Flying With Angels

by Garbo


Chapter 1: Fallen Angel

Fallen angel ripped and bruised,
think on better days.
Life is rude, treats you bad,
tears your wings away.
Raise your eyes to star and sky.
Believe in fly-aways.
Take your dreams, your broken schemes,
and sweep the past away

Fly, lonely angel.
Far above these streets of fire.
Fly, lonely angel.
Far away from mad desire.

Great White -=- The Angel Song


Chapter 1 -=- Fallen Angel

=-=-=-=-=

Rainbow Dash woke up in a world of darkness. The void in her vision caused her mind to reel. Why would it be dark? Was she blind, or was it nighttime? Or maybe the sun had burned out. She did not know. As she continued to ponder this, her mind slowly came out of the temporary delirium it had been in. Now with a clear mind, the explanation came simply. Her eyes were closed.

When she opened them, she saw an unfamiliar scene. The room around her was colored with white and light grey hues. There were some odd machines lining the walls, and the air smelled faintly of sanitizer. She was lying on a small bed with white pillows, white covers, and white sheets. It was just like a cloud in that manor, the only difference being that it was a mattress and therefore not nearly as comfortable.

She was about to ask if anypony was there, but she looked around and saw someone standing behind her. She was about to ask what she was doing here, but a quick peek under the sheets answered that question. The presence of the bandages and the nurse said it all. She was in the hospital.

At this realization, the memories came flooding back almost as suddenly as crash itself. The final impact was very fresh in her mind. She remembered the world slowing down as the ground became larger in her vision. She remembered her wings, still flapping frantically to try to lessen the blow. She remembered the first impact, the crunch of her bones, and the pain coming from her back, her neck, her wings …

Frantically, Rainbow Dash threw the sheets off of her body, craning her neck to see her back, and more specifically her wings. It turned out as she had feared. The right wing was completely covered by bandages which wrapped all around her torso and completely immobilized it.

She turned to the nurse. "How long until this heals?"

The nurse did not answer her question. She said to wait for a moment, and then left the room. Within a minute she came back with a doctor, to whom Rainbow Dash readdressed her question.

"I'm not sure you will want to ..."

"Tell me!"

"I think it would be best to wait ..."

"TELL ME NOW!!"

The doctor sighed. "I must warn you Miss Dash, this will not be welcome news."

"Just tell me how long this will take to heal," she said forcefully.

“It won’t.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t really take in what he was saying, although her body went rigid and her face went pale when she asked her question. “What did you say?”

"I am sorry to inform you that the wing will not heal." he said in an even, professional tone.

Rainbow Dash just stared at him blankly, as if she expected him to say he was just kidding, that everything was fine, and that she would heal in a few days or so. But when this never came, she realized with a horror what this meant.

"Are you saying I'll ... I won't be ..."

"Yes. I'm afraid your days of flying are over Miss. Dash."

"No ... No flying?"

"There was too much damage on the crash. The bones will mend, but the parts of the wing responsible for motion are unsalvageable."

"There's ... There's nothing I can do? No physical therapy? Not even prosthetics?"

"No. I am sure you are well aware that prosthesis does not work with wings."

Rainbow Dash made no response. She stared at the ceiling, horrorstruck, her breath coming unevenly.

"We will leave you some time to be alone," continued the doctor. "I am truly sorry about your loss." After he said this, both he and the nurse walked out of the room, leaving Rainbow Dash alone with her thoughts; her unimaginably horrible thoughts.

"No, no it's not true.”
“… It can't be ...”
“… It isn't ..."

By this time, Rainbow Dash was already tearing up. And those tears quickly turned into sobs. And those sobs into wails.

"No…”
“…No...”
“…It's not possible…”
“…I can't ... Fly?”
“Why did ... Why did this happen?”
“Why me?”
“Why?!”
Dear Celestia, WHY?!"

The last words were choked off in an uncontrollable fit of sobbing, and the only sound that could be heard in the room was her weeping. She was too shocked for words, her mind still unable to comprehend the possibility. The loss of a friend, the loss of a pet, none of those could compare to the sheer sorrow that engulfed Rainbow Dash. It was like the loss of a family member to her. Flying was one of the few comforts she’d had; one of the few things to distract her from all that was bad with her life. Other than her closest friends, nopony truly cared for or loved her in any way. But even that friendship could not surpass the love she had for flight. It had always been a constant; something that had never abandoned her. At least, not until now.

