//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Broken Wings & Fractured Dreams // by NobleQuickSilver //------------------------------// The sounds of wheels scraping across a floor could heard, the smell of blood in air and the cries of a pony in the distance. A blue pegasus tried opening her eyes, but they felt heavy; all she could do was squint through her eyelids. She could feel herself moving, she tried looking around, but all she could see was bright lights. It was making her nauseous, she tried to speak, but couldn’t find the strength. She could hear a muffled cry and the mumbled talk of others nearby. She came to a halt and tried to speak once more. “Ugh... Where am I, where’s Scoots?” Dash said, remembering the earlier events. Somepony gasped and she felt somepony hugging her. “Dash! I thought I was going to lose you, I’m so sorry. I swear I’ll never do anything stupid as that again!” The orange pegasus cried, not caring if anypony saw her tears. “Uhh...Scoots, is that you?,” She said as she tried to move her head so she could look at who was holding her. As she tried to turn she felt a sharp and intense pain throughout all of her back. She tried moving again only to have the pain come back just as strongly as before. “What happened to me, and where am I?” “You’re in the Ponyville General Hospital, Miss Rainbow Dash,” Said Nurse Redheart as she stood next to the Rainbow’s bed reading several charts and graphs that were hanging at the foot of the bed.”You’ve been in a very serious accident your lucky your friend here managed to get help in time or your injuries might have been more severe than they already are.” “What do you mean?” Responded Dash a hint of anxiety and fear mixed in her voice. “Well you crashed into the ground at a very high speed, not to mention you landed on your back so it was unavoidable that you’ve hurt your back and wings in the process. Chances are you might have experienced some form of permanent damage, but we’ll have to wait for the results of the tests to come back before we’re able to determine that for sure.,” Said Nurse Redheart as she put down the the clipboards, and started to leave. ”For now you’ll stay here, until we’ve determined the extent of the damage, and try to avoid any kind of major movement for now.” She finished as she left the room, and made her way down the hall. “Wait... I’ve lost my wings?,” Dash whispered in a hoarse voice as she tried to flap her wings, but quickly stopped as a sharp pain struck her. “Ugh” She tried to reach round to grab her wing, but found she couldn’t even do that. “I can’t do anything... What about my dream?” She lowered her head in defeat and laid back down on the bed. Scootaloo stood there, angry at herself and feeling guilty for what she had done to her friend. “I’m sorry Dash, I never meant any of this, you should’ve just let me fall!” Scootaloo said, trying to hold back her tears. The hurt pegasus slowly turned around on her bed to face the upset filly. “Let you fall... No, I made the right decision. No, I’ll be fine just watch! I’m gonna get better and soar the skies once more. After all I’m the one and only Rainbow Dash!” Dash said firmly. Scootaloo smiled, it felt good to see her hero still be the same pony, but it crushed her inside because she knew the truth. A truth that would destroy Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, you’re right. You’ll be back to normal in no time!” Scootaloo shouted with excitement. Scootaloo could feel her stomach twisting. ‘I have to do it...’ She thought, still keeping the smile. Dash started to yawn and could feel her eyelids getting heavier. “Sorry kid, but I’m gonna catch some sleep. Its been a busy day.” Rainbow Dash laughed as she said the last lines, causing her a little more pain. ***** Rainbow woke up the next morning feeling very tired and sore all over her body. As she tried to get up she felt a sharp pain along her back that forced her to lie back down. It was at this time that she noticed her surroundings. She noticed that she wasn’t in her cloud home, but instead was lying in hospital bed with green covers, in a sterile white room that was nearly empty except for a chair in the corner and a window that allowed a small of sunlight in. All she could hear was the sounds coming from the several different machines that she was hooked to. “So it wasn’t a dream....I’m really never going to fly again.,” She thought grimly “No, I can’t think like that I’m Rainbow Dash the greatest flier in all of equestria. I’ll probably only be here for a couple of days then I’ll be back soaring through the skies in no time.” She thought optimistically, but deep in the back of her mind she knew this wasn’t true. For a while all she did was lie there and listen to the constant beeping of the machines as they monitored all of her different bodily functions and made sure they were stable. After that became unbearable she looked out the window trying to find something interesting to keep her attention for a while. She felt just like she did the last time she had hurt herself, and was forced to stay in the hospital. The difference from that time was that she could at least move around, now she was forcibly bedridden as any small movement would cause immense amounts of pain. Just as she felt that she wouldn’t be able to take lying there anymore she could hear a familiar voice coming from down the hall. A smile crept onto her face as she realized who the voice belonged to. The door swung open and she laid eyes on a purple unicorn who looked quite stressed. “Rainbow!,” She cried out, running to her hurt friend. “I just heard what happened, are you alright!?” Rainbow Dash sat up slowly and leaned against her pillow which took her a longer time to do than normally. “Twilight... Relax, I’m fine. Just a bit hurt, but umm where are the rest of the girls?” Dash asked with confusion. Twilight moved beside Rainbow and sighed. “Pinkie... She was acting all nuts so they refused to let us all up at the same time, not that I blame them. I think Pinkie would be to much handle in your current state.” Twilight said firmly. “So are the others with her?” Dash asked. “Yes, they’re all down there waiting on the news, but speaking of news... What exactly happened? I didn’t find out, Scootaloo just came to each of us and told us you were in the hospital, but she never explained why.” Rainbow lowered her head and tried to figure out what to say next. Her head swimming with many thoughts. “Ugh... I crashed when I was looking for Scootaloo, I flew through a cloud, but didn’t realize I was near a cliff and hit it. Knocking me out and well I guess I must of landed on my back from a great height...” Rainbow said, but she didn’t look at Twilight. Twilight stood there, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “You... Rainbow Dash crashed into a cliff...,” Twilight said slowly like she was trying process it. “You really crashed?” Rainbow nodded, but still didn’t look at her. “That’s the whole story, nothing more, nothing less.” She responded. ‘Why am I even lying?... Out of loyalty or shame?...”  Rainbow thought as she laid back down. “Well if you say so Rainbow, Scootaloo seems pretty beat up about it. She seemed so down when she told us, well... After all the kid does look up to you a lot,” Twilight said with a worried tone. “Well, besides that have they told you anything about your injuries yet?” asked Twilight “Oh, that... They told me that they won’t know for sure until they get the results from the tests, but they said that there’s a chance that I might suffer some sort of permanent damage.” answered Rainbow a bit sadly. “What!? Are you sure? Is there anything we can do? Maybe i can get the princess to do something? There’s probably a spell tha-” “Twi, calm down! There’s nothing we can do besides wait for the results; and besides it’s me we’re talking about, I’m sure it’ll be fine, and I’ll be out of here in no time.” Rainbow answered cheerfully trying her best to calm her down. Although Twilight could tell that was more to ease her own fears than anything else. “Ok, if you say so Rainbow, but I must leave now. I’m sure Spike is going insane with hunger,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes and trotting towards the door. “Now you take it easy Rainbow... We don’t know what we’d do without you.” Dash looked over to Twilight and smiled. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be back in the skies in no time! All I gotta do is relax...” Rainbow groaned. Twilight giggled, waved goodbye and left. Leaving Rainbow alone with her thoughts and noise of the machines. She laid back down on the bed slowly. ‘I’ll make it out of here... Just gotta wait... But for how long and will I still be good as I was? Ha, just wait Scoots... We’ll be flying together in no time.’