//------------------------------// // Consequence // Story: With These Wings // by xara //------------------------------// Dash waited as best she could, standing up to pace around the room, then throwing herself back onto the waiting room couch in frustration. The unicorns who had carried the little pegasus to the hospital emerged from the back rooms, but they could not impart any information to her. She thanked them for their help; they nodded somberly and took their leave. She kicked one of the lamp tables, the lamp atop it rocking back and forth precariously but somehow failing to fall. She paced some more. Her eyes wandered around the room and fell upon the bent scooter and wagon that had been left against the wall, seeming to notice it for the first time. She stopped moving, but just stood and stared, not knowing what to think. She worried, but felt a rising heat as she struggled to cast that feeling aside. After all, Scootaloo had taken falls and bruises before. Any Pegasus that spent time near the ground was bound to collide with something or other every so often. A broken wing hurt, sure, but it would mend in time. The next Wonderbolt training weekend was a few weeks off; she vowed to spend some more time with 'Scoots' while she could. Heck, they could work on her cutie mark some more! I'll bet just working on fixing up the wing will turn up her talent! Still, she kept moving, back and forth across the floor. The doors opened again and she looked over in anticipation and concern. It was Rarity, leading in front of Sweetie Belle, whose face and body had creams and bandages applied to her slightly battered self. One of the nurse ponies returned, stationing herself at the front desk again. Rarity nudged her sister towards a small red cushion on the floor, then nodded to Rainbow Dash and the pair moved off to the side. "I didn't get to look in on her," started Rarity, "and don't ask her!" she included, when Dash looked ready to honor her name and bowl the purple-maned pony over along the way to the nurse. "She was tending to Sweetie Belle, not Scootaloo." Dash sighed. "Okay. It's the waiting here that stinks." Rarity nodded and took her friend in a quick embrace, as Rainbow Dash blushed a little in embarrassment before giving a squeeze back. "Rainbow, dear, I'm sure it's going to be okay. Let the Doctor and nurses do their work. I've got to walk Sweetie Belle home and tell our parents what happened. I'll stop by Twilight's and let her know you're here. Is there anything you need? Some food or drink, perhaps?" "No...I'm fine. I just want to hear the news as soon as I can." Rarity nodded, looked like she was about to say something more, but stopped and turned, her groomed, purple tail swishing as she walked. She nudged her sister, who got off the cushion. The pair walked out the door, though Dash and Sweetie locked eyes for a moment as the filly turned to look behind her. More waiting. Interminable. Insufferable. But the clock kept ticking, Dash kept pacing, then sat on the couch some more. Finally, the back room doors opened again and the Doctor strode through. He paused, looking at Dash, appeared to make up his mind about something, then continued over to her, as she bounded from the couch to look at him expectantly. "So, is she okay? It's just a wing break, right? No big deal?" The Doctor held up a hoof, trying to mollify the rushing wave of inquiry. "Yes, it is a wing break..." "HA! I knew it. Just needs some setting and a few weeks recovery, yeah?" The Doctor didn't match her enthusiasm. "Look, Rainbow Dash..." "What? What?" "It's not the whole story. I'm not sure how to phrase this, but. We appreciate you taking charge of the situation and bringing Scootaloo here, but...is there something...further..." He seemed at a loss as to how to proceed. Dash wondered what the hay he was trying to get at, but figured out what the Doc was prancing around. "Oh. Uh. I'm not just...being a good citizen or whatever. She's a friend. More than that, really. Erm. We've grown close. I was kind of...adopting her as a little sister?" She couldn't help but blush at the surge of namby-pambyness. The Doc took it in stride, but his face stayed a little stern as he spoke again. "I can appreciate that, Miss Dash. I'm certain she will love to have you visit, and no, she's not in mortal danger. But there are other...circumstances here, and I know you're not her legal guardian." "No, she... she's from the orphanage in town." "Correct. And it's Ms. Weaving that I'll really need to speak to..." Rainbow Dash was turning red in the face and looked about ready to explode. "Doc, you better tell me what my s... what Scootaloo is going through right now and then I'll go fetch Ms. Weaving or all of Ponyville or Celestia herself if I gotta!" The Doc sighed, but gave in. "Her right wing is broken, yes." "And?" "But that's just a symptom. Not the cause. We took some magic rays and looked at the whole area to get an idea of the break. We saw that easily enough, but that wasn't all we found. She has...malformed growth in the bone connecting her wing to the rest of her skeletal structure. It's something that would have come up in a few months during her regular checkup, and it's not something we would have seen in the last one." "What the hay do you mean, malformed? She's one of the fastest little speedsters I've seen, how could her wing be...malformed?" "It's growing, but it's doing so...bent. If it continues, it's going to cause serious damage. I wouldn't be surprised if she had already been experiencing some soreness or joint pain. From what I can tell, hearing about this accident," he surmised, "It may have been an occurrence of pain that caused the accident in the first place." "But if it's...going to continue...?" The Doc raised a hoof to his head, pushing his glasses back up along his nose. "The wing has to come off, Miss Dash. We need Ms. Weaving in order to get consent for the operation." Dash fell to her haunch, stunned. "She's on painkillers, still out like a light, she probably passed out from the pain of the two problems. Normally I would want to include her in the decision, but that's just not feasible now. We could set the break, but the underlying problem would remain." Dash still struggled. "She's not...how will..." "Please, Miss Dash. Go