Lost in the Ever-changing Winds

by Oceanlight

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Main 6, Romance, Original Character, Rainbow Dash
Length: 4291

oceanlight has suffered severe trauma and is struggling to hang on to life. When she is found unconscious in the Everfree forest, questions arise in Ponyville and the mane 6 are determined to help her.

you are nothing
you are worthless

One early morning in Ponyville, rainbow dash was flying over the Everfree, and she spotted somepony lying in the middle of the forest floor, not moving. After rainbow finds this mysterious mare she dashes away to get help.
After the mare is transported to a local hospital the mane 6 discover she is severely hurt, broken limbs, bruises, cuts, and little did they know incomprehensible physiological damage. They volunteer to take care of her; knowing they have to do everything to help her recover. the mane 6 become intertwined in her story and change her life in ways she never imagined. She teaches them the bitter truth of the world and that not everypony is kind and they teach her what real friendship is and a special somepony teaches her how to love.

Published 2017-12-11 16:10:06 UTC
Last updated 2017-12-14 15:52:10 UTC

1 Prologue

burning
"You worthless little-"
fear
"I hope you die you can't even-"
pain
"Shut the hell up-"
dying

Impact after impact Oceanlight finally fell to the floor of her family’s small cottage on the other side of the Everfree forest. She didn't move or talk or even think of trying to fight back, there wasn't any point. It would only make things worse. As ocean tolerated the hard pounding hooves against her she was beginning to wonder if it was wrong or okay. She had tried to convince herself her whole life that what her mom said and did to her was okay and completely understandable but as she got older and the longer it went on the more she doubted herself.

She just... Lied there, taking the hits one after the other. She had never seen her mom so angry before. Sure, she had a temper and yes, it was quite bad but now before her she knew her mom was breaking apart... Many years ago, her father had an affair and left her never looking back. Her father wasn't a great stallion he was an alcoholic and often caused more bad then good. Her mom was devastated after the event and eventually ended up taking her anger out on Oceanlight and her older brother Technolight, who was now away in Fillydelphia for college. Leaving her to face her mom alone.
After her father first, left ocean and her brother had to take care of themselves and they're bed-ridden mother as well. They made food and walked to school and asked around town for work so they could help pay the bills.

Sandypool was having one of her episodes but this time it was worse... She had nothing holding her back pure rage in her eyes. She screamed and hit like someone fighting for their life. The things her mother said to her were hard not to take personal... After hearing how worthless and useless she was day after day it was impossible to believe it wasn't true. Oceanlight suffered from having no self-esteem and severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from everything her parents put her through. She was already so terrified of everything and it didn't help that she had no friends or family she could trust or depend on.

She was totally and completely alone in the world and sometimes she wondered if it would always be that way. She was so so tired of everything, of existing, of fighting, of being invisible, of being alone, of fear and of being her mom’s punching bag even though she knew inside she deserved it. Was it so selfish to want to be loved? Was it selfish to want to run away? As Sandypool continued to scream and lay slaps and kicks across Oceanlight she started to drift away into her own head. She had the strongest urge in her life to run. To escape. Her gut was yearning to use every bit of her remaining strength to get up and slip out of the open door and run until she passed out. It was now or never....

Author's Note

so this is my first fic, so constructive criticism is very much appreciated! i tried to make this as realistic as i could. if there's anything i can do better let me know! i have a 6 hour car ride so the next chapter should be out shortly if anyone reads this lol.

2 Discoveries

The cool, soft, wet air of the clouds... The bright blue of the sunlit sky... The beautiful trees and groves of the land below... Rainbow Dash took it all in as she enjoyed her morning flight over the Everfree forest. Though Rainbow didn't often admit it, she had a heartfelt connection to Ponyville and not just because of her friends. This was her home... She hated showing any signs of weakness because that wasn't part of her or the "her" that everypony knew.

Just as Dash approached the heart of the forest, a blur of unfitting color flashed over her eyes, it was so much brighter contrasting the dull earthy tones of the forest. She stopped in her tracks and looked down to try and figure out what she had seen. It looked like some sort of animal or odd plant or... pony?

"What the hay?" Rainbow began as she realized she was right, it was a pony lying on the forest floor!

