I'm Still Here

by Ribe_FireRain


Sunrise - Part One - Town

Early morning daylight split through the darkness of the inside of the cottage, bringing in with it a warm radiance that replaced the cold temperatures on the inside of the household with a comforting heat.

A few chitters and scampers and squabbling could be heard as the ears of three sleeping bodies in the living room of the cottage stirred awake as the sunlight made contact with their cheeks, like the warming touch of an angel's hand. A small purple eye lazily raised and closed a few times, eventually opening them and allowing a small, silent yawn escape her lips.

From on the sofa where she was sleeping, cradled in the soft, cyan hooves of her sister, the orange filly felt her muscles relax under the inviting, cozy sensation, a feeling that was rare for her to feel. Glancing behind her, she saw that Rainbow Dash had her chin resting peacefully by the filly's side, snuggled between the plushness of the sofa and her orange fur.

She smiled before facing the sofa across from her, seeing the homeowner of the cottage snoozing lightly, an undisturbed smile upon her lips as her chest rose and arose softly. Her pink curtain of mane was hung in a droop over one of her eyes, leaving the other, remaining eye visible. Whilst it was closed, the filly could sense the tranquil behind it.

A pair of birds flew overhead, their wings gliding with grace against the air as they flapped with great delicacy, the animals landed on a perch affixed to the wall, their well-kept claws on their feet holding them with security as they watched the trio in the living room. Scootaloo stared up to them, noticing that the birds were hummingbirds. One was a light green with black underside feathers on its wings. The other was similar in appearance, but instead sporting vibrant blue feathers with a splotch of white located a short ways beneath its beak, at tap above halfway upon its throat.

It stared back to the filly, returning her gaze. It lifted up a wing and scratched at its feathers with its long, black beak. With a small ruffle of its feathers, the bird puffed itself out, a few small and loose feathers falling free from its body and landing on the floor below.

One of the tiny pieces of feather came to a rest on Scootaloo's nose, lightly touching down on the very tip of her muzzle. She scrunched her nose and became cross-eyed as she stared at the lone feather, her breath causing it to brush gently against her nostrils as she breathed.

It tickled. She felt a tingling in her nostrils, like she had a mouse or other furry critter wafting its hairs on the very edge of the entrance to her nose. She huffed in a breath a few times and her eyes began to itch along with the sensation.

Before she could even have the time to react fast enough, the two mares on both of the sofas in the living room jumped up in surprise and panic after the small filly gave an almighty sneeze that could put the roar of a Manticore to shame.

Rainbow Dash managed to let out a fast and almost unintelligible ''Huh?! What?! Where?!'' in a single hyperactive sentence before she fell from the air and crashed to the floor in a heap. Directly on her injured wing.

A scream of agony erupted from her lips as a searing pain bolted through her nerves, like a bunch of nanites scurrying through her bodily fibres.

Fluttershy's own panicked mind set into panic and concern as she saw her closest friend on the floor. Forgetting her earlier scare, her mind sent her to Dash's side in a snap, hurriedly pushing the table away from next to where she landed in the process to give her more space.

She knelt down beside Rainbow and lightly wrapped her hooves around her side, giving herself a firm hold of her barrel and centre for her weight. With a smooth yet gentle lift and heave, Fluttershy managed to pull her into a straight position, with her belly and chest facing the floor. The injured pegasus let out a few moans and groans of pain gushing throughout her body as her friend lowered her down into a laying position.

''Hold still, Dashie.'' Fluttershy said soothingly, a hoof lightly touching the middle of Dash's back and her other touching around on her head to check for any cuts to her head region. After pushing around a few patches of multi-hue mane around to search and make sure that she hadn't hit herself on the table on the way down and earned herself a nasty gash, Fluttershy breathed out in relief at seeing that she was all clear. ''Oh, good, your didn't hit your head. I was worried.'' She said softly.

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth, her eyes clamped as she could still feel the pain pulsing. It wasn't as consistent as it was a minute ago, but it was still enough to feel like she just got kicked in the side by a buffalo.

''Rainbow Dash! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-!''

''Save it!'' Dash snapped, suddenly and unexpectedly cutting her younger sister off. Scootaloo felt her eyes tingle at knowing she upset her older sister. Never in her time of knowing the pegasus that she idolizes and admires has she ever taken on this form of harsh tone with her. Not once has her voice ever been raised towards the young filly, and now that it has happened, she felt herself take a few large strides backwards out of fear, her lips clamping together in a seal.

