//------------------------------// // Licking the Wounds (FIXED-ISH) // Story: Even Rainbows Falter // by Pracca //------------------------------// On the edge of town, the looming branches of the Everfree Forest just a short trot away, rested a colossal tree. Surrounded by burrows and dens and filled with nests, hundreds of animals made their home here. They were fast asleep, their gentle breath lending a sound not unlike a constant, soothing breeze to the frigid night air. Hibernation was the predominant activity, from now until spring. Their caretaker often relished this season, for the chance to relax. She was far less exhausted than in the hectic autumn months. “Mom?” However, that did not mean she was happy, or at all prepared to be woken up in the middle of the night. “Eeh-wha?” Flutershy’s eyes shot open as the familiar voice of one of her foals called out to her. They were bloodshot, and slightly panicky both from the startling noise and the torrent of potential crises running through her mind. They might have shocked or scared most of her foals, who seemed to have adopted their parents’ skittish nature. However, this particular colt was the odd one out. An earth pony with a light gray coat, where the others tended to be some bright pastel color, with a darker, bluish-gray mane that hung loosely over one side of his face and hid one of his overly-large, lazy-looking eyes. His cutie mark was a magnifying glass, and his namesake the greatest detective in Equestrian history. “Mm… what is it, Sleuth?” the pegasus asked her son. She stifled a yawn as she propped herself up on one leg to avoid falling back to sleep. The little foal looked back towards the window. “Somepony’s at the door.” “Really?” Fluttershy asked, confused at who could be calling this late, and more importantly why she hadn’t heard them. “Usually I hear when somepony knocks—“ THUD THUD THUD On cue, three loud raps on the door shuddered through the old tree home, and the pink-maned pegasus nearly shot straight through the ceiling as she jumped in fear. Her face was frozen in a state of total, baseline panic, only coming out of it as she heard a snicker coming from her bed. Fluttershy gave an annoyed glare at Caramel, the earth pony who’d awoken just a moment before. He suppressed a yawn and tried not to laugh too much at his wife’s expense. Fluttershy glared at him—or rather, she gave a disappointed little frown. The closest thing the pegasus possessed to a glare was not to be used so lightly. The awkward moment was kept from proceeding by Sleuth mentioning, “They weren’t at the door yet, Mom. I saw them walking up the road.” “Oh.” She and the drowsy stallion replied, happy for the explanation. A moment of silence passed before cold logic was shot through Caramel’s mind, and his eyes shot open as wide as dinner plates. “Sleuth.” He said, already beginning to sound utterly baffled. “You can’t see the road from your room. Why were you awake, and in somepony else’s room?” “A better question is, why is nopony answering the door?” the cheeky little foal replied in the same stoic manner as his previous words. Caramel shook his head in exasperation, muttering to himself what in Equestria he’d do with the little scamp. He turned to Fluttershy, who by now had drifted back down to sit on the bed. “Go back to sleep, honey; I’ll get the door.” “Not a good idea.” Sleuth butted in. Caramel was a tad more irritated than confused now, and raised a questioning eyebrow at his son. “And why’s that?” he asked incredulously. “Mom should get it.” Sleuth asserted, though with no change in tone. “It is her friend, after all.” “M-my friend?” the colt’s mother asked, now a bit more worried. That was a short list of ponies, and none of them had any non-crisis-based reasons to be knocking on her door this late at night. “Who is it?” Sleuth shrugged. “Couldn’t tell with all the bruises.” “B-b-bruises?!” Like a rocket the pegasus catapulted from the room, hastily muttering apologies for making such a racket as she asked Caramel to keep an eye on her son. She swore she’d be right back, and in a flash she was out of sight. Caramel, still in the bed, looked at his son in the awkward silence the mare had left. The foal stared back. “You’re grounded for talking to your mother like that. You do know that, right?” “Worth it.” Fluttershy was down to the main floor in a matter of moments, taking great care not to step on the bunny currently passed out on the floor. Angel wasn’t too picky about his nap spots these days, but Princesses help you if you disturbed him, wherever he was. The knocking was persistent, and was at a considerably louder volume than was necessary. “Um, yes, I’m coming!” Fluttershy trotted up to the door, silently praying that Angel wouldn’t be woken. The room was dark, only a single candle kept lit in case one of her foals needed to come down for a snack. Thinking to be ready for her guest, she snatched up the brass mount for the candlestick and carried the light with her to the door. She carefully opened the entrance just a tad, peeking outside. “H-hello, is there something you nee—oh my gosh!” Rainbow Dash stood in front of her home, a swollen red eye throwing off the symmetry of her face, and heavy bandages wrapped tightly around her body and forehead. Her legs and wings were trembling, as if the effort of even getting there had nearly sapped all of her energy. “Uh, hey, Fluttershy.” The other pegasus muttered, trying to ease the shock with a false grin. “Mind, uh, if I crash at your place for a while?” If the current interior of Fluttershy’s mind could be visualized, it would be perceived as a blank void, somehow