How the Tables Turn

Rainbow’s eyes slowly fluttered open. The whole room was one giant blur. There was a pounding throb coming from her right wing. With every throb of her wing came a throb in her head as well, which was not helped by the blinding white of her surroundings. She closed her eyes again, hoping to drift back to sleep, but the constant pain kept her awake.

She made to roll over - to her left side, of course – and immediately regretted it when the throbbing pain in her head increased to a hammering on the inside of her skull.

“Mmmm-hmmm.” Her body tensed up, waiting for the pain to subside, but it did not come. Apparently, her pained moan did not go unnoticed, as the door opened, revealing Ashes on the other side. She strode gently into the room, making sure to silence her hoofbeats. When she reached the side of the bed, she spoke softly as her voice would allow.

“Don’t worry about coming out, Rainbow. Just rest.”

“I can’t sleep. It hurts too much.”

Ashes placed a hoof on Rainbow’s chest, relaxing her to the bed as softly as possible.

“Don’t exert yourself. You’ll only make it worse.”

Rainbow found that when she was fully relaxed on the bed, eyes closed and mind unfocused, the pain came close to being a dull ache, though it was still there, present as ever.

“Do you need anything?”

“No.”

Ashes thought for a moment, then carefully and quietly shut the door to the room. She strode around Rainbow’s bed, stopping next to Rainbow’s right wing.

“Sorry if this hurts.” She tentatively reached out a hoof and slipped it beneath the bandaging on Rainbow’s wing. She lifted it carefully, glancing underneath. There was a lot of blood, but very little of it was still wet. She carefully lifted Rainbow’s wing, enticing a hiss of pain from her. “Sorry.” She carefully extended her other forehoof, reaching across the bandage and supporting Rainbow’s wing by its joint. She pulled down on the bandage, searching the wounds for infection. There were no signs of any. She let go of the bandage and took a more careful look at Rainbow’s wing, closer to where it met her back. She brushed feathers out of the way, observing the skin underneath. It was mostly a light blue, but a few crimson streaks ran away from the wound and towards her chest.

Blood poisoning.

She carefully returned Rainbow’s wing to the bed. She reached a hoof to Rainbow’s chin, turning her head to face her. Her eyes cracked open, wincing as soon as they did so, but staying open to observe Ashes’ face. They stared silently at each other for a while, Rainbow watching as Ashes took in the details of Rainbow’s face.

It was paler than Ashes had ever seen it.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t stress yourself, okay?” Rainbow’s eyes closed as she nodded in response. Ashes removed her hoof from Rainbow’s chin and left the room. She turned and strode into her own, grabbing the blanket that was upon her bed. She bundled it and carried it into Rainbow’s room, once again remembering to silence her hoofsteps as she laid the blanket over Rainbow.

Rainbow’s face visibly relaxed, and the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile as she was greeted by the fresh wave of warmth. Ashes tucked the blanket under her body, cocooning her within it. She very carefully pushed it underneath Rainbow’s wing, and wrapped it up and around again, providing her wing all the warmth it could get. Rainbow was visibly smiling now, calmed by the soothing warmth of Ashes’ blanket, and shortly, by the warmth of Ashes’ forelegs. Ashes whispered soothingly into her ear.

“I’m sorry this had to happen to you.”

“It’s not your fault. And besides, we’ll get out soon, right?”

Ashes smiled at the pegasus mare, running a hoof along Rainbow’s left wing, observing the feathers upon it. Primary… Secondary… Tertiary. She looked up at Rainbow’s namesake, her mane, the colors classified by the same three words.

“Perhaps sooner than you expect.”

Ashes pulled away from the hug and strode to the door, turning and getting another glance at Rainbow’s wings. She remembered how much she had always longed to have her wings returned to her, but now they were a burden to Rainbow if nothing else.

“Try to get some rest. I want you to heal long before Sunday rolls around.”

“Mmhmm.” Rainbow was still smiling, her pain ebbing away and making way for sleep, the need refreshed by the new warmth surrounding her, soothing her.

Ashes smiled softly and stepped out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.

“How is she?”

Ashes turned to see Phoenix in the hallway, glancing at Ashes with concern. Her face suddenly became grim, and she approached Phoenix, speaking quietly so that Rainbow would not hear her through the walls.

“We need to get her out of here, and fast. She has blood poisoning, and she lost too much blood as well. Without proper care, she has a few days at best.” Phoenix nodded, and the two of them turned their gaze to Rainbow’s door. They could hear a rhythmic breathing coming from the other side. She was undoubtedly sleeping. The two of them strode into the living room, passing the news to Cloud Kicker and Sunbeam. Sunbeam brought a hoof to her mouth to hide her shock, only succeeding in making herself seem even more shocked. Cloud Kicker only turned her gaze dejectedly to her hooves.

After a moment, Cloud Kicker’s hollow gaze filled itself with determination. “So, do you have anything planned for the escape?”

They spent the rest of the night planning and preparing to escape. That night they went to sleep with a new kind of fire in their hearts, a fire that only Rainbow could bring around. Only Rainbow could bring it, because Rainbow was the Element of Loyalty, and, whether any of them realized it or not, they were all about to learn what it truly meant to stand up for a friend.