//------------------------------// // Pain (Short) // Story: Rainbow's Lonesome Road // by Centurion Pike-Wall //------------------------------// Pain. Nothing but sheer, unending, unfiltered, agonizing pain. That was all Rainbow Dash felt as she floated down the river. Her saddlebags had been torn apart, and their contents were leaking out. Most had, with only a few of the larger items left. She had no strength, only hanging to consciousness by a thread. She held to that thread though; She knew if she went into the void of sleep, she may slip from her makeshift raft, or worse, never wake again. It was hard; the agony made her just want to close her eyes, and be free from it. Slowly and stiffly, she turned her head to look at some of her wounds. She didn't know just how bad the blades had gotten her, but she knew it was bad. Long gashes ran along her sides and chest, and her right wing had was broken and covered in slashes. Her left she couldn't feel at all, nor a section of her right cheek. All she could register was pain, so much pain, and a biting cold that racked her body. The sun has risen a few hours ago, and now beat down on her like a drum. Had it not felt like bliss on her face, at least compared to the rest of her, she would curse it. Not the sun itself; that was just stupid. No, she would curse Celestia, the one who moved it. She was the cause of her pain, both mentally, emotionaly, and of course physically. Her flesh felt ice cold, and blood hung in a swirl around her. It should have been swept away by the current, but hung around her like a shroud. It soon got worse, as the current pulled her into a gap on the bank and she washed up. Now, free of the (sort-of) warm river, a sense of freezing cold hung over her. It stung, worse then the betrayal, then the hunting, even then the blades. She sat there for what felt like hours. She knew it probably wasn't, but it felt like it. Then, she heard a noise coming. It sounded like hoofbeats, and was pretty close. She then heard a loud pair of thuds, then a disgusted sneer. "Oh, gross. Where did it come from?" Another voice said, "I don't know, but it looks beat up. Ah, come on, let's go. We'll get water from another area of the bank. We can come back to bury it later." "Yeah, coming." The second voice, which sounded further away, began to climb up something. At least that's what it sounded like. The other turned away a well. No, she thought, if they leave, I'll die! She had lost much, but not her sense of self-presurvation. She knew they may be her only hope. She attempted to say "wait", but it only came out as a wet and sick-sounding gurgle. It worked though. "what the-Oh s***, I think it's alive! G-get the doc, Garret! She needs it now! " the closer voice shouted. The second began to move faster, then disappeared. The closer voice came up to her, and laid a hoof on her neck. No, not a hoof. It was wider, and more spread out. It felt like Gildas talons, but thicker and more rubbery. A few minutes later, the second being came back, another one with it. It gasped when it was her, then ran to her side. She felt a thin... Something slip into her. Instantly, the pain numbed. She felt the void come to her, this time inescapable. As she began to fade, she made out one last string of words: "What the f*** happened to you?" what indeed. What indeed. As sleep overcame her, the thought of what happened began to come back to her. what indeed.