filled to its infinite brim with an endless cacophony of sirens, klaxons and alarms. She tried to say some comforting words, but all she could produce was a shrill, timid squeal as she pulled the other mare inside. Rainbow stumbled, but her friend supported her and brought her over to the sofa to sit. Sit, the pegasus did not. She was entirely out of strength, and smushed her face into one of the pillows, awkwardly rolling herself onto her back to lay on the cushions and relax. She closed her eyes, and tried to shut out her sore muscles and the multiple wounds threatening to open once more. While not enough to elicit a smile, a contented expression began to creep into Rainbow’s expression as the pain of the trip died away. Slowly. Fluttershy was not there to see it, already fetching a glass of water and lighting several more candles. She was just returning from the kitchen at the moment Rainbow opted to risk opening one eye. The room was blurred, and not even the shifting form of her friend nervously looking over her wounds came into any focus. A feeling like a ball of air welled up in her skull, the pressure keeping any other subject out of her concentration. She groaned, straining to make out the words Fluttershy was saying to her. “Rainbow?.. Rainbow Dash, can you hear me?” “Uurgh… barely.” The pegasus groaned, squinting at the blinding last—specifically, the dim candle bathing the room in a somewhat ethereal glow. Fluttershy picked up on this, and leaned in close so her voice could be better made out. “Rainbow, what’s wrong, why are you squinting?” “…Turn off the liiiight.” She groaned. “I-is is hurting that badly?” “Yes!” “Oh dear.” Fluttershy whimpered. She snuffed out the candle and, through familiarity of her own home, flapped her wings and used her powers of flight to avoid any nasty obstacles she might have otherwise come across. She carefully sat the glass of water on the table beside the couch. “Drink this.” She whispered, and placed a gentle kiss on Rainbow’s forehead. “Just relax, Rainbow, I’ll go find some things to make you more comfortable.” Before the pegasus could complain, or truthfully respond at all, her friend was back up the stairs and throwing open the door. Caramel shot up from bed and gave a quizzical stare as she rushed the bed, ushering him off as she ripped off a few sheets and bundled up a pillow inside of it. “Uh… who was it?” he asked, unsure of where to begin. “R-Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy said, eyes darting around the room to ensure she had everything she needed. “She’s hurt, um, very badly and—aha!—“ she stopped to shoot inside the bathroom and return with a small bottle of medicine. “—um, I think she might have a concussion.” “W-wait, hold up, what?!” Caramel blurted out, motioning with his hooves to slow down her speech. “How the hay did Rainbow get a concussion?” “Um, I’m not sure.” Fluttershy admitted, finishing wrapping the sheets around the other items. “I haven’t asked.” “Well, don’t you need to, or something?” her husband replied, coming with her as she began trotting off down the hall. “She could’ve been attacked by something—somepony! Have you even called a doctor yet?” “H-her wounds look like they were already treated.” Fluttershy observed. “All she needs for the concussion is rest… I think.” The pair of ponies turned down the stairs, and stepped down lightly. As they reached the bottom, Caramel bumped his hoof against the prone form of a very volatile bunny. Angel shot up like a rabbit possessed, and with tired old eyes still cold as coal stared his down— Only for a moment. A second pair of eyes shielded their husband from view as Fluttershy responded in turn with the greatest Stare she could muster. No, they said. There are more important things than your temper. Angel, for a moment, returned the stare with vitriol. Longer than any other animal would dare. But even he knew when to bend. Though he looked none too happy about it, the bunny shuffled out of the way and skulked off to the corner to resume his sleep. Fluttershy and Caramel came back to the sofa to find Rainbow as disoriented as before, though now with a growing smile on her face as she looked over at Sleuth, sitting in the other chair and chatting with her in the dark room. “Sleuth!” Caramel yelled, furrowing his brow. “Didn’t I tell you you were grounded?” “Yes.” The foal responded. “I’m still in the house.” Rainbow, in her current state, had no method to hold back the stream of giggles that followed. She clammed herself up—barely—with both hooves, and after a moment said, “Fluttershy, d’I ever tell you your foals are awesome?” “Um, yes.” Fluttershy whispered, tenderly nudging Rainbow to lift her head as she slipped a pillow underneath. She threw a blanket over her dear friend and tucked her in. “Sleuth hasn’t been bothering you, has he? I’m sorry, he gets—“ “Don’t sweat it, ‘Shy.” Rainbow chuckled. “I don’t mind chatting with my awesomest nieces and nephews. He’s been looking at my wounds, actually. Little guy’s gonna be a doctor or something, the way he talks.” “Really?” Caramel asked, giving an aside glance at his son. “What’s the diagnosis then?” “Well, it’s not a pony like you were probably worrying.” Sleuth said, gesturing for his parents to sit. Not through any sense of command; this would simply be a long conversation. Caramel and Fluttershy hopped up onto the loveseat together, waiting to see what their little colt had come up with. “Well, based on the bestiary I borrowed from the library, Auntie Dash’s wounds aren’t anything a pony could do. They’re a lot closer to a manticore, or even a diamond dog. But neither matches up 