I've been busy with school and tons of driving lessons. I got my final exam thing on Wednesday so wish me luck xx)

Chapter 15

2 years ago

Dash and Applejack were really close. They often spent their days together after school and always sat in class together. Applejack even wanted to join Dash's football team the next year.

Life was perfect until one fateful day when Dash had gotten a message that Applejacks bake sell was moved to a different day. So when she came to school the next day, Applejack wouldn't talk to her anymore.

"AJ wait! Come on, just let me talk to you!" She yelled after her as Applejack just walked away from her, again. When she finally caught up to her she tried again. "What's the matter with you?! Why are you like this?!"

Applejack glared at her.
"Don't play dumb with me, Rainbow Dash. You know exactly what you've done."

"What?! Hey!" Dash exclaimed as Applejack walked away again. Dash groaned to herself. What on earth is going on with her?

She couldn't dwell on it for long as her watch beeped, telling her that she had to go to football practice for the third time this week now.

* * *

Practice wasn't going so well..

"Dash! Get it together!" Her teammates were yelling. No matter how hard she tried to focus, she just couldn't seem to get the ball into the goal. It always either flew right over it or rolled next to it.

But she couldn't fail now. They had an important game soon. A very important one. It was against Crystal Prep.

The stress was becoming too much. They had two class tests every week now. Training every day. And when Dash was at school or at home - it was no difference. She has no friends anymore. She couldn't talk to someone, chat with them or simply call them.

Because for some reason, all her friends had split apart and weren't talking to each other anymore. They all just befriended their separate tables - Rarity with the fashion classes, Applejack with the cooking clubs, Fluttershy with the Eco kids, and Pinkie.. she just hangs out with pretty much everyone that bumps into her.

And Dash? Dash didn't even sit with the sports anymore. In fact, she didn't even go to the cafeteria anymore. She always brought her lunch and either ate it in one of the bathrooms or outside.

Anywhere was better than having to see her ex-friends have fun and be happy without her.

But she didn't have time to be sad about it. Really, her life became a mixture of training, studying, behaving; and most of all a lot of stress.

And then there was this weird cough.

At first she only thought it was some kind of a cold. After a week with no fever or other symptoms but the cough she doubted that theory. But it wasn't the top priority at that time.
She had to just suck it up and train for their game. After all, they had a winning streak of all the games since she joined the team - which made her the team captain after the first win against Crystal Prep.

Right now they had another training session. Dash got more focused, having almost gotten over the loss of her friends and sucking up the hate she had for them and herself.

Of course she's been hiding her suspicious cough from her team mates. If they knew something was up they wouldn't let her play and then all their hard work would have been for nothing if they lost.

But of course the simple cough wasn't the end of it. She was also getting trouble breathing lately. It felt like someone put a huge, tight elastic band around her entire chest.

Two weeks later they had winter holidays and to her dismay, Dash got sick. And not light either. When her parents caught her as she was on the verge of collapsing from high fever and got her to the hospital, they told her she had gotten pneumonia. Probably from training so hard and so long in the cold air. She had absolute bed rest, gotten IVs and lots of tea and medicine.

Luckily she got released before school started again. (I know that most cases last around a month but google said from 2 weeks until 6 months is shortest to longest so.. deal with it xD)

But she soon had to find out that with the infection healed, it wasn't the end.
In fact: it only got worse. Dash now had times where it was late at night, that she would have horrible coughing attacks that her parents went into her room to check on her. It was scary.

What she didn't know was that her many worries and thoughts about the future were what was causing the attacks.

It went on like this for the next two months until the game.
The game they had worked and trained so hard for.
The game that would continue their winning streak.
The game where Dash wouldn't have her friends cheering her on.

The game that would end her up at the hospital, getting diagnosed with the lifelong condition that would change her life forever...

* * *

*WHISTLE*

The game was on.

Dash's team was quick to make the first goal, which seemed to really wake up the other team. In only ten minutes, the Crystal Prep team managed to get 2 goals passed Thunderlane's watch.

The pressure was on.

Realization that the possibility of losing wasn't even so unreal tightened her chest.

Thinking nothing of it she just continued playing, trying twice as hard now.

It only spiraled down from there.

Five minutes later Dash was beginning to feel dizzy and disorientated. She was stumbling over her own feet. Couldn't pass the ball to her team mates correctly.

The more she messed up, the more panicked she got.

"And that's another goal for Crystal Prep Academy!" Cadence announced.

That was it. Her vision went black.

She tried to breathe as deeply as possible but ended up passed out on the grass.

"A player is down!! Get a medic!!!"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dash woke from a nasty beeping sound and found herself in a hospital bed. Looking around she noticed a few things: she was connected to a heart monitor and an IV, she had a breathing mask over most of her face and the concerned faces of her parents were staring at her.

