//------------------------------// // Whispers // Story: Clipped Wings // by Tavi n Scratch //------------------------------// After a few attempts, I manage to go outside without breaking down. I stand out there, taking in all of nature’s embraces. The sun still hurts my eyes, but I adjust after a short while. I wait for some little thing to set me off, but nothing happens. I take in my surroundings. Everything is exactly how I remember it. Nothing has changed. I don’t know what I expected. Maybe I thought the world would fall apart once she was gone, but everything is exactly the same. The smell of lavender washes over me; the scent is relaxing. I close my eyes and inhale. It was amazing. I open my eyes once more and glance to the field. Without conscious thought, my legs begin to carry me towards the place of my sweetest memories. I look out on the landscape of purple flowers. Tears flow down my cheeks; I remember the days I spent here with Twi. We always met at her library, she would always make us a couple sandwiches and we’d head off to this place. I’m only half aware that I am walking through the field, the soft flowers brushing against my legs. I have no idea where I’m going, I just wander as I remember Twilight. The days we spent here are far in the past, yet I remember each conversation vividly. I will never forget the time we were together. I look up from my thoughts to see a large willow tree. It was our tree. Here we spent countless days idly chatting, enjoying our time together. If only I knew that this time was limited, I would have savored every second. The tears don’t stop as I walk up to the base of the tree to lie down. But the tears aren’t sad, they’re more bittersweet than anything else. I begin to nod off. For the first time in five months, I smile. ~~~ “Rainbow, wake up sleepyhead.” The voice is the most beautiful sound ever. I open my eyes to see the most perfect mare in the world, Twilight stood there in front of me, a basket at her side. “Oh, sorry. I guess I got a little too relaxed,” I say as I stand up to stretch. “Do you remember what we were talking about?” she speaks with mock impatience, “Oh yeah, of course I do,” I have no idea. “Our wedding?” Oh crap, how could I forget that. My face is already burning up as I give her a sheepish smile. Now that I think about it, the last thing I remember was lying there with Twilight under the shade of the willow. And before that... oh shit, how did I forget that. I had proposed to Twilight. And she had accepted. While my brain processed all of this Twilight sat in front of me, giggling at my deep concentration. “That must’ve been one serious nap, then again we’ve both been out for a couple hours.” A glance at the horizon confirms that it’s getting late, the sun is sinking behind the mountains. “Twilight, you know how you’re amazing with magic.” “Well my magic is okay,” she blushes. “Do you know any spells that could make this moment last forever?” “Of course not silly, you of all people should know that good things don’t last,” she speaks with an air of sadness. “What do you mean?” Her statement confuses me. She looks deep into my eyes, “Rainbow, wake up sleepyhead.” I feel reality slipping from underneath me. ~~~ A nearby clap of thunder shakes the earth around me. The memory of the dream is already fading. I jump up from where I was sleeping to see that the bright world I remember had been replaced by a dark and stormy one and I don’t like it. I’ll just fly up there and clear out the clouds, no problem. I coil up and leap to the sky. My wings don’t move. I guess I forgot that. Gravity pulls me into the mud. I look down at myself. I’d normally start to cry, but something about the dream left me callous. I don’t even remember anything about it. All I know is that, as I look down at my muddy self and back at my stiff wings, I feel nothing, I don’t care. It was insignificant. There was something much more important, I just can’t remember... Oh crap, the wedding’s next month, I need to get ready, I need to talk to Rarity about the dresses, Pinkie about the cake, I need to... Then the tears came. It was all just a dream, Twilight is still gone. I finally pick myself up out of the mud, I am a mess. I wipe off all the mud that I can, but my coat is still stained with the dark hues of the earth. I slowly begin to trek back to the cabin through the rain and the fragrant flowers, my head hung and spirit broken. I wish we were still getting married. What I wouldn’t give for my biggest problem to be deciding which flavor of cake to have at our wedding. I’d want chocolate but Twi would beg for vanilla. She always loved vanilla. A small smile appears on the corner of my mouth