Wingsby calamariChapters345681273Rainbow Dash showed off the place proudly. This was the cloud fort where she and Gilda had planned so many pranks and activities as fillies. Twilight didn't think much of it, but she was just glad to be on solid ground again. Well, actually, it was clouds beneath her feet. Whatever. She could relax here. The tour over, Twilight laid down. Rainbow Dash was now recounting some of her childhood experiences. Twilight reached her hind hoof up and tried to massage her aching left wing. Recovering from the turbulence must have put more of a strain on her than she thought. Rainbow Dash must have seen the rubbing, because she interrupted her story. “Sore, huh? That's why you need more practice. Once you build up your strength, you'll be able to totally blow through little eddies like that.” She moved behind her. “Sorry, that was harsh. I know you're trying your best. Let me help you.” Twilight soon found herself experiencing an amazing massage. Rainbow Dash was working out knots she didn't even know she had. Her whole body was becoming incredibly relaxed. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash, this is wonderful.”, Twilight said in a half-asleep voice. “Ah no sweat, ” said a cheerful Rainbow Dash, “what are friends for?”. She stopped rubbing for a minute and went in the other room. Twilight allowed her eyes to close. This was just she needed. She nodded off to sleep. 4Twilight Sparkle awoke to a strong pressure on her horn. “OW!” she yelled. “My horn!” She opened her eyes and quickly tried to assess her surroundings. She couldn't see Rainbow Dash, but her horn felt like it was about to snap. She started to panic and tried to get up, but couldn't. What was going on? She could hear her friend behind her, panting with effort, and she heard something that almost sounded like sawing. “Rainbow Dash, stop whatever you're doing at once!”, Twilight bellowed. Rainbow Dash didn't answer and continued her work. She was beginning to feel a bit odd now, like the magic power was beginning to drain for her body. What was happening? She just needed to get away from here, to escape. She tried to teleport, but couldn't. She wasn't strong enough. Twilight spotted an old baseball. If she could only levitate it... She concentrated with all the strength she had left and the baseball flew with incredible speed directly at Rainbow Dash, knocking her down. At the same instant she felt a horrible pain in her scalp and felt sick to her stomach. Rainbow Dash grunted and stirred a few feet away, but wasn't getting up. Twilight felt something warm running down her forehead. She was bleeding from her horn. What had her friend done to her? Why was she all tied up? She struggled against the ropes, but between the adrenaline and the odd feeling all over her body, she quickly collapsed in exhaustion. 5She awoke again, this time to find herself in another place entirely. It was dark but she could make out the walls of a rock cave. She was still tied up, but her wings had been freed. Maybe she could fly out of here... “I wouldn't try that if I were you.”, Rainbow Dash taunted. “We're on the side of a mountain. You're so weak now due to the loss of your powers that if you tried to fly out you'd probably plummet to your death. Ironic, isn't it? Your first visit to the Unicorn Range, and you're not even a unicorn anymore –” She opened her hoof to reveal a purple unicorn horn. Most of it had been cleanly sawn, but the edge was jagged where it had broken off. “Here, you can have this back, I don't want it anymore!” She tossed the horn to Twilight where it bounced off her side, and came to a stop a few inches away from her hoof. “Too bad it broke when you hit me. If it were whole I could have sold that for quite a few bits on the black market.” “Where are we? What have you done to me?” Twilight sobbed. “I told you, we're in the mountains of the Unicorn Range. This cave is another old hideout Gilda and I discovered. We both stopped using it a long time ago, but lately I've found it to be quite useful again. And it's pretty obvious what I've done to you. It's what I plan on doing to you next that you might want to know. Or not.” Twilight looked around, her heart beating faster. Doing to her next? Why was she in this place? What was so useful about it. Her senses seemed to re-engage and she smelled an awful odor of decomposition. She looked around and spotted a corpse, which looked like it might have once been a pony. Flies were buzzing around it. “Who is that?” “Oh, that's Derpy. I'm surprised. I really thought the buzzards would have picked her clean by now.” said Rainbow Dash casually. “You murdered that pony?” Twilight's heart