"Honey... how are you feeling?" Her mother asked gently, giving her a warm smile that carried a lot of mental pain. She must have gotten a call that said her daughter is in the hospital or something, she thought.

Since she figured that she wouldn't be able to talk, she just shrugged her shoulders.

Seconds later there was a knock on the door and a doctor came in.

"I have some bad news, and some good news. The good news is that she doesn't have a concussion from the fall, only minor bruises. The bad news is that she is going to need this." He said as he held up a little plastic can.

It was an inhaler. Dash's eyes widened.

"When the paramedics came to you on the field, they found that you weren't breathing. They've tried CPR but noticed the problem: your airways had closed up completely. They had to get the oxygen mask and give you a special treatment to open your airways again. Say, have you ever seen a doctor about your asthma?"

Dash put off the mask. "I-I have as-sthma? H-How?" She asked in a hoarse voice.

"We are going to do some tests to determine just how severe it is. Your parents have told me that you were under a lot of stress these past few months and had had coughing attacks, is that right?" The doctor asked.

"...yeah.."

"Well it seems that stress is one of the triggers and possibly even the strongest. When you get out of here, you are to have a relaxing-treatment. You need to know a few things and ways to relax and stay calm."

"C-Can it go away?" Dash asked, already shaking.

The doc shook his head sadly.

"You will have to learn to live with it."

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait (a-ducking-gain.)
I've had a bad attack Sunday night and that caused my bronchi to get really inflamed. I'm on a new stronger inhaler plus my normal one and cortisone tablets and staying home for the week so I decided to kick my lazy ass and finally write this chapter.

As always I hope you enjoyed and you're welcome to point out any sort of mistakes!

Chapter 16

Author's Note

Warning: lots of screaming.

Chapter 16

Her friends gasped once Dash had finished her story.

"Aw shucks Dash, Ah'm real sorry fer leavin' like that.." Applejack said remorseful.

"Wasn't your fault." Dash said.

"We were all so busy with our own lives that we didn't even notice anything.. of course we were surprised when we heard about you being rushed to the hospital but..." Rarity trailed off.

Twilight only stared at them. She couldn't believe that they were once separated and just left their once best friend hanging like that.

"We weren't even there for you when you came back to school... didn't ask a thing.. what kind of friends are we?!?!" Pinkie yelled, tears spilling down her face.

"Guys! Please! I didn't tell you this to make you feel bad!" Dash said, anger rising.

"Whoa there calm down sugarcube!" Applejack said and raised her hands in a defeated manner.

It's at that moment that she remembered one thing. The principals said something about her friends.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Dash started, was too calm. "It was you that made the teachers and principals to block me from any sports, wasn't it?"

Applejack gulped. Dash was really scaring her now. She knew that Dash would be furious, yet she spoke so calm like Fluttershy.

Suddenly Dash stood up, grabbing Applejack by the wrist and pulled her after her into the school.

"Rainbow! What are you doing?!" Sunset yelled after her but she got no answer.

Dash pulled AJ into the girls bathroom.

"I can't. Fucking. Believe you! I thought you were my friend!!!" Dash finally yelled.

"It was fer the best! This happen' twice now!"

"Do you even have ANY idea how hard I've worked and trained to get where I was?! You don't just become team captain because you wish it for Christmas!"

"Dash, I'm sorry.."

"SORRY DOESN'T GET ME BACK IN! - NOTHING WILL! - AND IT'S ALL. YOUR. FAULT!!!!" She was seriously gasping between sentences now.

"Dash please calm down-"

"NO!!" She screamed and ended in a forceful coughing attack that had her doubled over and reaching a hand to the wall.

"Rainbow.. please! Where's your inhaler?" Applejack began to seriously worry when she heard the loud wheezing.

"And what about the band? Huh?! You're gonna throw me out of it too?!" Dash exclaimed when she could breathe again and just went back to hacking her lungs out.

"No of course not! You're just gonna be a background singer now-"

"Are you-" Dash couldn't talk anymore, she was a coughing mess.

"Dash please use your inhaler now! This is going too far!" Applejack pleaded.

"I'M-!!!" Another harsh coughing fit. "FINE!!!!" The next cough was so strong it knocked her off her feet and she collapsed to the ground, clutching her chest.

"Come on stop lying and use the damn thing already!!!!" Applejack tried to reason as her panic rose.

Dash finally grabbed it from her pockets. She glared at it and smashed it against a wall with enough force to break it - the plastic into two pieces and the can seemed to be close to exploding from a big dent.

Seeing this, Applejack panicked and grabbed her by the arm to pull her up. "Dash have you lost your mind?!?! Come on we gotta get outta here! Now!"