Futilely, Rainbow Dash wiped away the tears, only to have them replaced by reinforcements. There seemed to be no end to them, just as there seemed to be no end to the sadness she now felt, and would never escape from. "There's nothing," she said, sniffling. "No family. No flying. And no love." the last words echoed in her head, once again bringing back memories of a certain Griffon friend of hers.

=-=-=-=-=

"So, what you're saying is ..."

"I'm leaving, Dash," said Gilda. "We had a great run but ..."

"Why are you going?" Asked Rainbow Dash, a small tear rolling down one cheek. It continued down to her chin, where it fell to the ground between her front hooves. She hoped Gilda wouldn’t notice.

"It's complicated. I wish I could tell you, but it's private."

"Oh, okay," said Rainbow. "So, when are you going again?”

"In the morning. I already have everything packed up, so I'll get a bite to eat and be on my way."

"Oh. So this is the last time I get to see you."

"Well, you might see me tomorrow. But basically, yeah."

There was something Rainbow Dash wanted to say, but it was only in the back of her mind and the words never got past her lips. "Well, I hope I see you sometime,” she said, her tone wavering.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll see me again. Maybe not soon, but someday." she waved goodbye to her friend. "Right now I'm gonna get some sleep. Bye Dash."

She was about to open the door when Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted after her. It was as if that faint urge in the back of her head had been shoved to the front, and now it consumed her. "Wait!"

Gilda turned around. "What?"

Before she could second guess herself, Rainbow Dash hurled herself at Gilda and kissed her deeply. As it went on, Dash lost track of how long it was held, but it couldn’t have been more than ten seconds or so. When Rainbow Dash backed away, she saw a look of complete shock on her friend's face. Gilda stuttered. "I ... Uh ... Um ... I'm going. Bye." she ran out the door, slamming it behind her.

Rainbow Dash didn't say anything or try to follow her. She just sat there, equally awestruck at what she had just done, jaw slack in astonishment. "Did I just do that?” Up until that moment, she bad never thought of Gilda in that way, although liking those of her own gender was not new to her.

As she dragged herself to bed, tears began to well up in her eyes. She pulled the cloud sheet over her head, willing herself to forget what she had just done. And yet, she couldn’t. She lay that way for a long time, thinking about what she had done, and the friend she had lost.

=-=-=-=-=

That thought had stuck with her for a long time. And although it had taken a backseat for a while, it came back to the surface when she saw Gilda again, years later.

And this of course was when she visited Ponyville, and had the whole spat with Pinkie Pie. That visit had made Gilda look like a very mean and rude person, but that was not actually true. The anger Gilda showed was the result of her anxiety about seeing RD again, something that Dash had only realized after she stormed out of the party.

=-=-=-=-=

At first, Rainbow Dash had truly thought that Gilda was upset because she was jealous of Pinkie Pie being her friend. But the more she thought about it, the less it made sense. Gilda had never had any problems with Dash hanging out with other friends back at junior Speedsters, or even going on the occasional date with whichever mare or stallion she was dating at the time. And Gilda had never been this emotional about anything either. It had almost seemed like she was taking something out on Pinkie Pie, but Rainbow Dash had no clue what that could be.

After a while, her curiosity became too much, and she left the party early under the pretext of having to work on an addition she was making to her cloud home. Although it was true that the add-on was still unfinished, the matter of Gilda’s outburst was much more important.

It didn't take Rainbow Dash long to find her. After going to her house to see if Gilda was packing her things, she checked what had become Gilda’s favorite place to fly during her visit: Ghastly Gorge. At the moment, the griffon was flying at about the middle of the canyon. Rainbow Dash quickly redirected her flight into a dive, pulling up to Gilda’s left side, which was quite an accomplishment considering how slender the canyon was. Gilda acknowledged but did not speak to Rainbow Dash. Rather, she continued to focus on her flying. So through the rest of the twists and turns, Rainbow Dash was alone with her thoughts.

“What could she be upset about? Was I too harsh? No, that doesn't seem like the Gilda I know. What if she really is jealous? But that makes even less sense! What could it possibly be?”

Before long, they reached the end of the canyon, and landed a few feet away from the edge. The two were silent for a long time afterward, but in the end, Gilda broke the ice. "This place is really awesome."

"Yeah, it is pretty cool," replied Rainbow Dash, "but is that really why you're here? I mean, really?"

"Well, where else am I going to go?"

"Back to the party! I know my friends. They'd forgive you."

