//------------------------------// // Fallen Star // Story: Nerds Make the Best Nurses // by Twihardbookish //------------------------------// Chapter 1: Fallen Star "Scooore! Wondercolts player captain Rainbow Dash nets another goal!  Canterlot High leads Crystal Prep, three-to-two!" Pinkie Pie announced jubilantly over the school's loudspeaker.  A fierce soccer game against the Shadowbolts from Crystal Prep Academy was underway, and thanks to Canterlot High School's star player, the game was currently in their favor. "Wooo.  Gooo, Wondercolts." Fluttershy cheered, in her usual soft-spoken manner.  She was of course excited that the team was winning, despite her timid voice barely rising above its usual register. Twilight Sparkle was watching the game with her friends, her glasses slipping down her slim nose. She pushed them back, looking anxiously at Rainbow Dash, who looked confident and eager or the challenge as usual. "You can do it, Rainbow Dash." she whispered, twisting her hands in her lap. Rarity glanced at Twilight Sparkle, seeing her anxiety. "Relax, Twlight. She's as much a natural athlete as I am a fashion designer."As the Shadowbolts players raced down the field with the ball, Rainbow Dash was in hot pursuit, her prismatic hair whipping around in its ponytail as she prepared to intercept the opposing forward.  When she saw her opportunity, she made her move and stole the ball, dribbling it towards the other team's goal expertly.  Her expression was one of intense concentration, her eyes watching out for an opening to pass the ball or shoot for another goal. "Wooo-wee!  Atta girl, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack hollered from the seats, cheering on her friend and band mate.  "Bring us another one!" Pinkie Pie blew a horn and set off the cannon of confetti she brought for reasons that still mystified her friends to this day. "GO RAINBOW DASH!" she screamed, making the nearby members of the crowd cover their ears. The other friends rolled their eyes. "PInkie." they sighed. Thankfully, Pinkie's enthusiastic screaming didn't break Rainbow Dash's concentration.  She passed the ball to one of her team mates and got into position near the goal, but without costing her team a penalty.  When her team mate kicked the ball into the air, she leaped and struck it with the top of her head, scoring a goal! But when she came down, ready to celebrate as the whistle blew, something unexpected happened as she landed.  Her right knee twisted inward, and as her left foot came down to join her right, there was a sickening snap! followed by an earsplitting scream.  Rainbow Dash crumpled to the ground, clutching her right knee as tears sprang to her cerise eyes. The entire crowd gasped as they saw the Wondercolts' star player and team captain writhing on the ground, shrieking in pain.  The referee blew the whistle as the coach called a time out before rushing out onto the field to assess the situation. Coach Rising Star knelt next to his star player, concern etched on his face. "Are you all right?" "M-my knee...!!!  S-something's wrong wi-with my kn-knee...!!!" Rainbow Dash cried through gritted teeth as tears began streaming down her cheeks.  She stopped rolling around and sat up, still clutching her knee as pain tore through it.  "I-it...it hu-hurts...!!!" "Oh, no!  Rainbow Dash is hurt!" Sunset Shimmer realized as she observed from the sidelines.  She ran to the teachers' seats where Principal Celestia sat with Vice-Principal Luna, both wearing identical worried expressions on their faces.  "Principal Celestia, what should we do?  I think Rainbow Dash is really seriously injured!" Principal Celestia strode over to the group gathered around Rainbow Dash and said with authority. "Coach Rising Star, carry her to the nurse's office. I call for an ambulance. She should go to the hospital to have it checked out." Vice-Principal Luna joined her sister, crouching down to assist Rainbow Dash in getting to her feet.  "Come on, Rainbow Dash.  Let's get you to Nurse Redheart.  Sunset Shimmer?  Would you help us, please?" Sunset Shimmer nodded, biting her lip as she came to her friend's side.  "Of course, Vice-Principal Luna." She crouched beside Rainbow Dash and took her arm, slinging it around her neck to support her on one side.  "Here we go, Rainbow Dash, lean on me." "Th-thanks, S-suns-set Sh-Shimmer..." Rainbow Dash whimpered, struggling to get to her feet with the help of the Vice-Principal and her friend.  She was a little embarrassed that she was being seen in such a vulnerable state, but her knee hurt too much to let her pride get in the way. Coach Rising Star followed. "Here, let me carry you. You look like you're having trouble there." he offered. Vice-Principal Luna and Sunset Shimmer backed away as Coach Rising Star picked up Rainbow Dash bridal-style, careful not to jostle her injured knee.  One of the Wondercolts players rushed over with Rainbow Dash's duffel bag, handing it off to Sunset Shimmer. Coach Rising Star carried her with Sunset Shimmer hurrying ahead of them. She opened the school doors and led them to the nurse's office. Once inside, the nurse looked up. "What happened?" she asked with a gasp, rising from her desk. "She hurt her knee playing soccer. Principal Celestia is calling for an ambulance." Coach Rising Star explained, setting Rainbow Dash carefully on the cot. "Ow, ow, ow..." Rainbow Dash continued to whimper as she was carefully set down on the cot, her cerulean cheeks wet with a mixture of tears and perspiration.  