Grounded

by DaPigeon01

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Rainbow Dash, Slice of Life
Length: 2506

A very short story about Rainbow Dash and the chance of never flying again.

After a disastrous injury, Rainbow Dash is forced to face the fact she may never fly again but Twilight Sparkle is there for her.

Published 2023-04-25 18:40:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-04-25 18:40:00 UTC

Chapter 1

Twilight slowly walked through the halls of the hospital with a small bouquet of various flowers whose color matched the mane of Rainbow Dash’s. It had been a week since her disastrous injury at the Wonderbolt tryouts and subsequently hospital stay. Twilight still remembered the crash, Dash’s cries of pain upon slamming into the ground like a meteor while crimson trailed behind her were still fresh in her mind. Eventually she reached the door and took a deep breath before poking her head in.

Dash was sitting upright and staring out the window into the big blue above as pegasi flew past. Gifts from the others sat on the nightstand next to the bed, and on Dash’s lap was a tray of untouched food. It was hard to tell how long the food had been sitting there but it was clear she had no interest in it. What made her heart sink was the fact that Dash’s left wing was gone.

Twilight knocked on the door, “Dashie? Can I come in?” she asked.

“...Sure,” Dash answered in a quiet and defeated voice, her head unmoving.

“I brought flowers. They match your mane!” Twilight said, walking over with a small smile and placing the flowers on the nightstand. Her somber look from earlier returned while Dash remained silent. She was like a statue, the only movement being her chest rising and falling in time with her shaky breathing.

“Dash, if you’re not okay then-” Twilight jumped back as Rainbow Dash threw her food tray across the room. The sandwich and drink splattered as silence deafened the room and Twilight began to slowly approach, her heart breaking further when she saw Dash’s face. Tears streamed down her face from her red and puffy eyes while her lips quivered, her whole body beginning to shake as she held onto Twilight, her sobbing filling her ears.

“It’s okay,” Twilight rubbed Dash’s head, “It’s okay…”

The next few hours were quiet, the only noise being Dash’s whimpers as she lay on her side facing the window. Twilight sat next to her, stroking her mane until she broke the silence.

“The doctors had to amputate your wing, didn’t they?” Twilight asked, looking at where the wing used to be.

“It’s not fair…” Dash said. Her voice was still shaky, but now frustration and anger could be heard in it.

“I know how you feel, but-” Twilight nearly fell off the bed when Dash sat up faster than lightning and whipped around to face her.

“No you don’t! I lost my wing, Twi! MY WING! I. CAN’T. FLY. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT MEANS TO ME!?” Dash got in Twilight’s face as she screamed at her. Her eyes were still wet with tears but now a mix of fury and frustration filled where there once was still a speck of pride.

“I…,” Twilight got off the bed and took a few steps back, “I’m sorry. I just thought-”

“What, what were you thinking?!” Dash hissed, the venom in her voice palpable.

Twilight held back her own tears, “I thought I could be nice.”

Dash’s anguished expression immediately softened, the regret of her outburst plain as day.

“I’m sorry, I…” She let out an exhausted sigh, “I’m not…I don’t feel…” Dash laid back down and turned her head to the usual position, toward the window to the sky and cursing under her breath. Twilight approached and sat on the bed again.

“Please tell me what’s wrong, Dashie,” Twilight pleaded.

“I feel…worthless. Like…like I don’t have a point anymore,” Dash said. Her voice was low and emotionless. It was like a blank portrait, empty space with nothing but the nothingness itself.

“You still have a point though, it’s not like this is the end,” Twilight attempted to reassure.

“My whole life has revolved around flying, Twi. And now…” She took a deep breath in and out as the quivering from earlier returned in her voice, “now everything I’ve been working toward my whole life is impossible. I can’t do my job, chase my dream…I’ve lost everything.”

Twilight cupped her cheek and gently kissed her lips, “You still have the girls and me. I’d say that’s still a lot.”

“I appreciate you and the girls, but that’s not the point,” Dash looked away.

“If you wanted to, we could get you a prosthetic wing. I don’t know if you could do tricks with it, but at least you would be able to fly again,” Twilight said with a small smile.

