//------------------------------//
// The Wing 
// Story: The War on Sombra 
// by MaskedFlame073 
//------------------------------//

	Approximately a year later, the war continues to rage on. Everypony in Equestria must do their part, be it manufacturing weapons, providing food and supplies, or simply moral support, no one is exempt from the stress of this war. The Wonderbolts have ceased their performances and use their aerial skills in the fight against Sombra. The Apple family has forgone quality in favor of quantity out of necessity, as has Rarity. Fluttershy has left her animals behind to help ponies injured on the battlefield, and Pinkie Pie has joined her sister, Maud, as a part of an elite task force in Celestia's army. At this point, the war had truly begun.

"Rainbow Dash! Get back in formation!" Spitfire's voice barked into Rainbow's ear, causing her to flinch. 

"No can do, ma'am! I've got a clear shot at Sombra, and I'm taking it!" She yelled, speeding up toward the imposing stallion, standing on a crystal formation. 

Sombra turned and saw Rainbow flying at him, and chuckled. "Does Celestia truly think one measly peagsus can defeat me?" He laughs, and stomps his hoof. A crystal spire erupted out of the ground just in front of Rainbow, but her Wonderbolt training had given her reflexes fast enough to dodge. "Hm. Impressive. But not good enough!" Sombra stomps his hoof again, this time the crystal hitting her wing, slicing it off with a loud rip. Rainbow screamed in pain, quickly falling from the sky. 

She hit the ground hard, knocking all the air out of her lungs. Her vision began to fade, the world turning grey and lifeless. Using the very last of her strength, she looked up and saw Sombra, cackling at her defeat. "Hate...you..." Rainbow muttered, falling unconscious. 

"Rainbow? Rainbow?! RAINBOW!!" Spitfire fruitlessly yelled into her intercom.



Rainbow slowly awakened to the sound of beeping. Her head throbbing in pain, she slowly opened her eyes before quickly shutting them against the bright light shining down on her. "Ugh...what the hay happened?" She asked weakly. She tried opening her eyes again, squinting against the light. She saw a white pegasus with a brown mane and glasses walking around her, muttering. "Who are you?" 

The pegasus stopped and looked at her. "Oh, good, you're awake!" He said, walking over. "Name's Booker, chief scientist and medical officer. You made a big mistake out there," He said, gesturing toward her left side.

Rainbow slowly looked over and saw...nothing. No wing, no feathers, nothing. "What?!" The beeping began to quicken as she panicked. "My wing! How am I gonna fly?! What am I gonna do?!" Booker sighed, sitting down and letting her ride out her tantrum. After a few minutes, Rainbow stopped screaming. 

"Are you done?" Booker asked, getting up. She nodded weakly, and he smiled. "Good. Now, there is a way for you to fly again, but it's dangerous, untested, and quite frankly, ludicrous." 

Rainbow seemed confused. "How? I lost my wing! Nopony can fly with only one wing!" 

Booker chuckled. "Precisely. And that's where this comes in," He says, wheeling in a cart with a metal wing on top. 

Rainbow's jaw dropped as she stared at it. "Awesome..." She breathed. 

Booker adjusted his glasses. "Yeah, but it's also incredibly dangerous." 

"Dangerous how?" Rainbow asked, sitting up in her bed. 

Booker's smile dropped. "Dangerous in that it could send an electric pulse through your entire body, stopping your heart. Permanently." Rainbow gulped as Booker's smile quickly returned. "But that was in an early prototype! This one should be completely safe, save for one problem." Booker started tweaking the metal wing, and the feathers on it responded by expanding and contracting. 

"What problem is that?" Rainbow asked. 

"It hasn't been properly tested, and the time it would take is time we sadly don't have." Booker said, looking under the wing. "Now, we don't have to proceed with the operation, but if we don't you'll probably never fly again. The choice, Lieutenant Dash, is yours." He finished adjusting the wing, and looked seriously at Rainbow. 

She thinks for a moment, then nods. "I'll do it." 

Booker smiles. "Alright. I've already adjusted the wing to your specifications, now all that's left is to map out your neurons, connect them to the fiber-optics, and hopefully have you be the first pegasus to fly with a cybernetic wing." 

Rainbow grins. "Piece of cake." 

Booker's smile softens. "For almost anypony else, I'd say no. But you? Just maybe. Now!" He clapped his hooves together. "Let's get this show on the road." He injects Rainbow with anesthesia, and she slowly drifts away.



"Uuugh...I don't think I'm gonna miss that beeping when I get outta here," Rainbow muttered weakly. 

Booker, who was sitting off to the side of her bed with his head in a book, smiled. "Yeah, it's not fun. What is fun, however, is what you've got attached to your left shoulder!" Booker said, gesturing to her new robotic wing.  

Rainbow looked down, and saw it splayed out across the bed, fused with her flesh at the wing joint. "Whoaw! This is awesome!" She said, looking at the wing. 

"Careful, lieutenant. We need to make sure everything's connected properly before you can have your way with it. I've needed to jump through loads of loopholes with Spitfire to get you back on the battlefield without PT." Booker said with a stern note of caution. 

Rainbow looked at Booker, confused. "PT?" 

"Physical therapy. You know, working out the muscles, testing the neurons, all that jazz. Your records were good enough to convince Spitfire that you didn't need it, just a basic check to make sure everything's working." Booker said, putting down his book.

Rainbow sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're a real windbag, you know?" 

Booker chuckled. "I've been told. Now, please flex your wing." He asked, walking over to a computer. 

She frowns, and the wing doesn't move. "Why isn't it working? I'm thinking about moving it." 

Booker sighed, typing something into the computer. "You've gotta actually move it. Just act like your old wing is still there, and move that." 

Rainbow concentrates, and the wing starts flapping out of control. "Aah! What the hay?!" 

Booker quickly presses a series of keys, and the wing abruptly stops. He clicks his tongue, thinking. "I was afraid that would happen. The wing's a little too sensitive to your neural impulses." Rainbow just stares at him blankly. "Nevermind. I'll tune it up, and we should have you out there before the day's up." They continue testing the wing, eventually tuning it so that Rainbow could fly better than ever. 

"This is literally the coolest thing ever!" Rainbow said, getting up from the hospital bed. 

"I can't find anything else wrong with it, so you're good to go. Just check in with Spitfire, and you should be ok." Booker said, getting up from the computer.

Rainbow froze. "Uuh, she's not mad that I left the formation is she?" 

Booker laughed. "Are you kidding me?" Rainbow relaxed before Booker continued, "She was furious!" Rainbow tensed up again as Booker slowly stopped laughing. "But she's alright with it now. You had a chance to end the war right there, nopony can blame you for taking it." He said.

Rainbow smiled. "Thanks, Booker." 

"Don't mention it. Now go kick some of Sombra's ass for me." Booker said, returning to his book. 

Rainbow grinned. "No problem!" She left the room to go see Spitfire.