//------------------------------// // Rainbow's Run // Story: Lost Wing, Lost Identity // by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash woke up with a yawn, trying to open her eyes. She felt a lot better than she had in days. It had been nice to get some sleep without having bad dreams constantly. It had been so nice she considered rolling over and going back to sleep. Rainbow stretched out, and stopped as the warmth against her underside finally registered. Opening her eyes fully and looking down she found... Twilight sleeping against her? Slowly everything started to come back to Rainbow Dash. She had gotten up in the middle of the night and gone downstairs where she found Twilight in the kitchen. Dash had insisted that Twilight go to bed, who had countered with the offer of them sharing a bed. Dash had accepted and ended up carrying Twilight upstairs to bed. The two of them then cuddled up and went to sleep. Except the way Dash remembered it, she had cuddled up to Twilight's chest when falling asleep. How had they ended up moving enough to be spooning? And how did Dash end up being the big spoon for that matter? Not that she minded. Shifting slightly, she nuzzled at the back of one of Twilight's ears. Hopefully the slight tickling sensation would wake the other mare up. Twilight Sparkle flicked her ear as something tickled the base of it. As the feeling continued, she raised a hoof to swat it away..and felt a muzzle? Twilight suddenly felt wide awake. Turning, she saw the familiar face of Rainbow Dash. Twilight let out a sigh, relaxing as she remembered what happened last night. She smiled up at her friend. "Hi." "Hey." "Sleep well." "Yeah," Rainbow Dash looked around, "I wonder how long we've been asleep though. What time is it?" Twilight chewed on her lips and shifted, looking around. "After ten," she finally said. "I guess we should probably get up." "Yeah," Dash agreed. The two of them continued to lay there, neither getting up. They continued to look at each other, Twilight's back pressed against Dash's chest and stomach. "We should get up," Twilight said again, "can't stay in bed all day. I still have more books to go through." But she still did not move. She looked at Rainbow Dash's eyes, and thought she saw something. Pulling away, Twilight rolled over to look at Dash face to face again. Now, Twilight was able to fully see the look in her friend's eyes. It was a look that she had seen before, but had not recognized back then. The look she was seeing in Rainbow Dash had been the one she had seen a dozen times when she was a filly. It was the same way her brother had looked at Cadence; a look of desire. Licking at her lips, Twilight moved closer. She continued to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes as she brought her muzzle closer to her friend's. Twilight could almost smell the scent of her friend. The alicorn's heart pounded in her chest as she moved toward the pegasus, pursing her lips. Twilight Sparkle pushed away from her friend and rolled out of bed. "I should really get back to my research books," she blurted out. Her ears pulled back close to her head and she could her face burning as it turned beet red. "Yeah, okay." Rainbow Dash replied. She pushed the blanket off her and climbed out of bed. Moving around it, Dash pressed her shoulder against Twilight a moment, then gave her a nudge. "I'm going to go for a run," Dash stated, "It's been quite a while since I've had a proper work out." "Okay," Twilight responded, not looking at her friend. Rainbow Dash looked at her a moment. As Twilight continued to look away, the pegasus finally shrugged and walked away. She turned back at the door to give one last look before leaving the room and heading down the stairs. Once outside, she began to stretch out. Although she had taken a few walks, it had been a while since Rainbow Dash had enjoyed a proper work-out. Hopefully the weeks of inactivity had not made her too soft. As she thought about soft, her mind began to drift to Twilight. When the two of them were cuddled up in bed together, Dash noticed how Twilight's body felt. Being more interested in books than working out, naturally Twilight would not be as fit as Dash or Applejack. Despite not being as physically active, the alicorn was still pretty fit. There was a little bit of fat on her form, but it seemed to be mostly around her hips and flanks. Rainbow Dash gave a shook of her head, trying to push the thought away. Feeling stretched and limbered, her body was ready to run. Looking around, she studied the area around her and considered her route. She did not want to spend the entire day running, and she was not as fast a