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                    A Wing and a Prayer                    
                        -by Penalt-                        
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                    Ad Astra, Per Ardua                    
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Ad Astra, Per Ardua
Rainbow Dash was in bed the day the Wonderbolts died.
“HEROIC WONDERBOLT SACRIFICE!” screamed the headlines on the newspaper an orderly had left on the convalescing pegasi’s bed. Heart falling into her stomach, Captain Dash pulled the newspaper to her with her good forehoof and began reading the article to see which of her friends had died for Equestria in its fight for life against the Crystal Empire of King Sombra.
As Dash read the increasingly blurry words, the story brought all of her greatest fears to reality. Her team, her entire team was gone. Spitfire had unflinchingly led them all into a tornado packed full of razor sharp crystals, their combined wingpower turning it away from Manehatten and back into Sombra’s teeth, sending him running and wiping out his forces down to its last mind-controlled pony.
Which explained the faint cheers Dash had heard earlier in the hospital. Equestria had been at war with the Crystal Empire for three years now, suffering defeat after defeat until Princess Celestia decreed that every resource of the kingdom had to be devoted to Equestria’s survival. Even then, all they had managed to do was fight Sombra to a standstill with the battlelines stabilizing over the past six months.
Which is why the mass teleport of an entire army corp had caught Celestia by surprise, and if Manehatten had fallen, the loss would have springboarded the Empire back onto the offensive, with Sombra rolling up Equestria’s entire eastern flank like a rug. Instead, Sombra had nearly been killed and now Equestria was in position to do the rolling.
And all it had cost were the lives of the ponies Rainbow Dash had idolized, worshiped and emulated until she had been deemed worthy to join their ranks. Ponies who had been her heroes and later, friends who had been closer to her than her parents were.
I should have been there, Dashed cursed silently, face clenching in rage as her eyes went up and down the slowly healing wounds from her “interrogation” at the direct hoof of the Crystal Tyrant, when he had questioned her after she’d been captured at the Second Battle of Cloudsdale.
Rainbow’s guilty thoughts were washed away in the haze of remembered pain at what had been done to her, and the healing pegasus quickly blanked her thoughts the way Lieutenant Maud of the Inquisitor Corp had taught her. Trying to probe those memories still only brought barely remembered pain and confusion.
Worthless, Dash said to herself, feeling the uneven pressure from Sombra’s unkindest cut of all. When Dash had refused to break under Sombra’s questioning and give up the secrets of Equestria’s defences, the dark king had decided that if he couldn’t break Rainbow’s mind, he would break her body instead.
Removing her right wing from its first joint outwards, Sombra had let her crawl back to friendly lines where she had been found and rushed to the hospital to recover. And now, because Rainbow "Danger" Dash was a useless, cowardly pegasus who had let herself get captured and then crippled, all of her teammates were dead and gone as well.
The newspaper did a fine job absorbing the tears of a broken pony until there were no more tears left to give, and all that was left was the numbness of guilt and self-recrimination.
“Excuse me, Captain Dash?” asked an orderly, poking his head into the room over an hour later. “I’m sorry but we’re full up and I’m afraid we need to double everypony up.”
“Whatever,” muttered Dash, still staring down at the mess of newsprint that once had told a story.
Taking the lack of a negative response as permission, the orderly quickly went back out into the hallway and wheeled in a gurney with a small unconscious orange pegasus on it. Rainbow couldn’t care less who the latest casualty of the war was, but her soldier instincts automatic assessed the pony.
Female, barely more than a filly, small but sturdy wings, a bold cerise mane. One leg, no scratch that, the stump of one leg elevated and bound in gauze.
Another cripple, Dash thought bitterly to herself. At least she still has her wings.
Time passed in the regular ticks of a clock.
A groan from the bed told Dash that the other pegasus was regaining consciousness. Getting out of her bed slowly, she made her way across the room in time to see a pair of grayish purple eyes blink open and try to focus.
