WOOT, CHAPTER TWO. I think I finally broke my writers block on this story, that and I beat Kingdom Hearts, so I won't be distracted… though I did order the second game within an hour… hmm…
Anyway, ONWARD TO THE APPLEDASH!
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Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.
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"Listen up, I'm telling you, you won't make it kid, get lost!"
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A Rainbow Cut Short
Chapter 2: Broken Wings, Broken Friends
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet… the colors of a rainbow, the colors of her mane, a mane not like a single others in all of Equestria. It made her unique, it made her feel like she stuck out above all others…
And at the current moment, her mane was stuck in her eyes…
Rainbow blew as hard as she could at her mane, forcing her ribs to hurt as she let out a whimper against her own free will. Her rainbow mane fell out of her face, and the cyan pony sighed in relief at the annoyance now being gone.
Her friends were finally forced to leave, she honestly didn't know how much more of their sappy worry for her she could take, she almost threw up when they left she was so disgusted with all this mamby pamby mumbo jumbo that had filled her room.
The cyan pony sighed, she supposed it was her fault for freaking out and going into shock… but…
She couldn't turn, she had found that out the hard way when she wanted to adjust her posture a few minutes beforehand. She was stuck in this position, and she felt like she was going to explode any moment now.
The fact that she couldn't move her hind legs nor her upper arm, which was in a sling, made her feel claustrophobic, she wanted to run freely… but the pain made her forget all about those stupid thoughts. She wanted the pain to stop, she wanted her pain killers… however the doctor told her that she might get addicted to them if she had them too much. Aw, what did he know anyway? She needed something to take the edge off of this pain!
Everything would be more acceptable if her mind was cleared…
I can't be stuck here, I need to move, I gotta fly… She thought, grumbling under her breath words Fluttershy would cry at if she heard her friend speaking them. However she paused her grumbling when she registered she wanted to fly…
The cyan pony tried to flutter her wings, however felt nothing except for an odd shift in the bones in her back that usually came whenever she shot her wings open, however she never really paid much attention until this point, she was too happy to feel the wing beneath her hooves and her mane and tail whipping through the sky. It was strange how she never noticed the small things… when the bigger things were so awesome…
Rainbow breathed in, and then sighed out loudly. She wanted to badly to fly…
It was totally not cool… not cool at all how this choice to chop off her wings without her consent was forced upon her in a moment's notice without her own opinion on the situation. She didn't get a say, she didn't get to voice her concerns, and this entire situation was beyond uncool.
As the cyan pony glanced to her side out the window, straining through the pain in her neck, she eyed the single copy of Daring Doo, the forth in the series. She didn't want to read it… it was her favorite, but even lifting her hooves to turn the page sent ripples of pain through her entire body. What had she even done to end up like this anyway?
Rainbow sighed, wanting nothing more than to escape and fly away, the simple thought of wind whipping by her as she performed a sonic rainboom made her smile, it was the few times of pure joy she felt, and it was awesome, she was awesome! But she was smart for a jock, and she knew that was impossible at this point in life…
It was funny, glancing down at her cutie mark, it really was just a decoration at this point… what was she supposed to do with it? She couldn't fly… would it change if she suddenly found something else she loved to do? Was that even possible? The way ponies gained their cutie marks was still a mystery, it was only chocked up to get a talent, then get your mark, nopony knew what exactly happened in one's body when it happened.
She shook off the thought, thinking about all of this complex pony science was making her head hurt. If she still could, she would go for a nighttime fly through the sky. Those always cleared her head when she couldn't sleep for one reason or another.
As Rainbow glanced around the dark room, all she could think of were new tricks to try out, only to want and hit herself moments later. It was making her insane, her mind was only focused on three things! Flying, being awesome, and being even more awesome than before! The Wonderbolts were in there somewhere, but they likely mixed into numbers two and three.
The Wonderbolts… it would be best to assume that that dream would be gone as well…
The cyan pony closed her eyes, wanting to find sleep… wanting to find the place where she would be able to fly freely without any constrictions to her, her wings would be there, it would be nice and sunny.
