//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Taking Potshots: Crackshipping Rainbow Dash and Adagio Dazzle // by bahatumay //------------------------------// The door burst open, and Fluttershy flew through the door. “Rainbow Dash! Are you ok? I heard you were in a terrible accident!” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Leave it to you to make a huge deal out of this,” she grumbled. “Yes, I got hit by a car. Yes, I was riding my skateboard, and yes, I was wearing my helmet. And, last but not least, yes, I’m fine.” “Oh, good,” Fluttershy said, relieved. “Because they were saying that you broke your leg.” She chuckled lightly. “Oh, I did,” Rainbow Dash said. She gestured towards her leg, and Fluttershy gasped as she noticed for the first time it  suspended in the air. “I also cracked most of my ribs, nearly ruptured my spleen, got a minor concussion, seven stitches in my head, and got a wicked set of road rash.” She held up her arms to show Fluttershy her forearms, which were now red and rubbed raw. Fluttershy teetered and then fainted. Rainbow exhaled and reached over to hit the ‘call nurse’ button. “Well, she took that well,” she muttered. The news had spread quickly, and though Fluttershy was there first, her other friends quickly came as well. Rarity showed up next, running past Fluttershy (who sat in the corner, holding and sipping from a juice box). She sighed in relief as she saw Rainbow there. Her eyes landed on Rainbow’s leg. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said. Odd reaction. “What?” Rarity stammered. “Oh, uh, well… one of the rumors swirling around—not that I put much stock in such things, of course-” Rainbow blinked flatly in disbelief. Rarity absorbed gossip like some kind of sponge. A big, white, gossip-absorbing sponge. She chuckled at that thought. Gossip-pants Rari-sponge. She grimaced in pain, and breathed heavily through her nose. “-that, um, you lost your leg in the accident.” “Oh, did that excite you?” Rainbow asked playfully. “Making one-legged sports pants?” Rarity’s fair skin flushed. “Well, not… no, of course not, darling; it’s just… it would have been quite the challenge, you know, to make it look, well, not just ‘good’ but to actually ‘work’; and, well, you and I, we’re somewhat alike, aren’t we? We don’t turn down challenges?” Rainbow chuckled (and winced again) as Rarity tried to salvage her sentence. Everything seemed a lot funnier recently. Maybe it was the pain meds flowing through her IV? Didn’t she know a girl named Ivy? She probably did. Pinkie certainly did. She knew everyone. As if on cue, Pinkie appeared in the doorway. “Dashie!” she cried. “I brought you balloons!” She reached out of the doorway, and pulled back an enormous bouquet of balloons. She let them go, letting them rise up and bounce lightly against the ceiling. “See? I even got them to match your hair!” Sure enough, Pinkie had brought a plethora of balloons, all in the colors of Rainbow’s hair. Rainbow absentmindedly ran a hand through her hair. When was the last time she had showered? “They look great, Pinkie,” she said. “They look like me if I were a balloon.” She chuckled. Rainbow as a balloon. Rainballoon. She grimaced as a slight pain shot through her ribs, but it faded quickly. Pinkie cocked her head. “She's on painkillers,” Fluttershy explained. “Everything is a little bit funnier.” “Really?” Pinkie Pie grinned mischievously. “Well, then, do I have a joke for you.” Applejack walked up to the information desk and set her hands on the counter top. “Hey, there. I’m here to see Rainbow Dash?” The nurse brightened. “Oh, yes. Room 200B. I’m glad she’s getting visitors, but you might need to wait outside for a bit. She’s been fairly popular recently, and the rooms are pretty small.” Applejack froze. “Wait. Did a girl with bright pink hair about yea big around go up?” The aide stopped to think. “Uh, yes. Yes, she did.” “Oh, horseapples,” Applejack grumbled, turning and hustling up the stairs. “Rainbow’s gonna bust her stitches.” “And so she said, she said, she said, ‘Well, yeah. Where do you think I got the ponyshoes?” Rainbow Dash burst out laughing. It was a stupid joke! It wasn’t even that funny! But- “Ow!” Rainbow suddenly emitted something between a pained groan and a laugh. Her ribs suddenly felt like she had been hit by a car again, but she couldn’t stop laughing, and every laugh hurt so bad but it was still funny! Tears came to her eyes as the pain grew unbearable but she just couldn’t stop laughing- “I think that’s enough,” a new voice broke in, cold and firm enough to shake Rainbow from her reverie. “Miss Dash needs to rest. And laughing is going to wreak havoc on her healing ribs.” “Wait! I still have to tell her the one about the lion, the tiger, and the bear! They all walk into a-” “Out,” the nurse insisted firmly. Pinkie scoffed. “Redheart? More like Cold Heart.” Rainbow giggled at her wordplay (and subsequently groaned in pain), but Redheart took it seriously. “Oh, she’s my cousin. You know her?”* Pinkie squinted at her. “I know everyone,” she said. She held up two fingers and made the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture before sliding backwards out the door. “What can I say?” Rainbow said, still struggling to contain her laughter. “I have weird friends.” Thanks to the kind of person she was, Rainbow Dash had spent more than her fair share of time in the hospital. By now she was far too used to the bland food and the harsh smell of antiseptic that seemed to purvey (heh. English class again) the entire hospital. She was familiar with the rounds of the nurses, and the doctors showing up every once in a while to fiddle with knobs and drips and keep moving. And she knew just how boring it got in here. Really, she didn't think anything could surprise her here. But she'd be wrong. She was bouncing a rubber ball that Pinkie had left against the wall when she suddenly became aware of a shadow in the doorway. She looked over and started. Adagio Dazzle stood in the doorway, her hands in her pockets. “Hey.” Rainbow stared, losing track of the ball and not even reacting when it rebounded off the wall and hit her in the face. “Ow!” Rainbow hissed, rubbing her face as the ball rolled innocently across the bed and fell onto the floor. Ok, so maybe she reacted a little bit. She looked up, still covering her face. “What are you doing here?” Adagio shrugged. “You didn’t show up at the Warzone. Rumor has it you got hit by a car and you needed a lobotomy.” Rainbow barked a laugh. “I’m pretty sure they don’t do those anymore. And no. Just broke my leg, cracked most of my ribs, nearly ruptured my spleen, got a minor concussion, got seven stitches in my head, and got a wicked set of road rash.” She showed her, and was mildly disappointed that the only reaction she got from Adagio was a small half-smile. “Believe me. I know what it's like to suddenly have everything you love stripped from you,” Adagio said coolly, crossing her arms. “At least you'll heal.” Rainbow expelled air from her nostrils and dropped her arms. She chuckled darkly. “Guess it feels pretty good to see me like this, huh?” Adagio exhaled slowly. “I dunno. When I heard the news, I had to come see for myself. I expected to feel happy. Relieved. Pleased. Vindicated. Something.” “And you don't?” Rainbow asked, not believing her. “No,” Adagio said slowly. “I feel like… like I should sing for you.” Rainbow blanched. “Please don't.” Adagio cracked a smile. “Yeah. Cruel and unusual punishment. Especially for a cripple.” “Don’t make me beat you with my IV pole,” Rainbow warned. Adagio chuckled. She reached down and tossed the ball over. “Get better soon, loser,” she said. “Everyone else at paintball stinks.” Rainbow caught it, but by the time she looked up again, Adagio was gone. Huh. That was nice of her. Rainbow scowled. It must have been the morphine talking. She started bouncing the ball against the wall again, a bit more angrily this time.