“Here kid, have some water,” Dash said, leaning over to put the straw of a cup near the filly’s lips.
“Thanks,” croaked the little mare, pulling on the straw.
“Take it easy, kid,” Dash warned, as the filly continued to slurp down water. “Too much, too fast and you’ll puke.”
“I know,” said the filly, in a better voice as the liquid eased the dryness. “Thanks for reminding me though.”
“Don’t mention it,” Dash replied, awkwardly making her way back to her own bed and climbing back in.
More time passed, broken only by the arrival of an excessively kind nurse who fussed over the little pony as they checked the squirt’s vitals and made sure that the stitches from the amputation were all good. Then the cloyingly sweet pony turned their attention to Dash.
“And how are we doing, Captain?” asked the nurse, reaching out a hoof to check Dash’s pastern pulse.
“I’ll be just fine,” groused the former flyer. “Or I will be once you quacks cut my discharge papers and send me home.”
“Maybe in a few days,” replied the nurse, in saccharin tones. “In the meantime, Doctor Moondancer wants to meet with you to talk about prosthetics, and see what we can do for you.”
“You go tell that mad scientist that she can take her abominations and stuff ‘em up her plot. Sideways!” Dash shot back, causing the nurse to furrow her brow in disapproval.
“Well, I never,” responded the nurse, haughtily. “All the Doctor wants to do is help you get back in the fight to help save Equestria. There’s no need to be rude.”
The squirt’s eyes were wide on Rainbow Dash as the nurse left without further commentary.
“You can always tell it’s ponyfeathers when they start capitalizing titles and telling you stuff is ‘For the good of Equestria,'' snorted Dash, by way of explanation.
“You… “ gasped the filly. “You’re Rainbow Dash!”
“Kid, I’m just—” began Dash, only to be interrupted by a squeal of joy.
“OHmygosh OHmygosh OHmygosh!” shrieked the little pony. “I’m roommates with Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash!”
“Kid—” tried Dash.
“I’ve read everything there is about you. I saved all the news clippings about you. Everything from the Seaddle Marine Battalion on. I can’t believe I’m—”
“NAME, RANK AND UNIT!!” bellowed Dash, as she channeled her inner Spitfire.
“Pfc. Scootaloo, Ma’am,” Scootaloo snapped out, bracing to attention as best she could in her bed. “Combat Medic, 1st Ponyville Volunteer Regiment, Ma’am!”
“Knock off the ‘Ma’am’ stuff. I’m just a useless cripple now, so you can save it for the Princesses, if you ever happen to see either of them,” Dash replied, now that she’d derailed the young pony’s verbal freight train.
“But you’re the Savior of Seaddle. The Weather Witch of Winnypeg. You spit in Sombra’s eye and lived to talk about it. You’re a hero!” Scootaloo countered, confusion on her face.
“And he hacked off one of my wings and let me crawl back so that Equestria could waste time and resources on me,” Dash replied back, letting the bleakness she felt inside show. “They should have just let me die. I mean, what good is a pegasus who can’t fly anyways?”
“Uh…” began the filly, nervously tapping her forehooves together.
“I mean, I just lost my whole team. But at least they got to die flying and knowing they were kicking Sombra in the teeth while doing it,” Dash continued, morosely. “I get to live as a waste of feathers and a reminder to everypony of what it costs to fight this war.”
“Um…” Scootaloo tried to begin, making quick glances up before lowering her gaze again to the tapping hooves in her lap.
“I mean… “ Dash let her depressive tirade trail off as what Scootaloo was doing registered on her consciousness.
“Sorry, I get wound up sometimes,” Captain Dash said, by way of slight apology. “What were you trying to say kid?”
“I can’t fly,” the little pony whispered, in an almost inaudible voice.
“Say that again?” Dash asked, having heard but wanting to make sure her ears were actually working.
