//------------------------------// // Broken // Story: Color me Rainbow // by Prince Colgate //------------------------------// “Rainbow?” Dash could faintly hear a voice as she slowly regained consciousness. “Ya alright, sugarcube?” She opened her eyes to see Applejack’s blurry figure standing over her. “Oh, hey Applejack...” Rainbow sat up slowly. The world was spinning, and she’d forgotten why she was unconscious on the ground. She looked around and realized she was in the orchards at Sweet Apple Acres. “Howed I....” “Ya were flyin’ pretty recklessly. Ya took quite a hit. Ya’ll crashed into a tree.” She pointed to a nearby apple tree that had some bark missing and some branches broken. Rainbow cringed, wondering how she could make such an amateur mistake. “Ah never seen ya fly THAT recklessly before.” “Oh. Well, I was...” At that moment she knew exactly what happened. She was still a little light-headed. “I was tired.” She lied. “Oh really?” She gave her a questioning look. Applejack was never and easy pony to fool. She’d gotten away with it at Rarity’s party, but she doubted she’d have as much luck this time. “Why were ya flyin’ if you was so tired?” “Because I... Had work to do?” Of all times to do this, Dash thought right now was the worst possible time. She was still dizzy from the crash, and still light-headed from dehydration. “Uh-huh. In Sweet Apple Acres?” “Um... Weather, stuff.” “Then why were ya flyin’ so low?” “I... Um...” Rainbow Dash just couldn’t find words for an excuse. She felt herself slipping back into unconsciousness. The crash had just taken away whatever little bit of energy she had left. “Rainbow?” Applejack’s voice sounded distant now, though she was still hovering over the blue pegasus. She slowly closed her eyes, letting the world around her drift away. “Rainbow!” Dash wasn’t sure where she was now. Wherever it was, it was cold, and dark. And empty. She couldn’t hear Applejack’s voice anymore. It had started to get fainter and fainter, until it was gone. She could hear other things though. Birds, wind, her own heartbeat. They were all growing fainter. At this moment, the first thought that came to Dash’s mind was that she was dying. Every vague connection she had to the world seemed to be collapsing. She could no longer smell the gentle, sweet smell of apples. She could no longer taste the vial tastes that fill her mouth on a regular basis. She could no longer feel her broken throat bones or shredded esophagus. She could hear, but just barely. She was no longer the Rainbow Dash her friends knew and loved. After an incident like this, they would certainly find out what she’d been doing to herself, and they would certainly no longer respect or love her. Everything she had built up for so many years was crumbling around her, and she couldn’t do anything about it. All she could do was listen. “Stupid ol’ Rainbow Dash.” She imagined everyone saying. “She’s a fraud! A phony! She ain’t nuthin’!” She wanted to cry, but she was out of tears. In fact, by this point there was barely any water in her system at all. Just enough to get by. Suddenly she heard voices. Loud voices. Screaming voices. “RAINBOW DASH! Is she alright!? She’ll be okay, right! What’s wrong with Rainbow!” The voices were real this time. “Someone get her help!” A wave of confusion came over her as she realized that these ponies were here for her, now of all times. Though she was a mangled husk of what was once the coolest pony in Equestria, they still came to her aid. Though she could never imagine why. Rainbow Dash slowly awoke in a large white room. It didn’t take her long to determine that she was dead, and this was Pony Heaven. She still couldn’t move, but her pain was gone. It must have been a long journey to get here, and she hasn’t fully woken up yet. “Dashie?” She heard a quiet, high-pitched voice from across the room. It sounded a lot like Pinkie Pie... But what was Pinkie Pie doing in Pony Heaven? Did she die too? Rainbow could see Pinkie hovering over her, holding in her hooves a single cupcake. “I baked you this... You’d better be okay!” She laid the cupcake on the table beside Rainbow. Rainbow Dash wanted to ask Pinkie what she was doing here, or why (and how) she would bring the recently departed pegasus a cupcake in Pony Heaven. It took her a while to realize she wasn’t in Pony Heaven, but actually in the hospital. She was pretty heavily medicated, which made it difficult for her to move or speak. She wanted to say “Don’t worry Pinkie, I’m alright.” But couldn’t. As though Pinkie could hear Dash’s vein attempt to speak, she smiled a little, before walking out the door. Why does she still care? Dash found the whole situation to be a little difficult to swallow. They wanted perfection. You’re not perfect. Why should they care? The only other visitor she was partially conscious for was Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus came in and hovered quietly over Rainbow Dash, a very concerned look on her face. Unlike the others... Fluttershy knew what was wrong with Rainbow. “Ahahah, you can’t catch me!” Rainbow Dash flew circles around Fluttershy, who watched quietly, a smile on her face. “Nope, I can’t.” She nodded. “No, you’re supposed to try and catch me!” “But you said I can’t...” “It’s a challenge!” “Oh... Well, I’m not good with challenges...” Rainbow stopped in front of Fluttershy and gave her a odd grin, then laughed. The two were younger, just barely mares. Fluttershy had come up from the ground to visit Dash, and Dash took them to a nice dinner in Cloudsdale. Even back then, Fluttershy was awed by Dash’s ability to eat so much yet gain no weight. “Rainbow Dash...” Her curiosity finally got the better of her at dinner that night. “Hm?” Rainbow had been gnawing down on a pretty good-sized carrot sandwich, and it certainly wasn’t her first that night. “How do you... If it’s not imposing... How do you eat so much, and stay so small?” Dash stopped eating for a moment and looked at Fluttershy. “Well...” She started. “I have this secret, to keep me looking good and in shape. I can eat all the food I want, and never gain weight, because I just immediately get rid of it all.” At the time, Dash failed to see how dreadful of an illness she had. At the time, she didn’t even consider it an illness. Just a useful trick. “What... Do you mean? Like... Work it off?” “No, that would be almost impossible! No, see, it’s science. Food goes down my throat like this.” She took a bite from her sandwich, chewed it briefly, then swallowed. “Then later, I just bring back up my throat, out of my mouth, and move on!” Fluttershy was silent for a few seconds, and she had an utterly horrified expression. “That... That’s terrible!” “Yeah, it kinda sounds gross, but it works.” “No I mean... That’s really bad. Like... Really unhealthy...” “Please, I’m ME, I think I know what’s good for me and what isn’t.” “But I...” “Trust me, I know what I’m doing!” “I... Okay.” Understandably, Fluttershy had often regretted her decision to just let it go with Dash. She always felt like she could have stopped Dash’s illness from progressing as far as it did if she had been more assertive. But it was too late now. “I’m sorry...” Fluttershy apologized to the pale, broken pegasus in the hospital bed in front of her. “I should have been more assertive... You were right.” Tears welled up in her face. She had never thought that something so simple could be so devastating. Rainbow Dash was confused, and exhausted, both mentally and physically. Still, she fought to stay conscious as Fluttershy hovered over her, crying softly. It was at this moment Rainbow realized the full effects of her habits. She wasn’t making everypony like her more like she’d always thought. In fact, she was hurting those she loved. By this point, Rainbow had fully remembered what had happened. She had another spout in her bathroom, one of the worse she’d had recently. She’d left afterwards, her balance off, and her body drained of vital liquids. At this point, she wasn’t thinking about the consequences of flying in that state. All she was thinking about was getting away from home for a while. Predictably, things took a turn for the worse. She started to feel light-headed, and eventually drifted heavily off-course, plummeting towards the ground. She rammed into a tree head-first at full speed, effectively knocking her out and giving her a concussion. As her memories became clear, something else became clear. She had to stop what she was doing. She could not keep doing this to herself, or to her friends. At that moment, she knew it was time to ask for help.