//------------------------------// // Painful Separation // Story: Answers // by MIKEANTHONY321 //------------------------------// Flash had laid his beaten and bruised wife down on the couch, where he had applied bandages and gauze around her wounds. She was still out cold. The way he saw things, Rainbow could either forgive his apology, or she could leave him out of pure anger (and probably once again smash the new wedding ring he got her). He had a very threatening feeling that she would pick number two. Apparently, she had forced him to tap into an untold darkness that dwelled within him, and he blindly beat her up to the point of unconsciousness. His guilt was feeding off of his urge to remain calm. “Oh…I wonder how long it’ll be until somepony finds out…” He whispered. Just then, Flash could hear rapid hoofsteps sprinting down the hall. Soon after, Blaze burst into the living room. “Hey dad! I just found out I was named after one of the Wonderbolts!” He beamed. “Yes, I think I of all ponies would know that, being that I named you. Could you please leave now?” Before Blaze could ask why, he caught a good glimpse of his blacked-out and crippled mother. “Holy crap!” Blaze exclaimed, running towards Rainbow’s unmoving body. “What happened, what happened?” Flash was getting annoyed. “It was just an accident, okay?” “Unless she fell off of our house and hit the ground, I don’t believe you.” Blaze stated. “It was just a fight we got into. No big-” Blaze interrupted. “No big deal? Dad, look at her! What did you do?” Flash sighed, ashamed of himself. “Blaze…just go to your room. I promise I’m trying to take care of her. She’ll be alright.” Blaze stared down Flash for a second, then obeyed. Flash turned back to Rainbow. “Oh Dashie…I’m so sorry. Please forgive me…” A tear fell down Flash’s face, and it landed on Rainbow’s arm. Right after, he saw her head move a little. Flash’s eyes widened at the reaction. “Dash?” Rainbow’s eyes slowly opened. Her breathing had begun to pick up, as her consciousness had returned. She coughed up some blood, and clutched her ribs in pain. Flash stepped back in shock. “Oh gosh, Dash……I’m so sorry…” Rainbow’s head turned, and she stared at him for a few seconds. She squinted a little. The red liquid coating her mouth freaked Flash out a little. “Please Dash…say something. Please…” Rainbow coughed a couple more times, and blood ran down her face. She struggled to make words form on her lips. “I…I……I…” Flash got a little closer, trying to hear her better. “I…I hate you…” She rasped. And with that, she fell unconscious again. She had gone deathly quiet, and Flash couldn’t hear her breathing anymore. Blood poured out from her mouth, forming pools on the floor. Flash stepped back a few more steps, shivering severely. “Oh…OH…Oh Celestia, no!” He exclaimed. He ran to the phone as fast as he could possibly go, and picked up the phone. Tears streaming down his face, he dialed the number. …………………………………… When the paramedics had finally arrived, Flash was in pieces. As they ran over to Rainbow with an AED, he stood off to the side whispering. “How could I have possibly beaten her up that hard? There’s no way she can die from being beaten up! I didn’t mean to kill her!” Flash heard one of the paramedics announce, “We have a pulse!” He heard the other one suggest that they take her to the ICU, and two more medics came in, carrying a stretcher. When they got Rainbow onto the ambulance, Flash followed. He stayed in the back with Rainbow, and a medic came around and closed the doors. …………………………………… By the time they had reached the hospital, the medics had Rainbow on the way inside faster than Flash could keep up. He understood, being that every second counts against Rainbow’s……well, life apparently. Once they had Rainbow in a room and on a bed, they asked Flash a couple questions. “How are you related to this mare?” One asked him. Even under questioning, Flash managed to stay bold and collected. “She’s my wife. We’ve been married for about ten years.” The medic’s eyes widened. “You’re married to the famed Rainbow Dash?” She asked unprofessionally. “You’re pretty lucky. I can name about six colts off the top of my head who wanted to ask her out.” Flash knew that those six colts would probably get their chance with her once this whole thing was done. It’d be a miracle if Rainbow remained married to him once she recovered. The group heard some loose groaning coming from the bed. They all turned to see Rainbow Dash starting to wake up. The group of medics walked over to her bed, and the one who had questioned him took out a clipboard. They waited patiently for Rainbow to fully become aware of her surroundings. “Wha…who…who are you?” She stammered, looking at the medic with the clipboard. The medic ignored the question. “Are you Mrs. Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow looked angrily over at Flash. “I think MISS Rainbow Dash will do just fine. The ‘Mrs.’ is unnecessary.” Flash’s jaw dropped. “Dashie, don’t do this! Please!” Rainbow just rolled her eyes, and ignored him. “Ms. Rainbow Dash, our tests show that you have broken ribs, and a partially skewered lung. “Do you know how this happened to you?” Extremely angry, Rainbow pointed an accusing hoof at Flash. “It was him. He beat me up until I was unconscious!” She bellowed. Confused, the medic turned to Flash. “Mr. Flash, is this true?” Flash could only stammer, unsure of how to respond. “Um…well…” The medic cut him off. “You do realize that assault is punishable by several years in prison, right?” However, the medic couldn’t help but notice the stream of dry blood that also ran down Flash’s face. She turned to Rainbow. “Ms. Dash, did you also partake in this incident?” Rainbow didn’t hesitate. “Heck, yeah! That guy pisses me off!” She almost yelled. The medic sighed. “You know what? I’m just going to leave this alone. I’ll just leave for now.” The group of medics left the room, leaving Rainbow and Flash alone. There were a couple whole minutes of awkward silence to go with it. Finally, Flash broke the silence. “Rainbow, why-” “Don’t talk to me.” “But-” “I said don’t talk to me! Leave me alone!” “Why are you doing this?” “Because I’m sick of you. You treat me like a foal, and beat me up when I refuse! Look at me! I’m in a hospital because of you!” “Who are you going to go to? Soarin? The ‘soul mate’ thing is corrupting your judgment!” “Soarin is a good pony, and he supports me and all of my decisions! And he did his best to help me when Jet was being born!” “So did I! I was also there for you in all of those situations, and I care about you just as much as he does!” “Then why am I cooped up in a hospital bed because my ribs are broken?” Flash had no response to that. So he improvised. “I…I screwed up, Dashie. I’m sorry.” “Sorry doesn’t fix my ribs! Or my lung!” “It’s just that-” “By the way, while I was at Soarin’s, he gave me some good news. Because of all my stunning skills, they promoted me to the captain of the Wonderbolts.” “That’s great!” “No, it’s not. You know why? I’m removing you from the team.” Flash was horrified. “Dashie, no! Please don’t! Please!” “Stop calling me ‘Dashie’!” Flash’s barrier broke. He started crying. Rainbow had gotten into the Wonderbolts because of him, so that made it all the worse when she booted him. “W…what about the kids? What about them?” “I’ll just take them with me. I figure they’ll have a better life with both me and Soarin than you.” Flash could barely form words to speak. He was crying almost uncontrollably now. “Dashie…please…” “It’s over, Flash. We’re through, and I’m not turning back. We’re done here!” Rainbow angrily pointed a hoof toward the door. Defeated and heartbroken, Flash left the room, and his life with Rainbow Dash. To be Continued… Author Notes: No one worry, I’m not going through a depression or anything. I just figured my story needed a little more ‘spice’ to break the repetition. Let me just say that Rainbow WILL NOT be returning, like the last time. I’ll try to give this three-sequel story a happy ending!