Angel Wings, Broken Rainbows

Her heartbeat was all she could hear as the cone formed around. She reached top speed as the visible light spectrum shattered, a brilliant explosion of all colors spread across the land below. She surpassed her limits as the rainbow trail followed closely behind her. The Sonic Rainboom. A creation of her very own, something nopony else was ever able to do, and likely never will. This would always be hers, even if.....

"Rainbow! That was amazing!" an innocent and undeniably cute voice brought Rainbow Dash away from her thoughts and back to the reality at hand.

"Aww, thanks Fluttershy." In the wake of the Rainboom, Rainbow Dash almost forgot that she'd invited Fluttershy to watch her practice today.

"Oh, no, you don't have to thank me Rainbow. It's the truth. You are awesome."

Rainbow Dash turned her head away hoping Fluttershy didn't notice the red slowly coloring her face. She tried but she couldn't help turning back to the beautiful canary colored mare standing before her. She was so gentle, not just to her animal charges, but to everypony and everything. It was no wonder her Element is kindness. She is the opposite of me. I'm crass and showy, she's demure and innocent. Why do I have to love her so much? Rainbow thought to her herself as she noticed a pair of turquoise eyes full of concern in front of her.

"Rainbow Dash, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, "You just looked really sad for a moment there."

"Nah, I'm fine 'Shy. It's just....the Sonic Rainboom takes a lot out of me. Yeah that's it."

"Oh my. Maybe you should head back home and get some rest. I can help you practice again tomorrow."

"Sounds great."
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They had been walking for quite a while. Fluttershy had insisted they walk because Rainbow had been acting strangely after the Rainboom. It was Rainbow Dash who finally broke the silence.

"Hey 'Shy?"

"Yes?"

"Do you ever have second thoughts.....about us? I know it's pretty pathetic to still think about it after all these years, but I told you how I felt back in flight school, and we talked, and it hasn't come up since. We've only become closer since then, so I was just curious."

"Oh Rainbow.....I love you. I always will. You are my best friend in the world, but I just don't think of you that way. I'd like to, I mean, anypony would be lucky if you loved them. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hate myself a little for it, but we're friends Rainbow. Best friends, but just friends." The words left Fluttershy's lips as concurrent tears began sliding down her cheeks.

Rainbow heard these words once before, back in flight school when she first confessed to Fluttershy. They hurt then, and hurt even more now, but she had honestly not expected any different.

"Don't cry Fluttershy. I'm sorry I brought it up again. I love being around you and I never want to lose you. You are my best friend too, and even though I want you to be more than that, I don't blame you. Just forget I said anything. I hate all this sappy stuff."

A weak smile formed on Fluttershy's face, doing well to mask the concern and pain she felt. Everything she said was sincere, but she couldn't help how she felt, and it killed her inside. But still Rainbow's smile lifted her spirit back to where it belonged.

"Let's get home. You're going to need to rest if you want to outshine yourself tomorrow."

"It's gonna be hard to reach an even greater level of awesomeness, but I'll make it happen!"
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"Promise me you'll take it easy going home."

"Okay I promise."

"Pinkie Promise."

"Yeah yeah. Heart, fly, cupcake. All that." Rainbow waving her hoof in a semi-circle in front of her.

"I guess that's good enough," Fluttershy said as she took her friend in a comforting embrace.

" 'Shy, I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay Rainbow. Be careful." With that, the yellow pegasus closed the door of her little cottage, leaving Rainbow Dash alone with her thoughts.

She began the long walk back to her house in the sky. She could have easily made it back much sooner if she'd taken flight, but she did just make a Pinkie Promise and honestly, she wanted this time to think.

Fluttershy doesn't love me the way I love her. I know I'll never be good enough for her, I know she's straight, I know she'll always be my best friend. What I don't know is why this has to hurt so much. Maybe its just not meant to be. Maybe all this waitng I've been doing has caused nothing but pain, to me and to Fluttershy. Maybe I should move on. Try to find another stallion or mare that can make me happy. I'll never stop loving Fluttershy, but maybe I can love somepony else too.
Rainbow Dash's inner conversation concluded as she rounded a corner and looked up to see her cloud home above her. She spread her wings for the first time since the Sonic Rainboom and prepared to take to the air-

-CRACK!-

The most sickening noise rang out all around her. Some sort of strong pressure on the back of her head persisted, and slowly, her world turned black.
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Rainbow awoke to a terrible throbbing and a sharp pain in the back of her head. She looked everywhere around her, trying to figure out where she was. It was no use, everything was black. She tried to call out but all that she heard was a muffled moan. She'd been knocked out, gagged, blindfolded, and -she struggled- her wings and forhooves had been tied behind her back. She was lying on her stomach on some smooth surface but she realized her rear hooves were touching the ground. She struggled again but found that her legs had been tied to something. She had been bent over and bound to a table. The panic began to set in as she started thrashing any way she could, the ropes cutting into her wrists and ankles more and more.

She suddenly felt something strong push on back, flattening her against the table. Another hoof began digging into her flank. Then she felt something rigid poke against her marehood, and the full gravity of what was going to happen hit her.
And then there was nothing but pain. Each motion sent razorblades through her body as something warm began running down her legs. Rainbow Dash had never screamed harder in her life. There was no sound, not even the muffled gags, but still she continued that inaudible scream. There was a sudden jolt and then searing heat spread throughout her. She did not think that this pain could get any worse but when that heat reached her ruined purity, everything went white.

The last thing she felt before the black came back engulfed her was a new warmth running down her legs.