Dash stared at the ceiling, letting the idea bounce around. It was certainly appealing and would at the very least allow her to continue her job without much issue but something about it didn’t sit right. Could it be the cost of it? No, surely if Twilight and the others were willing to provide then that wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe it was the off chance it didn’t fit. But that also was easily solvable with measurements and the like being easy enough. If cost, usability, and fitting weren’t an issue then what was it that made her so hesitant about being able to soar once again?

“...I’ll think about it,” Dash answered.

“That’s not a problem at all,” Twilight gave a peck on Dash’s cheek, “hey, how about whenever they let you leave, we go somewhere nice? I think we both could use a day to relax.”

“I’d like that,” Dash smiled, “just let me know when and where.”

“There’s a really nice cafe nearby that has tables outside. If the weather permits, then I thought that could be nice!”

“I’ll go anywhere as long as you’re there,” Dash kissed Twilight’s hoof.

It had been a few days since Dash was out of the hospital and the sun was high and radiant when Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash arrived at the cafe. Boys and girls young and old packed the establishment while waiters and waitresses bounced from table to table.

“I didn’t realize how busy it would be. Do you still want to eat here?” Twilight asked.

“Only if you don’t wanna,” Dash replied.

“Hmm…oh, look! There’s still an empty table!” Twilight pointed to one of the outside tables that miraculously remained empty, the chairs still perfectly in place as if it was made for them. After Twilight insisted on paying and refusing to take no for an answer the couple took their seats and began looking over the menu.

“These deserts look awesome!” Dash exclaimed.

Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes, “Of course you go straight to the desert section.”

“Cause it’s the best section, duh!” She explained before an idea crossed her mind, “What if we get something to share?”

“Let’s see…there’s a chicken basket we could get,” She suggested. The menu boasted about the basket being able to feed three people.

“Chicken it is then!” Dash said. Eventually a waiter came to the table and jotted down the order. Shortly after their drinks and food came out and the two began talking, laughing, feeding each other pieces of chicken, all the while Twilight focused on Dash’s face. It beamed with joy and love and her eyes, while not filled with as much pride and cheer as in the past, were reminiscent of before the crash when spirits were always at an all-time high. Maybe one day, Twilight hoped, she would be able to see her Dashie zooming through the clouds with the ear-to-ear grin she loved seeing.

Moonlight shone through Twilight’s window as her and Dash smothered each other with kisses on every inch of the other's body, their hooves gliding along and exploring like a fish through water. Dash giggled and went below the blanket.

“Dash, what are you-” She gasped as she felt a sensation below the waist. Dash bolted back up and laughed.

“You’re so dirty!” Twilight giggled while playfully shoving them.

“You know you like it,” Dash replied, letting out a long yawn.

“Tired already? You always boast about your stamina,” Twi teased.

“I think your softness is making me tired,” Dash said, snuggling into Twi’s chest.

“All right, if you’re that tired then we’ll call it a night. Just don’t be surprised if you wake up and I’m not in bed. I’m not a late riser like you,” Twi held Dash like a teddy bear as she closed her eyes and began falling to sleep.

“Yeah, yeah…love you too,” Dash said, also closing her eyes. Soon, sleep would take her as well, and it would be in a perfect place, in her girlfriend’s loving arms.

At least, that was the plan. Five minutes became ten. Then ten became thirty. Then thirty became an hour. Dash remained awake no matter how many times they changed their sleeping position or kept their eyes closed. Not even flipping the pillow over to the cool side fixed it. Dash sighed and laid on her back, staring at the ceiling as she decided to space out and hopefully her body and mind would finally rest. Eventually, after what felt like ages, she began to feel herself drift into slumber as her eyes became heavy and shut.

A few minutes later they opened yet again and just before Dash let out an irritated groan, she noticed she wasn’t in Twilight’s house anymore, instead she was in the air. Wind rushed through her mane as she zoomed ahead like a bolt of lightning.

“No way…no way!” She laughed as she did rolls, spins, and a host of other tricks. As far as she could tell she was the only one there. No pony was on or in ground or sky, as if this place was made specifically for Dash.

“This is the best-gah!” While she was flying a sharp pain entered her left wing. It was like it was being stabbed. The pain began to repeatedly pulse as Dash started to plummet.

“No no no!” In a panic Dash began flailing, her wings fiercely flapping as they struggled in vain to stop her soon to be crash.