started to beat more quickly. “Well, duh! When's the last time you saw her? When I applied for the Wonderbolt Academy, I knew I needed to step up my game. Then, I remembered a pegasus the town could do without. She caused all that damage to city hall without even trying. Sure she's a klutz, but I figured she must be pretty strong. So I watched her on her mail runs. Her speed was amazing. And now it's mine –” Twilight Sparkle was in a rage. “You killed her for her wings? That's horrible! She had a little filly. You should be –“ Rainbow Dash cut her off . “Who cares? I was a star at the academy thanks to these. I just have to dye them every once in a while and nopony knows the difference. However, I'm still no match for the Wonderbolts. They nearly cracked me at the academy, and I don't intend to disappoint them when the real training begins. Enough talk, we need to get started.” 6Rainbow Dash walked away and proceeded to dig through a box of tools. Twilight started to panic. “Dashie,” she started as sweetly as she could muster, “Please, let's talk about this. There must be another way. Princess Celestia could repair my horn and I could write you a new spell. Your wings would be stronger than ever!” Rainbow Dash paused and seemed to consider the offer for a moment. “Nah. You'd still be around, and sooner or later you'd be showing me up. Don't think I haven't noticed your speed. In a few training sessions you'd be passing me. You'd be in the Wonderbolts instead of me!” “Oh Rainbow Dash you're being silly! I don't even want to be in the Wonderbolts.” “Doesn't matter. It's too late now, you've seen too much. I know you'd blab.” Rainbow Dash moved over next to her with a clamp. Sensing what would happen next, Twilight flapped her wings furiously, but Rainbow Dash seemed to be ready for this. She felt a quick jab in her flank. Rainbow Dash withdrew the needle. “I was hoping not to have to do that, because I'll get a little jolt of the drug when I transplant the wings, but no biggie. Had to do the same before and I recovered all right.” After a few minutes Twilight's muscles became numb. Rainbow Dash resumed clamping down both her wings, and her body. She was powerless to move now. Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes and tried to make a psychic connection with Princess Celestia, with Spike, with any of her friends. But it was no use. Her magic powers were completely gone. The only pony she could talk to now was Rainbow Dash. 8“One down, one to go! Sure stings, doesn't it?” joked Rainbow Dash. “You realize you'll never get away with this. Ponies are going to notice I'm missing. They probably already have all of Equestria hunting for us.” “I know you don't think I'm too bright, but I actually have this all planned out,” mocked Rainbow Dash. “All I have to do is dump your body in the forest below. There are a pack of timber wolves that will make quick work of you. With tears in my eyes, I will claim that you had an unfortunate accident while we were flying, and tried to rescue you, but I was too late. Who would doubt my story? We're the best of friends!” Despite the bandage, Twilight was losing a lot of blood. She was beginning to feel light headed. Rainbow Dash seemed to be talking to herself now. “Princess Twilight. Stealing my glory, my spotlight. Not anymore!” Rainbow Dash seemed to be working even more quickly than before. More pain and another crunch. Both her wings were gone now. Rainbow Dash busied herself attaching the second wing. Stars swam in her eyes. Twilight tried to hang on. She felt she had to say something, but didn't know why. Weakly she spoke: “Rainbow Dash, I want you to know, despite all you've done and are doing to me, I forgive you. You were one of my best friends and I cherish everything we've experienced together.” Twilight looked at her friend one last time. She hoped to see some pang of guilt or recognition of the cruelty her friend had just performed. Rainbow Dash raised her new wings in a triumphant pose. “Thanks Twilight, you were a good friend. And now I will be the best flier in all of Equestria! Goodbye!”