She continued to clutch her knee, which had now visibly begun to swell as the skin was turning purple. Not long after they arrived, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle burst through the doors, all of them looking concerned and anxious. "Oh dear, oh dear!  Are you all right, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked worriedly, immediately coming to her long-time friend's side. Nurse Redheart checked her knee. "It looks like a serious injury. You definitely need to go to the hospital and have it looked at." Rainbow Dash looked at Nurse Redheart through tear-filled eyes.  "How...how b-bad do you th-think it is...?" To Fluttershy's question, she met her worried cyan eyes and shook her head.  "N-no...m-my knee re-really hurts..." "Poor Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said sadly, reaching over and wrapping her pained friend in a tight hug. "There could be many possible things." Nurse Redheart replied. Depending on what it is, you might need surgery. But don't worry about that, the doctor will decide." "D-Does th-that mean...I c-ca-can't play any more soccer...?" Rainbow Dash asked, biting her lip against the pain.  She struggled to push Pinkie Pie away, the tight hug tensing her body and worsening the pain in her injured knee. "Let 'er go, Pinkie." Applejack chided the hyper party lover as she pried her away from the injured athlete. "Not necessarily. You could recover full mobility of the knee. But you might be out for a while." Rainbow Dash groaned.  She hated the idea of being out of sports action for any length of time. Fluttershy patted her shoulder sympathetically, fighting tears in her own eyes.  "It'll be okay, Dashie.  You'll get better, and you'll play soccer, again.  I know you will." "Statistics say that having a positive outlook on something increases your chances of having a positive outcome." Twilight Sparkle piped up, sounding like she'd swallowed a textbook. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.  Trust nerdy Twilight to say something straight out of a psychology textbook.  Despite this, she looked towards the bespectacled girl and gave her a half-smile.  "Thanks, Twilight...come with me to the hospital?" "We'll all go with you, Rainbow Dash." Sunset Shimmer spoke up with a smile, nodding to herself and the rest of the girls.  "We want to see you through this.  Right, girls?" "Of course." the other girls nodded, smiling. "Ah'll get Big Mac to drive us all in the truck." Applejack offered with a smile, tipping her cowboy hat. They could hear a siren faintly in the distance, getting louder. A few minutes later, Principal Celestia opened the door to the office to let two paramedics in with a gurney. "What's your name?" the first one asked, placing a blood pressure cuff on her arm as the other one placed a splint on her knee. "R-Rainbow D-Dash..." She told the paramedic, gritting her teeth again. "Well, my name is Healing Hands and we're going to do our best to make you feel better." He relayed the vitals to the other paramedic and removed the blood pressure cuff. "I know this is going to hurt, but it will be brief, okay? You can hold a friend's hand if you want." he suggested. Rainbow Dash nodded, reaching for the closest hand.  It happened to be Twilight Sparkle's, which made her blush lightly. Healing Hands and the other paramedic lifted Rainbow Dash carefully and quickly transferred her to the stretcher. He covered her with a blanket. "It's cold out, let us know if you need another blanket." Rainbow Dash nodded, still gripping Twilight's hand.  She leaned against the back of the stretcher as they raised it to keep her in a sitting position, keeping her injured leg outstretched. The paramedics wheeled her to the ambulance and loaded her into the back. "We'll be at the hospital soon." he promised. "Can my friend ride, too?" Rainbow Dash pleaded, unwilling to release Twilight's hand.  Holding it somehow gave her comfort, especially since this would be her first ride in an ambulance. "Sure. Just please stay out of the way so we can do our job." Helping Hands requested, glancing at Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash smiled against the pain and nodded as Twilight Sparkle came to her side to be out of the paramedics' way.  "See you girls at the hospital..." She called weakly to the others, waving with her free hand. Before the doors closed, Sunset Shimmer stepped into the back of the ambulance, still holding Rainbow Dash's sports bag.  "Do you want me to call your mom and dad for you?" "See you soon." Fluttershy made her voice loud enough so Rainbow Dash could hear. "You take care of her." she told the paramedics. "We will." Healing Hands promised. "We need to go. The sooner she gets examined the better." The other paramedic closed the doors and got into the driver's seat. He started the ambulance and drove off. "Relax as best as you can, and we'll be there in no time." Before the doors closed, Sunset Shimmer stepped into the back of the ambulance, still holding Rainbow Dash's sports bag.  "Do you want me to call your mom and dad for you?" “Thanks.” Rainbow Dash smiled weakly. "Okay..." Rainbow Dash said, giving Twilight Sparkle's hand a squeeze.  The pain was still intense, but lessened slightly from the initial injury. The ambulance disappeared as the remaining mane six watched, worried about their friend.