A knocking on her door raised Rainbow Dash from her slumber.
The rainbow maned mare let out a groan as she glanced up at the clock on her wall. Noon. Far earlier that she was supposed to be up. She couldn’t imagine who was coming to bother her at this hour, but if she had to wager a guess it would be one of her friends. Though a part of her wondered if they were still friends. It had been months since she had last spoken to any of them.
The knocking grew louder and Dash realized the pony at the door wasn’t going to leave until they had spoken to her, so with a tired grown Dash rolled out of her bed and landed on her hooves. Her blinds were drawn, as always, but there was just enough light in-between the cracks for her to see. She stretched her one wing and walked out of her bedroom and into the living room of her small house.
Not wanting to deal with the pony at the door right away, Dash instead took a moment to look around. It had been a while since she had mustered up the strength to clean the place, so dust and cobwebs covered a lot of the room. There wasn’t much for her to look at. A couple of dusty seats. A table with some magazines on it. A shelf that had once held her first place trophies, until she had destroyed them one night in a fit of helpless rage. And then there was a single picture on her wall. One of her and her five other friends all smiling with their hooves around each other. Back when she had two wings. Back when she was happy. Back before Ryu.
The knocking grew so ferocious that Dash figured if she didn’t answer the door the pony would probably beat her door down. Dash walked to the door, grasped the handle, and, with a sigh, opened it. Sunlight poured directly into her eyes, blinding her momentarily and getting a couple of curse words out of her mouth.
“Wow. You’re in even worse shape than I thought.” When Rainbow could finally see again, she found that it was Fluttershy that had come to visit her. The mare had cut her mane and now wore glasses, but other than that she looked pretty much the same.
“Fluttershy? Why are you here and why are you dressed like that?” Rainbow asked.
“I’m dressed like this because I work at the vet now. And I’m here because nopony has seen you in months and somepony had to check up on you,” Fluttershy replied before looking past Rainbow into her house. “Are you going to invite me in or are we going to have this conversation out here?”
Dash grunted and moved to the side, allowing Fluttershy into her home. Fluttershy looked around with a concerned look on her face as she noticed all the dust and cobwebs. She then spied the ruined remains of a trophy near a shelf and her heart sank slightly. Yet she regained control of her composure and sat on one of the couches, ignoring the dust and grime.
“So what do you want?” Rainbow asked as she plopped down in a seat.
“I wanted to see how you’ve been doing. It’s been months since, well, your injury and you’ve dropped off the map,” Fluttershy replied. “You don’t go to the doctors anymore, you’ve stopped training and I’ve had to take care of Tank for you. Rainbow, you can’t keep living like this.”
“Why not? It’s the only way I can live now,” Dash spat dejectedly.
“No it isn’t. Missing a wing doesn’t make you any different from the Rainbow Dash we know and love,” Fluttershy replied.
“Really? Cause it’s sure as hell made a difference to me! I have to live down here, in the dirt, because I can no longer stand on clouds. I can’t go to Cloudsdale anymore in general because, oh look, I can’t fly! I’ve lost my wing, lost my Pegasus magic and lost not only my title as the number one fighter in Equestria, but also any chance I had at joining the Wonderbolts! There’s nothing left for me to do but to stay here and rot.”
“Rainbow, there are plenty of jobs out there for a Pegasus missing her wing,” Fluttershy said. “Celestia has a whole division in Canterlot to help those who are…in your situation. Her R and D department has even had a breakthrough with metal wings and they’re hoping soon that crippled pegasi will be able to fly again.”
“But it won’t be the same,” Rainbow spat. “I’ll never be the fastest flier again. I’ll never be the champion fighter that could take on any being not named Zangief. I’ll never be me again.”
“Rainbow…you’ve been in here too long by yourself. You’ve forgotten that we’re still your friends and that we’re always here for you,” Fluttershy said. “Our greatest strength is no our wings or muscles or magic, but our friendship. The friendship that brought down Tirek. The friendship that saved Luna. We’ve done the impossible not because of our individual skills, but as friends. And we can do so again, if you’ll let us help you.”