as I trudged through the storm. ~~~ I open the door and enter the warm room; I hadn’t realized how cold I was. I hear Fluttershy humming a tune. When I look into the kitchen I see that she is preparing some dinner for a few of her animal friends. She had a small smile on her face as she continued humming her melody. I didn’t understand how she could be so happy, after what had happened. I stood there and watched as she joyfully moved about. She eventually turned to see me and she instantly quieted down. “Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow, was I being too loud.” The entire idea stunned me, “How do you do it, Fluttershy?” I say, my voice sounding dumbfounded. “Do what?” she speaks very softly. “How can you be back to normal after Twilight... after what happened.” Fluttershy began to frown as she thought, “Twilight wouldn’t want me to be sad, I guess. Twilight wanted all of her friends to be happy, kinda like Pinkie does. Twilight loved all of us, especially you Rainbow” Twilight did love each of us, and she hated when we cried. She never wanted anypony to feel sad. What Fluttershy said makes sense. Twilight would not like that I’ve been sobbing on a regular basis. “And also, I remember all of the happy times.” her voice is even quieter now. “You should try and remember all of times Twilight made you smile. “Thank you Fluttershy.” I turn and walk up the stairs. She was right, I should remember all of the times Twi made me smile. There was a lot to remember. ~~~ I’m a bit unsure about this. Applejack, Fluttershy and I are going into town today, I just hope I can handle it. I don’t want to break down where everypony can see me. It’ll be hard enough going through the streets for the first time in six months. I have no idea how they will all react, seeing Rainbow Dash, Equestria’s most magnificent flier, for the first time since what happened to Twilight. I’m sure a couple ponies started a few rumors, some of which are probably true. We approach the edge of the main street; Ponyville’s bright pastel-colored buildings look foreign to me after all this time. As we enter town I am already turning heads. Ponies look at me and begin to murmur and whisper to those around them. I try to block them out, but the whispers pierce through. “Is that Rainbow Dash?” “I thought she was dead.” “Didn’t she move away from Ponyville?” “I heard she can’t fly anymore.” The last one makes me wince; how could they know? It’s not important, I just need to buckle down and ignore everything around me. My destination, Sugar Cube Corner, is just down the street. I pick up the pace a bit, the less time I spend out here the better. A few ponies call my name, trying to get my attention, but I just act like I don’t hear them. I’m still not in the mood for general conversation. When I burst through the door I come literally face to face with Pinkie, she is standing inches in front of me. “Hey Dashie.” I cringe, I never really liked it when Pinkie called me that. Although it was fine whenever Twi did. “Oh,” she shrunk back a bit, losing her smile for a short moment, but it quickly returned. “We made you a cake, I couldn’t remember if you liked chocolate or vanilla, so it’s both.” she giggled at her genius idea. Both chocolate and vanilla. I chuckle quietly to myself, Twi would’ve loved this cake. ~~~ Eventually the party died down, although I don’t think party is the correct word. It was just the five of us, being together, relaxed and happy for the first time in forever. After a while, the sun begins to droop in the sky, informing all of us that night was approaching. Fluttershy and Rarity go home, but I can’t help but linger; the bakery made for a nice change of scenery. “How ya holdin’ up, Sugarcube?” Applejack’s kind voice broke my silent reflection. “I’m...” I struggle to find a word to fit the situation. “Fine,” is all I can come up with, but it was the truth. As I sit there my mind is devoid of any real emotions, just shallow observations of the world around me. I guess it’s a good way to prevent crying. “RD, look at me,” Applejack speaks more intensely and grabs my shoulders. “You need to know that we are here for you, we all are.” My brain realizes that it is okay to cry here and now, I’m safe, my friends nearby. The tears start silently at first, but they quickly turn to sobbing. Applejack holds on to me and lets me express my sadness. I need to be more grateful to my friends, without them I have no idea where I’d be. It would’ve been impossible to go through this alone. When I’m through crying AJ speaks again, “There’s somewhere we need to go, you may not like it, it may make you sad, but I think it will help.” I already know where we are going.