She plunged downward towards the unconscious pony, landing on the ground with a soft thud. Quickly dash examined the body of the mare she had found. she paced circles around the pony observing everything around her. The first thing she noticed is that it was a mare and the second thing was the mare was a pegasus. She had a pastel yellow coat a bit brighter than Fluttershy’s but the color was barely visible through the layers of dirt, blood and mud.
Wait.. blood?!! Rainbow thought.

She had a bright teal and lavender mane that was covered in brambles and leaves and dulled out by mud and dirt same as her coat. Her wings were unnaturally bent and folded, which made rainbow cringe, imagining the pain of her own wing injuries and then looking back to the mare's wings only to see that they were in a lot worse shape than Rainbow's had ever been. Her heart rate quickened and panic erupted through her body, every limb trembled with worry and her mind jumped from theory to theory in milliseconds, not retaining a single bit of her ideas, each of her thoughts were worse than the last. She had never seen any injuries this bad, not in all her years on the weather team or even in flight school, and if she were completely honest with herself... she was scared. Really scared.

Dash wasn't the pony to have anxiety about anything much less get into a panic about anything, but this particular situation... pulled out buried fears from deep in her mind. Memories from her childhood and images she had forced herself to scrape from every corner of her brain started to inch toward her conscious mind but she quickly shut them out like she had trained herself to do over the years.

Shaking herself from inside her head, she hesitantly remembered to check for a pulse. Hopeful, she placed a hoof on the mare's neck and waited for the steady beat to meet her hoof. She waited and waited until finally, she was relived with a gentle hallow thump against her fur. Still panicked she waited for another heartbeat scared that it wouldn't come to meet her hoof, but slowly, slightly lighter than the last it came. This mare was clinging to life with all that she had left in her.

Rainbow Dash looked to the sky when she heard the distant beat of wings. Two pegasi were flying right over where she and the mare were. Rainbow took to the sky as fast as she could. Spurred by a sinking feeling of fear, something she refused to let weigh her down though. The two colts in the sky noticed rainbow and stopped flying, her panic clearly visible, they exchanged worried glanced as flew towards her.

"There was a- I was flying and then- she was bleeding and- I-I.." Rainbow uncharacteristically chocked out between breaths laced with worry, her voice cracking and her mind fighting to decide what was the most important thing to relay to them first.

"Easy there Rainbow..." one of the stallions voiced with concern.

"Yeah, take a breath and show us what you're talkin' about." The other stallion said with a slight calming tint to his voice.

Rainbow Dash flew back to where she had previously been with the mare followed by the two colts she had just talked to. They all landed on the forest floor next to the mystery pegasus. The two ponies next to Dash froze as disbelief registered on their faces.

"Dear Celestia..."

***

"Uh, is there a-anypony we can get for you Ms. Dash?" The hospital receptionist asked Rainbow.

Instead of responding Rainbow continued to blankly stare at the wall, her eyes wide and brimming with tears threatening to spill, but she didn't notice or care. Her mind was streaming with thoughts going through her head faster than she could fly, all while the recent events replaying in her mind over and over, invading her brain. The receptionist took a step back from Dash and gave a nod to a stallion who was standing near the big glass doors of the hospital. He nodded back and trotted briskly out of the hospital before breaking into a gallop towards Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle. The kind mare laid a hoof over Rainbow’s back and lead her to a chair in the hospital waiting room. Rainbow blindly swayed to where she was being directed, barley aware of her own movement.

"Just wait here ma'am, your friends will be here shortly. If there is any news on that mare you and those stallions brought in, I'll send someone to update you immediately." The receptionist gave Dash a sympathetic look before returning to her desk.

Not too much later Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Flutter shy came galloping through the doors of the hospital, scanning the room for Rainbow Dash.

"She's over there!" Pinkie announced to the others pointing to the chair occupied by Rainbow in the waiting area.

Applejack was the first to get to her, the first to witness her blank stare, the first to notice her tear stained cheeks, first to look into her magenta eyes and see the pain of memory. She just stood there locking gazes with Rainbow, wordless. The others immediately swarmed them and the question began.