"Yeah, your friends," She said mockingly.

"Gilda, you can pretend Pinkie Pie is the problem, but I know that's not what this is about."

"Yes it is. I just don't like her, that's all."

"Yeah, good one. Nopony just dislikes Pinkie Pie. She's nothing but kind to everypony. And she never did anything wrong to you either."

Gilda’s stoic mask finally broke at this comment. Rainbow Dash saw an emotion on her face that she'd never seen: Fear.

"You talk about that pink one like she's the best friend ever, don't you?"

"What? Are you actually jealous of her? I thought you were tougher than that!"

"It's not that Dash, it's ... Well ..." Gilda was tripping over her words, her usual confidence having abandoned her.

"Spit it out," said Rainbow Dash impatiently.

"I'm upset at myself," said Gilda weakly.

"Why?"

"It's ... It's because ... Well, do you ... Never mind."

Rainbow Dash had never seen her like this before. It frightened her, but she knew she would have to keep digging if she wanted to get the truth out of her. "Gilda, just tell me what the problem is."

"... It's ... I'm too weak!"

"Too weak? What do you mean?"

Gilda had her eyes shut tightly. Whatever she was about to say, it was very hard for her. "Well, you remember the last time I saw you?"

"At the party?"

"Dash, you know what I mean."

"Oh, that." Rainbow Dash said sadly, remembering Gilda’s last day at Junior Speedsters. Inside, Rainbow Dash felt like bursting out crying at the memory. It still stung her deep down, but she had kept her emotions to herself in the time Gilda had visited for the sake of them getting along. And she did the same now. "Gilda, what’s the big deal? I already get you don't like me that way. You don’t need to feel bad.”

Gilda was fearful of how Rainbow Dash would respond to what she was about to say. But she knew it had to be said. "Well, that's the problem, see I ..."

"Wait, you do like me that way?"

"Well, kind of ... I mean, Yes, yes I do."

At that, Rainbow Dash’s façade broke, her pain and sadness manifesting itself as a different emotion entirely. “YOU WHAT?!"

Rainbow Dash somehow seemed to be looking down at Gilda, despite the fact that she was about a foot shorter. Gilda, on the other hand, was trembling in fear. But she managed to collect herself enough to speak again. "I love you, Dash."

Rainbow Dash took a step forward, well within Gilda’s personal space. "So you knew that when I kissed you?!”

"Yes."

"And you just ran away like you felt nothing, just because you were too chicken to say anything?!"

Gilda just nodded, too terrified for words.

Rainbow Dash stood that way for a few seconds, looking like she was going to explode. And then she did. "How could you?! Do you know what happened after that?! I was a wreck! I never dated anypony, I still haven't since then!”

“You know what? I don't care how long I've been waiting for you to say that! If you really cared about me, you would've said something back then."

"Wait, please. Rainbow Dash!!" Gilda shouted after her as she started to fly away. It was probably the first time she'd ever called her friend by her full name, but it seemed appropriate in this circumstance.

Rainbow Dash turned around long enough to rebuke her again. "No! Why don't you go break someone else's heart, you insincere … bitch!" with that, Rainbow Dash rushed off in the direction of her cloud home, her face set in a look of sheer hatred.

Gilda, on the other hand, just sat there sobbing. She sat that way for a long time, thinking about what she had done, and the friend she had lost.

=-=-=-=-=

Once again, Rainbow Dash woke up. The first thing she noticed was that the upper part of the sheet was damp from her tears. "So it wasn't a dream," she said to herself. For a moment, she felt like she was going to cry again, but she somehow managed not to. Not only that, but she found herself not thinking about the wing at all. There was something else she was trying to remember, something else from the crash. She forced herself to review the memory in her mind, trying to find what it was that she’d missed. It took her a while, but she finally realized what it was. Or more accurately, whom it was.

She looked around her for a bell or something she could ring, but didn’t see one. She wanted to get going right away, but she managed to stay in the bed. “The nurse will come by soon,” reasoned Rainbow Dash. Her assumption ended up being correct. Within five minutes, a nurse entered the room.

"Oh good, you're awake. Is there anything I can get for you?"

"Can I walk?"

"Yes, but why?"

"I want to visit somepony."

"If you are referring to the filly who crashed with you, she’s is in a different hospital."

"Which one?"

"Ponyville's."

That made sense. Rainbow Dash had noticed that this place looked different than she remembered Ponyville’s looked like. "So where am I?" she asked, although she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

"Cloudsdale. You were brought here because we are better equipped for wing reconstruction."

