Iron Mare 2

Gilda looked up at her father. Ever since she had returned, things had been getting worse. At first, it was just a few emotional outbursts from him, but as time went on, he got worse. He got angry. Eventually, he just disappeared for a time. Now, though, he was sick. The doctors said it was something to do with his head-wound never getting properly treated, but there was something else going on here, too. When he had come back, he had brought weapons and other materials, and she couldn't understand why.

At least, she couldn't until she saw the news. He had tried to take her on with a type of armor and a couple of whips, but failed miserably and was sent back here. Somewhere in between then and now, though, he had gotten sick with something. It was eating away at him and she could barely watch as he withered away. He was growing weaker every day and could barely stay awake anymore.

A loud noise caught her attention. It sounded like he was moving around, so she went to help him. When she got there, though, she froze. His feathers had mostly fallen out and his fur was matted and shimmering with sweat. His face was pale and he could barely look at her in his state.

She rushed over to him and helped him sit up so he could drink from the bottle on the table nearby. He gulped a few times before moving it down with his talons. Just over two years had passed since he came from that stupid attack, but it was a lifetime to him. Everything hurt, everything was too much.

"Dash," he said weakly.

Gilda chuckled ruefully and shook her head. "Still around."

"She-" he coughed a bit, some mucus and blood coming up. "She did this."

"I hate her just as much as you do," Gilda replied. "But you can't blame her for you getting sick."

"Poison," he said, his voice weak and his eyes distant. "She... poisoned me."

"She wouldn't do that," Gilda said. "She might abandon you and beat the crap out of you, but she wouldn't poison someone."

"Not on purpose," he rasped out. "The reactor. When it went off. Palladium."

"What are you talking about?" Gilda asked.

"Poisoned metal," he replied, holding back a cough. "She put it in me. She did this."

Gilda was confused. She knew Dash, even if they weren't on the best of terms. She would never do something like that. But she had been doing a lot of strange things lately. She had been attacking people. They probably deserved it, but she was never much of one to get that close to the fighting, not when it could end with her death so easily. She had been doing a lot more propaganda, too. She never liked that stuff, but now she was involved directly. So maybe this was just another thing that had changed. Maybe she had poisoned her father.

He touched Gilda's shoulder gently, snapping her out of her thoughts, and handed her a key and a piece of paper before leaning back in his bed. His breaths came out raspy and quick for a minute before they stopped. Gilda looked at her father, anger building. Rainbow Dash was responsible for this. It explained why it was so bad only after that confrontation. It was the only thing that made sense anymore.

She let a screech out into the air in her rage. She would get back at Dash. She would avenger her father's death. But not just by killing her. That would be too easy, and she wouldn't get to savor it as much.

She would make Dash bleed.