"What hap-"

"Are you o-"

"What’s-"

"How di-"

"Who wa-"

All the ponies asked at once, questions lapping over each other.

"EVERYPONY BE QUIET" Applejack yelled and immediately after, there was silence.

Tears streaked down Dash's face as she looked into Applejack’s eyes. Her eyes watered as she put a hoof on Rainbows cheek and without a word hugged her as tight as she could without hurting her friend.

All of the ponies grew tears in their eyes from seeing they're arrogant, cocky, confident and normally happy friend in this state. They could only look to each other for support. Fluttershy turned to the pony next to her witch happened to be Twilight, and she buried her face into her mane gently sobbing and Rarity put an arm around Pinkie who was trembling slightly. They all knew that if Rainbow was this upset it was really bad...
Rainbow hugged Applejack back tightly, squeezing her eyes closed as tears fell harder one after another onto Applejack's fur.

"Sh-she... she... I-I thought she was dead" Rainbow cried out now sobbing. "I-I felt her l-life slip a-away. sh-sh-she was i-in so much pain. I-I tried s-so hard to to save her Applejack"

"Shhhh... we're here now sugar cube. You're alright. you did everythin' ya could Rainbow... now we just gotta wait an' see."

The rest of the mares hugged Rainbow as she cried. They all stood like that for a while, clinging to each other, supporting Rainbow Dash as best they could until a doctor came through the doors that led to the waiting area.

"Is there a Rainbow, Dash here? Rainbow, Dash?" he said Rainbow's name slowly, as it was unfamiliar to his mouth.

"over here!" Twilight directed to the stallion in the doorway. He walked over to the group of hugging mares, who began to disbanded revealing a Rainbow maned, cobalt colored pegasus.

"Ah, you must be Rainbow Dash, I'm doctor Don medic but you can call me Don" He stuck his hoof out to shake Dash's.

"Yes, that's me. N-nice to meet you." she stuck her hoof out to meet his, while desperately trying to hide the fact that seconds ago she was balling her eyes out. "These are my friends, whatever you say to me you can say to them too"

"OK, yes. so, my understanding is you brought in the battered mare in this morning?"

"Yes... that's right. Um... how is she?"

"She's still with us. You and your friends can come see her if you'd like too. I can update you on her condition while we walk"

"Thanks that'd be great" Rainbow said, as she began waking with Doctor Don, her friends followed suit exchanging glances.

"So, the mare you brought in is in bad shape she has multiple fractures, bruises, cuts but that's just the minor stuff. She is malnourished and very underweight, from what we can tell she has been unconscious for days now. meaning her wounds are infected and her body is giving up. we are giving her everything we can provide her. antibiotics are being pushed and we've casted her broken wings and her foreleg, we put dressing on her cuts and now it's just a waiting game."

Rarity walked slower with her eyes glued to the ground worry creasing her face. Fluttershy slowly shook her head keeping her pose. Pinkie was actually serious for once in her life and instead of bouncing as she normally did, she walked slowly. Applejack reached a hoof onto Rainbow's shoulder while her face was blank and unreadable. Twilight was the first to speak.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Medically? no, unfortunately. Just being here when she wakes up is honestly all you can do. She's going to need somepony to lean on during her recovery."

"Then that's what we'll do." Fluttershy spoke with a timid determination.

"I'll bring her snacks and sweets when she wakes up!" Pinkie volunteered

"If she needs friends then that's what we"ll be" Applejack said looking from Rainbow to the doctor with empathy.
They walked on for a bit more in silence following the doctor through the twists and turns of the hospital.

Very suddenly a frazzled nurse with wide eyes, ran around the corner up too the doctor and group of ponies walking with him.

"Doctor! she's awake!"

3 Beginnings

"Doctor! She's awake!"

Dr.Don pricked up his ears and a brief wave of an unreadable emotion came over his face before he returned to his composed nature. He then started briskly trotting in the direction the nurse led him, completely disregarding the fact there were 6 other ponies following him.

"Has she said anything?" he asked in a serious tone revealing that any emotion previously felt was long gone.

"Not a word doctor. She's just curled up on the bed and wont let anyone touch her. None of the nurses including myself can get her to calm down. When I left to come get you, she was trembling and hyperventilating. We were scared she might pass out."