"Oh," she said, now deciding to change topics. "So, I heard right when they said no more flying, right?"

"Yes."

Rainbow Dash fought back the tears that once again threatened to come out, with partial success. It was enough to keep her from sobbing, but a few tears still fell. "So what are they doing with my wing?"

"Well, when you were brought in, all the bones were shattered, so we are trying to repair it to make the wing cosmetically sound."

Rainbow Dash didn't remember what 'cosmetically' meant, but she inferred that it meant something like 'look right'. "What else?"

"Well, although the muscles are currently dysfunctional, we believe we can make it so it can flap in a somewhat normal manor again."

"But ..."

"Unfortunately, the wing would not be able to handle your weight for more than a few flaps before giving out again. Also, it would take two surgeries if you decide to go through with it, and we would have to wait until your wingbones heal."

"So I could have one last flight someday?"

"If you’re okay with the wing being amputated, then I suppose you could, although that’s not the reason we’re doing it. The repair is intended only for you to be able to flap your wing, and will also allow for other normal functions such as ..."

"Please don't say it,” Rainbow Dash interjected. “I know what you're going to say, so just don't say it."

The nurse smirked, showing a crack in her professionalism. "Fine, but I would try to avoid getting sexually stimulated until the surgery is done."

"Yeah, I'll do that," said Rainbow Dash sarcastically, thinking back to Cloudsdale academy and the mandatory health class. "But I’m not sure I want that ability back."

"Well, keep in mind that if you don't get the surgery, that would still happen to the other wing. And I don't imagine you'd want that to happen to just one."

"Oh, right," said Rainbow Dash, imagining what that would be like. “So I get wingboners, but I still can’t fly. That’s just great. So, what else got hurt?"

"Some broken ribs, a concussion, a shattered shoulder blade, and a few more things. But all of those are repairable with magic, unlike your wing."

"Yep, I know," she said. She figured they must ship a few unicorns up here every once and a while, which they could easily do since all but the lowest floor was solid instead of cloud.

"Is that it?" asked the nurse.

"One more thing: Why are you so much less ... Uptight ... than the other people who work here?"

The nurse chuckled. "I just think the rules are a little silly, that's all."

"Well, it's a lot better that way."

"I try," said the nurse. She was about to leave Dash alone in the room, but she called after her once again.

"What is it?" The nurse asked.

"Who's in charge at the hospital?"

"Well, there are quite a few people who fit that description." she said.

"Anypony named Sunbeam?"

"If by Sunbeam you mean the person in charge of aero-magical research, then yes."

"That's her,” she said, remembering that her flight school friend had always been interested in that subject. “Can I see her sometime? I haven't seen her since flight school, and I wanted to catch up."

"Oh, you were friends?"

"Yeah, but after I dropped out I never saw her again."

"Well, she has a very busy schedule..."

"Dang it." Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"... But right now would be the best time to see her."

"Wait, for real?"

"Yes. She has two hours off at this time of day, and she's a half hour into her off time right now. I could take you to her."

"Sure," said Rainbow Dash. "Thanks."

"It's the least I can do," said the nurse solemnly. Rainbow Dash didn’t respond to that comment, so the two walked out of the room.

=-=-=-=-=

The nurse, whose name was April Blueblood as Rainbow Dash soon found out, was now leading her down the narrow hallways of the hospital. It was much bigger than Ponyville's hospital, befitting the much larger population he city had.

"Any relation to the prince?" Rainbow Dash asked, referring to April’s last name.

"Maybe distantly, but too distantly for it to matter." She looked up at the sign at the hallway intersection. "Her room is three doors down on the right. I would knock first."

"Okay, thanks." Rainbow Dash continued on alone, laying three solid knocks on the door. A few moments later, a face Rainbow Dash recognized was outlined in the open doorframe.

She was much older than in flight school, but she still looked as she remembered. Her coat was a darker color than her sisters, a more orangish yellow, but still bright. Her mane was primarily light grey and orange, with some turquoise highlights that became less and less prominent to the end of her mane. The only difference from back then was that the grey in her mane and tail was darker than Dash remembered, but this was normal for ponies whose manes were lightly colored.

Sunbeam was the first to speak. "Rainbow Dash!" she pulled her into a tight hug, being careful to avoid the hard-to-miss wrapping around her chest. Rainbow Dash returned the hug in spirit, but soon broke it apart. Sunbeam smiled hugely, while Rainbow Dash only smiled slightly, still grieving over the loss of her wing.

