//------------------------------// // Fallen Angel // Story: Shattered Wings // by CleverlyDmented //------------------------------// "Dashie! Please, don't do this. You're my best friend! I can't lose you! I need you!" Fluttershy screamed after the cyan pegasus, trying to keep up as she sped on towards Celestia knows where. She had finally worked up the courage to tell Dash how she felt. "Dash, stop running, please! I need you! I love you!!!!!!" The pegasus stopped, spinning around to face Fluttershy. "Take the hint. Leave me alone. Stay out of my life, freak." With that, she turned tail and shot off towards the horizon, way too fast for Fluttershy to ever hope to keep up with. She stayed there in one spot, watching, crying as the mare she loved flew away, never to return. Between sobs, she felt an intense pounding in the side of her head. Perhaps it was a bad headache from the stress? She didn't know, she was too upset to even care. She closed her eyes, letting the tears flow, letting the hurt fill her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, she opened her eyes. She could feel the tears that had streamed down her face in her sleep. She was drenched in sweat. Angel Bunny stood on her head, tapping his foot to try and wake her up. Through motions and gestures, he admonished her for sleeping so late. He tapped his wrist, the universal sign of Tik Tok Fluttershy looked at the clock beside her bed. The hands pointed out that it was 12:30 in the afternoon. Without thinking, she shot up, sending the poor bunny flying into a small pile of blankets. He peeked through, waving a tiny fist at her. "I'm sorry, Angel. I've got to hurry. Oh, I hope I'm not too late!" Even though she could barely form a full sentence around Rainbow Dash, she cherished every moment spent with her. Today was going to be a day just for them, and Fluttershy wouldn't have traded it for the world. She rushed about, packing things into her saddlebags. Throwing in her money bag, she zoomed out of the door, leaving Angel to clean up the blankets and fix the bed. Just as she was about to fly skyward towards Dash's house, the rainbow-maned pony burst through the clouds. Much like the day before, she landed perfectly next to Fluttershy. As usual, she held a big grin on her face. "Hey Fluttershy. You ready for a fun day?" She smiled at her friend, speaking with grace, but it all went unnoticed. What caught Fluttershy's attention was the bandage around Dash's back leg. "Oh my! What happened! Are you ok? Do you need anything? I..." As she spoke, she fluttered around Dash, examinging her from head to toe for any injuries. Finally, the mare stuck her hoof out, stopping Fluttershy's torrent of questions. "Calm down, Fluttershy. I just had a bit of an accident this morning, that's all. I crashed into some rocks practicing one of my tricks. Nurse Redheart was nice enough to bandage me up. It's nothing serious!" As she spoke, her air of confidence and happiness broke through Fluttershy's worry, and she finally set her hooves on the ground, returning to her normal shy demeanor. "Oh...that's great...umm...I'm glad you're ok." She stared at the ground, still unable to make eye contact with Dash. It happened everytime they were together. Something about her made it impossable for Fluttershy to be able to look her in the face. Maybe it was because, everytime she did, she was overcome with the extreme urge to kiss her. "Thank's for being concerned about me though. It's nice to have a best friend that worries so much about me. It shows me how much you really care!" Dash smiled as she spoke, putting her arm around Fluttershy. Fluttershy kept her face in her mane, not only to hide the blushing, but the smile that reached from one ear to the other. "So what'd'ya say we get headed towards Cloudsdale? We already missed half the day, so we gotta make up for lost time!" "Ok....let's go." As the two took off, Fluttershy was sure to stay slightly behind Dash. If she couldn't make it through today, she could never hope to be with the mare. Thought's of her nightmare raced through her head as they flew towards Cloudsdale. Now, she knew she could never tell Dash how she felt. And that only made her feel worse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cloudsdale was particularly busy today. As it turned out, Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, was hanging out at one of the local cafe's for the day, meeting fans and boosting her media persona. "Maybe we should pop in to say hey once the crowd dies down a bit." In the last year, Dash and Spitfire had become good friends. Saving somponies life tends to do that. The two hung out frequently, exchanging stories and showing off the moves they had learned or made up. By now, Spitfire was just another friend to Dash. She didn't have the same jaw-dropping effect anymore. "I...umm...yes...we should say hi." Fluttershy had often spent hours wondering about the relationship between Rainbow Dash and Spitfire. Many sleepless nights were caused by the nightmare that the two were together. Figuring the cafe would be crowded for at least a few hours, the two decided to walk through the marketplace. Neither of them had been to Cloudsdale since the Best Young Flyer's competition. Rainbow Dash had gotten first place for not only saving the Wonderbolts and her friend Rarity, but also creating a Sonic Rainboom in the process. She had become the talk of the town, having been born and raised in Cloudsdale. That was nearly two years ago now, and a lot of the uproar had died down. Now, she could walk the street without getting piled on by 50 ponies. The two spent an hour browsing the wares of various shops and stands. Dash bought a small legband