“Somepony help me!” She cried out moments before slamming into the earth. Rocks embedded into her skin and stung more than an army of bees as she skidded across the grass and left a large trail of blood behind her. She wailed in pain as she attempted to stand up but immediately fell back down. She looked over at her left wing where most of the pain was and felt her heart skip a few beats. It was a bloody mess of feathers and flesh flayed by the earth, a slab of raw meat still slightly twitching and dripping, soaked in its own blood. It wasn’t even wing shaped anymore, the bones shattered and cracked in every place imaginable causing folds and twists in ways previously thought relegated to only the most insidious of minds.

“Somepony…anypony…help!” Dash cried out. There was no response.

She began crawling towards a nearby river, remembering when Applejack told her rivers lead to civilization. As she crawled, she began wondering where everypony was and despite attempting to stave off the thoughts, she began wondering if anypony even knew where she was. For all she knew she could bleed out and it would be weeks before her body was found. All of those thoughts vanished when she blinked and saw swaths of ponies along the river.

“Hey!” Dash cried out. The ponies continued talking among themselves as if she wasn’t even there.

“Help!” Dash yelled again. This time one pony noticed and nudged their friend who nudged their friend. Soon everypony was gathered around Dash.

“I thought I’d never find anypony!” Dash exclaimed with glee.

“You crashed, didn’t you?”

“Yes, now help me!” Dash reached towards them.

“Is that why you’re crying? What a loser!”

“I thought Rainbow Dash never cried! You’re a joke!

“You should be ashamed!

“We’ll start calling you Rainbow Crash from now on!”

“I-” Dash covered her ears as the crowd continued their verbal assault, their voices growing louder and harder to ignore.

“Shut up! Shut up shut up SHUT UP!” Dash closed her eyes and screamed.

“Dash, what’s wrong?!” Twilight said, her voice shakier than a boat in a storm.

“I…Twi?” Her voice softened when she saw her lover’s face soaked with tears still streaming. She looked around and saw that not only was she no longer in bed, but she was sprawled on the floor a few feet from it.

“Are you okay?” Twilight held Dash.

“I…” Dash began sobbing, “I…had…a bad dream…” she said in between sobs.

“I’m here, it’s okay…I’m here…” Twilight rubbed Dash’s head and kissed it over and over. After a couple of hours Dash had calmed down and the two sat on the couch.

“...that’s when I woke up,” Dash explained.

“So that’s why you jumped out of bed…” Twilight said.

“I jumped out of bed?” Dash asked.

“Yes, it was quite sudden. You leapt, crashed, then started flailing around. I had no idea it was that bad however,” Twilight said.

“Sorry for being a bother…” Dash’s head hung low.

“Never apologize for having a nightmare. I’ll never hold it against you,” Twilight gave a reassuring kiss.

“Thanks…” Dash said, the idea of the prosthetic returning. She laid on her side as she began pondering. The idea of the wind caressing her as she danced with clouds almost brought a tear to her eye.

“Hey Twi…would you love me if I got a prosthetic?” She asked.

“Of course, I would,” Twilight chuckled.

“Okay…I’m gonna try to get some sleep,” Dash closed her eyes.

It was midnight and Twilight was still waiting outside the surgery room for Dash. She began imagining how the prosthetic would look, how it would move, and giggled at the thought of it being decorated with a mish mash of colors and stickers. Suddenly the door opened, and a nurse stepped out.

“Ms. Sparkle, Rainbow Dash is ready to see you now.”

Twilight nodded and entered the room.

“Hey Twi, how do I look?” Dash asked with a small, nervous smile. The new left matched the right but lacked color. It was a plain white but at least looked functional.

“You look great!” Twilight ran over and hugged her.

“Ow! Watch the wing!”

“Oh, sorry. Just…happy to see you. That wing is also quite a sight,” Twilight said. This was the first time she had actually seen anypony with one due to how rare they were in Equestria.

“Yeah, I was thinking of painting it when I got the chance. Maybe some stickers too!” Dash snickered.

“Can you fly with it?” Twilight asked.

“Not right now, but they said after some physical therapy I’d be good to go!” Dash beamed. The pride on her face could be felt by everypony in the room and her smile went from ear to ear.

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that,” Twilight said, focused on Dash’s face. The overwhelming confidence and joy in her eyes brought a smile to her own face.