Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 4: Alicorn

by Jeweled Pen

Avatar shorty 7: Shattered Rainbow

A small blue pegasus with a dark blue mane galloped up the stairs towards the top of the tower. His wings burned from the long flight to the city and he'd had to gallop to the building. His heart raced and his Wonderbolt uniform was soaked almost completely through with sweat, but he didn't care. He shoved open the door, making it clang against the door. “Mom!” he yelled, galloping inside.

There was only one pony in the room, a small yellow pegasus with a long faded pink mane. She smiled up at him. The smile was filled with sadness. “I'm... I'm sorry. She's already gone.”

“Where is...” His words died down as he looked around the room. It was completely trashed. Every picture, ever shelf, the desk, even the bed was missing one of its posts. The wood was cracked in a dozen places and even the blankets had been torn apart. “She's... alive? Fluttershy? Where'd Mom go?”

“Of course,” the mare said before giving a soft sigh. “She's... hurting now. More than... Prism, come here,” she said softly.

The Wonderbolt came forward and sat by the mare. He looked over and cringed. Up close it was easy to see how worn and beaten the mare appeared. She looked like a mare twenty, or even thirty years her senior, with deep, smiling wrinkles across her face. Her coat was fading to gray and her wings were limp. “Where'd she go?”

“I don't know,” Fluttershy said softly as a wing wrapped around the stallion. “She's not... she's suffered. Probably more than any of us have ever suffered. Given up more than...” She took a deep breath. “She didn't know she'd lose...”

“Dad, I know,” Prism said softly, tears wetting his eyes. “I should have... I should have been there.”

“If you had, she'd just be hurting more now,” Fluttershy said with a shake of her head. “She's lost her sight, her husband, her...” The mare shuddered. “She's lost more than any of us.”

“Is... is she coming back?” he asked gently.

“I don't know,” the pegasus said with a shrug, before coughing into her hoof. “I don't know if she can come back from this. A part of her has... a part of her is gone. A deep, bright part of her that... that can't be replaced. No matter how hard she wants it to be or... or how badly she...” A light tear formed in the pegasus' eyes. “I'm sorry I couldn't... stop her. I couldn't help her. I tried, I tried so hard. I told her it would be okay. That the pain would pass, but she wouldn't... she couldn't listen.”

“I should have been there,” Prism said with a soft sob, before hugging the pegasus. Her wings wrapped around her. “I should have... I wanted to be. I-I'm a Wonderbolt too. If I'd just... If I'd...”

“You couldn't be there. None of you could. You're still just beginning, they would have never let you... fight her,” Fluttershy said softly.

“I don't care! It doesn't matter,” he screamed, sobbing into her chest as he tried to hold back his tears. “If I had been there... if... if I could have stopped her... Mom wouldn't have been hurt. Dad wouldn't have been caught in that blast. The others wouldn't have died. I could have... I could have stopped this.”

Fluttershy gently put her head over his and shook her head. “I'm sorry, Prism. But there was nothing you could do. This isn't your fault, none of this is. It is a horrible, horrible thing that happened. But you can't stop it and you can't blame yourself. It's out of your hooves.”

“B-but why... I'm a... I'm a Wonderbolt. I'm supposed to be one of the greatest... greatest fliers ever. One of the best. But I can't... I can't even fix this... I can't stop...”

“Rainbow couldn't stop this. Nopony could have. That... mare is done, now. She'll never hurt anypony again.”

“SHE SHOULD BE DEAD!”

The wings tightened around her. “Perhaps. But that's not your decision. Prism, it's okay that you're sad. That you're upset. That you're hurting. Just let it out. Let the grief flow out,” she said softly.

He sobbed into her chest, the tears flowing faster as he finally gave up trying to stem the flow. “I just... I want to... I want to stop them. I want to... I never wanted any of this to happen. Why did it have to happen?”

“Bad things happen all the time,” Fluttershy whispered. “There are bad ponies all the time. We try to stop them, but sometimes other ponies get hurt in the process. We get hurt. But that doesn't mean we give up. You're hurting now, and that's okay. Everypony hurts. But you can't let this destroy you. Can't let this break you. Because there are still ponies that need you. That need the Wonderbolts. That need ponies that can save them. And I know you won't let them down.”