However, there was only one single problem with her plans of nice dreams that night… and every night for quite a while come to think of it.
All she had been having were nightmares…
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Running, I have to keep running
The orange pony kept charging, the sweat going down her face in beads, getting into her eyes as they mixed in with the tears. She was running as fast as she could, it could have been for a few minutes, or it could have even been for a few hours, time was lost so easily in the state she was in now.
The sounds of growling behind her forced the pony to lean her head down and charge forward even faster than her hooves would allow her, her blond mane whipping behind her.
"Just hang on Dash, AJ's comin'!"
The orange pony's eyes snapped open. She sat bolt upright in her bed and looked around the room quick. She realized her blond mane was covered in sweat, as well as the rest of her body. She felt her face with her hoof.
"What in the name er cinnamon swirls 'ave I been eatin'?" The orange pony asked herself, knowing she only got nightmares when eating too much pie. She shook her head, the nightmare still fresh on her mind, hanging of the edge, ready to strike if she let her guard down. It was so… vivid…
The orange earth pony soon climbed out of her bed, her blond mane falling to her sides, seeing as she put it down at night instead of going to sleep with a ponytail and ponymane. She walked out of her room, glancing down the wooden hallway of the house, seeing pictures of Applebloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith, of course there was her as well, and a few pictures of her best friends, however she liked to look at her family, they were the most important thing in life to her, even more than her friends.
As the pony walked through the house, making sure not to squeak the floorboards to avoid waking her family, she soon found herself in the kitchen. Her hooves found their way to the faucet and turned the knob. She leaned her head down and took several gulps of water. It went down her throat, but it still felt dry. She wondered just how long it was going to stay like this… was she getting sick?
The orange pony looked into the sky through the window above the faucet. Her large, green eyes stared up as she was silent for several minutes, looking at the bright and shiny moon, surrounded by twinkling starts. She wondered if Rainbow Dash was watching this same sky, seeing the same twinkling.
She had to look away, thinking about her friend made her…
"Oh Dash, I'm sorry." She mumbled to herself, looking down and lightly kicking her hooves on the ground, much like the way Fluttershy when she was shy around new ponies.
"Why dontcha just go an' see her?" A young, southern sounding voice neighed out. Applejack whipped around to see a small red-headed filly with droopy eyes.
"Applebloom, what in the hay are ya' doin' out of bed?" Applejack asked, staring sternly down at her little sister "Don't make me tell Big Mac on you for snoopin' around." She warned, only half joking, for her sister really did surprise her, which she had never done before.
"Calm down AJ, I just needed to use the bathroom…" The young pony mumbled, still half asleep "But why don' you jus' go and see Rainbow Dash, isn't she your friend?"
Applejack sighed out "Ya'll wouldn't understand if I tried telling ya'" The orange pony mumbled, her eyes blinking away the tears as she thought of Rainbow, how she must be feeling at the moment.
"I'm goin' ta go back to sleep now, c'mon, let's get you in bed too." Applejack mumbled, pushing her sister back with her hoof.
"I'm not a baby, I can go myself!" Applebloom protested, although she was still half asleep, she was still stubborn as ever.
After tucking Applebloom in, the mare went back to her own bed, yet stared at it in silence for several moments, pondering on if she should crawl in and attempt to sleep or not.
Her dreams had been nightmares… since the Rainbow incident.
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"You're goin' for an entire month?" Applejack asked her red, older brother, who had been chewing on a piece of grass since he woke up this morning.
"Eyyyyup" The red colt said with a nod. He wasn't a mare of many words, which made the only people who could break his poker face his own kin.
"And you're sure Golden Delicious can't handle harvesting on her own this season?" The orange pony asked, trying her best to hold her head up, but she was grumbling to herself so much anypony would think she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"Nope!" Big Macintosh said, shaking his head to show that she could not indeed handle it "You know she's new to apple pickin', and ain't nopony around to help her, and the Apples stick together!" He said, saying one of his rare sentences "Plus all dem apples here can wait to be picked, you deserve a break after working nonstop this past week." He said, looking worriedly at his little sister.