. Rainbow Dash picked up a large rock. Suddenly, everything went black. THE END Author's Note Inspiration for my story came from: the lack of Derpy in season 3 combined with Twilight Sparkles new wings, the negative reaction of bronies to Princess Twilight, the story Cupcakes, and artwork from day 6 of the 1st Equestria Daily Artist training grounds (day 6, image 156) where the artist oghm drew a picture of Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash's butchered wings tacked on her back, saying "Now I'm 20% Cooler!" http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z247/Oghma01/CrazyScoot.jpg 1Twilight Sparkle was enjoying the nice Spring day. The birds were singing and the temperature was just right. There was just a hint of an occasional breeze. She curled up under a tree and began to read a new spell book she had received from Princess Celestia. These alicorn spells were more advanced than anything she had seen before. She felt honored that the Princess trusted her with them and she was determined to learn each one by heart. A high pitched voice broke her concentration. Somehow Rainbow Dash was standing right beside her. “How can you be reading books on such a perfect day for flying! Come on! I want to show you a few new tricks!” “I was right in the middle of learning a tricky spell” fibbed Twilight, not doing well to hide the annoyance in her voice. “How about tomorrow?” “Come on! You've been putting off your flying lessons again, it's been over a week now. You don't want to end up like Fluttershy, do you?” Twilight began to voice her protest, but her friend was right. She had been given an amazing gift and she intended to learn everything she could about her new wings. She couldn't ask for a better day, or a better instructor. But, she couldn't let herself sound too excited. “Fine, “ she said, grumpily. “Let's go.” 2She had to admit she really did love flying. The feel of the wind rushing past her was exhilarating, but she also felt relaxed. Despite her lack of practice, her strength was increasing too. Sometimes it seemed she could almost keep up with Rainbow Dash, even when she shot ahead with a burst of speed, as she was so fond of doing. A burst of strong turbulence came seemingly from nowhere and nearly toppled her. She flapped her left wing as hard as she could and barely managed to avoid spinning out of control. Yes, her control still needed a lot of work. She made a mental note to improve that. And her stamina was not too great either. They had only been flying for a little over an hour, and she was already getting quite tired. Not to mention disoriented, due to all the loops and stunts they'd been practicing. Where exactly were they? She scanned the ground for familiar landmarks. Up here things looked so different. Sure she had been up in the balloon a few times, but that was with a map where she had planned the entire trip out in advance, and where she was paying attention. She spotted a large forest in the distance. But which one? There were so many: Everfree Forest, White Tail Woods, … She stopped herself. Listing the Equestrian woods wouldn't help her figure out where she was. She maneuvered close to her friend. “Where are we? I'm getting pretty tired.” “We're a ways east of the Galloping Gorge. Want to stop by my old haunt to rest a bit? Cloudsdale is closer than Ponyville.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She had half expected her friend to give her a hard time about today's lack of endurance. “Yes, that sounds great. Thanks, Rainbow Dash,” she said with a tired smile. 7Twilight Sparkle tried to think. What could she say to her friend? Rainbow Dash didn't seem to care about her at all now, she was just insanely jealous of her new wings. Wings she didn't even want in the first place. She never wanted to be a princess. She just wanted to be with her friends. Twilight Sparkle started to cry. She has always tried to be a great friend to Rainbow Dash. How could she turn on her so easily? “Rainbow Dash, please. We've been friends for so long. We still could be. You just need help.” Twilight Sparkle did not get a verbal reply. Instead, Twilight felt a sharp pain in her wing. She yelled out in agony. It felt like a giant pair of pliers was pinching her wings off. The pain was excruciating. “You think I ever wanted to be your friend?” Rainbow Dash said, laughing. “Egghead Sparkle from Canterlot with her magic and power and link to royalty,” Rainbow Dash mocked, “Always getting special favors and deliveries from Princess Celestia!”. Her voice turned serious. ”No. I was never your friend. We had some good times, but that's all. I've just been holding out, in hopes that I could use you someday to gain more power for myself. And it's working perfectly. I'm so close to achieving all my dreams!” Twilight heard a sickening crunch and felt a dull pain as the now lifeless wing separated from her body. Rainbow Dash quickly put a bandage over the stump protruding from her side. Then the blue pegasus applied some numbing agent. Twilight watched in horror as Rainbow Dash cut off her own wing, then stitched on the purple one in its place. There was no pain in her eyes, no regret. It was obvious Rainbow Dash had been planning this for a long time. This was everything she wanted.