100%.” “HA!” Dash sputtered, smacking her forehead in amusement, before suddenly cringing in pain. Everypony looked at her in shock, but the blue mare recovered quickly with a face-splitting grin. “Did I tell ya, or did I tell ya, the kid’s got a knack! Close, little fella, but not quite. It was a gargoyle.” Sleuth’s eyes went wide, and he stood even more rigidly than his usual stoic pose. “Really?” he asked, just the littlest hint of youthful curiosity in his tone. “I thought they all went extinct.” Dash looked up at the ceiling, unable to hide her prideful smile. “Hehe, well, not all of ‘em. That’s where me and the Wonderbolts were today. Bunch of those guys attacking a mining town out near Canterlot.” Caramel and Fluttershy shared a glance. “…I see.” The latter muttered. “So that’s why you weren’t at Opal’s party today.” For a brief moment, a pang of a difficult to read but clearly distressing emotion smacked Rainbow. But it faded fast, into something more stoic. “…Yeah.” “Something I don’t get.” Caramel announced. “Why’d you come here? You had to have passed your house on the way here. Why not stay there?” He wasn’t sure what he had just caused, but the stallion felt something being to smother the room, an emotion he couldn’t place. Rainbow Dash took her eyes off of the ceiling, and glanced over at Sleuth. She gave a nod up to the staircase. The foal understood, and dutifully left. Dash looked over at the happier couple and, with nothing else to possibly start with, sighed. “…Twi and I… had a fight.” She said, slowly eking out the words like she was embarrassed of them. Truth be told, she was, a little bit. “A big one.” She took a breath, best to get it all out before she could regret it. “I've been trying so hard to keep everything from falling apart in the Wonderbolts, I've been spending less time with her and Opal. Today was… pretty much the final straw.” “But, you were doing work for the Princess?” Fluttershy questioned. “Twilight must’ve understood how important that was.” Rainbow shook her head. “By the time she’d figured that out, I was already yelling back. I got up in her face, and I… oh, Celestia, I totally blew it!” Fluttershy clicked her tongue and shook her head, walking over to stroke the other mare’s mane. “Dear, no, you can’t blame yourself for this.” “Yes, I can, Fluttershy! And that’s the worst part!” the pegasus screamed, seemingly unaware of the volume of her own voice. “At our wedding, Princess Celestia told me to take care of Twilight. How the hay am I supposed to do that?! I can count times she’s needed me f-for anything on my hooves!” Caramel cringed, and tried to avert his eyes as the telltale sounds of sniffling and sobbing crept in beneath Rainbow’s words. Fluttershy tried to shush her, but she continued unhindered. “I-I’m just a giant screw-up! I try and do my job and do my team right, and I buck up my own daughter’s birthday party! She totally hates me now, and I can’t even blame her because she was completely right!” Fluttershy tried her best to raise her voice, but it was still too soft to do any good before Rainbow’s front hooves ripped out from beneath the blankets and clutched the sides of the other pegasus’ face. Rainbow’s eyes warbled as delirious tear began to flow. “She doesn’t trust me at all. She thought I was gonna hit her, Fluttershy! Why… why would she…” That was enough. The healthy pegasus placed a hoof over the other’s mouth, and quieted her at once. With a gentle, but firm force, Fluttershy nudged Rainbow’s head back and onto the pillow. She gave a low, sweet shush and re-tucked the blankets. Fluttershy nuzzles the side of her friend’s head and cooed in the same tone she used to help her own foals sleep at night. “Shhhhhh. It’s okay, Rainbow. Your concussion is acting up; you need to calm down, okay?.” She brought the glass of water over, and lifted it to Rainbow’s mouth. With a bit of cooperation, the cool liquid was funneled down her throat. “There.” She said reassuringly as she set the glass down. “Now, you probably need something for your headache. Most of the medicine I have isn't very good for you right now; b-but, I think Zecora might have something. Will you be OK here while go get it?” “Mmmm…” Rainbow moaned, trying to make some form of coherent response. But sleep was quickly overtaking her with the conversation dying down, the exhaustion of a long and distressing day coming down on her. Fluttershy backed away from the dozing pony before letting a long, quiet sigh. It sounded as if she’d just gotten off a shift of manual labor. Though her loving smile was certainly not the way a laborer would have viewed their job. “So…” Caramel whispered to avoid disturbing the slumbering Dash. “d-do we let her sleep?” Fluttershy shook her head. “We should keep her awake, at least for now to make sure her concussion isn't too bad. Keep talking to her, maybe bring some of the foals back down to chat.” She was walking towards the door when Caramel asked, “Where’ll you be?” She turned back, opening the door as slowly and quietly as possible. “Um, I need to go find Applejack. She’s always been better at figuring out these problems.” “Could you wrap up, at least?” asked the stallion, reaching into a closet to hand her a scarf. “It’s winter, in case you’ve forgotten.” Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle at her lack of foresight, accepting the scarf alongside a peck on the cheek. She stepped out the door and gave a tiny wave back as Caramel shut the door behind her. A brisk wind blowing from the side alerted her of the need to get moving. The winter air greeted her as she set herself on the path to Sweet Apple Acres.