Rainbow's rose eyes only glanced to her before rolling towards the other pegasus, whom was now undoing the bandage to Dash's left wing. Just from glancing at it in all of the enveloping bandages, one could easily tell how much discomfort it was causing her.

Carefully unraveling the layers of bandages and gauze, Fluttershy could hear Dash squirm a little, although it sounded as if she was attempting to muffle her own pain through a mask of toughness. The bandages she obtained from the hospital were bound around Dash's barrel tightly, and due to the knowledge that Fluttershy knew there wouldn't simply come off with an idle tug, she found it necessary to quickly grab her medical box from a kitchen cupboard and return in a matter of seconds.

It was a simple, white box made out of plastic and it had a red cross on the lid, each corner of the red cross detailed with pink butterflies, equal to the ones adorning Fluttershy's flanks.

Pulling out a pair of medical scissors, she began to cut the bandages off, starting by clipping a safe distance below her wing and then making another incision above her wing, completely detaching the patch covering her wing and allowing it to be removed. With care, she gently peeled it from her friend's wing, placing the dirty bandage to the floor next to her and she removed the remaining part resting on her back by simply pushing it off of her, letting it land on the floor on the opposite side of Dash.

''Oh...oh, my.'' Fluttershy whispered, getting her first glance at the injuries that were concealed only moments ago. She lightly brought a hoof to the underside of the damaged wing and slowly and carefully pulled it towards her, allowing it to unfurl. A few twisted and split blue feathers fell free as she did so, and only then did she notice the bumps and raised parts in the wing. It was more than obvious that the forceful blow she took has done more than simply sprain her ligaments and wing muscles.

It may not have been the worst type of injury that Rainbow Dash managed to inflict upon herself when an aerial stunt went southwards, but it was certainly a painfully unpleasant feeling. It reminded her of a time that she first started practicing her techniques as a teenager, hoping to impress the Wonderbolts one day, only to find that it was harder than it looked, resulting in an ending in which she nearly lost one of her wings permanently. Despite her past experiences with stunt making, she was very far from willing to give in to the pain, and she has stood her ground ever since.

From her previous experiences with helping her fellow critters and animal friends, she knew that this wing was undeniably broken, in more than two areas. The middle of her wing was raised up, and some parts were even pushed out to the sides, a clear indication that her bones were indeed broken.

''H-Hey! Ow! Stop it!'' Rainbow seethed through her teeth, cringing visibly at the touch of Fluttershy's hoof to her fractures. ''That hurts!''

''Oh, I know it hurts, Dashie, but I have to help you.'' Fluttershy said softly. She inspected the wing further, frowning heavily.

''What?'' Dash asked impatiently, taking notice of her frown.

''Wait here.'' Fluttershy said, releasing her hold on the wing.

Fluttershy had left the room and ascended up the stairs towards her bedroom before Rainbow Dash could make a retort. Now the only ones that were left in the room was Scootaloo and Rainbow. The filly stared at Dash for a moment, but tore her gaze away when she noticed the glare burning behind her rose eyes. It was more than clear that she wasn't in the mood to talk to her, nor acknowledge her. She was practically a ghost to her at this point in time.

The filly bit her lower lip and hugged her tail, burying her chin into it as she plopped her flank down on the floor. It brought her some warmth, but all she felt was cold on the inside.

She stared upwards towards the small perch where the two hummingbirds were sitting, watching the scene before them.

This is your fault, you dodo. Dash doesn't like me anymore.

It wasn't me who sneezed. A voice said innocently, though with a slight cocky hint to it.

Wait, did you just speak to me? Scootaloo asked internally, her mind rolling in disbelief. Am I really talking to a hummingbird?

Why, yes you are. Well spotted, little chicken. A small, tweety voice chuckled. Didn't you know that all animals can talk?

Scootaloo's eyes widened. Chicken?! Who are you calling a chicken, chick?! I'm a pegasus! Like you, I have wings! She retorted, pouting at the bird. The same, small and almost sing-song-like voice chuckled back.

A pegasus? Now, that is a proper joke. Who are you kidding, you can't even lift your hooves from the ground. It said, mockingly, much to the young filly's annoyance.

Scootaloo scoffed out loud. Oh, really, now?! I'll show you!

She unfurled her small wings from her sides, allowing them to fan out to their full lengths, all of her feathers standing out in alignment. Her feathers were well-preened and kept in good health, and eyeing the bird, she gave one last pout before she began to flap.

Her small wings buzzed and she pumped them as fast as she could, only a small amount of air managing to be produced by the force of every flap.