But Dash was a weak, coughing, sweaty mess that was close to blacking out.

"HEEELP!!!!" Applejack yelled as loud as she could before picking up Dash and hurrying outside.

Applejack quickly brought Dash to the nurses office, telling her what happened in a rush but it seemed to do the trick. Then she ran to the principles office and told them about the damaged gas can. Celestia's eyes went wide and she quickly grabbed the telephone and called for help while ordering Luna to go with Applejack to the bathroom door and putting a warning sign on it.

Of course, the can is tiny and wouldn't make a wall collapse, but it could do some serious damage to the students.

Sunset finally had had enough of this and ran inside the school and ran into Applejack.

"What's going on? Where's Rainbow Dash?!" Sunset asked frantically.

"Nurses office. She threw her inhaler against the wall in her rage and she was close to passing out, poor gal' couldn't even stand anymore.."

Sunset gasped, as did the rest of her friends who seemed to have followed her.

"Is she going to be alright???" Fluttershy asked in pure shock.

Applejack hesitated. "I hope so.."

* * *

Meanwhile in the nurse office, Dash was slowly regaining consciousness. She knew she'd made a huge mistake.
But she just couldn't help it.

That tiny thing had changed her life for the absolute worst. It changed her future and all of her relationships. Her lifestyle and her health.

But most of all, it had changed her personality.

As a kid she used to be a wild racing machine that just never knew when to stop. Now she's way calmer, more behaved and especially more conscious about her actions.

"I understand you're mad. I would be too if I were in your shoes." The nurses said as she approached her.

"I'm sorry..." Dash whispered as talking was too painful.

"I know you are. But the important thing is that you're alright." She said with a smile. "But I think it would be best if you stayed home for a while. This is the second bad attack in under a week and I don't think any more stress will help."

Dash sighed and closed her eyes.

"Your parents have been informed and your mother is coming to pick you up in a bit." The nurse said and went over to a cabinet and grabbed a little box. "I'm giving you a new inhaler and I don't want you to throw it against a wall anymore." She said with a grin.

Dash grinned too as she looked at the nurse.

"Yeah. I promise it won't happen again." Dash said softly and very slowly.

"Good."

Chapter 17

Dash woke up at night to a strange sensation: her entire lungs were burning like fire. She tried it with a lot of water first, but it didn't erase the sandpaper feeling in her throat. So she tried coughing.

Which, turns out, was a bad idea. It got out of control and she quickly grabbed her inhaler, but even ten minutes later it didn't let up. By that time her mother had woken up by the sound and came to check on her.

The burning made it hard to breathe. Or in other words, it made her want to stop. She gave her alarm clock a quick glance. It was 1 am. Dash would have groaned if she had the strength to do so. She was in for a loooong night.

* * *

Dash had been awake ever since, and her mother said they were going to the doctors in an hour.

So she was laying in bed, petting her pet tortoise Tank, and wondered what she did to deserve this.

Then it was finally time to leave.

The doctor was pretty full today, (lol reading this again is hilarious, because 1:1 translated into my language it would mean he's drunk :rainbowlaugh:) and they had to wait for a lot of hours.

Dash was especially disgusted by the person that sat opposite of her. That woman was reading a magazine that the waiting room provided. Now, that isn't really unusual. But she was coughing into her hand and then just touched the pages again! She even once saw her lick a finger to turn the page.

The thought of the next patient touching the pages and getting the same thing from her was disgusting her to no end.

Plus the woman's constant coughing was triggering hers, and by now she didn't have the strength - from nonstop coughing since 1 am - to actually do it anymore, plus it hurt like hell.

Almost three hours later it was finally their turn. Dash needed her mother to do the talking for her.

Though that didn't go so well as she kept saying and explaining wrong things. So she took over.

After a lot of explaining, he went with Dash into the next room to listen to her lungs with a stethoscope.

Then they went back over and had another load of talking.

In the end he's come to the conclusion that her current inhaler wasn't strong enough and he prescribed her a new, stronger one. He also put her on cortisone pills for the week.
So her new plan for the week (and after that) looked like this:

Morning: two puffs of normal inhaler plus cortisone tablet

Throughout the day whenever the coughing got too worse she had to use the new inhaler, as their difference was that the new one only lastet shortly but was for acute need.

And in the evening another two puffs from her normal one and another tablet.

The cortisone was only for five days, but the inhaler use-plan was (maybe) for the rest of her life.

So for now she was pretty much only kept alive with a lot of spray medicine and tablets that had a long list of side effects. (I'm not kidding I looked them up in the package insert.)

He also said that this was only happening because the last attack(s) were too much for her sensitive bronchi and that they had gotten badly inflamed.