runner as she was... as she used to be as a flyer. After some consideration, Rainbow Dash decided that it was time to go back to the field where the tornado had been. It would be better to confront the area instead of trying to avoid it for as long as possible. It also meant an opportunity to visit Fluttershy. Dash had not seen the shy yellow pegasus since the party for getting out of the hospital. Having decided, Rainbow Dash started to move at a canter. The late morning sun felt wonderful on her body, soaking through her coat and making her feel warm. The only exception was the spot covered by a bandage. Since the spot where her wing had been amputated had been healing, Dash was no longer wrapped in gauze and padding as she originally had been. Now it was just a small patch over the immediate spot to protect the stitches and prevent infection until the wound healed completely. She enjoyed the feeling of her run as she went. It felt great to finally work out again after a month. She kept from the major roads as she went through town, keeping the steady pace as best she could. Every muscle in her body tingled as she worked them. Rainbow Dash was probably going to be stiff and sore tomorrow, and she was actually looking forward to it. After getting through town, she reached the edge of the field. Although she did not intend to, Rainbow Dash stopped at the edge, looking out across it. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as it went dry. Her heart started to race faster than it had during her entire run. Dash had been planning to do a full gallop across the field to Fluttershy's. Looking at the area now, her legs wobbled and she did not feel up to it. Instead, she walked across it, going slowly. She looked around as she did, looking to see if there was any damage still visible from the tornado. The suction of the funnel had torn a furrow into the ground. It was not too bad, about a foot and a half deep and nearly three wide. It was on the long side, close to six feet maybe. As she looked at it, Rainbow Dash noticed something; grass. It was not much yet, but there was fresh grass starting to sprout and grow in and on the furrow. In its own way, the field was healing as well. There would be a scar from the spot being deeper than the rest around it, but soon it would look more like it used to. Rainbow Dash tried to hold onto that thought a moment. If the ground could heal from its devastation, so could she. The flicker of hope quickly faded with a sigh. It was not the same thing though. It would be more like she were a tree that had its roots ripped from the ground. Pushing the thoughts aside, she continued toward Fluttershy's hut. Reaching the front, she knocked on the door with her hoof and sat down to wait. After a moment the door cracked open. A blue eye peaked out through the crack, looking through a length of pink mane. "Hey Fluttershy," Dash said, looking at the peaking pony. "Oh," a meek voice said, "Hello Rainbow Dash. Are you here to pick up Tank?" The door opened further to reveal the yellow pegasus. A tortoise wearing a pair of goggles on its face and a propeller on its shell flew out toward Rainbow Dash. Stopping in mid-air, it stretched out to rub its cheek against hers. The action got a grin from the blue pegasus, returning the motion. "Yeah," Dash replied, "but also to see you. Haven't seen you since I got out of the hospital." She looked at her friend, who looked away to stare at the floor. "Oh," Fluttershy mumbled, "um..sorry. Uh... Well I was just about to have lunch. You could join me. That is... if you want to." Rainbow Dash moved to step inside, seeing Fluttershy smile. The two of them walked to the kitchen, working their way around the various animals that shared the house. Most seemed to ignore the pair of ponies The one exception was a white rabbit sitting on the couch and glaring at Rainbow Dash. Dash glared back a second then continued to follow her friend to the kitchen. Fluttershy was quickly grabbing another plate and glass, setting it on the table. "So," she said as she continued, "Uhm.... how is everything going?" She then started to fill Dash's plate. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh, rolling her eyes. Getting comfortable, she began to fill Fluttershy in on what happened. She talked about the nightmares, and the dream with Luna and Discord. She talked about Scootaloo and the scooter plan. Dash also talked about how Twilight Sparkle was still looking through her books for a spell to grow the wing back. "Uhm, Dash?" Fluttershy slowly said. "I... uh... never said... I'm sorry." "Sorry?" Rainbow Dash repeated in confusion. "Sorry for what?" "Well... If it hadn't been for me... you wouldn't have been out in the storm and... well..." "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that you've been blaming yourself for what happened?" "Well... yes. I mean you came out in the storm to stop the tornado because-" "It would have hit Ponyville and ponies would have gotten hurt!" Rainbow Dash cut her off. She sighed, rolling her eyes. Fluttershy looked away, almost ducking under the table in the process. Dash got up and walked over, sitting beside her friend. Reaching out, the blue pegasus put a hoof on her yellow friend's flank. "Okay," Dash said, "Yes that would have included you, but it wouldn't have mattered. If you hadn't been living here, it would have been a different pony in danger and I still would have done it. Honestly, even I had thought there had been time to wait for the others, I probably still would have tried to do it alone. We both know how my ego can be." "...yeah..." Fluttershy mumbled. The entire time Rainbow Dash had been talking, Fluttershy had not been looking at her. The yellow pegasus had been looking the other way and looking down with her face covered by her mane. Now she turned and looked and looked at Dash with tear filled eyes. The two pressed close to each other and hugged for a moment. "Alright," Rainbow Dash said as she pulled away, "That's enough mushy stuff. Don't want to get all sappy. Besides I have a run to finish." She stopped as she reached the door to the living room and faced Fluttershy. "I'm still staying at the library for now. And you don't have to wait for me to come see you here you know." "Oh...uhm... okay." The yellow pegasus gave a nod, looking at her friend. "Come on Tank," Rainbow Dash said as she continued across the living room and toward the front door. Tank flew after her, literally, as they headed out of the hut and back outside. Dash watched her pet a moment before walking down the hill from Fluttershy's house and out to the field. As she got further away, the pegasus began to speed up until she ran at a full gallop. It was only long enough to reach the out buildings of Ponyville, at which point she returned to a canter. The return run to the library had been as uneventful the run from it. As the large tree came in sight, Rainbow Dash felt a sense of relief and excitement. The work out and visit with Fluttershy had been great, but she was glad that it was almost over. Plus she would get to hang out with Twilight Sparkle again. Dash slowed down as she reached the door, stopping to push it open. She was just in time to hear a groan of frustration and a thump. Twilight Sparkle was at her table, head resting against the surface with her eyes closed. "What's wrong, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked as she moved closer. "Wrong?" Twilight Sparkle groaned. "What could possibly be wrong? Just because I have been sent books of spells from some of the most powerful unicorns in history and can't even find one healing spell, doesn't mean anything is wrong, does it?" "You haven't found anything?" "I wouldn't go that far." Twilight lifted her head and looked at her friend. "I've found spells that will help replace lost fur, spells to reduce swelling from sprains, and spells to help set broken bones to help them heal. I also found one theory for a spell which is supposed to help grow new skin that the creator never got to work. With some experimentation and study, I might get that to work, which means I could have something for cuts and scrapes. From that I could possibly come up with a way to regenerate your wing, with luck and years of work." She groaned and planted her head on the table again. "And I'm almost out of books to check." She perked up. "Maybe I missed something. If there's nothing in these then I can go back and-" "No," Rainbow Dash suddenly cut in. "I know you, Twilight. You didn't miss anything. If there had been a spell you were looking for, you would have found it." "I guess." The alicorn slowly shifted again. "I could try and go see Zecora tomorrow. Maybe she'll know something that helps. A book I missed or a spell of her own or something." "Great. As for me, I'm going to take a shower." Dash grinned at Twilight. "Do you want to join me?" She gave a wink then turned and started for the stairs without waiting for an answer. Twilight would be grateful for that too. Her eyes went wide at the teasing. She could feel her face heat up as she blushed again. It was made all the stronger and more embarrassing to her because a part of her was actually considering it. Twilight said nothing and stayed where she was. Her gaze stayed on her friend, watching Dash's backside as she went up the stairs.