Once she saw the unconvincing smile on her old friend's face, Sunbeam seemed to remember why Rainbow Dash was here, and how serious it was. Her face became much more solemn as she stepped to the side, saying: "Please come in."

Rainbow Dash did, and sat in the chair across from her desk. Sunbeam sat down soon afterward. "So, how are things going?" asked Sunbeam. "I mean, with the wing."

"You heard?"

"I saw your name on the patient list, and I was curious, so I looked up your injury. But how did you know I was here?"

“I didn’t; I just guessed. I remembered you always wanted to do this, and I figured you’d end up near the top.” Sunbeam smiled at the compliment, but didn’t say anything, allowing Rainbow to continue. "How bad is it exactly?" she asked.

"So, you’re here for answers?"

"Yep."

"I wish we could've met again under better circumstances, but I guess we'll have to take what we can get."

"Me too," agreed Rainbow Dash.

"Well, let's just say you're lucky to be alive right now, and even luckier that we developed the surgery we’re going to use."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. Is that something new? I didn't think it was possible."

"It is new. Only two months old actually."

"Am I the test subject?" asked Rainbow Dash nervously

"No, it's been used four times so far; you'll be the fifth."

"Oh."

"But In a sense, you are correct. This is the worst off wing we've ever tried to salvage. I'm sure that it will work, but I'm not sure it will stay that way permanently. There is a chance that it will degrade over time."

"Why?"

"That’s a complicated issue. We all have the ability to use magic, but in different ways. Unicorns can use it to affect and manipulate objects in the world around them. Pegasi can use it to fly on wings that would be far too small to hold us up otherwise. And the Earth Ponies use it to grow better crops even in worse conditions. These gifts also set certain trends: Unicorns tend to be the most intelligent, Pegasi tend to be the most skilled, and Earth Ponies tend to be the strongest."

The last remark earned Sunbeam a glare from the world class athlete sitting across from her, but she ignored it. "Although the gifts of unicorns and Pegasi are more obvious, they are also more vulnerable. Thus, when a unicorn's horn or Pegasi's wing is damaged, magic cannot be used to heal them."

"I don’t get why not,” she stated.

"Well, nopony truly knows why it doesn't work,” Sunbeam replied. “Even I don't, and I've researched the topic pedantically. No matter how much I try, there seems to be no math or logic behind it, and yet it always points to the same conclusion: They can't be healed because they are the conduit of the magic within us. Whether it is because the magic gets in the way of itself or another reason, I do not know.”

Rainbow Dash though about this for a while, but couldn't really think of a response. She bowed her head in defeat, and tears began to fall from her eyes. Until now, Rainbow Dash had not fully accepted the consequences of the accident. She had held on to the dim hope that she could pull through somehow, and by some miracle. But what Sunbeam said broke her resolve, not because it was proof by any means, but because it made perfect sense. As she started to sob, Sunbeam walked around to the other side of the desk and laid a hoof around Dash's shoulder to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash choked out. "It's just ..."

"Don't be sorry. I'd much rather see you like this than not see you at all."

RD looked up at her school-age friend with eyes flooded with tears. "Thanks."

"No problem." she replied. The two sat that way for a long time, Sunbeam leaning next to a distraught Pegasus mare that was spiraling down a figurative whirlpool of depression. The once confident and cocky pony was now only an empty shell of herself, and with no rudder, she started on the wild spin with only one end: hitting rock bottom.

=-=-=-=

A week later, Rainbow Dash was let out of Cloudsdale Hospital. The bones in her wing were not yet healed, but the doctors had decided to let her out once they made sure that they were at least healing in the right position. It had taken a week for them to be sure, as well as a minor surgery or two, but at long last, she was free.

Now she was taking an aerial chariot to Ponyville, something she'd never had to do before. She looked behind her to the open back of the chariot, and wondered for a moment if anypony had ever fallen out of one of these. It would be pretty easy, she reasoned; just accidentally leaning back would hurl you into the air and on your way down to the ground, where you would hit and this whole nightmare would be over.

Rainbow Dash shook her head quickly from side to side, trying to expel the suicidal thoughts within. When she looked around her she saw that not only had she been thinking about it, but her legs were bent, her body poised to jump out of the chariot. She mumbled something unintelligible to herself and repositioned her legs and body into a relaxed stance.