You see - when you have an asthma attack, the little airways in the bronchi contract, meaning they swell and that alone can be really painful. When they are swollen, they emit mucus, which can - in very severe cases - close up the airways completely and its life threatening. So with them constantly inflamed and swollen, they constantly emit mucus that has to be coughed up. (See: https://youtu.be/7EDo9pUYvPE for a visual explanation)

So for now she was on bed rest.

* * *

The next day her mother brought the doctors note to the school to just let them know that she wouldn't come back for a week.

When she was done with that, she ran into Applejack, Sunset, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy, who were fearing for the absolute worst: that she was here to unregister Dash from the school.

"Miss Dash!" Sunset called.

"Oh, hello Rainbow's friends." She said with a smile, not knowing of their fight.

"Is Dash okay?!" Applejack almost yelled.

"I wish I could say yes. I came here to bring a doctors note. But don't worry, she'll be back in a week." She said, still smiling.

"What's wrong? She's not at the hospital again, is she?" Fluttershy asked, afraid for her friends health.

"Oh no, she's at home. But she has strict bed rest and on a lot of medication." Her mother explained.

They all sighed in slight relief.

"I think she would be happy about some visitors. Don't worry, it's not contagious, it's only asthma related."

Applejack grimaced. "Uh.. you gals can go visit her, I uh.. got farm work ta do at home."

Sunset gave her a sympathetic look.

"Sure we'll come by after school! Maybe we can cheer her up!!" Pinkie said with joy.

Dash's mother smiled. "But take it easy on her, she's still in a lot of pain and needs her rest. I have to go to work now and I'll be home later this evening. But my husband is at home, just in case something happens and we need medical assistance." She said before leaving the school.

The news were shocking to say the least for her friends. The bell rang and they were brought back to reality.

They still had school!

Chapter 18

Rainbow Dash was laying awake in her bed with her eyes closed, wondering how so much could go wrong.

Was there some kind of Dark Magic involved? It was certainly possible.

The thought send a shudder through her, sending little stabs through her chest.

This sucks.

Just when she wanted to take a pillow and press it on her face, there was a knock on her door. Dash raised an eyebrow. Normally her dad would knock once, peek inside and ask if she needed anything. But this time it was three times, in a completely different manner, and the door didn’t open.

Mentally groaning, Dash finally called „come in“, regretting it the second the words left her mouth. This wasn’t even a ‚sore throat’ anymore. She felt as if her throat was in shreds.

And to her surprise, all her friends came inside her room. Minus Applejack, which she was almost grateful for. Her loyalty cringed at the thought.

“Hey, Rainbow.” Sunset greeted her warmly. Dash only stared at the girls in front of her, not really believing this was real. Must be the meds, making her delusional. But then Sunset spoke again. “I hope we didn’t wake you. We just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“And bring you some muffins!!!!” Pinkie almost yelled but held herself back. This was a sick visit(I don’t know the word for it and hope you know what I mean), after all. Pinkie held out a little box with messy felt tip marker writing of “Get Better Sooooooooon”.

Dash didn’t even bother thinking the question of why there were so many o’s. Instead, she only smiled, forgetting all about the bad things that happened and the pains almost vanishing.

It was now pretty late in the evening and Sunset is the only one who still hadn’t left her side.

Literally.

They were cuddled up in bed, Dash having fallen asleep hours ago in her arms. And Sunset has no idea anymore how they ended up like this.

Her eyes wandered over to the box from Pinkie Pie. She spiked them, I swear to god. I just hope whatever it was isn’t doing anything to Dash, with all of these meds.

Dash started stirring in her arms and Sunset first realized then that Dash probably didn’t know how she got in her arms either.

And for some reason, that made Sunset blush.

Dash’s eyes fluttered open, first looking around her room as if disoriented, and then they fell on Sunset.

Neither one moved a muscle or said anything for what felt like an eternity.

Then Sunset finally couldn’t take the tension any longer. “Have a nice nap?”

Dash’s eyes flicked back and forth, obviously noticing the position they were in and finding it embarrassing.

“Look, I swear - I don’t have any idea why we are like this right now, and I guess you probably don’t know either, but you’re laying on my arm so I can’t get us out of this position.”

Dash didn’t look at her for almost a minute before finally answering something that made Sunset blush even more. “Good”, she forced out and cuddled into her again, closing her eyes.

And Sunset couldn’t make any sense of it, but somehow, something about this was really nice. And she found herself not wanting to let go of her friend either.

So, without another thought, she wrapped her other arm very carefully around Dash’s chest and closed her eyes as well.

That is how Dash’s parents found them not even an hour later - Dash being lovingly embraced in the arms of her friends, as if to protect her from all evil she’s gone through.

They smiled at each other and as quietly as possible, closed the door to their daughters room.

Chapter 19

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