She stood there in a take off stance, mimicking the posture of a Wonderbolt and over around a minute or so of building up her momentum, she managed to lift her hooves off of the floor, but only about a few inches at the most as she hovered. Her breath was cut short in a short amount of time after lifting from the floor, and she huffed and puffed, her lungs burning from the lack of oxygen and energy, causing her to drop back to the floor with a loud thud, landing in an orange heap.

She panted and gasped, small beads of sweat trickling from her brow. She looked up to the hummingbird again, seeing that it was hiding its beak behind its wing, almost as if it was covering up a snicker.

Correction: a pegasus that can't hover. It said, its tone as a mocking laugh. A shame, really. I'm amazed and surprised that Rainbow Dash even took you in, never mind adopted you as her sister. I'd be embarrassed.

Small tears built up behind her eyes. She could feel them burn along with the anger in her heart for her set backs. And now she was being laughed at by a bird? By the love of Celestia, she truly did feel pathetic.

She wanted to cry then and there, but the only thing holding her back from doing so was knowing that if she did, she would always be seen as weak and pathetic in front of Rainbow Dash. That was the last thing she would ever want on her list of embarrassing life moments.

She wiped her eyes, still feeling the stare of the bird on her skull, bearing down on her like torches melting her brain. ''Screw you.'' She said.

''Uh, what?'' Dash said from behind her. ''What was that, kid?'' She asked, and Scootaloo twirled around on the spot with a gasp, surprised. Her cheeks burned with a blush and she had trouble bringing her eyes up to Dash, feeling minuscule under her gaze.

''I, um...how much did you see?'' She asked lowly, scratching her hoof.

''More like ''How much did you hear''.'' Dash said with a raised brow, giving the filly a scowl of disapproval. It was right then that Scootaloo took hint of her overhearing what she said, and her nerves immediately steeled.

''I'm sorry.'' She said quietly.

Dash's hoof came up to Scootaloo's chin, raising it up to face her. ''Jeez, relax kid. Look, sorry I snapped at you earlier. It just happens, sometimes.'' She gave her a single-hoofed hug. ''Anyways, Fluttershy fixed up my wing with that creepy cream stuff, so breakfast is on me, this morning. What do ya say to that, squirt?'' She asked, pulling out of the hug to look at the filly with a warm smile, something Scootaloo would never get tired of seeing.

It was almost motherly in radiance.

Looking past her smile and down to her side, she could see that her injured wing had indeed been treated with the expertise of Fluttershy's medicinal knowledge, and instead of having it tightly secured to her side, it was only covered in a thin layer of bandages with patches of gauze and padding with dressing where it was needed the most. Seeing as the fractures were nothing too serious from the blow her wing took from the fall, Fluttershy estimated a logical healing and recovery period of at least a couple of weeks, possibly less if she was lucky and took good care of herself in the meantime.

''That sounds awesome!'' Scootaloo said enthusiastically, hopping on the spot and hugging her cheek with Dash's hoof in thanks. From behind the pair, Fluttershy watched them with a twinkle in her eyes, one of warmth at the sight, and a smile found its way to her lips. ''Can Fluttershy come, too?''

Rainbow chuckled, looking behind her to the yellow pegasus. ''Of course, kid. It's the least I can do after all she's done for us. What do ya say, Flutters?''

A slight blush arose on her cheeks at hearing her old nickname, and she hid her face partially behind her drooping pink mane, only a single eye remaining visible to look over to her friend. ''Oh, I wouldn't want to get in the way. I could just stay here and look after my animals.'' She said dismissively, a typical reaction when one would ask her something such as what Dash was asking.

It was in her nature, after all, and Rainbow thought it was rather adorable like this. GAH! I mean...nope, did not just think that. I did not just think that...

''Nah, come on, 'Shy, you're more than welcome to, and besides, it's about time I show my gratitude.'' She said with a grin, moving to her friend's side and wrapping a hoof around her neck, pulling her cheek closer to hers. ''It'll be fun. Besides, at what point do we get chance to hang out like this? Since I can't fly, we might as well make the most of the time we have!'' Fluttershy scratched behind her ear in thought after hearing that.

''Well...when you put it like that---AHH!'' Fluttershy yelped as Dash threw her head beneath her body and hoisted her up onto her back without warning, making a dash for the door and picking up Scootaloo as she did so, taking her by the blind-side and performing the same action as with Fluttershy, tossing her onto her back in front of the older pegasus.

''Good enough for me! Come on, lets get a move on!'' She announced, the added weight on top of her being forgotten as she broke her speed into a gallop, heading out of the door and away from the cottage homestead and towards the town of Ponyville.

End of Part One