The orange pony grumbled to herself "You sayin' I can't handle all of this?" She asked, narrowing her eyes and glaring at her brother.
Big Macintosh shook his head "You need to take a break, you've been workin' harder than ever, go an see your friends for a change." He said.
The orange pony was silent for several moments as her brothers head nuzzled the top of her head to say his goodbyes, she nuzzled back, albeit grumpily. Seeing any of her friends looking at her with those accusing eyes was the last thing she wanted to see…
Big Mac was silent for several moments, so Applejack spoke up first "Well, I guess I'll see you in a month." She said.
"Eyup." Big Macintosh said, going back to his silent self. The orange pony looked at him for several seconds before smiling "Just hurry on back, ya hear?" She asked.
"Eyyyyup."
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"It's really gonna leave scars?" Rainbow mumbled, feeling what was left of the place where her wings used to be move under her skin as she tried to flap out of habit. She closed her eyes and grumbled silently of how stupid she was.
The doctor nodded, pointing to the X-ray machine with his hoof at the skeleton of Rainbow Dash, her back showing two small bumps of bone sticking out "All that should be visible should be a scar or two which will fade over time, plus a few bumps on either side," The doctor sounded so official, he didn't care in the slightest that he was explaining each and every reason that the cyan pony's dreams had been crushed "But you should be able to easily pass off as an earth pony unless somepony has some interest in your back." He tried to laugh, making the end seem like a joke.
Rainbow wasn't amused. She crossed her arms, meaning she just put her good upper leg over her sling, and narrowed her eyes at the doctor. The colt blinked, and narrowed his eyes back. Rainbow Dash simply wanted to bite his head off that instant.
"So um… she'll look normal… for an earth pony I mean?" Fluttershy mumbled, hiding most of her face behind her mane, being shy around the unkind colt.
"Yes, she should be able to pass off just fine, however that attitude I'm afraid won't improve." The colt mumbled, making Rainbow grind her teeth. Not cool… not cool at all…
Twilight chuckled drily after seeing Rainbow's annoyance, however she made a small cough to clear her throat "I see, so how about her legs, when will they heal up?"
"Well, the estimated time is around three weeks until she can even leave this hospital, and after that six or so weeks until the casts come off, her arm however was only badly sprained, and the sling will be off when you leave this hospital."
Rainbow made a sound that sounded like a hoarse flapping their lips. "Great," She grumbled "Three more weeks of all this." She moved her upper leg around the room to show all of the "Wonder" the room had.
The doctor simply rolled his eyes at her childish behavior "Well, I need to get to a few more patients, and all of you, visiting hours are almost up, you got that?" He said, looking at both Twilight and Fluttershy.
The mares nodded, and the doctor walked off, leaving the three alone. Fluttershy looked at the former-pegasus and mumbled out her shy little words "Um… Rainbow… I just wanted to say, that if I were… um… If I could switch places with you… I would… I don't really need my wings, I prefer the ground to the sky." She looked down, lightly kicking her hooves on the cold floor.
Rainbow grumbled and grinded her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut "Yeah right, I'd kill to be a pegasus again…" She mumbled "I don't think even you wanna give that up…"
"Oh but I would, I…" However the yellow pony stopped as Twilight put a hoof in front of her "I guess it's about time we left, huh?" She asked. When the pre-pegasus didn't respond, Twilight let out a sad sigh "Rarity and Pinkie both are free tomorrow, so they'll come and check up on you. But don't worry, we'll get a date for all of us to come and see you!" she beamed, smiling happily, although it looked kind of fake.
"Not everypony…" The cyan pony mumbled, her arms still crossed. Both ponies looked at each other "Well… bye I guess…" Twilight mumbled.
