"Is she going to be okay?" Twilight cautiously asked.
The night princess nodded.
"Yes. In fact, doctors said that she will wake up soon."
"Then she could tell us what happened." Rarity trotted over.
"Maybe. Depends if she is willing to talk."
"What...do you mean?"
"Twilight, you do realise what she could have been through. Looking at her wounds, she has defiantely been tortured in some way."
The front doors of the hospital opened.
The mares turned towards the visitors.
"Applebloom? Scootaloo? Sweetiebell? What are you doing here?"
Scootaloo walked up to the lavender unicorn.
"Is Rainbow....dead?"
"What?! No! Why?"
"We heard voices by our treehouse."
"What type of voices?" Rarity inquired.
"We dunno. But they kept sayin' stuff like, ah've done it mother." Applebloom hissed.
"And that the Element of Loyalty was done for. Saying that she is smashed like the necklace. Saying that she was dying." Scootaloo cried.
Twilight kneeled down to Scootaloo's height.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Scoots. But yes, Rainbow Dash was dying."
Immediately, the orange filly burst into tears. Her wailing echoing throughout the hospital.
"But don't worry. She's okay. She's alive." Twilight quickly said.
"I don't believe you!" The filly yelled.
Applejack sat next the distraught filly.
"Scootaloo. Ah couldn't believe when tha doctors and Twi said she migh not make it. But she is alive. Why do yah tink Princess Luna is here?"
Scootaloo looked up at the night princess.
"You can see her in the minute." She gently smiled.
"You can see her now." Doctor Stable stated. "She's waking up. However, you must be gentle around her."
"We understand."
Scootaloo looked up at Applejack and Twilight, who were both heading towards the room that Rainbow was in.
"Rainbow? Rainbow?"
"Mmm..." Rainbow slowly fluttered her eyes open.
"Dashie?" Pinkie whispered.
"Urrr...m-m-m..." She lift up her hoof and removed the mask on her snout. "W....where...." She rasped.
"You're in the Ponyville Hospital. Don't worry, darling. You're safe now."
"I-I-I...hu...rt."
Fluttershy stroked her friend's prismatic mane.
"Rainbow. What happened?"
"Fluttershy. Wait for the questions."
"Okay." She whispered.
"Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo hopped onto the chair next the bed.
"H-hiya...Sc-c-coots."
Scootaloo didn't say anything, she just dove into a hug. And cried into her idol's shoulder.
"It-It's o-o-oka-ay. I'm h-here." She winced as the filly leaned on her sore and aching ribs.
"They said you were dead. I didn't want you to die. I don't want to lose you." She muffled as she choked on her tears.
"N-Now, wh...y would...I die? Th-ey can't k-kill off t-he fast...fastest pegasus in Equestria." She grinned to the little filly. "Don't worry...Sc-Scoots. I will never l-leave you." Rainbow slowly moved her hoof to Scootaloo's face, and wiped off the little filly's tears.
"I love you Rainbow Dash!! You're the best!! I'm going to make you the bestest get well card...ever!!" Scootaloo jumped down. "Come on girls!! It's card making time!!" The three fillies cheered as they left the room.
The mares turned back to the injured pegasus.
"Are ya really okay?" Applejack was unconvinced by the her friend's excuses.
"No...I'm n-not. I-I ache all over."
"What did they do to you?"
"I don't....want to t-talk about it." She croaked.
"That's okay. But you must tell us soon. We're your friends." The girls smiled.
"Umm...Rainbow? I brought you some of your stuff from your house." Fluttershy held a set of saddle-bags with a lightning bolt badge on it. She trotted over with the bags in her mouth. But she tripped over her rose pink hair. Throwing the bags onto the floor. "Oh dear! I'm so sorry."
Everypony stared at the bag, that had now split it's contents. But they weren't looking at the toothbrush or the hair conditioner. They were looking at a very big book and a set of square white glasses.
Twilight used her magic to levitate the bag up, and placed them neatly by the bed. By she hovered the book and glasses over.
"Cal.cu.late's Encyclopedia Version 1? This is about International Congress of Mathematicians! Why are reading this?" Twilight demanded.
"Twilight, darling calm down. It's just a book."