“I can’t fly,” repeated Scootaloo, in a stronger voice. “I’ve never been able to.”
Rainbow Dash was dumbstruck. This itty bitty filly across from her was a combat medic, had been maimed in action, but couldn’t fly. It was beyond belief.
“You’re shitting me. Nopony would let a flightless pegasus join up, especially one your age,” Dash pontificated, trying to resolve the conundrum in her head. “No way you’ve never flown.”
“Mom’s a pegasus, but Dad’s an earth pony,” the filly replied, and Dash got it. Mixed tribe marriages didn’t always give their progeny the blessings of both, or in rare cases either, tribe.
“Do your wings work at all?” Dash asked, and for all her own personal heartbreak her voice was gentle towards the brave filly.
“They can push me along. I can drive a scooter or a cart like nopony’s ever seen before,” Scootaloo responded with a smile followed by, “I just can’t get any sort of lift, is all.”
“Still doesn’t explain how somepony let you join up at your age. You’ve got to be at least a couple of years short of the minimum,” Dash said, new respect for the pony blossoming in her heart.
“1st Ponyville Volunteer Regiment,” Scootaloo simply replied.
“Oh,” Dash replied, this time actually hearing the name of the squirt’s unit. Everypony knew what had happened to Ponyville when Sombra had come calling.
“Were… were you there?” Dash asked, noting how still her roommate had become.
“I wasn’t, and neither was Sweetie Belle,” the filly said, and Dash saw the pony’s eyes stare off into the distance. It was a look Dash had seen in the mirror a thousand times herself. “Apple Bloom was though. Apple Bloom was home.”
“You don’t have to—” Dash began to say, but Scootaloo kept talking and Dash knew it was best just to let her fellow warrior get it out of her system.
“Every pony I patch up. Every pony I get back to the safety of our lines. I don’t see their faces. I see Apple Bloom’s face on all of them,” Scootaloo continued, and with a blink the filly refocused on the here and now. “I couldn’t save Apple Bloom, but I can save them. Or at least I could.”
“Kid, you might be small and your wings might not be the best, but you’ve got the heart of a manticore,” Dash stated, feeling a passion she’d thought dead and buried rise up inside of her again, in response to the fan of the little pony's indomitable spirit. “I’ve been laying here feeling sorry for myself and figuring I was done, when you, this little squirt of a pony, comes in and shows me what real courage is.”
“But I’m a nobody,” Scootaloo protested. “I’m not like you. You’ve fought a hundred battles, beaten odds, spit in Sombra’s eye. You’re the bravest pony I know.”
“You know what bravery is kid?” Dash asked, getting up and out of her bed onto hooves that suddenly felt light as air.
“Not being afraid,” Scootaloo answered, her eye flicked to Dash’s stump of a wing before locking onto the face of her hero coming closer.
“Good try, but nope,” Dash said, rearing up to place her forehooves up on Scootaloo’s bed and leaning close. “Bravery is getting back up and going back in, even when you know it’s going to hurt. Even when you know the odds are against you. Going back in because if you do, you can make the difference that others can’t. That you can push back the enemy that others can’t, that you can save a pony that wouldn’t make it, that you can kick the flank that others miss.”
“Wow,” breathed the orange filly, her eyes wide and shining like diamonds.
“Never doubt that you’ve got that kind of courage, squirt,” Dash persevered, ruffling the kid’s mane affectionately. “You’ve proved it every time you helped another pony. I think your friend Apple Bloom would have been proud of you.”
Captain Rainbow Dash dropped back down to the floor before snapping off a parade ground salute, “I know I’m proud to have met you.”
Unshed tears of joy filled the filly’s eyes as she returned the salute from her beloved hero. Both ponies held the position until Scootaloo broke it first as a thought intruded on her mind.
“Th-Thanks, but I guess my brave days are over,” the pony commented, waving a hoof toward the stump of her rear leg. “I just want you to know that this means… means a lot to me.”