Dr.Don didn't respond but instead quickened his pace. The group of ponies turned one of the many corners in the hospital and then arrived in front of a room with no doors and inside was a yellow pegasus, breathing heavily and tense. Her mane and tail frizzy and filled with mud and brambles all matted up. Her coat was covered in dry blood and dirt so thick it was hard to tell the hue of her body. She didn't really seem in much better shape than she was when Dash found her in the woods earlier that day. She had an IV tube leading into her left arm and some of her deeper cuts had been cleaned and there was a paste on them, her wings were bandaged as well as her right foreleg. Her eyes wide with fear and all of her limbs tucked closely to her body, as if to try and disappear into the bed frame away from all the eyes attached to her.

Dr.Don broke away from the group of ponies behind him soon after they reached the entrance of the hospital room that now belonged to the mystery mare. He stepped from the hallway into the room and immediately gave orders to those around him the same serious tone projecting from his mouth.

"Stats please."

"Jane Doe, looks around 18, sustained multiple lacerations, trauma to both her sides and face, and a 3 open fractures to both wings and right foreleg, B.P. initially low but now up too 90 over 60 after IV fluids and O neg transfusion, she lost a lot of blood, sir but seems to be doing a lot better."

"Okay fantastic, lets get her under control and determine treatment plans."

"Yes doctor."

The yellow pegasus' eyes flickered around the room to all the faces looking at her all the while trying to keep up with the conversation between the doctor and nurse. The word 'terrified' was hardly enough to even begin to explain the fear she felt. She started to breath heavily again shaking and trying to push her entire body into a corner. Wandering eyes came back to rest on the scared mare.

Dr.Don walked over to the group of ponies.

"Sorry I'm gonna have to ask all of you to stay out in the hall for a while until we can get her calm and see if its okay for you to see her. We need to make sure she's relaxed and I think your presence might be a bit overwhelming right now."

Not even waiting for a response Dr.Don yanked the curtain with his mouth so it now covered half the entrance to the room.
Rainbow Dash shivered a bit and blinked a couple times.

"Um.. Dashie are you o-"

"I'm good Pinkie." Dash interrupted her before she could finish her question. She has had enough of being weak today, she wasn't about to let her guard down again.

"I guess we should go return to the waiting room then." Rarity said to no one in particular, trying her best to lighten the atmosphere that was growing tense.

"You guys can go ahead I'm gonna wait here. You heard Dr.Don she needs friends and I'm gonna be that for her its the least I can do." Obviously Rainbow objected to the idea of leaving the poor mare alone. Not after she had spent all of her day worrying... about a random mare she didn't even know!聽Celestia, am I going soft?!

"If your stayin' then so 're we sugarcube."

"Yeah, Applejack is right. We will be here for her and for you. Always." offered Twilight, putting a comforting hoof to Rainbow's shoulder.

"That's what friends are for." Fluttershy added stepping closer to Dash.

"Thank you guys."

Just as the group parted from they're quick hug, a small shriek came from the room they were standing in front of. Rainbow peered through the opening of the curtain to see what was going on. She took just a moment to gather herself then she took a short breath before entering the room she had just been told to stay on the outside of.

"Hey! You can't be in here right now." a nurse announced with a slight hint of anger in her voice, probably because she couldn't get anywhere near the mare.

Never the less Rainbow kept walked toward the hospital bed. She walked over to the side of the bed where the mare was sitting up straight, her emerald eyes glued to Dash as she got closer but she didn't move an inch.

"Hey" Dash started in a soft voice. "My name is Rainbow Dash, can you tell me your name?"

She reached a hoof out trying her best to get the pegasus to trust her. She quickly flinched at the sudden movement so Dash stopped and turned her hoof over letting the mare make contact in her own time.

"No one is going to hurt you here. I am not going to hurt you, I promise."

Rainbow looked deep in her chromatic eyes... past the fear, past the worry, past the pain... Behind it all was somepony who was buried underneath years of neglect and self hatred, somepony who was so lost within themselves that Dash didn't know if she'd ever find herself again. It was almost a reflection into Rainbow herself but quickly brushed away the thought.