“Please, our little group is done. Twilight’s in a mental ward, Rarity’s off in Canterlot promoting her line, Pinkie’s traveling Equestria with Cheese and you…you have other responsibilities now," Rainbow spat. “The Ambassadors of Harmony are finished. Just like me.”
“Actually, Twilight was released from the mental ward a week ago. As long as she stays away from Zangief and his antics, she should be fine.”
“Well whoopie for her. Still doesn’t change my point.”
Fluttershy let out a small sigh and stared up at the ceiling, watching as a spider made a brand new web next to all of the others. “I want to help you, Rainbow Dash, but I can’t unless you let me. Losing your wing was a tragedy, but it isn’t the end of your life. There is so much more you can do, you just need to find the will to try.”
“I did try. And I lost a wing because of it,” Rainbow snarled. “Now do you have any other motivational speeches your read off a fortune cookie or are you going to let me go back to bed and live the rest of my life in peace the way I want to?”
Fluttershy opened her mouth to say more, but thought better of it and rose to her hooves. “I’ll leave for today Dash, but you can’t get rid of me that easily. I want to help you, whether you want help or not. I’ve known you longer than anypony else and I know that quitter isn’t in your vocabulary. Eventually, you’ll see that I’m right.”
“Are you still talking? Don’t you have some sick squirrel to take care of or something?” Rainbow asked. Fluttershy frowned before she headed towards the door, but once she reached it she stopped to look back at Dash.
“Ryu’s no longer in Equestria,” she informed Rainbow. “He left about a month ago. Apparently, he’s gone to hunt down the metal man who had tried to kill Diamond Tiara. If he’s the reason why you’ve been so scared to go outside, you don’t need to fear him anymore. You’re safe.”
Dash snarled at those words as Fluttershy left, but even though she would never say it she did feel like a weight had been lifted off her chest. She still had nightmares about that day, the day when Ryu had snapped and tore her wing from her shoulders. Ryu, the most boring, slow and uninteresting fighter Dash had ever fought, held a demon within his very soul. Something Rainbow had learned the hard way.
She hated to admit it, but she had been scared of running into Ryu again. Afraid that one moment he would be the dull weirdo he normally was and then he would turn into that monster again. It wasn’t the only reason Dash rarely left her house, but it was one of them. Zangief had spoken with the ponies and explained Ryu’s demon to them, as well as the fact that he had conquered it and the demon in Ryu would never bother them again. The ponies forgave Ryu instantly, because Zangief asked them to and they never went against Zangief, but they hadn’t been on the receiving end of his power. His hatred. They didn’t see his crimson eyes every time they slept or felt the screaming agony of a limb being ripped free. She did. And it wasn’t something one could easily get over.
A knock came from her door once more, getting Rainbow Dash to groan in annoyance. What was Fluttershy back for now? Had she forgotten something? Did she not want to leave Rainbow in the state she was in? Or maybe she read a new fortune from a cookie and thought that it might change the way Rainbow saw the world?
“For the last time Fluttershy, I’m not-“ Rainbow began as she ripped the door open, only to find she had severely mistaken who was on the other side.
A colossal human stood before her, one that, if she had to guess, was as tall or even taller as Zangief. He wasn’t as muscular as the Red Cyclone, but there was a ferocity and intensity to his aura that Rainbow had never felt coming off of the Russian. A nasty scar was on his chest, one that went from his lower abdomen all the way up to his right shoulder. Tape covered his fists and feet, and his shorts were red and blue.
But where Dash’s full attention was drawn was to his face. A face that was so hard set into a scowl that if she had been told his face had been carved from granite she would believe it. The human had only one, pure white eye. The other eye was covered by a black and worn eyepatch.
All this she gathered as she stared up at the human, unable to move under his gaze. It was like if a predator was gazing down at a mouse. The mouse knew that it was dead, the only question was would the predator kill it then or in a moment. That was how Dash felt looking up at this human. She felt like she was staring into the face of a tiger.
“Rainbow Dash?” the human finally asked her.
“Uh-huh,” Dash barely muttered in reply.
“You’re coming with me.” And then he kneed her in the face.