“C’mon Dash, you’re not going to kill yourself,” she said, trying to give herself a pep talk. “That’s weak”. Those last words were the true reason she did not want to kill herself: She was afraid of how ponies would think of her if she did it. These types of thoughts were ingrained in the Pegasus psyche, a remnant from the olden times of pegasi warriors and the honor codes they tended to follow.

“Besides, they would just catch me,” she reasoned.

The trip only took another minute or so, and when she landed, she wished it could've lasted longer. It had felt good to be in the air again, even if it wasn't with her own wings. On the other hoof, it also felt good to be in Ponyville. She breathed in the fresh air, something she had always admired about the small farm town. Up in Cloudsdale, the air was thinner with the altitude, lacking the richness and variety of smells that terrestrial air had.

As much as she wanted to cherish the air, she could barely have a breath to herself, as everypony in town came up to her and asked her about her wing. She told them the truth, and eveypony who heard offered his or her condolences. After answering two dozen ponies or so, it became too much, and she changed her response to: "Ask somepony else". She wished she could just fly overhead and avoid them all. She had never realized how crowded it could get in some parts of town, or how long it took to walk everywhere. By the time she got to the hospital, she felt like she’d been walking for hours, when in reality it had only been about fifteen minutes.

When she walked in, she was greeted by the front desk clerk. Oddly, they were not a mare as she remembered, but a teenage colt. He was an earth pony with a beige coat, amber colored mane, and blue eyes. “Must be new,” she thought.

"Hello, welcome to Ponyville Hospital, Ms. Dash. Is there an emergency?" asked the young stallion, looking past her face to Dash's bandage.

"No, I'm just here to visit."

"Who?"

"Scootaloo?"

A look of recognition arose on the colt's face. "Oh. She's here all right. She's in the last room on the left down that hall," he said, gesturing to one of the two hallways leading out of the lobby.

"Thanks," said Rainbow Dash, walking in that direction. “Finally,” she said to herself. “Somepony nice enough to shut up about my wing.”

She continued walking, her hooves clopping loudly in the empty hall. When she reached the end, she turned to the left, looking up at the room's number. "One. Of course, it's room one. It's like every damn thing reminds me of ..."

Suddenly, the door opened, interrupting Rainbow Dash's thoughts. She looked up, and could clearly see that the pony in the door was Applejack.

"Hey Dash! We was beginnin' to worry 'bout ya!" The farm pony pulled her friend into a tight embrace, then led her into the room. Inside, her friends - accompanied by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle - greeted her. Rainbow Dash scanned the faces in the room, but noticed that one important one was missing. “Where’s Fluttershy?” she asked.

"None of us have any idea where she is." explained Twilight Sparkle. “None of us have seen her, so we don’t know if she’s coming or not.”

"Oh. okay," she said, shaking off Pinkie Pie, who had hugged her the instant she saw Rainbow and now didn't want to let go. She walked around the group of her friends, and eventually saw the pony she had been looking for: Scootaloo. She had her eyes closed, which frightened Dash for a second. But she quickly realized that if her friends were this upbeat, nothing too serious could've happened to her. She couldn’t see the rest of her body, so she couldn’t see if anything was injured.

"How is she?" she asked.

"The doctor said she'd be fine," replied Rarity, who wore a concerned look, having noticed the bandage that adorned Rainbow Dash’s wing.

"Yep. She'll be all fixed up in a jiffy!" added an ever jubilant Pinkie Pie.

"The doctor said it'd take a week or two for her wing to heal up, then she'd be okay," explained Apple Bloom.

"But what about you?" Sweetie Belle asked, gesturing to the bandage around her wing.

"I heard you got the worst of it. Is that true?"

"Sweetie Belle, that's rude, bringing it up like that," Rarity scolded. "If she wants to tell us, she'll tell us."

Rainbow Dash looked around at her friends. All of them – even Rarity, despite what she had just said– were looking at her expectantly. As much as she herself agreed that it was incredibly personal, Rainbow Dash decided to take it like a Pegasi. Sure, she could just say she didn’t want to talk about it and her friends would be fine with that, but she didn’t want to give them any reason to worry.

"Yeah, I landed on the bottom. I saw that I couldn't pull up in time so I turned upside down so she would ..." but she couldn’t get the whole sentence out. Mentally, she cursed herself for faltering. She took another look at everypony’s face, and saw concerned eyes returning her gaze on all accounts.

