"It's getting late, I'm gonna have to close up soon." The voice belonged to the bartender. "I'll leave when I'm finished," replied a rather drunk rainbow colored pegasus. "Look, you've had nine beers. I think you're good for the night." Rianbow Dash was irritated at this. "I'll leave when I'm finished," she repeated, a little more stern than the first time. "Ugh, fine. Finish that one up, and then get your drunk ass outta my bar!" exclaimed the bartender, clearly annoyed at her stubbornness. After the accident, Rainbow Dash had picked up a habit she swore never to return to. She'd gotten drunk once at a party with the Wonderbolts, and afterwords, promised herself she never would again. It was an awful experience for her. Between the fear of actually being drunk for the first time, the guilt of letting herself do such a thing, or the plain confusion brought about by the alcohol, she hated it. But now, it was the only thing she found herself relying on. She had turned to the bottle shortly after the accident that crushed her dreams. Why not? It's not like I have anything to lose. Thoughts like this filled Rainbow Dash's head day in and day out. She had trained her entire life to be a Wonderbolt, and just like that, it was gone. All those years of training were for nought, taunting her constantly... reminding her of what could have been. She sipped down the last of her drink, and stumbled in the general direction of the exit. "You gotta stop puttin' three doors here. I can't decide which one to choose!" said Rainbow Dash, clearly far more drunk than she should be. She stepped out into the cool night, shivering a bit as the brisk air brushed up against her coat. A long sigh escaped her lips, as she slowly made her way through Ponyville, passing the Town Hall, Sugarcube Corner, Rarity's Boutique, and various other memory provoking places. Even in her drunken state, this was a sobering reminder of the past.
It was at least an hour before Rainbow Dash had stumbled back to her cloud home. The ascent ached her crippled wings, and was not helped by her heavy intoxication. After more than one pitiful failed attempt, she finally reached her destination. The white, fluffy walls that once provided her with comfort, and reassurance now felt like prison bars, confining her to a life of grounded living. It was more than two years since her accident, but Rainbow Dash had never fully recovered, not in mind, body, or spirit. She was a different Rainbow Dash than who Applejack and Twilight knew. She was withdrawn, sultry, and, most notably of all, defeated. The letter that brought about the destruction of her future had crushed her. Her once bright attitude had dulled into a negative, depressed cloud of darkness that followed her every step. It was only a matter of time before she broke completely, and she knew it. How long can someone hold out with no dreams left? No goals? Nothing to look forward to? It was a bleak existence for Rainbow Dash. Sure she, had her friends by her side, but her passion, her one true, unwavering goal in life was gone. I have no purpose, she thought to herself. All my life, I had a goal, and now that it's gone, what do I do? What is there left? These thoughts pounded her head like a drum, as she lay in her small, solitary living room, sobbing quietly, slowly drifting off to sleep.
The sun woke her up. Before the accident, she loved the warm light of the sun telling her it was time to awake and clear the skies. Now, the once warm beacon of light had turned into a bitter object of torment. Every time she looked at the sky, saw another pegasus floating by, or even a butterfly gliding gracefully between the leaves of a bush, she was reminded of that horrible day, of her debilitating injuries, of the dreams she had. With a moan, she stood, knees shaky. What the hay? she thought to herself. Even after the accident, my legs have worked fine. She shrugged off the inconvenience as an effect of the massive hangover she had just registered. "Gah..." she said out loud. "I need a drink." With that, she limped into the kitchen, eying the next full container in a list of fast draining bottles lining the wall. Without hesitation, she downed a gulp of the first bottle she found. It burned her throat, and left a dry, smoky taste in her mouth. "Whiskey," she said to herself. "I don't even like whiskey." She continued to drink. After only one or two shots, she could feel something was wrong. Her balance teetered, and seemed to turn upside down, followed by a severe sapping of her strength. After five minutes, even keeping her head off of the ground proved to be a chore too difficult for the blue pegasus. "Oh no," she blurted just before a jet of putrid liquid flowed from her mouth. "What the hay? I didn't even drink that much." These were the last sentences she got out before her vision blurred, and eventually blacked out all together.
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A steady beeping filled the room, a sound all too familiar too Twilight and Applejack. "How..." Twilight trailed off, the beginning of the inquiry pointed to the Doctor. "How did this happen?" The Doctor, Doctor Whooves, was staring intently at Rainbow Dash, an obvious face of sadness placed on his features. "Your friend has a rare condition that severely reduces the efficiency of her liver. The second she started hitting the bottle, was when she started declining." Twilight's emotions had distilled into a potent mixture, with regret surfacing dominant. "Why didn't we do anything? Why didn't we stop her!?" The outburst caused Applejack to sink back in her chair. "She was waitin' for it," replied the orange earth pony. "What?" snapped Twilight, almost angry at her friend. "She knew what would happen if she kept it up. Think about it. All her little life she wanted to be one of them fancy Wonderbolts. She trained every day, mind set on achieving her ultimate goal. Now imagine takin' that from her. Imagine goin' the rest of your life with no goals, nothin' to look to. If anything, we'd be wrong to stop her." Applejack's thoughts struck into Twilight Sparkle like a blade, plunging deep into her heart. She knew it was true. Stopping Rainbow Dash would only prolong her suffering. Twilight couldn't bring herself to respond, so instead, she wept into her friend's shoulder, broken and in need of a friend.
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Rainbow Dash was thin, and losing weight all the time. "She doesn't have much time," a voice came from the hallway. "Her liver has failed completely, and her organs are being poisoned one by one." It was Doctor Whooves. He had a tear in his eye, visibly upset by the imminent loss of the town's most well known pegasus. Twilight's head sank, anticipating the news. Applejack stared at the floor, crying like a filly at the news she dreaded the most. She found herself unable to do anything, but rest her head on her last dear friend's shoulder, weeping openly, holding back nothing. Twilight had anticipated this, and trudged to her sickly old friend. She let out a long cry, and laid an arm across Rainbow Dash's body, waiting for the moment to come. Seconds ticked by, and then minutes, and then hours. By that time, her chest rose and fell for the last time. Twilight didn't know when Rainbow Dash passed on. All she knew was that she was gone now, growing cold in her arms. Her figure had slimmed into a sickly shell of her former athletic self. Jaundice had yellowed her eyes, and begun to tinge her coat from a brilliant cyan, to a fetid green. The trembling of her arms wrapped around Twilight had subsided, and now lay still beside her. Her eyes no longer flitted about under their lids, but looked infinitely in one direction, fixating on nothing. Twilight slid her arm off Rainbow, and faced Applejack. "She's gone."