“Missing leg eh?” Dash asked, with smirk as a thought occurred to her. “Tell you what kid, if I can do something about that leg, would you be willing to go back out and keep doing Equestria proud?”
“Would I?!” Scootaloo asked, the nearly shouted question far more a statement.
“ORDERLY!” bellowed Captain Dash.
“Yes?” asked the pony a few moments later, poking their head in through the door.
“Get Doctor Moondancer here, stat,” demanded Dash. “I wanna talk to her about those prosthetics of hers.”
“So that’s the deal Doc,” Rainbow Dash was saying a few hours later to the white coat clad unicorn. “I’ll test out this new wing of yours, IF you also fit my little buddy here for a new leg as well.”
“But the components are extremely rare and highly expensive,” Doctor Moondancer argued, as she stood beside a mess of silver and steel in the shape of a wing that was laid out on a gurney the doctor had wheeled in. “I’m not even sure if we even have enough material for a leg as well.”
“That’s my price, Doc. You want the best flyer in Equestria to try out that wing for you, and I’ll do it for you, but you’re gonna have to get a leg for the best field medic around while you’re at it,” Dash tossed back, smiling to the filly who had shown her big courage flew on small wings.
“Well, I’ll have to see if I can requisition the materials, and consult with the Quartermasters Corp and get authorization from Command—” previcated the doctor.
“No need,” said a voice of utter authority, as the door opened to admit Princess Celestia flanked by multiple bodyguards.
Both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo immediately saluted their Commander-in-Chief who was as usual armored and ready for a fight wearing her ensorcelled armor and golden solar glaive at her side.
“I heard your request, Captain Dash, and I have one question for you,” Celestia continued, her eyes examining the filly on the other bed. “Do you believe that this filly will make good use of a leg from Moondancer?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Dash replied, with zero hesitation. “She’s the bravest filly I’ve ever met.”
“Very well,” Celestia agreed, and for a moment Dash thought she could see wheels within wheels in the eyes of his Princess. “Doctor Moondancer, you will construct a leg for this filly of similar workings to that of the wing you will be providing to Captain Dash, is that understood?”
“Yes, your Solar Highness,” replied Moondancer, bowing low.
“As for you Captain Dash,” Celestia continued. “Upon becoming familiar with your new wing, your orders are to rebuild the Wonderbolts. As its leader.”
“Ma’am, with all due respect, my team isn’t even cold in their graves yet,” Dash stated, trying not to quail at the steadfast gaze of her monarch. Though for a moment Rainbow could have sworn he saw a flicker of compassion in those calculating eyes.
“There must be a continuity of things if my ponies are to keep hope alive,” Celestia explained. “You are the last of the old Wonderbolts, and so are best suited to be the first of a new team.”
“Any team I put together will be only a shadow of what the Wonderbolts were,” Dash argued, but even to her it sounded like a weak argument.
“Do your best. You have authority to have any pony you choose reassigned to your new team,” Celestia ordered, and Dash could have sworn his monarch winked at him for a moment. “Do not overly misuse this authority. Am I understood?”
“Yes Ma’am!” Dash replied, saluting again. “You’ll have my best, Ma’am.”
“Thank you,” the warrior princess said, turning and leaving the room, with her bodyguards and a sunstruck Moondancer trailing in her wake who was feebly arguing about cost overruns and material sourcing.
Silence filled the room for a few moments, only to be broken by an excited outburst.
“That was the PRINCESS. The PRINCESS was here! Talking about ME!” Scootaloo practically squealed.
“You know kid,” Rainbow Dash began, savouring the moment. “Elite flyers rack up a lot of injuries, and my new team is gonna need somepony experienced in taking care of warfighters. Whaddya say kid? Wanna join the Shadowbolts?”
Author's Note
This story was written for my long time Patreon supporter, Raging Mouse. Thank you very much for all you've done over the years, and I hope you've enjoyed this story.