"That's what we heard," said Applejack. "So ya did that to save her?"

Rainbow Dash nodded solemnly. Normally, she would’ve flaunted the fact that she’d selflessly saved somepony else from death, but she didn’t feel like it at the moment.

"Well shucks, I'm mighty proud of ya. Ya coulda died, ya know."

"I know."

"But if you don't mind me askin', what happened to that wing of yours?"

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She knew she would have to tell everypony about it sooner or later, and although now was as good a time as she would get, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Seeing that she remained speechless, Twilight spoke up. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to be here for you."

"Well, I don't ..."

Mid-sentence, the door swung inward, and somepony else walked into the hospital room. "Sorry I wasn't here this morning. I had some things I had to do and …” upon seeing Rainbow Dash, the pony went rigid, staring wide-eyed in astonishment.

Rarity was the first to greet the new arrival. “Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” she asked, walking over to the mild-mannered pegasus.

Flutterhsy bolted towards Rainbow Dash just after Rarity reached her, leaving the fashionista dazed and confused. Fluttershy continued on her beeline, despite the fact that Twilight and Pinkie Pie were in the way. Rather than go around, she knocked the two out of the way, which sent Twilight flying into a nearby wall, and Pinkie sprawling on the floorboards.

"Are ya okay Twi?" asked Applejack, helping her up.

"I'm fine," she replied, looking back at the small dent that she had left in the wall. "Not a problem."

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was assailing Rainbow Dash with questions about her wing, some of which were very confusing to the less informed ponies in the room. "What does she mean what’s going to happen to your wing?" asked Pinkie Pie. "It only took a itsy-bitsy week for your wing to get fixed up last time. And they already let you out of the hospital, right?"

Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy. "You heard?"

Fluttershy nodded. "So it’s true?"

"Yep." Dash answered, her voice so low that Fluttershy’s was at least twice as loud.

"Oh, I'm so sorry,” she said, pulling Dash into a hug much like Applejack’s, only softer.

"Sorry about what exactly?" asked Twilight.

"Well, um, I guess I'll have to tell you about that. Well, I'm ... Uh ... It's just that ..." Rainbow Dash felt the little confidence she had slip away. She turned to Fluttershy, a look of pure helplessness on her face.

"Can you tell them, Fluttershy?"

"Are you sure?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, okay, I guess I'll try," said Fluttershy. She took a second to collect her thoughts and her nerves. "Rainbow Dash has a permanent wing injury that was caused by the crash. As far as I heard, all the bones in her wing were shattered and … well … she can’t fly anymore." she said, trying her hardest to be calm but still squeaking at the end of her sentence.

Everypony in the room responded at once, but not in complete unison.

“What?!?!”

"I can't believe it."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry."

"Come again?"

Rainbow Dash bowed her head. "You heard her."

Nopony in the room had any idea what to say or do. But a late reaction from one of them broke the silence. "You What?!" All in the room turned to the source of the sound to discover that it was a wide-eyed, dumbfounded, orange filly sitting up in her bed.

"Scootaloo!" shouted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, running over to their friend. They tried giving her a hug, but she ignored them, getting up and walking over to Dash. For the first time, Rainbow saw what Scootaloo looked like after the accident. She had a splint that kept the joint of her wing from moving. It stuck out about half way up as a result, making her appear slightly lopsided.

After a painfully long silence, Rainbow Dash confirmed Fluttershy's statement herself. "I can't fly anymore," she said simply.

Scootaloo obviously understood what this meant, but she didn't want to believe it. "But It'll heal after a while, right?”

"Scootaloo, if you think it's your fault it isn't. I obviously pushed you ... pushed you too hard. I mean, that ... that technique was a little over your head." Rainbow Dash was fighting an uphill battle to keep her voice even and not start sobbing openly. So far, it seemed to be working, but she didn't know how long she could keep it up.

"Won't it heal though?"

"No," said Rainbow Dash quietly. "It won't."

Scootaloo's eyes closed about half way, and her stance became shakier. By the time everypony realized what was happening, Scootaloo was already falling over.

The nearest pony was Apple Bloom, but she didn't get there in time to catch her, and Scootaloo's body crashed to the floor, thankfully on the side which did not have an injured wing. Everypony stood in shock for a while, but Rarity was the first to come to her senses. "We need to get a nurse. Now."

"I'll go with you!" Rainbow Dash called after her, chasing her down the hallway.