In one quick movement the mare reached her hoof out and gripped onto Dash's. At first she was surprised and froze with eyes widening slightly, then she relaxed and held the mares hoof gently as she softened her eyes, a delicate smile appeared on the mares face and dash tightened her grip around her hoof and smiled back weakly, trying her best to project confidence to reassure the broken mare before her.

Rainbow looked away just for a second to glance at the nurse who was standing with Dr. Don and her friends near the door. She gave them a hopeful look and Dr. Don nodded then began to escort her friends to the waiting room and he and the nurse walked out of the room, giving them a moment alone. She then turned back to the pony who's hoof was interlocked in her own. As she turned to look into the mares eyes again, she slowly felt everything around her fade out and looking into those deep aqua eyes she lost herself in them once again. It felt like just her and that mare where the only ones in the entire world.It was a strange feeling she'd never felt before and it was especially strange seeing as how they had just met, but even so there was an automatic connection between the two that was undeniable. She squeezed her hoof reassuringly and then spoke.

"It's just you and me now. Can we start with your name?"

"Oceanlight.." The mare choked our her voice cracking and hoarse from lack of use or perhaps over use.

"Oceanlight, that's a cool name!" Dash said sort of awkwardly excited that the mare decided to did trust her. "Do... do you remember what happened?"

"I-I uh..." Ocean started to shake again remembering the events that had taken place earlier that day.. day? week?

"We don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want too" Dash tried to keep her from falling back into her previous state as best she could, considering the mare was still very unstable. "I found you passed out in the Everfree forest.. you looked pretty beat up and they said you had been out there for a while.Me and two other stallions brought you back here to this hospital and the doctors patched you up. Do you have any family or friends that can come and get you?"

"N-no..I don't have anyone" The mare said a single tear sliding down her cheek. Dash winced and wiped it away with her other hoof.

"Hey hey, it’s okay. I-if you want uh.. you can stay at my place until you feel better or until we figure something out?" Rainbow just blurted it out not really thinking about it. Like it was on impulse.

"Oh-uh-I um.. a-are you sure?"

"Totally." Rainbow smiled at that. Oceanlight smiled back a bit more color in her eyes than before.

Then as if on cue Dr.Don walked through the entrance of the room. Rainbow dash let go of Ocean's hoof and they both turned to look at him. He walked over to the pair and started to talk.

"So, Ms...."

"Oceanlight."

"Ah yes Ms. Oceanlight, your condition is significantly better then when you where first brought in today. We have agreed that you can be released upon certain conditions. The first is you will need to stay off of your hooves for at least 2 weeks and no flying for same amount of time. You have strong bones and your young so I don't doubt it'll be any longer than 3 weeks than you will have to be immobilised. The second condition is you but give us and address that you will be at for the next 2 months for you recovery process. You will need to come to the hospital once a week in that period of time for follow up appointments. The third condition is that you talk to someone about what you have experienced emotionally. I have had extensive experience with trauma patients and I always make it a rule that you have to talk to someone whether it be a professional or friend or family. Those are the rules so, what do you say?"

Oceanlight had been listening intently and taking in what the doctor had to say. It all seemed to makes since more or less. She turned her head to look over at Rainbow with a questioning look, almost as to get her permission to agree. She nodded her head back signalling that she thought Ocean to agree. After a moment she spoke.

"Okay." Oceanlight said plainly.

"She'll be staying with me" Rainbow interjected, making sure that Dr. Don knew that the second condition was taken care of.

"Great. I will get the release forms and then your free to go" He said then looked over to Ocean. "I'll see you in a week" Then he winked and disappeared out of the room.

Rainbow turned back to face the yellow mare.

"Awesome! can't wait to hang out roomie!!" She said enthusiastically doing a little backflip in the air.

Ocean couldn't help but giggle at her new friends odd behavior.

"Thanks for everything Rainbow Dash. I've never really had a friend before so, it's good to finally have one" The mare couldn't help but smile when the Rainbow maned pony tried biting her lip from the contagious excitement in the room.

"Yeah no problem! I'm gonna go tell my friends the news, I'll be right back. You good?

"Yep!"