//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5- Pain 
// Story: Ratchet Earns Her Wings 
// by RatchetFlash 
//------------------------------//

	What if... That is all that was running through her head. All the what ifs. She was scared. She was nervous. But, would it all pay off in the end?
"Ratchet Flash." The nurse called her name and the pegasus pony ran to her a bit to eagerly and tripped in front of her. The nurse helped her up and turned around.
"This way Ms. Flash." The nurse walked up to double doors and waiting for them to open, the hallway was silent. As the two ponies entered, nothing but the sound of hooves on the cold ground could be heard. 'Breathe... Breathe....'
"Here we are. Go in that room and lay on your back on the table, and put your wings through those slots. Ratchet gulped and nodded as she walked into the room. The door slammed behind her, making her jump slightly. The room was large. The only things in the room were a table, the one that she would be strapped to and a strange looking machine that was connected to the table. Ratchet gulped as she climbed up onto the table and let he wings slip into the slots. Ratchet gasped as cuffs came down around the base of her wings. Next, cuffs came down on her hooves, trapping her completely. Everything in her body was telling to her escape, to fly away. Pegasi are not meant to be tied down, they are meant to be flying free. Even though Ratchet had never flown before, she still had this feeling.
Ratchet started to trash around. She bucked without even thinking and she buzzed her wings as fast as she could. But it was all no use. Then a needle came down towards her neck. 
"Breathe... Here comes the stuff that will knock me out.." The needle jabbed into her neck, it sent a slight pinch of pain through her body, but nothing happened. It didn't work. The table flipped her over. She heard the saw turn on. She would feel it coming closer. Closer. Then it hit. 
The blade made contact with her right wing. A searing pain spread through her body faster than blood. Ratchet held back a scream. The bullying would stop. She would be able to fly. Fly. Then the saw hit bone. Blood was flying everywhere above. The blood was dripping onto her back. Going into her mane, making a sticky nasty mess. The warm blood slipped down her body as the searing pain continued in her back.
*SNAP* The saw broke though the bone and cut off the last bit of skin. Ratchet looked to her right and watched the crimson covered white wing fall to the ground with a thud. She shuddered as tears streamed down her face. The saw did the same thing to her other wing. Before to much happened, Ratchet let the embrace of sleep take her away.



Cold. What was this cold on her back? She opened her eyes. It was fuzzy. Memories started to come back. She moved her wings. What an odd feeling.
"She's waking up!"
Fly... She had to fly.. Damn wires all over her body.. Elements of harmony above her... 'Wait. What? Elements of fucking harmony? What the fuck?' Ratchet sat up and looked around the room with her mouth agape. A pink earth pony, eating a cupcake. A purple alicorn smiling down at her. Two pegasi talking in the corner. A earth pony with a hat sitting on the other side of the bed. 'Get off towards alicorn or earth pony?' Flash rolled towards the Element of Honesty. The pony easily held her back on the bed.
"Whoa there sugarcube, Ya gotta rest!" She said in a southern accent. Ratchet had been the first pony to get a wing transplant... Kinda.
"Fly..." Ratchet said as she looking into the earth pony's eyes with her own pleading eyes.
"Ya can't fly right now sugarcube. The doc has ta look at ya." Applejack. The name came to her mind. Applejack.
"Please...." Applejack just shook her head. Ratchet groaned in response as she rolled over to the alicorn who was smiling down at her.
"Where is Zecord?"
"He is here. Rainbow, can you go get Zecord?" The alicorn asked the pegasus who nodded.
"I'll do it in ten seconds flat!" The cyan mare dashed out of the room. And in ten seconds, Rainbow was carrying a zebra and put him down on the floor. The alicorn glared at her before Zecord got up and walked over to Ratchet, taking Applejack's place.
"Zecord... Let me go outside.. I need to fly." Ratchet begged as she looked up at Zecord. He did nothing but smile.
"On on condition. Roll over, so I can look at your back."  Ratchet nodded and rolled over, then folded her new wings. Zecord grinned as he looked around the room at confused ponies. He lifted up a hoof and rubbed at the base of Ratchet's wings. After a few moments both of her wings went straight up and she was blushing. Zecord laughed. "Alright. I think she is okay to fly."
Rainbow chuckled as the blushing Ratchet got out of the bed and bumped into Zecord playfully and then walked towards the door. She walked through the door to the outside, seven ponies following her. She wondered why the Elements of Harmony were with her, but she shrugged it off as she took a deep breath. She flapped her wings carefully, grinning as she could even feel the wind rushing on the feathers. How did Zealous do it? She didn't care.
"Zecord, are ya sure this is a good idea? Ah mean she jus got those wings ah hers." Applejack inquired of the Zebra.
"If she can get a wing boner with them, they work find. Trust me. I know from experience."  Zecord said as he lifted up into the air with his wings. "Don't you remember what your dad taught you Sparky?"
"Uh... Duh! I do remember Blitzy!" Flash yelled at him as she started to flap her wings to fly. She lifted into the air. A few inches. A few feet. 20 feet. And she stopped. Tears flowed from her eyes as Zecord came to her side.
"Lets get back down to earth." She nodded as he led her back down to earth.
"I... I was flying! I flew! I flew!" Ratchet jumped up and down.
Ratchet earned her wings.