=-=-=-=-=

The next time Scootaloo opened her eyes, she saw seven fewer ponies than she had seen last time. She was back in her hospital bed, and the only one sitting next to it was ...

"Rainbow? Is that you?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, but didn't say anything.

Scootaloo rubbed at her eyes, looking around the room. It was just as she had left it, "What happened?"

"You conked out when I told you ... Well, about my wing."

At the mention of her wing, Scootaloo made a whining sort of noise and turned away from Dash, pulling the sheets over her head. Confusedly, Rainbow Dash reached a hoof over to try to turn the filly back towards her. When she was met with resistance, she gave up. "Okay, what's up?"

From her sanctuary on the other side of the sheet, Scootaloo grimaced. Stubbornly, she remained silent, her eyes closed tightly. Rainbow Dash gave another few tries at getting her friend - for that is what they had become over the last few months - to respond to her. But despite her attempted patience, she snapped. "Are you even listening to me?!"

At first, all she was met with was more silence. But eventually, Rainbow Dash heard a sound, but not one she expected. It was a sort of sniffling, and she realized that Scootaloo must be crying. Instantly, Rainbow Dash regretted shouting, for in their companionship, Rainbow Dash often forgot how young Scootaloo was. She sighed. "It's not your fault," said Rainbow Dash quickly.

Surprisingly, Scootaloo responded this time. "Yes it is." she croaked out.

“Hey, I don't blame you. You did everything I wanted, but you weren't strong enough. That's all."

Scootaloo shifted a little under the covers, then flung them off, turning towards the pony sitting on the end of the bed. Rainbow Dash was met with the sight of a face wet from tears and eyes bloodshot from crying. Seeing Scootaloo in this state made Rainbow want to cry as well, but she held that urge back, instead putting a hoof around her shoulder. "I don't blame you, and if I don’t, why do you?”

"But I didn't do it right."

"So, you didn't pull off the trick. Well sure, maybe this one ended ... Awfully, but ..." Rainbow Dash did not finish her sentence, for she was barely able to utter those last few words.

"But I didn't do it!"

"Like I said, it's just a trick and ..."

"No, not that." Rainbow Dash plainly did not understand, so Scootaloo explained further. "I didn't do everything you told me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I ... It's just that ..." As had happened many times in this conversation, Scootaloo was at a loss for words.

"Hey, if you have something to tell me, you might as well."

"You'll just get mad at me."

Rainbow Dash made an attempt at a comforting smile, but she was unable to. Instead, she used her words, which had not failed her so far. "I promise I won't be mad," she said confidently.

Scootaloo wanted to believe that, but a nagging part of her told her that it wasn't true. Even so, she would have to tell her the truth about the crash. Even if it meant ending their friendship, she would never be able to live it down without telling her.

"When we started, you told me not to fly too much; not to fly more than you said to. But last week the training wasn't hard enough ... and I didn't want to insult you ..."

Rainbow Dash was listening to Scootaloo, but her eyes were distant, with a sort of glazed over appearance. Scootaloo stared into the twin pupils, and even though Rainbow Dash’s eyes were pointed straight at her, it seemed as though she was looking through her instead. It unsettled her, but she continued anyway.

"... So I started flying on my own. The day before ... before I fell, I went flying. But I hurt my wing. I didn't want to tell you, so I went on like it was normal. But when I did the breaking maneuver my wing couldn’t take it because it was already hurt."

Scootaloo had stopped looking at Rainbow Dash by the time she finished, and when she looked up she saw that despite her promise before, she wasn't happy. From the expression on her face, Scootaloo fully expected Dash to attack her where she lay.

Although she didn’t assault Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash did the only thing that could be worse: she stood up and started walking out of the room. "Wait!" Scootaloo called after her. She didn't make any reaction, now reaching for the doorknob.

"I'm sorry!" Scootaloo cried. "Please! I'm so sorry!!”

Rainbow Dash stopped. She turned her head back to the filly, an expressionless look on her face. It was as if all the emotion left in her body was gone, even the anger and the sadness. Scootaloo thought she would rather have the mare shouting at her in anger than staring at her as she was now. But just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, Rainbow Dash opened the door and ran out, and Scootaloo wished her friend was still there. She tried to hold back the tears, but one thought pushed her over the edge. "At least, she was my friend."

As the tears continued to fall, she thought about her mistake and what it would have been like had she just listened to Rainbow Dash's advice. She feel backwards on the bed, and through her sobs, her words could only just be heard. "I wish it was me instead."