with "Winning" written on it, saying that it fit her perfectly. Fluttershy, still overcome by Dash's mere presence, hadn't managed to actually look at her friend. As the day passed, the pegasi managed to make their way back to the cafe. The large sign showed it's name of "Skybucks." "Oh man, I swear these are popping up on every corner now. I don't even think their coffee is that good!" Entering the small cafe, they noticed that the once large crowd had dissipated. Casusal customers dotted the room, sitting at various tables with their sweets and coffee. In the far back, closest to the window, sat Spitfire. Her attention was rapt on a small book placed in front of her. Every once in a while, she took a sip of her Mochachino. "Hey Spitfire!" Dash yelled across the room, smiling at her friend. Fluttershy in tow, she approached the small table. Spitfire didn't avert her gaze from her book as she spoke. "Dashie, glad you came. I didn't know you'd be here today!" She turned the page of her book, taking another sip from her beverage. Fluttershy looked at Spitfire. It was weird how, even though she had the same grace, the same cocky attitude, as Rainbow Dash, she didn't have the slightest feelings past friendship for her. She had no trouble speaking to her, normally. But, standing next to Rainbow Dash, her resolve was diminished to nothing. So, she just stood there, listening to the two talking. "Hey, watcha reading? Please tell me Twi hasn't gotten you into those goofy books!" She laughed slightly, but something seemed off about it. Spitfire noticed it almost immediately. Turning her attention to her friend, her eyes widened. "Woah, dude. Are you feeling ok? You look like manure." "Hey, that's not nice! You don't hear me making jokes about your dirty mane!" It was at this time that Fluttershy finally managed to look at Dash again. The difference almost immediately caught her attention. Dash seemed pale, her mane didn't have it's usual luster and gorgeous pallor. She seemed sick. "No, Dashie. I mean you look bad. Are you sick, or something?" Spitfire showed genuine concern for her friend. Rainbow Dash wasn't known for ever being sick. Being a pegasus and spending most of her time in the clouds, her body was adjusted to handle the cold. Dash shrugged. "I don't know. I feel perfectly fine." They sat around the table for thirty minutes catching up. Spitfire had been nominated by Ponies to be crowned Equestria's Best Flyer. Rainbow Dash talked about helping clean the town after the storm they had had. Watching the two, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel left out. "Well, I'm gonna be heading out soon, Dashie. Me and Soarin' are supposed to go meet Fancy Pants in Canterlot for a dinner party on his yacht." "Alright, dude. I'll be sure to catch ya later. Say hey to Soarin' for me!" The two exchanged hugs, Fluttershy mumbling a jealous goodbye, and parted ways outside of the cafe. Rainbow watched as her friend flew away. Fluttershy, instead, watched Dash. She was wobbling badly, almost as if she were struggling to stay standing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ever since Fluttershy had noticed Dash's change in appearance, she had been watching her carefully. She noticed that Dash was walking with a bad limp. How long had she been doing that? Fluttershy mentally cursed herself for not paying better attention to her friend. "I..think we..should go home..." As Dash spoke, it seemed like she was struggling to make the words come out. Her coat had lost all of it's glossy shine. She continued to limp, not noticing that Fluttershy had stopped walking. "Umm....Dash...I think...umm..." Fluttershy struggled to speak. Even though she could see her friend was in pain, she couldn't force the words to form. Even still, her love forced her to stumble and fail to complete sentences. "W-what's....the ma-matter....F-Flutter....." The words were cut off as Dash stopped moving. Without warning, she collapsed to the ground. Ponies walking the streets started to gather around her, worry filling all of their faces. Fluttershy didn't hesitate. Her full motherly instinct taking over, she didn't miss a beat. "Somepony, go get help. Dash? DASH? Please, wake up!" She shook her friend, doing everything she could to bring her to conciousness. Her breathing was shallow and weak. "Dash! Please! Don't do this! Please!!!" The words struck her as she realized that she had spoken them in her dream. But it was pushed to the back of her mind as she worked to wake her friend. Unsuccessful, she turned to the bandage on her leg. Maybe whatever was under it had gotten infected? She had to know, and worked to undo the fastenings on the bandage. She shrank back as she looked at her friends leg. Tears brimmed her eyes. Under the bandage were two pinprick-sized holes. Blood ran from them as the pressure from the bandage was removed. To anypony, it would have gone unnoticed. But to Fluttershy, it was as clear as day. It was a snake bite. "DASHIE! PLEASE WAKE UP! PLEASE!" Tears were now running down her face, drenching her and Dash. But she didn't care. This was the pony she loved the most. "PLEASE! I CAN'T LOSE YOU!" The crowd had now swelled, watching tearfully at the specatacle. Some hung their heads. Others couldn't bring themselves to watch the yellow pony falling apart. In the distance, the sirens of the Ambulance could be heard. But to Fluttershy, nothing outside of her own little world registered. She held Dash, yelling and crying for her to wake up. She didn't realize when the medics had pulled her away and placed Dash in the carriage. Fluttershy watched through tear-filled eyes as it was pulled away, the love of her life now fighting for her own. .