3Rainbow Dash showed off the place proudly. This was the cloud fort where she and Gilda had planned so many pranks and activities as fillies. Twilight didn't think much of it, but she was just glad to be on solid ground again. Well, actually, it was clouds beneath her feet. Whatever. She could relax here. The tour over, Twilight laid down. Rainbow Dash was now recounting some of her childhood experiences. Twilight reached her hind hoof up and tried to massage her aching left wing. Recovering from the turbulence must have put more of a strain on her than she thought. Rainbow Dash must have seen the rubbing, because she interrupted her story. “Sore, huh? That's why you need more practice. Once you build up your strength, you'll be able to totally blow through little eddies like that.” She moved behind her. “Sorry, that was harsh. I know you're trying your best. Let me help you.” Twilight soon found herself experiencing an amazing massage. Rainbow Dash was working out knots she didn't even know she had. Her whole body was becoming incredibly relaxed. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash, this is wonderful.”, Twilight said in a half-asleep voice. “Ah no sweat, ” said a cheerful Rainbow Dash, “what are friends for?”. She stopped rubbing for a minute and went in the other room. Twilight allowed her eyes to close. This was just she needed. She nodded off to sleep.
4Twilight Sparkle awoke to a strong pressure on her horn. “OW!” she yelled. “My horn!” She opened her eyes and quickly tried to assess her surroundings. She couldn't see Rainbow Dash, but her horn felt like it was about to snap. She started to panic and tried to get up, but couldn't. What was going on? She could hear her friend behind her, panting with effort, and she heard something that almost sounded like sawing. “Rainbow Dash, stop whatever you're doing at once!”, Twilight bellowed. Rainbow Dash didn't answer and continued her work. She was beginning to feel a bit odd now, like the magic power was beginning to drain for her body. What was happening? She just needed to get away from here, to escape. She tried to teleport, but couldn't. She wasn't strong enough. Twilight spotted an old baseball. If she could only levitate it... She concentrated with all the strength she had left and the baseball flew with incredible speed directly at Rainbow Dash, knocking her down. At the same instant she felt a horrible pain in her scalp and felt sick to her stomach. Rainbow Dash grunted and stirred a few feet away, but wasn't getting up. Twilight felt something warm running down her forehead. She was bleeding from her horn. What had her friend done to her? Why was she all tied up? She struggled against the ropes, but between the adrenaline and the odd feeling all over her body, she quickly collapsed in exhaustion.
5She awoke again, this time to find herself in another place entirely. It was dark but she could make out the walls of a rock cave. She was still tied up, but her wings had been freed. Maybe she could fly out of here... “I wouldn't try that if I were you.”, Rainbow Dash taunted. “We're on the side of a mountain. You're so weak now due to the loss of your powers that if you tried to fly out you'd probably plummet to your death. Ironic, isn't it? Your first visit to the Unicorn Range, and you're not even a unicorn anymore –” She opened her hoof to reveal a purple unicorn horn. Most of it had been cleanly sawn, but the edge was jagged where it had broken off. “Here, you can have this back, I don't want it anymore!” She tossed the horn to Twilight where it bounced off her side, and came to a stop a few inches away from her hoof. “Too bad it broke when you hit me. If it were whole I could have sold that for quite a few bits on the black market.” “Where are we? What have you done to me?” Twilight sobbed. “I told you, we're in the mountains of the Unicorn Range. This cave is another old hideout Gilda and I discovered. We both stopped using it a long time ago, but lately I've found it to be quite useful again. And it's pretty obvious what I've done to you. It's what I plan on doing to you next that you might want to know. Or not.” Twilight looked around, her heart beating faster. Doing to her next? Why was she in this place? What was so useful about it. Her senses seemed to re-engage and she smelled an awful odor of decomposition. She looked around and spotted a corpse, which looked like it might have once been a pony. Flies were buzzing around it. “Who is that?” “Oh, that's Derpy. I'm surprised. I really thought the buzzards would have picked her clean by now.” said Rainbow Dash casually. “You murdered that pony?” Twilight's heart started to beat more quickly. “Well, duh! When's the last time you saw her? When I applied for the Wonderbolt Academy, I knew I needed to step up my game. Then, I remembered a pegasus the town could do without. She caused all that damage to city hall without even trying. Sure she's a klutz, but I figured she must be pretty strong. So I watched her on her mail runs. Her speed was amazing. And now it's mine –” Twilight Sparkle was in a rage. “You killed her for her wings? That's horrible! She had a little filly. You should be –“ Rainbow Dash cut her off . “Who cares? I was a star at the academy thanks to these. I just have to dye them every once in a while and nopony knows the difference. However, I'm still no match for the Wonderbolts. They nearly cracked me at the academy, and I don't intend to disappoint them when the real training begins. Enough talk, we need to get started.”
