//------------------------------// // Shredded Wings and Apples // Story: Shattered Rainbow // by TheMajorTechie //------------------------------// Rainbow grunted as she slowly lifted herself from the ground. She glanced at the now-shredded prosthetic that hung limp at her side. Luckily, it was the prosthetic, rather than her, that was now riddled with holes. "STAY RIGHT WHERE YA ARE!" the voice began, a flickering light shining on Rainbow. "Dangit, how many agents do them Flim-Flam brothers even have?" As the two figures drew closer, Rainbow quickly recalled their faces from memory. Or at least, one of their faces. "B-Big Mac?" Rainbow stammered, blinking at the stallion in the light of his lamp. She turned to the second pony, but her face was almost entirely masked behind a bandanna. She turned back to Big Mac. Big Mac glared in return. "Now then," the first pony began, "Who are ya, and just what the buck are you doin' on our property so late in the night?!" "I... I was just looking for Celestia..." Rainbow said meekly, "Please, just listen to me! I'm already crippled, y'know!" Big Mac rolled his eyes. "Well, we are. Now stop actin' like this is some sorta drama show and tell us why yer lookin' for the Queen." "She heard that Celestia was gone!" Spectral Glider shouted from the treetop. Reacting to the voice, the first pony immediately aimed the shotgun towards the origin of the voice. "NO!" Rainbow cried out, "THAT'S MY SISTER!" Spectral stuck her head out from the leaves and grinned cheekily, waving at her sister with a hoof. The first pony sighed, and lowered the weapon. "Alright," she sighed, "Ah never was the sorta pony ta hurt a filly. Come with me, y'all." The masked mare turned towards Big Mac and nodded. In turn, the stallion followed suit. Rainbow sat in the middle of the dusty road, listening to the rustling leaves as her sister slinked down the tree. "Come on." Big Mac stated flatly without turning towards the sisters, "Mah sister wants ta talk to ya'll." "So tell me," the masked pony began as she tossed a bag of hay in the corner, presumably for the sisters to rest on, "What're ya two doin' out here in th' middle of the night? Besides findin' the queen, ah mean." Rainbow shook her head. "Not much else." she replied as she looked towards her sister, "That was pretty much the entire point of the two of us sneaking out of the house tonight." The mare nodded slowly. "Aaaaand when ya say that ya sneaked outta the house, I'ma assume that your ma an' pa still think y'all are sleepin'." Both Rainbow and Spectral nodded nervously. "Well," the mare continued, "at least neither of y'all are any o' them Flim-Flam agents. Those gosh-darned ponies get on my nerves far too often these days." She turned and extended a hoof to Rainbow. "Ah'm Apple Bloom, by the way. Nice to meetcha... erm..." Rainbow didn't respond, and instead continued to absentmindedly shake Apple Bloom's hoof. "That's my sister, Rainbow Dash!" Spectral Glider replied for her sister, "She was sleeping in the hospital before I was even born!" Apple Bloom nodded. "So ah assumed, given yer sister's antics. She the filly who fell from the sky?" "Whuh?" Rainbow suddenly replied, breaking from her daze. "Uhm... yeah. By the way, where's Applejack?" The earth pony frowned at Rainbow's remark. "That's the second time somebody's asked about this Applejack gal. Ne'er heard of her. And ah'm an Apple myself, y'know. We tend to know each other quite well." "Dangit." Rainbow muttered under her breath, turning away from Apple Bloom. "What was that, sugarcube?" Rainbow quickly swiveled back, holding the tattered remains of her prosthetic in her hooves. "Uh, nothing! Do you think you could maybe... fix my wing for me? I think we'd probably better go home now." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Sure we can. Sorry 'bout that though, just be glad that ah didn't hit anythin' else." Rainbow squealed happily, and quickly unmounted the prosthetic, handing it to the mare. "Mac!" Apple Bloom said, turning to the stallion in question, "Grab me some scrap from the canning building, would ya?" "Eeyup." Big Mac replied, turning to leave the building.