now. We can't keep her under forever, and you don't want her to experience the pain of waking up without this dealt with. Get Ms. Weaving." He left the shaken mare, returning to the back rooms of the hospital. The desk nurse, though she hadn't tried to eavesdrop, clearly understood the seriousness of the situation and gave Rainbow a sad look. Dash got to her hooves. How could this happen? she thought in a rush of fury. I was going to be the one to teach her how to fly! She felt ashamed and hated herself for a moment as that bit of arrogant pride came through. She swallowed, and forced the selfishness away. So she'll need me now more than ever. Celestia's backside, I don't know what we'll do, but I've got to help her. She near-galloped to the door and went through it in a blitz. Dark had taken over the town entirely as she had waited inside the hospital. She flapped hard and lifted in the air...she'll never get to do this now - a wave of sadness - focus!... took a moment to orient herself, and zipped towards the orphanage. Filly and Colt Orphanage certainly wouldn't qualify as 'pristine' or even 'well-kept', but it was a big, solid foundation with a sturdy roof, like many houses in Ponyville. Dash wasn't sure, but she thought it had been some old mare or stallion's actual home before being left as an orphanage as a donation. Hadn't the old one been out further in the countryside, or something? At least this place meant the little ones could more easily enjoy the things the town had to offer. She really hadn't paid much attention to that sort of thing. Why hadn't she visited Scoots here before? Probably would've gotten a big kick out of it. Would've swelled up like a balloon about to burst, she bet. She plowed through the front doors. The place was pretty open. A few young ponies, until then playing on the floor with a few aged toys, looked up as they were startled by the noise of the doors crashing open. Dash stamped a hoof a bit nervously, and called out. "Hello? Ms. Weaving?" A grayish-coated older mare with a light yellow mane came trotting down the stairway. "Not so loud!" she hissed. "The foals are in bed..." The mare reached the bottom step and stood, brows furrowed. A younger stallion wearing a small blue hat came partway down the stairs, then turned about and headed back up when the caretaker waved him away with a hoof. "I'm sorry, I really am," Dash got out quickly. The mare raised one eyebrow but stood emotionless. "There was an accident, Scootaloo broke a wing..." The mare's expression softened at the mention of one of her wards. Then narrowed again. "Is this your fault?" She hazarded. "No! I heard Sweetie Belle calling and a bunch of us ponies arrived. They had crashed, and..." Dash relayed the rest of what happened, including the trip to the hospital, the discovery of the problem, and the need for Ms. Weaving's presence. The old mare looked sad, but did not delay. "Junior!" the caretaker called out, somehow whispering but doing so...loudly. Dash looked at the children playing nearby. One of them had a raggedy pony with one of the beads meant to be an eye hanging dejectedly from the end of a thread sticking a inch out. The blue-hatted pony came halfway down the steps again. "Yeah, ma?" he asked. "I must attend to Scootaloo at the hospital," she responded. "You're in charge while I'm out. Put the others to bed in a half hour." Her son nodded assent, and she turned back towards Rainbow Dash. "Very well." She rummaged for a moment at a nearby desk, then tipped a small sack over her side. She spared no look behind her but headed out the door, leaving Dash to follow. They returned to the hospital in silence. There wasn't much to say. Dash wanted to fly back with the news, but the gray Earth pony walked with a calm intent that somehow infuriated her. How can she accept this so calmly? she seethed. Good call, handing a bunch of children over to such an uncaring...pony! She trudged beside the caretaker, silently ranting. The hospital doors didn't welcome them, but opened anyhow. Twilight Sparkle, one of Rainbow Dash's most trusted friends, was standing near the desk, speaking with the desk nurse. "Twilight!" shouted Dash. "Rainbow Dash..." The unicorn with the streaked mane faced her, face displaying an uncommon sorrow. Ms. Weaving looked toward the nurse, who nodded and indicated the back room doors with her hoof. "Twilight..." Dash said again. She stopped moving, looked stunned again for a moment, then shrieked in furious glee. "Wait, Ms. Weaving, stop!" The caretaker looked back, unchanging in expression. "Magic, don't you see?" Dash kicked up and waved her front hooves excitedly. "Twilight, use your magic! Do you know what's going on? You can fix her wing! And the bone!" "Rainbow..." Twilight tried to get in a word. "What are you waiting for? Where's your books? There's got to be something in them about this Find it!" "Dash, I can't!" "Why not?! Don't you have it? Where is it? Canterlot's library? I'll get it - just wait! Tell me where it is." "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight's voice raised higher. "The Doctor's a unicorn himself! He would know a spell if there was one - but it doesn't work that way! He could fix a break, but they told me about the rest...it's too complicated! It's too dangerous! She might die trying to use magic like that!" This time, Rainbow Dash did knock the lamp to the floor when she lashed out at the table again. "Then write Celestia!" Twilight shook her head. "Write Luna! Get the Elements! Do something!" Her friend could only stand there, unable to respond to the torrent of entreaties. "What good are you, then?!" Dash's voice rose to a wail. "What good is your magic if it can't...help my f...frieeeeeend!" She fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, hooves pounding the floorboards in misery. The caretaker, her shoulders heaving slightly, faced the back doors again and continued through at last. Twilight knelt on the floor, took her friend's muzzle, and placed it against her mane. She raised a hoof and stroked Rainbow's rough technicolor hairs, humming soft 'there, there's as Dash's choked sobs reverberated against her coat. In the operating room, the Doctor and the caretaker exchanged some words in low voices. Not long after, he started to operate.