6Rainbow Dash walked away and proceeded to dig through a box of tools. Twilight started to panic. “Dashie,” she started as sweetly as she could muster, “Please, let's talk about this. There must be another way. Princess Celestia could repair my horn and I could write you a new spell. Your wings would be stronger than ever!” Rainbow Dash paused and seemed to consider the offer for a moment. “Nah. You'd still be around, and sooner or later you'd be showing me up. Don't think I haven't noticed your speed. In a few training sessions you'd be passing me. You'd be in the Wonderbolts instead of me!” “Oh Rainbow Dash you're being silly! I don't even want to be in the Wonderbolts.” “Doesn't matter. It's too late now, you've seen too much. I know you'd blab.” Rainbow Dash moved over next to her with a clamp. Sensing what would happen next, Twilight flapped her wings furiously, but Rainbow Dash seemed to be ready for this. She felt a quick jab in her flank. Rainbow Dash withdrew the needle. “I was hoping not to have to do that, because I'll get a little jolt of the drug when I transplant the wings, but no biggie. Had to do the same before and I recovered all right.” After a few minutes Twilight's muscles became numb. Rainbow Dash resumed clamping down both her wings, and her body. She was powerless to move now. Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes and tried to make a psychic connection with Princess Celestia, with Spike, with any of her friends. But it was no use. Her magic powers were completely gone. The only pony she could talk to now was Rainbow Dash.
8“One down, one to go! Sure stings, doesn't it?” joked Rainbow Dash. “You realize you'll never get away with this. Ponies are going to notice I'm missing. They probably already have all of Equestria hunting for us.” “I know you don't think I'm too bright, but I actually have this all planned out,” mocked Rainbow Dash. “All I have to do is dump your body in the forest below. There are a pack of timber wolves that will make quick work of you. With tears in my eyes, I will claim that you had an unfortunate accident while we were flying, and tried to rescue you, but I was too late. Who would doubt my story? We're the best of friends!” Despite the bandage, Twilight was losing a lot of blood. She was beginning to feel light headed. Rainbow Dash seemed to be talking to herself now. “Princess Twilight. Stealing my glory, my spotlight. Not anymore!” Rainbow Dash seemed to be working even more quickly than before. More pain and another crunch. Both her wings were gone now. Rainbow Dash busied herself attaching the second wing. Stars swam in her eyes. Twilight tried to hang on. She felt she had to say something, but didn't know why. Weakly she spoke: “Rainbow Dash, I want you to know, despite all you've done and are doing to me, I forgive you. You were one of my best friends and I cherish everything we've experienced together.” Twilight looked at her friend one last time. She hoped to see some pang of guilt or recognition of the cruelty her friend had just performed. Rainbow Dash raised her new wings in a triumphant pose. “Thanks Twilight, you were a good friend. And now I will be the best flier in all of Equestria! Goodbye!”. Rainbow Dash picked up a large rock. Suddenly, everything went black. THE END Author's Note Inspiration for my story came from: the lack of Derpy in season 3 combined with Twilight Sparkles new wings, the negative reaction of bronies to Princess Twilight, the story Cupcakes, and artwork from day 6 of the 1st Equestria Daily Artist training grounds (day 6, image 156) where the artist oghm drew a picture of Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash's butchered wings tacked on her back, saying "Now I'm 20% Cooler!" http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z247/Oghma01/CrazyScoot.jpg
1Twilight Sparkle was enjoying the nice Spring day. The birds were singing and the temperature was just right. There was just a hint of an occasional breeze. She curled up under a tree and began to read a new spell book she had received from Princess Celestia. These alicorn spells were more advanced than anything she had seen before. She felt honored that the Princess trusted her with them and she was determined to learn each one by heart. A high pitched voice broke her concentration. Somehow Rainbow Dash was standing right beside her. “How can you be reading books on such a perfect day for flying! Come on! I want to show you a few new tricks!” “I was right in the middle of learning a tricky spell” fibbed Twilight, not doing well to hide the annoyance in her voice. “How about tomorrow?” “Come on! You've been putting off your flying lessons again, it's been over a week now. You don't want to end up like Fluttershy, do you?” Twilight began to voice her protest, but her friend was right. She had been given an amazing gift and she intended to learn everything she could about her new wings. She couldn't ask for a better day, or a better instructor. But, she couldn't let herself sound too excited. “Fine, “ she said, grumpily. “Let's go.”