"Whatever…" Rainbow Dash grumbled out "This totally isn't cool…"
As the ponies left, confused by their friends negative attitude, the cyan pony slowly opened her eyes. The words that the doctor said began to slowly sink in, the words "Earth-Pony" filled her mind. She wasn't ready to retire yet, the great Rainbow Dash had only just started to rise in fame, she was supposed to join the Wonderbolts, supposed to be the best flier in all of Equestria! Now she was… just a regular old pony who couldn't do anything special anymore… She was boring…
Rainbow bit her lip as a single tear managed to escape her eye, she let out tiny whimpers as she covered her eyes with her good arm.
"Dang it," She whimpered out "E-Everypony's got me acting all sappy!"
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The orange pony wasn't sure how exactly she found herself in front of the hospital. She just needed a walk to calm down her vivid thoughts and daydreams of those horrible growling noises still haunting the back of her mind. She just let her hooves carry her, she didn't look up, but when she finally did, she was in front of the very place she wanted to avoid at all costs.
It was twilight… the sun was just setting… visiting hours may have been over by now.
Still, the orange pony still found her hooves taking her along through the doors and looking around at the perfectly white surroundings and the giant red plus sign on most of the nurses flanks. It was strange, these places still creped her out, she couldn't believe Rainbow had to be here for an entire month…
Applejack let herself chuckle at the thought of Dash throwing a fit for having to be held in here a month, likely ready to rip up everypony who ticked her off, the simple thought of being bored to death would run through her mind so much she would go insane.
The orange pony looked up from under the rim of her cowpony hat and walked up to the counter
"Rainbow… Dash?" she asked, not really believing the words coming out of her mouth. Her body was working without her minds consent. It was aggravating to say the least.
As she was directed towards the room Rainbow was supposed to be in, she thought she could hear faint sounds of… whimpering? No, that couldn't be it, Dash never cried.
The sounds grew louder as AJ drew closer, and when she peered into the doorway, she saw what looked to be Rainbow Dash, hunched over the best she could in all of her casts, bandages wrapping around her body and over her wingless back. The orange pony's green eyes grew in surprise. She knew Rainbow would be upset… but to the point of crying?
"You doin' al'ight in there sugarcube?" Applejack asked, as gently as she could, taking a few steps in. Rainbow's head shot up and she looked over to the pony, her teary eyes widening before growing narrow in anger as she wiped her eyes, only for the tears to return "I-I ain't a-a-acting all sappy darn it!" She cried out, tears squeezing out her eyes as she let out horrible choking sounds that were seemingly uncontrollable.
Applejack moved forward, and considered putting a hoof on her friends back, however that might be too sudden. After all she had avoided coming to this place and seeing her for days, who knew how she felt about all of that?
"Rainb-"
"Where were you?" Rainbow asked, sniffling loudly.
Applejack avoided eye contact "Busy…" She mumbled, not ready just yet to add she was busy avoiding this pony herself, her friend who was so upset she was bawling, the one thing she promised to never do. However the orange pony knew that was just a bunch of phooey, everypony had their limits…
"Everything's ruined…" Rainbow mumbled "Now… everything I wanted…" Her eyes filled to the brim again, she was acting out of character, yet Applejack wasn't as stunned as she thought she should be. This pony had her dreams crushed… and it was all… her fault. The cyan pony wiped her eyes, which were spilling over yet again "I'm n-n-not crying dang it!" Rainbow said, trying more to convince herself than Applejack.
Now, now was the time to act. Applejack leaned forward and wrapped her arms gently around the cyan pony, holding her tightly, yet gentle considering her wounds. The cyan pony didn't protest, but tried harder to quit her sobbing.
"Rainbow… now don't you worry sugarcube, I won't tell anypony you were crying, I promise." Applejack said, squeezing her friend until she made an abnormal whimper, then loosed her grip slightly.
"I-I t-t-told you, I'm not crying!" Rainbow said, however the younger rested her head on top of the orange pony's, it hurt so badly just to cry, much less to be hugged, and not just physically, but she still managed it nonetheless.
Applejack closed her eyes a moment, telling herself over and over again that Rainbow shouldn't be here, should be flying through the sky… if it wasn't thanks to her…
Why was she so slow?