He kept sobbing into her chest, crying until every drop fell away. His nose ran and his throat hurt, but he felt better. Just a little bit. He slowly pulled back and rubbed his nose. “I-I'm sorry,” he said as he looked at her snot covered coat. “I-I didn't...”

“I'm not,” Fluttershy said gently as she patted his head. “You're hurt, that's okay. Never let anypony say that it's wrong.”

He nodded and closed his eyes, trembling against her. “Did she... say where she was going? Did she let you... let you know? Do you know where...” The words stuck in his throat.

“No, I'm sorry,” Fluttershy whispered. “Even in my prime I could have never hoped to keep up with Rainbow. Now, I don't think anypony could.” She rested her head against his. “She needs her space, she needs time. A time to grieve, to hurt, to fall apart and pick herself back up. I don't know how long it'll take. A few days, a month, even years. She might... she might even never recover.”

There was another soft sob from the pegasus. “If... if I'd been there. If we'd... if...”

“There was nothing you could do,” Fluttershy said again. “This was... this was something only Rainbow could do. She knew that. She just... never knew what it would cost her.” She gave a soft sigh and pulled back. “I know you... I know you're hurting and that's okay. Hurt as long as you like, as long as you need. You've lost a lot too. Just remember, don't let this destroy you. There's so much more ahead of you, a whole life. A destiny. You'll one day be a great Wonderbolt and then you'll save countless lives and make the world a better place. Just like your mother does.”

He whimpered and gave a soft nod. “I... I guess. I just... I...” Prism wiped his eyes and stared at her. “Can... can I... Can I stay w-with you for a little bit? I just I... Blaze and Ironwing don't really...”

Her wings wrapped back again him and she cradled him to her chest. “Of course. Take as long as you need. The pain will never truly go away, but it will fade.”

He nodded, laying his head against her chest and closed his eyes. Despite the damage to her body, she was soft, warm and smelled of soft lavender. It allowed him to relax as more moisture spilled from his eyes. He didn't know how long he sat there grieving, but the yellow mare never let him go or complained, comforting him as his heart shattered.

Comments

[GMZ_Casper]

Poor Dash, poor Prism, and poor Fluttershy. I guess we’ll find out what happen, either in another short or in the sequel. But man, this is a heartbreaking chapter…

C&Cs:
His heart raced and his wonderbolt uniform was soaked...
> Capitalize ‘Wonderbolt’.
Where'd mom go?
...mom wouldn't have been hurt.
> Capitalize ‘mom’ here.
Prism, it's okay that your sad. That your upset.
> Replace both “your” with “you’re”.
I just I... Blaze and Ironwing don't really...
> I got a feeling you mean 'It just I...'.

[eric-emanwu]

And THAT was why Toph (well, the blind half of toph) ran away to the Swamp in a life of solitude.

We begin with her son Prism. Running to a tower in his uniform....too late. Fluttershy was there, and unfortunately, Rainbow Dash was not. The place was savaged, and judging by Shy's complexion, it's at least a decade after the last flashback...unless ponies don't live as long.

But whatever the case, while not made clear....I think I know what had RD rage quit on being a wonderbolt. I think that the "explosion" mentioned was the first known terrorist attack by the Red Daisy. And your version of P'Li was there to cause the kaboom. And unfortunately, Rainbow's Hubby was caught in the blast, breaking RD one more time, hurting her warrior spirit one time too many, cause she lost an anchor that helped keep her steady. Then again, with a declaration of "she should be dead" makes me wonder....Yakone?

Also, even though shy started as a healer of physical pain, it seems the progression of the war gave her a new calling: healing of emotional pain. Hence her helping orphans and Prism with their problems.

Also, RD had 3 kids??? Wow. For a mare of action, when she wants to, she can really get a family going. I wonder what Blaze and Ironwing are like?

Well, whatever the case, RD's off on her self imposed exile. No doubt turning her kids into the beifong kids down the line (given they're the only kids focused on for this generation). And the old guard still help that prism close. Waiting for him to heal enough to get back up again for the next generation despite the abandonment.