2She had to admit she really did love flying. The feel of the wind rushing past her was exhilarating, but she also felt relaxed. Despite her lack of practice, her strength was increasing too. Sometimes it seemed she could almost keep up with Rainbow Dash, even when she shot ahead with a burst of speed, as she was so fond of doing. A burst of strong turbulence came seemingly from nowhere and nearly toppled her. She flapped her left wing as hard as she could and barely managed to avoid spinning out of control. Yes, her control still needed a lot of work. She made a mental note to improve that. And her stamina was not too great either. They had only been flying for a little over an hour, and she was already getting quite tired. Not to mention disoriented, due to all the loops and stunts they'd been practicing. Where exactly were they? She scanned the ground for familiar landmarks. Up here things looked so different. Sure she had been up in the balloon a few times, but that was with a map where she had planned the entire trip out in advance, and where she was paying attention. She spotted a large forest in the distance. But which one? There were so many: Everfree Forest, White Tail Woods, … She stopped herself. Listing the Equestrian woods wouldn't help her figure out where she was. She maneuvered close to her friend. “Where are we? I'm getting pretty tired.” “We're a ways east of the Galloping Gorge. Want to stop by my old haunt to rest a bit? Cloudsdale is closer than Ponyville.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She had half expected her friend to give her a hard time about today's lack of endurance. “Yes, that sounds great. Thanks, Rainbow Dash,” she said with a tired smile.
7Twilight Sparkle tried to think. What could she say to her friend? Rainbow Dash didn't seem to care about her at all now, she was just insanely jealous of her new wings. Wings she didn't even want in the first place. She never wanted to be a princess. She just wanted to be with her friends. Twilight Sparkle started to cry. She has always tried to be a great friend to Rainbow Dash. How could she turn on her so easily? “Rainbow Dash, please. We've been friends for so long. We still could be. You just need help.” Twilight Sparkle did not get a verbal reply. Instead, Twilight felt a sharp pain in her wing. She yelled out in agony. It felt like a giant pair of pliers was pinching her wings off. The pain was excruciating. “You think I ever wanted to be your friend?” Rainbow Dash said, laughing. “Egghead Sparkle from Canterlot with her magic and power and link to royalty,” Rainbow Dash mocked, “Always getting special favors and deliveries from Princess Celestia!”. Her voice turned serious. ”No. I was never your friend. We had some good times, but that's all. I've just been holding out, in hopes that I could use you someday to gain more power for myself. And it's working perfectly. I'm so close to achieving all my dreams!” Twilight heard a sickening crunch and felt a dull pain as the now lifeless wing separated from her body. Rainbow Dash quickly put a bandage over the stump protruding from her side. Then the blue pegasus applied some numbing agent. Twilight watched in horror as Rainbow Dash cut off her own wing, then stitched on the purple one in its place. There was no pain in her eyes, no regret. It was obvious Rainbow Dash had been planning this for a long time. This was everything she wanted.