"No! It's not just any book!! It's the book!! There is only two in the whole of Equestria!! And one was burnt three hundred years ago!! Not even my library or the Canterlot Archives have this book!!" Twilight muttered manically.
"Calm down!! For Celestia sake Twilight!! It's a book!! She can read!!" Fluttershy yelled.
"Please. Stop f-fighting. Please. I'll tell you why I have that book. Just stop fighting." Rainbow begged.
The two yelling ponies stopped. They lowered their heads in shame.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow. I didn't mean to break out like that. Especially since you've been through so much."
"Rainbow? What's wrong with ya eye? One is red and one is pink."
The pegasus sighed.
"I was born with one red eye, and one rose eye. My father thought it was unique, but my mother thought I would get picked on for being different. So, I had a rose contact for my red eye. Hiding it."
"What about the glasses?"
"I-erm...."
Fluttershy smiled and nodded to her friend.
"You can trust them."
"I used to be...an egghead. I loved reading books. I had top marks in all my tests. I studied, and I loved the library. I was also the teacher's pet in my classes. My mother loved the idea of having a intellectual daughter, with a higher IQ than others. But my father thought differently. He didn't hate me for being smart. Just the fact that I never used my wings. I hated flying."
Everypony gasped.
"You...hated flying?"
Rainbow nodded.
"I would have preferred to be an earth pony. Or an unicorn. So I could hover my books and read several at a time. But one time, when me and Fluttershy had become good friends, we went to library.To get loads of books for our test for the next day. You see, Fluttershy wanted me to help her in her studies. That's why we went to the library. And after it closed, we walked into some bullies. They yelled at us. Saying we were both filly-foolers, and nerds. Then one of them knocked me over. Knocking my contact out. They saw that my other eye was red, and not pink. So they began to beat me up. Calling me a freak, a nerd, a weirdo...pathetic. Saying what's the point of a pegasus that doesn't want their wings. When they left, my eyes was bleeding badly. I was bleeding everywhere. Fluttershy helped me to the hospital. After a couple of hours, and when my parents came, the doctors told them that my vision had been badly damaged. That I would need glasses from then on. They asked about surgery, but the doctors said that my eyes were now too delicate to operate on. So I wore the glasses. And I picked on even more. Every day was worst than the other. With the insults and the beatings. Then one night, I snapped. I got rid of the glasses, the books, everything. Then I decided to try flying. I became a natural. Ponies adored it. I gave up the teacher's pet and egghead title. I never wore my glasses again. Even though I couldn't see, I rejected them. That's why I crash so much."
"Why don't you wear your glasses? I mean, now?"
"I wouldn't! I didn't want to bullied again. I hated it. I don't get how knowing complicated chemical equations meant getting thrown into a locker. I just didn't want to be picked on at Ponyville."
"Awww, Sugarcube. There ain't nothin' ta be scared of. Ponies love ya for who ya are."
"Yeah!! You can still be cool and smart!" Pinkie sang.
"I don't know." Rainbow sulked.
"Can you actually see us right now?"
"Not very clearly. Right now, you're just a bunch of blurry blobs. I mainly use them to read." Rainbow admitted.
A blue glow surrounded the white glasses.
"Well, let's see how you look in these glasses, dear." Rarity smiled as she placed the glasses delicately onto Rainbow's nose. Everypony gasped as they saw Rainbow.
"You look so cute!" Pinkie giggled.
"Excuse me?" Everypony turned to a nurse in the door way. "Rainbow, as your injuries are quite minor. We are releasing you...today." She said as she read the clipboard.
Rainbow's grin grew.
"However, you are now to wear your glasses. Your eyesight has now been very damaged. And you will be not be able to see without them."
Everypony watched as Rainbow's expression dropped.
"Okay." She whispered. Comparable to Fluttershy's.
The pony left.
"Well, that was quick. You've only just woken up."
"Yeah."
"It's probably the author's fault." Pinkie bounced around.
"What?"
"The author. They want to quickly finish the chapter, so they made Dashie leave early."
"Pinkie? What are you on about?"
"Twi. Jast leave her. It's her fourth wall thing again."
"Oh. Okay."
"I don't know about leaving girls. I'm scared."
"Come on. We'll go to library and we can help you."